Method and device for network element discovery and calling, storage medium and electronic equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a network element discovery and calling method and device, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a registration request carrying an expansion capability parameter sent by an NSACF, and registering the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the expansion capability parameter; receiving an NSACF discovery request carrying a slice access demand parameter sent by a consumer network element NF of the slice access service; and returning an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF according to the slice access demand parameter of the consumer NF and the expansion capability parameter of the registered NSACF, so that the consumer NF performs NSACF calling based on the NSACF discovery response. According to the method, enhancement of discovery and selection of the NSACF can be realized, so that the NSACF can better control the number of final interoperation terminals and the number of LBO sessions, the control capability of the NSACF can be greatly enhanced, and the application scene of the NSACF is widened.

Description

Background Art

[0002] After introducing the slice management network element NSACF (network slice admission control function), 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) also defined the services of NSACF, as well as the discovery and calling methods of NSACF in general.

[0003] In the related technology, on the one hand, in the 4G / 5G interoperability scenario, some 4G terminals use slices after roaming to 5G. These terminals initiate PDU sessions in 5GS and have at least one PDU (Protocol Data Unit) connection line (such as default connection) in EPS, and the existing NSACF cannot count the number of these terminals and monitor them; on the other hand, in the LBO (local breakout) enhanced roaming scenario, in the PDUsession statistics method of the existing NSACF, the NSACF of HPLMN (home PLMN) cannot count the number of PDU sessions in VPLMN (visited PLMN) under the LBO scenario. It can be seen that the related technology 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 purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a method, device, electronic device and storage medium for network element discovery and calling, which can enhance the discovery and selection of NSACF, so that NSACF can have better control over the number of final interoperable terminals and the number of LBO sessions, thereby greatly enhancing the control capability of NSACF and broadening the application scenarios of NSACF.

[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 method for network element discovery and invocation is provided, and the method for network element discovery and invocation is applied to a network repository network element NRF, including: receiving a registration request carrying extended capability parameters sent by NSACF, and registering NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameters; receiving an NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters sent by a consumer network network element NF of a slice access service; returning an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, so that the consumer NF makes an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the extended capability parameters include: the maximum number of terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and one public data network PDN connection, and the local offload LBO PDU session count; the slice access requirement parameters include: the maximum number of terminals range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and / or the LBO PDU session count range.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, an NSACF discovery response is returned to the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, including: selecting a target NSACF for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF; and returning an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF based on the target NSACF.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the slice access requirement parameter is a maximum terminal number range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, a target NSACF is selected for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameter of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameter of the registered NSACF, including: determining a first filtering condition based on the maximum terminal number range and the maximum terminal number; and determining the registered NSACF that meets the first filtering condition as the target NSACF.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the slice access requirement parameter is an LBO PDU session count range, a target NSACF is selected for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameter of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameter of the registered NSACF, including: determining a second filtering condition based on the LBO PDU session count range and the LBO PDU session count; and determining the registered NSACF that meets the second filtering condition as the target NSACF.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the slice access requirement parameters include a maximum terminal number range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and include an LBO PDU session count range, a target NSACF is selected for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, including: determining a third filtering condition based on the maximum terminal number range and the maximum terminal number; determining a fourth filtering condition based on the LBO PDU session count range and the LBO PDU session count; and determining the registered NSACF that meets the third filtering condition and the fourth filtering condition as the target NSACF.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a target NSACF is selected for a consumer NF according to slice access requirement parameters of a consumer NF and extended capability parameters of a registered NSACF, including: obtaining original capability parameters of a registered NSACF; the original capability parameters include: single network slice selection auxiliary information, NSACF service scope information, maximum number of registered terminals, maximum number of PDU sessions; and selecting a target NSACF for a consumer NF according to slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF, extended capability parameters of a registered NSACF, and original capability parameters of a registered NSACF.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for network element discovery and calling is also provided. The method for network element discovery and calling is applied to the network slice access control network element NSACF, including: sending a registration request carrying extended capability parameters to the network repository network element NRF, so that the NRF registers the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameters.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the extended capability parameters include: a maximum number of terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and one public data network PDN connection, and a local offload LBO PDU session count.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for network element discovery and invocation is also provided. The method for network element discovery and invocation is applied to a consumer network network element NF of a slice access service, including: sending a network slice access control network element NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters to a network repository network element NRF; receiving an NSACF discovery response returned by the NRF; wherein the NSACF discovery response is generated by the NRF based on the slice access requirement parameters and extended capability parameters of a registered NSACF; and performing an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the slice access requirement parameters include: a maximum terminal number range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and / or an LBO PDU session count range.

[0018] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network storage repository network element NRF is provided, characterized in that it includes: a registration processing module, used to receive a registration request carrying extended capability parameters sent by a network slice access control network element NSACF, and register the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameters; a discovery request receiving module, used to receive an NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters sent by a consumer network network element NF of a slice access service; a discovery response module, used to return an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, so that the consumer NF makes an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network slice access control network element NSACF is provided, characterized in that it includes: a registration initiation module, used to send a registration request carrying extended capability parameters to a network repository network element NRF, so that the NRF registers the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameters.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a consumer network network element NF is provided, characterized in that the consumer NF corresponds to a slice access service, and includes: a discovery request initiating module, used to send a network slice access control network element NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters to the network repository network element NRF; a discovery response receiving module, used to receive the NSACF discovery response returned by the NRF; wherein the NSACF discovery response is generated by the NRF according to the slice access requirement parameters and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF; and a calling module, used to make an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

[0021] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method for discovering and calling a network element is implemented.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute the above-mentioned method for network element discovery and calling by executing the executable instructions.

[0023] In the method for network element discovery and invocation provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, NRF can register NSACF based on the extended capability parameters carried by NSACF when registering, and can receive NSACF discovery requests carrying slice access requirement parameters sent by the consumer NF of the slice access service, and then select a suitable NSACF for the consumer NF based on the extended capability parameters and the slice access requirement parameters and inform the consumer NF through the NSACF discovery response, so that the consumer NF can call the appropriate NSACF. It can be seen that the present disclosure can enhance the discovery and selection of NSACF by carrying the extended capability parameters when registering NSACF and carrying the slice access requirement parameters when requesting by the consumer NF, so that NSACF can have better control over the number of final interoperable terminals and the number of LBO sessions, thereby greatly enhancing the control capability of NSACF and broadening the application scenarios of NSACF.

[0024] 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

[0025] 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.

[0026] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0027] Figure 2 A flowchart of returning an NSACF discovery response in a method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0028] Figure 3 A flowchart of another method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0029] Figure 4 A flowchart of another method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0030] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing another method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0031] Figure 6 A block diagram of a network storage repository element NRF 600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0032] Figure 7 A block diagram of a network slice access control network element NSACF 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0033] Figure 8 A block diagram showing a consumer network element NF 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0034] Fig. 9 A structural block diagram of a computer device for network element discovery and invocation 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] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

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

[0039] NRF (Network Repository Function) provides network service storage and service discovery functions to enable communication between various network elements.

[0040] 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.

[0041] NF (Network Function) is a network element entity with network functions, such as AMF, PCF, etc.

[0042] AMF (Access and Mobility Management function): NF used for user access management and mobility management.

[0043] PCF (Policy Control Function): NF used to implement user control policy management, including QOS control, service access control, etc.

[0044] PDU (Protocol Data Unit) refers to the data unit transmitted between peer levels.

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

[0048] Figure 1 A flow chart of a method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the method for network element discovery and invocation provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to a network repository network element NRF and may include the following steps.

[0049] Step S101: receiving a registration request carrying extended capability parameters sent by NSACF, and registering with NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameters.

[0050] In some embodiments, the extended capability parameters include: a maximum number of terminals having at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session and one public data network (PDN) connection, and a local offload (LBO) PDU session count.

[0051] Specifically, during the process of registering with NRF, NSACF can carry registration parameters that can indicate capability values ​​in the registration request. The registration parameters that can indicate capability values ​​are the above-mentioned extended capability parameters, which can specifically be: "Maximum number of UEs with at least one PDU session and PDN connection" parameters, and "LBO PDU Sessions Counting Required" parameters.

[0052] Through this extended capability parameter, the maximum number of terminals with PDU and PDN that the NSACF can support can be clearly informed to the NRF, and the number of PDU sessions in the VPLMN (visited PLMN) in the LBO (local breakout) scenario counted by the NSACF can be clearly informed to the NRF, so that the NRF can screen out suitable NSACFs for other NFs based on this specific information, thereby achieving enhancements in the discovery and selection of NSACFs in NSACF registration.

[0053] In some practical applications, in the process of registering with NRF, NSACF can carry not only the above-mentioned extended capability parameters but also the original capability parameters (such as the maximum number of registered terminals, the maximum number of PDU sessions, etc.), that is, it can send all its capability parameters to NRF through the registration request, so that NRF can screen NASCF based on more comprehensive capability information in the subsequent process.

[0054] Step S103, receiving the NSACF discovery request carrying the slice access requirement parameters sent by the consumer network element NF of the slice access service.

[0055] The consumer NF of the slice access service can be regarded as the service demander of NSACF, such as AMF, PCF, etc.

[0056] In some embodiments, the slice access requirement parameters include: a maximum terminal number range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and / or an LBO PDU session count range.

[0057] When discovering and calling NSACF through NRF, request parameters that can indicate its requirements can also be carried in the NSACF discovery request. The request parameters that can indicate its requirements are the above-mentioned slice access requirement parameters, which can specifically be: "Maximum terminal parameters of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection" value range and "LBO PDU session count" value range, so that NRF selects the appropriate NSACF according to the request parameters carried by the demand network element (i.e., consumer NF), thereby enhancing the discovery and selection of NSACF in terms of consumer NF requests, thereby meeting the slice monitoring and management requirements of new scenarios.

[0058] Step S105, according to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, returns the NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF, so that the consumer NF makes an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

[0059] NRF can filter from the registered NSACFs based on the capability information provided by NSACF and the demand information provided by consumer NF, and then generate an NSACF discovery response based on the screening results to return to the consumer NF, so that the consumer NF can make an NSACF call.

[0060] Through the method for network element discovery and invocation provided by the present disclosure, NRF can register NSACF based on the extended capability parameters carried by NSACF when registering, and can receive NSACF discovery requests carrying slice access requirement parameters sent by consumer NF of slice access service, and then select a suitable NSACF for consumer NF based on the extended capability parameters and slice access requirement parameters and inform the consumer NF through the NSACF discovery response, so that the consumer NF can call the appropriate NSACF. It can be seen that the present disclosure can enhance the discovery and selection of NSACF by carrying extended capability parameters when NSACF registers and carrying slice access requirement parameters when consumer NF requests, so that NSACF can have better control over the number of final interoperable terminals and the number of LBO sessions, thereby greatly enhancing the control capability of NSACF and broadening the application scenarios of NSACF.

[0061] Figure 2 A flowchart of returning an NSACF discovery response in a method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2 As shown, in some embodiments, "returning an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF" in step S105 may include the following steps.

[0062] Step S201, select a target NSACF for the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF. The NRF may select the NSACF according to the parameters carried by the consumer NF and the parameters carried by the NSACF.

[0063] Step S203: Return an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF according to the target NSACF.

[0064] In some embodiments, when the slice access requirement parameter is a maximum terminal number range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, step S201 may include: determining a first filtering condition based on the maximum terminal number range and the maximum terminal number; determining a registered NSACF that meets the first filtering condition as a target NSACF.

[0065] Among them, the slice access requirement parameters may only include the maximum terminal number range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection. In this case, only the conditions related to the number of terminals (i.e., the first filtering conditions) can be determined for determining the target NSACF.

[0066] In some embodiments, when the slice access requirement parameter is the LBO PDU session count range, a target NSACF is selected for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameter of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameter of the registered NSACF. Step S201 may include: determining a second filtering condition based on the LBO PDU session count range and the LBO PDU session count; and determining the registered NSACF that meets the second filtering condition as the target NSACF.

[0067] Among them, the slice access requirement parameters may only include the LBO PDU session count range. In this case, only the conditions related to the number of LBO PDU sessions (ie, the second screening conditions) may be determined for determining the target NSACF.

[0068] In some embodiments, when the slice access requirement parameters include a maximum terminal number range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and include an LBO PDU session count range, a target NSACF is selected for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF. Step S201 may include: determining a third filtering condition based on the maximum terminal number range and the maximum terminal number; determining a fourth filtering condition based on the LBO PDU session count range and the LBO PDU session count; and determining the registered NSACF that meets the third filtering condition and the fourth filtering condition as the target NSACF.

[0069] Among them, the slice access requirement parameters can include the maximum terminal number range and LBO PDU session count range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection. In this case, the conditions related to the number of terminals (i.e., the third filtering condition) and the conditions related to the number of LBO PDU sessions (i.e., the fourth filtering condition) can be determined at the same time, and the target NSACF is determined by the two conditions.

[0070] In some embodiments, step S201 may also include: obtaining original capability parameters of a registered NSACF; the original capability parameters include: single network slice selection auxiliary information, NSACF service scope information, maximum number of registered terminals, maximum number of PDU sessions; selecting a target NSACF for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF, the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, and the original capability parameters of the registered NSACF.

[0071] In this embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned extended capability parameters (i.e., the maximum number of terminals with at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and the LBO PDU session count) carried by the NSACF that the NRF considers when determining the target NSACF, the original capability parameters of the NSACF may also be used as selection factors. The original capability parameters may be, for example, S-NSSAI (single network slice selection auxiliary information), NSACF Serving Area information (NSACF service range information), the maximum number of registered UEs, the maximum number of PDU sessions, and other information.

[0072] Figure 3 FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of another method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 As shown, the method for network element discovery and calling provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to the network slice access control network element NSACF and may include the following steps.

[0073] Step S301: Send a registration request carrying extended capability parameters to a network storage repository network element NRF, so that the NRF registers the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameters.

[0074] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the extended capability parameters include: a maximum number of terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and one public data network PDN connection, and a local offload LBO PDU session count.

[0075] Figure 3 The other contents of the embodiment can refer to the other embodiments mentioned above and will not be described in detail here.

[0076] Through the method for network element discovery and invocation provided by the present disclosure, NSACF can carry its extended capability parameters through the registration request when registering with NRF, thereby providing a data matching basis for the consumer NF of the slice access service when discovering and invoking NSACF, so that the consumer NF can discover and call the appropriate NSACF. It can be seen that this method can achieve enhancements for the discovery and selection of NSACF, so that NSACF can have better control over the number of final interoperable terminals and the number of LBO sessions, thereby greatly enhancing the control capability of NSACF and broadening the application scenarios of NSACF.

[0077] Figure 4 FIG. 2 shows another flow chart of a method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 As shown, the method for network element discovery and calling provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to the consumer network element NF of the slice access service, and may include the following steps.

[0078] Step S401, sending a network slice access control network element NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters to the network repository network element NRF.

[0079] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the slice access requirement parameters include: a maximum terminal number range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and / or an LBO PDU session count range.

[0080] Step S403, receive the NSACF discovery response returned by NRF; wherein, the NSACF discovery response is generated by NRF based on the slice access requirement parameters and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF.

[0081] Step S405: Perform NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

[0082] Figure 4 The other contents of the embodiment can refer to the other embodiments mentioned above and will not be described in detail here.

[0083] Through the method for network element discovery and invocation provided by the present disclosure, the consumer NF of the slice access service can carry its demand for slice access (i.e., slice access demand parameter) when sending an NSACF discovery request to the NRF, so that the NRF can take its demand into consideration when selecting the NSACF for the consumer NF, thereby determining a more suitable NSACF for the consumer NF. It can be seen that this method can enhance the discovery and selection of NSACF, so that the NSACF can have better control over the number of final interoperable terminals and the number of LBO sessions, thereby greatly enhancing the control capability of the NSACF and broadening the application scenarios of the NSACF.

[0084] Figure 5 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing another method for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 As shown, the method for network element discovery and invocation provided by the present disclosure may include the following steps.

[0085] Step 1, NSACF network element / service, in addition to the NSACF Information carried in the existing registration process, must also carry new NSACF service capabilities (maximum number of terminals for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, LBOPDU session count);

[0086] Step 2: In addition to the existing query conditions, the consumer NF (e.g. AMF) of the slice access service may add the maximum number of terminals carrying at least one PDU session and one PDN connection and the value range of the LBO PDU session count as NSACF selection conditions;

[0087] Step 3: NRF selects NSACF based on the screening parameters carried by the service consumer NF. In addition to considering information such as S-NSSAI, NSACF Serving Area information, and NSACF service capabilities (maximum number of registered UEs, maximum number of PDU sessions), it also needs to consider the newly added NSACF service capabilities (maximum number of terminals with at least one new PDU session and one PDN connection, and LBO PDU session count).

[0088] Step 4, service invocation, the service consumer NF invokes the selected NSACF service.

[0089] Figure 5 The other contents of the embodiment can refer to the other embodiments mentioned above and will not be described in detail here.

[0090] In some practical applications, the two NSACF selection parameters (i.e., extended capability parameters) added by the method for network element discovery and invocation provided by the present disclosure, namely, "the maximum number of terminals with at least one PDU session and one PDN connection" and "LBO PDU session count", have a certain degree of repetitiveness in the "maximum number of terminals with at least one PDU session and one PDN connection" and the original "maximum number of PDU sessions" parameter (i.e., an original capability parameter). Therefore, NRF can also comprehensively consider the selection of NSACF based on the actual needs of the operator for these two capabilities and the compatibility with existing NSACF equipment. In different actual situations, can NRF select NSACF in different ways? The following examples illustrate this.

[0091] Application scenario 1: If the consumer NF supports the original capability parameter "maximum number of PDU sessions" and also supports the extended capability parameter "maximum number of terminals for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection", the NRF can filter NSACFs completely according to the needs of the consumer NF. For example, based on the two parameters supported by the consumer NF, the filtering conditions can be determined as "maximum number of PDU sessions <100" and "maximum number of terminals for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection <80".

[0092] Application scenario 2: If the consumer NF supports the original capability parameter "maximum number of PDU sessions" and does not support the extended capability parameter "maximum number of terminals for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection", the NRF can filter the NSACF only based on the "maximum number of PDU sessions". For example, based on the above parameters supported by the consumer NF, the filtering condition can be determined as "maximum number of PDU sessions < 100".

[0093] Application scenario 3: If the consumer NF does not support the original capability parameter "maximum number of PDU sessions" and supports the extended capability parameter "maximum number of terminals for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection", the NRF can filter the NSACF only based on "maximum number of terminals for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection". For example, based on the above parameters supported by the consumer NF, the filtering condition can be determined as "maximum number of terminals for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection < 80".

[0094] It should be noted that the above figures are only schematic illustrations of the processes included in the method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting. It is easy to understand that the processes shown in the above figures do not indicate or limit the time sequence of these processes. In addition, it is also easy to understand that these processes can be performed synchronously or asynchronously, for example, in multiple modules.

[0095] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a network storage element NRF 600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 6 As shown, including:

[0096] The registration processing module 601 is used to receive a registration request carrying extended capability parameters sent by the network slice access control network element NSACF, and register the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameters; the discovery request receiving module 602 is used to receive an NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters sent by the consumer network network element NF of the slice access service; the discovery response module 603 is used to return an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, so that the consumer NF makes an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

[0097] In some embodiments, the extended capability parameters include: the maximum number of terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and one public data network PDN connection, and the local offload LBO PDU session count; the slice access requirement parameters include: the maximum number of terminals range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and / or the LBO PDU session count range.

[0098] In some embodiments, the discovery response module 603 returns an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, including: selecting a target NSACF for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF; and returning an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF based on the target NSACF.

[0099] In some embodiments, when the slice access requirement parameter is a maximum terminal number range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, the discovery response module 603 selects a target NSACF for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameter of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameter of the registered NSACF, including: determining a first filtering condition based on the maximum terminal number range and the maximum terminal number; determining the registered NSACF that meets the first filtering condition as the target NSACF.

[0100] In some embodiments, when the slice access requirement parameter is the LBO PDU session count range, the discovery response module 603 selects a target NSACF for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameter of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameter of the registered NSACF, including: determining a second filtering condition based on the LBO PDU session count range and the LBO PDU session count; and determining the registered NSACF that meets the second filtering condition as the target NSACF.

[0101] In some embodiments, when the slice access requirement parameters include a maximum terminal number range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and include an LBO PDU session count range, the discovery response module 603 selects a target NSACF for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, including: determining a third filtering condition based on the maximum terminal number range and the maximum terminal number; determining a fourth filtering condition based on the LBO PDU session count range and the LBO PDU session count; and determining the registered NSACF that meets the third filtering condition and the fourth filtering condition as the target NSACF.

[0102] In some embodiments, the discovery response module 603 selects a target NSACF for the consumer NF based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, including: obtaining the original capability parameters of the registered NSACF; the original capability parameters include: single network slice selection auxiliary information, NSACF service scope information, maximum number of registered terminals, maximum number of PDU sessions; based on the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF, the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, and the original capability parameters of the registered NSACF, the target NSACF is selected for the consumer NF.

[0103] Through the NRF provided by the present disclosure, the NSACF can be registered based on the extended capability parameters carried when the NSACF is registered, and the NSACF discovery request carrying the slice access requirement parameters sent by the consumer NF of the slice access service can be received. Then, according to the extended capability parameters and the slice access requirement parameters, a suitable NSACF can be selected for the consumer NF and the consumer NF can be informed through the NSACF discovery response, so that the consumer NF can call the appropriate NSACF. It can be seen that the present disclosure can enhance the discovery and selection of NSACF by carrying the extended capability parameters when the NSACF is registered and the slice access requirement parameters when the consumer NF requests, so that the NSACF can have better control over the number of final interoperable terminals and the number of LBO sessions, thereby greatly enhancing the control capability of the NSACF and broadening the application scenarios of the NSACF.

[0104] Figure 6 The other contents of the embodiment can refer to the other embodiments mentioned above and will not be described in detail here.

[0105] Figure 7 FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a network slice access control network element NSACF 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 7 As shown, including:

[0106] The registration initiating module 701 is used to send a registration request carrying an extended capability parameter to a network storage repository network element NRF, so that the NRF registers the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameter.

[0107] In some embodiments, the extended capability parameters include: a maximum number of terminals having at least one protocol data unit (PDU) session and one public data network (PDN) connection, and a local offload (LBO) PDU session count.

[0108] The NSACF provided by the present disclosure can carry its extended capability parameters through the registration request when registering with the NRF, thereby providing a data matching basis for the consumer NF of the slice access service when discovering and calling the NSACF, so that the consumer NF can discover and call the appropriate NSACF. It can be seen that this method can achieve enhancements in the discovery and selection of NSACF, so that the NSACF can have better control over the number of final interoperable terminals and the number of LBO sessions, thereby greatly enhancing the control capability of the NSACF and broadening the application scenarios of the NSACF.

[0109] Figure 7 The other contents of the embodiment can refer to the other embodiments mentioned above and will not be described in detail here.

[0110] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a consumer network element NF 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Figure 8 As shown, the consumer NF 800 corresponds to the slice access service, including:

[0111] The discovery request initiating module 801 is used to send a network slice access control network element NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters to the network repository network element NRF; the discovery response receiving module 802 is used to receive the NSACF discovery response returned by the NRF; wherein the NSACF discovery response is generated by the NRF according to the slice access requirement parameters and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF; the calling module 803 is used to make an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

[0112] In some embodiments, the slice access requirement parameters include: a maximum terminal number range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and / or an LBO PDU session count range.

[0113] The consumer NF of the slice access service for network element discovery and invocation provided by the present disclosure can carry its demand for slice access (i.e., slice access demand parameter) when sending an NSACF discovery request to the NRF, so that the NRF can take its demand into consideration when selecting the NSACF for the consumer NF, thereby determining a more suitable NSACF for the consumer NF. It can be seen that this method can achieve enhancements in the discovery and selection of NSACF, so that the NSACF can have better control over the number of final interoperable terminals and the number of LBO sessions, thereby greatly enhancing the control capability of the NSACF and broadening the application scenarios of the NSACF.

[0114] Figure 8 The other contents of the embodiment can refer to the other embodiments mentioned above and will not be described in detail here.

[0115] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various aspects of the present invention may be implemented as a system, method or program product. Therefore, various aspects of the present invention may be specifically implemented in the following forms, namely: a complete hardware implementation, a complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software, which may be collectively referred to herein as a "circuit", "module" or "system".

[0116] Fig. 9 The structural block diagram of a computer device for network element discovery and invocation in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. It should be noted that the electronic device shown in the figure is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the function and scope of use of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0117] Refer to the following Fig. 9 An electronic device 900 according to this embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 9 The electronic device 900 shown is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0118] like Fig. 9 As shown, the electronic device 900 is in the form of a general computing device. The components of the electronic device 900 may include but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 910, at least one storage unit 920, and a bus 930 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 920 and the processing unit 910).

[0119] The storage unit stores program codes, which can be executed by the processing unit 910, so that the processing unit 910 performs the steps according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described in the above “Exemplary Method” section of this specification. For example, the processing unit 910 can perform the following steps: Figure 2 The method shown in .

[0120] The storage unit 920 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access storage unit (RAM) 9201 and / or a cache storage unit 9202 , and may further include a read-only storage unit (ROM) 9203 .

[0121] The storage unit 920 may also include a program / utility 9204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 9205, such program modules 9205 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.

[0122] Bus 930 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.

[0123] The electronic device 900 may also communicate with one or more external devices 1000 (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 900, and / or communicate with any device that enables the electronic device 900 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 950. Furthermore, the electronic device 900 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 960. As shown, the network adapter 960 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 900 via a bus 930. 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 900, 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.

[0124] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a program product capable of implementing the above method of the present specification is stored. In some possible implementations, various aspects of the present invention can 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 enable the terminal device to execute the steps according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described in the above "Exemplary Method" section of the present specification.

[0125] The program product for implementing the above method according to the embodiment of the present invention may adopt a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and may be run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited thereto, and in this document, a readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, which may be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0126] The program product may use any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination of the above. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an 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 above.

[0127] Computer readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, in which 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. Readable signal media 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.

[0128] The program code embodied on the readable 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.

[0129] Program code for performing the operations of the present invention 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 cases involving 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., through the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0130] 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.

[0131] 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.

[0132] 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.

[0133] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any modification, use or adaptation of the present disclosure, which follows the general principles of the present disclosure and includes common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification 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 method for network element discovery and invocation, characterized in that: Applied to the network repository element NRF, including: Receive a registration request carrying an extended capability parameter sent by a network slice access control network element NSACF, and register the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameter; Receiving an NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters sent by a consumer network element NF of the slice access service; According to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, an NSACF discovery response is returned to the consumer NF so that the consumer NF makes an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The extended capability parameters include: a maximum number of terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and one public data network PDN connection, and a local offload LBO PDU session count; The slice access requirement parameters include: a maximum terminal number range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and / or an LBO PDU session count range.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that According to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, an NSACF discovery response is returned to the consumer NF, including: Select a target NSACF for the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF; The target NSACF returns an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that In a case where the slice access requirement parameter is a maximum terminal number range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, selecting a target NSACF for the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameter of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameter of the registered NSACF, including: Determine a first screening condition according to the maximum terminal number range and the maximum terminal number; A registered NSACF satisfying the first screening condition is determined as a target NSACF.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: In a case where the slice access requirement parameter is an LBO PDU session count range, selecting a target NSACF for the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameter of the consumer NF and an extended capability parameter of the registered NSACF, including: Determining a second screening condition according to the LBO PDU session count range and the LBO PDU session count; A registered NSACF satisfying the second screening condition is determined as a target NSACF.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that In a case where the slice access requirement parameter includes a maximum terminal number range of at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and includes an LBO PDU session count range, selecting a target NSACF for the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameter of the consumer NF and an extended capability parameter of the registered NSACF, comprising: Determining a third screening condition according to the maximum terminal number range and the maximum terminal number; Determining a fourth screening condition according to the LBO PDU session count range and the LBO PDU session count; A registered NSACF satisfying the third screening condition and the fourth screening condition is determined as a target NSACF.

7. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Selecting a target NSACF for the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, including: Obtain the original capability parameters of the registered NSACF; the original capability parameters include: single network slice selection auxiliary information, NSACF service scope information, maximum number of registered terminals, and maximum number of PDU sessions; According to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF, the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, and the original capability parameters of the registered NSACF, a target NSACF is selected for the consumer NF.

8. A method for network element discovery and invocation, characterized in that: Applied to the network slice access control network element NSACF, including: A registration request carrying the extended capability parameter is sent to a network repository network element NRF, so that the NRF registers the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameter.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The extended capability parameters include: the maximum number of terminals having at least one protocol data unit PDU session and one public data network PDN connection, and the local offload LBO PDU session count.

10. A method for network element discovery and invocation, characterized in that: Consumer network elements (NFs) used for slice access services include: Send a network slice access control network element NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters to the network repository network element NRF; Receive the NSACF discovery response returned by the NRF; wherein the NSACF discovery response is generated by the NRF according to the slice access requirement parameters and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF; An NSACF call is made based on the NSACF discovery response.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The slice access requirement parameters include: a maximum terminal number range for at least one PDU session and one PDN connection, and / or an LBO PDU session count range.

12. A network storage repository network element NRF, characterized in that: include: A registration processing module, used to receive a registration request carrying an extended capability parameter sent by a network slice access control network element NSACF, and register the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameter; A discovery request receiving module, used to receive an NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters sent by a consumer network element NF of a slice access service; The discovery response module is used to return an NSACF discovery response to the consumer NF according to the slice access requirement parameters of the consumer NF and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF, so that the consumer NF makes an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

13. A network slice access control network element NSACF, characterized in that: include: The registration initiation module is used to send a registration request carrying an extended capability parameter to a network storage repository network element NRF, so that the NRF registers the NSACF according to the registration request carrying the extended capability parameter.

14. A consumer network element NF, characterized in that: The consumer NF corresponds to the slice access service, including: A discovery request initiating module is used to send a network slice access control network element NSACF discovery request carrying slice access requirement parameters to the network repository network element NRF; A discovery response receiving module, used to receive the NSACF discovery response returned by the NRF; wherein the NSACF discovery response is generated by the NRF according to the slice access requirement parameters and the extended capability parameters of the registered NSACF; A calling module is used to perform an NSACF call based on the NSACF discovery response.

15. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the program is executed by a processor, the method for network element discovery and invocation as described in any one of claims 1 to 11 is implemented.

16. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: one or more processors; A storage device, used to store one or more programs, when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, enables the one or more processors to implement the method for network element discovery and calling as described in any one of claims 1 to 11.

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