Service discovery method, network element, computer program product and storage medium

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure are a service discovery method, a network element, a computer program product and a storage medium. The service discovery method is applied to an NRF network element. The method comprises: receiving a service registration request or a service update request sent by an NF, wherein the service registration request or the service update request comprises NF information; and when a service discovery request for the NF is received, returning one or more pieces of NF information in a response to the service discovery request on the basis of parameters carried in the service discovery request.

Description

Service discovery method, network element, computer program product, and storage medium

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410179065.0 filed in China on February 9, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to the field of computer technology, and in particular to a service discovery method, a network element, a computer program product, and a storage medium. Background Art

[0004] In related technologies, the Binding Support Function (BSF) network element registers a Network Function Profile (NF profile) with the Network Repository Function (NRF) network element. When performing BSF service discovery with the NRF, the service discovery result carries the NF profile registered by the BSF, which carries a large number of attributes unrelated to the current service. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a service discovery method, a network element, a computer program product, and a storage medium, and the NRF can respond to service discovery requests on demand.

[0006] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure is implemented as follows:

[0007] In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a service discovery method, applied to a network warehousing function (NRF), comprising:

[0008] receiving a service registration request or a service update request sent by a network function NF; the service registration request or the service update request including NF information;

[0009] A service discovery request for the NF is received, and one or more NF information is carried in a response message to the service discovery request according to parameters carried in the service discovery request.

[0010] In the above solution, the NF information includes one or more of the following attributes:

[0011] Identification of the NF information group;

[0012] Business type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes, or service area-related attributes;

[0013] Data network identifier or a list of data network identifiers;

[0014] Session type;

[0015] User address or address segment;

[0016] User ID, code number or number segment.

[0017] In the above solution, the service registration request includes a description file of the NF, and the description file of the NF includes one or more pieces of information of the NF; upon receiving the service registration request, the method further includes:

[0018] Save the description file of the NF.

[0019] In the above solution, upon receiving the service update request, the method further includes:

[0020] The description file of the NF is updated according to the service update request, where the updating includes adding the NF information included in the service update request to the description file of the NF.

[0021] In the above solution, the parameters are related to the service type, application scenario or service area, and include one or more of the following:

[0022] The parameters include service type related parameters, application scenario related parameters or service area related parameters;

[0023] The parameters include the NF type of the requester;

[0024] The parameters include data network identifier, slice identifier, user address, user identifier or user code number.

[0025] In the above solution, the NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes one or more of the following:

[0026] The NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes;

[0027] The NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes attributes related to the service type, application scenario or service area.

[0028] In the above solution, according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, one or more NF information is carried in the response message of the service discovery request, including any one of the following:

[0029] Matching first NF information of a first NF according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and carrying the first NF information in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0030] Matching first NF information of a first NF according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and carrying the first NF information and NF information associated with the first NF information in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0031] The NF information associated with the first NF information includes any one of the following:

[0032] The same as the NF information group identifier included in the first NF information;

[0033] The same as the service type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes, or service area-related attributes included in the first NF information;

[0034] The business type, application scenario or service area containing the attributes is the same as that of the first NF information.

[0035] In the above solution, when the NF is a binding support function (BSF), the NF information is BSF information, and the BSF information includes one or more of the following attributes:

[0036] Identification of the BSF information group;

[0037] Business type related attributes;

[0038] Application scenario related attributes;

[0039] Service area related attributes;

[0040] IPv4 address range or address segment;

[0041] IPv6 prefix range or address segment;

[0042] IP domain ID;

[0043] Data network name DNN or DNN list;

[0044] User code number range or user number segment;

[0045] In the above scheme, the service type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes or service area-related attributes are used to identify or describe one or more of voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

[0046] In the above scheme, if the BSF information includes IMSDNN and / or IPv6 prefix range, then the BSF information is related to voice service;

[0047] If the BSF information includes an IPv4 address range and / or an IP domain, the BSF information is related to a data service;

[0048] If the BSF information includes a dedicated DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to data services;

[0049] If the BSF information includes a voice service-related DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to the voice service;

[0050] If the BSF information includes a DNN and an IPv6 prefix range related to a data service, the BSF information is related to the data service;

[0051] If the BSF information contains a user code number range that belongs to the IoT user number segment, then the BSF information is related to the IoT application;

[0052] If the BSF information contains a user code number range belonging to the public network user number segment, then the BSF information is related to the public network application;

[0053] If the BSF contains a user code number range that belongs to a non-public network user number segment, then the BSF information is related to a non-public network application.

[0054] In the above solution, when the NF is a BSF, the parameters include one or more of the following:

[0055] NF type of the requester;

[0056] Business type related parameters;

[0057] Parameters related to application scenarios;

[0058] Service area related parameters

[0059] IPv4 address;

[0060] IPv6 prefix;

[0061] IP domain ID;

[0062] DNN;

[0063] User code number.

[0064] In the above scheme, the requester's NF type, service type-related parameters, application scenario-related parameters or service area-related parameters are used to describe one or more of voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

[0065] In the above solution, the one or more NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes any one of the following:

[0066] The BSF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes;

[0067] The attributes contained in the BSF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request are related to voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slice information or data network identification.

[0068] In the above solution, according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, one or more NF information is carried in the response message of the service discovery request, including one or more of the following:

[0069] Carrying the BSF information matched by the parameters in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0070] Carrying, in a response message to the service discovery request, BSF information identical to the BSF information group identifier of the matched BSF information;

[0071] Carrying, in the response message to the service discovery request, BSF information having the same service type attribute, application scenario-related attribute, or service area-related attribute as the matched BSF information;

[0072] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the voice service, the BSF information related to the voice service is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0073] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the data service, the BSF information related to the data service is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0074] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the IoT service, the BSF information related to the IoT application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0075] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the public network application, the BSF information related to the public network application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0076] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the non-public network application, the BSF information related to the non-public network application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request.

[0077] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a service registration method, the method comprising:

[0078] Applied to NF, wherein the method comprises:

[0079] Send a service registration request or a service update request to the NRF; the service registration request or the service update request includes NF information.

[0080] In the above solution, the service registration request includes the description file of the NF, and the description file of the NF includes one or more pieces of information of the NF.

[0081] In the above solution, before sending the service registration request or service update request to the NRF, the method further includes any one of the following:

[0082] Generating the NF information according to a service type, an application scenario, or a service area related attribute, wherein the NF information includes a service type related attribute, an application scenario related attribute, or a service area related attribute;

[0083] The NF information is generated according to the service type, application scenario or service area identified by the data network identifier or data network identifier list, session type, user address or address segment, user identifier, code number or number segment, and the attributes contained in the NF information belong to the same service type, application scenario or service area.

[0084] In the above solution, when generating the NF information, the method further includes:

[0085] Insert the NF information group identifier into the NF information.

[0086] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer program product, including a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the above-mentioned service discovery method are implemented.

[0087] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer program product, including a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the above-mentioned service registration method are implemented.

[0088] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a network element, including a processor and a memory, which are interconnected, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, the computer program includes program instructions, and the processor is configured to call the program instructions to execute the steps of the service discovery method or service registration method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0089] In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable storage medium, comprising: the computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements the steps of the service discovery method or service registration method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0090] The NRF in the embodiment of the present disclosure receives a service registration request or a service update request sent by the NF, and the service registration request or the service update request includes NF information. Upon receiving a service discovery request for the NF, one or more NF information is carried in the response message of the service discovery request according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request. The embodiment of the present disclosure performs batch registration by superimposing the service registration process on the service update process, and completes the reporting of all NF information of the NF. For the service discovery request of the NF, according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, the NRF can respond to the service discovery request on demand and return one or more NF information on demand instead of returning all NF information, thereby shortening the service discovery response time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0091] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation flow of a service discovery method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0092] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an implementation flow of a service registration method provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0093] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a BSF service registration and service discovery process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0094] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of another BSF service registration and service discovery process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0095] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a network element provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0096] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0097] To implement session policy control in the 4th Generation mobile communication technology (4G) core network, both the Gx interface signaling (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) - Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF)) and the Rx interface signaling (Application Function (AF) - PCRF) for a specific user session must be addressed to the same PCRF. This requirement is called session binding, and 4G session binding is implemented by the Diameter Routing Agent (DRA) in the signaling network. The DRA obtains the PCRF hostname from the user's Gx interface signaling and uses it as the destination address when forwarding the user's Rx interface signaling.

[0098] 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology (5G) networks have similar session binding requirements, but differ from 4G networks in the following ways:

[0099] 1) In the 5G core network, the Gx interface (PCEF-PCRF) is replaced by the N7 interface (Session Management Function (SMF)-Policy Control Function (PCF)). Both N7 and Rx interface signaling related to the same 5G user session must be addressed to the same PCF / PCRF (converged PCF). N7 represents the SMF-PCF, a service-oriented interface; Rx represents the AF-PCF, a Diameter interface.

[0100] 2) The Rx interface evolves to the N5 interface. If the in-house AF supports the N5 interface, it can directly access the PCF. Third-party AFs can access the PCF through the Network Exposure Function (NEF) network element. After the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) is upgraded to support service-based interfaces, the P-CSCF accesses the voice PCF through the N5 interface, triggering dynamic policy control.

[0101] 3) 5G session binding is implemented by the BSF. The BSF can be set up independently or embedded in the SMF. When set up independently, the BSF is centrally deployed and can be responsible for all session types across the entire network or for specific session types. When the BSF is embedded in the SMF, the session types it is responsible for are related to the sessions managed by the SMF.

[0102] 4) Increased 5G session binding data types: 5G session binding data includes user session-related user code number, user session address, slice, data network name (DNN), PCF address, and PCF / PCRF fusion deployment also includes PCRF host name, etc.

[0103] 5) The session binding method is different. When the BSF is set up independently, the session binding data is written by the PCF. When the BSF is built-in, the session binding data comes from the user session context and service discovery results in the SMF. The user session context in the SMF does not contain the PCRF hostname because the 5G service-based interface does not use the PCRF hostname. The SMF service discovery results contain the NF profile of the PCF selected by the SMF, which includes the PCF address and PCRF hostname.

[0104] 6) Before querying session binding data, the BSF must be addressed. In 4G, both session binding and signaling routing are implemented by the signaling network. The Rx interface signaling request is first forwarded to the session binding DRA. After the PCRF hostname is queried, further routing is performed based on the destination hostname. In 5G, session binding data querying and Rx interface / N5 interface signaling routing are independent. Before signaling requests are made, the BSF storing the session binding data for the user's session must be addressed. The corresponding BSF is then queried for the corresponding session binding data, and routing is performed based on the query results. The standard defines BSF addressing through service discovery.

[0105] In related technologies, BSF service registration includes:

[0106] BSF first registers its own NFprofile with NRF. The bsfinfo (BSF information) and bsfInfoList (BSF information list) are BSF-specific data, including Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) address range, Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) address prefix range, ipdomainID (domain name identifier), DNN, code number and other attributes. These attributes and attribute combinations can be used for service discovery BSF.

[0107] For example, a bsfinfo data structure is shown in Table 2 below:

[0108] Table 2

[0109] For example, a bsfinfo data structure is shown in Table 3 below:

[0110] Table 3

[0111] In related technologies, DRA, IMS Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF), and Data Service AF may all perform BSF service discovery with NRF. The service discovery request carries service discovery parameters, and the service discovery result carries the BSF NF profile.

[0112] From the perspective of BSF and SMF deployment, a centrally deployed BSF is responsible for binding both voice and data service sessions. An SMF integrated with the BSF, such as one that manages both voice and data service sessions, is also responsible for binding both voice and data service sessions. In related technologies, the BSF registers all attributes required for service discovery, and the NRF also includes an NFprofile in the service discovery results, containing all information registered by the BSF.

[0113] On the one hand, BSF registration involves numerous attributes with a wide range of values, leading to issues with excessive NF profile length and query overhead. Due to the complex planning of IP address segments, just as with number segments, achieving ideal address segment regularity is difficult. Registration by IP address segment impacts NF profile size. In particular, data service sessions utilize IPv4 addresses, requiring the registration of slices, DNNs, and IP domains to further support private network applications and distinguish between duplicate IP addresses. In large networks with numerous slices, DNNs, and private networks, BSF NF profiles can become excessively long. Excessively long NF profiles can lead to message processing errors within the service discovery network element, necessitating a customized mechanism for handling excessively long messages within the service discovery network element.

[0114] On the other hand, the attributes for addressing the BSF vary across different service application scenarios, and the service discovery BSF does not need to support processing of all attributes. For example, in a voice service application scenario, when the DRA or IMS P-CSCF performs BSF service discovery with the NRF, it only needs to obtain the IPv6 address segment and IMSDNN registered by the BSF, and then match them with the user's IP address. Information related to data service application scenarios registered by the BSF is not required.

[0115] In summary, service discovery network elements (SNEs) such as the Diameter Route Agent (DRA), Proxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF), and Application Function (AF) can all perform network function (NF) service discovery with the NRF. The NRF will then return the NF profile (NF description file) of the NF to the SNE. Since the NF profile includes all the attribute information registered by the NF, it returns a lot of attribute information that is irrelevant to the current business needs, and the returned response message is too long, making it difficult for the SNE to process.

[0116] In view of the shortcomings of the above-mentioned related technologies, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a service discovery method, and the NRF can respond to service discovery requests on demand. In order to illustrate the technical solution described in the present disclosure, a specific embodiment is described below.

[0117] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an implementation process of a service discovery method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the execution subject of the service discovery method is NRF. Referring to FIG1 , the service discovery method includes:

[0118] S101, receiving a service registration request or a service update request sent by a NF; the service registration request or the service update request includes NF information.

[0119] In some embodiments, the NF may be a network element such as a BSF, an SMF, or a User Data Management (UDM).

[0120] BSF is related to business type, application scenario, and service area;

[0121] SMF is related to slices, data networks, and session types;

[0122] UDM is related to user number segments.

[0123] In related technologies, NFs register their NF profiles with the NRF. This embodiment optimizes the registration process by superimposing multiple service update processes on the service registration process. A service registration request or service update request includes information about one or more NFs. The NF can split this information by application scenario, service type, or service area, and complete the reporting of all information through the registration and update processes.

[0124] NRF saves the NF information of NF registration or update, and can return the corresponding NF information in response to service discovery requests later.

[0125] S102: Receive a service discovery request for the NF, and carry one or more NF information in a response message to the service discovery request according to parameters carried in the service discovery request.

[0126] For example, in the voice service BSF discovery scenario, the service user is the IMS P-CSCF or signaling network DRA, which does not use the BSF information discovered by the data service BSF. Therefore, not returning the BSF information for the data service BSF discovery scenario has no impact on the voice service BSF discovery. Therefore, this embodiment returns NF information on demand based on the service discovery parameters.

[0127] NRF finds the corresponding or associated NF information based on the parameters carried in the service discovery request and carries it in the service discovery response message. The parameters carried in the service discovery request can be called service discovery parameters. NRF supports matching multiple NF information registered by NF based on service discovery parameters and supports selecting specific NF information as a response.

[0128] There are two types of service discovery parameters: new service discovery parameters and existing service discovery parameters. Existing service discovery parameters include the requester's NF type, IPv4 address, IPv6 prefix, DNN, and user code number; new service discovery parameters include application scenario-related parameters, service area-related parameters, and service type-related parameters.

[0129] If it is a new service discovery parameter, the NF information may have new attributes corresponding to the new service discovery parameter, then the service discovery parameter can be directly matched with the attributes in the NF information; there may be no new attributes in the NF information, but they can be matched according to the characteristics of the service discovery parameter and the NF information.

[0130] If it is the original service discovery parameter, there may be new attributes in the NF information, or there may not be new attributes. It can be matched according to the service discovery parameters and the new attributes or the characteristics of the NF information.

[0131] For example, if the service discovery parameter matches the attribute or attribute combination in the NF information, the corresponding NF information is returned; or, if the service discovery parameter matches the attribute or attribute combination in the NF information, the BSF information of the same application scenario is returned; or, if the service discovery parameter matches the attribute or attribute combination in the NF information, the NF information of the same service area is returned; or, if the service discovery parameter matches the attribute or attribute combination in the NF information, the NF information of the same service type is returned; or, if the service discovery parameter matches the attribute or attribute combination in the NF information, all NF information containing the attribute is returned (for example, if the service discovery parameter is an IPv6 address, all NF information containing the IPv6 prefix range is returned; if the service discovery parameter is IMSDNN, all NF information containing IMSDNN is returned).

[0132] The NRF in the embodiment of the present disclosure receives a service registration request or a service update request sent by the NF, and the service registration request or the service update request includes NF information. Upon receiving a service discovery request for the NF, one or more NF information is carried in the response message of the service discovery request according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request. The embodiment of the present disclosure performs batch registration by superimposing the service registration process on the service update process, and completes the reporting of all NF information of the NF. In response to the service discovery request of the NF, the NRF can respond to the service discovery request on demand according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and return one or more NF information on demand instead of returning the entire NF profile, thereby shortening the service discovery response time.

[0133] In one embodiment, the NF information includes one or more of the following attributes:

[0134] Identification of the NF information group;

[0135] Business type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes, or service area-related attributes;

[0136] Data network identifier or a list of data network identifiers;

[0137] Session type;

[0138] User address or address segment;

[0139] User ID, code number or number segment.

[0140] Among them, the business type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes or service area-related attributes can be service, service type, application, application type, vertical, vertical type, public network, non-public network, vertical industry, data network, Internet of Things and domain, and can also be attributes that describe the above business types, application scenarios or service areas.

[0141] Among them, the data network identifier or data network identifier list, session type, user address or address segment, user identifier, and attributes or attribute combinations in the code number or number segment can be used to distinguish service types, application scenarios or service areas.

[0142] In one embodiment, the service registration request includes a description file of the NF, and the description file of the NF includes one or more pieces of information of the NF; upon receiving the service registration request, the method further includes:

[0143] Save the description file of the NF.

[0144] In one embodiment, upon receiving the service update request, the method further includes:

[0145] The description file of the NF is updated according to the service update request, where the updating includes adding the NF information included in the service update request to the description file of the NF.

[0146] Before receiving the service update request, the NF description file (NF profile) has been saved according to the service registration request. When receiving the service update request, the NF information included in the service update request is added to the NF profile.

[0147] In one embodiment, the parameter is related to the service type, application scenario, or service area, and includes one or more of the following:

[0148] The parameters include service type related parameters, application scenario related parameters or service area related parameters; for example, the parameter name may indicate the service type, application scenario or service area.

[0149] The parameters include the NF type of the requester;

[0150] The parameters include data network identifier, slice identifier, user address, user identifier or user code number.

[0151] For example, the business type, application scenario or service area can be identified through DNN, IP address, user code number, slice, etc.

[0152] In one embodiment, the NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes one or more of the following:

[0153] The NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes;

[0154] The attributes contained in the NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request are related to service type related parameters, application scenario related parameters or service area related parameters.

[0155] For example, the attribute here is related to a service type-related parameter, an application scenario-related parameter, or a service area-related parameter, and can be a DNN and / or IPv6 prefix range in addition to the service type-related attribute, application scenario-related attribute, or service area-related attribute. If the BSF information includes the IMSDNN and / or IPv6 prefix range attributes, then this BSF information is related to voice service. When the service discovery parameter is a service type-related parameter and its value is voice service, this BSF information meets the response condition.

[0156] In one embodiment, according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, one or more NF information is carried in the response message of the service discovery request, including any one of the following:

[0157] Matching first NF information of a first NF according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and carrying the first NF information in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0158] Matching first NF information of a first NF according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and carrying the first NF information and NF information associated with the first NF information in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0159] The NF information associated with the first NF information includes any one of the following:

[0160] The same as the NF information group identifier included in the first NF information;

[0161] The same as the service type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes, or service area-related attributes included in the first NF information;

[0162] The business type, application scenario or service area whose attributes are included in the first NF information is the same (the business type, application scenario or service area can be distinguished by the attributes).

[0163] In one embodiment, when the NF is a BSF, the NF information is BSF information, and the BSF information includes one or more of the following attributes:

[0164] Identification of the BSF information group;

[0165] Business type related attributes;

[0166] Application scenario related attributes;

[0167] Service area related attributes;

[0168] IPv4 address range or address segment;

[0169] IPv6 prefix range or address segment;

[0170] IP domain ID;

[0171] DNN or list of DNNs;

[0172] User code number range or user number segment;

[0173] In one embodiment, the service type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes or service area-related attributes are used to identify or describe one or more of voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

[0174] For example, if the BSF information includes IMSDNN and / or IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to voice service;

[0175] If the BSF information includes an IPv4 address range and / or an IP domain, the BSF information is related to a data service;

[0176] If the BSF information includes a dedicated DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to data services;

[0177] If the BSF information includes a voice service-related DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to the voice service;

[0178] If the BSF information includes a DNN and an IPv6 prefix range related to a data service, the BSF information is related to the data service;

[0179] If the BSF information contains a user code number range that belongs to the IoT user number segment, then the BSF information is related to the IoT application;

[0180] If the BSF information contains a user code number range belonging to the public network user number segment, then the BSF information is related to the public network application;

[0181] If the BSF contains a user code number range that belongs to a non-public network user number segment, then the BSF information is related to a non-public network application.

[0182] In one embodiment, when the NF is a BSF, the parameters include one or more of the following:

[0183] NF type of the requester;

[0184] Business type related parameters;

[0185] Parameters related to application scenarios;

[0186] Service area related parameters

[0187] IPv4 address;

[0188] IPv6 prefix;

[0189] IP domain ID;

[0190] DNN;

[0191] User code number.

[0192] In one embodiment, the requester's NF type, service type-related parameters, application scenario-related parameters or service area-related parameters are used to describe one or more of voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

[0193] Among them, IPv4 addresses and IP domain identifiers, IPv6 prefixes, DNNs and user code numbers are related to voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

[0194] In one embodiment, the one or more pieces of NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request include any one of the following:

[0195] The BSF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes;

[0196] The attributes contained in the BSF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request are related to voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slice information or data network identification.

[0197] Corresponding scenarios: Parameters include service type, application scenario or service area related parameters; BSF information includes / does not include service type, application scenario or service area related attributes.

[0198] In one embodiment, the one or more NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request includes one or more of the following:

[0199] Carrying the BSF information matched by the parameters in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0200] Carrying, in a response message to the service discovery request, BSF information identical to the BSF information group identifier of the matched BSF information;

[0201] Carrying, in the response message to the service discovery request, BSF information having the same service type attribute, application scenario-related attribute, or service area-related attribute as the matched BSF information;

[0202] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the voice service, the BSF information related to the voice service is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0203] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the data service, the BSF information related to the data service is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0204] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the IoT service, the BSF information related to the IoT application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0205] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the public network application, the BSF information related to the public network application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0206] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the non-public network application, the BSF information related to the non-public network application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request.

[0207] In the disclosed embodiments, the NRF responds to NF service discovery requests on demand based on the parameters carried in the service discovery request, returning information about one or more NFs as needed, rather than returning the entire NF profile. This shortens the service discovery response time and avoids message processing errors or customized modifications to process excessively long messages during NF service discovery by the signaling network, IMS network elements, and data service application platforms. This improves the processing efficiency of service discovery responses and service discovery caches by the signaling network, IMS network elements, and data service application platforms.

[0208] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an implementation process of a service registration method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the execution subject of the service discovery method is NF. Referring to FIG2 , the service registration method includes:

[0209] S201, sending a service registration request or a service update request to an NRF; the service registration request or the service update request includes NF information.

[0210] Here, NF can be a network element such as BSF, SMF or UDM.

[0211] This embodiment optimizes the service registration process by superimposing multiple service update processes on the service registration process to perform batch registration. A service registration request or service update request includes information about one or more NFs. The NF can split the information based on application scenarios, service types, or service areas, and complete the reporting of all information through service registration and service updates.

[0212] The optimization of the service registration process by the disclosed embodiments can address the issue of excessively long NF information during NF registration in scenarios involving centralized NF deployment and complex IP network planning. This eliminates the need for customized modifications to BSFs, especially those co-located with SMFs, to handle excessively long messages. This can also improve the processing efficiency of service discovery responses and service discovery caching in the signaling network, IMS network elements, and data service application platforms.

[0213] In one embodiment, the service registration request includes a description file of the NF, and the description file of the NF includes one or more pieces of information of the NF.

[0214] The service registration request carries the NF profile of the NF, which carries information about one or more NFs. Registration and update are described in the service discovery embodiment above and will not be repeated here.

[0215] In one embodiment, the NF information includes one or more of the following attributes:

[0216] Identification of the NF information group;

[0217] Business type related attributes;

[0218] Application scenario related attributes;

[0219] Service area related attributes;

[0220] Data network identifier or a list of data network identifiers;

[0221] Session type;

[0222] User address or address segment;

[0223] User ID, code number or number segment.

[0224] In one embodiment, when the NF is a BSF, the NF information is BSF information, and the BSF information includes one or more of the following attributes:

[0225] Identification of the BSF information group;

[0226] Business type related attributes

[0227] Application scenario related attributes;

[0228] Service area related attributes;

[0229] IPv4 address range or address segment;

[0230] IPv6 prefix range or address segment;

[0231] IP domain identification

[0232] DNN or list of DNNs;

[0233] User code number range or user number segment;

[0234] In one embodiment, the business type, application scenario or service area related attributes include those used to describe voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices, and data networks.

[0235] In one embodiment, when the BSF information includes an IMSDNN and / or an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to a voice service;

[0236] When the BSF information includes an IPv4 address range and / or an IP domain, the BSF information is related to a data service;

[0237] When the BSF information includes a dedicated DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to a data service;

[0238] When the BSF information includes a voice service-related DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to the voice service;

[0239] When the BSF information includes a DNN and an IPv6 prefix range related to a data service, the BSF information is related to the data service;

[0240] When the BSF information contains a user code number range belonging to the IoT user number segment, the BSF information is related to the IoT application;

[0241] When the BSF information contains a user code number range belonging to the public network user number segment, the BSF information is related to the public network application;

[0242] When the BSF includes a user code number range belonging to a non-public network user number segment (Non-Public Networks, NPN), the BSF information is related to a non-public network application.

[0243] In one embodiment, before sending the service registration request or service update request to the NRF, the method further includes any one of the following:

[0244] Generating the NF information according to a service type, an application scenario, or a service area related attribute, wherein the NF information includes a service type related attribute, an application scenario related attribute, or a service area related attribute;

[0245] The NF information is generated according to the service type, application scenario or service area identified by the data network identifier or data network identifier list, session type, user address or address segment, user identifier, code number or number segment, and the attributes contained in the NF information belong to the same service type, application scenario or service area.

[0246] If the registered attributes include an NF information group identifier, the NF information having the same service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes has the same NF information group identifier.

[0247] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when generating the NF information, the method further includes:

[0248] Insert the NF information group identifier into the NF information.

[0249] If the registered attribute includes an NF information group identifier, the NF information group identifiers of NF information with the same service type, application scenario or service area are the same.

[0250] In one embodiment, the present disclosure improves BSF service registration:

[0251] 1. To address the issue of excessively long NF profiles, this embodiment implements batch registration by superimposing multiple service update processes on the service registration process. Rather than simply segmenting the NF profile or placing different parameters in separate messages, this embodiment plans BSF information related to service discovery based on application scenarios (such as binding data and voice service sessions), service areas, or service types. Planning can also be performed using more granular parameters. It can also further differentiate between large-scale network and vertical industry data service session binding scenarios.

[0252] 2. Extended NFprofiles support BSFinfo identification based on DNN, IPdomain, IP address segment, or a combination of these attributes to distinguish the aforementioned application scenarios. Voice and data session binding application scenarios can be distinguished by user IP address segment. IPv6 address segments are used for both voice and data services, while IPv4 address segments are used for data services. IMSDNN is used for voice services, while dedicated DNN is used for data services. IPdomain is used only for data services. BSFinfo registered in batches should not contain keywords for the aforementioned application scenarios simultaneously.

[0253] In one embodiment, the present disclosure improves service discovery and NRF logic:

[0254] 1. Return the corresponding BSF information based on the service scenario. Service discovery returns a complete NF profile so that the service user can save the service discovery results for subsequent service discovery. In the voice service BSF discovery scenario, the service user is the IMS P-CSCF or signaling network DRA, and does not use the BSF information discovered by the data service BSF. Therefore, not returning the BSF information for the data service BSF discovery scenario has no impact on voice service BSF discovery.

[0255] 2. The NRF needs to support matching multiple BSF information in the NF profile based on service discovery parameters and supporting the selection of specific BSF information. It can choose to 1) return only the matched BSF information, or 2) determine the application scenario, service area, or service type based on the service discovery parameters and return BSF information related to the application scenario, service area, or service type.

[0256] A. For example, if the three BSF information in a BSF NF profile are all related to the voice service scenario, and the NRF matches BSF information 1 based on the service discovery parameters user IPv6 address + IMSDNN, the returned NF profile of the BSF may include only BSF information 1. Alternatively, the service discovery parameters user IPv6 address + IMSDNN may be used to determine that the BSF discovery scenario is for voice service, and the returned NF profile of the BSF may include all three BSF information related to the voice service scenario.

[0257] B. For example, if all 10 BSF information in a BSF's NF profile are related to data service scenarios, the NRF matches BSF information 10 based on the service discovery parameters IPv4, DNN, and IPdomain, matches BSF information 9 / 10 based on the DNN, and matches BSF information 8 / 9 / 10 based on the DNN+IPdomain. The NRF can include only BSF information 10 in the returned BSF's NF profile; it can also determine that it is a vertical industry application scenario based on the service discovery parameters IPv4, DNN, and IPdomain, and include all BSF information matching this DNN in the returned BSF's NF profile (BSF information 9 / 10); it can also include all BSF information matching this DNN and the related private network identifier IPdomain in the returned BSF's NF profile (BSF information 8 / 9 / 10).

[0258] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a BSF service registration and service discovery process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 3, the BSF first categorizes BSFinfo according to voice and data sessions. The BSF then sends a service registration request to the NRF. The service registration request carries the BSF's NF profile, including the BSF instance ID and service address, as well as BSF information 1, which contains an IPv6 address segment. The NRF saves the BSF's NF profile, which includes BSF information 1.

[0259] Subsequently, the BSF sends a service update request 1 (carrying the BSF instance ID, the updated content of the NF profile, including BSF information 2, including IPv4 address segment, IPdomain, DNN and other information) to the NRF, and the NRF adds BSF information 2 to the NF profile of the corresponding BSF.

[0260] The BSF sends a service update request 2 (carrying the BSF instance ID, the updated content of the NF profile, including BSF information 3, including IPv4 address segment, IPdomain, DNN and other information) to the NRF. The NRF adds BSF information 3 to the NF profile of the corresponding BSF.

[0261] The BSF sends a service update request 3 (carrying the BSF instance ID, the updated content of the NF profile, including BSF information 4, including IPv6 address segments, DNN and other information) to the NRF, and the NRF adds the BSF information 4 to the NF profile of the corresponding BSF.

[0262] The NRF receives the service discovery request 1 (carrying the service discovery parameter IPv6 address 1) sent by the P-CSCF. The NRF matches the BSF information 1 of the BSF according to the service discovery parameter. The NRF sends a service discovery response 1 (carrying the BSF NF profile, including the BSF instance ID and service address, and BSF information 1, excluding BSF2 / 3 / 4) to the P-CSCF.

[0263] NRF receives the service discovery request 2 (carrying the service discovery parameter IPv6 address 2) sent by DRA. NRF matches the BSF information 1 of BSF according to the service discovery parameter. NRF sends a service discovery response 2 (carrying the NF profile of BSF, including BSF instance ID and service address, and BSF information 1, excluding BSF2 / 3 / 4) to DRA.

[0264] NRF receives the service discovery request 3 (carrying service discovery parameters IPv6 address 3 and DNN1) sent by AF1. NRF matches the BSF information 4 of BSF according to the service discovery parameters. NRF sends a service discovery response 3 (carrying BSF's NF profile, including BSF instance ID and service address, and BSF information 4, excluding BSF1 / 2 / 3) to AF1.

[0265] NRF receives the service discovery request 4 sent by AF2 (carrying service discovery parameters IPv4 address 1, DNN1, and IPdomain1). NRF matches the BSF information 2 of BSF based on the service discovery parameters. NRF sends a service discovery response 4 (carrying the BSF NF profile, including the BSF instance ID and service address, and BSF information 2, excluding BSF1 / 2 / 4) to AF2.

[0266] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another BSF service registration and service discovery process provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. In Figure 3, the BSF first classifies BSFinfo according to voice and data sessions. The BSF then sends a service registration request to the NRF. The service registration request carries the BSF's NF profile, including the BSF instance ID and service address, as well as BSF Information 1, which contains the service type and identifies the voice service. The NRF saves the BSF's NF profile, which includes BSF Information 1, which is related to the voice service.

[0267] Subsequently, BSF sends a service update request 1 (carrying BSF instance ID, update content of NF profile, including BSF information 2, including IPv4 address segment, IPdomain, DNN1 and other information) to NRF. NRF adds BSF information 2 in the NFprofile of the corresponding BSF, which is related to the data service.

[0268] BSF sends service update request 2 (carrying BSF instance ID, update content of NF profile, including BSF information 3, including IPv4 address segment, IPdomain, DNN1 and other information) to NRF. NRF adds BSF information 3 in the NFprofile of the corresponding BSF, which is related to data services. The DNN of BSF information 3 is the same as that of 2.

[0269] The BSF sends a service update request 3 (carrying the BSF instance ID, the updated content of the NF profile, including BSF information 4, including IPv6 address segments, DNN and other information) to the NRF. The NRF adds BSF information 4 related to the voice service in the NFprofile of the corresponding BSF.

[0270] NRF receives the service discovery request 1 sent by P-CSCF (carrying service discovery parameters as service type related parameters), NRF matches BSF information 1 of BSF according to the service discovery parameters, and NRF sends a service discovery response 1 (carrying BSF's NF profile, including BSF instance ID and service address, as well as BSF information 1 and 4, excluding BSF2 / 3) to P-CSCF.

[0271] NRF receives the service discovery request 2 (carrying the service discovery parameter IPv6 address 2) sent by DRA. NRF matches the BSF information 4 of BSF according to the service discovery parameter. NRF sends a service discovery response 2 (carrying the NF profile of BSF, including BSF instance ID and service address, as well as BSF information 1 and 4, excluding BSF2 / 3) to DRA.

[0272] NRF receives the service discovery request 3 (carrying service discovery parameters IPv4 address 1, DNN1, and IPdomain1) sent by AF1. NRF matches the BSF information 2 of BSF based on the service discovery parameters. NRF sends a service discovery response 3 (carrying the NF profile of BSF, including BSF instance ID and service address, as well as BSF information 2 and 3, excluding BSF1 / 4) to AF1.

[0273] This embodiment can solve the problem of excessively long BSF information registered by a BSF in cases of centralized BSF deployment and complex IP network planning by segmenting BSF information according to application scenarios, service areas or business types, expanding BSF information, and optimizing the registration process, thereby avoiding customized transformation of the processing of excessively long messages by BSF, especially a large number of BSFs jointly established with SMFs.

[0274] By optimizing service discovery and selecting the returned BSF information based on the application scenario, service area, or service type, the problem of overly long BSF service discovery responses can be solved, and message processing errors or customized modifications for overly long message processing in the signaling network, IMS network elements, and data service application platforms for BSF service discovery can be avoided. The processing efficiency of service discovery responses and service discovery caches in the signaling network, IMS network elements, and data service application platforms can be improved.

[0275] It should be understood that the size of the serial numbers of the steps in the above embodiments does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0276] It will be understood that when used in this specification and the appended claims, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” indicate the presence of described features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof.

[0277] It should be noted that the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be arbitrarily combined without conflict.

[0278] In addition, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, “first”, “second”, etc. are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0279] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a service discovery device, which includes:

[0280] a receiving module, configured to receive a service registration request or a service update request sent by a network function NF; the service registration request or the service update request including NF information;

[0281] The response module is configured to receive a service discovery request for the NF and, based on parameters carried in the service discovery request, carry one or more NF information in a response message to the service discovery request.

[0282] In the above solution, the NF information includes one or more of the following attributes:

[0283] Identification of the NF information group;

[0284] Business type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes, or service area-related attributes;

[0285] Data network identifier or a list of data network identifiers;

[0286] Session type;

[0287] User address or address segment;

[0288] User ID, code number or number segment.

[0289] In the above solution, the service registration request includes a description file of the NF, and the description file of the NF includes one or more pieces of information of the NF; upon receiving the service registration request, the apparatus further includes:

[0290] The saving module is used to save the description file of the NF.

[0291] In the above solution, upon receiving the service update request, the apparatus further includes:

[0292] An updating module is configured to update a description file of the NF according to the service update request, wherein the updating includes adding NF information included in the service update request to the description file of the NF.

[0293] In the above solution, the parameters are related to the service type, application scenario or service area, and include one or more of the following:

[0294] The parameters include service type related parameters, application scenario related parameters or service area related parameters;

[0295] The parameters include the NF type of the requester;

[0296] The parameters include data network identifier, slice identifier, user address, user identifier or user code number.

[0297] In the above solution, the NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes one or more of the following:

[0298] The NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes;

[0299] The NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes attributes related to the service type, application scenario or service area.

[0300] In the above embodiment, the response module is specifically used for any of the following:

[0301] Matching first NF information of a first NF according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and carrying the first NF information in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0302] Matching first NF information of a first NF according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and carrying the first NF information and NF information associated with the first NF information in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0303] The NF information associated with the first NF information includes any one of the following:

[0304] The same as the NF information group identifier included in the first NF information;

[0305] The same as the service type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes, or service area-related attributes included in the first NF information;

[0306] The business type, application scenario or service area containing the attributes is the same as that of the first NF information.

[0307] In the above embodiment, when the NF is a binding support function (BSF), the NF information is BSF information, and the BSF information includes one or more of the following attributes:

[0308] Identification of the BSF information group;

[0309] Business type related attributes;

[0310] Application scenario related attributes;

[0311] Service area related attributes;

[0312] IPv4 address range or address segment;

[0313] IPv6 prefix range or address segment;

[0314] IP domain ID;

[0315] Data network name DNN or DNN list;

[0316] User code number range or user number segment;

[0317] In the above embodiment, the service type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes or service area-related attributes are used to identify or describe one or more of voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

[0318] In the above embodiment, if the BSF information includes IMSDNN and / or IPv6 prefix range, then the BSF information is related to the voice service;

[0319] If the BSF information includes an IPv4 address range and / or an IP domain, the BSF information is related to a data service;

[0320] If the BSF information includes a dedicated DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to data services;

[0321] If the BSF information includes a voice service-related DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to the voice service;

[0322] If the BSF information includes a DNN and an IPv6 prefix range related to a data service, the BSF information is related to the data service;

[0323] If the BSF information contains a user code number range that belongs to the IoT user number segment, then the BSF information is related to the IoT application;

[0324] If the BSF information contains a user code number range belonging to the public network user number segment, then the BSF information is related to the public network application;

[0325] If the BSF contains a user code number range that belongs to a non-public network user number segment, then the BSF information is related to a non-public network application.

[0326] In the above embodiment, when the NF is a BSF, the parameters include one or more of the following:

[0327] NF type of the requester;

[0328] Business type related parameters;

[0329] Parameters related to application scenarios;

[0330] Service area related parameters

[0331] IPv4 address;

[0332] IPv6 prefix;

[0333] IP domain ID;

[0334] DNN;

[0335] User code number.

[0336] In the above embodiment, the requester's NF type, service type-related parameters, application scenario-related parameters or service area-related parameters are used to describe one or more of voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

[0337] In the above embodiment, the one or more pieces of NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request include any one of the following:

[0338] The BSF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes;

[0339] The attributes contained in the BSF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request are related to voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slice information or data network identification.

[0340] In the above embodiment, the response module is specifically used for one or more of the following:

[0341] Carrying the BSF information matched by the parameters in a response message to the service discovery request;

[0342] Carrying, in a response message to the service discovery request, BSF information identical to the BSF information group identifier of the matched BSF information;

[0343] Carrying, in the response message to the service discovery request, BSF information having the same service type attribute, application scenario-related attribute, or service area-related attribute as the matched BSF information;

[0344] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the voice service, the BSF information related to the voice service is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0345] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the data service, the BSF information related to the data service is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0346] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the IoT service, the BSF information related to the IoT application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0347] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the public network application, the BSF information related to the public network application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request;

[0348] If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the non-public network application, the BSF information related to the non-public network application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request.

[0349] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a service registration device, which includes:

[0350] The registration and update module is used to send a service registration request or a service update request to the NRF; the service registration request or the service update request includes NF information.

[0351] In the above solution, the service registration request includes the description file of the NF, and the description file of the NF includes one or more pieces of information of the NF.

[0352] In the above solution, before sending a service registration request or a service update request to the NRF, the device generates a module for any of the following:

[0353] Generating the NF information according to a service type, an application scenario, or a service area related attribute, wherein the NF information includes a service type related attribute, an application scenario related attribute, or a service area related attribute;

[0354] The NF information is generated according to the service type, application scenario or service area identified by the data network identifier or data network identifier list, session type, user address or address segment, user identifier, code number or number segment, and the attributes contained in the NF information belong to the same service type, application scenario or service area.

[0355] In the above solution, when generating the NF information, the apparatus further includes:

[0356] The inserting module is used to insert the NF information group identifier into the NF information.

[0357] In actual application, the receiving module and the response module can be implemented by a processor in the network element, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0358] It should be noted that the service discovery device provided in the above embodiment only uses the division of the above modules as an example to illustrate information processing. In actual applications, the above processing can be assigned to different modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different modules to complete all or part of the processing described above. In addition, the service discovery device provided in the above embodiment and the service discovery method embodiment are based on the same concept. The specific implementation process is detailed in the method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0359] The service discovery device can be in the form of an image file. After the image file is executed, it can run in the form of a container or a virtual machine to implement the service discovery method described in this disclosure. Of course, it is not limited to the image file form. Any software form that can implement the service discovery method described in this disclosure is within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0360] Based on the hardware implementation of the above program modules, and in order to implement the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a network element, and the above service discovery method is implemented by the processor of the network element. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the hardware composition structure of the network element of the embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the network element includes:

[0361] Communication interface 501, capable of exchanging information with other devices such as network devices;

[0362] The processor 502 is connected to the communication interface 501 to implement information exchange with other devices and is used to execute the methods provided by one or more technical solutions on the network element side when running a computer program. The computer program is stored in the memory 503.

[0363] Of course, in actual applications, the various components in the network element are coupled together via bus system 504. It will be appreciated that bus system 504 is used to enable connectivity and communication between these components. In addition to a data bus, a bus system also includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for clarity, in FIG5 , all of these buses are labeled as bus system 504.

[0364] The memory 503 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is used to store various types of data to support the operation of the network element. Examples of such data include: any computer program used to operate on the network element.

[0365] In this disclosure, a network element can be a single hardware device or a cluster of multiple hardware devices, such as a cloud computing platform. A cloud computing platform is a cluster of devices that organizes multiple independent server physical hardware resources into pooled resources, providing the required virtual resources and services.

[0366] The memory 503 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is used to store various types of data to support the operation of the network element. Examples of such data include: any computer program used to operate on the network element.

[0367] It is understood that the memory 503 can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic random access memory (FRAM), a flash memory, a magnetic surface memory, an optical disc, or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM); the magnetic surface memory can be a magnetic disk memory or a magnetic tape memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Synchronous Static Random Access Memory (SSRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDRSDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (ESDRAM), SyncLink Dynamic Random Access Memory (SLDRAM), and Direct Rambus Random Access Memory (DRRAM).The memories described in the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0368] The methods disclosed in the above embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to a processor or implemented by a processor. The processor may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, the steps of the above methods can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or instructions in software form. The above processor may be a general-purpose processor, a DSP, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The processor can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present disclosure can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium, which is located in a memory. The processor reads the program in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0369] Optionally, when the processor executes the program, it implements the corresponding processes implemented by the network element in each method of the embodiment of the present disclosure. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0370] In an exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure further provides a computer program product, including a computer program, which can be executed by the processor 502 of the electronic device to complete the steps of the service discovery method or service registration method of the present disclosure embodiment.

[0371] In an exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure further provides another computer program product, including a computer program, which can be executed by the processor 502 of the electronic device to complete the service registration method or the steps described in the service registration method of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0372] In an exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure further provides a storage medium, namely, a computer storage medium, specifically, a computer-readable storage medium, for example, including a first memory storing a computer program. The computer program can be executed by a processor of a network element to complete the steps of the aforementioned method. The computer-readable storage medium can be a memory such as FRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, magnetic surface storage, optical disk, or CD-ROM.

[0373] In the several embodiments provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed devices, network elements and methods can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as: multiple units or components can be combined, or can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection between the components shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0374] The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units; some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0375] In addition, all functional units in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be separately used as a unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit; the above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

[0376] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above-mentioned method embodiment can be completed by hardware related to program instructions, and the aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it executes the steps of the above-mentioned method embodiment; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: mobile storage devices, ROM, RAM, disks or optical disks, etc. Various media that can store program codes.

[0377] Alternatively, if the above-mentioned integrated unit of the present disclosure is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure can essentially or in other words, the part that contributes to the relevant technology can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the methods described in each embodiment of the present disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as mobile storage devices, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0378] It should be noted that the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be arbitrarily combined without conflict.

[0379] In addition, in the examples of the present disclosure, "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0380] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the scope of protection of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A service discovery method, applied to a network repository function (NRF), comprising: Receive a service registration request or service update request sent by a network function NF; The service registration request or the service update request includes NF information; A service discovery request for the NF is received, and one or more NF information is carried in a response message to the service discovery request according to parameters carried in the service discovery request.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The NF information includes one or more of the following attributes: Identification of the NF information group; Business type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes, or service area-related attributes; Data network identifier or a list of data network identifiers; Session type; User address or address segment; User ID, code number or number segment.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The service registration request includes a description file of the NF, and the description file of the NF includes one or more pieces of information of the NF; When receiving the service registration request, the method further includes: Save the description file of the NF.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: Upon receiving the service update request, the method further includes: The description file of the NF is updated according to the service update request, where the updating includes adding the NF information included in the service update request to the description file of the NF.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The parameters are related to the service type, application scenario or service area, and include one or more of the following: The parameters include service type related parameters, application scenario related parameters or service area related parameters; The parameters include the NF type of the requester; The parameters include data network identifier, slice identifier, user address, user identifier or user code number.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes one or more of the following: The NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes; The NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes attributes related to the service type, application scenario or service area.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein According to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, one or more NF information is carried in the response message of the service discovery request, including any of the following: Matching first NF information of a first NF according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and carrying the first NF information in a response message to the service discovery request; Matching first NF information of a first NF according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, and carrying the first NF information and NF information associated with the first NF information in a response message to the service discovery request; The NF information associated with the first NF information includes any one of the following: The same as the NF information group identifier included in the first NF information; The same as the service type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes, or service area-related attributes included in the first NF information; The business type, application scenario or service area containing the attributes is the same as that of the first NF information.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the case where the NF is a binding support function (BSF), the NF information is BSF information, and the BSF information includes one or more of the following attributes: Identification of the BSF information group; Business type related attributes; Application scenario related attributes; Service area related attributes; IPv4 address range or address segment; IPv6 prefix range or address segment; IP domain ID; Data network name DNN or DNN list; User code number range or user number segment.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein The service type-related attributes, application scenario-related attributes or service area-related attributes are used to identify or describe one or more of voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein If the BSF information includes IMSDNN and / or IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to voice service; If the BSF information includes an IPv4 address range and / or an IP domain, the BSF information is related to a data service; If the BSF information includes a dedicated DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to data services; If the BSF information includes a voice service-related DNN and an IPv6 prefix range, the BSF information is related to the voice service; If the BSF information includes a DNN and an IPv6 prefix range related to a data service, the BSF information is related to the data service; If the BSF information contains a user code number range that belongs to the IoT user number segment, then the BSF information is related to the IoT application; If the BSF information contains a user code number range belonging to the public network user number segment, then the BSF information is related to the public network application; If the BSF contains a user code number range that belongs to a non-public network user number segment, then the BSF information is related to a non-public network application.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein When the NF is a BSF, the parameters include one or more of the following: NF type of the requester; Business type related parameters; Parameters related to application scenarios; Service area related parameters IPv4 address; IPv6 prefix; IP domain ID; DNN; User code number.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The requester's NF type, service type-related parameters, application scenario-related parameters or service area-related parameters are used to describe one or more of voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slices and data networks.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein The one or more NF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request may include any of the following: The BSF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request includes service type related attributes, application scenario related attributes or service area related attributes; The attributes contained in the BSF information carried in the response message of the service discovery request are related to voice services, data services, Internet of Things applications, public network applications, non-public network applications, slice information or data network identification.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The one or more NF information is carried in the response message of the service discovery request according to the parameters carried in the service discovery request, including one or more of the following: Carrying the BSF information matched by the parameters in a response message to the service discovery request; Carrying, in a response message to the service discovery request, BSF information identical to the BSF information group identifier of the matched BSF information; Carrying, in the response message to the service discovery request, BSF information having the same service type attribute, application scenario-related attribute, or service area-related attribute as the matched BSF information; If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the voice service, the BSF information related to the voice service is carried in the response message of the service discovery request; If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the data service, the BSF information related to the data service is carried in the response message of the service discovery request; If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the IoT service, the BSF information related to the IoT application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request; If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the public network application, the BSF information related to the public network application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request; If the BSF information matched by the parameters is related to the non-public network application, the BSF information related to the non-public network application is carried in the response message of the service discovery request.

15. A service registration method, applied to a NF, comprising: Send service registration request or service update request to NRF; The service registration request or the service update request includes NF information.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The service registration request includes a description file of the NF, and the description file of the NF includes one or more pieces of information of the NF.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein: Before sending the service registration request or service update request to the NRF, the method further includes any one of the following: Generating the NF information according to a service type, an application scenario, or a service area related attribute, wherein the NF information includes a service type related attribute, an application scenario related attribute, or a service area related attribute; The NF information is generated according to the service type, application scenario or service area identified by the data network identifier or data network identifier list, session type, user address or address segment, user identifier, code number or number segment, and the attributes contained in the NF information belong to the same service type, application scenario or service area.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein When generating the NF information, the method further includes: Insert the NF information group identifier into the NF information.

19. A network element comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein: When the processor executes the computer program, the service discovery method according to claims 1 to 18 is implemented.

20. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program comprises program instructions, and when executed by a processor, the program instructions enable the processor to execute the service registration method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

21. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements the steps of the service discovery method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

22. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer program implements the steps of the service registration method according to any one of claims 15 to 18.

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