UE REGISTRATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for registering a terminal UE, an electronic device and a storage medium. In the network slicing separation networking of a 5G core network, when an AMF network element finds that the UE fails to register with this AMF network element, it sends a Registration reject message to the UE, with at least a first cell and a second cell added. In this way, when the UE performs information registration again, the UE selects target network slice information based on the network slice information already configured in the first cell. When the 5G base station receives the registration information sent from the UE, it determines a corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI, so that the UE successfully registers with the target AMF network element. As can be seen, by applying the registration method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the problem that the UE cannot be normally registered based on the AMF network element reallocation flow of the RAN in the network slicing separation networking of a 5G core network is solved.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of 5G network technology, in particular to a terminal UE registration method and apparatus, an electronic device and a storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] 5G network communication technology is one of the current network communication technologies. Compared with 4G network communication technology, 5G network communication technology has a very obvious advantage in transmission speed. However, in actual application, in a networking scenario where a UE (User Equipment, terminal) is in 5G network slicing separation, when the UE moves from the coverage of the original 5G base station into the coverage of the next 5G base station, if the UE does not carry valid identity information and network slice information, the next 5G base station will default to the UE accessing the default configuration AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) network element of the 5G base station. The configuration AMF network element initiates a security establishment flow for the UE, and after the authentication / security flow therein is successful, the configuration AMF network element interacts with the NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function) network element on the 5G core network side to select a network slice. The NSSF network element indicates the AMF network elements that can provide service to the UE as AMF Set1 of the AMF set. At this time, the configuring AMF network element initiates an AMF re-allocation flow via the 5G base station, thereby rerouting the UE's registration message to AMF Set1. The AMF1 network element in AMF Set1 receives the UE's registration message rerouted by the 5G base station. Because the AMF1 network element does not have a valid UE context, the AMF1 network element again performs an authentication / security flow with the UE. The UE is unaware of the entire re-routing process and cannot process the unencrypted authentication message delivered by the AMF1 network element because it has already performed a security flow with the configuring AMF network element. Ultimately, the AMF1 network element cannot continue the registration flow and cannot notify the UE of registration rejection, resulting in a timeout and failure of the UE's registration.Subsequently, the UE needs to re-initiate the registration flow with the 5G base station and repeat the above process again, resulting in the UE not successfully registering with the 5G base station. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] The present invention provides a terminal UE registration method and apparatus, an electronic device and a storage medium, to solve the problem that a UE cannot register normally based on the AMF network element reallocation flow of a 5G base station in the network slicing separation networking of a 5G core network. [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] The technical solution provided in the present invention includes the following four aspects:

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a terminal (UE) registration method applied to an AMF network element on a 5G core network side, the method comprising: receiving UE registration information sent by a 5G base station; If the UE fails to register with the AMF network element, sending a Registration reject message to the UE, the Registration reject message including at least a first cell and a second cell, the first cell including network slice information already configured in the AMF network element, and the second cell including a Requested NSSAI in an Access Stratum (AS) in a registration request sent to the UE after receiving the Registration reject message; Here, the Requested NSSAI includes target network slice information selected by the UE based on the first cell, and the Requested NSSAI is used to instruct the 5G base station, when receiving a registration request sent from the UE and to which the Requested NSSAI is attached, to determine a corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI for successful registration of the UE to the target AMF network element.

[0006] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present invention comprise: a registration information receiving unit for receiving UE registration information sent by the 5G base station; A registration rejection message sending unit for sending a registration rejection message to the UE, to which at least a first cell and a second cell are added, when the UE fails to register with the AMF network element, wherein the first cell is added with network slice information already configured in the AMF network element, and the second cell is added with a registration rejection message sending unit used to instruct the UE to add a Requested NSSAI in an AS in a registration request sent after receiving the Registration reject message; Here, the Requested NSSAI includes target network slice information selected by the UE based on the first cell, and the Requested NSSAI is used to instruct the 5G base station, when receiving a registration request sent from the UE and to which the Requested NSSAI is attached, to determine a corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI for successful registration of the UE to the target AMF network element, provides a registration device for a terminal UE.

[0007] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device including a processor and a machine-readable storage medium, the machine-readable storage medium adapted to store machine-executable instructions, the processor adapted to read and execute the machine-executable instructions stored in the machine-readable storage medium storage so as to perform a method according to the first aspect above.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the method described in the first aspect above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] As can be seen from the above technical solution, in the present invention, in the network slicing split networking of a 5G core network, if an AMF network element finds that the UE's registration with this AMF network element fails, it sends a Registration reject message to the UE, including a first cell to which network slice information already configured in the AMF network element is added and a second cell to instruct the UE to add a Requested NSSAI in the AS to the registration request sent after receiving the Registration reject message. In this way, when the UE again sends registration information, the UE can select target network slice information based on the first cell. When the 5G base station receives the registration information with the Requested NSSAI sent from the UE, it can determine the corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI, thereby successfully registering the UE with the target AMF network element. Obviously, by applying the registration method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the problem of the UE not being able to successfully register based on the AMF network element reallocation flow of the Radio Access Network (RAN) in the network slicing split networking of a 5G core network is solved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 2 is a flowchart of a registration method for a terminal UE provided in the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of UE registration in a first scenario applied to 5G network slicing separation provided in the present invention; [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of UE registration in a second scenario applied to 5G network slicing separation provided in the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a configuration diagram of a registration device for a terminal UE provided by the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a configuration diagram of an electronic device provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Reference will now be made in detail to illustrative examples that are illustrated in the drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, identical numerals in different drawings represent identical or similar elements unless otherwise indicated. The embodiments described in the following illustrative examples do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present invention. On the contrary, they are merely examples of apparatus and methods consistent with certain aspects of the present invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

[0012] The terms used herein are intended to describe particular embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "the," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used herein means any and all combinations including one or more of the associated listed items.

[0013] It should be noted that, although terms such as "first," "second," and "third" may be used to describe various pieces of information in the present invention, the information is not limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish between pieces of information of the same type. For example, the first piece of information may be referred to as the second piece of information, and similarly, the second piece of information may be referred to as the first piece of information, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Depending on the context, the word "if" used herein may be interpreted as "when ..." or "when ..." or "in response to a decision."

[0014] Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a first terminal UE registration method provided in the present invention, which is applied to an AMF network element on the 5G core network side.

[0015] The AMF network element is a key functional unit of 5G that completes the access and mobility management of terminal UE users. Regarding the AMF network element reallocation flow in the UE registration process, the specific UE registration process will be described in detail below.

[0016] In step 1, to provide service to the UE, the 5G base station receives an initial message containing UE registration information sent from the UE and sends it to the configured initial AMF network element. The UE registration information is used for the UE registration request and includes parameters such as registration type, user identifier, UE capability, and requested slice.

[0017] In step 2, the initial AMF network element needs to determine whether the UE has previously registered with this initial AMF network element. If not, the initial AMF network element needs a user permanent identifier (Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI)) to obtain the UE's subscription information and determine whether to reroute the registration request; or, if the UE registration information sent by the UE is not integrity protected or the integrity protection fails, the initial AMF network element needs to identify the UE identity and further perform authentication / security flow with the UE of this initial AMF network element.

[0018] In step 3, the initial AMF network element obtains the UE's contract data, including the network slice information subscribed by the UE, from the UDM (Unified Data Management). After obtaining the contract data, the initial AMF network element selects a network slice through the NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function) network element based on the contract data and the network slice selection auxiliary information (i.e., Requested NSSAI) in the UE registration information, so as to select the network slice information that can provide service to the UE.

[0019] In step 4, if the initial AMF network element determines that AMF network element reallocation is necessary and an old AMF network element exists, the initial AMF network element sends a status update to the old AMF network element to notify it that the UE's registration flow has not been completed in the initial AMF network element.

[0020] In step 5, based on the network slice information that can provide service to the UE selected by the NSSF network element in step 3, the initial AMF network element queries the information of the target AMF network element by sending a request to perform service expression to the NRF (Network Repository Function) network element.

[0021] In step 6, after determining the target AMF network element, the initial AMF network element enters an AMF network element reallocation flow. The AMF network element reallocation flow mainly relates to two reallocation methods. One reallocation method corresponds to an application scenario in which NAS (Non-Access Stratum) messages can be directly transmitted between the initial AMF network element and the target AMF network element. Specifically, the initial AMF network element transmits UE registration information to the target AMF network element for processing through a service-oriented interface with the target AMF network element based on the service manifestation result performed by the NRF network element. The other reallocation method corresponds to the 5G network slicing separation networking scenario described in the present invention, in which multiple network slices in this networking scenario share 5G base stations, different network slices use different AMF network elements, and the network is separated between the AMF network elements. According to the networking plan, the AMF network element reallocation flow communicates only through 5G base stations, that is, the initial AMF network element indirectly transmits NAS messages through the 5G base station. The initial AMF network element encapsulates the UE registration information in a reroute NAS message and sends it to the 5G base station. The 5G base station further sends the UE registration information to the target AMF network element in the form of an initial message.

[0022] In step 7, after receiving the UE registration information, the target AMF network element processes according to the existing registration flow.

[0023] This embodiment mainly addresses the AMF network element reallocation flow in a 5G network slicing split networking scenario.

[0024] The flow realized based on FIG. 1 may include the following steps 101 and 102.

[0025] In step 101, receive UE registration information sent by a 5G base station.

[0026] Based on the above description of the UE registration process, when the UE is in a 5G network slicing separation networking scenario, the configured AMF network element will receive the UE registration information sent from the UE via the 5G base station by default.

[0027] The UE registration information may be the UE registration information sent by the UE for the first time, or the UE registration information sent by the UE after rerouting, that is, it indicates that the current process has entered the AMF network element re-allocation flow.

[0028] In step 102, if the UE fails to register with the AMF network element, send a Registration reject message to the UE, with at least the first cell and the second cell attached.

[0029] Here, the first cell is added with network slice information already configured in the AMF network element, and the second cell is used to instruct the UE to add a Requested Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) in the Access Stratum (AS) in the registration request sent after receiving a Registration reject message. The AS of the present invention may be understood as an AS through which the UE and the 5G base station interact. That is, the registration request restarted by the UE after receiving the Registration reject message may include the Requested NSSAI, and the UE may add the Requested NSSAI to the AS in the process of accessing the 5G base station.

[0030] The first cell and the second cell are named for the convenience of explanation and are not intended to limit the specific cells.

[0031] The Requested NSSAI includes target network slice information selected by the UE based on the first cell, and the Requested NSSAI is used to instruct the 5G base station, when receiving a registration request sent from the UE with the Requested NSSAI attached to the AS, to determine a corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI for successful registration of the UE to the target AMF network element.

[0032] In a 5G network slicing split networking scenario, the failure of a UE to register with this AMF network element may occur in the following application scenarios: One application scenario that causes registration failure is that the UE registration information in step 101 is sent by the 5G base station when the UE moves from the coverage of another 5G base station to the coverage of this 5G base station. An example is the networking scenario shown in FIG. 2, which includes at least two 5G base stations, gNB1 and gNB2. gNB1 supports network slices 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the default setting preferentially selects the AMF1 network element in AMF Set1, where AMF Set1 supports network slices 1 and 2, and each AMF network element in AMF Set1 is equivalent and supports network slices 1 and 2. gNB2 supports network slices 1, 2, 3, and 4, and the default setting preferentially selects the AMF3 network element in AMF Set2, which supports network slices 3 and 4. Each AMF network element in AMF Set2 is equivalent and supports network slices 3 and 4. The UE subscribes to network slices 1 and 2 in UDM, which indicates that network slices 1 and 2 have already subscribed to provide services to the UE.

[0033] The UE accesses the network for the first time with gNB1 and begins the registration flow.

[0034] gNB1 defaults to the UE accessing the AMF1 network element in AMF Set 1. The UE successfully registers with the AMF1 network element and obtains information such as Allowed NSSAI network elements and Configured NSSAI network elements from the registration acceptance message.

[0035] The UE moves from gNB1 coverage to gNB2 coverage and accesses the network again through gNB2. If the AS with which the UE and gNB2 interact does not have valid identity information and network slice information, gNB2 defaults to the UE accessing the AMF3 network element in AMF Set 2. At this time, the AMF3 network element does not have a user context, so it initiates a security flow for the UE.

[0036] After the security negotiation is completed, the AMF3 network element interacts with the NSSF network element to select a network slice, determines that AMF network element reallocation is required based on the network slice selection decision, and determines that the target AMF Set is designated as AMF Set1.

[0037] The AMF3 network element performs an AMF network element reassignment flow with gNB2, instructing it to reroute the UE registration information to AMF Set1. At this time, the AMF1 network element in AMF Set1 receives the initial message rerouted by gNB2. After the UE moves, all valid contexts registered by the UE with the original 5G base station (i.e., gNB1) and the core network are deleted, and the valid context for the UE in the AMF1 network element is also deleted. As a result, the AMF1 network element no longer has a user context, and the AMF1 network element must perform an authentication / security flow with the UE again. Because the UE is unaware of the entire rerouting process and has already performed a security flow with the AMF3 network element, it cannot process the unencrypted authentication message delivered by the AMF1 network element. Ultimately, the AMF1 network element cannot continue the registration flow, and the AMF1 network element cannot notify the UE of registration rejection. The UE's registration times out and fails. It can only then initiate the registration flow with gNB2 again and repeat the above process. As a result, the UE does not successfully register with gNB2.

[0038] Another application scenario that may cause registration failure is as follows: The UE registration information in step 101 is sent by the 5G base station when the UE is shut down after successful registration and then moves out of the coverage area of ​​the 5G base station and restarts. Another example is the networking scenario shown in FIG. 3, in which the UE is shut down after successful registration with AMF Set 1 in the above networking. The above networking configuration is re-modified. Specifically, gNB1 supports network slices 3, 4, 5, and 6, and the default setting is to preferentially select the AMF1 network element in AMF Set 1. gNB2 supports network slices 3, 4, 5, and 6, and the default setting is to preferentially select the AMF3 network element in AMF Set 2. AMF Set 1 supports network slices 5 and 6, and AMF Set 2 supports network slices 3 and 4. The UE subscribes to network slices 5 and 6 using UDM.

[0039] The UE moves into the coverage area of ​​gNB2, restarts, and accesses the network. The Requested NSSAI that the UE adds to the UE registration information indicates network slices 1 and 2. gNB2 defaults to the UE accessing an AMF3 network element in AMF Set 2. Since the AMF3 network element does not have a user context at this time, it initiates a security flow for the UE.

[0040] After the security negotiation is completed, the AMF3 network element interacts with the NSSF network element to select a network slice, determines that AMF network element reallocation is required through the network slice selection decision, and indicates the target AMF Set as AMF Set1.

[0041] The AMF3 network element performs an AMF network element reassignment flow with gNB2, instructing it to reroute the UE registration information to AMF Set1. The AMF1 network element receives the initial message rerouted by gNB2. Because the AMF1 network element does not have a valid UE context, it again performs an authentication / security flow with the UE. Because the UE is unaware of the entire rerouting process and has already performed a security flow with AMF3, it cannot process the unencrypted authentication message delivered by the AMF1 network element. Ultimately, it cannot continue the registration flow with the AMF1 network element and cannot notify the UE of registration rejection. The UE registration times out and fails. It can only then initiate the registration flow with gNB2 again and repeat the above process. As a result, the UE does not successfully register with gNB2.

[0042] As can be seen from the above two embodiments, when the above UE performs the AMF network element re-allocation flow, the UE registration will fail in both cases.

[0043] The Registration reject message in step 102 indicates that the current registration of the UE is rejected, and the newly added first and second cells are added. In this way, the UE can select target network slice information serving the UE from the latest network slice information already configured in the first cell and configure the Requested NSSAI. These network slices may be a single network slice or a network slice list consisting of multiple network slices, and this embodiment is not limited thereto.

[0044] When the UE again initiates a UE registration request through the 5G base station, it adds the Requested NSSAI to the AS that interacts with the 5G base station in the registration request. When the 5G base station receives a registration request with the Requested NSSAI sent from the UE, it can detect the Requested NSSAI and determine the corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI, so that the UE can successfully register with the target AMF network element, thereby avoiding the UE always being unable to successfully register due to an invalid AMF network element reassignment flow.

[0045] In one embodiment, the first cell is Configured NSSAI, the second cell is NSSAI inclusion mode, and the UE selects target network slice information that can serve the UE from the network slice information in the Configured NSSAI and configures the Requested NSSAI. The AMF network element sends a Registration reject message filled with the Configured NSSAI and NSSAI inclusion mode to the UE. When the 5G base station receives a registration request with the Requested NSSAI sent from the UE, it selects the correct target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI. In this embodiment, the NSSAI inclusion mode notifies the base station of the Requested NSSAI added to the UE registration information, and the base station can select an AMF set that can provide service to the UE based on the Requested NSSAI, thereby selecting the correct AMF network element from the AMF set. If the NSSAI inclusion mode is not added, when the UE resends the UE registration information, the UE will not notify the base station of the Requested NSSAI. Thus, the base station will not be able to correctly select the correct AMF network element, which will further cause registration failure.

[0046] In one embodiment, after the UE is successfully registered, the AMF network element receives feedback from the 5G base station indicating successful registration, and sends the feedback information to the UE via the 5G base station. In this way, the UE knows that its registration is successful and does not initiate a registration request again.

[0047] This concludes the description given in FIG.

[0048] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, in the present invention, in the network slicing split networking of a 5G core network, when an AMF network element finds that a UE fails to register with the AMF network element, it sends a Registration reject message to the UE, including a first cell to which network slice information already configured in the AMF network element is added and a second cell to instruct the UE to add a Requested NSSAI in the AS to the registration request sent after receiving the Registration reject message. In this way, when the UE again sends registration information, the UE selects target network slice information based on the first cell, and when the 5G base station receives the registration information with the Requested NSSAI added sent from the UE, it can determine the corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI, thereby selecting the correct AMF network element and ensuring that the UE successfully registers with the target AMF network element. Obviously, by applying the registration method provided by the embodiments of the present invention, the problem of a UE failing to register successfully based on an AMF network element reallocation flow in the RAN in the network slicing split networking of a 5G core network is solved.

[0049] After completing the embodiment described in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, after receiving the UE registration information sent by the 5G base station, the method further includes the following steps A and B.

[0050] In step A, based on the identity identifier for identifying the UE included in the UE registration information, determine whether the UE corresponding to the identity identifier has been successfully registered with this AMF network element. If the registration has been successful, execute step B; if the registration has not been successful, execute step 102.

[0051] After receiving the UE registration information sent by the UE, the AMF network element does not know the specific identity of the UE, and therefore cannot determine whether the network slice in this AMF network element can serve the UE. If the UE has previously registered in this AMF network element and the integrity protection security verification of the UE registration request is successful, it indicates that this AMF network element can provide service to the UE. If the UE has not previously registered in this AMF network element, it indicates that this AMF network element needs to perform a UE security / authentication flow and a contract information acquisition flow to determine the AMF network element that can provide service to the UE.

[0052] In step B, if the integrity protection security verification of the UE registration information is successful, register the UE in this AMF network element, and send a message to the UE indicating that the registration is successful.

[0053] The AMF network element verifies the integrity protection security of the UE registration information, and if the verification is successful, executes step B. In another embodiment, the AMF network element may further verify whether the UE registration information is encrypted, and if it is encrypted and the integrity protection security of the UE registration information is verified successfully, executes step B.

[0054] It can be seen from the above that by applying the technical solution provided by this embodiment, the UE can quickly find an AMF network element that can provide the UE with services.

[0055] In another embodiment, after the AMF network element finds that the UE registration has failed, the AMF network element needs to perform an AMF network element reassignment flow, and if the AMF network element is a target AMF network element, the method further includes obtaining a registration request forwarded from the 5G base station and successfully routing the UE to the target AMF network element based on the registration request. In this embodiment, the AMF network element is the target AMF network element, which indicates that the AMF network element can provide service to the UE. In other words, the target AMF network element is an AMF network element that can provide service to the UE.

[0056] In another embodiment, after the UE successfully registers with the target AMF network element, a registration accept message including a target cell having a configured network slice is sent to the UE, allowing the UE to select a network slice from the target cell as a Requested NSSAI when a network slice request is initiated again by the UE. In this embodiment, the UE does not know which network slice it can use when it first starts up. After the UE registers with the AMF1 network element, the AMF1 network element includes a target cell with an attached network slice that can serve the UE in the registration accept message, allowing the UE to select a network slice from this target cell when it subsequently initiates a network slice request. The target cell is used to inform the UE that a selectable target cell has an attached network slice, and the selected network slice is the intersection of the network slice supported by the AMF network element and the network slice subscribed to by the UE. The target cell may be an Allowed NSSAI or a Configured NSSAI.

[0057] This concludes the description of the above embodiment.

[0058] To clarify the embodiments of the present invention, the following specific examples will be given.

[0059] In the 5G network slicing split networking scenario shown in Figure 2, the UE registration process is as follows:

[0060] The gNB1 defaults for the UE to access the AMF1 network element of AMF Set1, and the AMF1 network element receives the UE registration information sent by the UE. The AMF1 network element determines, based on the identity identifier for identifying the UE included in the UE registration information, whether the UE corresponding to the identity identifier has been successfully registered in this AMF network element. If registration has been successful, it indicates that this AMF network element can provide services to the UE. If registration has not been successful, the AMF network element indicates to the UE that it needs to find an AMF network element that can provide services to the UE.

[0061] The UE moves from the coverage of gNB1 to the coverage of gNB2 and accesses the network again. If the AS with which the UE and gNB2 interact does not have valid identity information and network slice information, gNB2 defaults to the UE accessing the AMF3 network element in AMF Set2. Since the AMF3 network element has no user context, it initiates a security flow for the UE. After security negotiation is complete, the AMF3 network element interacts with the NSSF network element to select a network slice, determines that AMF network element reassignment is required based on the network slice selection decision, and indicates the target AMF Set as AMF Set1.

[0062] The AMF3 network element performs an AMF network element reassignment flow via gNB2, instructing it to reroute the UE registration information to AMF Set1. The AMF1 network element in AMF Set1 has no UE-related context. The AMF1 network element needs to perform an authentication / security flow with the UE again, which means the UE is unaware of the entire rerouting process and cannot process the unencrypted authentication message sent by the AMF1 network element because the UE has already performed a security flow with the AMF3 network element. Ultimately, the UE will not successfully register with gNB2.

[0063] Therefore, when the AMF1 network element finds that the UE's registration with this AMF network element will fail, it sends a Registration reject message to the UE, which includes at least a first cell indicating the network slice information already configured in the AMF1 network element and a second cell instructing the UE to add a Requested NSSAI in the AS that interacts with the 5G base station in a registration request that is initiated again after receiving the Registration reject message.

[0064] The UE receives the Registration reject message sent by the AMF1 network element via the gNB2, configures a Requested NSSAI based on the target network slice information selected from the first cell added to the Registration reject message, and these target network slices are all network slices that can provide service to the UE. The UE also reroutes the UE's registration request via the gNB2, and the Requested NSSAI is added to the registration request. When the gNB2 receives the registration request sent by the UE with the Requested NSSAI added, the gNB2 determines a corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI, so that the UE successfully registers with the target AMF network element.

[0065] This concludes the description of the above example.

[0066] Referring to Figure 4, Figure 4 is a block diagram of a registration device 400 of a terminal UE provided by this embodiment. The method is applied to an AMF network element on the 5G core network side, and the device: a registration information receiving unit 401 for receiving UE registration information sent by a 5G base station; and a Registration rejection message sending unit 402 for sending a Registration rejection message to the UE, the Registration rejection message including at least a first cell and a second cell, when the UE fails to register with the AMF network element, wherein the first cell includes network slice information already configured in the AMF network element, and the second cell includes a Registration rejection message sending unit 402 used to instruct the UE to include a Requested NSSAI in an AS interacting with a 5G base station in a registration request sent after receiving the Registration reject message; Here, the Requested NSSAI includes target network slice information selected by the UE based on the first cell, and the Requested NSSAI is used to instruct the 5G base station, when receiving a registration request sent from the UE and to which the Requested NSSAI is attached, to determine the corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI for successful registration of the UE to the target AMF network element.

[0067] In one embodiment, after receiving the UE registration information sent by the 5G base station, the device further: a registration determination unit for determining whether the UE corresponding to the identity identifier has been successfully registered with the AMF network element according to an identity identifier for identifying the UE included in the UE registration information, and triggering a registration unit if the registration has been successful, and triggering the registration rejection message sending unit if the registration has not been successful; and a registration unit for registering the UE with the AMF network element if the integrity protection security verification of the UE registration information is successful, and sending a message to the UE indicating that the registration is successful.

[0068] In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises: If the AMF network element is the target AMF network element, a registration unit is included for obtaining the registration request forwarded from the 5G base station and successfully registering the UE to the target AMF network element based on the registration request.

[0069] In one embodiment, the device further includes a registration acceptance message sending unit for causing the UE to select a network slice from the target cell and configure a Requested NSSAI when a network slice request is initiated again by the UE after the UE has successfully registered with the target AMF network element by sending a registration acceptance message to the UE including a target cell having a configured network slice.

[0070] In one embodiment, the UE registration information is sent by the 5G base station in a scenario where the UE moves from the coverage of another 5G base station to the coverage of this 5G base station; or The UE registration information is sent by the 5G base station in a scenario where the UE is shut down after successfully registering with an AMF network element of another 5G base station, and then moves into the coverage of this 5G base station and restarts.

[0071] Up to this point, we have finished with the diagram of the device shown in FIG.

[0072] As can be seen from the above technical solution, in the present invention, in the network slicing split networking of a 5G core network, when an AMF network element finds that a UE fails to register with the AMF network element, it sends a Registration reject message to the UE, including a first cell to which network slice information already configured in the AMF network element is added and a second cell to instruct the UE to add a Requested NSSAI in the AS to the registration request sent after receiving the Registration reject message. In this way, when the UE again sends registration information, the UE selects target network slice information based on the first cell, and when the 5G base station receives the registration information with the Requested NSSAI sent from the UE, it can determine the corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI, thereby allowing the UE to successfully register with the target AMF network element. Obviously, by applying the registration method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the problem of a UE not being able to successfully register based on an AMF network element reallocation flow in the RAN in the network slicing split networking of a 5G core network is solved.

[0073] The process for realizing the functions and actions of each device in the above apparatus specifically refers to the process for realizing the corresponding step in the above method, and the description is omitted here.

[0074] From a hardware perspective, the electronic device provided by the embodiment of the present invention has a hardware architecture schematic diagram as shown in Figure 5. It includes a machine-readable storage medium 501 and a processor 502, in which the machine-readable storage medium stores machine-executable instructions to be executed by the processor, and the processor executes the machine-executable instructions to perform a registration operation of a terminal UE applied to 5G network slicing separation disclosed in the above example.

[0075] A machine-readable storage medium provided by an embodiment of the present invention has machine-executable instructions stored on the machine-readable storage medium, and when the machine-executable instructions are called and executed by a processor, the machine-executable instructions cause the processor to perform a registration operation of a terminal UE applied to 5G network slicing separation disclosed in the above example.

[0076] Here, a machine-readable storage medium may be any electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical storage device that contains or can store information such as executable instructions, data, etc. For example, the machine-readable storage medium may be a RAM (random access memory), a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a flash memory, a storage drive (such as a hard drive), a solid-state drive, any storage disk (such as an optical disk or DVD), or a similar storage medium, or a combination thereof.

[0077] The systems, devices, modules, or units described in the above embodiments may be specifically realized by computer chips, entities, or products having certain functions. A typical realizing device is a computer, and the specific form of the computer may be a personal computer, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a camera phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email sending / receiving device, a game console, a tablet, a wearable device, or any combination of these devices.

[0078] For the sake of convenience, the above-described device will be described by dividing it into various units according to their functions. However, when implementing the present invention, the functions of each unit may be realized by the same or multiple pieces of software and / or hardware.

[0079] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, a system, or a computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk memory, CD-ROM, optical memory, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0080] The present invention will be described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, whereby the instructions, executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device, generate an apparatus for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows in the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks in the block diagrams.

[0081] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory result in an article of manufacture that includes an instruction apparatus that implements the functions specified in one or more flows of the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0082] These computer program instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device, whereby a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, whereby the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flows of the flowcharts and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0083] The device embodiments basically correspond to the method embodiments, so please refer to the description of some of the method embodiments for relevant parts. The device embodiments described above are merely exemplary, and the units described therein as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, i.e., they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Depending on actual needs, some or all of the units may be selected to achieve the objectives of the solution of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement them without any creative effort.

[0084] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A registration method for a terminal (UE) applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element on a 5G core network side, receiving UE registration information sent by a 5G base station; If the registration of the UE to the AMF network element fails, sending a registration reject message to the UE, the registration reject message including at least a first cell and a second cell, the first cell including network slice information already configured in the AMF network element, and the second cell including network slice information used to instruct the UE to include network slice selection assistance information (Requested NSSAI) in an access stratum (AS) in a registration request sent after receiving the registration reject message; Here, the Requested NSSAI includes target network slice information selected by the UE based on the first cell, and the Requested NSSAI is used to instruct the 5G base station, when receiving a registration request sent from the UE and to which the Requested NSSAI is added, to determine the corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI for successful registration of the UE to the target AMF network element.

2. After receiving the UE registration information transmitted by the 5G base station, According to an identity identifier for identifying the UE included in the UE registration information, determining whether the UE corresponding to the identity identifier has been successfully registered with the AMF network element; If the registration has been successful, if the integrity protection security of the UE registration information is verified successfully, registering the UE with the AMF network element and sending a message indicating successful registration to the UE; 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: if registration has not been successful, performing the step of sending the Registration reject message to the UE, with at least the first cell and the second cell appended.

3. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: if the AMF network element is the target AMF network element, obtaining the registration request forwarded from the 5G base station; and successfully registering the UE to the target AMF network element based on the registration request.

4. 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: after the UE successfully registers with the target AMF network element, sending a Registration Accept message to the UE, the Registration Accept message including a target cell having a configured network slice, to cause the UE to select a network slice from the target cell and configure a Requested NSSAI when a network slice request is initiated again by the UE.

5. The UE registration information is sent by the 5G base station in a scenario where the UE moves from the coverage of another 5G base station to the coverage of this 5G base station; or The method according to claim 1, wherein the UE registration information is transmitted by the 5G base station in a scenario where the UE is shut down after successfully registering with an AMF network element of another 5G base station, and then moves into the coverage of the 5G base station and restarts.

6. A registration device for a terminal (UE) applied to an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element on a 5G core network side, a registration information receiving unit for receiving UE registration information sent by a 5G base station; a registration reject message sending unit for sending a registration reject message to the UE, the registration reject message including at least a first cell and a second cell added thereto, when the registration of the UE to the AMF network element fails, wherein the first cell is added with network slice information already configured in the AMF network element, and the second cell is added with a registration reject message sending unit used to instruct the UE to add network slice selection assistance information (Requested NSSAI) in an access stratum (AS) in a registration request sent after receiving the Registration reject message; Here, the Requested NSSAI includes target network slice information selected by the UE based on the first cell, and the Requested NSSAI, when the 5G base station receives a registration request sent from the UE and to which the Requested NSSAI is added, is used to instruct the 5G base station to determine the corresponding target AMF network element based on the target network slice information in the Requested NSSAI for successful registration of the UE to the target AMF network element.

7. After receiving the UE registration information transmitted by the 5G base station, a registration determination unit for determining whether the UE corresponding to the identity identifier has been successfully registered with the AMF network element according to an identity identifier for identifying the UE included in the UE registration information, and triggering a registration unit if the registration has been successful, and triggering the registration rejection message sending unit if the registration has not been successful; and a registration unit for registering the UE with the AMF network element if the integrity protection security of the UE registration information is successfully verified, and sending a message to the UE indicating that the registration is successful.

8. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising: a registration unit for obtaining the registration request forwarded from the 5G base station when the AMF network element is the target AMF network element; and successfully registering the UE to the target AMF network element based on the registration request.

9. and a registration accept message sending unit for causing the UE to select a network slice from the target cell and configure a Requested NSSAI when a network slice request is again initiated by the UE after the UE has successfully registered with the target AMF network element by sending a registration accept message to the UE, the registration accept message including a target cell having a configured network slice.

10. The UE registration information is sent by the 5G base station in a scenario where the UE moves from the coverage of another 5G base station to the coverage of this 5G base station; or The UE registration information is transmitted by the 5G base station in a scenario where the UE is shut down after successfully registering with an AMF network element of another 5G base station, and then moves into the coverage of the 5G base station and restarts. The device of claim 6,

11. a processor and a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium; the machine-readable storage medium is used to store machine-executable instructions; An electronic device, characterized in that the processor is used to read and execute machine-executable instructions stored on the machine-readable storage medium to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 5.

12. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising: A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by a processor, performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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