User terminal session management method and device, electronic equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a user terminal session management method and device, electronic equipment and a computer readable storage medium, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: a first network element receives the number of LBO PDU sessions reported by a second network element, and monitors the sum of the number of the LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions; when the sum of the number of the LBO PDU sessions and the number of the HPLMN sessions exceeds a session threshold value, prohibiting the HPLMN and the VPLMN from initiating a new PDU session; according to the embodiment of the invention, the first network element can count and monitor the number of PDU sessions in the VPLMN in the LBO scene, the control capability of NSACF is enhanced, the network can better perform PDU session control in the LBO roaming scene, and the application scene is widened.

Description

Background Art

[0002] Currently, GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications) and 3GPP (The 3rd Generation Partnership Project) have confirmed that HPLMN (Home Public Land Mobile Network) needs to count and monitor the number of LBO PDU (Local Break Out Protocol Data Unit) sessions. However, in the LBO enhanced roaming scenario, in the existing NSACF (Network Slice Admission Control Function) PDU session statistics method, the HPLMN NSACF cannot count the number of PDU sessions in the VPLMN (Visited Public Land Mobile Network) in the LBO scenario.

[0003] 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

[0004] The present disclosure provides a user terminal session management method, device, electronic device and computer-readable storage medium, which at least to some extent overcome the problem in the related art that the NSACF of the HPLMN cannot count the number of PDU sessions in the VPLMN under the LBO scenario.

[0005] 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.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a user terminal session management method is provided, characterized in that it is applied to a first network element, including: receiving the number of local break protocol data unit LBO PDU sessions reported by a second network element; and determining whether a home public land mobile network HPLMN and a visited public land mobile network VPLMN can initiate a new PDU session based on the number of LBO PDU sessions.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, determining whether the home public land mobile network HPLMN and the visited public land mobile network VPLMN can initiate a new PDU session based on the number of LBO PDU sessions includes: monitoring the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions; when the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions exceeds a session threshold, prohibiting the HPLMN and the VPLMN from initiating a new PDU session.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first network element includes at least one of the following network elements: a slice admission control function NSACF located in the HPLMN, or a session management function SMF located in the HPLMN.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second network element includes at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the VPLMN, or an SMF located in the VPLMN.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the receiving the number of local break protocol data unit LBOPDU sessions reported by the second network element includes: receiving the number of LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element based on an interactive method.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the interaction method includes: an interaction method based on a service communication agent, an interaction method based on a security edge protection agent, and / or an interaction method based on a network capability exposure function.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions exceeds a session threshold, prohibiting the HPLMN and the VPLMN from initiating a new PDU session includes: sending a session rejection message to the SMF located in the VPLMN and the SMF located in the HPLMN.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a user terminal session management method is provided, which is applied to a second network element, and includes: determining the number of LBO PDU sessions created by a user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN according to identification information; and reporting the number of LBO PDU sessions to the first network element.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first network element includes at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the HPLMN, or an SMF located in the HPLMN; the second network element includes at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the VPLMN, or an SMF located in the VPLMN.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the identification information includes: a subscription permanent identifier, a subscription hidden identifier, and / or a PLMN identifier.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: when receiving a session rejection message sent by the first network element, sending the session rejection message to the SMF located in the VPLMN.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a user terminal session management device, comprising:

[0018] A session receiving module, receiving the number of local interrupt protocol data unit LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element;

[0019] The session determination module determines whether the home public land mobile network HPLMN and the visited public land mobile network VPLMN can initiate a new PDU session according to the LBO PDU session quantity.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is also provided a user terminal session management device, comprising:

[0021] A quantity determination module, determining the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN according to the identification information;

[0022] The quantity reporting module reports the LBO PDU session quantity to the first network element.

[0023] 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 session management methods by executing the executable instructions.

[0024] 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 session management method described in any one of the above is implemented.

[0025] The user terminal session management method, device, electronic device and computer-readable storage medium provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first network element receives the number of LBO PDU sessions reported by the VPLMN, and monitors the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions; when the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions exceeds the session threshold, the HPLMN and the VPLMN are prohibited from initiating new PDU sessions; the first network element can statistically monitor the number of PDU sessions in the VPLMN under the LBO scenario, thereby enhancing the control capability of the NSACF, and the network can better perform PDU session control under the LBO roaming scenario, thereby broadening the application scenarios.

[0026] 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

[0027] 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.

[0028] Figure 1 A flow chart of a user terminal session management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0029] Figure 2 A flow chart of another method for managing user terminal sessions in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0030] Figure 3 A flow chart of another method for managing user terminal sessions in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a method for enhancing user session management in a network slice in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0032] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a user terminal session management device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0033] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another user terminal session management device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0034] Figure 7 A structural block diagram of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] For ease of understanding, several terms involved in the present disclosure are explained below:

[0038] HPLMN (Home Public Land Mobile Network) is a network established and operated for the purpose of providing land mobile communication services to the public. This network must be interconnected with the public switched telephone network to form a communication network on a regional or national scale.

[0039] LBO (Local Break Out) allows both calls and data services to avoid local routing, for example, calls not destined for the home location or the home network are not routed to the home location, and data services can access the Internet in the visited network instead of the home location.

[0040] PDU (Protocol Data Unit) is a data unit transmitted between peer levels in a hierarchical network structure.

[0041] NSACF (Network Slice Admission Control Function) is used to monitor the number of registered user terminals and PDU sessions of network slices that support NSAC function.

[0042] VPLMN (Visited Public Land Mobile Network) is the PLMN visited by the user terminal and is stored in the SIM card. When the user terminal loses coverage, a VPLMN will be selected.

[0043] 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.

[0044] SUCI (SUbscription Permanent Identifier) ​​represents the true identity of the user terminal in 5G.

[0045] SUPI (SUbscription Permanent Identifier), the ciphertext encrypted by the public key is called SUCI. After SUCI is transmitted to the base station, the base station directly uploads it to the core network.

[0046] NF (Network Function) services can communicate directly between NF service consumers and NF service producers, or indirectly through service communication agents.

[0047] NEF (Network Exposure Function) is located between the 5G core network and external third-party application functions. It is responsible for managing the network data open to the outside world. All external applications that want to access the internal data of the 5G core network must go through NEF.

[0048] SEPP (Security Edge Protection Proxy) is an important part of the 5G roaming security architecture. It is used for user roaming and communication with other operators. It is responsible for message filtering and policy management on the control plane interface between operators. It mainly serves as a border gateway between the control planes of the operator's core network.

[0049] SCP (Service Communication Proxy) is a node that can be used for indirect communication between consumer NF and producer NF.

[0050] The present exemplary implementation is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0051] First, a user terminal session management method is provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the method can be executed by any electronic device with computing and processing capabilities.

[0052] Figure 1 A flow chart of a user terminal session management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown as follows: Figure 1As shown, the user terminal session management method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to the first network element, and includes the following steps:

[0053] S102: Receive the number of LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element.

[0054] In one embodiment, the first network element includes but is not limited to at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the HPLMN, or an SMF located in the HPLMN, etc.

[0055] In one embodiment, the second network element includes but is not limited to at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the VPLMN, or an SMF located in the VPLMN, etc.

[0056] LBO enables mobile network operators to break Internet sessions into visited networks to provide inbound roamers with the ability to subscribe to data provided directly by the visited network; LBO is part of the technology that allows mobile users, for example, to sign up to another roaming provider independent of their HPLMN. It enables inbound roamers to receive data services directly from the visited mobile network instead of tunneling back to the HPLMN, which provides lower latency experienced by roaming devices and has lower bandwidth requirements between the home network and the visited network; The number of LBO PDU sessions is the number of PDU sessions corresponding to the LBO roaming scenario.

[0057] In one embodiment, the second network element in one or more VPLMNs may count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN, and report the number to the first network element.

[0058] In one embodiment, the VPLMN-NSACF obtains identification information such as a subscription permanent identifier, a subscription hidden identifier, and / or a PLMN identifier, and determines the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN according to the identification information.

[0059] In one embodiment, the number of LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element accessing the public land mobile network slice admission control function is received based on an interactive method.

[0060] In one embodiment, the interaction method includes but is not limited to: the existing NF interaction method across PLMNs, the interaction method based on the network capability exposure function, etc.; the existing NF interaction method across PLMNs includes but is not limited to: the interaction method based on the service communication agent, the interaction method based on the security edge protection agent, etc.

[0061] S104: Determine whether the HPLMN and the VPLMN can initiate a new PDU session according to the number of LBO PDU sessions.

[0062] In one embodiment, the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions is monitored; when the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions exceeds a session threshold, the HPLMN and the VPLMN are prohibited from initiating new PDU sessions.

[0063] In one embodiment, the first network element may send a session rejection message to the SMF located in the HPLMN and the SMF located in the VPLMN to prohibit the HPLMN and the VPLMN from initiating new PDU sessions; for example, when the first network element is the NSACF located in the HPLMN, the session rejection message is sent to the SMF located in the HPLMN and the SMF located in the VPLMN; when the first network element is the SMF located in the HPLMN, the session rejection message is sent to the SMF located in the VPLMN.

[0064] In one embodiment, the HPLMN may collect the LBO PDU session numbers of each VPLMN and combine them with the HPLMN's own HPLMN PDU session number to form the total PDU session number, ie, the total PDU session number, and the first network element monitors the total PDU session number.

[0065] In one embodiment, a session threshold may be set according to user needs or historical data, and the session threshold may be set manually or automatically. When the total number of PDU sessions exceeds the session threshold, the HPLMN and the VPLMN are prohibited from initiating new PDU sessions to control the current number of sessions not to exceed the maximum number of sessions configured for the network.

[0066] 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 parameter LBO PDU session number is added. This parameter is used by the VPLMN to count the number of LBO PDU sessions from a certain HPLMN and can be reported to this HPLMN. The HPLMN can aggregate the number of LBO PDU sessions of each VPLMN, and combine it with the HPLMN's own PDU session number to form a total number of PDU sessions, and monitor the total number of PDU sessions. When the total number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN exceeds the limit, the HPLMN can reject the new HPLMN PDU session and notify the VPLMN to reject the newly initiated LBO PDU session of the HPLMN user terminal, thereby enhancing the control capability of the NSACF, and the network can better perform PDU session control in LBO roaming scenarios, thereby broadening the application scenarios.

[0067] Figure 2 A flow chart of another method for managing user terminal sessions in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown as follows: Figure 2As shown, the user terminal session management method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure is applied to the second network element, and includes the following steps:

[0068] S202: Acquire identification information corresponding to the HPLMN user terminal.

[0069] In one embodiment, the identification information includes, but is not limited to: a subscription permanent identifier, a subscription hidden identifier, and / or a PLMN identifier.

[0070] S204: Determine the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN according to the identification information.

[0071] In one embodiment, when creating an LBO PDU session, a mapping table is established between identification information, HPLMN user terminal identification, VPLMN identification, LBO PDU session identification, etc., and the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN is determined based on the mapping table according to the identification information.

[0072] S206: Report the number of LBO PDU sessions to the first network element.

[0073] In one embodiment, the second network element corresponding to one or more VPLMNs may count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN, and report the number to the first network element.

[0074] In one embodiment, the first network element includes but is not limited to at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the HPLMN, or an SMF located in the HPLMN, etc.

[0075] In one embodiment, the second network element includes but is not limited to at least one of the following network elements: NSACF located in the VPLMN, or SMF located in the VPLMN, etc. In one embodiment, the statistical time and the reporting time can be set according to user needs, and there is no restriction on this; for example, the second network element in one or more VPLMNs can count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN at a first time interval, and report to the first network element at a second time interval; when the second network element in one or more VPLMNs monitors that the HPLMN user terminal creates a new LBO PDU session in the VPLMN, it counts the LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN, and reports to the first network element at a third time interval; wherein, the first time interval, the second time interval, and the third time interval can be the same or different, and can be set according to historical data or user needs.

[0076] S208: When receiving the session rejection message sent by the first network element, the session rejection message is sent to the SMF located in the VPLMN.

[0077] In one embodiment, when the second network element is an SMF located in the VPLMN, it receives a session rejection message sent by the first network element; when the second network element is an NSACF located in the VPLMN, it receives a session rejection message sent by the first network element and sends the session rejection message to the SMF located in the VPLMN.

[0078] In the above embodiments, in response to the new requirements of 3GPP and GSMA for slice session management, combined with the current status of 3GPP HPLMN-NSACF not supporting session management in LBO scenarios, new monitoring parameters and monitoring methods are proposed, so that the network can have better control over the number of LBO PDU sessions, greatly enhance the control capability of the slice control network element NSACF, broaden the application scenarios, and meet the latest requirements of 3GPP and GSMA.

[0079] Figure 3 A flow chart of another method for managing user terminal sessions in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the user terminal session management method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure is introduced by taking the first network element as the NSACF located in the VPLMN and the second network element as the NSACF located in the HPLMN as an example, and includes the following steps:

[0080] S302: The NSACF located in each VPLMN may count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal (which may be determined by identifiers such as PLMNID, SUCI, and SUPI) in the VPLMN.

[0081] S304, the NSACF located in the VPLMN in each VPLMN reports the number of LBO PDU sessions to the NSACF located in the HPLMN.

[0082] In one embodiment, the NSACF located in the HPLMN and the NSACF located in the VPLMN can adopt the existing cross-PLMN NF interaction method (ie, through SEPP or SCP), or can be implemented by NEF providing service capability opening.

[0083] S306, the HPLMN may collect the LBO PDU session numbers of each VPLMN and combine them with the PDU session number of the HPLMN itself to form a total PDU session number, and the NSACF located in the HPLMN monitors the total PDU session number.

[0084] S308: When the total number of PDU sessions exceeds the limit, the NSACF located in the HPLMN prohibits initiating new PDU sessions in the HPLMN and the VPLMN.

[0085] In one embodiment, the NSACF located in the HPLMN notifies each NSACF located in the VPLMN to reject the HPLMN user terminal from initiating a new LBO PDU session in the VPLMN; the NSACF located in the HPLMN rejects the new PDU session.

[0086] In the above embodiment, it can be used in the LBO enhanced roaming scenario. Based on the user terminal access control mechanism in the network slice, an enhancement method is proposed, that is, a new slice access control parameter LBO PDU session number is added. This parameter is used by the VPLMN to count the number of LBO PDU sessions from a certain HPLMN and can be reported to this HPLMN, so that the network can have better control over the number of LBO PDU sessions to meet the slice service monitoring and management needs of more scenarios.

[0087] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a method for enhancing user session management in a network slice in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The embodiment of the present disclosure is introduced by taking one HPLMN and two VPLMNs, namely, the HPLMN, the first VPLMN, and the second VPLMN as an example. Figure 4 As shown:

[0088] The first VPLMN-located NSACF401 in the first VPLMN counts the number of first LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the first VPLMN according to the identification information; the second VPLMN-located NSACF402 in the second VPLMN counts the number of second LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the second VPLMN according to the identification information.

[0089] The user terminal may be a variety of electronic devices, including but not limited to smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wearable devices, augmented reality devices, virtual reality devices, etc.

[0090] 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.

[0091] In one embodiment, when one or more NSACFs located in a VPLMN monitor the number of new LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN, the NSACF located in the VPLMN may count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN according to the identification information and report it to the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN; for example, when the first NSACF 401 located in the VPLMN monitors the number of new LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the first VPLMN according to the identification information, the first NSACF 401 located in the VPLMN counts the number of first LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the first VPLMN, and reports the number of first LBO PDU sessions to the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN; the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN stores and updates the number of LBOs created by the HPLMN user terminal in each VPLMN. The number of PDU sessions, that is, the number of second LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the second VPLMN is obtained by the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN from the stored data and counted by the NSACF 402 located in the VPLMN.

[0092] In one embodiment, when one or more NSACFs located in the VPLMN monitor the number of new LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN, all NSACFs located in the VPLMN can count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the corresponding VPLMN based on the identification information and report it to the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN; when the first NSACF 401 located in the VPLMN monitors the number of new LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the first VPLMN based on the identification information, the first NSACF 401 located in the VPLMN and the second NSACF 402 located in the VPLMN count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the corresponding VPLMN and report it to the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN.

[0093] The first NSACF 401 located in the VPLMN in the first VPLMN reports the first LBO PDU session quantity to the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN; the second NSACF 402 located in the VPLMN in the second VPLMN reports the second LBO PDU session quantity to the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN.

[0094] In one embodiment, the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN and the NSACF located in the VPLMN can adopt the existing cross-PLMN NF interaction method (ie, through SEPP or SCP), or can be implemented by NEF providing service capability opening.

[0095] In one embodiment, the interaction methods that can be adopted between the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN and multiple NSACFs located in the VPLMN can be the same or different, and there is no limitation on this; for example, the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN and the first NSACF401 located in the VPLMN and the second NSACF402 located in the VPLMN can all adopt the existing cross-PLMN NF interaction method; the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN and the first NSACF401 located in the VPLMN can all adopt the existing cross-PLMN NF interaction method; the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN and the second NSACF402 located in the VPLMN are realized by opening the service capabilities provided by NEF, and there is no limitation on the comparison.

[0096] The NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN can collect the first LBO PDU session number of the first VPLMN and the second LBO PDU session number of the second VPLMN, and combine it with the PDU session number of the HPLMN itself to form the total PDU session number, and the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN monitors the total PDU session number.

[0097] In one embodiment, when the number of LBO PDU sessions corresponding to one or more VPLMNs and / or the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself are updated, the HPLMN may aggregate the number of LBO PDU sessions corresponding to one or more VPLMNs, and combine the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself to form a total number of PDU sessions, and the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN monitors the total number of PDU sessions; for example, when the number of a first LBO PDU session of a first VPLMN, the number of a second LBO PDU session of a second VPLMN, and / or the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself are updated, the HPLMN may aggregate the number of first LBO PDU sessions of the first VPLMN and the number of second LBO PDU sessions of the second VPLMN, and combine the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself to form a total number of PDU sessions, and the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN monitors the total number of PDU sessions.

[0098] In one embodiment, the HPLMN aggregates the number of LBO PDU sessions corresponding to one or more VPLMNs at fixed time intervals, and combines the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself to form a total number of PDU sessions, and the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN monitors the total number of PDU sessions; for example, the HPLMN aggregates the number of first LBO PDU sessions of the first VPLMN and the number of second LBO PDU sessions of the second VPLMN at fixed time intervals, and combines the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself to form a total number of PDU sessions, and the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN monitors the total number of PDU sessions.

[0099] When the total number of PDU sessions exceeds the limit, the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN prohibits initiation of new PDU sessions in the HPLMN and the VPLMN.

[0100] In one embodiment, the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN notifies multiple NSACFs located in the VPLMN to reject the HPLMN user terminal to initiate a new LBO PDU session in the VPLMN; the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN rejects the new PDU session; specifically: the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN notifies the SMF 406 located in the HPLMN corresponding to the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN to reject the new PDU session, the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN notifies multiple NSACFs located in the VPLMN to reject the HPLMN user terminal to initiate a new LBO PDU session in the VPLMN; multiple NSACFs located in the VPLMN notify the corresponding SMFs to reject the HPLMN user terminal to initiate a new LBO PDU session in the VPLMN; for example, the NSACF 403 located in the HPLMN notifies the first NSACF 401 located in the VPLMN to reject the HPLMN user terminal to initiate a new LBO in the first VPLMN PDU session; the first NSACF401 located in the VPLMN notifies the first SMF404 located in the VPLMN to reject the HPLMN user terminal to initiate a new LBO PDU session in the first VPLMN; the NSACF403 located in the HPLMN notifies the second NSACF402 located in the VPLMN to reject the HPLMN user terminal to initiate a new LBO PDU session in the second VPLMN; the second NSACF402 located in the VPLMN notifies the second SMF405 located in the VPLMN to reject the HPLMN user terminal to initiate a new LBO PDU session in the second VPLMN.

[0101] 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 5G 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.

[0102] In the above embodiment, it can be used in the LBO enhanced roaming scenario. Based on the user terminal access control mechanism in the network slice, an enhancement method is proposed, that is, a new slice access control parameter LBO PDU session number is added. This parameter is used by the VPLMN to count the number of LBO PDU sessions from a certain HPLMN and can be reported to this HPLMN, so that the network can have better control over the number of LBO PDU sessions, greatly enhancing the control capability of the slice control network element NSACF and broadening the application scenarios.

[0103] Based on the same inventive concept, the present disclosure also provides a user terminal session management 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.

[0104] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a user terminal session management device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 5 As shown, the user terminal session management device 5 includes: a session receiving module 501 and a session determining module 502 .

[0105] The session receiving module 501 receives the number of local break protocol data unit LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element.

[0106] In one embodiment, the receiving module 501 is configured to receive the number of LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element based on an interactive method.

[0107] The session determination module 502 determines whether the HPLMN and the VPLMN can initiate a new PDU session according to the number of LBO PDU sessions.

[0108] In one embodiment, the session determination module 502 includes a first monitoring module that monitors and collects the number of LBO PDU sessions of each VPLMN.

[0109] In one embodiment, the session determination module 502 includes a second monitoring module for monitoring and acquiring the number of HPLMN PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself.

[0110] In one embodiment, the session determination module 502 includes a third monitoring module, which obtains the total PDU session number according to the LBO PDU session number and the HPLMN session number.

[0111] In one embodiment, the session determination module 502 includes a fourth monitoring module. When the number of LBO PDU sessions corresponding to one or more VPLMNs and / or the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself are updated, the HPLMN can aggregate the number of LBO PDU sessions corresponding to one or more VPLMNs and combine them with the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself to form a total number of PDU sessions.

[0112] In one embodiment, the session determination module 502 includes a fifth monitoring module, which aggregates the number of LBO PDU sessions corresponding to one or more VPLMNs at fixed time intervals, and combines the number of PDU sessions of the HPLMN itself to form a total number of PDU sessions, and the first network element monitors the total number of PDU sessions.

[0113] The session module 503 prohibits the HPLMN and the VPLMN from initiating new PDU sessions when the total number of PDU sessions exceeds the session threshold.

[0114] In one embodiment, the session determination module 502 includes a first session module, and the first network element notifies the SMF located in the HPLMN to reject the new PDU session.

[0115] In one embodiment, the session determination module 502 includes a second session module, and the first network element notifies a plurality of NSACFs located in the VPLMN to reject the HPLMN user terminal from initiating a new LBO PDU session in the VPLMN.

[0116] In one embodiment, the session determination module 502 includes a third session module, and a plurality of NSACFs located in the VPLMN notify the corresponding SMF to reject the HPLMN user terminal from initiating a new LBO PDU session in the VPLMN.

[0117] In the above embodiment, based on the user terminal access control mechanism in the network slice, an enhancement method is proposed, that is, a new slice access control parameter LBO PDU session number is added. This parameter is used by the VPLMN to count the number of LBO PDU sessions from a certain HPLMN, thereby enhancing the control capability of the NSACF. The network can better perform PDU session control in LBO roaming scenarios, thereby broadening the application scenarios.

[0118] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another user terminal session management device in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 6 As shown, the user terminal session management device 6 includes: a quantity determination module 601, a quantity reporting module 602, and a rejection module.

[0119] The quantity determination module 601 obtains identification information corresponding to the HPLMN user terminal.

[0120] A quantity reporting module 602 reports the number of LBO PDU sessions to the first network element;

[0121] In one embodiment, the quantity reporting module 602 includes a first determining module, which establishes a mapping table between identification information, HPLMN user terminal identification, VPLMN identification, LBO PDU session identification, etc. when creating an LBO PDU session, according to the identification information.

[0122] In one embodiment, the quantity reporting module 602 includes a second determining module, which determines the quantity of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN based on the mapping table.

[0123] The quantity reporting module 602 reports the number of LBO PDU sessions to the first network element.

[0124] In one embodiment, the quantity reporting module 602 includes a first reporting module. When one or more NSACFs located in the VPLMN monitor the number of new LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN, only the NSACF located in the VPLMN can count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN according to the identification information and report it to the first network element.

[0125] In one embodiment, the quantity reporting module 602 includes a second reporting module. When one or more NSACFs located in the VPLMN monitor the number of new LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the VPLMN, all NSACFs located in the VPLMN can count the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in the corresponding VPLMN based on the identification information and report it to the first network element.

[0126] In one embodiment, the quantity reporting module 602 includes a third reporting module for storing and updating the quantity of LBO PDU sessions created by the HPLMN user terminal in each VPLMN.

[0127] The rejecting module 603, when receiving the session rejecting message sent by the first network element, sends the session rejecting message to the session management function corresponding to the VPLMN.

[0128] In one embodiment, the rejection module 603 includes a first rejection module that sends a session rejection message to the SMF located at HPLMN-;

[0129] In one embodiment, the rejection module 603 includes a second rejection module that sends a session rejection message to each NSACF located in the VPLMN and the SMF located in the VPLMN.

[0130] In the above embodiments, in response to the new requirements of 3GPP and GSMA for slice session management, combined with the current status of 3GPP HPLMN-NSACF not supporting session management in LBO scenarios, new monitoring parameters and monitoring methods are proposed, so that the network can have better control over the number of LBO PDU sessions, greatly enhance the control capability of the slice control network element NSACF, broaden the application scenarios, and meet the latest requirements of 3GPP and GSMA.

[0131] 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".

[0132] 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.

[0133] 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).

[0134] 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.

[0135] For example, the processing unit 710 can execute the following steps of the above method embodiment: the first network element receives the number of LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element, and monitors the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions; when the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions exceeds the session threshold, prohibiting the HPLMN and the VPLMN from initiating new PDU sessions.

[0136] For example, the processing unit 710 can execute the following steps of the above-mentioned method embodiment: determine the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN according to the identification information; report the number of LBO PDU sessions to the first network element; when receiving a session rejection message sent by the first network element, send the session rejection message to the session management function corresponding to the VPKMN.

[0137] 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 .

[0138] 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.

[0139] 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.

[0140] The electronic device 700 may also communicate with one or more external devices 740 (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, Bluetooth devices, etc.), one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 700, and / or 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 through an input / output (I / O) interface 750. Furthermore, the electronic device 700 may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and / or a public network, such as the Internet) through a network adapter 760.

[0141] As shown, the network adapter 760 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 700 via the bus 730. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules can 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.

[0142] 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.

[0143] 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.

[0144] For example, when the program product in the embodiment of the present disclosure is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented: the first network element receives the number of LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element, and monitors the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions; when the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions exceeds the session threshold, prohibiting the HPLMN and the VPLMN from initiating new PDU sessions.

[0145] For example, when the program product in the embodiment of the present disclosure is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented: determining the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN based on the identification information; reporting the number of LBO PDU sessions to the first network element; and when receiving a session rejection message sent by the first network element, sending the session rejection message to the session management function corresponding to the VPLMN.

[0146] 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.

[0147] 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.

[0148] 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.

[0149] In specific implementations, program codes 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 codes may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user computing 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.

[0150] Where a remote computing device is involved, 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., through the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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.

[0153] 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.

[0154] 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 session management method, characterized in that: The first network element includes: Receive the number of local break protocol data unit LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element; According to the LBO PDU session quantity, it is determined whether the home public land mobile network HPLMN and the visited public land mobile network VPLMN can initiate a new PDU session.

2. The user terminal session management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The determining, according to the number of LBO PDU sessions, whether a home public land mobile network HPLMN and a visited public land mobile network VPLMN can initiate a new PDU session comprises: Monitoring the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions; When the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions exceeds a session threshold, the HPLMN is prohibited from initiating a new PDU session with the VPLMN.

3. The user terminal session management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first network element includes at least one of the following network elements: a slice admission control function NSACF located in the HPLMN, or a session management function SMF located in the HPLMN.

4. The user terminal session management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second network element includes at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the VPLMN, or an SMF located in the VPLMN.

5. The user terminal session management method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The receiving of the number of local interrupt protocol data unit LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element includes: The number of LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element is received based on the interactive method.

6. The user terminal session management method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The interaction method comprises: An interaction method based on a service communication agent, an interaction method based on a security edge protection agent, and / or an interaction method based on a network capability exposure function.

7. The user terminal session management method according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the sum of the number of LBO PDU sessions and the number of HPLMN sessions exceeds the session threshold, prohibiting the HPLMN from initiating a new PDU session with the VPLMN includes: Send a session rejection message to the SMF located in the HPLMN and the SMF located in the VPLMN.

8. A user terminal session management method, characterized in that: Applied to the second network element, including: Determine the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN according to the identification information; Report the LBO PDU session quantity to the first network element.

9. The user terminal session management method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The first network element includes at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the HPLMN, or an SMF located in the HPLMN; The second network element includes at least one of the following network elements: an NSACF located in the VPLMN, or an SMF located in the VPLMN.

10. The user terminal session management method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The identification information includes: a subscription permanent identifier, a subscription hidden identifier, and / or a PLMN identifier.

11. The user terminal session management method according to claim 8, characterized in that: Also includes: When the session rejection message sent by the first network element is received, the session rejection message is sent to the SMF located in the VPLMN.

12. A user terminal session management device, characterized in that: include: A session receiving module, receiving the number of local interrupt protocol data unit LBO PDU sessions reported by the second network element; The session determination module determines whether the home public land mobile network HPLMN and the visited public land mobile network VPLMN can initiate a new PDU session according to the LBO PDU session quantity.

13. A user terminal session management device, characterized in that: include: A quantity determination module, determining the number of LBO PDU sessions created by the user terminal corresponding to the HPLMN in the VPLMN according to the identification information; The quantity reporting module reports the LBO PDU session quantity to the first network element.

14. 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 session management method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 by executing the executable instructions.

15. 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 session management method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 is implemented.

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