Network interoperation information sending method, device, equipment, medium and program product

Abstract

The invention relates to a network interoperation information sending method and device, equipment, a medium and a program product. The method comprises the following steps that: an access management network element acquires network interoperation information, wherein the network interoperation information is used for indicating the switching capability between a 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) network and a non-3GPP network; and in a terminal registration or terminal registration updating process, the access management network element sends the network interoperation information to the terminal. By adopting the method provided by the invention, the condition of switching failure of the terminal during network switching can be avoided to a certain extent.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a method, device, equipment, medium and program product for sending network interoperability information. Background Art

[0002] The deployment of the new generation of cellular networks is very challenging to achieve continuous wide-area coverage. To make up for the lack of cellular network coverage, business services are provided indoors through WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) networks. Supporting IP continuity between WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) networks and cellular networks can ensure smooth business switching when the terminal moves to an area without cellular network coverage or WiFi network coverage during business operations.

[0003] Currently, the standard does not define how the terminal knows whether the current cellular network supports switching to a WiFi network, which results in the terminal still trying to switch between the cellular network and the WiFi network when the switching is not supported, resulting in a switching failure. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a method, apparatus, device, medium and program product for sending network interoperability information, which can, to a certain extent, avoid switching failures when a terminal performs network switching.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method for sending network interoperability information is provided, wherein the method comprises:

[0006] The access management network element obtains network interoperability information, where the network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the Third Generation Partnership Project 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network; during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0007] In one of the embodiments, the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal, including:

[0008] The access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction.

[0009] In one of the embodiments, if the terminal is attached to an evolved packet core network EPC, the access management network element is a mobility management entity MME, and the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction, including:

[0010] The MME sends the network interoperation information to the terminal through an attach accept message.

[0011] In one of the embodiments, the MME sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through an attach response message, including:

[0012] The MME sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through an evolved packet system network support feature information element in the attach accept message.

[0013] In one of the embodiments, if the terminal is registered in the 5G core network 5GC, the access management network element is an access and mobility management function AMF, and the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction, including:

[0014] The AMF sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance message.

[0015] In one of the embodiments, the AMF sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance message, including:

[0016] The AMF sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through the 5G system network support feature information element in the registration acceptance information.

[0017] In one embodiment, the access management network element obtains network interoperability information, including:

[0018] The access management network element determines the interoperability capabilities supported by the network; the access management network element determines the network interoperability information according to the interoperability capabilities supported by the network.

[0019] In one of the embodiments, the access management network element determines the interoperability capabilities supported by the network, including:

[0020] The access management network element determines the interoperability supported by the network according to the interoperability supported by the access management network element; or,

[0021] The access management network element determines the interoperability capabilities supported by the network according to the interoperability capabilities supported by the access management network element and the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0022] In one of the embodiments, before the access management network element determines the interoperability supported by the network according to the interoperability supported by the access management network element and the interoperability supported by the session management network element, the method further includes:

[0023] The access management network element queries the subscription management network element to obtain the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0024] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0025] During the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, the access management network element obtains interoperability requirement information, where the interoperability requirement information is used to indicate the requirement of the service to which the terminal belongs on the network interoperability.

[0026] In one of the embodiments, the access management network element obtains the interoperability capability requirement information, including:

[0027] The access management network element obtains the session management network element selected subscription data from the subscription management network element, and the session management network element selected subscription data includes the interoperability requirement information.

[0028] In one of the embodiments, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the session management network element selects the subscription data for the session management function SMF, and the SMF selects the DNNInfo in the subscribedSnssaiInfos in the subscription data to include the interoperability requirement information.

[0029] In one embodiment, the interoperability requirement information is an interoperability requirement indication field, the interoperability requirement indication field includes a plurality of indication bits, each of the indication bits is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement; or,

[0030] The interoperability requirement information includes a plurality of interoperability requirement indication fields, each of which is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement.

[0031] In one of the embodiments, the interoperability requirement information is included in the registration information of the access management network element stored in the subscription management network element and / or the registration information of the session management network element.

[0032] In one of the embodiments, the service to which the terminal belongs includes at least one of the following:

[0033] an access point used by the terminal;

[0034] a data network to which the terminal is connected;

[0035] Slice information of the network slice to which the terminal belongs.

[0036] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0037] The access management network element selects a session management network element according to the interoperability requirement information and the interoperability supported by the session management network element.

[0038] In one embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0039] During terminal registration or terminal registration update, the access management network element obtains context data of an original session management network element of the terminal from the subscription management network element, and the context data is used for the access management network element to select a session management network element.

[0040] In one of the embodiments, the network interoperability information is used to indicate at least one of the following switching capabilities:

[0041] Whether to support switching between the long-term performance plan LTE network and the network accessing the EPC through the evolved packet data gateway ePDG;

[0042] Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing 5GC via non-3GPP interworking function network element N3IWF;

[0043] Whether the switch between the new radio NR network and the network accessing the EPC through the ePDG is supported;

[0044] Whether switching between the NR network and the network accessing 5GC through N3IWF is supported.

[0045] In one of the embodiments, if the network interoperability information does not indicate a certain switching capability, it is assumed that the certain switching capability is not supported by the network.

[0046] In one of the embodiments, the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal, including:

[0047] If the terminal is attached to the EPC, the access management network element sends first network interoperability information to the terminal, where the first network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network, or the access management network element sends second network interoperability information to the terminal, where the second network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network and the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network.

[0048] In one of the embodiments, the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal, including:

[0049] If the terminal is registered in 5GC, the access management network element sends third network interoperability information to the terminal, where the third network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network, or the access management network element sends the second network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0050] In a second aspect, a network interoperability information sending device is provided, which is used in an access management network element, and the device includes:

[0051] An acquisition module, used to acquire network interoperability information, where the network interoperability information is used to indicate a switching capability between a 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP network and a non-3GPP network;

[0052] The sending module is used to send the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process.

[0053] In one of the embodiments, the sending module is specifically used to: send the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction.

[0054] In one of the embodiments, if the terminal is attached to an evolved packet core network EPC, the access management network element is a mobility management entity MME, and the sending module is specifically used to send the network interoperability information to the terminal through an attachment acceptance message.

[0055] In one of the embodiments, the sending module is specifically configured to send the network interoperability information to the terminal via an Evolved Packet System Network Support Feature Information Element in the Attach Accept message.

[0056] In one of the embodiments, if the terminal is registered in the 5G core network 5GC, the access management network element is the access and mobility management function AMF, and the sending module is specifically used to: send the network interoperability information to the terminal through the registration acceptance information.

[0057] In one of the embodiments, the sending module is specifically used to: send the network interoperability information to the terminal via the 5G system network support feature information element in the registration acceptance information.

[0058] In one of the embodiments, the acquisition module is specifically used to: determine the interoperability capability supported by the network; and determine the network interoperability information according to the interoperability capability supported by the network.

[0059] In one of the embodiments, the acquisition module is specifically used to: determine the interoperability supported by the network based on the interoperability supported by the access management network element; or determine the interoperability supported by the network based on the interoperability supported by the access management network element and the interoperability supported by the session management network element.

[0060] In one of the embodiments, the acquisition module is further used to: query the subscription management network element to obtain the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0061] In one of the embodiments, the acquisition module is further used to: acquire interoperability requirement information during terminal registration or terminal registration update, where the interoperability requirement information is used to indicate the requirements of the service to which the terminal belongs for network interoperability.

[0062] In one of the embodiments, the acquisition module is specifically used to: acquire session management network element selection subscription data from a subscription management network element, wherein the session management network element selection subscription data includes the interoperability requirement information.

[0063] In one of the embodiments, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the session management network element selects the subscription data for the session management function SMF, and the SMF selects the DNNInfo in the subscribedSnssaiInfos in the subscription data to include the interoperability requirement information.

[0064] In one embodiment, the interoperability requirement information is an interoperability requirement indication field, the interoperability requirement indication field includes a plurality of indication bits, each of the indication bits is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement; or,

[0065] The interoperability requirement information includes a plurality of interoperability requirement indication fields, each of which is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement.

[0066] In one of the embodiments, the interoperability requirement information is included in the registration information of the access management network element stored in the subscription management network element and / or the registration information of the session management network element.

[0067] In one of the embodiments, the service to which the terminal belongs includes at least one of the following:

[0068] an access point used by the terminal;

[0069] a data network to which the terminal is connected;

[0070] Slice information of the network slice to which the terminal belongs.

[0071] In one of the embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a network element selection module, wherein the network element selection module is configured to select a session management network element according to the interoperability requirement information and the interoperability supported by the session management network element.

[0072] In one of the embodiments, the acquisition module is further used to: during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, obtain the context data of the original session management network element of the terminal from the subscription management network element, and the context data is used for selecting the session management network element.

[0073] In one of the embodiments, the network interoperability information is used to indicate at least one of the following switching capabilities:

[0074] Whether to support switching between the long-term performance plan LTE network and the network accessing the EPC through the evolved packet data gateway ePDG;

[0075] Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing 5GC via non-3GPP interworking function network element N3IWF;

[0076] Whether the switch between the new radio NR network and the network accessing the EPC through the ePDG is supported;

[0077] Whether switching between the NR network and the network accessing 5GC through N3IWF is supported.

[0078] In one of the embodiments, if the network interoperability information does not indicate a certain switching capability, it is assumed that the certain switching capability is not supported by the network.

[0079] In one of the embodiments, the sending module is specifically used to: if the terminal is attached to the EPC, send first network interoperability information to the terminal, the first network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network, or, send second network interoperability information to the terminal, the second network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network and the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network.

[0080] In one of the embodiments, the sending module is specifically used to: if the terminal is registered in 5GC, send third network interoperability information to the terminal, wherein the third network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network, or send the second network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0081] In a third aspect, an access management network element is provided, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor:

[0082] A memory for storing a computer program; a transceiver for sending and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer program in the memory and executing any of the methods described in the first aspect above by controlling the transceiver.

[0083] In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, any method described in the first aspect is implemented.

[0084] In a fifth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements any of the methods described in the first aspect.

[0085] The above-mentioned network interoperability information sending method, device, equipment, medium and program product obtain network interoperability information through the access management network element, and send the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, wherein the network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network. In this way, the terminal can obtain the network interoperability information during the registration or registration update process, thereby obtaining the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network. Therefore, in the subsequent communication process, the terminal can decide whether to perform network switching based on the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network, or decide how to perform network switching, thereby avoiding switching failure of the terminal when performing network switching to a certain extent. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0086] Figure 1 A diagram of an application environment of a method for sending network interoperability information in an embodiment;

[0087] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is another application environment diagram of a method for sending network interoperability information in an embodiment;

[0088] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a method for sending network interoperability information in one embodiment;

[0089] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of steps for an access management network element to obtain network interoperability information in an embodiment;

[0090] Figure 5 is a structural block diagram of a network interoperability information sending device in an embodiment;

[0091] Figure 6 Another structural block diagram of a network interoperability information sending device in one embodiment;

[0092] Figure 7 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the internal structure of an access management network element in an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0094] At present, the cellular network has the problem of insufficient coverage, especially in indoor environments. When the cellular network coverage is insufficient, communication services such as voice and text messages will have problems. In order to make up for the insufficient coverage of the cellular network, many operators have deployed WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) networks to provide communication services. In this way, the terminal can switch between the cellular network and the WiFi network to communicate through the WiFi network in areas without cellular network coverage, or communicate through the cellular network in areas without WiFi network coverage, thereby achieving continuous wide-area network coverage and ensuring the continuity of terminal communication services.

[0095] Currently, whether to switch between a cellular network and a WiFi network, and how to switch between a cellular network and a WiFi network, are generally determined by the terminal itself. However, the current communication standards do not define how the terminal knows whether the current cellular network supports switching with a WiFi network, resulting in the terminal still trying to switch when the switching between the cellular network and the WiFi network is not supported, resulting in a switching failure.

[0096] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for sending network interoperability information. In the method for sending network interoperability information, the access management network element can obtain network interoperability information, and send the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, wherein the network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network. In this way, the terminal can obtain the network interoperability information during the registration or registration update process, thereby obtaining the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network. Therefore, in the subsequent communication process, the terminal can decide whether to perform a network switch based on the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network, or decide how to perform a network switch, thereby avoiding switching failures in the terminal when performing a network switch to a certain extent.

[0097] It should be noted that the beneficial effects brought about by the embodiments of the present application or the technical problems solved are not limited to this one, but may also include other implicit or related problems. For details, please refer to the description of the following embodiments.

[0098] Please refer to Figure 1 , which shows a schematic diagram of an application environment involved in the network interoperability information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 1As shown, the application environment may include a terminal 101, an access network device 102, and an access management network element 103. The access management network element 103 is deployed in the core network, and the terminal 101 communicates with the access management network element 103 deployed in the core network through the access network device 102.

[0099] Among them, if the core network mentioned above is the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), that is, the core network in LTE (long term evolution), then the access management network element 103 is the mobility management entity (MME) in the EPC; if the core network mentioned above is the 5G Core Network (5GC), then the access management network element 103 is the access and mobility management function (AMF) in the 5GC.

[0100] In addition, the terminal 101 may be a wireless terminal, which may be a device that provides voice and / or other business data connectivity to a user, or a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The wireless terminal may be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal, for example, a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device. The wireless terminal may also be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit (English: Subscriber Unit), a subscriber station (English: Subscriber Station), a mobile station (English: Mobile Station), a mobile station (English: Mobile), a remote station (English: Remote Station), a remote terminal (English: Remote Terminal), an access terminal (English: Access Terminal), a user terminal (English: User Terminal), a user agent (English: User Agent), a user device (English: User Device or User Equipment), which is not limited here.

[0101] Terminal 101 can access the core network through 3GPP (English: 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Chinese: Third Generation Partnership Project) access method, and can also access the core network through non-3GPP access method. Correspondingly, access network device 102 can be a 3GPP access network device or a non-3GPP access network device.

[0102] Among them, the 3GPP access network equipment can be, for example, a base station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), or a base station (NodeB, NB) in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), or an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a base station in a 5G network, etc., which is not limited here.

[0103] The non-3GPP access network device may be, for example, an evolved packet data gateway (ePDG) or a non-3GPP interworking function network element (N3IWF). The terminal 101 may access the EPC through the ePDG and the terminal 101 may access the 5GC through the N3IWF.

[0104] Please refer to Figure 2 , which shows a schematic diagram of another application environment involved in the network interoperability information sending method provided in an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 2 As shown, in addition to the terminal 101, the access network device 102 and the access management network element 103, the application environment can also include a session management network element 104 and a contract management network element 105. The session management network element 104 and the contract management network element 105 are both deployed in the core network, and the access management network element 103 can communicate with the session management network element 104 and the contract management network element 105 through the network.

[0105] If the core network is EPC, the session management network element 104 is the packet data network gateway (English: Packet Data Network Gateway; PGW for short) in the EPC, and the subscription management network element 105 is the home subscriber server (English: Home Subscriber Server; HSS for short) in the EPC. If the core network is 5GC, the session management network element 104 is the session management function (English: Session Management function; SMF for short) in the 5GC, and the subscription management network element 105 is the unified data management function (English: Unified Data Management; UDM for short) in the 5GC.

[0106] The technical solution of the present application and how the technical solution of the present application solves the above-mentioned technical problems are described in detail below with specific embodiments. The following specific embodiments can be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments. The embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0107] In one embodiment, Figure 3 As shown, a network interoperability information sending method is provided, and the method is applied to Figure 1 and Figure 2 The following steps are used to illustrate the access management network element in the example:

[0108] Step 301: The access management network element obtains network interoperability information.

[0109] As mentioned above, if the terminal is attached to EPC, the access management network element is MME, and if the terminal is registered with 5GC, the access management network element is AMF.

[0110] The network interoperability information is used to indicate a network switching capability supported by the network. Specifically, the network interoperability information is used to indicate a switching capability between a 3GPP network and a non-3GPP network supported by the network.

[0111] Among them, a typical 3GPP network may be, for example, an LTE network, a NR (English: New Radio; Chinese: New Air Interface) network. It should be pointed out that the so-called LTE network in the embodiment of the present application refers to a network in which a terminal accesses EPC through an eNB, and the so-called NR network in the embodiment of the present application refers to a network in which a terminal accesses 5GC through a gNB. A typical non-3GPP network may be, for example, a network in which a terminal accesses EPC through an ePDG, and a network in which a terminal accesses 5GC through an N3IWF. In the embodiment of the present application, the 3GPP network may also be understood as a cellular network, and the non-3GPP network may be understood as a WiFi network.

[0112] It should be noted that the 3GPP network and non-3GPP network described above are merely illustrative examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application. In actual applications, other types of 3GPP networks and non-3GPP networks may exist.

[0113] Step 302: During the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, the access management network element sends network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0114] It should be noted that the signaling interaction process during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process involves the interaction of multiple information. In step 302, the access management network element may reuse a certain information of the signaling interaction process during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process to carry the network interoperability information, or the access management network element may send the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process based on a certain newly defined information. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0115] The network interoperability information sending method provided in this embodiment obtains network interoperability information through the access management network element, and sends the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, wherein the network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network. In this way, the terminal can obtain the network interoperability information during the registration or registration update process, thereby obtaining the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network. Therefore, in the subsequent communication process, the terminal can decide whether to perform network switching based on the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network, or decide how to perform network switching, thereby avoiding switching failure of the terminal when performing network switching to a certain extent.

[0116] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the network interoperability information can be used to indicate at least one of the following switching capabilities: 1. Whether switching between an LTE network and a network accessing EPC via ePDG is supported; 2. Whether switching between an LTE network and a network accessing 5GC via N3IWF is supported; 3. Whether switching between an NR network and a network accessing EPC via ePDG is supported; 4. Whether switching between an NR network and a network accessing 5GC via N3IWF is supported.

[0117] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the terminal is attached to the EPC, the MME may send the first network interoperability information to the terminal, or send the second network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0118] Among them, the first network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network, and the second network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network and the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network.

[0119] For example, the first network interoperability information may indicate the following switching capabilities: 1. Whether the switching between the LTE network and the network accessing the EPC through the ePDG is supported; 2. Whether the switching between the LTE network and the network accessing the 5GC through the N3IWF is supported. The second network interoperability information may indicate the following switching capabilities: 1. Whether the switching between the LTE network and the network accessing the EPC through the ePDG is supported; 2. Whether the switching between the LTE network and the network accessing the 5GC through the N3IWF is supported; 3. Whether the switching between the NR network and the network accessing the EPC through the ePDG is supported; 4. Whether the switching between the NR network and the network accessing the 5GC through the N3IWF is supported.

[0120] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the AMF may send the third network interoperability information to the terminal, or send the second network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0121] The third network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network. For example, the third network interoperability information may indicate the following switching capabilities: 1. Whether the switching between the NR network and the network accessing the EPC through the ePDG is supported; 2. Whether the switching between the NR network and the network accessing the 5GC through the N3IWF is supported.

[0122] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the network interoperability information does not indicate a certain switching capability, it is assumed that the certain switching capability is not supported by the network. For example, if the network interoperability information does not indicate that the network has the ability to support switching between an LTE network and a network that accesses the EPC via an ePDG, it is assumed that the network does not support switching between an LTE network and a network that accesses the EPC via an ePDG.

[0123] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the network interoperability information does not indicate that a certain switching capability is not supported by the network, it is assumed that the certain switching capability is supported by the network. For example, if the network interoperability information does not indicate that the network does not have the ability to support switching between an LTE network and a network that accesses the EPC through an ePDG, it is assumed that the network supports switching between an LTE network and a network that accesses the EPC through an ePDG.

[0124] Please refer to Figure 4, which shows a technical process of optionally accessing a management network element to obtain network interoperability information, such as Figure 4 As shown, the technical process includes the following steps:

[0125] Step 401: The access management network element determines the interoperability capabilities supported by the network.

[0126] It should be noted that the "interoperability capability" in the embodiments of the present application refers to the ability to switch between a 3GPP network and a non-3GPP network.

[0127] In an optional implementation, the access management network element may determine the interoperability supported by the network according to the interoperability supported by itself. For example, the access management network element may use the interoperability supported by itself as the interoperability supported by the network.

[0128] In another possible implementation, the access management network element may determine the interoperability capabilities supported by the network based on the interoperability capabilities supported by itself and the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element. For example, the access management network element may use the intersection of the interoperability capabilities supported by itself and the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element as the interoperability capabilities supported by the network.

[0129] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the interoperability capabilities supported by the access management network element may be configured locally in the access management network element. In an optional embodiment of the present application, the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element may be stored in the subscription management network element, and the access management network element may query the subscription management network element to obtain the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0130] Step 402: The access management network element determines network interoperability information according to the interoperability capabilities supported by the network.

[0131] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the access management network element may generate network interoperability information based on the interoperability capabilities supported by the network. For example, in one possible implementation, the network interoperability information includes multiple fields, and the value of each field is used to indicate whether different switching capabilities are supported. After obtaining the interoperability capabilities supported by the network, the access management network element may determine the value of each field in the network interoperability information based on the interoperability capabilities supported by the network, thereby generating the network interoperability information.

[0132] In an optional embodiment of the present application, after determining the network interoperability information, the access management network element may send the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction sent during terminal registration or terminal registration update. In other words, the network interoperability information may be carried in the registration acceptance instruction.

[0133] Among them, if the terminal is attached to the EPC, the registration acceptance instruction can be an attachment acceptance message (English: attachaccept), that is, in an optional embodiment of the present application, if the terminal is attached to the EPC, the MME can send the network interoperability information to the terminal through the attachment acceptance message. Optionally, the MME can send the network interoperability information to the terminal through the evolved packet system network support feature information element (English: EPS network feature support IE) in the attachment acceptance message.

[0134] If the terminal is registered in 5GC, the registration acceptance instruction may be a registration acceptance message (English: RegistrationACCEPT), that is, in an optional embodiment of the present application, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the AMF may send the network interoperability information to the terminal through the registration acceptance message. Optionally, the AMF may send the network interoperability information to the terminal through the 5G system network support feature information element (English: 5GS network feature support IE) in the registration acceptance message.

[0135] Please refer to Table 1, which is a schematic diagram of the contents contained in the 5G system network support feature information element. As shown in Table 1, the embodiment of the present application adds IWKePDG and IWKN3IWF indicator bits in the 5G system network support feature information element, wherein IWKePDG is used to indicate whether it supports switching to a network that accesses EPC through ePDG, and IWKN3IWF is used to indicate whether it supports switching to a network that accesses 5GC through N3IWF. As shown in Table 1, IWKePDG is located in octet5, bit8 in the 5G system network support feature information element, and its value can be 0 or 1, wherein 1 indicates that switching to a network that accesses EPC through ePDG is supported, and 0 indicates that switching to a network that accesses EPC through ePDG is not supported. IWKN3IWF is located in octet6, bit1 in the 5G system network support feature information element, and its value can be 0 or 1, wherein 1 indicates that switching to a network that accesses 5GC through N3IWF is supported, and 0 indicates that switching to a network that accesses 5GC through N3IWF is not supported. In addition, as shown in Table 1, octet6 and bits 2 to 8 in the 5G system network support feature information element are reserved fields, and their values ​​can be defaulted to 0.

[0136] Table 1

[0137]

[0138] In an optional embodiment of the present application, during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, the access management network element may also obtain interoperability requirement information, wherein the interoperability requirement information is used to indicate the requirements of the service to which the terminal belongs for network interoperability. The English expression of the interoperability requirement information may be, for example, interworking with non-3GPP indication.

[0139] Among them, optionally, the service to which the terminal belongs may include at least one of the following contents: 1. The access point (English: Access Point; abbreviated as: AP) used by the terminal; 2. The data network (English: Data Network; abbreviated as: DN) to which the terminal is connected; 3. Slice information of the network slice to which the terminal belongs.

[0140] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the access management network element may select a session management network element according to the interoperability requirement information and the interoperability supported by the session management network element. For example, if the interoperability requirement information indicates that the service to which the terminal belongs requires the network to support the ability to switch between an LTE network and a network accessing EPC via an ePDG, the access management network element may select a session management network element that has the ability to switch between an LTE network and a network accessing EPC via an ePDG.

[0141] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the access management network element may also obtain the context data of the original session management network element of the terminal from the contract management network element during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, so as to select the session management network element using the context data. Optionally, the context data may include a user permanent identifier (English: SUbscription Permanent Identifier; abbreviated as: SUPI), a data network name (English: Data Networkname; abbreviated as: DNN), a PDU (English: Protocol Data Unit; Chinese: Protocol Data Unit) session ID, SMF ID, etc.

[0142] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the access management network element may select a session management network element in conjunction with the interoperability requirement information and context data of an original session management network element of the terminal.

[0143] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the access management network element can obtain the session management network element selection contract data from the contract management network element, wherein the session management network element selection contract data includes interoperability requirement information, and the access management network element can obtain the interoperability requirement information from the session management network element selection contract data.

[0144] Among them, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the session management network element selects the subscription data as SMF selected subscription data, wherein the DNNInfo in the subscribedSnssaiInfos in the SMF selected subscription data contains the interoperability requirement information.

[0145] Specifically, if the terminal is registered with 5GC, AMF can request the terminal's contract data from UDM during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, where the terminal's contract data may include SMF selected contract data and the context data of the terminal's original session management network element. AMF can obtain the interoperability requirement information from DNNInfo in subscribedSnssaiInfos in the SMF selected contract data. Optionally, AMF can select SMF based on the interoperability requirement information and the context data of the terminal's original session management network element.

[0146] Please refer to Table 2, which shows an exemplary description of the interoperability capability information contained in DNNInfo in subscribedSnssaiInfos in the SMF selection subscription data.

[0147] Table 2

[0148]

[0149] Among them, Attribute name in Table 2 is translated as attribute name, and its corresponding iwkNon-3GPPInd can be understood as the name corresponding to the interoperability capability information. Data type is translated as data type, and its corresponding array refers to array type. In other words, the data type of the interoperability capability information is array type. P means whether the field is required, and its corresponding O is the abbreviation of optional (Chinese: optional), which means that the interoperability capability information is not a field that must be included, but an optional field. Cardinality is translated as cardinality, which means the bits occupied by the interoperability capability information. The scope of Description is description, and its corresponding "Indicates whether interworking with Non-3GPP is subscribed, including EPS interworking with epdg, 5GS interworking with epdg, EPS interworking with N3IWF, 5GS interworking with "N3IWF" is the description content corresponding to the interoperability capability information, which is translated as "indicating whether to sign a contract for interoperability with non-3GPP networks, including interoperability between EPS and ePDG, interoperability between 5GS and ePDG, interoperability between EPS and N3IWF, and interoperability between 5GS and N3IWF", where 5GS is the abbreviation of 5G System, EPS is the abbreviation of Evolved Packet System, and EPS is the abbreviation of Evolved Packet System.

[0150] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the interoperability requirement information may also be included in the registration information of the access management network element stored in the contract management network element, and / or the registration information of the session management network element. For example, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the interoperability requirement information may also be included in the AMF registration information stored in UDM, and / or the SMF registration information, so that other network elements in 5GC can request to obtain from UDM when needed. For example, other network elements in the 5GC may be NWDAF (English: Network Data Analytics Function; Chinese: Network Data Analysis Function).

[0151] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the interoperability requirement information is an interoperability requirement indication field, the interoperability requirement indication field includes multiple indication bits (for example, 4 indication bits), each indication bit is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement; or, the interoperability requirement information includes multiple interoperability requirement indication fields (for example, 4 interoperability requirement indication fields), each interoperability requirement indication field is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement. The interoperability requirement indication field can be a Boolean type field.

[0152] It should be understood that although Figure 3-4 The steps in the flowchart are shown in sequence as indicated by the arrows, but these steps are not necessarily executed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified in this document, there is no strict order restriction for the execution of these steps, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, Figure 3-4 At least part of the steps may include multiple steps or multiple stages. These steps or stages are not necessarily performed at the same time, but can be performed at different times. The execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but can be performed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least part of the steps or stages in other steps.

[0153] In one embodiment, Figure 5 As shown, a network interoperability information sending device 500 is provided, which is used for access management network elements, and includes: an acquisition module 501 and a sending module 502.

[0154] The acquisition module 501 is used to acquire network interoperability information, where the network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network.

[0155] The sending module 502 is used to send the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process.

[0156] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sending module 502 is specifically configured to send the network interoperability information to the terminal via a registration acceptance instruction.

[0157] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the terminal is attached to the EPC, the access management network element is the MME, and the sending module 502 is specifically configured to send the network interoperability information to the terminal via the attachment acceptance information.

[0158] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sending module 502 is specifically configured to send the network interoperability information to the terminal via an evolved packet system network support feature information element in the attachment acceptance information.

[0159] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the access management network element is AMF, and the sending module 502 is specifically used to send network interoperability information to the terminal through registration acceptance information.

[0160] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sending module 502 is specifically used to send the network interoperability information to the terminal via the 5G system network support feature information element in the registration acceptance information.

[0161] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the acquisition module 501 is specifically used to: determine the interoperability capabilities supported by the network; and determine the network interoperability information according to the interoperability capabilities supported by the network.

[0162] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the acquisition module 501 is specifically used to: determine the interoperability supported by the network based on the interoperability supported by the access management network element; or, determine the interoperability supported by the network based on the interoperability supported by the access management network element and the interoperability supported by the session management network element.

[0163] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the acquisition module 501 is further used to: query the subscription management network element to obtain the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0164] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the acquisition module 501 is further used to: during terminal registration or terminal registration update, obtain interoperability requirement information, where the interoperability requirement information is used to indicate the requirements of the service to which the terminal belongs for network interoperability.

[0165] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the acquisition module 501 is specifically used to: acquire session management network element selection subscription data from the subscription management network element, where the session management network element selection subscription data includes interoperability requirement information.

[0166] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the session management network element selects the subscription data as SMF selected subscription data, and the DNNInfo in the subscribedSnssaiInfos in the SMF selected subscription data contains interoperability requirement information.

[0167] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the interoperability requirement information is an interoperability requirement indication field, the interoperability requirement indication field includes a plurality of indication bits, each indication bit is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement; or,

[0168] The interoperability requirement information includes a plurality of interoperability requirement indication fields, each of which is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement.

[0169] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the interoperability requirement information is included in the registration information of the access management network element stored in the subscription management network element, and / or in the registration information of the session management network element.

[0170] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the service to which the terminal belongs includes at least one of the following:

[0171] The access point used by the terminal;

[0172] The data network to which the terminal is connected;

[0173] Slice information of the network slice to which the terminal belongs.

[0174] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the network interoperability information is used to indicate at least one of the following switching capabilities:

[0175] Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing EPC via ePDG;

[0176] Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing 5GC via N3IWF;

[0177] Whether switching between NR networks and networks accessing EPC via ePDG is supported;

[0178] Whether switching between the NR network and the network accessing 5GC through N3IWF is supported.

[0179] In an optional embodiment of the present application, if the network interoperability information does not indicate a certain switching capability, it is assumed that the certain switching capability is not supported by the network.

[0180] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sending module 502 is specifically used to: if the terminal is attached to the EPC, send first network interoperability information to the terminal, the first network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network, or, send second network interoperability information to the terminal, the second network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network and the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network.

[0181] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the sending module 502 is specifically used to: if the terminal is registered in the 5GC, send the third network interoperability information to the terminal, the third network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network, or send the second network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0182] In an optional embodiment of the present application, the acquisition module 501 is further used to: during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, obtain the context data of the original session management network element of the terminal from the subscription management network element, and the context data is used for selecting the session management network element.

[0183] Please refer to Figure 6 The embodiment of the present application also provides another network interoperability information sending device 600 for access management network elements. In addition to the modules included in the network interoperability information sending device 500, it may also optionally include a network element selection module 503.

[0184] The network element selection module 503 is used to select a session management network element according to the interoperability requirement information and the interoperability supported by the session management network element.

[0185] For the specific definition of the network interoperability information sending device, please refer to the definition of the network interoperability information sending method above, which will not be repeated here. Each module in the above-mentioned network interoperability information sending device can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware and a combination thereof. The above-mentioned modules can be embedded in or independent of the processor in the communication device in the form of hardware, or can be stored in the memory in the communication device in the form of software, so that the processor can call and execute the operations corresponding to the above modules.

[0186] Figure 7 It is a structural diagram of the access management network element provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 The access management network element 700 shown includes: at least one processor 701, a memory 702, and at least one network interface 704. The various components in the access management network element 700 are coupled together through a bus system 705. It can be understood that the bus system 705 is used to realize the connection and communication between these components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 705 also includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clarity, the bus system 705 is not described in detail. Figure 7 In the figure, various buses are labeled as bus system 705. In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, a transceiver 706 is also included. The transceiver can be multiple components, that is, including a transmitter and a receiver, and is a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium.

[0187] It can be understood that the memory 702 in the embodiment of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM) and direct memory bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 702 of the system and method described in the embodiments of the present application is intended to include but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0188] In some implementations, the memory 702 stores the following elements, executable modules or data structures, or their subsets, or their extensions: operating system 7021. The operating system 7021 includes various system programs, such as a framework layer, a core library layer, a driver layer, etc., which are used to implement various basic services and process hardware-based tasks.

[0189] Part or all of the methods disclosed in the above embodiments of the present application can be applied to the processor 701, or implemented by the processor 701, or implemented by the processor 701 in cooperation with other components (such as a transceiver). The processor 701 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor 701 or an instruction in the form of software. The above processor 701 can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DigitalSignalProcessor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ApplicationSpecific IntegratedCircuit, ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FieldProgrammableGateArray, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. The methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor for execution, or a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor for execution. The software module may be located in a storage medium mature in the art such as a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, or an electrically erasable programmable memory, a register, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory 702, and the processor 701 reads the information in the memory 702 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0190] It is understood that the embodiments described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the processing unit can be implemented in one or more application specific integrated circuits (Application Specific Integrated Circuits, ASIC), digital signal processors (Digital Signal Processing, DSP), digital signal processing devices (DSP Device, DSPD), programmable logic devices (Programmable Logic Device, PLD), field programmable gate arrays (Field-Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), general processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, other electronic units for performing the functions described in the present application or a combination thereof.

[0191] For software implementation, the technology described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by a module (such as a process, function, etc.) that performs the functions described in the embodiments of the present application. The software code can be stored in a memory and executed by the processor 701. The memory can be implemented in the processor 701 or outside the processor 701.

[0192] In one embodiment, 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 following steps are implemented:

[0193] Acquire network interoperability information, where the network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network; send the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process.

[0194] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: sending the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction.

[0195] In one embodiment, if the terminal is attached to the EPC, the access management network element is the MME, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: sending the network interoperability information to the terminal via the attachment acceptance information.

[0196] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: sending the network interoperability information to the terminal via an Evolved Packet System Network Support Feature Information Element in an Attach Accept message.

[0197] In one embodiment, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the access management network element is AMF, and the computer program, when executed by the processor, also implements the following steps: sending network interoperability information to the terminal through registration acceptance information.

[0198] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: sending network interoperability information to the terminal via the 5G system network support feature information element in the registration acceptance information.

[0199] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: determining the interoperability capabilities supported by the network; and determining the network interoperability information according to the interoperability capabilities supported by the network.

[0200] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: determining the interoperability supported by the network according to the interoperability supported by the access management network element; or,

[0201] The interoperability capabilities supported by the network are determined based on the interoperability capabilities supported by the access management network element and the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0202] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: querying from the subscription management network element to obtain the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0203] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: in the process of terminal registration or terminal registration update, interoperability requirement information is obtained, where the interoperability requirement information is used to indicate the requirements of the service to which the terminal belongs for network interoperability.

[0204] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: obtaining session management network element selection subscription data from the subscription management network element, where the session management network element selection subscription data includes interoperability requirement information.

[0205] In one embodiment, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the session management network element selects the subscription data as SMF selected subscription data, and the DNNInfo in the subscribedSnssaiInfos in the SMF selected subscription data contains interoperability requirement information.

[0206] In one embodiment, the interoperability requirement information is an interoperability requirement indication field, the interoperability requirement indication field includes a plurality of indication bits, each indication bit is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement; or,

[0207] The interoperability requirement information includes a plurality of interoperability requirement indication fields, each of which is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement.

[0208] In one embodiment, the interoperability requirement information is included in the registration information of the access management network element stored in the subscription management network element and / or in the registration information of the session management network element.

[0209] In one embodiment, the service to which the terminal belongs includes at least one of the following:

[0210] The access point used by the terminal;

[0211] The data network to which the terminal is connected;

[0212] Slice information of the network slice to which the terminal belongs.

[0213] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: selecting a session management network element according to the interoperability requirement information and the interoperability supported by the session management network element.

[0214] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, context data of the original session management network element of the terminal is obtained from the subscription management network element, and the context data is used for the access management network element to select the session management network element.

[0215] In one embodiment, the network interoperability information is used to indicate at least one of the following switching capabilities:

[0216] Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing EPC via ePDG;

[0217] Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing 5GC via N3IWF;

[0218] Whether switching between NR networks and networks accessing EPC via ePDG is supported;

[0219] Whether switching between the NR network and the network accessing 5GC through N3IWF is supported.

[0220] In one embodiment, if the network interoperability information does not indicate a certain switching capability, it is assumed that the certain switching capability is not supported by the network.

[0221] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: if the terminal is attached to the EPC, first network interoperability information is sent to the terminal, and the first network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network, or the access management network element sends second network interoperability information to the terminal, and the second network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network and the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network.

[0222] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: if the terminal is registered in the 5GC, the third network interoperability information is sent to the terminal, and the third network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network, or the access management network element sends the second network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0223] The present application also provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the following steps:

[0224] Acquire network interoperability information, where the network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network; send the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process.

[0225] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: sending the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction.

[0226] In one embodiment, if the terminal is attached to the EPC, the access management network element is the MME, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: sending the network interoperability information to the terminal via the attachment acceptance information.

[0227] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: sending the network interoperability information to the terminal via an Evolved Packet System Network Support Feature Information Element in an Attach Accept message.

[0228] In one embodiment, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the access management network element is AMF, and the computer program, when executed by the processor, also implements the following steps: sending network interoperability information to the terminal through registration acceptance information.

[0229] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: sending network interoperability information to the terminal via the 5G system network support feature information element in the registration acceptance information.

[0230] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: determining the interoperability capabilities supported by the network; and determining the network interoperability information according to the interoperability capabilities supported by the network.

[0231] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: determining the interoperability supported by the network according to the interoperability supported by the access management network element; or,

[0232] The interoperability capabilities supported by the network are determined based on the interoperability capabilities supported by the access management network element and the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0233] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: querying from the subscription management network element to obtain the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

[0234] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: in the process of terminal registration or terminal registration update, interoperability requirement information is obtained, where the interoperability requirement information is used to indicate the requirements of the service to which the terminal belongs for network interoperability.

[0235] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: obtaining session management network element selection subscription data from the subscription management network element, where the session management network element selection subscription data includes interoperability requirement information.

[0236] In one embodiment, if the terminal is registered in 5GC, the session management network element selects the subscription data as SMF selected subscription data, and the DNNInfo in the subscribedSnssaiInfos in the SMF selected subscription data contains interoperability requirement information.

[0237] In one embodiment, the interoperability requirement information is an interoperability requirement indication field, the interoperability requirement indication field includes a plurality of indication bits, each indication bit is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement; or,

[0238] The interoperability requirement information includes a plurality of interoperability requirement indication fields, each of which is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement.

[0239] In one embodiment, the interoperability requirement information is included in the registration information of the access management network element stored in the subscription management network element and / or in the registration information of the session management network element.

[0240] In one embodiment, the service to which the terminal belongs includes at least one of the following:

[0241] The access point used by the terminal;

[0242] The data network to which the terminal is connected;

[0243] Slice information of the network slice to which the terminal belongs.

[0244] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are further implemented: selecting a session management network element according to the interoperability requirement information and the interoperability supported by the session management network element.

[0245] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, context data of the original session management network element of the terminal is obtained from the subscription management network element, and the context data is used for the access management network element to select the session management network element.

[0246] In one embodiment, the network interoperability information is used to indicate at least one of the following switching capabilities:

[0247] Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing EPC via ePDG;

[0248] Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing 5GC via N3IWF;

[0249] Whether switching between NR networks and networks accessing EPC via ePDG is supported;

[0250] Whether switching between the NR network and the network accessing 5GC through N3IWF is supported.

[0251] In one embodiment, if the network interoperability information does not indicate a certain switching capability, it is assumed that the certain switching capability is not supported by the network.

[0252] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: if the terminal is attached to the EPC, first network interoperability information is sent to the terminal, and the first network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network, or the access management network element sends second network interoperability information to the terminal, and the second network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network and the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network.

[0253] In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented: if the terminal is registered in the 5GC, the third network interoperability information is sent to the terminal, and the third network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network, or the access management network element sends the second network interoperability information to the terminal.

[0254] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be completed by instructing the relevant hardware through a computer program, and the computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Among them, any reference to memory, storage, database or other media used in the embodiments provided in this application can include at least one of non-volatile and volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory or optical memory, etc. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration and not limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

[0255] The technical features of the above embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0256] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A method for sending network interoperability information, characterized in that: The method comprises: The access management network element obtains network interoperability information, where the network interoperability information is used to indicate a switching capability between a 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP network and a non-3GPP network; During the process of terminal registration or terminal registration update, the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal, including: The access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that If the terminal is attached to an evolved packet core network EPC, the access management network element is a mobility management entity MME, and the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction, including: The MME sends the network interoperation information to the terminal through an attach accept message.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The MME sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through attach response information, including: The MME sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through an evolved packet system network support feature information element in the attach accept message.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: If the terminal is registered in the 5G core network 5GC, the access management network element is an access and mobility management function AMF, and the access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance instruction, including: The AMF sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through a registration acceptance message.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The AMF sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through registration acceptance information, including: The AMF sends the network interoperability information to the terminal through the 5G system network support feature information element in the registration acceptance information.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The access management network element obtains network interoperability information, including: The access management network element determines the interoperability capabilities supported by the network; The access management network element determines the network interoperability information according to the interoperability capabilities supported by the network.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The access management network element determines the interoperability capabilities supported by the network, including: The access management network element determines the interoperability supported by the network according to the interoperability supported by the access management network element; or, The access management network element determines the interoperability capabilities supported by the network according to the interoperability capabilities supported by the access management network element and the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that Before the access management network element determines the interoperability supported by the network according to the interoperability supported by the access management network element and the interoperability supported by the session management network element, the method further includes: The access management network element queries the subscription management network element to obtain the interoperability capabilities supported by the session management network element.

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: During the terminal registration or terminal registration update process, the access management network element obtains interoperability requirement information, where the interoperability requirement information is used to indicate the requirement of the service to which the terminal belongs on the network interoperability.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The access management network element obtains the interoperability capability requirement information, including: The access management network element obtains the session management network element selected subscription data from the subscription management network element, and the session management network element selected subscription data includes the interoperability requirement information.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that If the terminal is registered in 5GC, the session management network element selects the subscription data for the session management function SMF, and the SMF selects the DNNInfo in the subscribedSnssaiInfos in the subscription data to include the interoperability requirement information.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The interoperability requirement information is an interoperability requirement indication field, the interoperability requirement indication field includes a plurality of indication bits, each of which is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement; or, The interoperability requirement information includes a plurality of interoperability requirement indication fields, each of which is used to indicate a different interoperability requirement.

14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The interoperability requirement information is included in the registration information of the access management network element stored in the subscription management network element and / or the registration information of the session management network element.

15. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The service to which the terminal belongs includes at least one of the following: an access point used by the terminal; a data network to which the terminal is connected; Slice information of the network slice to which the terminal belongs.

16. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The method further comprises: The access management network element selects a session management network element according to the interoperability requirement information and the interoperability supported by the session management network element.

17. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: During terminal registration or terminal registration update, the access management network element obtains context data of an original session management network element of the terminal from the subscription management network element, and the context data is used for the access management network element to select a session management network element.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that: The network interoperability information is used to indicate at least one of the following switching capabilities: Whether to support switching between the long-term performance plan LTE network and the network accessing the EPC through the evolved packet data gateway ePDG; Whether to support switching between LTE network and network accessing 5GC via non-3GPP interworking function network element N3IWF; Whether the switch between the new radio NR network and the network accessing the EPC through the ePDG is supported; Whether switching between the NR network and the network accessing 5GC through N3IWF is supported.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that If the network interoperability information does not indicate a certain switching capability, it is assumed that the certain switching capability is not supported by the network.

20. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal, including: If the terminal is attached to the EPC, the access management network element sends first network interoperability information to the terminal, where the first network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network, or the access management network element sends second network interoperability information to the terminal, where the second network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the LTE network and the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network.

21. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that The access management network element sends the network interoperability information to the terminal, including: If the terminal is registered in 5GC, the access management network element sends third network interoperability information to the terminal, where the third network interoperability information is used to indicate the switching capability between the 3GPP network and the non-3GPP network related to the NR network, or the access management network element sends the second network interoperability information to the terminal.

22. A network interoperability information sending device, characterized in that: Used for access management network element, the device includes: An acquisition module, used to acquire network interoperability information, where the network interoperability information is used to indicate a switching capability between a 3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP network and a non-3GPP network; The sending module is used to send the network interoperability information to the terminal during the terminal registration or terminal registration update process.

23. An access management network element, characterized in that: Including memory, transceiver, processor: Memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver, for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; A processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 by controlling the transceiver.

24. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 are implemented.

25. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21 are implemented.

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