Communication method, UDM, medium and program product

Abstract

Provided in the present disclosure is a communication method, applied to UDM, the UDM being deployed in a satellite. The method comprises: receiving a first request sent by a network element device; on the basis of the first request, locally querying user subscription information of a target terminal, the target terminal being a terminal requesting access to a control plane network element; when no user subscription information is found, receiving user subscription information sent by target UDM corresponding to the target terminal; and storing the user subscription information locally and sending same to the network element device. The present disclosure further provides UDM, a computer-readable medium, and a computer program product.

Description

Communication method, UDM, medium and program product

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410866895.0, filed on June 28, 2024, with the Chinese Patent Office, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to, but is not limited to, the technical field of communication. BACKGROUND

[0004] In the networking scheme of satellite access communication of current 6G, the UDM (Unified Data Management) of the core network is deployed on the ground.

[0005] If full-satellite communication services independent of ground networks need to be implemented, they will be limited by limited signal transmission speed and long physical distance, resulting in problems of high communication cost and long delay in communication between the ground, GEO (Geostationary Orbit), MEO (Middle Earth Orbit), and LEO (Low Earth Orbit). SUMMARY

[0006] The present disclosure provides a communication method applied to a UDM, a UDM, a computer-readable medium, and a computer program product.

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method applied to a UDM (Unified Data Management), wherein the UDM is deployed in a satellite, and the method comprises: receiving a first request sent by a network element device; querying, according to the first request, user subscription information of a target terminal locally; the target terminal is a terminal requesting access control of a control plane network element; in a case where the user subscription information is not queried, receiving user subscription information sent by a target UDM corresponding to the target terminal; storing the user subscription information locally and sending the user subscription information to the network element device.

[0008] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a UDM configured to implement the method of the first aspect.

[0009] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method of the first aspect.

[0010] In a fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program product, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] In the drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a flow of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a flow of an exemplary communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a flow of another exemplary communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In order for those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the present disclosure, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0017] The embodiments of the present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be embodied in different forms; and the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0018] The accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure are used to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and constitute a part of the specification, which, together with the detailed embodiments, serve to explain the present disclosure, and do not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure. The above and other features and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by describing the detailed embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] The present disclosure can be described with reference to plan views and / or sectional views by means of ideal schematic drawings of the present disclosure. Therefore, the example illustrations can be modified according to manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances.

[0020] The embodiments of the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict, if possible.

[0021] The terminology used by the present disclosure is intended to be interpreted in only a descriptive manner and not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used by the present disclosure, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used by the present disclosure, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used by the present disclosure, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "consists of," and "consisting of" specify the presence of stated 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.

[0022] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used by the present disclosure have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an overly literal or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined by the present disclosure.

[0023] The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but includes modifications of configurations formed based on manufacturing processes. Therefore, the regions exemplified in the drawings have a schematic property, and the shape of the regions shown in the drawings exemplifies a specific shape of a region of an element, but is not intended to be restrictive.

[0024] In one related technology, a radio access layer is deployed into LEO, and a core network is deployed on the ground. In another related technology, a radio access layer and user plane network elements of a core network are deployed into LEO, and control plane network elements and data plane network elements of the core network are deployed on the ground. However, neither of such deployment schemes can realize full-satellite communication services that do not rely on ground networks. Among them, the control plane network elements of the core network refer to devices responsible for signaling and control functions in the network, such as AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function), SMF (Session Management Function). The data plane network elements refer to devices responsible for data transmission in the network, such as UDM (Unified Data Management).

[0025] If full-satellite communication services independent of ground networks are to be implemented, for example, the user plane network element of the radio access layer and the core network are deployed to the LEO, the control plane network element of the core network is deployed to the MEO, and the data plane network element of the core network is deployed to the GEO, the communication between the GEO, the MEO, the LEO, and the ground antenna will be limited by the limited signal transmission speed and the long physical distance, resulting in high cost and large delay of the communication between the GEO, the MEO, the LEO, and the ground antenna, especially the communication between the GEO and the MEO, the LEO, and the ground antenna. Moreover, since the UDM can generally carry millions of user data, the storage resources of the GEO are limited, and all user data cannot be stored in the GEO. In the case that the frequency of use of the satellite network by most users is low, it is difficult to determine the data of the users to be stored.

[0026] Therefore, when the data plane network element is deployed to the GEO to implement full-satellite communication services, how to reduce the communication between the GEO and the MEO and the ground, and how to determine the data of the users to be stored are problems to be solved.

[0027] To further illustrate the communication method, the UDM, the medium, and the program product in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the application scenarios of the communication method in the embodiments of the present disclosure are described as follows.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the orbits of the satellites include the LEO, the GEO, and the MEO. The UDM (Unified Data Management) is deployed in the GEO, and the storable capacity of the UDM in the GEO is the level of ten thousand users. In some embodiments, three GEO satellites are deployed to achieve global coverage. The AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function), the SMF (Session Management Function), and the UDM are deployed in the MEO, and the storable capacity of the UDM in the MEO is the level of one thousand users. The gNB (Next Generation NodeB) and the UPF (User Plane Function) are deployed in the LEO, and the antenna, the NR (New Radio), the AMF, the SMF, and the UDM are deployed on the ground, and the storable capacity of the UDM on the ground is the level of one million users. The BOSS (Business and Operations Support System) can be used to manage various business and operation activities. It can complete the authentication and number allocation of the terminal in the UDM on the ground to increase the user subscription of the terminal.

[0029] The GEO, MEO and LEO can communicate through inter-satellite links. A terminal initiates an access request to an AMF / SMF in the MEO through a LEO. A UDM in the GEO can send a request to a ground antenna to realize satellite-ground communication.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, in a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method applied to a UDM deployed in a satellite, which comprises:

[0031] S1, receiving a first request sent by a network element device;

[0032] S2, according to the first request, locally querying user subscription information of a target terminal; the target terminal is a terminal requesting an access control plane network element;

[0033] S3, in a case where the user subscription information is not queried, receiving user subscription information sent by a target UDM corresponding to the target terminal;

[0034] S4, storing the user subscription information locally and sending the user subscription information to the network element device.

[0035] The UDM can be deployed in a GEO satellite or a MEO satellite. A control plane network element (for example, an AMF / SMF) can also be deployed in the MEO. After the control plane network element receives an access request of a target terminal, the UDM receives a first request sent directly or indirectly by the control plane network element. In a case where the UDM stores user subscription information of the target terminal, the UDM can directly return and authenticate the locally stored user subscription information of the target terminal. In a case where the UDM does not store the user subscription information of the target terminal, for a UDM deployed in a MEO satellite, the UDM needs to query a UDM deployed in a GEO satellite, and for a UDM deployed in a GEO satellite, the UDM needs to query a ground UDM deployed on the ground. Then, the UDM returns and stores the queried user subscription information of the target terminal. In this way, after the target terminal initiates an access request again, the control plane network element can directly query the user subscription information from the UDM, so as to reduce signaling between the satellite and the ground, thereby reducing communication cost and communication delay. In some embodiments, in a case where the UDM is deployed in a GEO satellite, the network element device is a UDM or a control plane network element deployed in a MEO satellite.

[0036] The step S1 comprises:

[0037] receiving a query request sent by a UDM deployed in the MEO satellite;

[0038] Alternatively, receiving an authentication request sent by a control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite.

[0039] In the satellite communication, the target terminal sends an access request to the control plane network element in the MEO. For the control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite, the authentication request is preferentially sent to the UDM in the same orbit, and then the query request (i.e., the first request) is sent to the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite when the UDM in the same orbit cannot locally query the user subscription information. If the control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite does not deploy the UDM in the same orbit, the authentication request (i.e., the first request) can also be sent to the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite.

[0040] Since the UDM in the embodiment of the present disclosure is deployed in the GEO satellite, the first request refers to the request for instructing the UDM to locally query the user subscription information of the target terminal, and therefore for the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite, the network element device is the UDM or the control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite. That is, when the UDM receives the query request sent by the UDM in the MEO satellite or the authentication request sent by the control plane network element in the MEO satellite, the UDM needs to locally query the user subscription information of the target terminal.

[0041] Next, the case where the UDM receives the authentication request sent by the control plane network element in the MEO satellite is described.

[0042] The authentication refers to the process of verifying the user identity by the network when the target terminal attempts to access the network, and the authentication request is the request sent by the control plane network element to the UDM after the target terminal accesses the network. The authentication request is used to obtain the authentication information (i.e., the user subscription information) of the user from the UDM.

[0043] In the case where the control plane network element sends the authentication request to the UDM, the UDM locally queries the user subscription information corresponding to the target terminal according to the authentication request. When the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite does not locally find the user subscription information of the target terminal, the user subscription information is obtained from the ground UDM corresponding to the target terminal through the satellite-ground link and stored locally. Thereafter, when the target terminal initiates an access request to the control plane network element in the MEO again, the control plane network element initiates an authentication request to the UDM, and the UDM can locally query the user subscription information of the target terminal. By obtaining and storing the user subscription information when the target terminal performs satellite communication for the first time, the number of interactions of the signaling between the satellite and the ground in the subsequent process can be reduced, thereby reducing the communication cost and the communication delay.

[0044] Next, the case where the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite receives the query request sent by the UDM in the MEO satellite is described.

[0045] The query request refers to a request for a UDM deployed in a GEO satellite to obtain user subscription information when a target terminal accesses a network, a control plane network element sends an authentication request to a UDM in the same orbit, and the UDM in the same orbit fails to locally query user subscription information of the target terminal.

[0046] The control plane network element first sends an authentication request to a UDM in a MEO satellite. Since the UDM in the MEO satellite fails to locally query user subscription information, a UDM deployed in a GEO satellite receives a query request from the UDM in the MEO satellite. If the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite also fails to locally query user subscription information of the target terminal according to the query request, the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite obtains user subscription information from a ground UDM (deployed on the ground) corresponding to the target terminal through a satellite-ground link. Then, the UDM stores the user subscription information of the target terminal returned by the ground UDM locally and feeds back to the UDM in the MEO satellite, so that the UDM in the MEO satellite synchronously stores the user subscription information of the target terminal locally. Thereafter, when the target terminal initiates an access request to the control plane network element in the MEO again, the control plane network element initiates an authentication request to the UDM in the same orbit, so that the UDM in the MEO satellite can locally query user subscription information of the target terminal. In this way, user subscription information is obtained and stored when the target terminal first performs satellite communication, which can reduce the number of interactions of signaling between satellites and the ground, thereby reducing communication costs and communication delay. It should be noted that the target terminal accesses an access layer in the LEO through a ground antenna and further sends an access request to the control plane network element in the MEO. In some embodiments, the control plane network element in the MEO can also directly send an authentication request to a ground UDM deployed on the ground.

[0047] The communication method in the embodiments of the present disclosure mixes GEO, MEO, LEO, and ground mobile networks, and when a user of a target terminal roams to an area without ground network coverage, the user can use a satellite network to implement various types of services.

[0048] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the condition for the target terminal to trigger satellite network access is not specially limited, and can be triggered when the target terminal roams to an area that cannot be covered by a ground network, or can be triggered by the target terminal actively. In some embodiments, when the target terminal roams in an area covered by a ground network, the target terminal accesses a local network to perform a subsequent service process.

[0049] It is worth noting that in the case that the UDM is deployed in the GEO satellite, when the control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite sends an authentication request to the UDM in the same orbit, neither the UDM in the same orbit nor the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite can find the user subscription information of the target terminal locally, or when the control plane network element sends an authentication request to the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite, the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite fails to find the user subscription information of the target terminal locally. It can be determined that the target terminal is accessing the satellite network for the first time. In the case that the UDM in the same orbit fails to find the user subscription information of the target terminal locally when the control plane network element sends an authentication request to the UDM in the same orbit, but the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite can find the user subscription information of the target terminal locally, it can be determined that the MEO satellite corresponding to the target terminal changes. In the case that the UDM in the same orbit or the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite finds the user subscription information of the target terminal locally, the target terminal is not accessing the satellite network for the first time.

[0050] In some embodiments, in the case that the UDM is deployed in the MEO satellite, the network element device is a control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite.

[0051] The step S1 comprises:

[0052] Receiving an authentication request sent by a control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite.

[0053] Since the UDM in the embodiment of the present disclosure is deployed in the MEO satellite, the first request is a request indicating that the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite locally queries the user subscription information of the target terminal, therefore for the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite, the network element device is a control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite. That is, when the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite receives an authentication request sent by the control plane network element in the MEO satellite, it needs to locally query the user subscription information of the target terminal.

[0054] In some embodiments, in the case that the UDM is deployed in the GEO satellite, the target UDM is a ground UDM.

[0055] In the case that the UDM is deployed in the MEO satellite, the target UDM is a UDM deployed in the GEO satellite.

[0056] In the embodiment, the UDM locally queries the user subscription information of the target terminal according to the first request, and in the case that it fails to locally query the user subscription information, it acquires the user subscription information of the target terminal from the target UDM. Since the positions of the UDMs are different, the positions of the target UDMs are also different.

[0057] For the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite, the UDM acquires the user subscription information from the ground UDM in case of failing to locally query the user subscription information, i.e., the target UDM is the ground UDM;

[0058] For the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite, the UDM acquires the user subscription information from the UDM in the GEO satellite in case of failing to locally query the user subscription information, i.e., the target UDM is the UDM in the GEO satellite.

[0059] In some embodiments, the UDM acquires the user subscription information from the ground UDM, comprising:

[0060] The UDM determines the ground UDM according to the number segment configuration of the target terminal, so as to acquire the user subscription information (different number segments correspond to different ground UDMs);

[0061] Alternatively, in the ground receiving device, an SCP-NRF (Service Communication Proxy-NF Repository Function) is added to find the ground UDM.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the communication method further comprises:

[0063] S5, in case of querying the user subscription information, the user subscription information is sent to the network element device.

[0064] Wherein, for the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite, the first request is a query request sent by the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite or an authentication request sent by the control plane network element.

[0065] In case that the UDM locally finds the user subscription information of the target terminal according to the authentication request, the user subscription information is sent to the control plane network element, so as to provide related services for the control plane network element.

[0066] In a case where the UDM locally finds the user subscription information of the target terminal according to the query request, the authentication request sent by the control plane network element to the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite indicates that the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite is unable to locally find the user subscription information, but the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite is able to locally find the user subscription information, that is, the target terminal does not run out of the coverage of the GEO satellite, but the corresponding MEO satellite in the coverage of the GEO satellite changes. For example, the MEO satellite originally corresponding to the target terminal runs out of the service area, and the target terminal needs to access a new control plane network element in the MEO satellite. The UDM deployed in the GEO satellite feeds back the user subscription information to the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite, so that the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite is able to store the user subscription information of the target terminal, thereby providing the control plane network element with related services.

[0067] For the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite, the first request is the authentication request sent by the control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite. In a case where the UDM locally finds the user subscription information of the target terminal according to the authentication request, it indicates that the target terminal is not accessed for the first time, and the UDM locally stores the user subscription information of the target terminal, so as to feed back the user subscription information to the control plane network element, so that the control plane network element and the target terminal complete authentication.

[0068] It is worth noting that after the control plane network element and the target terminal complete authentication, the target terminal can implement various communication services (for example, registration, subscription acquisition, subscription, and the like) through the satellite network. The services provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure are not specially limited, and can be authentication, context information storage, and the like.

[0069] In some embodiments, the user subscription information of the target terminal includes at least one of the following:

[0070] authentication information, basic information, CS (Circuit Switched) basic information, PSDNN (Packet Switched Data Network Name) basic information, and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) subscription information.

[0071] The authentication information is used for authentication vector calculation, and includes at least one of Ki (Subscriber Authentication Key), OPC (Operator Code), SQN (Sequence Number), and AMF (Authentication Management Field).

[0072] The basic information of the target terminal is used for uniquely identifying a user and performing a charging process, and includes at least one of MSISDN (Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number) information, basic CC (Charging character), and slice information.

[0073] The CS basic information is used for providing basic call and short message capabilities of the target terminal, and includes voice information and short message information.

[0074] The PSDNN basic information is used for providing PS session capabilities for the target terminal to access a control plane network element, and includes at least one of DNN (Data Network Name) and DNN configuration (Data Network Name Configuration) information.

[0075] The IMS subscription information is used for providing IMS capabilities, and includes at least one of PVI (Permanent Virtual Identifier), PUI (Permanent User Identifier), and IMS basic subscription information.

[0076] In some embodiments, the communication method applied to the UDM further includes:

[0077] In a case where the first update request sent by the target UDM is received, the locally stored user subscription information is updated.

[0078] In some embodiments, after the locally stored user subscription information is updated, at least one of the following is further included:

[0079] A second update request is sent to the network element device, and the second update request is used to notify the network element device that the user subscription information has changed.

[0080] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, for the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite, the target UDM is the ground UDM, after the UDM receives the first update request sent by the ground UDM, the local stored user subscription information is updated according to the first update request, and the second update request is synchronized to the network element device. In the case that the user subscription information of the target terminal changes (for example, the user corresponding to the target terminal is in arrears), the user subscription information of the target terminal is changed in the ground UDM of the ground, and the ground UDM sends the first update request to the UDM through the ground antenna, to inform the UDM to update the locally stored user subscription information of the target terminal.

[0081] Meanwhile, due to the difference of the network element device sending the first request, the processing modes of the second update request received by different network element devices are different. In some embodiments, the network element device is the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite, the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite updates the locally stored user subscription information according to the second update request, that is, the synchronization of the updated user subscription information; the network element device is the control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite, and the control plane network element determines that the user subscription information changes according to the second update request.

[0082] In some embodiments, the communication method applied to the UDM further comprises:

[0083] In the case that the first deletion request sent by the target UDM is received, the locally stored user subscription information is deleted.

[0084] In some embodiments, after the locally stored user subscription information is deleted, at least one of the following is further included:

[0085] A second deletion request is sent to the network element device; the second deletion request is used to inform the network element device that the user subscription information is deleted.

[0086] Since the terminal accesses the satellite network for a short time (mostly for several hours or several days), for example, the terminal is located in the aircraft for several hours, the terminal is located in the sea transport tool for several days, and the like, the terminal may perform satellite communication due to the area far away from the ground network coverage. However, it is limited by the limited storage space in the UDM, therefore, it is necessary to delete the user subscription information when the terminal sends an access request (that is, switches to the ground network communication) to the ground UDM or the user subscription information is not updated for a long time.

[0087] In the case that the UDM receives the first deletion request sent by the ground UDM, the user subscription information locally stored in the UDM is deleted, which can clean up the user subscription information in the UDM and release the storage space to other terminals.

[0088] In the case that the UDM is deployed in a GEO satellite, the first request is a query request sent by the UDM deployed in a MEO satellite, and the UDM receives the first deletion request sent by the ground UDM, the UDM also needs to send a second deletion request to the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite, so that the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite synchronously deletes the user subscription information of the target terminal stored locally, and then the UDM deployed in the MEO satellite further needs to notify the control plane network element that the user subscription information of the target terminal is deleted.

[0089] In the case that the UDM is deployed in a GEO satellite, the first request is an authentication request sent by the control plane network element, and the UDM receives the first deletion request sent by the ground UDM, the UDM can directly notify the control plane network element that the user subscription information of the target terminal is deleted.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first deletion request can be sent to the UDM after the target terminal sends an access request to the ground UDM (indicating that the target terminal is in the area covered by the ground network), so that the information of the terminal outside the area covered by the ground network (such as the ocean, desert, sky, etc.) is preferentially stored in the UDM.

[0091] In some embodiments, the communication method applied to the UDM further includes:

[0092] In the case that the user subscription information is not updated within a preset time period after being stored locally, the user subscription information is deleted.

[0093] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, since the time for the terminal to access the satellite network is usually short, and the storage space in the UDM is limited, the user subscription information stored locally in the UDM is deleted in the case that it is not updated within a preset time period, which can dynamically clean the user subscription information stored locally in the UDM. In some embodiments, the preset time period can be set in days, for example, the user subscription information of terminal A is deleted in the case that it is not updated within 1 day after being stored locally. In other embodiments, the preset time period can also be set in hours, for example, the user subscription information of terminal A is deleted in the case that it is not updated within 3 hours after being stored locally.

[0094] In some embodiments, the un-updated user subscription information can be deleted by adding an internal configuration parameter in the UDM.

[0095] In the above embodiments of the present disclosure, in the case that the UDM is deployed in the GEO satellite, after the control plane network element receives the access request of the terminal, an authentication request is initiated to the UDM in the same orbit or the UDM in the GEO satellite. In the case that the UDM in the same orbit or the UDM in the GEO satellite stores the user subscription information of the terminal, the user subscription information of the terminal can be obtained for authentication without interaction with the ground UDM, so as to effectively reduce the signaling between the satellite and the ground.

[0096] If the UDM in the same orbit does not store the user subscription information of the terminal, the UDM in the same orbit can also query the UDM in the GEO satellite, and in the case that the UDM in the GEO satellite also does not store the user subscription information of the terminal locally, the ground UDM deployed on the ground is queried again, and then the queried user subscription information of the terminal is returned and stored in sequence, so that the user subscription information of the terminal can be directly obtained from the UDM in the same orbit when the terminal initiates the access request again, thereby reducing the signaling between the satellite and the ground, and thus reducing the communication delay and cost. In the case that the UDM in the same orbit of the control plane network element or the UDM in the GEO satellite stores the user subscription information locally, the user subscription information of the terminal can be obtained at a lower cost.

[0097] Meanwhile, the user subscription information of the terminal using satellite communication is dynamically stored in the UDM in the GEO satellite and / or the UDM in the same orbit of the control plane network element, so that the terminal can quickly obtain the user subscription information when the terminal accesses the satellite communication again. When the user subscription information is not updated for a long time or switched to ground network communication, the user subscription information stored in the UDM in the GEO satellite and / or the UDM in the same orbit of the control plane network element is dynamically cleared, so as to release the storage space for use by other terminals, thereby realizing efficient use of the limited storage space of the UDM in the GEO satellite and the UDM in the same orbit of the control plane network element.

[0098] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a UDM configured to implement the method of the first aspect.

[0099] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method of the first aspect.

[0100] In a fourth aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method of the first aspect.

[0101] In order for those skilled in the art to more clearly understand the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below through exemplary embodiments.

[0102] For example, as one form of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a UDM is deployed in GEO (GEO-UDM), a control plane network element (AMF / SMF) is deployed in MEO, a UDM is deployed in MEO (MEO-UDM), and a ground UDM is deployed on the ground. The process of terminal A performing ground network communication and satellite communication in this scenario is described below.

[0103] When terminal A performs ground network communication, it directly accesses the local network and completes the service process through the ground UDM on the ground.

[0104] As shown in FIG. 3, when terminal A performs satellite communication for the first time:

[0105] Step 301: The terminal UE initiates satellite communication access to the access layer of LEO.

[0106] Step 302: The access layer of LEO looks up the AMF in MEO.

[0107] Step 303: The AMF initiates an authentication request to the MEO-UDM in the same orbit.

[0108] Step 304: The MEO-UDM locally looks up the user subscription information of the UE; since the UE performs satellite communication for the first time, the MEO-UDM does not store the user subscription information of the UE, and requests the user subscription information from the UDM in GEO (GEO-UDM).

[0109] Step 305: The GEO-UDM locally looks up the user subscription information of the UE; since the UE performs satellite communication for the first time, the GEO-UDM does not store the user subscription information of the UE, and requests the user subscription information from the ground receiving device.

[0110] Step 306: The ground receiving device requests the user subscription information from the UDM on the ground (ground UDM).

[0111] Step 307: The ground UDM feeds back the obtained user subscription information to the ground receiving device.

[0112] Step 308: The ground receiving device feeds back the user subscription information to the GEO-UDM, and the GEO-UDM locally saves the user subscription information of the UE.

[0113] Step 309: The GEO-UDM feeds back the user subscription information to the MEO-UDM, and the MEO-UDM locally saves the user subscription information of the UE.

[0114] Step 3010, the MEO-UDM returns authentication data to the AMF in the MEO according to the user subscription information.

[0115] Step 3011, the AMF in the MEO completes authentication with the UE according to the authentication data.

[0116] Step 3012, after the AMF completes authentication with the UE, the AMF can initiate a registration process to the MEO-UDM, at this time, since the MEO-UDM stores the user subscription information of the UE, the registration process can be completed through the user subscription information stored by the MEO-UDM.

[0117] Step 3013, after registration is completed, a registration response is fed back to the AMF.

[0118] It is worth noting that after the terminal performs satellite communication, in subsequent satellite communication services (for example, SMF updates session information, AMF changes), the AMF / SMF of the MEO can interact with the MEO-UDM in the same orbit to obtain the user subscription information of the UE, without repeating the interaction between the satellite and the ground link, reducing the communication delay.

[0119] In addition, since the user subscription information of the UE is stored locally in the GEO-UDM and the MEO-UDM, the UE can also directly interact with the MEO-UDM in the same orbit for subsequent registration, subscription acquisition, subscription, and other service processes.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 4, when the terminal A performs satellite communication, if the MEO runs out of the service area, so that the terminal A cannot perform satellite communication through the MEO, MEO change is needed, that is, a new AMF (NEW-MEO-AMF) in a new MEO (NEW-MEO) is used to perform satellite communication services:

[0121] Step 401, the terminal UE initiates satellite communication access to the access layer of the LEO.

[0122] Step 402, the access layer of the LEO finds the AMF in the MEO, and the LEO finds the new AMF (NEW-MEO-AMF) in the new MEO (NEW-MEO).

[0123] Step 403, the new AMF initiates an authentication request to the new MEO-UDM (NEW-MEO-UDM) in the same orbit.

[0124] Step 404, the NEW-MEO-UDM locally looks up the user subscription information of the UE; since the MEO of the UE is changed, the user subscription information of the UE is not stored in the NEW-MEO-UDM, and the NEW-MEO-UDM requests the user subscription information from the UDM of GEO (i.e., GEO-UDM).

[0125] Step 405, the GEO-UDM locally looks up the user subscription information of the UE, since the UE is not the first time to perform satellite communication, the user subscription information of the UE is stored in the GEO-UDM, but since the MEO-UDM is changed, the GEO-UDM updates the information of the MEO-UDM, and feeds back the locally stored user subscription information of the UE to the NEW-MEO-UDM, and the NEW-MEO-UDM locally saves the user subscription information of the UE.

[0126] Step 406, the NEW-MEO-UDM returns the authentication data to the new AMF according to the user subscription information.

[0127] Step 407, the new AMF completes authentication with the UE according to the authentication data.

[0128] Step 408, after completing authentication with the UE, the new AMF can initiate a registration process to the NEW-MEO-UDM, at this time, since the NEW-MEO-UDM stores the user subscription information of the UE, the registration process can be completed through the user subscription information stored in the NEW-MEO-UDM.

[0129] Step 409, after registration is completed, a registration response is fed back to the new AMF.

[0130] After the UE completes MEO change, when subsequent satellite communication services are performed, the user subscription information can be obtained through the interaction between the new AMF / SMF and the NEW-MEO-UDM.

[0131] In addition, it is worth noting that when the user subscription information of the UE is changed, the BOSS modifies the user subscription information of the UE in the ground UDM, and then the ground UDM on the ground sends a first update request to the GEO-UDM via the ground antenna, to inform the GEO-UDM to update the locally stored user subscription information, the GEO-UDM also sends a second update request to the MEO-UDM to inform the MEO-UDM to update the locally stored user subscription information, and the MEO-UDM also synchronously informs the AMF / SMF corresponding to the UE.

[0132] Considering the limited storage space of the GEO-UDM and the MEO-UDM, internal configuration parameters are added in the GEO-UDM and the MEO-UDM to periodically delete user subscription information that has not been updated for a long time. At the same time, when the UE switches to ground network communication, the ground UDM sends a deletion request to the GEO-UDM to delete the user subscription information stored locally by the GEO-UDM, so as to realize storage optimization, and realize the mixed access application of the terminal ground network communication and satellite communication at a lower transmission cost.

[0133] Wherein, the processor is a device with data processing capability, including but not limited to central processing unit (CPU) and the like; the memory is a device with data storage capability, including but not limited to random access memory (RAM, more specifically SDRAM, DDR, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory (FLASH); the I / O interface (read-write interface) is connected between the processor and the memory, and can realize the information interaction between the memory and the processor, including but not limited to data bus (Bus) and the like.

[0134] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or some of the functional modules / units in the above disclosed steps, systems and devices can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware and appropriate combinations thereof.

[0135] In the hardware implementation, the division between the functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, one physical component can have multiple functions, or one function or step can be executed by several physical components in cooperation.

[0136] Some or all of the physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or hardware, or a combination of software and / or hardware. Such software can be distributed on computer readable media, which can comprise computer storage media (or non-transitory media), and communication media (or transitory media). Computer storage media, as used herein, includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), such as SDRAM, DDR, or other RAM, read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by a computer. Further, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that computer storage media generally includes computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. Accordingly, the disclosure is not limited to entirely software based embodiments implemented using computers other embodiments can be implemented using hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.

[0137] The present disclosure has disclosed example embodiments, and while specific terminology has been employed, such should not be taken in a limiting sense, but rather should be understood to be in a generic sense unless otherwise indicated. In some instances, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that features, characteristics or / and elements described in connection with a particular embodiment can be used, either alone or in combination with other embodiments, unless otherwise explicitly noted. Accordingly, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a unified data management UDM, said UDM being deployed in a satellite, comprising: Receive the first request sent by the network element device; Based on the first request, query the user subscription information of the target terminal locally; The target terminal is the terminal that requests access to the control plane network element; If the user subscription information is not found, the user subscription information sent by the target UDM corresponding to the target terminal is received. The user's subscription information is stored locally and then sent to the network element device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, In the case where the UDM is deployed in a geostationary orbit GEO satellite, the network element equipment is a UDM or a control plane network element deployed in a medium Earth orbit MEO satellite; The first request sent by the receiving network element device includes: Receive query requests from UDMs deployed in the MEO satellite; Alternatively, it can receive authentication requests from control plane network elements deployed in the MEO satellite.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, In the case where the UDM is deployed in the MEO satellite, the network element device is a control plane network element deployed in the MEO satellite; The first request sent by the receiving network element device includes: Receive authentication requests sent by control plane network elements deployed in the MEO satellite.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, In the case where the UDM is deployed in the GEO satellite, the target UDM is a ground-based UDM; In the case where the UDM is deployed in the MEO satellite, the target UDM is the UDM deployed in the GEO satellite.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: If the user's subscription information is found, the user's subscription information is sent to the network element device.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Upon receiving a first update request from the target UDM, update the user subscription information stored locally; And / or, upon receiving a first deletion request from the target UDM, delete the user subscription information stored locally.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein, After updating the user subscription information stored locally, the system further includes at least one of the following: A second update request is sent to the network element device; the second update request is used to notify the network element device that the user's subscription information has changed.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein, After deleting the user subscription information from local storage, the method further includes at least one of the following: A second deletion request is sent to the network element device; the second deletion request is used to notify the network element device that the user's subscription information has been deleted.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: If the user's contract information is not updated within a preset time period after being stored locally, the user's contract information will be deleted.

10. A UDM configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

12. A computer program product comprising a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

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