User terminal access control method and device, electronic equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a user terminal access control method and device, electronic equipment and a computer readable storage medium, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method is applied to NSACF, and comprises the following steps: issuing a slice access control maximum number corresponding to a target network slice to a session management network element; when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the slice access control maximum number, receiving overrun information sent by the session management network element, and rejecting a new user terminal to create a PDU session and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice according to the overrun information; according to the embodiment of the invention, based on NSACF monitoring management, the PGW combined with the SMF and the UPF is accessed to the user terminal of the network slice, the function of the NSACF is enhanced, and slice service monitoring and management requirements of scenes such as 4G and 5G network interoperation are met.

Description

Background Art

[0002] 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) introduced NSACF (Network Slice Admission Control Function) to control user terminal access to network slices.

[0003] However, in the 4G and 5G interoperability scenario, some user terminals are also connected to the network slice through the PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway) jointly set up with the SMF (Session Management Function) and UPF (User Plane Function), that is, at least one PDN (Public Data Network) is connected to the APN (Access Point Name) associated with the S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) of the network slice. These user terminals are actually also network slice users, but the existing NSACF cannot count and monitor the number of these user terminals, and cannot meet the slice service monitoring and management needs of the 4G and 5G interoperability scenarios.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present disclosure provides a user terminal access control method, device, electronic device and computer-readable storage medium, which at least to a certain extent overcome the problem in the related art that user terminals accessing the network slice through the PGW jointly set up with the SMF and UPF cannot be monitored and managed.

[0006] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part by the practice of the present disclosure.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a user terminal access control method is provided, which is applied to a network slice admission control function NSACF, including: sending a maximum number of slice access control corresponding to a target network slice to a session management network element, wherein the maximum number of slice access control is the maximum number of user terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and a public data network PDN connection; when a slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receiving an overlimit information sent by the session management network element, wherein the slice access control parameter is the number of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session and PDN connection; and according to the overlimit information, refusing new user terminals to create PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receiving the excess information sent by the session management network element includes: when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receiving the excess information sent by the session management network element through session parameters; wherein the session parameters include: PDU session quantity parameter, PDN connection number parameter, and / or excess parameter.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, it also includes: sending a session rejection message to the session management network element, wherein the session rejection message prohibits new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receiving the excess information sent by the session management network element includes: when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice monitored by the session management network element exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, the session management network element sends the excess information to the NSACF; the NSACF receives the excess information sent by the session management network element.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the session management network element includes: a session management function SMF, a packet gateway control plane function PGW-C, and / or a jointly-established SMF-PGW-C.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, it also includes: obtaining terminal parameters when the user terminal PDN connection is created; when the terminal identifier in the terminal parameters has a mapping relationship with the slice identifier of the target network slice, the user terminal is associated with the target network slice.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a user terminal access control method is also provided, which is applied to a session management network element, including: receiving a maximum number of slice access control corresponding to a target network slice sent by an NSACF; monitoring a slice access control parameter corresponding to the target network slice; when the slice access control parameter exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, sending an overlimit information to the NSACF.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, it also includes: when the NSACF receives the over-limit information, the NSACF sends a reject session message to the session management network element; when receiving the reject session message, the new user terminal is rejected from creating a PDU session and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice; and the reject session message is sent to the user plane function network element.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, it also includes: when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, sending overlimit information to NSACF through session parameters; wherein the session parameters include: PDU session number parameter, PDN connection number parameter, and / or overlimit parameter.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a user terminal access control device, including:

[0017] A sending module sends a maximum number of slice access controls corresponding to a target network slice to a session management network element, wherein the maximum number of slice access controls is a maximum number of user terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and a public data network PDN connection;

[0018] A determination module, when a slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receives the overlimit information sent by the session management network element, wherein the slice access control parameter is the number of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session and PDN connection;

[0019] A rejection module rejects the new user terminal from creating a PDU session and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice according to the overlimit information.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a user terminal access control device, including:

[0021] A receiving module receives the maximum number of slice access controls corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF;

[0022] A monitoring module, monitoring a slice access control parameter corresponding to the target network slice;

[0023] A sending module sends excess information to the NSACF when the slice access control parameter exceeds the maximum number of slice access control.

[0024] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is also provided, including: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute any one of the above-mentioned user terminal access control methods by executing the executable instructions.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the user terminal access control method described in any one of the above is implemented.

[0026] The user terminal access control method, device, electronic device and computer-readable storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, NSACF sends the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice to the session management network element; when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, it receives the overlimit information sent by the session management network element, and according to the overlimit information, refuses the new user terminal to create a PDU session and PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice; based on NSACF monitoring and management of user terminals accessing the network slice through the PGW jointly set up with SMF and UPF, the NSACF is enhanced to meet the slice service monitoring and management requirements of scenarios such as 4G and 5G network interoperability.

[0027] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0029] Figure 1 A flow chart of a user terminal access control method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0030] Figure 2 A flow chart of a method for receiving over-limit information in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0031] Figure 3 A flow chart of another user terminal access control method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0032] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method for enhancing user terminal access control in a slice in an interoperability scenario in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0033] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a user terminal access control device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0034] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another user terminal access control device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0035] Figure 7 A structural block diagram of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete and to fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0037] In addition, the accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar parts, and their repeated description will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities can be implemented in software form, or implemented in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or implemented in different networks and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0038] For ease of understanding, several terms involved in the present disclosure are explained below:

[0039] NSACF (Network Slice Admission Control Function) is used to monitor the number of user terminals and PDU sessions of network slices that support NSAC function.

[0040] SMF (Session Management Function) is responsible for tunnel maintenance, IP address allocation and management, UP function selection, policy implementation and QoS control, billing data collection, roaming, etc.

[0041] UPF (User Plane Function) is responsible for tunnel maintenance, IP address allocation and management, UP function selection, policy implementation and QoS control, billing data collection, roaming, etc.

[0042] PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway) appears between other IP-based packet networks and the 4G core network. It terminates the SGi interface with external data networks (such as the Internet, IMS, etc.); it also serves as a user service anchor point to determine the current access user in order to provide support for user billing.

[0043] PGW-C (Packet Data Network Gateway Control Plane) is one of the important components in the mobile core network, used to process and control packet data communication services in the mobile network.

[0044] PGW-U (Packet Data Network Gateway User Plane) communicates with the user plane.

[0045] PDN (Public Data Network) is a communication network that provides data communication services to the public.

[0046] S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) is used to identify a network slice.

[0047] APN (Access Point Name) is a parameter that must be configured when accessing the Internet through a mobile phone. It determines the access method used by the user terminal to access the network.

[0048] PDU (Protocol Data Unit) refers to the data unit transmitted between peer levels.

[0049] RAN (Radio Access Network) is a wireless implementation system consisting of a series of transmission entities between service node interfaces and related user network interfaces, providing the required transmission bearer capacity for transmitting communication services.

[0050] DNN (Data Network Name), the user initiates a session establishment request through a dedicated DNN. When SMF selects UPF, it completes the establishment of the edge PDU session based on the dedicated DNN provided by the user terminal and the selected destination edge UPF.

[0051] The present exemplary implementation is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0052] First, a user terminal access control method is provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method can be executed by any electronic device with computing and processing capabilities.

[0053] Figure 1 A flow chart of a user terminal access control method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the user terminal access control method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to the network slice admission control function NSACF, including the following steps:

[0054] S102, send the maximum number of slice access controls corresponding to the target network slice to the session management network element.

[0055] In one embodiment, the session management network element includes but is not limited to: a session management function SMF, a packet gateway control plane function PGW-C, and / or a jointly-established SMF-PGW-C, etc.

[0056] In one embodiment, the maximum number of slice access control can be set in NSACF. The maximum number of slice access control is the maximum number of user terminals that have at least one PDU session and at least one PDN connection, that is, the maximum number of user terminals that have both at least one PDU session and at least one PDN connection.

[0057] In one embodiment, the maximum number of slice access control includes but is not limited to: the maximum number of user terminals with at least one protocol data unit PDU session Amax, the maximum number of user terminals with at least one public data network PDN connection Bmax, the total number of the maximum number of user terminals with at least one protocol data unit PDU session and the maximum number of user terminals with at least one public data network PDN connection Cmax, that is, Cmax=Amax+Bmax, and the maximum number of slice access control is sent to the jointly established SMF and PGW-C.

[0058] S104: When the slice access control parameters of the target network slice exceed the maximum number of slice access control, receive the overlimit information sent by the session management network element.

[0059] In one embodiment, the session management network element monitors the slice access control parameters of the target network slice; when the slice access control parameters of the target network slice monitored by the session management network element exceed the maximum number of slice access control, the session management network element sends an over-limit information to the NSACF; the NSACF receives the over-limit information sent by the session management network element.

[0060] The slice access control parameter is the number of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session and PDN connection, that is, the number of user terminals having both at least one PDU session and at least one PDN connection.

[0061] In one embodiment, the slice access control parameters include but are not limited to: the number A of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session, the number B of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDN connection, the number of user terminals having at least one PDU session and the total number C of user terminals having at least one PDN connection, that is, C=A+B; the overlimit information indicates that the slice access control parameters of the target network slice exceed the maximum number of slice access control.

[0062] S106: Based on the overlimit information, the new user terminal is denied permission to create a PDU session and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0063] In one embodiment, when the total number C of user terminals with at least one PDU session and the total number C of user terminals with at least one PDN connection exceeds the total number Cmax of the maximum number of user terminals with at least one protocol data unit PDU session and the maximum number of user terminals with at least one public data network PDN connection, new user terminals may be denied from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0064] In one embodiment, when the number A of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session exceeds the maximum number Amax of user terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session, new user terminals may be denied from creating PDU sessions associated with the target network slice in the target network slice, and new user terminals may also be denied from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0065] In one embodiment, when the number B of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDN connection exceeds the maximum number Bmax of user terminals having at least one public data network PDN connection, new user terminals may be denied from creating PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice, and new user terminals may also be denied from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0066] S108, sending a session rejection message to the session management network element, wherein the session rejection message prohibits new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0067] In one embodiment, the session management network element sends a session rejection message to the user plane function network element.

[0068] In one embodiment, the user plane function network element includes but is not limited to: user plane function UPF, packet gateway user plane function PGW-U, and / or a combined UPF-PGW-U, etc.; for example, when the session management network element is SMF, the user plane function network element is UPF; when the session management network element is a combined SMF-PGW-C, the user plane function network element is a combined UPF-PGW-U.

[0069] In one embodiment, when the total number C of user terminals with at least one PDU session and the total number C of user terminals with at least one PDN connection exceeds the total number Cmax of the maximum number of user terminals with at least one protocol data unit PDU session and the maximum number of user terminals with at least one public data network PDN connection, the session rejection message prohibits new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0070] In one embodiment, when the number of user terminals B associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDN connection exceeds the maximum number of user terminals Bmax having at least one public data network PDN connection, the session rejection message may be to prohibit new user terminals from creating PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice, and the session rejection message may be to prohibit new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice; when the number of user terminals A associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session exceeds the maximum number of user terminals Amax having at least one protocol data unit PDU session, the session rejection message may be to prohibit new user terminals from creating PDU sessions associated with the target network slice in the target network slice, and the session rejection message may be to prohibit new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0071] In the above embodiment, based on the user terminal access control mechanism in the network slice, an enhanced method is proposed, that is, a new slice access control maximum number is added to control the access to the 5G user terminal and the 4G user terminal of the network slice instance. The number of user terminals associated with the network slice and having at least one PDU session and PDN connection can be set in the NSACF, and sent to the session management network element to monitor the number of user terminals, that is, the user terminals accessing the network slice through the PGW jointly set up with the SMF and UPF can be counted and monitored. When the limit is exceeded, the jointly set up SMF-PGW notifies the NSACF. According to the monitoring results, the NSACF refuses the new user terminal to create a 5G PDU session and a 4G PDN connection associated with the network slice, so that the network can have better control over the 4G and 5G interoperability scenarios of user terminals, enhance the control capability of the NSACF, broaden the application scenarios, and meet the latest requirements of 3GPP and GSMA.

[0072] Figure 2 A flow chart of a method for receiving over-limit information in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown as follows: Figure 2 As shown, the method for receiving overrun information provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following steps:

[0073] S202, the session management network element monitors the slice access control parameters of the target network slice;

[0074] S204: When the slice access control parameters of the target network slice monitored by the session management network element exceed the maximum number of slice access control, the session management network element sends an over-limit information to the NSACF.

[0075] In one embodiment, the maximum number of slice access control can be set according to user needs, historical data, etc., and the maximum number of slice access control can be set manually or automatically.

[0076] In one embodiment, the session management network element may monitor the slice access control parameters of the target network slice at fixed time intervals and determine whether the slice access control parameters exceed the maximum number of slice access control; the session management network element may also determine whether the slice access control parameters exceed the maximum number of slice access control when the slice access control parameters are updated.

[0077] In one embodiment, when determining whether the slice access control parameters of the target network slice exceed the maximum number of slice access control, it can be determined whether the total number C of user terminals with at least one PDU session and the total number C of user terminals with at least one PDN connection exceeds the total number Cmax of the maximum number of user terminals with at least one protocol data unit PDU session and the maximum number of user terminals with at least one public data network PDN connection; it can also be determined whether the number of user terminals A associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session exceeds the maximum number Amax of user terminals with at least one protocol data unit PDU session, and whether the number of user terminals B associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDN connection exceeds the maximum number Bmax of user terminals with at least one public data network PDN connection.

[0078] In one embodiment, terminal parameters are obtained when a PDN connection of a user terminal is created; when a terminal identifier in the terminal parameters has a mapping relationship with a slice identifier of a target network slice, the user terminal is associated with the target network slice.

[0079] In one embodiment, the terminal parameters include but are not limited to: data network identifier DNN, access point name APN, etc.; the slice identifier can be auxiliary information S-NSSAI for selecting a single network slice.

[0080] S206, NSACF receives the over-limit information sent by the session management network element; the over-limit information indicates that the slice access control parameters of the target network slice exceed the maximum number of slice access control.

[0081] In one embodiment, when the slice access control parameters of the target network slice exceed the maximum number of slice access control, the overlimit information sent by the session management network element is received through the session parameters.

[0082] In one embodiment, the session parameters include but are not limited to at least one of the following: a PDU session quantity parameter, a PDN connection number parameter, and / or an over-limit parameter, etc.

[0083] In one embodiment, the session management network element may send the overlimit information via the PDU session quantity parameter, that is, enhance the original PDU session quantity parameter to support the maximum number of user terminals having at least one PDU session and PDN connection.

[0084] In one embodiment, the session management network element may send the overlimit information through the PDN connection number parameter, that is, enhance the original PDN connection number parameter to support the maximum number of user terminals having at least one PDU session and PDN connection.

[0085] In one embodiment, the over-limit parameter is a newly created parameter that can support the maximum number of user terminals having at least one PDU session and PDN connection.

[0086] Figure 3 A flow chart of another method for controlling user terminal access in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the user terminal access control method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to a session management network element, and includes the following steps:

[0087] S302, receive the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF.

[0088] In one embodiment, the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF can be received through management parameters, that is, the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF is received through PDU session number parameters, PDN connection number parameters, and / or new parameters.

[0089] In one embodiment, the PDU session quantity parameter enhances the original PDU session quantity parameter to support the maximum number of user terminals with at least one PDU session and PDN connection; for example, when the session management network element is SMF, the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF is received through the PDU session quantity parameter or the newly added parameter.

[0090] In one embodiment, the PDN connection number parameter enhances the original PDN connection number parameter to support the maximum number of user terminals with at least one PDU session and PDN connection; for example, when the session management network element is PGW-C, the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF is received through the PDN connection number parameter or the newly added parameter.

[0091] In one embodiment, the newly added parameters can support the maximum number of user terminals with at least one PDU session and PDN connection; for example, when the session management network element is SMF-PGW-C, the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF is received through the PDU session number parameter, PDN connection number parameter or the newly added parameter.

[0092] S304, monitor the slice access control parameters corresponding to the target network slice.

[0093] In one embodiment, by enhancing the original PDU session number parameter, the original PDN connection number parameter, or a newly created parameter, it is possible to support the number of user terminals having at least one PDU session and PDN connection.

[0094] In one embodiment, the slice access control parameters of the target network slice can be monitored at fixed time intervals to determine whether the slice access control parameters exceed the maximum number of slice access control. When the slice access control parameters are updated, it can also be determined whether the slice access control parameters exceed the maximum number of slice access control. There is no restriction on the monitoring time, etc.

[0095] S306: When the slice access control parameter exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, an excess information is sent to the NSACF.

[0096] In one embodiment, when the slice access control parameters of the target network slice exceed the maximum number of slice access control, the overlimit information is sent to the NSACF through the session parameters; wherein the session parameters include but are not limited to at least one of the following: PDU session number parameter, PDN connection number parameter, and / or overlimit parameter, etc.

[0097] In one embodiment, when NSACF receives overlimit information, NSACF sends a session rejection message to the session management network element, wherein the session rejection message rejects the creation of a PDU session associated with the target network slice and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice by a new user terminal in the target network slice.

[0098] S308, when receiving the session rejection message sent by NSACF, the new user terminal is rejected from creating a PDU session associated with the target network slice and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0099] S310: Send a session rejection message to the user plane functional network element.

[0100] In one embodiment, when the total number of user terminals with at least one PDU session and the total number of user terminals with at least one PDN connection exceeds the total number of the maximum number of user terminals with at least one protocol data unit PDU session and the maximum number of user terminals with at least one public data network PDN connection, the session rejection message prohibits new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0101] In one embodiment, when the number of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session exceeds the maximum number of user terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session, the session rejection message may be to prohibit new user terminals from creating PDU sessions associated with the target network slice in the target network slice. The session rejection message may also be to prohibit new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0102] In the above embodiment, it can be used in the 4G and 5G interoperability scenario. Based on NSACF monitoring and management, the user terminal accesses the network slice through the PGW jointly set up with SMF and UPF, and the user terminal access control is enhanced to meet the slice service monitoring and management needs of scenarios such as 4G and 5G network interoperability.

[0103] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method for enhancing user terminal access control in a slice in an interoperability scenario in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 As shown, the method for enhancing user terminal access control in a slice in an interoperability scenario provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following steps:

[0104] 1. The maximum number of user terminals with at least one PDU session and PDN connection is set in NSACF401 and sent by NSACF401 to the session management network element 402.

[0105] In one embodiment, the user terminal may be various electronic devices, including but not limited to smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wearable devices, augmented reality devices, virtual reality devices, etc.

[0106] Optionally, the client of the application installed in different user terminals is the same, or the client of the same type of application based on different operating systems. Based on the different terminal platforms, the specific form of the client of the application can also be different, for example, the application client can be a mobile client, a PC client, etc.

[0107] 2. The session management network element 402 monitors the number of user terminals in the network slice that have at least one PDU session and PDN connection.

[0108] The method for determining the number of user terminals associated with a network slice and having at least one PDN connection is as follows: obtaining the terminal parameters when the user terminal PDN connection is created, such as APN, DNN, etc. If there is an associated mapping relationship between the terminal parameters and S-NSSAI, it can be determined that the user terminal is associated with the network slice of S-NSSAI.

[0109] 3. When the number of user terminals having at least one PDU session and PDN connection exceeds the parameter limit of the maximum number of user terminals having at least one PDU session and PDN connection, the session management network element 402 reports the event to the NSACF 401 .

[0110] 4.NSACF401 rejects the creation of PDU sessions and PDN connections by new user terminals in the network slice, and sends the signaling to the session management network element 402.

[0111] 5. The session management network element 402 denies new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections in the network slice.

[0112] In one embodiment, the session management network element 402 sends a message to the corresponding user plane function network element 403 to reject the new user terminal from creating a PDU session and a PDN connection in the network slice, that is, the session management network element 402 sends a message to the user plane function network element 403 to reject the new user terminal from creating a PDU session and a PDN connection in the network slice.

[0113] The user plane function network element 403 interacts with 5G RAN406 and DNN408 through PDU sessions; the user plane function network element 403 interacts with 4G RAN404 and APN409 through PDN connections; 4G RAN404 is connected to 4G user terminals 405, and 5G RAN406 is connected to 5G user terminals 407.

[0114] In some embodiments, technologies and / or formats including Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), etc. are used to represent data exchanged through the network. In addition, conventional encryption technologies such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), Virtual Private Network (VPN), Internet Protocol Security (IPsec), etc. can also be used to encrypt all or some links. In other embodiments, customized and / or dedicated data communication technologies can also be used to replace or supplement the above data communication technologies.

[0115] In the above embodiment, the discovery and selection of NSACF are enhanced for the 4G and 5G interoperability scenarios, and the session management network element monitors the number of user terminals. When the limit is exceeded, the jointly configured SMF-PGW notifies NSACF. Based on the monitoring results, NSACF refuses new user terminals to create 5G PDU sessions and 4G PDN connections associated with network slices, thereby broadening the application scenarios.

[0116] Based on the same inventive concept, the present disclosure also provides a user terminal access control device, such as the following embodiment. Since the principle of solving the problem in the device embodiment is similar to that in the above method embodiment, the implementation of the device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above method embodiment, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0117] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a user terminal access control device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 5 As shown, the user terminal access control device 5 includes: a sending module 501, a determining module 502, and a rejecting module 503;

[0118] The sending module 501 sends the maximum number of slice access controls corresponding to the target network slice to the session management network element.

[0119] Determine module 502, when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receive the overlimit information sent by the session management network element.

[0120] In one embodiment, the determination module 502 includes a first determination module that determines a maximum number of user terminals having at least one PDU session and PDN connection.

[0121] In one embodiment, the determination module 502 includes a second determination module, which obtains terminal parameters when the user terminal PDN connection is created; when the terminal identifier in the terminal parameters has a mapping relationship with the slice identifier of the target network slice, the user terminal is associated with the target network slice.

[0122] In one embodiment, the determination module 502 includes a third determination module, which receives the overlimit information sent by the session management network element through the session parameters when the slice access control parameters of the target network slice exceed the maximum number of slice access control.

[0123] The rejection module 503 rejects the new user terminal from creating a PDU session and PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice based on the overlimit information.

[0124] In one embodiment, the user terminal access control device 5 also includes a sending module that sends a session rejection message to the session management network element, wherein the session rejection message prohibits new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0125] In the above embodiment, user terminals accessing the network slice through the PGW jointly set up with the SMF and UPF can be counted and monitored. When the limit is exceeded, the jointly set up SMF-PGW notifies the NSACF. Based on the monitoring results, the NSACF refuses the new user terminal to create a 5G PDU session and a 4G PDN connection associated with the network slice, so that the network can have better control over the 4G and 5G interoperability scenarios of the user terminals, enhance the control capability of the NSACF, and expand the application scenarios.

[0126] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another user terminal access control device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 6As shown, the user terminal access control device 6 includes: a receiving module 601, a monitoring module 602 and a sending module 603;

[0127] Receiving module 601, receiving the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF;

[0128] A monitoring module 602 monitors a slice access control parameter corresponding to the target network slice;

[0129] In one embodiment, the monitoring module 602 may monitor the slice access control parameters of the target network slice at fixed time intervals and determine whether the slice access control parameters exceed the maximum number of slice access control. It may also determine whether the slice access control parameters exceed the maximum number of slice access control when the slice access control parameters are updated.

[0130] The sending module 603 sends excess information to the NSACF when the slice access control parameter exceeds the maximum number of slice access control.

[0131] In one embodiment, the sending module 603 is used to send an overlimit information to the NSACF through a session parameter when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control; wherein the session parameter includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: a PDU session number parameter, a PDN connection number parameter, and / or an overlimit parameter

[0132] In one embodiment, the user terminal access control device 6 also includes a session module 604, which, when receiving a session rejection message sent by the NSACF, rejects the new user terminal from creating a PDU session and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice, and sends a session rejection message to the user plane functional network element.

[0133] In the above embodiment, it can be used in the 4G and 5G interoperability scenario. Based on NSACF monitoring and management, the user terminal accesses the network slice through the PGW jointly set up with SMF and UPF, and the user terminal access control is enhanced to meet the slice service monitoring and management needs of scenarios such as 4G and 5G network interoperability.

[0134] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented as systems, methods or program products. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be specifically implemented in the following forms, namely: complete hardware implementation, complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software, which may be collectively referred to herein as "circuits", "modules" or "systems".

[0135] Refer to the following Figure 7 An electronic device 700 according to this embodiment of the present disclosure is described. Figure 7 The electronic device 700 shown is merely an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0136] like Figure 7 As shown, the electronic device 700 is in the form of a general computing device. The components of the electronic device 700 may include but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 710, at least one storage unit 720, and a bus 730 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 720 and the processing unit 710).

[0137] The storage unit stores program codes, which can be executed by the processing unit 710, so that the processing unit 710 executes the steps described in the above “exemplary method” section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0138] For example, the processing unit 710 can execute the following steps of the above-mentioned method embodiment: NSACF sends the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice to the session management network element; when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, it receives the overlimit information sent by the session management network element, and according to the overlimit information, refuses the new user terminal to create a PDU session and PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0139] For example, the processing unit 710 can execute the following steps of the above method embodiment: the session management network element receives the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by the NSACF; monitors the slice access control parameters corresponding to the target network slice; when the slice access control parameters exceed the maximum number of slice access control, sends an overlimit information to the NSACF.

[0140] The storage unit 720 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access storage unit (RAM) 7201 and / or a cache storage unit 7202 , and may further include a read-only storage unit (ROM) 7203 .

[0141] The storage unit 720 may also include a program / utility 7204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 7205, such program modules 7205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0142] Bus 730 may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory unit bus or memory unit controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

[0143] The electronic device 700 may also communicate with one or more external devices 740 (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, Bluetooth devices, etc.), may also communicate with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 700, and / or communicate with any device that enables the electronic device 700 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., routers, modems, etc.). Such communication may be performed via an input / output (I / O) interface 750. Furthermore, the electronic device 700 may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via a network adapter 760. As shown, the network adapter 760 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 700 via a bus 730. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device 700, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems, etc.

[0144] Through the description of the above implementation, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example implementation described here can be implemented by software, or by software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the implementation of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementation of the present disclosure.

[0145] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A program product capable of implementing the above method of the present disclosure is stored thereon. In some possible implementations, various aspects of the present disclosure may also be implemented in the form of a program product, which includes a program code, and when the program product is run on a terminal device, the program code is used to cause the terminal device to execute the steps according to various exemplary implementations of the present disclosure described in the above “Exemplary Method” section of this specification.

[0146] For example, when the program product in the embodiment of the present disclosure is executed by the processor, the following steps are implemented: NSACF sends the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice to the session management network element; when the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, the over-limit information sent by the session management network element is received, and based on the over-limit information, the new user terminal is denied to create a PDU session and PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

[0147] For example, when the program product in the embodiment of the present disclosure is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented: the session management network element receives the maximum number of slice access control corresponding to the target network slice sent by the NSACF; monitors the slice access control parameters corresponding to the target network slice; when the slice access control parameters exceed the maximum number of slice access control, sends an overlimit information to the NSACF.

[0148] More specific examples of computer-readable storage media in the present disclosure may include, but are not limited to, an electrical connection having one or more conductors, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0149] In the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, wherein a readable program code is carried. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0150] Alternatively, the program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0151] In a specific implementation, the program code for performing the operations of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a separate software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device (e.g., using an Internet service provider to connect through the Internet).

[0152] It should be noted that, although several modules or units of the device for action execution are mentioned in the above detailed description, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. On the contrary, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided into multiple modules or units to be embodied.

[0153] In addition, although the steps of the method in the present disclosure are described in a specific order in the drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in this specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired results. Additionally or alternatively, some steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or one step may be decomposed into multiple steps, etc.

[0154] Through the description of the above implementation, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example implementation described here can be implemented by software, or by software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the implementation of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a mobile terminal, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementation of the present disclosure.

[0155] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the present disclosure, which follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The description and examples are intended to be exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A user terminal access control method, characterized in that: Applied to the network slice admission control function NSACF, including: Sending the maximum number of slice access controls corresponding to the target network slice to the session management network element, wherein the maximum number of slice access controls is the maximum number of user terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and a public data network PDN connection; When a slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receiving an overlimit information sent by the session management network element, wherein the slice access control parameter is the number of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session and PDN connection; Based on the overlimit information, new user terminals are denied permission to create PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

2. The user terminal access control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the slice access control maximum number, receiving the limit exceeding information sent by the session management network element includes: When the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receiving the overlimit information sent by the session management network element through the session parameter; The session parameters include: a PDU session quantity parameter, a PDN connection number parameter, and / or an over-limit parameter.

3. The user terminal access control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: A session rejection message is sent to the session management network element, wherein the session rejection message prohibits new user terminals from creating PDU sessions and PDN connections associated with the target network slice in the target network slice.

4. The user terminal access control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the slice access control maximum number, receiving the limit exceeding information sent by the session management network element includes: When the slice access control parameter of the target network slice monitored by the session management network element exceeds the slice access control maximum number, the session management network element sends the excess information to the NSACF; The NSACF receives the overlimit information sent by the session management network element.

5. The user terminal access control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The session management network element includes: a session management function SMF, a packet gateway control plane function PGW-C, and / or a jointly arranged SMF-PGW-C.

6. The user terminal access control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: Obtain terminal parameters when the user terminal PDN connection is created; When the terminal identifier in the terminal parameters has a mapping relationship with the slice identifier of the target network slice, the user terminal is associated with the target network slice.

7. A user terminal access control method, characterized in that: Applicable to session management network elements, including: Receive the maximum number of slice access controls corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF; Monitoring a slice access control parameter corresponding to the target network slice; When the slice access control parameter exceeds the slice access control maximum number, an excess information is sent to the NSACF.

8. The user terminal access control method according to claim 7, characterized in that: Also includes: When the NSACF receives the overlimit information, the NSACF sends a session rejection message to the session management network element; When receiving the reject session message, rejecting the new user terminal from creating a PDU session and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice; Send the session rejection message to the user plane functional network element.

9. The user terminal access control method according to claim 8, characterized in that: Also includes: When the slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, sending an overlimit information to the NSACF through the session parameter; The session parameters include: a PDU session quantity parameter, a PDN connection number parameter, and / or an over-limit parameter.

10. A user terminal access control device, characterized in that: include: A sending module sends a maximum number of slice access controls corresponding to a target network slice to a session management network element, wherein the maximum number of slice access controls is a maximum number of user terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and a public data network PDN connection; A determination module, when a slice access control parameter of the target network slice exceeds the maximum number of slice access control, receives the overlimit information sent by the session management network element, wherein the slice access control parameter is the number of user terminals associated with the target network slice and having at least one PDU session and PDN connection; A rejection module rejects the new user terminal from creating a PDU session and a PDN connection associated with the target network slice in the target network slice according to the overlimit information.

11. A user terminal access control device, characterized in that: include: A receiving module receives the maximum number of slice access controls corresponding to the target network slice sent by NSACF; A monitoring module, monitoring a slice access control parameter corresponding to the target network slice; A sending module sends excess information to the NSACF when the slice access control parameter exceeds the maximum number of slice access control.

12. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: processor; as well as A memory, configured to store executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the user terminal access control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 by executing the executable instructions.

13. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the user terminal access control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented.

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