Method, system, and computer-readable medium for supporting migration of user profile and policy information

Abstract

A method for supporting migration of user profile and policy information includes receiving a 5G User Profile Add Request message associated with a subscriber entity; sending a User Profile Query message to a 4G Subscription Profile Repository (SPR); determining that 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exists in the 4G SPR; and in response to determining that the 4G user profile and policy information is stored in the 4G SPR, receiving the 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR, and then sending a 5G User Profile Create message including the 4G user profile and policy information to a 5G Unified Data Repository (UDR).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Priority Claim This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 17 / 027,640, filed on September 21, 2020. The disclosure of the said application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] Technical Field The subject matter described herein relates to facilitating real-time subscriber policy migration. More specifically, the subject matter described herein relates to methods, systems, and computer-readable media for supporting the migration of user profiles and policy information.

Background Art

[0003] Background The migration of subscribers operating in large-scale mobile communication networks can present many implementation challenges. In particular, network operator customers who choose to implement newer subscriber database technologies are typically presented with the challenge of migrating user profiles and policies associated with the entire subscriber base onto the newer database technology. Currently, the industry mainly utilizes an offline migration model that involves migrating a subset of subscribers onto the newer technology within a predefined time window. As a result, traditional methods of user profile data migration result in significant network downtime and subscriber discontinuity.

[0004] In some scenarios, when a mobile subscriber upgrades or changes the technology of their subscriber identity module (SIM) card (e.g., from a 4G SIM to a 5G SIM), typically, there is a delay before the subscriber can start using the new equipment. This delay is mainly due to the amount of time required to perform the offline migration operation. In addition, the offline migration of the integrated data repository database significantly increases the time for the new SIM card to obtain permission to use the new technology. Therefore, these factors present a significant downtime scenario when performing an offline migration scheme.

[0005] Accordingly, there is a need for a method, system, and computer-readable medium for supporting the migration of user profiles and policy information. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Summary A method for supporting the migration of user profiles and policy information includes receiving a 5G user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity, sending a user profile query message to a 4G subscription profile repository (SPR), determining that a 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exist in the 4G SPR, in response to the determination that the 4G user profile and policy information are stored in the 4G SPR, receiving the 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR, and then sending a 5G user profile creation message including the 4G user profile and policy information to a 5G unified data repository (UDR).

[0007] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, the method further includes, when it is determined that the 4G user profile and policy information are not stored in the 4G SPR, sending a 5G user profile creation message including the user profile and policy data extracted from the 5G user profile addition request message to the 5G UDR to request the provisioning of a 5G user profile corresponding to the subscriber entity.

[0008] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, the method further includes, after the 5G user profile based on the 4G user profile and policy information from the 4G SPR is provisioned in the 5G UDR, sending a user profile deletion request message for the 4G user profile and policy information stored in the 4G SPR to the 4G SPR.

[0009] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, the method further includes sending a new 5G user profile creation request message to the 5G UDR in response to receiving a status message of "no user profile" from the 4G SPR.

[0010] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, the method further includes sending a new 5G user profile addition response message to a business and operations support system (BOSS) entity in response to receiving a user profile creation confirmation message from the 5G UDR.

[0011] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in a method, a policy and rules charging function (PCRF) entity is configured to direct a subscriber notification request (SNR) message for user profile and policy information to a 5G UDR in response to receiving a subscriber notification acknowledgment (SNA) message indicating that the 4G SPR does not include user profile and policy information for a subscriber entity.

[0012] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in a method, a protocol converter is configured to convert a 5G data query message transmitted from a 5G UDR to a 4G SPR and convert a 4G data response message transmitted by the 4G SPR to the 5G UDR.

[0013] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in a method, the 5G data query message includes a representational state transfer (REST) / JavaScript (registered trademark) object notation (JSON) formatted message, and the 4G data response message includes a simple object access protocol (SOAP) / extensible markup language (XML) formatted message.

[0014] In one embodiment, the disclosed subject matter includes a system for supporting the transfer of user profiles and policy information. The system includes a 4G subscriber profile repository configured to store 4G user profiles and policy information corresponding to a plurality of 4G subscriber entities, and a 5G integrated data repository configured to store 5G user profiles and policy information corresponding to a plurality of 5G subscriber entities. The system further includes a provisioning gateway that receives a 5G user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity, sends a user profile query message to a 4G SPR, determines whether 4G user profiles and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exist in the 4G SPR, and if it is determined that the 4G user profiles and policy information are stored in the 4G SPR, receives the 4G user profiles and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR and then sends a 5G user profile creation message including the 4G user profiles and policy information to a 5G UDR.

[0015] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in the system, the provisioning gateway is further configured to send a 5G user profile creation message including user profile and policy data extracted from the 5G user profile addition request message to the 5G UDR to request the provisioning of a 5G user profile corresponding to the subscriber entity if it is determined that the 4G user profiles and policy information are not stored in the 4G SPR.

[0016] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in the system, the provisioning gateway is further configured to send a user profile deletion request message for the 4G user profile and policy information stored in the 4G SPR to the 4G SPR after a 5G user profile based on the 4G user profile and policy information from the 4G SPR is provisioned in the 5G UDR.

[0017] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in the system, the provisioning gateway is further configured to send a new 5G user profile creation request message to the 5G UDR in response to receiving a status message of "no user profile" from the 4G SPR.

[0018] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in the system, the provisioning gateway is further configured to send a new 5G user profile addition response message to a business and operations support system (BOSS) entity in response to receiving a user profile creation confirmation message from the 5G UDR.

[0019] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in the system, a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) entity is configured to direct a subscriber notification request (SNR) message for user profile and policy information to the 5G UDR in response to receiving a subscriber notification acknowledgment (SNA) message indicating that the 4G SPR does not contain user profile and policy information for a subscriber entity.

[0020] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in the system, a protocol converter is configured to convert a 5G data query message sent from the 5G UDR to the 4G SPR and convert a 4G data response message sent from the 4G SPR to the 5G UDR.

[0021] According to another aspect of the subject matter described herein, in the system, the 5G data query message includes a message in Representational State Transfer (REST) / JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format, and the 4G data response message includes a message in Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) / Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

[0022] The subject matter described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, as used herein, the terms "function," "node," or "module" refer to hardware that may also include software components and / or firmware components for implementing the described features. In an exemplary implementation, the subject matter described herein may be implemented using a computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that control a computer to perform a plurality of steps when executed by a processor of the computer. Exemplary computer-readable media suitable for implementing the subject matter described herein include non-transitory computer-readable media such as disk memory devices, chip memory devices, programmable logic devices, and application specific integrated circuits. Additionally, the computer-readable media for implementing the subject matter described herein may be located on a single device or computing platform, or may be distributed among multiple devices or computing platforms.

[0023] As used herein, "4G" refers to a fourth-generation mobile network or fourth-generation cellular network as defined by the specifications of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)). Similarly, "5G" refers to a fifth-generation mobile network or fifth-generation cellular network as defined by the specifications of 3GPP.

[0024] Brief Description of the Drawings Here, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the subject matter described in this specification will be explained.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025]

Figure 1

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] DETAILED DESCRIPTION The subject matter described herein relates to methods, systems, and computer-readable media for supporting the transfer of user profile and policy information. As used herein, user profile and policy information may include subscriber profile data, subscriber session data, and / or subscriber service data. Specifically, subscriber profile data may include, but is not limited to, such profile information corresponding to subscriber entities (e.g., user equipment (UE) subscribers, mobile device subscribers, etc.) such as mobile station international subscriber directory number (MSISDN), international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), user identifier, user location information, user billing information, and the like. Similarly, subscriber session data may include call session information such as policy code, user equipment type identifier, session policy start date and time, session policy end date and time. Further, subscriber service data may include call service information corresponding to the permitted services of the subscriber entity, such as service code, service billing type, service start date and time, service end date and time, service usage status, service operation time, service class identifier, and the like. In particular, subscriber session data and subscriber service data may be mapped to subscriber profile data.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary system architecture corresponding to a core network for supporting the migration of user profiles and policy information. The architecture represented in FIG. 1 includes a customer premise network 102 communicatively connected to a provisioning gateway 104. For example, the customer premise network 102 can communicate with the provisioning gateway 104 using a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)-based interface or channel. In some embodiments, the provisioning gateway 104 can be configured to host a user profile migration engine (UPME) 120 responsible for performing the actions described herein. For example, the UPME 120 can be stored in a memory 118 and executed by a hardware processor 116. As shown in FIG. 1, the provisioning gateway 104 is communicatively connected to each of a 4th Generation Mobile Network (4G) based Subscriber Profile Repository (SPR) 106 and a 5th Generation Mobile Network (5G) Unified Data Repository (UDR) 108. For example, the provisioning gateway 104 can communicate with the 4G SPR 106 via communication of SOAP-formatted messages through a SOAP-based interface. Similarly, the provisioning gateway 104 can communicate with the 5G-based UDR 108 using REST HTTP-formatted messages through a Representational State Transfer (REST) Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) interface. Further, the 4G SPR 106 and the 5G UDR 108 can be configured to communicate directly with each other using a dedicated interface.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the 4G-based SPR106 can communicate with the 4G-based PCRF110 by communicating Diameter messages through a Diameter protocol interface (e.g., the Sh interface). In a similar manner, the 5G-based UDR108 communicates with the 5G-based PCF112 by communicating REST HTTP messages via a REST HTTP protocol interface. Additionally, the 5G-based UDR108 is configured to communicate directly with the 4G-based PCRF110 through the Diameter Sh protocol. Although the architecture and associated interface connections shown in FIG. 1 represent one embodiment, other architectures and interfaces may be utilized without departing from the scope of the disclosed subject matter.

[0029] FIG. 2 is an exemplary signaling diagram of the transfer of user profile and policy information in accordance with one embodiment of the subject matter described herein. More specifically, FIG. 2 shows an exemplary solution for adding a 5G user profile for a mobile subscriber. In FIG. 2, a business and operations support system (BOSS) entity 202 that may exist in the CPN is configured to send a user profile addition request message 211 associated with a new 5G subscriber entity (e.g., a user equipment (UE) subscriber) to a provisioning gateway 204. As shown in FIG. 2, the BOSS entity 202 is configured to communicate directly with the provisioning gateway 204. The provisioning gateway 204 is then configured to communicate with the 4G SPR208 and the 5G UDR206. In particular, the BOSS entity 202 is unaware of the communication that takes place between the provisioning gateway 204, the 4G SPR208, and the 5G UDR206.

[0030] As described herein, the 5G UDR 206 may include a 5G-based centralized repository used by other 5G network functions to store subscriber user profiles and policy information. In some embodiments, the 5G UDR 206 may be implemented as a cloud-specific function that provides an integrated database for storing applications, subscriptions, authentication, service authentication, policy data, session binding, application state information, and other types of information corresponding to multiple 5G subscriber entities. Specifically, the 5G UDR 206 may facilitate the storage and retrieval of subscription data by a 5G unified data management (UDM) entity, facilitate the storage and retrieval of policy data of the 5G PCF, facilitate the storage and retrieval of structured data for publication, and may be configured to support application data (including packet flow descriptions for application detection) utilized by the 5G network exposure function (NEF).

[0031] As described herein, the 4G SPR 208 may be a 4G-based database repository that is accessible by other 4G network elements to store subscriber user profiles and policy information. In some embodiments, the 4G SPR 208 may be implemented as an in-premises component that provides database functionality for storing applications, subscriptions, authentication, service authentication, policy data, session binding, application state information, and other types of information corresponding to multiple 4G subscriber entities. Further, the 4G SPR 208 includes subscriber states (e.g., active, inactive, etc.) and quality of service (QoS) associated with the 4G subscriber entity.

[0032] Returning to the signaling shown in FIG. 1, the user profile addition request message 211 sent by the BOSS may include a SOAP message or an HTTP GET message. In other embodiments, the user profile addition request message 211 received by the provisioning gateway 204 may be any message of any protocol that requests the addition of a new 5G user profile in the 5G-based UDR. In particular, the following steps described herein may be performed by the UPME application (and / or UPME 120 as shown in FIG. 1) stored in the memory of the provisioning gateway 204 and executed by a processor. Additionally, other network elements such as the UDR 206 may be provisioned with a client application that communicates directly with the UPME 120. In some embodiments, the client application may be stored in the memory of the UDR and executed by a processor.

[0033] In response to receiving the user profile addition request message 211, the provisioning gateway 204 may send a user profile query message 212 to the 4G-based SPR. At this stage, the provisioning gateway 204 is attempting to determine whether the subscriber entity is an existing 4G subscriber whose profile and policy information is stored in the 4G SPR. In some embodiments, the user profile query message 212 sent to the 4G SPR 208 is a SOAP-based request message. Alternatively, the user profile query message 212 sent by the provisioning gateway 204 may be any query message in any protocol that queries the 4G-based SPR 208 for the user profile of the subscriber entity and any other user-related information (e.g., policies or subscriptions associated with the subscriber entity).

[0034] After sending the user profile query message 212 to SPR208, if the user profile and policy information of the subscriber entity are retrieved by SPR208, the provisioning gateway 204 may receive a user profile information response message 213. In particular, the user profile information response message 213 may be sent by SPR208 and may include the user profile and user information previously stored in SPR208 (if the subscriber entity was an existing 4G subscriber). In some embodiments, the user profile information response message 213 may function as a notification message that the subscriber entity was an existing 4G subscriber and may further include a SOAP response message that includes the relevant user profile and policy information for the subscriber entity. In other embodiments, the user profile information response message 213 may be a message of any protocol recognized by the provisioning gateway 204.

[0035] In response to receiving the user profile information response message 213, the provisioning gateway 204 extracts and copies the user profile and policy information included in the user profile addition request message 211, and then generates a new user profile creation request message 217. The provisioning gateway 204 then sends the new user profile creation request message 217, which includes the user profile and policy information obtained from the 4G SPR 208, to the UDR 206. In some embodiments, the user profile creation request message 217 includes a REST / HTTP message that includes the 4G user profile and policy information of the subscriber entity. Upon receiving the user profile creation request message 217, the UDR 206 creates a 5G user profile entry using the 4G user profile and policy information included in the message 217 (and originally included in the response message 213), and the 5G user profile entry is then stored in the UDR 206. After the new 5G user profile entry is generated and stored, the UDR 206 then sends a user profile creation confirmation message 218 to the provisioning gateway 204. In particular, the user profile creation confirmation message 218 can be a REST / HTTP response message that functions to notify the provisioning gateway 204 that a 5G user profile has been created for the subscriber entity.

[0036] In response to receiving the confirmation message 218, the provisioning gateway 204 generates a user profile deletion message 219 and sends it to the SPR 208. In some embodiments, the user profile deletion message 219 is a SOAP message that instructs the SPR 208 to delete the locally stored 4G user profile corresponding to the subscriber entity. When the 4G user profile is deleted, the SPR 208 sends a user profile deletion confirmation message 220 to the provisioning gateway 204. In some embodiments, the user profile deletion confirmation message 220 is a SOAP message or any other message format that is recognized by the provisioning gateway 204 and functions as a notification that the associated 4G user profile has been removed from the 4G SPR 208.

[0037] After the provisioning gateway 204 receives the user profile deletion confirmation message 220 from the SPR 208, the provisioning gateway 204 sends a new user addition notification message 221 indicating that a 5G user profile has been created for the subscriber entity to the BOSS entity 202. In some embodiments, the user addition notification message 221 is a SOAP message or any other message format that is recognized by the BOSS entity 202.

[0038] In some embodiments, the 4G SPR208 does not contain subscriber profile information corresponding to a subscriber entity as requested by the user profile query message 212 sent by the provisioning gateway 204. In such a scenario where the SPR208 does not have 4G user profile or policy information associated with the subscriber entity, the SPR208 may be configured to generate and send a notification message 214 indicating that the 4G user profile of the subscriber entity is unavailable and / or not stored (i.e., does not exist) in the SPR208. In some embodiments, the notification message 214 may be a SOAP message or any other response message of any protocol used by the SPR208 to indicate that there is no user profile or policy associated with the subscriber entity stored in the SPR208.

[0039] After receiving the notification message 214 from SPR208, the provisioning gateway 204 thereby determines that there is no 4G user profile for the subscriber entity. In response to this determination, the provisioning gateway 204 generates a new 5G user profile creation request message 215 and sends it to the 5G UDR206. In some embodiments, the user profile creation request message 215 is a REST / HTTP message that includes the user profile and policy information originally received in the message 211 from the BOSS entity 202. In other embodiments, the user profile creation request message 215 can be any message that is recognized by the 5G UDR206 and requests the creation of a new 5G user profile. In response to the receipt of the user profile creation request message 215, the UDR206 generates a user profile creation confirmation response message 216 and sends it to the provisioning gateway 204. In some embodiments, the user profile creation confirmation response message 216 is a REST / HTTP message that functions to notify the provisioning gateway 204 that the 5G user profile has been generated and stored by the UDR206. In response to the receipt of the message 216, the provisioning gateway 204 proceeds by sending a new user addition notification message 221 to the BOSS entity 202 indicating that a new 5G user profile has been created for the subscriber entity. As described above, the user addition notification message 221 can be a SOAP message or any other message format recognized by the BOSS entity 202. In particular, the BOSS entity 202 communicates directly only with the provisioning gateway 204 and is unaware of the communication that takes place between the UDR206, SPR208, and the provisioning gateway 204.

[0040] Figure 3 is an exemplary signaling diagram regarding a 5G subscriber entity attached to a 4G PCRF, according to one embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Specifically, Figure 3 represents a flow diagram showing the messaging that occurs when a subscriber entity already provisioned in a 5G UDR is subsequently attached to a 4G PCRF (e.g., the network routing call flow can route the subscriber entity onto the PCRF). In such a scenario shown in Figure 3, the PGW 302 sends a Diameter credit control request (CCR) message 311 to the 4G PCRF 304 to request policy rules and IP flow mobility routing rules for the subscriber entity. Among other things, in the example shown in Figure 3, the subscriber entity is attached to the PCRF 304. In response to receiving the CCR message 311 from the PGW 302, the PCRF 304 is configured to send a Diameter subscribe-notifications-request (SNR) message 312 to the 4G SPR 306. In some embodiments, the SNR message 312 is used by the PCRF 304 to request 4G user profile data corresponding to the subscriber entity and stored on the 4G SPR 306. In this particular scenario, the SPR 306 does not have user profile and / or policy data associated with the 5G subscriber entity (e.g., the user profile of the subscriber entity has already been migrated from the 4G SPR 306). As a result, the SPR 306 sends a subscribe-notifications-answer (SNA) message 313 indicating that user profile data for the subscriber entity is not locally stored on the SPR 306 (or has been deleted from the SPR 306). In some embodiments, the PCRF 304 is adapted with a configuration that will trigger a subsequent SNR message 314 if an SNA message 313 of "no user profile data" is received from the 4G SPR 306.Specifically, PCRF 304 has a configuration for attempting to send a new SNR message 314 to an alternative UDR (such as 5G UDR 308) when receiving a failure response indicated by an SNA message 313.

[0041] In response to receiving the SNR message 314 from PCRF 304, 5G UDR 308 is configured to obtain a user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity. UDR 308 is further configured to include the retrieved user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity in an SNA message 315, and the SNA message 315 is sent to PCRF 304. In response thereto, PCRF 304 extracts the user profile and policy information included in the message 315, and then operates normally by performing its conventional functionality of the 4G network. In particular, the PCRF receives the 4G user profile and policy information in a format that it understands.

[0042] Figure 4 is an exemplary signaling diagram regarding a 4G subscriber entity attached to a 5G PCF according to one embodiment of the subject matter described herein. For example, Figure 4 shows a scenario where the subscriber entity can be a 4G subscriber hosted on the 5G PCF. As shown in Figure 4, a session management function (SMF) 402 sends an initial attachment message 411 to a 5G PCF 404. In response to the reception of message 411, the PCF 404 sends a subscriber data query 412 to a 5G UDR 406. In particular, the subscriber data query 412 functions as a request for user profile and policy information related to the subscriber entity. Also, the subscriber data query 412 triggers the start of user profile migration. That is, in this example, the 5G UDR 406 currently does not have the user profile and policy information of the 4G subscriber entity. In some embodiments, the UDR 406 is configured using a client application adapted to generate a new user profile data query message 413 and send it to a 4G SPR 408 using a dedicated message protocol through a dedicated interface. In particular, the UDR 406 is configured to request user profile and policy information related to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR 408 because the UDR 406 does not have the data. In response to the reception of the user profile data query message 413, the SPR 408 locates the 4G user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity and then sends it in a data response message 414. Specifically, the SPR 408 sends the data response message 414 to the UDR 406 through a dedicated interface. Upon receiving the data response message 414 from the SPR 408, the UDR 406 generates a new data response message 415 (i.e., a new message that is converted / interpreted as understood by the PCF 404). In response to the reception of the data response message 415, the PCF 404 sends an attachment response message 418 containing the user profile and policy information of the subscriber entity to the SMF 402.

[0043] In addition to sending the data response message 415 to the PCF 404, the UDR 406 is configured to send a user profile deletion message 416 to the SPR 408. In some embodiments, the UDR 406 may send a message 416 that instructs the SPR 408 to delete the stored user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity using a dedicated interface. In response to receiving the user profile deletion message 416, the SPR 408 proceeds to delete the stored 4G user profile and policy information and then sends a user profile deletion confirmation message 417 to the UDR 406 through the dedicated interface. At this stage, the 5G UDR 406 is now the data repository responsible for storing the user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity being called (e.g., the user profile information is deleted from the SPR 408).

[0044] In some embodiments, if the 4G SPR supports a standard SOAP / XML interface, modifications may be required. In some embodiments, the disclosed subject matter involves an SPR configured with a provisioning interface that is compatible with intermediate functions such as a protocol converter element. Such a configuration is represented in FIG. 5 showing the use of a protocol converter element 510 logically positioned between the 5G UDR 506 and the 4G SPR 508. For example, the protocol converter element 510 may be configured to convert a message received in the REST / JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format to the SOAP / XML format and vice versa. Although the protocol converter element 510 is described as converting a REST / JSON message to a SOAP / XML message, the protocol converter element 510 can convert messages in other protocol formats without departing from the scope of the disclosed subject matter.

[0045] In some scenarios, the subscriber entity can be a 4G subscriber attached to the 5G PCF. This example is illustrated in the call signaling flow of FIG. 5. For example, the SMF 502 sends an initial attachment message 511 to the 5G PCF 504. In response to receiving the attachment message 511, the PCF 504 sends a subscriber data query 512 to the 5G UDR 506. In particular, the subscriber data query message 512 functions as a request for user profile and policy information related to the subscriber entity. Also, the subscriber data query message 512 triggers the start of user profile migration (e.g., "on-demand migration"). However, in this example, the 5G UDR 506 currently does not have the user profile and policy information of the 4G subscriber entity. In some embodiments, the 5G UDR 506 is configured using a client application adapted to generate a user profile data query message 513 and send it (via the protocol converter element 510) to the 4G SPR 508. In some embodiments, since the SPR 508 is configured to recognize SOAP / XML formatted messages, the user profile data query message 513 is in the REST / JSON format and is directed towards the protocol converter element 510. In particular, the UDR 506 is configured to request user profile and policy information related to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR 408 (via the protocol converter element 510) because the UDR 506 does not have the data.

[0046] Upon receiving the REST / JSON user profile data query message 513, the protocol converter element 510 converts the data query message 513 into a converted data query message 514. In some embodiments, the data query message 514 is a SOAP / XML formatted message recognizable by the SPR508. The SPR508 then processes the query message 514 received from the protocol converter element 510 and retrieves the requested user profile and policy information from its local database. Specifically, the SPR508 locates the 4G user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity and then transmits it in a data response message 515, which is directed to the UDR506 via the protocol converter element 510. In some embodiments, the SPR508 uses user identifiers such as the MSISDN or mobile identification number and / or a specific policy name (which may be requested by, for example, the PCRF) to locate the stored 4G user profile and policy information.

[0047] After receiving the data response message 515, the protocol converter element 510 may be configured to convert this SOAP / XML message into a REST / HTTP data response message 516 recognizable by the UDR506. Upon receiving the data response message 516 from the protocol converter element 510, the UDR506 generates a new data response message 517. In response to receiving the data response message 517, the PCF504 transmits an attachment response message 518 containing the user profile and policy information of the subscriber entity to the SMF502.

[0048] In addition to sending the data response message 517 to the PCF 504, the UDR 506 is configured to send a user profile deletion message 519 to the SPR 508 via the protocol converter element 510. Since the UDR 506 is currently responsible for locally storing 5G user profiles and policy information, the 4G SPR 508 is no longer required to host the 4G user profiles and policy data associated with the subscriber entity. In some embodiments, the protocol converter element 510 receives the user profile deletion message 519 as a REST / JSON message and then converts the message 519 into a user profile deletion message 520 in SOAP / XML format. Thereafter, the protocol converter element 510 sends the user profile deletion message 520 to the SPR 508. Upon receiving the user profile deletion message 520, the SPR 508 is configured to search for and delete the user profiles and policy information associated with the subscriber entity. As a result, the user profiles and policy information of the subscriber entity will be stored only in the 5G UDR 506. After the 4G user profiles and policy information have been deleted, the SPR 508 generates a user profile deletion response message 521 and directs it to the UDR 506. In some embodiments, the user profile deletion response message 521 is a SOAP / XML message that initially functions as a deletion notification message received by the protocol converter element 510. The protocol converter element 510 then converts the user profile deletion response message 521 into a converted user profile deletion response message 522. In particular, the user profile deletion response message 522 can be a REST / JSON formatted message recognized by the UDR 506 or any other message.

[0049] FIG. 6 is an exemplary signaling diagram demonstrating the update of policy data status of a subscriber entity in real-time migration, according to one embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Specifically, in FIG. 6, the subscriber entity is anchored to the 4G PCRF 610. Prior to any migration, the PCRF 610 sends a Diameter SNR message 611 to the 5G UDR 606 to request an update of the user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity. In response, the UDR 606 provides the requested user profile and policy information to the PCRF 610 via a Diameter SNA message 609. This exchange of Diameter messages between the UDR 606 and the PCRF 610 is a prerequisite for obtaining notifications and updates about the subscriber in case of policy data modification for the subscriber entity.

[0050] In some embodiments, the BOSS entity 602 then sends a policy data update message 613 to the provisioning gateway 608. In response, the provisioning gateway 608 sends a policy update message 614 to the 5G UDR 606. The UDR 606 then sends a success response message 615 to notify the provisioning gateway 608 that the subscriber's profile and / or policy data has been successfully updated. The provisioning gateway 608 similarly sends a policy update message 616 to the BOSS entity 602 to notify that the subscriber entity profile on the UDR 606 has been updated. In some embodiments, the message 616 may be an HTTP 200 OK success message. The UDR 606 then sends a Diameter push notification request (PNR) message 617. In some embodiments, the Diameter PNR message 617 functions as a command to the PCRF 610 so that the PCRF 610 notifies the UDR 606 of any modifications added to the user profile and policy information stored in the PCRF. In response to the receipt of the PNR message 617, the PCRF 610 sends a service quality (QoS) update request message 618 to the SMF / PGW 613. The PCRF 610 also sends a push notification answer (PNA) message 619 to the UDR 606.

[0051] FIG. 7 is an exemplary signaling diagram demonstrating the real-time update of policy data status of a 4G subscriber entity according to one embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Specifically, FIG. 7 represents a signaling flow diagram showing the real-time update of policy and profile information of a 4G subscriber entity (i.e., not in the case where the subscriber migrates to 5G). In FIG. 7, the subscriber is attached to a 4G network including a PCRF 710. Prior to any user profile update, the PCRF 710 sends a Diameter SNR message 711 to the 4G SPR 707 to request an update of the user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity. In response, the 4G SPR 707 provides the requested user profile and policy information to the PCRF 710 via a Diameter SNA message 712. Among other things, this exchange of Diameter messages between the 4G SPR 707 and the PCRF 710 is a prerequisite for obtaining notifications and updates regarding policy data modifications corresponding to the subscriber entity.

[0052] In some embodiments, the BOSS entity 702 sends a policy data update message 713 to the provisioning gateway 708. In response, the provisioning gateway 708 sends a policy update message 714 to the UDR 706. The UDR 706 then sends a failure response message 715 to the provisioning gateway 708 to notify that the subscriber's profile and / or policy did not exist and / or were not updated. The provisioning gateway 708 then sends a policy update request message 716 to the SPR 707. In this scenario, the policy update request message 716 functions as a request for user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity. In response to receiving the policy update request message 716, the SPR 707 sends a response message 717 containing the user profile and policy information of the subscriber entity to the provisioning gateway 708. In response, the provisioning gateway 708 sends an update response message 718 to the BOSS entity 702.

[0053] In some embodiments, the SPR 707 is further configured to send a Diameter Push Notification Request (PNR) message 720 to the PCRF 710. Thus, the Diameter PNR message functions as a command for the PCRF 710 to notify the SPR 707 of any changes added to the user profile or policy information stored in the PCRF. In response to receiving the PNR message 720, the PCRF 710 sends a Quality of Service (QoS) update request message 721 to the SMF / PGW 709. Similarly, the PCRF 710 sends a Push Notification Answer (PNA) message 722 to the SPR 707.

[0054] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for supporting the migration of user profile and policy information. In some embodiments, method 800 may include algorithms and / or software processes stored in memory in one or more of a provisioning gateway and / or a UDR, and executed by one or more hardware processors of the provisioning gateway and / or the UDR (or a hardware-based network element that hosts and / or supports the UDR).

[0055] At block 802, a user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity is received. In some embodiments, the user profile addition request message is received by the provisioning gateway from a business and operations support system (BOSS) entity. In some embodiments, the user profile addition request message includes subscriber profile data, subscriber session data, and / or subscriber service data as described above.

[0056] At block 804, a user profile query message is sent to the 4G SPR. In some embodiments, the provisioning gateway sends a SOAP-based user profile query message to the 4G SPR. Specifically, the provisioning gateway sends the user profile query message to determine whether the 4G SPR locally stores or includes 4G-related user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity.

[0057] At block 806, a determination is made as to whether the 4G SPR has provisioned 4G user profile and policy information (i.e., subscriber profile data, subscriber session data, or subscriber service data) for the subscriber entity. If the 4G SPR has provisioned the requested 4G user profile and policy information, method 800 proceeds to block 808, where the SPR locates the user profile and policy information and sends it to the provisioning gateway. For example, the 4G SPR locates any applicable subscriber profile data, subscriber session data, or subscriber service data and adds it to the user profile response message. After constructing the user profile response message and adding the located user profile and policy information, the 4G SPR is configured to send the user profile response SOAP message to the provisioning gateway.

[0058] At block 810, a user profile creation message having the added 4G user profile and policy information is sent to the 5G UDR. In some embodiments, the provisioning gateway adds the user profile and policy information received from the SPR in a REST / HTTP user profile creation message, and the REST / HTTP user profile creation message is then sent to the UDR.

[0059] At block 812, the 5G UDR is provisioned with the user profile policy information received from the provisioning gateway. Further, the provisioning gateway is configured to send a user profile deletion message to the 4G SPR. In particular, upon receiving a user profile deletion SOAP message from the provisioning gateway, the 4G SPR is configured to remove the 4G user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity.

[0060] Returning to block 806, if the 4G SPR has not provisioned the requested 4G user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity, method 800 proceeds to block 814, where the 4G SPR sends a notification message to the provisioning gateway. For example, the 4G SPR sends a "User Profile Not Found" notification SOAP message to the provisioning gateway indicating that the 4G SPR was unable to find and / or did not store the user profile and policy information associated with the subscriber entity.

[0061] At block 816, a user profile creation message is created and sent that includes the user profile information (see block 802) originally obtained from the BOSS entity. In particular, the provisioning gateway may be configured to generate a user profile creation message that includes the subscriber profile data, subscriber session data, and / or subscriber service data originally received from the BOSS entity. The provisioning gateway may then send the user profile creation message to the 5G UDR. Since the provisioning gateway did not obtain user profile information from the 4G SPR, the provisioning gateway is responsible for creating the 5G user profile in the UDR using the information it first received from the BOSS entity. In particular, the provisioning gateway is responsible for creating or provisioning the 5G user profile using the existing 4G user profile information stored in the SPR or from the information provided by the BOSS entity. Further, the BOSS entity is completely unaware of the manner in which the provisioning gateway generates the 5G user profile in the UDR (i.e., the communication with the SPR and the UDR).

[0062] It will be understood that method 800 is for illustrative purposes and that different and / or additional actions may be used. It will also be understood that the various actions described herein with respect to method 700 may occur in a different order or sequence.

[0063] Note that the UPME, provisioning gateway, and / or functionality described herein may constitute a special-purpose computing device. Also, the UPME 120, provisioning gateway 104, and / or functionality described herein can improve the technical field of network communication with respect to mobile devices (e.g., UE devices) by utilizing various techniques or mechanisms to facilitate real-time subscriber policy migration, as opposed to previously utilized offline user profile migration schemes. For example, the disclosed subject matter provides a technique or mechanism for performing subscriber profile migration to newer technologies in a manner that reduces not only costs but also support time due to the elimination of complex migration preparations, thereby providing a technical advantage to network operators. Further, the disclosed subscriber migration technique is performed in real time and with minimal impact on the underlying network, thereby facilitating optimal network usage. In particular, network downtime and subscriber discontinuity can be avoided and / or substantially eliminated.

[0064] It will be understood that the various details of the subject matter disclosed herein may be changed without departing from the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein. Further, the above description is for illustrative purposes only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

1. A method for supporting the migration of user profiles and policy information, the method comprising: a step in which a provisioning gateway receives a 5G user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity; a step in which the provisioning gateway transmits a user profile inquiry message to a 4G subscriber profile repository (SPR); a step in which the provisioning gateway determines that a 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exist in the 4G SPR; a step in which, in response to the determination that the 4G user profile and policy information are stored in the 4G SPR, the provisioning gateway receives the 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR, and then transmits a 5G user profile creation message including the 4G user profile and policy information to a 5G unified data repository (UDR); a step in which, when it is determined that the 4G user profile and policy information are not stored in the 4G SPR, the provisioning gateway transmits a 5G user profile creation message including user profile and policy data extracted from the 5G user profile addition request message to the 5G UDR in order to request provisioning of a 5G user profile corresponding to the subscriber entity.

2. A method for supporting the migration of user profiles and policy information, the method comprising: a step in which a provisioning gateway receives a 5G user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity; a step in which the provisioning gateway transmits a user profile inquiry message to a 4G subscriber profile repository (SPR); a step in which the provisioning gateway determines that a 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exist in the 4G SPR; In response to a determination that the 4G user profile and policy information are stored in the 4G SPR, the provisioning gateway receives, from the 4G SPR, the 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity, and then transmits a 5G user profile creation message including the 4G user profile and policy information to a 5G unified data repository (UDR). A method including: in response to the provisioning gateway receiving a status message "no user profile" from the 4G SPR, the provisioning gateway transmits a new 5G user profile creation request message to the 5G UDR. **Claim 3**: A method for supporting the migration of user profiles and policy information, the method comprising: The provisioning gateway receives a 5G mobile network (5G) user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity. The provisioning gateway transmits a user profile query message to a 4G mobile network (4G) subscription profile repository (SPR). The provisioning gateway determines that 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exists in the 4G SPR. In response to a determination that the 4G user profile and policy information are stored in the 4G SPR, the provisioning gateway receives, from the 4G SPR, the 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity, and then transmits a 5G user profile creation message including the 4G user profile and policy information to a 5G unified data repository (UDR). A method, wherein a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) entity is configured to direct a subscriber notification request (SNR) message for user profile and policy information to the 5G UDR in response to receiving a subscriber notification acknowledgment (SNA) message indicating that the 4G SPR does not include user profile and policy information for the subscriber entity. **Claim 4**: The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising the step of the provisioning gateway sending a user profile deletion request message of the 4G user profile and policy information stored in the 4G SPR to the 4G SPR after a 5G user profile based on the 4G user profile and policy information from the 4G SPR is provisioned in the 5G UDR. **Claim 5**: The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the step of the provisioning gateway sending a new 5G user profile addition response message to a business and operations support system (BOSS) entity in response to receiving a user profile creation confirmation message from the 5G UDR. **Claim 6** **Claim 3**: The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a protocol converter is configured to convert a 5G data query message sent from the 5G UDR to the 4G SPR and convert a 4G data response message sent from the 4G SPR to the 5G UDR. **Claim 7** **Claim 5**: The method according to claim 6, wherein the 5G data query message includes a Representational State Transfer (REST) / JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) formatted message, and the 4G data response message includes a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) / Extensible Markup Language (XML) formatted message. **Claim 8** **Claim 7**: A system for supporting the migration of user profiles and policy information, the system comprising: a 4G subscriber profile repository configured to store 4G user profiles and policy information corresponding to a plurality of fourth generation mobile network (4G) subscriber entities; a 5G integrated data repository configured to store 5G user profiles and policy information corresponding to a plurality of fifth generation mobile network (5G) subscriber entities; including a provisioning gateway, the provisioning gateway receiving a 5G user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity, sending a user profile query message to the 4G SPR, determining that a 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exist in the 4G SPR, in response to the determination that the 4G user profile and policy information are stored in the 4G SPR, receiving the 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR, and then being configured to send a 5G user profile creation message including the 4G user profile and policy information to a 5G unified data repository (UDR), the provisioning gateway is further configured to send a 5G user profile creation message including user profile and policy data extracted from the 5G user profile addition request message to the 5G UDR to request provisioning of a 5G user profile corresponding to the subscriber entity when it is determined that the 4G user profile and policy information are not stored in the 4G SPR, a system. **Claim 9**: A system for supporting the migration of user profile and policy information, the system comprising a 4G subscription profile repository configured to store 4G user profiles and policy information corresponding to a plurality of fourth-generation mobile network (4G) subscriber entities, a 5G unified data repository configured to store 5G user profiles and policy information corresponding to a plurality of fifth-generation mobile network (5G) subscriber entities, including a provisioning gateway, the provisioning gateway receives a 5G user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity, sends a user profile query message to the 4G SPR, determines that a 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exist in the 4G SPR, and in response to the determination that the 4G user profile and policy information are stored in the 4G SPR, receives the 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR, and then is configured to send a 5G user profile creation message including the 4G user profile and policy information to a 5G unified data repository (UDR), the provisioning gateway is further configured to send a new 5G user profile creation request message to the 5G UDR in response to receiving a status message of "no user profile" from the 4G SPR, a system.

10. A system for supporting the migration of user profile and policy information, the system comprising a 4G subscription profile repository configured to store 4G user profiles and policy information corresponding to a plurality of fourth generation mobile network (4G) subscriber entities, a 5G unified data repository configured to store 5G user profiles and policy information corresponding to a plurality of fifth generation mobile network (5G) subscriber entities, including a provisioning gateway, the provisioning gateway receiving a 5G user profile addition request message associated with a subscriber entity, sending a user profile query message to the 4G SPR, determining that a 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity exist in the 4G SPR, and in response to the determination that the 4G user profile and policy information are stored in the 4G SPR, receiving the 4G user profile and policy information corresponding to the subscriber entity from the 4G SPR, and then being configured to send a 5G user profile creation message including the 4G user profile and policy information to a 5G unified data repository (UDR), A system in which a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) entity is configured to direct a subscriber notification request (SNR) message for user profile and policy information to the 5G UDR in response to receiving a subscriber notification acknowledgment (SNA) message indicating that the 4G SPR does not include user profile and policy information about the subscriber entity.

11. The system according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the provisioning gateway is further configured to send a user profile deletion request message for the 4G user profile and policy information stored in the 4G SPR after the 5G user profile based on the 4G user profile and policy information from the 4G SPR is provisioned in the 5G UDR.

12. The system according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the provisioning gateway is further configured to send a new 5G user profile addition response message to a business and operations support system (BOSS) entity in response to receiving a user profile creation confirmation message from the 5G UDR.

13. The system according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the protocol converter is configured to convert a 5G data query message transmitted from the 5G UDR to the 4G SPR and convert a 4G data response message transmitted from the 4G SPR to the 5G UDR.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the 5G data query message includes a Representational State Transfer (REST) / JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) formatted message, and the 4G data response message includes a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) / Extensible Markup Language (XML) formatted message.

15. A program that causes a computer processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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