Communication method and device and storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device and a storage medium. The method is applied to an access management network element of a visited network, and comprises the following steps: receiving a registration request message sent by a terminal, the registration request message carrying a user identifier of the terminal and an identifier of an attribution network; when the home location network does not support the networking mode of the visited location network, using the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office of the visited location, and authenticating the terminal and acquiring subscription data according to the user identifier of the terminal; when the home location network supports the networking mode of the visited location network, using the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the home location to authenticate the terminal and acquire subscription data; if the authentication is passed and the subscription data is obtained, a registration response is returned to the terminal, and the registration response represents that the terminal completes registration. According to the method provided by the invention, when the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal can be registered to the visited network.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Currently, the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) is being built on a large scale. In the early stage of construction, 5G networks mainly adopt a dual-mode architecture of standalone (SA) + non-standalone (NSA).

[0003] Due to the asynchronous construction of 5G SA networks, in roaming scenarios, for 5G networks, there are scenarios where the home network does not support the 5G SA networking mode of the visited network. For example, the visited 5G base station closes 5G NSA access and only supports 5G SA access, and the home network only supports terminals to perform 5G communications through the 5G NSA network. At present, in this case, the terminal will not be able to access the 5G network in the visited location and enjoy the 5G high bandwidth. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method, device and storage medium to solve the problem that when there are multiple 5G networking modes, if the home location does not support the visited location network networking mode, the terminal will not be able to access the 5G network at the visited location and enjoy the 5G high bandwidth.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method being applied to an access management network element of a visited network, the method comprising:

[0006] receiving a registration request message sent by a terminal, wherein the registration request message carries a user identifier of the terminal and an identifier of a home network;

[0007] When the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the user identifier of the terminal is used to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office of the visited location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data; when the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the user identifier of the terminal is used to interact with the network element of the home location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data;

[0008] If the authentication is successful and the contract data is obtained, a registration response is returned to the terminal, where the registration response indicates that the terminal has completed registration.

[0009] Optionally, the roaming gateway office further includes: an intercommunication network element; the using the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office of the visited location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data includes:

[0010] Sending a first discovery request message to the network storage network element, where the first discovery request message is used to request discovery of a network element that authenticates the terminal, and the first discovery request message carries an identifier of the home network;

[0011] Receiving a first discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the first discovery response message carries an identifier of the intercommunication network element;

[0012] Using the user identification of the terminal to interact with the intercommunication network element, authenticating the terminal;

[0013] Sending a second discovery request message to the network storage network element, where the second discovery request message is used to request discovery of a network element storing the terminal subscription data, and the second discovery request message carries an identifier of the home network;

[0014] receiving a second discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the second discovery response message carries an identifier of the intercommunication network element;

[0015] The user identification of the terminal is used to interact with the intercommunication network element to obtain the subscription data of the terminal.

[0016] Optionally, the roaming gateway office further includes: a session management agent network element; after the terminal completes registration, the method further includes:

[0017] receiving a first session establishment request from the terminal, where the first session establishment request carries a user identifier of the terminal and an identifier of a home network;

[0018] If the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, a third discovery request is sent to the network storage network element, wherein the third discovery request carries an identifier of the home network and a first signaling exchange identifier; the first signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that a session management network element is discovered from the visited network;

[0019] receiving a third discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the third discovery response message carries the session management agent network element;

[0020] A second session establishment request is sent to the session management proxy network element of the visited network, where the second session establishment request is used to request to establish a session of the terminal with the session management proxy network element.

[0021] Optionally, if the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, after the terminal completes registration, the method further includes:

[0022] Sending a fourth discovery request to the network storage network element, the fourth discovery request carrying an identifier of the home network and a second signaling exchange identifier; the second signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that a session management network element is discovered from the home network;

[0023] receiving a fourth discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the fourth discovery response message carries the session management network element of the home network;

[0024] A fourth session establishment request is sent to the session management network element of the home network, where the fourth session establishment request is used to request establishment of a session of the terminal.

[0025] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method being applied to a network element of a roaming gateway office at a visited location, the method comprising:

[0026] When the home network of the terminal that sends the registration request message to the access management network element does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal interacts with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal and obtain subscription data.

[0027] Optionally, the roaming gateway office further includes: an intercommunication network element; the interacting with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data includes:

[0028] The network storage network element receives a first discovery request message sent by the access management network element, where the first discovery request message is used to request discovery of a network element that authenticates the terminal that sends the registration request message, and the first discovery request message carries an identifier of a home network of the terminal;

[0029] If it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the network storage network element sends a first discovery response message to the access management network element; the first discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element;

[0030] The intercommunication network element interacts with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal;

[0031] The network storage network element receives a second discovery request message sent by the access management network element, where the second discovery request message is used to request discovery of a network element storing the subscription data of the terminal, and the second discovery request message carries an identifier of the home network;

[0032] If it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the network storage network element sends a second discovery response message to the access management network element; the second discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element;

[0033] The intercommunication network element interacts with the access management network element to provide the subscription data of the terminal.

[0034] Optionally, the roaming gateway office further includes: a session management agent network element; after the terminal completes registration, the method further includes:

[0035] The network storage network element receives a third discovery request sent by the access management network element after receiving the first session establishment request of the terminal, wherein the third discovery request carries an identifier of the home network and a first signaling exchange identifier; the first signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that the session management network element is discovered from the visited network;

[0036] The network storage network element sends a third discovery response message to the access management network element; the third discovery response message carries the session management agent network element; the third discovery response message is used to instruct the access management network element to send a second session establishment request to the session management network element of the visited network, and the second session establishment request is used to request to establish a session of the terminal with the session management agent network element.

[0037] Optionally, if the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, after the terminal completes registration, the method further includes:

[0038] The network storage network element receives a fourth discovery request sent by the access management network element after receiving the third session establishment request of the terminal, wherein the fourth discovery request carries an identifier of the home network and a second signaling exchange identifier; the second signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that the session management network element is discovered from the home network;

[0039] The network storage network element sends a fourth discovery response message to the access management network element; the fourth discovery response message carries the session management network element of the home network; the fourth discovery response message is used to instruct the access management network element to send a fourth session establishment request to the session management network element of the home network, and the fourth session establishment request is used to request to establish a session for the terminal.

[0040] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to an access management network element of a visited network, and the device includes:

[0041] A receiving module, configured to receive a registration request message sent by a terminal, wherein the registration request message carries a user identifier of the terminal and an identifier of a home network;

[0042] An interaction module, configured to, when the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, use the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office of the visited location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data; when the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, use the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the home location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data;

[0043] The response module is used to return a registration response to the terminal if the authentication is passed and the contract data is obtained, and the registration response indicates that the terminal has completed registration.

[0044] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which is applied to a network element of a roaming gateway office at a visited location, and the device includes:

[0045] The interaction module is used to interact with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data when the home network of the terminal that sends the registration request message to the access management network element does not support the networking mode of the visited network.

[0046] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor, and a memory and a communication interface communicatively connected to the processor;

[0047] The memory stores computer-executable instructions;

[0048] The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

[0049] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, they are used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

[0050] The communication method, device and storage medium provided by the present application, the terminal sends a registration request message to the access management network element of the visited network. If the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the visited access management network element uses the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the visited gateway office to authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data; when the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the user identifier of the terminal is used to interact with the network element of the home network to authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data; if the authentication is successful and the contract data is obtained, a registration response is returned to the terminal to indicate that the terminal has completed registration.

[0051] Through the above method, when the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal can be registered to the visited network according to the standard registration process; when the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the access management network element can interact with the network element of the visited gateway office to authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data, thereby realizing the terminal registration process. In other words, for communication networks of the same communication standard, even if the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal can still register with the visited network and communicate through the visited network without being affected by the different supported networking modes. In this way, the user's communication experience can be further improved, the user's usage needs can be met, and the communication application scenarios can be expanded.

[0052] For example, if the visited network is a 5G SA network and the home network is a 5G NSA network, in the prior art, the NSA terminal will not be able to access the visited 5G SA network. However, through the above method, the visited AMF network element can interact with the network element of the visited entry gateway to authenticate the NSA terminal and obtain the contract data. Then, the registration process for the NSA terminal can be implemented. This allows the NSA terminal to access the visited 5G SA network and enjoy the 5G bandwidth. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0054] Figure 1 This is a network architecture diagram involved in the embodiments of the present application;

[0055] Figure 2 A flow chart of a communication method provided by the prior art;

[0056] Figure 3 A flowchart of the first communication method provided in this application;

[0057] Figure 4 A flow chart of the second communication method provided by this application;

[0058] Figure 5 A flowchart of a third communication method provided in this application;

[0059] Figure 6 A flowchart of the fourth communication method provided by this application;

[0060] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of the first communication device provided by the present application;

[0061] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of a second communication device provided by the present application;

[0062] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 100 provided in this application.

[0063] The above drawings have shown clear embodiments of the present application, which will be described in more detail later. These drawings and text descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way, but to illustrate the concept of the present application to those skilled in the art by referring to specific embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present application. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present application as detailed in the appended claims.

[0065] It should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in this application are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use and processing of relevant data must comply with relevant laws, regulations and standards, and provide corresponding operation entrances for users to choose to authorize or refuse.

[0066] First, the terms involved in this application are explained:

[0067] Network element addressing: When the terminal communicates through the core network, it needs to perform corresponding functions through multiple different network elements to complete the terminal communication. In the process, it is necessary to find a suitable network element to perform the corresponding function. This process is called network element addressing. In the 5G SA network, the network repository function (NRF) network element usually completes the network element addressing action.

[0068] Roaming: refers to the function that the communication system can still provide services to a terminal after it leaves its registered service area (i.e. home area) and moves to another service area (i.e. visited area). Currently, roaming can only be performed between areas with compatible network standards and connected to the Internet or between areas that have signed bilateral roaming agreements. User roaming involves two concepts, one is roaming-in and the other is roaming-out, which are a set of corresponding concepts. Roaming-in refers to terminals in other areas roaming to this area, while roaming-out refers to numbers in this area roaming to other areas.

[0069] Gateway: Generally called Gateway Mobile Switching Center (GMSC), it mainly performs the function of tandem. For example, business or relay interconnection between different communication networks is connected through gateways. Gateways are the points of entry and exit of the network. In roaming scenarios, terminals access the visited network by roaming into gateways.

[0070] Figure 1 This is a network architecture diagram related to the embodiments of the present application. Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the 5G network architecture released by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard group includes: access network equipment, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, unified data management function (UDM) network element, authentication server function (AUSF) network element, and NRF network element.

[0071] Those skilled in the art will understand that Figure 1 The network architecture shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the network architecture. In specific implementation, the network architecture may include more or fewer network elements than shown in the figure, or combine certain network elements, etc. In addition, it should be understood that Figure 1 The network architecture diagram shown can be a network architecture diagram of any communication standard, for example, it can be a 5G network architecture diagram, or it can be a schematic diagram of the architecture of a network of a communication standard that will appear in the future.

[0072] In the above network architecture, the access network equipment is the equipment on the access network side, and the AMF network element, SMF network element, UDM network element, AUSF network element, and NRF network element are the network elements on the core network side (referred to as: core network network elements).

[0073] The AMF network element is used to manage whether the terminal device can access the core network. The SMF network element is used to manage the session connection established by the terminal device through the core network, and each session connection is used to transmit the user plane data of the terminal device. The UDM network element is used to store the contract data of the terminal. The AUSF network element is used to receive the request for identity authentication of the UE by the AMF network element, request a key from the UDM, and then forward the key issued by the UDM to the AMF for authentication processing. The NRF network element is used to register, manage, and detect the status of network elements to achieve automated management of all network elements. The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: long term evolution (LTE) system, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, frequency division duplex (FDD) system, future communication system, or a system integrating multiple communication systems, etc., which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application. Among them, 5G can also be called new radio (NR).

[0074] The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication scenarios, for example, it can be applied to one or more of the following communication scenarios: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) communication, ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), machine type communication (MTC), mMTC, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication, and Internet of Things (IoT), etc. Optionally, mMTC may include one or more of the following communications: industrial wireless sensor network (IWSN) communication, communication in video surveillance scenarios, and communication of wearable devices, etc.

[0075] The terminal in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal device, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal in the embodiment of the present application may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network or a terminal device in a public land mobile communication network (PLMN) to be evolved in the future, etc. It should be understood that the present application does not limit the specific form of the terminal.

[0076] The network device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device with wireless transceiver function in the access network. The device includes but is not limited to: base station, evolved node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved node B, or homenode B, HNB), baseband unit (BBU), access point (AP) in wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node, transmission point (TP) or transmission and reception point (TRP), etc. The device may also be a network node constituting the next generation Node B (gNB) or transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a distributed unit (DU), etc.

[0077] At present, there are two networking modes for 5G networks, one is SA and the other is NSA. 5G NSA means that the 5G network is placed on the 4G infrastructure, and the 4G base station and 5G base station coexist on the base station side. 5G NSA still uses the 4G core network, but adds 5G base stations, so that terminals that support 5G NSA (referred to as "NSA terminals") can enjoy 5G bandwidth. 5G SA means networking by building independent 5G base stations, and a completely new 5G core network (that is, the 5G network architecture released by the 3GPP standard group) must be built before it can be put into use.

[0078] Currently, the construction and development of 5G SA are not synchronized. Some regions only support terminals accessing the 5G network through the 5G NSA network, while some regions can support terminals accessing the 5G network through the 5G SA network. In addition, some 5G base stations in areas where 5G SA networks have been built and turned on may turn off 5G NSA access. Alternatively, although some operators have built 5G SA networks, they have not signed roaming agreements for 5G SA. In this case, terminals cannot access the 5G SA network at the visited location.

[0079] When a terminal registers to a visited network to communicate through the visited network, the AMF network element of the visited network needs to interact with the network element of the terminal's home location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the terminal's contract data to determine whether the terminal has the right to register with the visited network. However, the current network element addressing scheme can only support the connection of the same core network mode (for example, both the visited and home locations are 5G SA networks, or both the visited and home locations are 5G NSA networks), and cannot achieve the addressing of network elements when the visited 5G SA network and the home location 5G NSA network coexist, or when the home location 5G SA and 5G NSA networks coexist; that is, when the terminal's home location does not support the visited network that the terminal attempts to access, the AMF network element of the visited location cannot authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data by interacting with the network element of the home location. If the operators of the home and roaming locations have only signed a roaming agreement for 5G NSA, but not a roaming agreement for 5G SA, even if 5G SA networks are built and turned on in both the visited and home locations, the terminal will not be able to register to the 5G SA network of the visited location.

[0080] For example, when an NSA terminal in a non-5G SA network in its home area attempts to access a visited network, if the visited network only supports 5G SA networks but not 5G NSA networks, the NSA terminal will try to register with the visited 5G SA network. Figure 2 A flow chart of a communication method provided by the prior art, such as Figure 2 As shown, when the NSA terminal attempts to access the visited 5G SA network, it first sends a registration request message to the visited AMF network element through the 5G base station. The visited AMF network element sends a discovery request message to the NRF network element of the visited roaming gateway office to request the discovery of the AUSF network element used to authenticate the terminal registration authority in the visited area. Subsequently, the NRF network element of the visited roaming gateway office performs a discovery process of the home public land mobile network (PLMN) to try to discover the above-mentioned AUSF network element.

[0081] Since the home location of the NSA terminal does not support the 5G SA network, the NRF network element of the visited location roaming gateway is not configured with the home location NRF network element address, that is, the AUSF network element used to authenticate the registration authority of the NSA terminal cannot be discovered through the home location NRF network element. At this time, the NRF network element of the visited location roaming gateway feeds back the discovery request response to the visited location AMF network element to indicate that the discovery result is empty, that is, the AUSF network element cannot be discovered. In this way, the AMF network element cannot use the AUSF network element to authenticate the NSA terminal, and the NSA terminal cannot register to the visited location 5G SA network and enjoy the 5G bandwidth.

[0082] It should be understood that if a roaming agreement for a specific network (such as 5G SA) is signed between the home and visited operators, the home and visited must both build and support the specific network. However, if the home and visited build and open a specific network, it does not mean that the operators of the two places have previously signed a roaming agreement for a specific network. The home network mentioned in this application supports the networking method of the visited network, which means that the visiting communication operator and the home communication operator have signed a corresponding roaming agreement for the above-mentioned networking method of the communication network of a specific communication format. For example, if a 5G SA roaming agreement is signed between the visited communication operator and the home communication operator, it is considered that the home network supports the 5G SA networking method of the visited network. If only a 5G NSA roaming agreement is signed between the visited communication operator and the home communication operator, even if both the visited and home locations build and open 5GSA networks, the home network does not support the 5G SA networking method of the visited network.

[0083] The inventors consider that the cause of the above problem is that the AMF network element at the visited location cannot find the network element used to authenticate the NSA terminal and obtain the contract data of the NSA terminal at the NSA terminal's home location through the NRF network element at the visited location's roaming gateway. If the corresponding network element for authenticating the NSA terminal and obtaining the contract data can be directly set at the visited location, then the AMF network element can directly authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data through the above-set network element when the corresponding network element cannot be found at the terminal's home location, thereby enabling the terminal to register with the visited location network and enjoy 5G bandwidth.

[0084] In view of this, the present application provides a communication method, which can realize the authentication of the terminal and the acquisition of the contract data through the network element of the gateway office in the visited location when the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, and then realize the processing of the registration request of the terminal. That is to say, in the above case, there is no need to obtain the network element for authenticating the terminal and acquiring the contract data through the terminal home location, but only the authentication and contract data acquisition process can be realized locally in the visited location. Through the above method, when the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, for example, when the visited location is a 5G SA network, the terminal is an NSA terminal, and the visited location only supports the NSA network, the NSA terminal can enjoy the 5G bandwidth.

[0085] 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.

[0086] Figure 3 A flow chart of the first communication method provided in this application, such as Figure 3 As shown, the method comprises the following steps:

[0087] S101. A terminal sends a registration request message to an access management network element of a visited network.

[0088] The above-mentioned terminal may be, for example, an NSA terminal, or an NSA / SA terminal (i.e., a terminal that supports both 5G NSA network and 5GSA networking). The above-mentioned visited network is the network currently accessed by the terminal, for example, it may be a 5G SA network. This application does not limit whether there are other communication networks in the visited location. The type of the above-mentioned access management network element is related to the type of the visited network. For example, if the visited network is a 5G SA network, the access management network element may be, for example, an AMF network element.

[0089] The registration request message carries the user identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the home network of the terminal. The user identifier of the terminal may be, for example, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). The identifier of the home network may be, for example, a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier of the home location. In addition to the user identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the home network of the terminal, the present application does not limit whether the registration request message includes other content.

[0090] In this step, the terminal sends a registration request message to the access management network element of the visited network to request to register with the visited network. Correspondingly, the access management network element of the visited network receives the registration request message sent by the terminal.

[0091] S102: The access management network element determines whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network.

[0092] It should be understood that the above networking methods are networking methods for networks of the same communication standard (such as 5G networks). There may be different networking methods for networks of the same communication standard. For example, for 5G networks, there are two networking methods: 5G SA and 5G NSA.

[0093] If the home operator and the visited operator have only signed a roaming agreement for communication networks of other communication standards, the access management network element directly sends a response message indicating registration rejection to the terminal. The communication network of other communication standards mentioned here refers to a communication network of a communication standard different from the visited network that the terminal is currently trying to access. For example, the network storage network element of the visited roaming gateway office may store the home network identifier and

[0094] Optionally, after determining whether the terminal and the home network support the networking mode of the visited network, the access management network element can also determine whether the home communication operator and the visited communication operator have signed a roaming communication agreement for the above-mentioned visited network. If not, the access management network element can directly send a registration response to the terminal indicating the rejection of registration. For example, the network storage network element of the visited roaming gateway is configured with the network type for which the roaming communication agreement signed by the home operator and the visited operator is targeted. Based on this, the access management network element can determine whether the home communication operator and the visited communication operator have signed a roaming communication agreement for the above-mentioned visited network.

[0095] In this step, the access management network element determines whether the terminal and the home network support the networking mode of the visited network, and then determines the subsequent mode for processing the registration request of the terminal.

[0096] Exemplarily, the access management network element can refer to the existing technology to determine whether the terminal and the home network support the networking mode of the visited network. For example, if the visited network is a 5G SA network, the access management network element can search for the AUSF network element that can be used to authenticate the terminal, and the EDU network element through the NRF network element of the visited entry gateway. If the corresponding network element can be found, it is determined that the terminal and the home network support the networking mode of the visited network.

[0097] Alternatively, the access management network element stores a mapping relationship between the home network identifier and whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network. The access management network element determines whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network based on the home network identifier of the terminal and the mapping relationship.

[0098] If the access management network element determines that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, indicating that the visited network cannot be connected to the home network and the visited access management network element cannot interact with the home network element, step S103 is executed.

[0099] When the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, that is, the networking modes of the home and visited networks are the same, the access management network element can use the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the home network to authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data. That is, the access management network element can implement the registration of the terminal to the visited network according to the standard terminal registration process. For details, please refer to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0100] S103: The access management network element uses the user identity of the terminal to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office at the visited location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data.

[0101] The network element of the roaming gateway office at the above-mentioned visited location may be one or more, and those skilled in the art may set it according to actual conditions. The network element for authenticating the terminal and the network element for acquiring the contract data may be one or two different network elements. In addition, when there are multiple network elements of the above-mentioned roaming gateway office, they may be deployed on the same hardware device (such as a server, a computer), or they may be deployed on different hardware devices respectively, or they may be partially deployed on the same hardware device and partially deployed on different hardware devices. Furthermore, a network element may also be deployed on a hardware device cluster. This application does not limit the deployment method of the network elements.

[0102] The above authentication is to authenticate whether the terminal has the authority to register to the visited network, and the above contract data is data indicating that the terminal has signed a contract with the visited network. For example, if the terminal is an NSA terminal and the home network is a 5G NSA network, the network element of the visited roaming gateway office can store all number segments of the NSA roaming operator that has signed a contract.

[0103] Exemplarily, the visited roaming gateway office may add a new network element, which carries data for authenticating the terminal and the contract data of the terminal. Alternatively, the visited roaming gateway office may add two new network elements, one of which is used to authenticate the terminal according to the user identification of the terminal, and the other network element stores the contract data of the terminal. Alternatively, the visited roaming gateway office may adjust the function based on the original network element so that it can be used to authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data. The specific authentication and contract data acquisition method can refer to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0104] In the prior art, if the access management network element determines that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal will not be able to obtain the corresponding network elements of the home location (such as AUSF network elements and UDM network elements) to perform authentication and obtain contract data. In this step, under the above circumstances, the access management network element can interact with the network elements of the visited location's roaming gateway office to authenticate the terminal and obtain contract data, thereby enabling the terminal to register with the visited location's network when the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network. That is to say, in the present application, there is a network element in the visited location's roaming gateway office, which can replace the network element used for authentication and contract data storage in the home location in the prior art to achieve authentication of the terminal and the terminal's acquisition of contract data.

[0105] If the authentication is successful and the contract signing data is obtained, execute step S104.

[0106] S104: The access management network element returns a registration response to the terminal.

[0107] The above registration response indicates that the terminal has completed registration.

[0108] In this step, the access management network element returns a registration response to the terminal, so that the terminal knows that it has completed the registration in the visited network. Subsequently, the terminal can communicate through the visited network.

[0109] In this embodiment, the terminal sends a registration request message to the access management network element of the visited network. If the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the visited access management network element uses the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the visited roaming gateway office to authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data; when the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the user identifier of the terminal is used to interact with the network element of the home network to authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data; if the authentication is successful and the contract data is obtained, a registration response is returned to the terminal to indicate that the terminal has completed the registration. Through the above method, when the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal can be registered to the visited network according to the standard registration process; through the above method, when the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the access management network element can interact with the network element of the visited roaming gateway office to authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data, thereby realizing the registration process of the terminal. That is to say, for the communication network of the same communication standard, even if the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal can still register to the visited network and communicate through the visited network without being affected by the different supported networking modes. In this way, the user's communication experience can be further improved, the user's usage needs can be met, and the communication application scenarios can be expanded.

[0110] For example, if the visited network is a 5G SA network and the home network is a 5G NSA network, in the prior art, the NSA terminal will not be able to access the visited 5G SA network. However, through the above method, the visited AMF network element can interact with the network element of the visited entry gateway to authenticate the NSA terminal and obtain the contract data. Then, the registration process for the NSA terminal can be implemented. This allows the NSA terminal to access the visited 5G SA network and enjoy the 5G bandwidth.

[0111] The following describes how to use the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office at the visited location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data, that is, step S103 in the above embodiment.

[0112] Optional, Figure 4 A flow chart of the second communication method provided in this application, such as Figure 4As shown, the roaming gateway office may also include an intercommunication network element. It should be understood that the intercommunication network element mentioned here is only a name. In some embodiments, the above network element may also use other names, and its function is not limited. In the case where the roaming gateway office includes an intercommunication network element, Figure 4 The communication method described may include the following steps:

[0113] S201. An access management network element sends a first discovery request message to a network storage network element.

[0114] The above-mentioned network storage network element is the network element of the visited gateway office, which is used for network element addressing, etc. Its type is related to the type of the visited network. Exemplarily, if the visited network is a 5G SA network, the network storage network element can be, for example, an NRF network element. The above-mentioned first discovery request message is used to request the discovery of the network element for authenticating the terminal. The first discovery request message carries the identifier of the terminal's home network.

[0115] In this step, the access management network element sends a first discovery request message to the network storage network element, so that the network storage network element can find a network element for authenticating the terminal according to the first discovery request message.

[0116] Correspondingly, the network storage network element receives the first discovery request message sent by the access management network element.

[0117] S202: The network storage network element determines whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network.

[0118] In this step, the network storage network element determines whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, and then determines how to implement authentication for the terminal in the future.

[0119] For example, the network storage network element can search for the network storage network element (for example, an NRF network element) used for network element addressing in the home location according to the identifier of the terminal's home location network in the first discovery request message, and then determine whether the home location network supports the networking mode of the visited location network.

[0120] Exemplarily, the network storage network element of the visited roaming gateway checks whether it is configured with the network storage network element of the terminal's home network according to the identifier of the terminal's home network. If the network storage network element of the terminal's home network cannot be found, it can be directly determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network. In this case, it indicates that the home operator and the visited operator have not signed a roaming agreement for the visited network networking mode, and the home network does not adopt the visited network networking mode.

[0121] If the network storage element of the terminal's home network can be found, the network element that can be used to authenticate the terminal is further searched through the home network storage element. If it can be found, it is determined that the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network. If it cannot be found, it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network. In this case, it indicates that the home operator and the visited operator have not signed a roaming agreement for the visited network networking mode, and the home network adopts the visited network networking mode.

[0122] If it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, indicating that the visited access management network element cannot authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data through the home network element of the terminal, then step S203 is executed.

[0123] If it is determined that the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, it means that the visited access management network element can authenticate the terminal through the network element of the terminal's home location. Then, subsequently, the network storage network element can send the address of the network element to the visited access management network element, so that the access management network element can interact with the network element of the above-mentioned home location for authenticating the terminal to realize the authentication of the terminal. The specific implementation method can refer to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0124] S203. The network storage network element sends a first discovery response message to the access management network element.

[0125] The first discovery response message carries the identifier of the interworking network element. This application does not limit whether the first discovery response message includes other content in addition to the identifier of the interworking network element. The interworking network element mentioned here can be a network element that already exists in the visited roaming gateway office, for example, an interworking function (IWF) network element, or a newly added network element.

[0126] Since the network storage network element determines that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, that is, it determines that the home network element for authenticating the terminal cannot be obtained, in this step, the network storage network element sends a first discovery response message to the access management network element, so that the access management network element of the visited location can obtain the identifier of the intercommunication network element of the visited location roaming gateway office, so that the subsequent visited location access management network element can interact with the intercommunication network element to achieve terminal authentication.

[0127] Correspondingly, the access management network element receives the first discovery response message returned by the network storage network element.

[0128] S204: The access management network element interacts with the intercommunication network element using the user identifier of the terminal, and authenticates the terminal according to the user identifier of the terminal.

[0129] Exemplarily, the intercommunication network element may store data that can be used to authenticate the terminal, and the specific data content may be set according to actual conditions. Exemplarily, the access management network element may authenticate the terminal according to the user identification of the terminal, and the specific implementation method may refer to the prior art. If the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the access management network element and the home network element interact to obtain the method for authenticating the terminal, which will not be described in detail here.

[0130] In this step, the access management network element interacts with the intercommunication network element, which can authenticate the terminal. In other words, the intercommunication network element of the visited location roaming gateway office makes up for the lack of a network element for authenticating the terminal in the home location when the home location network does not support the visited location network in the prior art, so that in this case, the access management network element can also authenticate the terminal by interacting with the intercommunication network element.

[0131] S205. The access management network element sends a second discovery request message to the network storage network element.

[0132] The second discovery request message carries the identifier of the home network. The present application does not limit whether the second discovery request message includes other content in addition to the identifier of the home network. In this step, the access management network element sends a second discovery request message to the network storage network element to request the discovery of the network element that stores the terminal contract data. The type of the network element is related to the type of the visited network. For example, if the visited network is an SA network, the above network element may be an EDU network element.

[0133] Correspondingly, the network storage network element receives the second discovery request message sent by the access management network element.

[0134] S206. The network storage network element determines whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network.

[0135] In this step, the network storage network element determines whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, and then determines how to subsequently obtain the subscription data for the terminal.

[0136] Exemplarily, the network storage network element of the visited roaming gateway checks whether it is configured with the network storage network element of the terminal's home network according to the identifier of the terminal's home network. If the network storage network element of the terminal's home network cannot be found, it can be directly determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network. In this case, it indicates that the home operator and the visited operator have not signed a roaming agreement for the visited network networking mode, and the home network does not adopt the visited network networking mode.

[0137] If the network storage element of the terminal's home network can be found, the network element that can be used to obtain the terminal's contract data is further searched through the home network storage element. If it can be found, it is determined that the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network. If it cannot be found, it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network. In this case, it indicates that the home operator and the visited operator have not signed a roaming agreement for the visited network networking mode, and the home network adopts the visited network networking mode.

[0138] If it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, indicating that the visited access management network element cannot obtain the terminal authentication data through the home network element of the terminal, then step S203 is executed.

[0139] If it is determined that the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, it means that the visited access management network element can authenticate the terminal through the network element of the terminal's home location. Then, subsequently, the network storage network element can send the address of the network element to the visited access management network element, so that the access management network element can interact with the network element of the above-mentioned home location for obtaining the terminal contract data. The specific implementation method can refer to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0140] S207. The network storage network element sends a second discovery response message to the access management network element.

[0141] The second discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element. This application does not limit whether the second discovery response message includes other content in addition to the identifier of the intercommunication network element. It should be understood that in this embodiment, the intercommunication network element can be used to authenticate the terminal and can also be used for the access management network element of the visited location to obtain the contract data of the terminal.

[0142] Since the network storage network element determines that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, that is, it determines that the address of the network element for obtaining the subscription data in the home network cannot be obtained. Therefore, in this step, the network storage network element sends a second discovery response message to the access management network element so that the access management network element in the visited location can obtain the identifier of the intercommunication network element of the visited location roaming gateway office, so that the subsequent access management network element in the visited location can interact with the intercommunication network element to achieve the acquisition of the subscription data of the terminal.

[0143] Correspondingly, the access management network element receives the second discovery response message returned by the network storage network element.

[0144] S208: The access management network element interacts with the intercommunication network element using the user identifier of the terminal to obtain the contract data of the terminal.

[0145] The specific implementation method can refer to the existing technology. If the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the access management network element and the home network element interact to obtain the subscription data of the terminal, which will not be repeated here.

[0146] In this step, the access management network element interacts with the intercommunication network element, which can achieve the acquisition of the terminal's contract data. In other words, the intercommunication network element of the visited location roaming gateway office makes up for the lack of network elements for acquiring the terminal's contract data in the home location when the home location network does not support the visited location network in the prior art, so that in this case, the access management network element can also interact with the intercommunication network element to achieve the acquisition of the terminal's contract data.

[0147] In this embodiment, an intercommunication network element is set in the visited location roaming gateway office, so that when the home location network does not support the networking mode of the visited location network, it can replace the network element of the home location for authenticating the terminal and obtaining the subscription data of the terminal. During the process, if the visited location roaming gateway office determines that the home location network does not support the networking mode of the visited location network, it sends the intercommunication network element to the visited location access management network element, so that the visited location access management network element can directly complete the authentication of the terminal and the acquisition of the subscription data by interacting with the intercommunication network element, thereby realizing the registration process of the terminal to the visited location network.

[0148] By means of the above method, when the terminal and / or the home network do not support the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal can still register with the visited network. In other words, by means of the above method, the terminal can enjoy the visited network without being affected by the networking modes of the home and visited during roaming.

[0149] For example, if the visited network only supports 5G SA network, the visited location only supports 5G NSA network. In the prior art, since the networking modes of the visited location and the home location are inconsistent, network docking cannot be achieved, and NSA terminals cannot register to the visited network and enjoy 5G bandwidth. However, through the above method, an intercommunication network element can be set at the visited location roaming gateway office, and the visited location AMF network element can interact with the session management agent network element of the visited location roaming gateway office to complete the process of registering the terminal to the visited network.

[0150] If the visited network is a 5G SA network, after the terminal registers with the visited network, if it wants to communicate through the visited network, the AMF network element of the visited network needs to interact with the SMF network element of the home network to establish a terminal session. However, if the terminal and / or the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the visited network and the home network will not be able to connect, the AMF network element of the visited network will not be able to interact with the SMF network element of the home network, and the terminal will not be able to communicate through the visited network. In view of this, the present application provides a communication method based on the above embodiments to solve the above technical problems.

[0151] The following describes how the terminal implements network communication through the visited network after the terminal completes registration. Optionally, the roaming gateway office may also include: a session management proxy network element. The session management proxy network element may be an existing one of the visited roaming gateway office or a newly added one. Similarly, the session management proxy network element mentioned here is only a name and does not limit its function. In some embodiments, the above network element may also be referred to by other names.

[0152] Figure 5 A flow chart of the third communication method provided in this application, Figure 6 The flowchart of the fourth communication method provided by this application is as follows: Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the method may include the following steps:

[0153] S301. A terminal sends a first session establishment request to a visited access management network element.

[0154] The first session establishment request carries the user identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the home network.

[0155] In this step, the terminal sends a first session establishment request to the visited access management network element to request to establish a session between the terminal and other devices, where the other devices may be other terminals or servers, for example.

[0156] Correspondingly, the access management network element receives the first session establishment request of the terminal.

[0157] S302: The access management network element determines whether the terminal and the home network support the networking mode of the visited network.

[0158] Exemplarily, the access management network element may store a mapping relationship between the home network identifier and whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network. The access management network element determines whether the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network based on the home network identifier of the terminal and the above mapping relationship. Optionally, if the visited network is a 5G SA network, the specific implementation method may refer to the prior art.

[0159] If the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, indicating that the home network and the visited network can be connected, and the access management network element cannot obtain the session management network element of the home network for session establishment, then step S303 is executed.

[0160] Optionally, if the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, indicating that the home network and the visited network can be interconnected, and the access management network element can obtain the session management network element of the home network for session establishment, then step S306 is executed.

[0161] S303: The access management network element sends a third discovery request to the network storage network element.

[0162] The third discovery request carries the identifier of the home network and the first signaling exchange identifier. The first signaling exchange identifier is used to characterize the discovery of the session management network element from the visited location. Exemplarily, the first signaling exchange identifier may be, for example, SSP: local. The above-mentioned session management network element is used to establish a session of the terminal, and is related to the type of the visited network. Exemplarily, if the visited network is a 5G SA network, the session management network element may be, for example, an SMF network element. It should be understood that the present application does not limit whether the third discovery request includes other content in addition to the home network identifier and the first signaling exchange identifier.

[0163] In this step, since the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the access management network element cannot obtain the session management network element at the home location for session establishment. Therefore, the access management network element sends a third discovery request to the network storage network element to instruct the network storage network element to discover the session management network element from the visited location.

[0164] Correspondingly, the network storage network element receives the third discovery request sent by the access management network element.

[0165] S304. The network storage network element sends a third discovery response message to the access management network element.

[0166] The third discovery response message carries a session management proxy network element. The session management proxy network element is used to proxy the function of the session management network element to establish a terminal session. For example, the session proxy network element may carry the data network name (Data Network Name, DNN) of the service, and single network slice selection assistance information (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI) (may not be carried, then it represents the service for all network slices). The session proxy network element can establish a terminal session based on the above-mentioned content.

[0167] In this step, after receiving the third discovery request sent by the access management network element, the network storage network element determines the network storage network element of the home location where the terminal is not configured according to the home location network identifier. In addition, the network storage network element determines that it needs to discover the session management network element from the visited location according to the first signaling exchange identifier. Therefore, the network storage network element returns the preset session management agent network element to the third discovery response message.

[0168] Correspondingly, the network storage network element receives the third discovery response message returned by the network storage network element.

[0169] S305: The access management network element sends a second session establishment request to the session management proxy network element of the visited network.

[0170] In this step, the access management network element sends a second session establishment request to the session management network element of the visited network to request interaction with the session management proxy network element to complete the session establishment of the terminal.

[0171] Correspondingly, the session management network element of the visited network receives the second session establishment request sent by the access management network element.

[0172] S306. The access management network element sends a fourth discovery request to the network storage network element.

[0173] The fourth discovery request carries the identifier of the home network and a second signaling exchange identifier. The second signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that the session management network element is discovered from the home network.

[0174] Since the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the home network and the visited network can be connected, so the access management network element sends a fourth discovery request through the network storage network element to enable the network storage network element to discover the session management network element from the home network.

[0175] Correspondingly, the network storage network element receives the fourth discovery request sent by the access management network element.

[0176] S307. The network storage network element sends a fourth discovery response message to the access management network element.

[0177] The fourth discovery response message carries the session management network element of the home network.

[0178] In this step, the network storage network element obtains the session management network element of the home network according to the fourth discovery request, adds it to the fourth discovery response message, and sends it to the access management network element.

[0179] Exemplarily, take the case where both the visited network and the home network are 5G SA networks, and the terminal is a 5G SA terminal. The network storage network element of the visited roaming gateway office is an NRF network element. The NRF network element searches for the NRF network element of the home network from itself according to the indication of the above-mentioned second signaling exchange identifier and the identifier of the home network. Since the home location supports the networking mode of the visited network, the NRF network element of the visited roaming gateway office can obtain the NRF network element of the home network. The subsequent NRF network element of the home network sends the SMF network element of the home network to the NRF network element of the visited roaming gateway office, so that it can add the SMF network element to the fourth discovery response message and send it to the access management network element.

[0180] S308. The access management network element sends a fourth session establishment request to the session management network element of the home network.

[0181] In this step, the access management network element has learned the session management network element of the home network used to establish the terminal session. Therefore, the access management network element sends a fourth session establishment request to the session management network element of the home network to request interaction with the session management proxy network element to complete the terminal session establishment.

[0182] Correspondingly, the session management network element of the visited network receives the fourth session establishment request sent by the access management network element.

[0183] In this embodiment, the visited location roaming gateway office sets up a session management proxy network element, so that when the home location network does not support the networking mode of the visited location network, it can replace the home location session management proxy network element to complete the terminal session establishment. In the process, the access management network element adopts different processing strategies for the session establishment request sent by the terminal according to whether the home location network supports the networking mode of the visited location network. When the home location network does not support the networking mode of the visited location network, the access management network element adds a first signaling exchange identifier in the third discovery request, and the first signaling exchange identifier instructs the network storage network element to obtain the session management network element from the local to complete the terminal session establishment. When the home location network supports the networking mode of the visited location network, the access management network element adds a second signaling exchange identifier in the fourth discovery request, and the second signaling exchange identifier instructs the network storage network element to obtain the session management network element from the home location to complete the terminal session establishment.

[0184] By means of the above method, when the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal can still access the visited network and complete communication through the visited network. In other words, by means of the above method, the terminal can enjoy the visited network without being affected by the networking modes of the home and visited during roaming.

[0185] For example, if the visited network only supports 5G SA network, the visited location only supports 5G NSA network. In the prior art, since the networking modes of the visited location and the home location are inconsistent, network docking cannot be achieved, and the NSA terminal cannot access the visited network and enjoy 5G bandwidth. However, through the above method, a session management proxy network element can be set at the visited location roaming gateway office, and the visited location AMF network element can interact with the session management proxy network element of the visited location roaming gateway office to complete the terminal session establishment, so that the NSA terminal can enjoy 5G bandwidth.

[0186] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of the first communication device provided in this application, such as Figure 7 As shown, the device is applied to an access management network element of a visited network, and the device includes: a receiving module 11, an interaction module 12, and a response module 13. Optionally, the device may also include at least one of the following: a sending module 14.

[0187] The receiving module 11 is used to receive a registration request message sent by a terminal, wherein the registration request message carries a user identifier of the terminal and an identifier of a home network.

[0188] The interaction module 12 is used to use the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office of the visited location, and authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data according to the user identifier of the terminal when the home location network does not support the networking mode of the visited location network; and use the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the home location, and authenticate the terminal and obtain the contract data when the home location network supports the networking mode of the visited location network.

[0189] The response module 13 is used to return a registration response to the terminal if the authentication is passed and the contract data is obtained, and the registration response indicates that the terminal has completed registration.

[0190] Optionally, the roaming gateway office also includes: an intercommunication network element; an interaction module 12, specifically used to send a first discovery request message to the network storage network element, the first discovery request message is used to request the discovery of the network element that authenticates the terminal, and the first discovery request message carries the identifier of the home network; receive a first discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the first discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element; use the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the intercommunication network element to authenticate the terminal; send a second discovery request message to the network storage network element, the second discovery request message is used to request the discovery of the network element that stores the contract data of the terminal, and the second discovery request message carries the identifier of the home network; receive a second discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the second discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element; use the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the intercommunication network element to obtain the contract data of the terminal.

[0191] Optionally, the roaming gateway office also includes: a session management agent network element; after the terminal completes registration, the receiving module 11 is also used to receive a first session establishment request of the terminal, the first session establishment request carries the user identifier of the terminal and the identifier of the home network; if the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, a third discovery request is sent to the network storage network element, the third discovery request carries the identifier of the home network and a first signaling exchange identifier; the first signaling exchange identifier is used to characterize the discovery of the session management network element from the visited network; a third discovery response message returned by the network storage network element is received; the third discovery response message carries the session management agent network element; a second session establishment request is sent to the session management agent network element of the visited network, the second session establishment request is used to request to establish a session of the terminal with the session management agent network element.

[0192] Optionally, if the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, then after the terminal completes registration, the receiving module 11 is also used to send a fourth discovery request to the network storage network element, the fourth discovery request carries the identifier of the home network and a second signaling exchange identifier; the second signaling exchange identifier is used to characterize the discovery of a session management network element from the home network; receive a fourth discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the fourth discovery response message carries the session management network element of the home network; and send a fourth session establishment request to the session management network element of the home network, the fourth session establishment request is used to request establishment of a session of the terminal.

[0193] The communication device provided in this embodiment can execute the communication method executed by the access management network element in the above method embodiment, and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, which will not be repeated here. Figure 7 The division of the modules shown is only a schematic diagram, and the present application does not limit the division of the modules and the naming of the modules.

[0194] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the structure of the second communication device provided in this application, such as Figure 8 As shown, the device is applied to a network element of a gateway office, and the device includes: an interaction module 21. Optionally, the device may also include a receiving module 22.

[0195] The interaction module 21 is used to interact with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal and obtain subscription data when the home network of the terminal that sends the registration request message to the access management network element does not support the networking mode of the visited network.

[0196] Optionally, the roaming gateway office also includes: an intercommunication network element; an interaction module 21, which is specifically used to receive a first discovery request message sent by an access management network element, the first discovery request message is used to request the discovery of a network element that authenticates a terminal that sends a registration request message, the first discovery request message carries the identifier of the terminal's home network; if it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, a first discovery response message is sent to the access management network element; the first discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element; interacts with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal; receives a second discovery request message sent by the access management network element, the second discovery request message is used to request the discovery of a network element that stores the terminal's contract data, the second discovery request message carries the identifier of the home network; if it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, a second discovery response message is sent to the access management network element; the second discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element; interacts with the access management network element to provide the contract data of the terminal.

[0197] Optionally, the roaming gateway office also includes: a session management agent network element; after the terminal completes registration, a receiving module 22, which is used to receive a third discovery request sent by the access management network element after receiving the first session establishment request of the terminal, the third discovery request carries the identifier of the home network and a first signaling exchange identifier; the first signaling exchange identifier is used to characterize the discovery of the session management network element from the visited network; a third discovery response message is sent to the access management network element; the third discovery response message carries the session management agent network element; the third discovery response message is used to instruct the access management network element to send a second session establishment request to the session management network element of the visited network, and the second session establishment request is used to request to establish a session of the terminal with the session management agent network element.

[0198] Optionally, if the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, after the terminal completes registration, the receiving module 22 is also used to receive a fourth discovery request sent by the access management network element after receiving the third session establishment request of the terminal, and the fourth discovery request carries the identifier of the home network and a second signaling exchange identifier; the second signaling exchange identifier is used to characterize the discovery of the session management network element from the home network; a fourth discovery response message is sent to the access management network element; the fourth discovery response message carries the session management network element of the home network; the fourth discovery response message is used to instruct the access management network element to send a fourth session establishment request to the session management network element of the home network, and the fourth session establishment request is used to request to establish a session of the terminal.

[0199] The communication device provided in this embodiment can execute the communication method executed by the access management network element in the above method embodiment, and its implementation principle and technical effect are similar, which will not be repeated here. Figure 7 The division of the modules shown is only a schematic diagram, and the present application does not limit the division of the modules and the naming of the modules.

[0200] It should be understood that the above device embodiments are only illustrative, and the device of the present application can also be implemented in other ways. For example, multiple units, modules or components can be combined, or can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

[0201] In addition, unless otherwise specified, each functional unit / module in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one unit / module, each unit / module may exist physically separately, or two or more units / modules may be integrated together. The above-mentioned integrated unit / module may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software program module.

[0202] If the integrated unit / module is implemented in the form of hardware, the hardware may be a digital circuit, an analog circuit, etc. The physical implementation of the hardware structure includes but is not limited to transistors, memristors, etc. If not specifically stated, the processor may be any appropriate hardware processor, such as a CPU, a GPU, an FPGA, a DSP, an ASIC, etc. If not specifically stated, the storage unit may be any appropriate magnetic storage medium or magneto-optical storage medium, such as a resistive random access memory RRAM (Resistive Random Access Memory), a dynamic random access memory DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), a static random access memory SRAM (Static Random-Access Memory), an enhanced dynamic random access memory EDRAM (Enhanced Dynamic Random Access Memory), a high-bandwidth memory HBM (High-Bandwidth Memory), a hybrid memory cube HMC (Hybrid Memory Cube), etc.

[0203] If the integrated unit / module is implemented in the form of a software program module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable memory. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a memory and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned memory includes: U disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), mobile hard disk, disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

[0204] Fig. 9 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 100 provided in this application. Fig. 9 As shown, the communication device may include: at least one processor 101 , a memory 102 , and a communication interface 103 .

[0205] The memory 102 is used to store programs. Specifically, the programs may include program codes, and the program codes include computer operation instructions.

[0206] The memory 102 may include a high-speed RAM memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk memory.

[0207] The processor 101 is used to execute the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 102 to implement the communication method described in the aforementioned method embodiment. The processor 101 may be a central processing unit (CPU), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application.

[0208] The communication device 100 can also communicate and interact with external devices through the communication interface 103, and the external device can be, for example, a terminal (for example, a mobile phone, a tablet). In a specific implementation, if the communication interface 103, the memory 102 and the processor 101 are implemented independently, the communication interface 103, the memory 102 and the processor 101 can be interconnected through a bus and complete mutual communication. The bus can be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc., but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0209] Optionally, in a specific implementation, if the communication interface 103, the memory 102 and the processor 101 are integrated on a chip, the communication interface 103, the memory 102 and the processor 101 can communicate through an internal interface.

[0210] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may include: a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a disk or an optical disk, and other media that can store program codes. Specifically, the computer-readable storage medium stores program instructions, and the program instructions are used for the communication method in the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0211] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes an execution instruction, which is stored in a readable storage medium. At least one processor of an electronic device can read the execution instruction from the readable storage medium, and at least one processor executes the execution instruction so that the electronic device implements the communication method provided by the various embodiments described above.

[0212] It should be noted that, for the aforementioned method embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, they are all expressed as a series of action combinations, but those skilled in the art should be aware that the present application is not limited by the described order of actions, because according to the present application, certain steps can be performed in other orders or simultaneously. Secondly, those skilled in the art should also be aware that the embodiments described in the specification are all optional embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily required by the present application.

[0213] It should be further noted that, although the various steps in the flowchart are displayed in sequence according to the indication of the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in sequence in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless there is a clear description in this article, the execution of these steps is not strictly limited in order, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a portion of the steps in the flowchart may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages, and these sub-steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times, and the execution order of these sub-steps or stages is not necessarily to be carried out in sequence, but can be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a portion of the sub-steps or stages of other steps.

[0214] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant description of other embodiments. The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not 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.

[0215] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present application after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present application is intended to cover any modification, use or adaptation of the present application, which follows the general principles of the present application and includes common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present application. The specification and examples are intended to be exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present application are indicated by the following claims.

[0216] It should be understood that the present application is not limited to the precise structures that have been described above and shown in the drawings, and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the present application is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to an access management network element of a visited network, and the method comprises: receiving a registration request message sent by a terminal, wherein the registration request message carries a user identifier of the terminal and an identifier of a home network; When the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the user identifier of the terminal is used to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office of the visited location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data; when the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, the user identifier of the terminal is used to interact with the network element of the home location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data; If the authentication is successful and the contract data is obtained, a registration response is returned to the terminal, where the registration response indicates that the terminal has completed registration.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The roaming gateway office further includes: an intercommunication network element; the using the user identifier of the terminal to interact with the network element of the roaming gateway office of the visited location to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data includes: Sending a first discovery request message to the network storage network element, where the first discovery request message is used to request discovery of a network element that authenticates the terminal, and the first discovery request message carries an identifier of the home network; Receiving a first discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the first discovery response message carries an identifier of the intercommunication network element; Using the user identification of the terminal to interact with the intercommunication network element, authenticating the terminal; Sending a second discovery request message to the network storage network element, where the second discovery request message is used to request discovery of a network element storing the terminal subscription data, and the second discovery request message carries an identifier of the home network; receiving a second discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the second discovery response message carries an identifier of the intercommunication network element; The user identification of the terminal is used to interact with the intercommunication network element to obtain the subscription data of the terminal.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The roaming gateway office further includes: a session management agent network element; after the terminal completes registration, the method further includes: receiving a first session establishment request from the terminal, where the first session establishment request carries a user identifier of the terminal and an identifier of a home network; If the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, a third discovery request is sent to the network storage network element, wherein the third discovery request carries an identifier of the home network and a first signaling exchange identifier; the first signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that a session management network element is discovered from the visited network; receiving a third discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the third discovery response message carries the session management agent network element; A second session establishment request is sent to the session management proxy network element of the visited network, where the second session establishment request is used to request to establish a session of the terminal with the session management proxy network element.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that If the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, after the terminal completes registration, the method further includes: Sending a fourth discovery request to the network storage network element, the fourth discovery request carrying an identifier of the home network and a second signaling exchange identifier; the second signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that a session management network element is discovered from the home network; receiving a fourth discovery response message returned by the network storage network element; the fourth discovery response message carries the session management network element of the home network; A fourth session establishment request is sent to the session management network element of the home network, where the fourth session establishment request is used to request establishment of a session of the terminal.

5. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a network element of a roaming gateway office at a visited location, and the method comprises: When the home network of the terminal that sends the registration request message to the access management network element does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the terminal interacts with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal and obtain subscription data.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The roaming gateway office further includes: an intercommunication network element; the interaction with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal and obtain the subscription data includes: The network storage network element receives a first discovery request message sent by the access management network element, where the first discovery request message is used to request discovery of a network element that authenticates the terminal that sends the registration request message, and the first discovery request message carries an identifier of a home network of the terminal; If it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the network storage network element sends a first discovery response message to the access management network element; the first discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element; The intercommunication network element interacts with the access management network element to authenticate the terminal; The network storage network element receives a second discovery request message sent by the access management network element, where the second discovery request message is used to request discovery of a network element storing the subscription data of the terminal, and the second discovery request message carries an identifier of the home network; If it is determined that the home network does not support the networking mode of the visited network, the network storage network element sends a second discovery response message to the access management network element; the second discovery response message carries the identifier of the intercommunication network element; The intercommunication network element interacts with the access management network element to provide the subscription data of the terminal.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The roaming gateway office further includes: a session management agent network element; after the terminal completes registration, the method further includes: The network storage network element receives a third discovery request sent by the access management network element after receiving the first session establishment request of the terminal, wherein the third discovery request carries an identifier of the home network and a first signaling exchange identifier; the first signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that the session management network element is discovered from the visited network; The network storage network element sends a third discovery response message to the access management network element; the third discovery response message carries the session management agent network element; the third discovery response message is used to instruct the access management network element to send a second session establishment request to the session management network element of the visited network, and the second session establishment request is used to request to establish a session of the terminal with the session management agent network element.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that If the home network supports the networking mode of the visited network, after the terminal completes registration, the method further includes: The network storage network element receives a fourth discovery request sent by the access management network element after receiving the third session establishment request of the terminal, wherein the fourth discovery request carries an identifier of the home network and a second signaling exchange identifier; the second signaling exchange identifier is used to indicate that the session management network element is discovered from the home network; The network storage network element sends a fourth discovery response message to the access management network element; the fourth discovery response message carries the session management network element of the home network; the fourth discovery response message is used to instruct the access management network element to send a fourth session establishment request to the session management network element of the home network, and the fourth session establishment request is used to request to establish a session for the terminal.

9. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, and a memory and a communication interface communicatively connected to the processor; The memory stores computer-executable instructions; The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions, which are used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when executed by a processor.

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