Method for accessing network slice, network equipment and storage medium

Abstract

Disclosed are a method for accessing a network slice, a network device and a storage medium, the method comprising: an AMF receiving a first request sent by a base station; wherein the first request is sent by a first terminal in a virtual network group and is used for requesting to establish a PDU session; selecting an SMF and sending a second request to the selected SMF at least according to the first information; wherein the first information represents information of a service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the second request is used for requesting to establish a PDU session for the first terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method for accessing a network slice, a network device, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] In the related technology, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) local area network (5G LAN, 5G Local Area Network). User equipment (UE, User Equipment) can access a network slice associated with a 5G virtual network group / 5G virtual network group (5G VN group, 5G Virtual Network Group) to use 5G LAN services. However, all UEs in the same 5G VN group access the same designated network slice, and the designated network slice cannot meet the differentiated network requirements of different UEs in the 5G VN group. There is a problem that the differentiated network requirements of UEs cannot be met in the 5G LAN network. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve related technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a method for accessing network slices, a network device and a storage medium.

[0004] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is implemented as follows:

[0005] The embodiment of the present application provides a method for accessing network slicing, which is applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF), and the method includes:

[0006] Receiving a first request sent by a base station; wherein the first request is sent by a first terminal in the virtual network group and is used to request to establish a protocol data unit (PDU, Protocol Data Unit) session;

[0007] At least based on the first information, a session management function (SMF) is selected and a second request is sent to the selected SMF; wherein the first information represents information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal.

[0008] In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

[0009] The first information is obtained from the relevant information of the virtual network group.

[0010] In the above solution, obtaining the first information from the relevant information of the virtual network group includes:

[0011] Acquire second information and third information of the virtual network group; wherein the second information represents the virtual network group information, and the third information represents the virtual network group member information;

[0012] In the case where the second information includes a first identifier, the first information is obtained from a mapping table included in the third information; wherein the first identifier indicates a service slice of the virtual network group, and the mapping table indicates a service slice corresponding to a terminal in the virtual network group.

[0013] In the above scheme, when the first terminal corresponds to at least two service slices, the first information represents the information of the service slice with the highest priority corresponding to the first terminal.

[0014] In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

[0015] Sending a third request to a unified data management (UDM), wherein the third request is used to request to query or subscribe to relevant information of the virtual network group;

[0016] Receive a second response returned by the UDM, where the second response carries the query result, or carries relevant information about the virtual network group to which the AMF requests to subscribe.

[0017] In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

[0018] Returning a first response to the base station; wherein,

[0019] The first response represents that the PDU session carries the first information when it is successfully established, and the first information is used by the base station to associate the PDU session of the first terminal with the radio access network (RAN, Radio Access Network) resources corresponding to the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0020] In the above scheme, the method further comprises:

[0021] Information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal is sent to the first terminal through the base station.

[0022] In the above solution, the first request carries at least fourth information, and the fourth information represents information about the service slice that the first terminal requests to access;

[0023] The selecting the SMF at least according to the first information comprises:

[0024] Determine, according to the first information and the fourth information, whether the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is a service slice corresponding to the first terminal;

[0025] In a case where the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, SMF is selected according to the fourth information.

[0026] The embodiment of the present application also provides a method for accessing network slicing, which is applied to SMF, and the method includes:

[0027] Receive a second request sent by AMF; wherein the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal in the virtual network group, and carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal;

[0028] At least based on the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, select the user plane function (UPF, UserPlane Function) and establish a PDU session with the selected UPF.

[0029] The embodiment of the present application also provides a device for accessing a network slice, including:

[0030] A first receiving unit, configured to receive a first request sent by a base station; wherein the first request is sent by a first terminal in a virtual network group and is configured to request to establish a PDU session;

[0031] A first selection unit, configured to select the SMF according to at least the first information;

[0032] A first sending unit is used to send a second request to the selected SMF based on at least the first information; wherein the first information represents information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal.

[0033] The embodiment of the present application also provides a device for accessing a network slice, including:

[0034] A second receiving unit is used to receive a second request sent by the AMF; wherein the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal in the virtual network group, and carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal;

[0035] A second selection unit, configured to select a UPF at least according to information of a service slice corresponding to the first terminal;

[0036] An establishing unit is used to establish a PDU session with the selected UPF based on at least the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0037] The embodiment of the present application further provides a network device, including a processor and a memory for storing a computer program that can be run on the processor.

[0038] Wherein, when the processor is used to run the computer program, it executes the steps of any method on the AMF side or executes the steps of any method on the SMF side.

[0039] An embodiment of the present application also provides a storage medium on which a computer program is stored, characterized in that when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of any of the above-mentioned AMF side methods are implemented, or the steps of any of the above-mentioned SMF side methods are implemented.

[0040] The method, network device and storage medium for accessing network slices provided in the embodiments of the present application, the first terminal in the virtual network group sends a first request to the AMF through the base station, the first request is used to request to establish a PDU session; the AMF selects the SMF at least according to the first information and sends a second request to the selected SMF, the first information represents the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal, the second request carries at least the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal; the SMF receives the second request sent by the AMF, selects the UPF and establishes a PDU session with the selected UPF at least according to the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal. It can be seen that the first information indicates the service slice that the first terminal needs to access, and the AMF can send a second request to the SMF that supports the service slice corresponding to the first terminal according to the first information, so that the corresponding SMF selects the UPF that can provide services for the service slice corresponding to the first terminal to establish a PDU session, so that the first terminal can access the service slice required by the first terminal when establishing the PDU session, which can meet the differentiated network requirements of the first terminal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Figure 1 This is an example diagram of a 5G VN group configuration information update process in the related art;

[0042] Figure 2 An example diagram of the PDU session establishment process in the related technology;

[0043] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an implementation flow of a method for accessing a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 4 This is an example diagram of the VN group information configuration process in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a method for accessing a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 6 This is an example diagram of a PDU session establishment process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 7 This is an example diagram of a PDU session establishment process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device for accessing a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a device for accessing a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first network device in the embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Fig.11 This is a schematic diagram of the second network device structure of an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] As 5G is applied to vertical industries such as medical care, education, and industry, industry customers hope that 5G networks can provide large connections, high bandwidth, and low latency while also being able to flexibly manage terminals like self-built local area networks. For example, industry customers specify the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal, require that the terminal can only communicate with specific terminals, authorize terminals to belong to specific groups and dynamically join and delete them, etc. In other words, in places such as hospital offices, campuses, factories, and homes, 5G networks need to provide functions similar to local area networks (LANs) and virtual private networks (VPNs), while enhancing these functions based on 5G capabilities (such as high performance, long-distance access, mobility, and security). In order to meet this demand from industry customers, 3GPP defines 5G LAN. The basic concepts related to 5GLAN include the following three:

[0053] 1. 5G LAN service: A service that provides local area network communication through the 5G system, which can use Internet Protocol / Internet Protocol (IP) type communication or non-IP type communication;

[0054] 2. 5G LAN virtual network (5G LAN-VN, 5G LAN-Virtual Network): a virtual network on the 5G system used to provide 5G LAN services;

[0055] 3. 5G VN group: A group of terminals / user equipment (UE, User Equipment) using dedicated communications based on 5G LAN services.

[0056] The 5G VN group has the following three important attributes:

[0057] 5G VN group identifier: External Group Identifier and Internal Group Identifier are used to identify the 5G VN group;

[0058] 5G VN group members: 5G VN group members use the Generic Public Subscription Identifier (GPSI) as a unique identifier;

[0059] 5G VN group information: may include 5G VN group related parameters such as PDU session type, data network name (DNN, Data Network Name), single network slice selection auxiliary information (S-NSSAI, Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) and application descriptor.

[0060] Table 1 gives an example of 5G VN group information, and Table 2 gives an example of 5G VN group member information.

[0061] Table 1

[0062]

[0063] Table 2

[0064] parameter describe GPSI List 5G VN group member list, each member is identified by GPSI External Group ID Used to identify 5G VN groups

[0065] The following describes the 5G VN group information configuration process and the 5G UE PDU session establishment process.

[0066] 1. 5G VN group information configuration process

[0067] The 3GPP standard defines that 5G VN groups can be configured by network administrators or dynamically managed by AF. To support the dynamic management of 5G VN group identification and 5G VN group members, the Network Exposure Function (NEF) provides a set of services to manage (e.g., add / delete / modify) 5G VN groups and 5G VN members, and dynamically manage 5G VN group data.

[0068] When AF provides 5G VN group configuration, it triggers the general subscription data update and policy update process, such as Figure 1 As shown, the 5G VN group configuration information update process includes:

[0069] Step 0: During the UE registration process, the PCF establishes a policy association with the AMF and subscribes to data modification notifications from the Unified Data Repository (UDR).

[0070] Step 1: The administrator creates an AF request, which contains a 5G VN group service descriptor (external group ID, 5G VN group data, 5G VN group member management parameters, and group subscription data).

[0071] Step 2: AF sends the AF request to NEF. NEF authorizes the AF request and performs the following operations:

[0072] Map the AF service identifier to the combination of DNN and S-NSSAI according to the local configuration;

[0073] Mapping external application identifiers to application identifiers within the core network;

[0074] Map the target UE's GPSI to a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI) based on the information received from the UDM.

[0075] Based on the received information from the UDM, the external group identifier of the target UE is mapped to the internal group identifier.

[0076] Step 3: NEF stores the AF request information as “Application Data” (data subset set to “Service Specific Information”) in the UDR along with the assigned transaction reference ID.

[0077] Step 4: PCF receives data modification notification (data update notification) from UDR.

[0078] Step 5: PCF delivers UE policy data based on the 5G VN group, including access and mobility related parameters (configured NSSAI and its mapped contracted S-NSSAIs, allowed NSSAI and its corresponding contracted slices, etc.), and UE policy information provided by PCF.

[0079] NSSAI stands for Network Slice Selection Assistance Information.

[0080] 2. 5G UE PDU session establishment process

[0081] Figure 2 An example diagram of the PDU session establishment process in which a UE requests to establish a session with an external network in the related art is given, such as Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the 5G-based PDU session establishment process includes the following steps:

[0082] Step 1: The UE sends a PDU session establishment request to the AMF. The PDU session establishment request carries information such as S-NSSAI, DNN, PDU session ID, and requested PDU session type.

[0083] Step 2: AMF selects the appropriate SMF based on the S-NSSAI and DNN carried in the PDU session establishment request.

[0084] Step 3: AMF requests SMF to establish a PDU session. The request message carries: DNN, S-NSSAI, PDU session ID, AMF ID, requested PDU session type and other information.

[0085] Step 4: SMF initiates session registration to UDM and obtains UE subscription information.

[0086] Step 5: SMF executes PCF selection and requests session policy from PCF. PCF will send relevant information such as QoS (Quality of Service) control policy, charging control policy, and UPF selection policy.

[0087] Step 6: SMF selects UPF based on DNN, Tracking Area Code (TAC) and other information, and establishes a session according to relevant policies.

[0088] Steps 7-8: SMF responds to the session establishment request response (PDU session establishment acceptance) to AMF, 5G RAN and UE.

[0089] In summary, the 5G VN group can meet the needs of industry customers in vertical industries such as medical care, education, and industry for centralized management of multiple UEs in the 5G LAN virtual network in office scenarios, and can authorize third-party organizations to create / delete 5G VN members through the NEF in the 5G core network (5GC).

[0090] However, the relevant standards define that: a 5G VN group is only associated with one "DNN+S-NSSAI" combination, and when a UE requests to create a PDU session, a PDU session establishment request can only carry one DNN+S-NSSAI. Therefore, when a UE expects to use 5G LAN services and applies to access a 5G VN group, the PDU session establishment request only carries the "DNN+S-NSSAI" associated with the 5G VN group, indicating that the PDU session is a 5G LAN session. That is to say, in the existing technical solution, all UEs in a 5G VN group can only access the same designated network slice and the same network slice serves a specific type of service, and cannot access the required service slices according to the differentiated network requirements of different UEs in the 5G VN group; the service slice can be understood as the network slice used by the service that the UE accesses or requests to access, or the network slice that provides services for the service that the UE accesses or requests to access, or the network slice that provides services for a certain type of service. For example, the network requirements of different types of terminals in the following medical education scenarios are different, and the current technical solution cannot enable the terminal to access the required service slice according to its own needs:

[0091] (1) Smart medical remote surgery: Assume that the 5G VN group in this type of scenario includes a variety of smart terminals used in remote surgery, such as 4K / 8K high-definition cameras, surgical robots, imaging equipment and other medical equipment, as well as IoT devices such as temperature and humidity sensors. Among them, 4K / 8K high-definition cameras and imaging equipment need to meet the characteristics of high-speed and large-bandwidth networks, surgical robots need to meet the characteristics of high-reliability and low-latency networks, and various IoT devices are not sensitive to latency rates.

[0092] (2) Smart campus: Assume that the 5G VN group in this type of scenario includes multiple terminal types such as online teaching, safe campus, and online examinations. Among them, 5G augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) teaching equipment and 5G high-definition cameras need to meet the characteristics of large bandwidth networks, online teaching terminals need to meet the characteristics of low latency networks, and various IoT terminals on campus need to meet the characteristics of wide connection and high reliability networks.

[0093] Based on this, in each embodiment of the present application, the first terminal in the virtual network group sends a first request to the AMF through the base station, and the first request is used to request the establishment of a PDU session; the AMF selects the SMF at least according to the first information and sends a second request to the selected SMF, the first information represents the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, the second request is used to request the establishment of a PDU session for the first terminal, and the second request carries at least the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal; the SMF receives the second request sent by the AMF, selects the UPF at least according to the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and establishes a PDU session with the selected UPF. It can be seen that the first information indicates the service slice that the first terminal needs to access, and the AMF can send a second request to the SMF that supports the service slice corresponding to the first terminal according to the first information, so that the corresponding SMF selects the UPF that can provide services for the service slice corresponding to the first terminal to establish a PDU session, so that the first terminal can access the service slice required by the first terminal when establishing the PDU session, which can meet the differentiated network requirements of the first terminal.

[0094] The present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0095] The embodiment of the present application provides a method for accessing a network slice, which should be applied to AMF, such as Figure 3 As shown, the method includes:

[0096] Step 301: Receive a first request sent by a base station.

[0097] The first request is sent by the first terminal in the virtual network group and is used to request to establish a PDU session.

[0098] Here, the first terminal of the virtual network group sends a first request to the base station to request to establish a PDU session; the base station forwards the received first request to the AMF, and the base station can also be called a network device. The virtual network group is hereinafter referred to as the VN group, and the terminal can be called the UE. The first request carries at least the network slice information and DNN, PDU session ID, requested PDU session type and other information associated with the VN group to which the first terminal belongs. The network slice information associated with the VN group can be identified by S-NSSAI, and the VN group is associated with the DNN and S-NSSAI. The PDU session ID is allocated by the first terminal, and there is an association relationship or mapping relationship between the PDU session ID and the first terminal. The PDU session ID can be used for identity identification of the first terminal.

[0099] It should be noted that the VN group can be a 5G-based VN group, called 5G VN, or a VN group based on other mobile communication technologies, such as 6G VN; the first terminal in the VN group refers to any terminal in the VN group that needs to establish a PDU session.

[0100] Before the terminal of the VN group sends the first request, the AMF may also send information about the service slice configured by the administrator for the corresponding terminal to each terminal of the VN group, so that the terminal in the VN group can select the required service slice for access. Based on this, in one embodiment, the method further includes:

[0101] Information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal is sent to the first terminal through the base station.

[0102] Here, in the VN group information configuration process, the PCF can obtain the information of the service slices corresponding to each terminal of the VN group from the UDR and / or UDM, and send the information of the service slices corresponding to each terminal of the VN group to the AMF. Upon receiving the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal sent by the PCF, the AMF sends the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal to the first terminal through the base station. Among them, the information of the service slices corresponding to each terminal of the VN group can be configured by the administrator through the management platform and stored in the UDM, or can be configured by the administrator in the AF. The AF can send the information of the service slices corresponding to each terminal of the VN group to the UDR, and the UDM can obtain the information of the service slices corresponding to each terminal of the VN group from the UDR.

[0103] In actual application, the administrator can notify NEF to configure VN group information and VN group member information by creating an "AF request", and trigger PCF to update the information to each terminal of the VN group. Compared with the existing solution, the embodiment of the present application adds a service NSSAI to the VN group information (VN group information data structure) when configuring VN group information and VN group member information, and adds a service slice information mapping table to the VN group member information. Figure 4 An example of the VN group information configuration process of the embodiment of the present application is given, such as Figure 4 As shown, the VN group information configuration process includes the following steps:

[0104] Step 1: The administrator creates an AF request, which carries information such as the VN group service descriptor, updated VN group information, updated VN group member information, AF service ID, and external application identifier.

[0105] Among them, the VN group information configured by the administrator includes a newly added "service NSSAI", which is used to indicate the service slice list in the VN group, as shown in Table 3; the service NSSAI may include information about the service slices configured by the administrator for each terminal in the VN group.

[0106] Table 3

[0107]

[0108]

[0109] The VN group member information configured by the administrator includes a newly added "GPSI and NSSAI mapping table" to indicate the service slices corresponding to the terminals in the VN group, as shown in Table 4 below. The service NSSAI corresponding to the terminal may contain multiple available S-NSSAIs. The S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI is a subset of the corresponding service NSSAI. The S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI corresponding to the same terminal is arranged according to service priority. The service NSSAI is the identifier of the service slice. The S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI can be called the service S-NSSAI, which is also the identifier of the service slice.

[0110] Table 4

[0111]

[0112] Step 2: AF sends an AF request to NEF, and NEF authorizes the AF request.

[0113] Step 3: NEF stores the VN group information and VN group member information in the AF request in the UDR.

[0114] Step 4: PCF receives data modification notification from UDR and updates slice-related policy information of the VN group and VN group members.

[0115] Step 5: PCF triggers the UE policy update configuration process and sends the updated VN group information and updated VN group member information to AMF.

[0116] The updated VN group information and the updated VN group member information may be carried in the Namf_Communication_N1N2_MessageTransfer message.

[0117] Step 6: AMF sends the corresponding service slice information to each terminal of the VN group through the base station. For example, the service NSSAI corresponding to the terminal, and / or one or more S-NSSAIs contained in the service NSSAI corresponding to the terminal.

[0118] After the first terminal obtains the information of the service slice configured by the administrator for the first terminal, the first terminal can select the service slice to be accessed according to the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the first request sent by the first terminal to the base station can carry the information of the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal. Based on this, in one embodiment, the first request carries at least fourth information, and the fourth information represents the information of the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal.

[0119] Here, the first request carries at least the fourth information, and may also carry network slice information and DNN associated with the VN group to which the first terminal belongs, PDU session ID, requested PDU session type and other information.

[0120] Step 302: Select an SMF based at least on the first information and send a second request to the selected SMF.

[0121] The first information represents information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal.

[0122] Here, the AMF obtains the first information, selects the SMF that meets the first set condition according to the first information, and sends a second request to the selected SMF according to the first information, and the second request carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal. The information about the service slice carried in the second request is the information about the service slice supported by one of the SMFs contained in the first information; that is, in the same time period, a terminal can only access one service slice, and the same terminal can access different service slices in different time periods. The first set condition at least includes that the SMF supports at least one service slice corresponding to the first terminal, or that the SMF can provide related services for at least one service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0123] The AMF may also select an SMF that meets the first set condition based on the first information and the information carried by the first request. For example, the AMF selects an SMF that meets the first set condition based on the first information, the network slice information associated with the VN group to which the first terminal belongs, and the DNN; and sends a second request to the selected SMF based on the first information and the information carried by the first request. The second request may carry information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, information about the network slice associated with the VN group, and the DNN. The first set condition includes at least: the SMF supports at least one service slice corresponding to the first terminal, or the SMF can provide related services for at least one service slice corresponding to the first terminal; and includes that the SMF supports the network slice associated with the VN group, or the SMF can provide services for the network slice associated with the VN group.

[0124] The information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal represented by the first information can be understood as: information of the service slice configured for the first terminal, or information of the service slice contracted by the first terminal, or information of the service slice to which the first terminal has access rights. The first information may include information of only one service slice corresponding to the first terminal, or may include information of all service slices corresponding to the first terminal.

[0125] It should be noted that when the first information only contains information about one business slice corresponding to the first terminal, the information about the business slice carried by the second request is the same as the first information; when the first information contains information about all business slices corresponding to the first terminal, the information about the business slice carried by the second request is information about one of the business slices determined from the first information.

[0126] Before selecting the SMF, it is necessary to obtain first information. In one embodiment, the method further includes:

[0127] The first information is obtained from the relevant information of the virtual network group.

[0128] Here, the AMF obtains the relevant information of the VN group and obtains the first information from the relevant information of the VN group. The relevant information of the VN group can be obtained by querying the UDM in real time, or obtained in a local database. For example, when the latest configuration information of the VN group is stored locally, the relevant information of the VN group is obtained in the local database. The relevant information of the VN group includes at least information about part or all of the business slices corresponding to the first terminal, or at least information about the business slices corresponding to each terminal in the VN group to which the first terminal belongs.

[0129] In order to improve the efficiency of obtaining the first information, in one embodiment, obtaining the first information from the relevant information of the virtual network group includes:

[0130] Acquire second information and third information of the virtual network group; wherein the second information represents the virtual network group information, and the third information represents the virtual network group member information;

[0131] In the case where the second information includes a first identifier, the first information is obtained from a mapping table included in the third information; wherein the first identifier indicates a service slice of the virtual network group, and the mapping table indicates a service slice corresponding to a terminal in the virtual network group.

[0132] Here, when the latest configuration information of the VN group is stored locally, the AMF obtains the second information and the third information of the VN group from the local; the AMF can also query the second information and the third information of the VN group from the UDM in real time. The second information can be called the VN group information, which is the content in Table 3 above; the third information can be called the VN group member information, which is the content in Table 4 above.

[0133] When the AMF obtains the second information of the VN group, it determines whether the second information contains the first identifier, and the first identifier can be the service NSSAI in Table 3 above; when the second information contains the first identifier, it indicates that the third information contains a mapping table, and the AMF determines the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal in the mapping table contained in the third information. For example, the mapping table is the GPSI and NSSAI mapping table in Table 4 above, and the AMF obtains the service NSSAI corresponding to the GPSI of the first terminal and / or the S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI corresponding to the GPSI of the first terminal from the GPSI and NSSAI mapping table, and an S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI is used to identify a service slice.

[0134] It should be noted that when the mapping table contained in the third information does not contain information on the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, for example, the service NSSAI corresponding to the GPSI of the first terminal does not exist in the above Table 4, it indicates that the first terminal does not need to access the service slice, and the first terminal accesses the network slice associated with the VN group.

[0135] The AMF may select the service slice corresponding to the first terminal according to the service priority, so that the first terminal can preferentially access the service slice with the highest priority. Based on this, in one embodiment, when the first terminal corresponds to at least two service slices, the first information represents information of the service slice with the highest priority corresponding to the first terminal.

[0136] Here, there are service slices of different priorities in at least two service slices corresponding to the first terminal.

[0137] In actual application, when the mapping table contained in the third information contains information of at least two service slices corresponding to the first terminal, the first information represents the information of the highest priority service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0138] Specifically, when the priorities of at least two service slices corresponding to the first terminal are different, the AMF obtains the information of the service slice with the highest priority corresponding to the first terminal in the mapping table to obtain the first information. When the priorities of at least two service slices corresponding to the first terminal are the same, the first information represents the information of any service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0139] The priority of the service slice is preconfigured. In actual application, the order of the priority of the service slices corresponding to the same terminal can be indicated by the order of arrangement of the information of different service slices corresponding to the same terminal. For example, the earlier the information of the service slice is, the higher the priority of the corresponding service slice is; or, the later the information of the service slice is, the higher the priority of the corresponding service slice is.

[0140] For example, when the service NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal includes at least two S-NSSAIs, and different S-NSSAIs correspond to different priorities, since the arrangement order of the S-NSSAIs included in the service NSSAI represents the order of priorities of the service slices corresponding to the terminal, the AMF determines the first S-NSSAI included in the service NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal as the first information.

[0141] The AMF may query or subscribe to the configuration information of the VN group from the UDM to flexibly obtain the relevant information of the VN group and improve the accuracy of the first information. Based on this, in one embodiment, the method further includes:

[0142] Sending a third request to the unified data management (UDM), where the third request is used to request to query or subscribe to relevant information of the virtual network group;

[0143] Receive a second response returned by the UDM, where the second response carries the query result, or carries relevant information about the virtual network group to which the AMF requests to subscribe.

[0144] Here, when the third request is used to request the relevant information of the VN group, the second response carries the query result, and the query result includes the latest relevant information of the VN group. When the third request is used to request the relevant information of the subscription to the VN group, the second response carries the latest relevant information of the VN group, that is, the relevant information of the updated VN. The relevant information of the virtual network group includes at least the information of part or all of the business slices corresponding to the first terminal, or at least includes the information of the business slices corresponding to each terminal in the VN group to which the first terminal belongs, that is, the mapping table contained in the third information. Of course, the relevant information of the virtual network group may also include the second information and the third information of the VN group.

[0145] In the case where the first request carries the fourth information, the AMF needs to verify whether the service slice requested by the first terminal to access is legal, so as to prevent the first terminal from accessing a service slice for which it has not signed a contract or does not have access rights. Based on this, in one embodiment, the selecting of the SMF at least according to the first information includes:

[0146] Determine, according to the first information and the fourth information, whether the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is a service slice corresponding to the first terminal;

[0147] In a case where the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, SMF is selected according to the fourth information.

[0148] Here, as described above, the first information represents the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the fourth information represents the information of the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal. Therefore, the AMF compares the fourth information with the first information to obtain a comparison result; the first information may only include information of one service slice corresponding to the first terminal, or may include information of all service slices corresponding to the first terminal. When the comparison result represents that the information of the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the same as the information of any service slice corresponding to the first terminal, the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the AMF selects the SMF at least based on the fourth information to select the SMF that supports the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal. At this time, the second request sent by the AMF to the SMF carries the fourth information.

[0149] When the comparison result indicates that the information of the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is different from the information of all service slices corresponding to the first terminal, indicating that the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is not the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, the PDU session creation of the first terminal fails, and the AMF returns a response indicating the failure of the PDU session creation to the first terminal through the base station.

[0150] After the AMF sends the second request to the selected SMF, it can also return a response to the first request to the base station so that the base station notifies the first terminal whether the PDU session is successfully created. Based on this, in one embodiment, the method further includes:

[0151] Returning a first response to the base station; wherein,

[0152] The first response represents that the PDU session carries the first information when it is successfully established, and the first information is used by the base station to associate the PDU session of the first terminal with the RAN resources corresponding to the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0153] Here, when the AMF determines that the PDU session creation of the first terminal has failed or succeeded, for example, when it receives a response to the second request returned by the SMF, the AMF returns a first response to the first request to the base station, so that the base station forwards the first response to the first terminal; the first response indicates that the PDU session establishment of the first terminal is successful or failed. When the first response indicates that the PDU session is successfully established, the first response carries the first information; the first information carried by the first response is used for the base station to associate the PDU session of the first terminal with the RAN resources corresponding to the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0154] In actual application, when the first request does not carry the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, when the first response indicates that the PDU session is successfully established, the first response carries the first information; the first information carried by the first response is the same as the information of the service slice carried by the second request, which can be understood as the information of the service slice successfully accessed by the first terminal. In the case where the first request carries the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, since the base station has obtained the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal from the first request, when the first response indicates that the PDU session is successfully established, the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal obtained by the base station is correct. Therefore, the first response returned by the AMF to the base station does not need to carry the first information.

[0155] Based on the relevant description of the above embodiment, correspondingly, the embodiment of the present application also provides a method for accessing network slicing, which is applied to SMF. Figure 5 , the method comprising:

[0156] Step 501: Receive the second request sent by AMF.

[0157] The second request is used to request the establishment of a PDU session for the first terminal in the virtual network group, and carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0158] Here, the second request may also carry information such as network slice information and DNN associated with the VN group to which the first terminal belongs (S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group), PDU session ID, AMF ID, requested PDU session type, etc.

[0159] It should be noted that when the first request received by the AMF carries the fourth information, the second request carries the fourth information.

[0160] Step 502: Select UPF and establish a PDU session with the selected UPF based on at least the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0161] Here, the SMF selects a UPF that meets the second setting condition based at least on the UPF selection policy and the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and establishes a PDU session with the selected UPF based at least on the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal. The UPF selection policy is sent by the PCF to the SMF. The second setting condition includes at least: the UPF can provide relevant services for at least one service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0162] In the case where the second request carries the network slice information and DNN associated with the VN group, the SMF can also select a UPF that meets the second set condition based on the UPF selection policy, the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, the network slice information and DNN associated with the VN group; establish a PDU session with the selected UPF based on the relevant policy issued by the PCF and the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and return a response to the second request to the SMF, and the response to the second request indicates whether the PDU session establishment of the first terminal is successful or failed. The second set condition can also include: UPF can provide related services for the network slice associated with the VN group.

[0163] In one embodiment, the method further comprises at least one of the following:

[0164] Send a fourth request to the UDM; the fourth request carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and is used to request registration of the PDU session;

[0165] Send a first forwarding rule to the selected UPF; the first forwarding rule includes the forwarding rule of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and / or the forwarding rule of the virtual network group.

[0166] Here, after receiving the second request and before establishing a PDU session with the selected UPF, the SMF may also send a fourth request to the UDM based on the information carried in the second request to request registration of the PDU session; the fourth request carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and may also carry information such as the SMF ID, PDU session ID, S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group. The SMF may also obtain contract information and related configuration information of the VN group from the UDM, such as the second information and the third information of the VN group. The contract information includes the SSC mode, the aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR) of the PDU session, and the like.

[0167] When the SMF receives the second request, it performs PCF selection to select a suitable PCF and requests a session policy from the selected PCF. The PCF sends information such as the QoS control policy and UPF selection policy related to the PDU session to the SMF. The SMF sends the first forwarding rule to the selected UPF to configure the first forwarding rule on the selected UPF. In actual application, the SMF sends the first forwarding rule to the selected UPF through the N4 interface, or configures the first forwarding rule on the selected UPF through the N4 interface. The timing for the SMF to send the first forwarding rule can be before the SMF establishes a PDU session with the UPF, or after the SMF establishes a PDU session with the UPF.

[0168] The present application is described in further detail below in conjunction with application examples.

[0169] Application Example 1

[0170] In application example one, the first request sent by the first terminal of the VN group carries the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group to which the first terminal belongs, but does not carry the fourth information; the service slice corresponding to the first terminal is obtained by AMF from UDM. Figure 6 An example diagram of the PDU session establishment process is given, and the first terminal can access the corresponding service slice when creating a PDU session. Figure 6 As shown, the process of the first terminal requesting to establish a PDU session with the external network is as follows:

[0171] Step 1: The first terminal of the VN group sends a first request to the AMF through the base station, and the first request carries the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group.

[0172] Here, the first terminal of the VN group is any member (terminal) of the VN group, and the VN group may be a 5G VN group. The first request may be understood as a PDU session establishment request.

[0173] It should be noted that the PDU session establishment process is Figure 4 That is, before step 1, the first terminal of the VN group receives the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal sent by the AMF through the base station. The information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal is configured by the administrator for the first terminal.

[0174] Step 2: AMF sends a third request to UDM to request to query the second information and third information of the VN group to which the first terminal belongs. The second information can be understood as VN group information, and the third information can be understood as VN group member information.

[0175] Step 3: UDM returns a second response to AMF. The second response carries the query result. The query result includes the second information and third information of the queried VN group, which correspond to the contents of Table 3 and Table 4 above, respectively.

[0176] Step 4: AMF obtains the first information from the query result carried by the second response, and performs SMF selection based on the first information, S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group, and sends a second request to the selected SMF.

[0177] When the second information includes the first identifier (for example, the service NSSAI in Table 3), the AMF obtains the first information from the mapping table included in the third information.

[0178] For example, when the service NSSAI is included in Table 3, the GPSI and NSSAI mapping table is obtained in Table 4, and in the GPSI and NSSAI mapping table, the service NSSAI corresponding to the GPSI of the first terminal and / or the S-NSSAI included in the service NSSAI corresponding to the GPSI of the first terminal are obtained to obtain the first information. That is, the first information can be the service NSSAI or the S-NSSAI included in the service NSSAI, that is, the service S-NSSAI.

[0179] When the service NSSAI corresponding to the GPSI of the first terminal contains at least two S-NSSAIs, the first terminal corresponds to at least two service slices, and one S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI corresponds to one service slice. The AMF can select the S-NSSAI (service S-NSSAI) used for this PDU session from the S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal according to the priority.

[0180] For example, AMF determines the S-NSSAI with the highest priority in the service NSSAI corresponding to the GPSI of the first terminal as the first information. That is to say, AMF obtains the information of the service slice with the highest priority corresponding to the first terminal in the GPSI and NSSAI mapping table. In actual application, the arrangement order of the S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI represents the order of priority of the service slices corresponding to the terminal. Therefore, AMF determines the first S-NSSAI contained in the service NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal as the first information.

[0181] It should be noted that if the first terminal corresponds to at least two service slices, the AMF selects the SMF that supports the service slice with the highest priority. If the AMF finds that it does not support the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, the AMF needs to query the AMF that supports the service slice corresponding to the first terminal from the NRF and perform AMF switching.

[0182] When the AMF obtains the first information, it performs SMF selection according to the first information (service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal), S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the 5G VN group, and sends a second request to the SMF to request the establishment of a PDU session. The selected SMF can simultaneously support the network slice associated with the VN group and the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0183] The second request carries information such as the service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal, the DNN and S-NSSAI associated with the VN group, the PDU session ID, the AMF ID, and the requested PDU session type.

[0184] Step 5: SMF sends a fourth request to UDM to request registration of the PDU session; SMF also obtains the contract information of the first terminal from UDM.

[0185] The fourth request can be understood as a session registration request. The fourth request carries at least the service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal, and may also carry information such as SMF ID, PDU session ID, S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group.

[0186] Step 6: SMF executes PCF selection and requests session policy from PCF; PCF will send relevant QoS control policy, charging control policy, UPF selection policy and other information to SMF.

[0187] Here, the request that SMF can send to PCF can carry the service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal, PDU session ID, S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group.

[0188] Step 7: SMF selects a qualified UPF based on the service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal, the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group, the UPF selection policy and other information; establishes a PDU session with the selected UPF based on the service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal, the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group.

[0189] Here, the UPF selected by SMF can simultaneously support the network slice associated with the VN group and the service slice corresponding to the first terminal. SMF configures the forwarding rules of the VN group and the forwarding rules of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal on the selected UPF through the N4 interface.

[0190] Step 8: SMF sends a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to AMF, carrying the UPF tunnel information of the PDU session established for the first terminal.

[0191] Step 9: AMF returns a first response to the base station, where the first response carries the UPF tunnel information of the PDU session of the first terminal, and the service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal.

[0192] Here, when the base station receives the first response, the PDU session of the first terminal is associated with the RAN resource corresponding to the service slice of the first terminal according to the service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal carried in the first response; and the N3 interface tunnel is created to connect with the UPF tunnel according to the UPF tunnel information carried in the first response. The first response can be understood as a PDU session response message.

[0193] Step 10: The base station prepares wireless resources for the PDU session of the first terminal, and sends a non-access stratum (NAS) message to the first terminal of the VN group according to the first response. The NAS message carries PDU session creation acceptance information.

[0194] Application Example 2

[0195] In application example two, the first request sent by the first terminal of the VN group carries fourth information, the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group to which the first terminal belongs, and the fourth information represents information about the service slice that the first terminal requests to access. Figure 7 An example diagram of the PDU session establishment process is given, and the first terminal can access the corresponding service slice when creating a PDU session. Figure 7 As shown, the process of the first terminal requesting to establish a PDU session with the external network is as follows:

[0196] Step 1: The first terminal of the VN group sends a first request to the AMF through the base station, and the first request carries the fourth information, the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group.

[0197] It should be noted that the PDU session establishment process is Figure 4 The VN group information configuration process shown is executed after that. That is to say, before step 1, the first terminal of the VN group received the information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal sent by the AMF through the base station. The information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal is configured for the first terminal by the administrator. The fourth information can be determined by the first terminal based on the information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal sent by the AMF, and the fourth information can be the service NSSAI or the service S-NSSAI.

[0198] In actual application, the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice with the highest priority corresponding to the first terminal, that is, the fourth information is the S-NSSAI of the service with the highest priority in Table 4 above.

[0199] Step 2: AMF sends a third request to UDM to request to query the second information and third information of the VN group to which the first terminal belongs. The second information can be understood as VN group information, and the third information can be understood as VN group member information.

[0200] Step 3: UDM returns a second response to AMF. The second response carries the query result. The query result includes the second information and third information of the queried VN group, which correspond to the contents of Table 3 and Table 4 above, respectively.

[0201] Step 4: AMF obtains the first information from the query result carried by the second response, and determines whether the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice corresponding to the first terminal based on the first information and the fourth information. If the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, the AMF performs SMF selection based on the fourth information, the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group, and sends a second request to the selected SMF.

[0202] Here, the first information may include information about all service slices corresponding to the first terminal, and may also include information about the service slice with the highest priority corresponding to the first terminal. For a method of obtaining the first information, please refer to Figure 6 The relevant description of step 4 is not repeated here. The SMF selected by the AMF can simultaneously support the network slice associated with the VN group and the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal.

[0203] The second request carries the fourth information (service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI of the first terminal), DNN and S-NSSAI associated with the VN group, PDU session ID, AMF ID, requested PDU session type and other information.

[0204] It should be noted that, when the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is not the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, the AMF does not perform SAMF selection and does not send a second request to the SMF. The PDU session creation of the first terminal fails, and the AMF returns a response indicating the failure of the PDU session creation to the first terminal through the base station.

[0205] Step 5: SMF sends a fourth request to UDM, where the fourth request carries at least fourth information for requesting registration of the PDU session; SMF also obtains the contract information of the first terminal from UDM.

[0206] The fourth request carries at least service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI, and may also carry information such as SMF ID, PDU session ID, S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group.

[0207] Step 6: SMF executes PCF selection and requests session policy from PCF; PCF will send relevant QoS control policy, charging control policy, UPF selection policy and other information to SMF.

[0208] Here, the request that the SMF can send to the PCF can carry the fourth information (service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI), PDU session ID, S-NSSAI associated with the VN group, and DNN.

[0209] Step 7: SMF selects a qualified UPF based on the fourth information, the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group, the UPF selection policy and other information, and establishes a PDU session with the selected UPF based on the fourth information, the S-NSSAI and DNN associated with the VN group.

[0210] Here, the UPF selected by the SMF can simultaneously support the network slice associated with the VN group and the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal. The SMF configures the forwarding rules of the VN group and the forwarding rules of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal on the selected UPF through the N4 interface.

[0211] Step 8: SMF sends a Namf_Communication_N1N2MessageTransfer message to AMF, carrying the UPF tunnel information of the PDU session established for the first terminal.

[0212] Step 9: AMF returns a first response to the base station. The first response carries the UPF tunnel information of the PDU session of the first terminal, but does not carry the service NSSAI or service S-NSSAI corresponding to the first terminal.

[0213] Here, when the base station receives the first response, it associates the PDU session of the first terminal to the RAN resources corresponding to the service slice of the first terminal; and according to the UPF tunnel information carried in the first response, it creates an N3 interface tunnel to connect with the UPF tunnel.

[0214] Step 10: The base station prepares wireless resources for the PDU session of the first terminal, and sends a NAS message to the first terminal of the VN group according to the first response. The NAS message carries PDU session creation acceptance information.

[0215] In the above scheme, the administrator configures corresponding service slices for the terminals of the VN group. The terminals of the VN group can obtain the service slices configured by the administrator. When establishing a PDU session, the terminals of the VN group can access the corresponding service slices to meet the differentiated network requirements of different terminals of the VN group.

[0216] In order to implement the method for accessing network slicing in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a device for accessing network slicing, which is set on the AMF, such as Figure 8 As shown, the device comprises:

[0217] The first receiving unit 801 is used to receive a first request sent by a base station; wherein the first request is sent by a first terminal in a virtual network group and is used to request to establish a PDU session;

[0218] A first selection unit 802, configured to select a SMF at least according to the first information;

[0219] The first sending unit 803 is used to send a second request to the selected SMF at least based on the first information; wherein the first information represents information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal.

[0220] In one embodiment, the device further comprises:

[0221] An acquiring unit is used to acquire the first information from the relevant information of the virtual network group.

[0222] In one embodiment, the acquisition unit is specifically used to acquire the second information and the third information of the virtual network group, and when the second information contains a first identifier, acquire the first information from a mapping table contained in the third information; wherein the second information represents the virtual network group information, and the third information represents the virtual network group member information; the first identifier indicates the business slice of the virtual network group, and the mapping table indicates the business slice corresponding to the terminal in the virtual network group.

[0223] In one embodiment, when the first terminal corresponds to at least two service slices, the first information represents information of the service slice with the highest priority corresponding to the first terminal.

[0224] In one embodiment, the device further comprises:

[0225] A second sending unit is used to send a third request to the UDM, where the third request is used to request to query or subscribe to relevant information of the virtual network group;

[0226] The third receiving unit is used to receive a second response returned by the UDM, where the second response carries the query result, or carries relevant information of the virtual network group to which the AMF requests to subscribe.

[0227] In one embodiment, the device further comprises:

[0228] The third sending unit is configured to return a first response to the base station; wherein:

[0229] The first response represents that the PDU session carries the first information when it is successfully established, and the first information is used by the base station to associate the PDU session of the first terminal with the radio access network RAN ​​resources corresponding to the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0230] In one embodiment, the device further comprises:

[0231] The fourth sending unit is used to send information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal to the first terminal through the base station.

[0232] In one embodiment, the first request carries at least fourth information, where the fourth information represents information about a service slice that the first terminal requests to access;

[0233] The first selection unit 802 is specifically used to: determine whether the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice corresponding to the first terminal based on the first information and the fourth information; if the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, select SMF according to the fourth information.

[0234] In actual application, the first selection unit 802 and the acquisition unit may be implemented by a processor in a device that accesses the network slice, and the first receiving unit 801, the first sending unit 803, the second sending unit, the third receiving unit, the third sending unit and the fourth sending unit may be implemented by a processor in the device that accesses the network slice in combination with a communication interface.

[0235] In order to implement the method for accessing network slicing in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a device for accessing network slicing, which is set on the SMF, such as Fig. 9 As shown, the device comprises:

[0236] The second receiving unit 901 is used to receive a second request sent by the AMF; wherein the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal in the virtual network group, and carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal;

[0237] A second selection unit 902 is configured to select a UPF according to at least information about a service slice corresponding to the first terminal;

[0238] Establishing unit 903 is used to establish a PDU session with the selected UPF based on at least the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

[0239] In one embodiment, the apparatus further includes a fifth sending unit, configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0240] Send a fourth request to the UDM; the fourth request carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and is used to request registration of the PDU session;

[0241] Send a first forwarding rule to the selected UPF; the first forwarding rule includes the forwarding rule of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and / or the forwarding rule of the virtual network group.

[0242] In actual application, the second selection unit 902 and the establishment unit 903 can be implemented by a processor in a device for accessing the network slice, and the second receiving unit 901 and the fifth sending unit can be implemented by a processor in the device for accessing the network slice in combination with a communication interface.

[0243] It should be noted that: the access network slicing device provided in the above embodiment only uses the division of the above program modules as an example when accessing the network slice. In actual applications, the above processing can be assigned to different program modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different program modules to complete all or part of the processing described above. In addition, the device for accessing network slicing provided in the above embodiment and the method embodiment for accessing network slicing belong to the same concept. The specific implementation process is detailed in the method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0244] Based on the hardware implementation of the above program module, and in order to implement the method on the AMF side of the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a first network device, such as Fig.10 As shown, the first network device 1000 includes:

[0245] The first communication interface 1001 is capable of exchanging information with other network nodes;

[0246] The first processor 1002 is connected to the first communication interface 1001 to implement information interaction with other network nodes, and is used to execute the method provided by one or more technical solutions of the AMF side when running the computer program. The computer program is stored in the first memory 1003.

[0247] It should be noted that the specific processing process of the first processor 1002 and the first communication interface 1001 can be understood by referring to the above method.

[0248] Of course, in actual application, the various components in the first network device 1000 are coupled together through the bus system 1004. It can be understood that the bus system 1004 is used to realize the connection and communication between these components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 1004 also includes a power bus, a control bus and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clarity, Fig.10 Various buses are labeled as bus system 1004 .

[0249] The first memory 1003 in the embodiment of the present application is used to store various types of data to support the operation of the first network device 1000. Examples of such data include: any computer program used to operate on the first network device 1000.

[0250] The method disclosed in the above embodiment of the present application can be applied to the first processor 1002, or implemented by the first processor 1002. The first processor 1002 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by the hardware integrated logic circuit or software instructions in the first processor 1002. The above-mentioned first processor 1002 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP, Digital Signal Processor), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The first processor 1002 can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. In combination with the steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, it can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor to execute, or it can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a storage medium, which is located in the first memory 1003, and the first processor 1002 reads the information in the first memory 1003 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0251] In an exemplary embodiment, the first network device 1000 may be implemented by one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), DSPs, programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), general-purpose processors, controllers, microcontrollers (MCUs), microprocessors, or other electronic components to execute the aforementioned method.

[0252] Based on the hardware implementation of the above program module, and in order to implement the method of the SMF side of the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application also provides a second network device, such as Fig.11 As shown, the second network device 1100 includes:

[0253] The second communication interface 1101 is capable of exchanging information with other network nodes;

[0254] The second processor 1102 is connected to the second communication interface 1101 to implement information exchange with other network nodes, and is used to execute the method provided by one or more technical solutions of the SMF side when running the computer program. The computer program is stored in the second memory 1103.

[0255] It should be noted that the specific processing process of the second processor 1102 and the second communication interface 1101 can be understood by referring to the above method.

[0256] Of course, in actual application, the various components in the second network device 1100 are coupled together through the bus system 1104. It can be understood that the bus system 1104 is used to realize the connection and communication between these components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 1104 also includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clarity, Fig.11 Various buses are labeled as bus system 1104 .

[0257] The second memory 1103 in the embodiment of the present application is used to store various types of data to support the operation of the second network device 1100. Examples of such data include: any computer program used to operate on the second network device 1100.

[0258] The method disclosed in the above embodiment of the present application can be applied to the second processor 1102, or implemented by the second processor 1102. The second processor 1102 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by the hardware integrated logic circuit or software instructions in the second processor 1102. The above-mentioned second processor 1102 may be a general-purpose processor, DSP, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The second processor 1102 can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. In combination with the steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application, it can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor to execute, or it can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in a storage medium, which is located in the second memory 1103, and the second processor 1102 reads the information in the second memory 1103 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0259] In an exemplary embodiment, the second network device 1100 may be implemented by one or more ASICs, DSPs, PLDs, CPLDs, FPGAs, general processors, controllers, MCUs, Microprocessors, or other electronic components to perform the aforementioned methods.

[0260] It can be understood that the memory (first memory 1003, second memory 1103) of the embodiment of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, and can also include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic random access memory (FRAM), a ferromagnetic random access memory, a flash memory, a magnetic surface memory, an optical disc, or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM); the magnetic surface memory can be a disk memory or a tape memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), synchronous static random access memory (SSRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM, SyncLink Dynamic Random Access Memory), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DRRAM, Direct Rambus Random Access Memory).The memories described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0261] In an exemplary embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides a storage medium, namely a computer storage medium, specifically a computer-readable storage medium, for example, including a first memory 1003 storing a computer program, and the computer program can be executed by the first processor 1002 of the first network device 1000 to complete the steps of the aforementioned AMF side method. For another example, a second memory 1103 storing a computer program can be executed by the second processor 1102 of the second network device 1100 to complete the steps of the aforementioned SMF side method. The computer-readable storage medium can be a memory such as FRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, magnetic surface storage, optical disk, or CD-ROM.

[0262] It should be noted that: "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0263] The term "and / or" herein is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the term "at least one" herein represents any combination of at least two of any one or more of a plurality of. For example, including at least one of A, B, and C can represent including any one or more elements selected from the set consisting of A, B, and C.

[0264] In addition, the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application can be combined arbitrarily without conflict.

[0265] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for accessing a network slice, characterized in that: Applied to access and mobility management function AMF, the method comprises: Receiving a first request sent by a base station; wherein the first request is sent by a first terminal in the virtual network group and is used to request to establish a protocol data unit PDU session; At least based on the first information, select the session management function SMF and send a second request to the selected SMF; wherein, the first information represents the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first information is obtained from the relevant information of the virtual network group.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The acquiring the first information from the relevant information of the virtual network group includes: Acquire second information and third information of the virtual network group; wherein the second information represents the virtual network group information, and the third information represents the virtual network group member information; In the case where the second information includes a first identifier, the first information is obtained from a mapping table included in the third information; wherein the first identifier indicates a service slice of the virtual network group, and the mapping table indicates a service slice corresponding to a terminal in the virtual network group.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: When the first terminal corresponds to at least two service slices, the first information represents information of the highest priority service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

5. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Sending a third request to the unified data management (UDM), where the third request is used to request to query or subscribe to relevant information of the virtual network group; Receive a second response returned by the UDM, where the second response carries the query result, or carries relevant information about the virtual network group to which the AMF requests to subscribe.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Returning a first response to the base station; wherein, The first response represents that the PDU session carries the first information when it is successfully established, and the first information is used by the base station to associate the PDU session of the first terminal with the radio access network RAN ​​resources corresponding to the service slice corresponding to the first terminal.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal is sent to the first terminal through the base station.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first request carries at least fourth information, where the fourth information represents information about a service slice that the first terminal requests to access; The selecting the SMF at least according to the first information comprises: Determine, according to the first information and the fourth information, whether the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is a service slice corresponding to the first terminal; In a case where the service slice requested to be accessed by the first terminal is the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, SMF is selected according to the fourth information.

9. A method for accessing a network slice, characterized in that: Applied to SMF, the method comprises: Receive a second request sent by AMF; wherein the second request is used to request to establish a PDU session for the first terminal in the virtual network group, and carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal; At least based on the information of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, select the user plane function UPF and establish a PDU session with the selected UPF.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises at least one of the following: Send a fourth request to the UDM; the fourth request carries at least information about the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and is used to request registration of the PDU session; Send a first forwarding rule to the selected UPF; the first forwarding rule includes the forwarding rule of the service slice corresponding to the first terminal, and / or the forwarding rule of the virtual network group.

11. A network device, characterized in that: comprising a processor and a memory for storing a computer program capable of being executed on the processor, Wherein, when the processor is used to run the computer program, it executes the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or executes the steps of the method described in claim 9 or 10.

12. A storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 are implemented, or the steps of the method according to claim 9 or 10 are implemented.

Images