Group-Level Session Management for 5G Virtual Network Groups

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Solution Overview

Problem

In 5G communication scenarios, managing group sessions for multiple users is challenging due to limitations in existing Ethernet packet filters and IP filters, leading to increased performance consumption and difficulty in group control and management, especially for local area network services.

Innovation Solution

A session management method that enables group-level session management by sending requests to control plane entities with group information, allowing unified management and control across multiple protocol data unit sessions, including registration, authorization, policy control, and charging, thereby reducing interface messages and improving group processing performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If terminal-by-terminal control and management is used for group users, then individual user control is achieved, but group processing performance deteriorates and control complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveindividual user controlVSAvoidgroup processing performance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments group session management into two levels: group-level session management for common services shared by all group users, and terminal-level session management for individual user control. This segmentation allows efficient group-wide policy application while maintaining individual customization capabilities, resolving the contradiction between individual control and group processing performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a new dimension of group-level session management above the traditional terminal-level management. By adding this hierarchical dimension, the system can manage group users collectively for common services while still allowing individual terminal control, thus improving group processing performance without sacrificing individual user control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Measurement precision

If traditional PDU session granularity is used for policy control and charging, then individual session management is precise, but group-level unified management becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveindividual session management precisionVSAvoidgroup-level unified management

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments session management into group-level sessions for unified policy control and charging across all group users, and terminal-level sessions for individual user management. This segmentation enables precise individual session management while facilitating easy group-level unified management through the group-level session abstraction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent adds a group-level session management dimension above the traditional PDU session granularity. This new dimension enables unified policy control and charging for the entire group while maintaining the ability to manage individual terminal sessions, thus achieving both precise individual management and easy group-level unified management.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Reliability

If Ethernet packet filters and IP filters are used for group session management, then basic filtering is achieved, but message complexity increases and system consumption rises when users frequently log in and out or move

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebasic filtering capabilityVSAvoidsystem consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments session management into group-level sessions that handle common services for all group users, reducing the need for individual terminal-level filtering operations. This segmentation maintains basic filtering capability while reducing system consumption during user mobility and login/logout operations, as group-level policies are applied once rather than repeatedly at each terminal.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS12627720B2Session management method, entity, network device, and storage medium

Publication Date: 2026.05.12 ZTE CORP

AI summary

The present application provides a session management method, an entity, a network device, and a storage medium. The method includes: sending, on the basis of a service requirement, a group-level session management request to a control plane entity, where the group-level session management request carries group information for representing a virtual network group that requires group-level session management; receiving a response message returned by the control plane entity in response to the group-level session management request; and performing, according to content carried in the response message, corresponding session service management on the virtual network group.