Primary NSACF Trust Verification for Local Network Slice Updates

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

The challenge lies in determining how a primary Network Slice Authentication and Authorization Function (NSACF) can trust multiple local NSACFs in a 3GPP LTE or NR system, ensuring secure and efficient network slice management across various deployment scenarios.

Innovation Solution

The primary NSACF determines trustworthiness through interactions with the Unified Data Management (UDM) system, enabling secure authentication and authorization of terminals, serving networks, and local NSACFs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If the primary NSACF manages multiple local NSACFs, then network slice management coverage is improved, but trust verification complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork slice management coverageVSAvoidtrust verification complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The UDM acts as an intermediary between the primary NSACF and local NSACFs, handling trust verification and authentication. The primary NSACF requests authentication status from the UDM, which then verifies the terminal's authentication state with the serving network, returning the verification result to the primary NSACF. This mediator approach resolves the complexity of direct trust verification between multiple NSACFs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where the UDM provides authentication status information back to the primary NSACF, which then uses this feedback to determine whether to trust local NSACFs. The primary NSACF requests authentication information from the UDM and receives feedback about the terminal's authentication state, enabling informed trust decisions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If authentication verification is performed through UDM interaction, then security is improved, but communication overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoidcommunication overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary authentication verification by having the UDM check the terminal's authentication status with the serving network before the primary NSACF makes trust decisions. This preliminary action ensures security is established in advance, allowing faster subsequent operations without repeated verification overhead.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4664965A1Method for managing local nsacf

Publication Date: 2025.12.17 LG ELECTRONICS INC

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

AI summary

One disclosure of the present disclosure provides a method by which a primary NSACF performs communication. The method comprises the steps of: receiving, from a local NSACF, an update request for a network slice; wherein the update request includes ID of a UE, information on the network slice, information on a serving network for the UE and an update flag, requesting, to an UDM, a result of authentication of the UE for the serving network, based on the update request; receiving, from the UDM, a result of authentication of the UE for the serving network; determining whether the update request is trustworthy, based on the received result of authentication; performing NSAC, based on the update request being trustworthy; transmitting, to the local NSACF, a response of the update request, wherein the response of the update request includes a result of the NSAC, based on the update request being trustworthy.