Service discovery methods and related equipment based on local service networks

Abstract

This disclosure provides a service discovery method and related equipment based on a local service network, relating to the field of communication technology. The method includes: receiving a service request from a terminal; responding to the service request by obtaining the terminal's subscription information and confirming the discovery result; and determining the service provider based on the terminal's subscription information and the discovery result. This disclosure achieves lightweight and real-time service discovery by deploying a service discovery mechanism within the local service network, solving the problems of high complexity and poor real-time performance in service discovery processes dominated by higher-level network management.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a service discovery method and related equipment based on a local service network. Background Technology

[0002] With the evolution of mobile communication technology, it has become commonplace to deploy multiple local service networks or edge computing nodes within a single Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). To achieve flexible service deployment and low-latency transmission, interconnection between different PLMNs, or between different local service networks within the same PLMN, has become increasingly important. In this scenario, when a terminal initiates a specific service request, it needs to be able to accurately discover and select the appropriate network function instance located in the target network as the service provider.

[0003] In related technologies, service discovery between networks is achieved through higher layers within the network, such as network management systems. However, because this mechanism relies on high-level network management systems for information exchange, the service discovery process involves multi-level signaling transmission and data synchronization, resulting in high process complexity and poor real-time performance.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background section above is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of this disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This disclosure provides a service discovery method and related equipment based on a local service network, which at least to some extent overcomes the problems of high process complexity and poor real-time performance in service discovery in related technologies.

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

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a method is provided for receiving a service request from a terminal; in response to the service request, obtaining terminal subscription information and confirming a discovery result; and determining the provider of the service request based on the terminal subscription information and the discovery result.

[0008] In some embodiments, the step of responding to the service request, obtaining terminal subscription information, and confirming the discovery result includes: the local network session management network element responding to the service request, obtaining the terminal subscription information from the user information function network element; the local network session management network element responding to the service request, requesting the local network information function network element to perform local service discovery, confirming whether the local service network has the ability to provide services, and obtaining the discovery result.

[0009] In some embodiments, confirming whether the local service network has the ability to provide services includes: confirming whether the service is provided by the local service network or by an external service.

[0010] In some embodiments, the method further includes: performing local service discovery if the service is provided by a local service network; and performing external service discovery if the service is an external service.

[0011] In some embodiments, the external service discovery process includes: the local session management network element requesting a local network information function network element to perform external service discovery; after receiving the request from the local session management network element, the local network information function network element requests a core network network information function network element within the central network public terrestrial mobile communication network to perform service discovery; the core network network information function network element feeds back the service discovery result to the local network information function network element; the local network information function network element feeds back the external service discovery result to the local session management network element; and the local session management network element, based on the obtained feedback result, instructs the terminal to establish a service session with the corresponding network function entity within the network.

[0012] In some embodiments, instructing the terminal to establish a service session with a corresponding network function entity within the network includes: instructing the terminal to establish a service session with a local service network function entity; or, instructing the terminal to establish a service session with a public terrestrial mobile network function entity.

[0013] In some embodiments, the functions of the user information function network element include any one or more of the following: storing user subscription information; storing user service information; and storing user policy information.

[0014] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a service discovery apparatus based on a local service network is also provided, comprising: a service request receiving module for receiving service requests from a terminal; a service request response module for responding to the service request, obtaining terminal subscription information, and confirming the discovery result; and a service determination module for determining the provider of the service request based on the terminal subscription information and the discovery result.

[0015] According to another aspect of this disclosure, an electronic device is also provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to perform the method based on a local service network described above by executing the executable instructions.

[0016] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a computer program is stored, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method based on a local service network as described in any of the preceding claims.

[0017] According to another aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product is also provided, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method based on a local service network of any of the above.

[0018] The service discovery method based on a local service network provided in the embodiments of this disclosure receives service requests from terminals; responds to the service requests by obtaining terminal subscription information and confirming the discovery results; and determines the service provider based on the terminal subscription information and the discovery results. This disclosure achieves lightweight and real-time service discovery by deploying a service discovery mechanism within the local service network, directly obtaining the available service capabilities of the target network using standardized service interfaces, and combining this with terminal subscription information for rapid matching and decision-making. This solves the problems of high complexity and poor real-time performance in service discovery processes dominated by high-level network management.

[0019] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure. It is obvious that the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates the architecture of a service discovery system based on a local service network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 This diagram illustrates a service discovery method based on a local service network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a specific example of a service discovery method based on a local service network according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating yet another specific example of a service discovery method based on a local service network according to an embodiment of this disclosure; Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating yet another specific example of a service discovery method based on a local service network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating another specific example of a service discovery method based on a local service network according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating another specific example of a service discovery method based on a local service network according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. Figure 8 This diagram illustrates a service discovery device based on a local service network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 9 A structural block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0022] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0023] Furthermore, the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted. Some block diagrams shown in the drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0024] To facilitate understanding, before introducing the embodiments of this disclosure, the following explanations are provided for several terms involved in the embodiments of this disclosure: UE: User Equipment; CF-AM-L: Control Function-Access Management-Local, local access management network element; CF-SM-L: Control Function-Session Management-Local, local session management network element; DF-L: Data Function-Local, user information function network element; NCF: Network Capability Function; NCF-L: Network Capability Function-Local; NCF-P: Network Capability Function-PLMN, the core network network information function element; NF: Network Function; LSN: Local Service Network; PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network.

[0025] The specific implementation methods of the embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an exemplary application system architecture is shown, illustrating an application of the service discovery method based on a local service network as described in this disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the system architecture may include terminal device UE101, local service network 102, and public terrestrial mobile communication network center 103.

[0027] Terminal device 101 can be various electronic devices, including but not limited to smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, smart speakers, smartwatches, wearable devices, augmented reality devices, virtual reality devices, etc.

[0028] Optionally, the client of the application installed on different terminal devices 101 may be the same, or the client of the same type of application based on different operating systems. Depending on the terminal platform, the specific form of the application client may also be different; for example, the application client may be a mobile client, a PC client, etc.

[0029] The local service network 102 includes the local access management network element CF-AM-L1021, the local session management network element CF-SM-L1022, the user information function network element DF-L1023, and the local network information function network element NCF-L1024. It should be noted that the NCF is primarily responsible for managing capability information within the network, including the configuration information (NF Profile) of each NF within the network and the configuration information (LSN Profile) of all local service networks within the PLMN. The NCF has intra-network service discovery capabilities, that is, it can discover the corresponding NF or LSN based on service requests. The NCF-L is a network element deployed within the LSN, and within the LSN, it only manages the configuration information (NF-L Profile) of the NF-L. The CF-SM-L is primarily responsible for UE session management and responding to terminal service requests, and can determine whether the service requested by the terminal belongs to the local network or is an external service based on the information obtained; the DF primarily manages the UE's subscription data and service data; and the CF-AM-L is primarily responsible for UE access management.

[0030] The public terrestrial mobile communication network center 103 includes NCF-P1031. Among them, NCF-P is a network element deployed in the central network PLMN.

[0031] Those skilled in the art will know that Figure 1 The number of terminal devices, local service networks, and public terrestrial mobile communication network centers shown in this disclosure is merely illustrative. Any number of terminal devices, local service networks, and public terrestrial mobile communication network centers can be included depending on actual needs. This disclosure does not limit the scope of the embodiments described.

[0032] Figure 2 This invention discloses a flowchart of a service discovery method based on a local service network, as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, the service discovery method based on a local service network provided in this embodiment includes the following steps: S202, Receive service request from terminal.

[0033] It should be noted that the aforementioned terminals need to register with the local service network, which is part of the PLMN. The service request can be a signaling message that includes the terminal's desired access information; for example, the terminal may carry an SLA (Service Level Agreement) requirement, requesting the network to provide the required service.

[0034] S204, in response to a service request, obtains terminal subscription information and confirms the discovery results.

[0035] It should be noted that the aforementioned terminal subscription information can be the terminal's permission information. For example, the terminal subscription information includes: the network slice information that the terminal is allowed to access; whether the terminal has permission to use the local service network; and the terminal's quality of service level, etc. The aforementioned discovery results can be information indicating whether the local service network has the capability to provide services.

[0036] S206. Based on the terminal's subscription information and the discovery results, determine the provider of the service request.

[0037] It should be noted that the provider of the aforementioned service request can be a specific network element instance that is ultimately selected to handle the terminal service.

[0038] This disclosure achieves lightweight and real-time service discovery by deploying a service discovery mechanism within a local service network, using standardized service interfaces to directly obtain the available service capabilities of the target network, and combining terminal subscription information for rapid matching and decision-making. This solves the problems of high complexity and poor real-time performance in service discovery processes dominated by high-level network administrators.

[0039] In one embodiment of this disclosure, such as Figure 3As shown in the embodiments of this disclosure, the service discovery method based on a local service network, in response to a service request, includes the following steps for obtaining terminal subscription information and confirming the discovery result: S302, the local network session management network element responds to the service request and obtains the terminal subscription information from the user information function network element; S304, the local network session management network element responds to the service request by requesting the local network information function network element to perform local service discovery, confirm whether the local service network has the ability to provide services, and obtain the discovery result.

[0040] This example demonstrates how collaborative interaction between local network elements can accurately assess local service capabilities while confirming terminal permissions, thereby ensuring that only qualified and capable local networks respond to requests, thus improving the accuracy of service discovery and the efficiency of resource utilization.

[0041] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the user information function network element includes one or more of the following functions: storing user subscription information; storing user service information; and storing user policy information. This disclosure, by storing multi-dimensional user data (subscription information, service information, and policy information) in the user information function network element of the local service network, enables the local session management network element to quickly obtain comprehensive decision-making basis, improving the timeliness of local service matching and discovery.

[0042] In one embodiment of this disclosure, confirming whether the local service network has the ability to provide services includes confirming whether the service is provided by the local service network or an external service. This disclosure, by clearly defining whether the service source is locally provided or externally introduced, achieves accurate identification and routing of service paths, thereby providing a crucial basis for subsequently selecting the optimal service provider.

[0043] In one embodiment of this disclosure, such as Figure 4 As shown, the service discovery method based on a local service network provided in this embodiment of the disclosure further includes the following steps: S402, if the service is provided by a local service network, then perform local service discovery.

[0044] It should be noted that the above-mentioned local service discovery is performed to determine the target network function that provides the target service. For example, CF-SM-L establishes a local session between the UE and the target NF so that the UE's local service data can flow within the LSN without going through an external PLMN.

[0045] S404, If the service is an external service, then perform external service discovery.

[0046] This disclosure achieves precise routing and isolation of business traffic by intelligently executing a differentiated discovery process based on the service source, whether local or external. This ensures both low-latency and efficient transmission of local services and seamless access to cross-network services.

[0047] In one embodiment of this disclosure, such as Figure 5 As shown, the service discovery method based on a local service network provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure further includes the following steps for performing external service discovery: S502, the local session management network element requests the local network information function network element to perform external service discovery; S504 After receiving a request from the local session management network element, the local network information function network element requests the core network information function network element in the central network public land mobile communication network to perform service discovery. The core network information function network element feeds back the service discovery result to the local network information function network element. S506, the local network information function network element feeds back the discovery results of external services to the local session management network element; S508: The local session management network element instructs the terminal to establish a service session with the corresponding network function entity within the network based on the feedback results it receives.

[0048] This disclosure enables external service discovery through collaboration between local and central network elements, effectively reducing signaling interaction latency and improving the efficiency of establishing cross-network services while ensuring terminal access to the core network.

[0049] In one embodiment of this disclosure, such as Figure 6 As shown in the embodiments of this disclosure, the service discovery method based on a local service network, which instructs the terminal to establish a service session with a corresponding network function entity within the network, includes the following steps: S602 instructs the terminal to establish a service session with the local service network function entity; or... S604 instructs the terminal to establish a service session with a network function entity of the public terrestrial mobile communication network.

[0050] This disclosure enables unified access support for local and cross-domain services by flexibly selecting the session establishment object, which not only ensures the high efficiency of low-latency local services, but also expands the wide availability of core network resources.

[0051] Figure 7 This invention discloses a flowchart of a service discovery method based on a local service network, as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 7 As shown, the service discovery method based on a local service network provided in this embodiment includes the following steps: S701, the UE initiates a service request to the network, which is sent by the UE to the local network session management CF-SM-L.

[0052] S702, Confirm service provision method: CF-SM-L obtains UE subscription information from DF-L, and DF-L authenticates and authorizes the service request; CF-SM-L requests NCF-L to perform local service discovery to confirm whether the local service network LSN has the ability to provide services; based on the obtained terminal subscription information and the discovery results provided by NCF-L, CF-SM-L confirms whether the service requested by the UE is provided by the local service network LSN or whether the UE is requesting an external service; S703, CF-SM-L requests external service discovery: When CF-SM-L confirms that the UE is requesting an external service, CF-SM-L requests NCF-L to perform external service discovery.

[0053] S704, NCF-L requests external service discovery: After receiving a request from CF-SM-L, NCF-L requests NCF-P within the Central PLMN to perform service discovery. NCF-P then feeds back the service discovery results to NCF-L; the feedback results include network information (e.g., PLMN or other LSN networks) capable of providing the service.

[0054] S705, NCF-L feedback of discovery results: NCF-L feeds back the discovery results of external services to CF-SM-L.

[0055] S706, Service Orientation: CF-SM-L instructs the UE to establish a service session with the corresponding NF within the network based on the obtained feedback results. The NF includes NF-L and NF-P, where NF-L is the local service network function and NF-P is the network function within the PLMN.

[0056] Figure 7 In the diagram, the blue dashed lines represent the boundaries between different network domains. To the left of the blue lines is the local service network domain, and to the right is the public terrestrial mobile communication network domain.

[0057] This disclosure achieves inter-network service discovery through the design of cross-network interaction of network elements with the same function and service-oriented interfaces, avoiding the complex process of higher-level interoperability. In this disclosure, the PLMN central network only needs to provide the corresponding service-oriented interface and return the corresponding network information as the result, without providing specific NF information, which simplifies inter-network interaction and eliminates the need for complex information transmission.

[0058] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides a service discovery device based on a local service network, as described in the following embodiments. Since the principle by which this device solves the problem is similar to that of the method embodiments described above, the implementation of this device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the method embodiments described above, and repeated details will not be elaborated further.

[0059] Figure 8 This diagram illustrates a service discovery device based on a local service network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 8 As shown, the device includes: a service request receiving module 81, a service request response module 82, and a service determination module 83.

[0060] Among them, the service request receiving module 81 is used to receive service requests from the terminal; The service request response module 82 is used to respond to service requests, obtain terminal subscription information, and confirm the discovery results; The service determination module 83 is used to determine the provider of the service request based on the terminal's subscription information and the discovery results.

[0061] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the service request response module 82 is further configured to: the local network session management network element responds to the service request by obtaining terminal subscription information from the user information function network element; the local network session management network element responds to the service request by requesting the local network information function network element to perform local service discovery, confirm whether the local service network has the ability to provide services, and obtain the discovery result.

[0062] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the service request response module 82 is further configured to confirm whether the service is provided by a local service network or an external service.

[0063] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the service request response module 82 is further configured to perform local service discovery if the service is provided by a local service network, and perform external service discovery if the service is an external service.

[0064] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the service request response module 82 is further configured to: request a local session management network element to perform external service discovery; after receiving the request from the local session management network element, request a core network information function network element within the central network public terrestrial mobile communication network to perform service discovery; the core network information function network element feeds back the service discovery result to the local network information function network element; the local network information function network element feeds back the external service discovery result to the local session management network element; and the local session management network element, based on the obtained feedback result, instructs the terminal to establish a service session with the corresponding network function entity within the network.

[0065] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the service determination module 83 is further configured to instruct the terminal to establish a service session with a local service network function entity; or, instruct the terminal to establish a service session with a public terrestrial mobile network function entity.

[0066] In one embodiment of this disclosure, the user information function network element in the service request response module 82 includes any one or more of the following functions: storing user subscription information; storing user service information; and storing user policy information.

[0067] It should be noted that the service request receiving module 81, service request response module 82, and service determination module 83 mentioned above correspond to S202 to S206 in the method embodiment. The examples and application scenarios implemented by the above modules and corresponding steps are the same, but are not limited to the content disclosed in the above method embodiment. It should be noted that the above modules, as part of the apparatus, can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer-executable instructions.

[0068] Those skilled in the art will understand that various aspects of this disclosure can be implemented as a system, method, or program product. Therefore, various aspects of this disclosure can be specifically implemented in the following forms: a completely hardware implementation, a completely software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software aspects, collectively referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," or "system."

[0069] The following reference Figure 9 To describe an electronic device 900 according to such an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 9 The electronic device 900 shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0070] like Figure 9 As shown, the electronic device 900 is manifested in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the electronic device 900 may include, but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 910, at least one storage unit 920, and a bus 930 connecting different system components (including storage unit 920 and processing unit 910).

[0071] The storage unit stores program code that can be executed by the processing unit 910, causing the processing unit 910 to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section above according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0072] For example, the processing unit 910 may perform the following steps in the above method embodiment: receiving a service request from a terminal; in response to the service request, obtaining terminal subscription information and confirming the discovery result; and determining the service request provider based on the terminal subscription information and the discovery result.

[0073] For example, the processing unit 910 can execute the following steps in the above method embodiment: the local network session management network element responds to the service request and obtains terminal subscription information from the user information function network element; the local network session management network element responds to the service request and requests the local network information function network element to perform local service discovery, confirm whether the local service network has the ability to provide services, and obtain the discovery result.

[0074] For example, the processing unit 910 may perform the following steps in the above method embodiment: confirming whether the service is provided by a local service network or an external service.

[0075] For example, the processing unit 910 may perform the following steps in the above method embodiment: if the service is provided by a local service network, perform local service discovery; if the service is an external service, perform external service discovery.

[0076] For example, the processing unit 910 can execute the following steps of the above method embodiment: the local session management network element requests the local network information function network element to perform external service discovery; after receiving the request from the local session management network element, the local network information function network element requests the core network network information function network element within the central network public terrestrial mobile communication network to perform service discovery; the core network network information function network element feeds back the service discovery result to the local network information function network element; the local network information function network element feeds back the external service discovery result to the local session management network element; the local session management network element, based on the obtained feedback result, instructs the terminal to establish a service session with the corresponding network function entity within the network.

[0077] For example, the processing unit 910 may perform the following steps in the above method embodiment: instructing the terminal to establish a service session with a local service network function entity; or, instructing the terminal to establish a service session with a public terrestrial mobile network function entity.

[0078] For example, the processing unit 910 performs the functions of the user information function network element in the above method, including any one or more of the following: storing user subscription information; storing user service information; storing user policy information.

[0079] Storage unit 920 may include readable media in the form of volatile storage units, such as random access memory (RAM) 9201 and / or cache 9202, and may further include read-only memory (ROM) 9203.

[0080] The storage unit 920 may also include a program / utility 9204 having a set (at least one) program module 9205, such program module 9205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules and program data, each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0081] Bus 930 can represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory cell bus or memory cell controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of the various bus structures.

[0082] Electronic device 900 can also communicate with one or more external devices 940 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, Bluetooth device, etc.), and with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with electronic device 900, and / or with any device that enables electronic device 900 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., router, modem, etc.). This communication can be performed via input / output (I / O) interface 950. Furthermore, electronic device 900 can also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) via network adapter 960. As shown, network adapter 960 communicates with other modules of electronic device 900 via bus 930. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figures, other hardware and / or software modules can be used in conjunction with electronic device 900, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0083] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, terminal device, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0084] In particular, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the process described above with reference to the flowchart can be implemented as a computer program product, which includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described service discovery method based on a local service network.

[0085] In exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A program product capable of implementing the methods described above is stored thereon. In some possible implementations, various aspects of this disclosure may also be implemented as a program product including program code, which, when run on a terminal device, causes the terminal device to perform the steps described in the "Exemplary Methods" section of this specification according to various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[0086] More specific examples of computer-readable storage media in this disclosure may include, but are not limited to: electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0087] In this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, capable of transmitting, propagating, or transmitting a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0088] Optionally, the program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical fiber, RF, etc., or any suitable combination thereof.

[0089] In practical implementation, program code for performing the operations of this disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can execute entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In cases involving remote computing devices, the remote computing device can be connected to the user's computing device via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or it can be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0090] It should be noted that although several modules or units for the device used to perform actions have been mentioned in the detailed description above, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to embodiments of this disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided and embodied by multiple modules or units.

[0091] Furthermore, although the steps of the method in this disclosure are described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in that specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Additional or alternative steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or a step may be broken down into multiple steps.

[0092] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solutions according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (such as a CD-ROM, USB flash drive, external hard drive, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to cause a computing device (such as a personal computer, server, mobile terminal, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods according to the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0093] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A service discovery method based on a local service network, characterized in that, include: Receive service requests from the terminal; In response to the service request, obtain the terminal subscription information and confirm the discovery result; Based on the terminal subscription information and the discovery results, the provider of the service request is determined.

2. The service discovery method based on a local service network according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process of responding to the service request by obtaining terminal subscription information and confirming the discovery result includes: In response to the service request, the local network session management network element obtains the terminal subscription information from the user information function network element. In response to the service request, the local network session management network element requests the network information function network element to perform local service discovery, confirm whether the local service network has the ability to provide services, and obtain the discovery result.

3. The service discovery method based on a local service network according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of confirming whether the local service network has the ability to provide services includes: Confirm whether the service is provided by a local service network or an external service.

4. The service discovery method based on a local service network according to claim 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the service is provided by a local service network, then local service discovery is performed; If the service is an external service, then external service discovery is performed.

5. The service discovery method based on a local service network according to claim 4, characterized in that, The external service discovery process includes: The local session management network element requests the local network information function network element to perform external service discovery; After receiving a request from the local session management network element, the local network information function network element requests the core network information function network element within the central network public land mobile communication network to perform service discovery. The core network information function network element then feeds back the service discovery results to the local network information function network element. The local network information function network element feeds back the discovery results of external services to the local session management network element; The local session management network element instructs the terminal to establish a service session with the corresponding network function entity within the network based on the feedback results it receives.

6. The service discovery method based on a local service network according to claim 5, characterized in that, The instruction terminal establishes a service session with the corresponding network function entity within the network, including: Instruct the terminal to establish a service session with the local service network function entity; or, Instructs the terminal to establish a service session with a network functional entity of the public terrestrial mobile communication network.

7. The service discovery method based on a local service network according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that, The user information function network element includes any one or more of the following functions: Store user contract information; Store user business information; Store user policy information.

8. A service discovery device based on a local service network, characterized in that, include: The service request receiving module is used to receive service requests from the terminal. The service request response module is used to respond to the service request, obtain terminal subscription information, and confirm the discovery result; The service determination module is used to determine the provider of the service request based on the terminal subscription information and the discovery results.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: processor; as well as Memory for storing the executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the service discovery method based on any one of claims 1 to 7 via executing the executable instructions.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the service discovery method based on a local service network as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

11. A computer program product, comprising: A computer program or instruction, characterized in that, when executed by a processor, the computer program or instruction implements the service discovery method based on a local service network as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

Images