CN114629793A

CN114629793A - Method and device for determining core network element, electronic equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114629793A
Application number: CN202110667491.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈赫赫; 王志刚; 刘新疆
Original assignee: Asiainfo Technologies China Inc
Current assignee: Asiainfo Technologies China Inc
Priority date: 2021-06-16
Filing date: 2021-06-16
Publication date: 2022-06-14
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-16
Also published as: CN114629793B

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a method and a device for determining a core network element, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and relates to the technical field of wireless communication. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a network element determination request, wherein the terminal is a terminal accessing the data network address in the slice network service area; determining candidate core network elements of at least one type of core network elements according to at least one of the slice network service area, the home location of the terminal, the terminal data traffic unloading area, the roaming access mode, the exclusive network element requirement and the data network address; and determining a target core network element from the corresponding candidate core network elements according to the disaster recovery mode. The embodiment of the application can obviously improve the user use experience, and the user is free from the fussy network element investigation selection work, so that the network element meeting the slicing requirement can be automatically selected by the user, and the efficiency of core network subnet investigation is effectively improved.

Description

Method and device for determining core network element, electronic equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for determining a core network element, an electronic device, and a storage medium.

Background

The 5G network slice is a networking mode according to needs, and can enable an operator to separate and divide a plurality of virtual end-to-end networks on a unified infrastructure for different users to use. Referring to fig. 1, which schematically shows a schematic diagram of a 5G network slice of the related art, as shown, the 5G network includes 3 large usage scenarios:

eMBB: enhanced Mobile Broadband, as the name suggests, is directed to a large-traffic Mobile Broadband service;

URLLC: ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication, such as unmanned traffic (3G response is 500ms, 4G is 50ms, 5G requires 0.5 ms);

mMTC: massive machine type Communication is connected with the Internet of things in a large scale and aims at large-scale Internet of things services.

The 5G network comprises a core network, a transmission network and a wireless network, wherein the wireless network connects the user terminal with the network node through a wireless medium so as to realize information transmission between the user and the network; the transmission network is responsible for end-to-end data transmission; the core network is responsible for managing data and sorting the data. The core network is formed by combining various network elements with different types and different functions, in the core network, different 5G network slices can flexibly organize the network elements of the core network according to different requirements of the core network to form the 5G network which provides special services for the specific 5G network slices, and the high matching between the network and the service is achieved.

For how to select the 5G network slice core network element, the current solutions are all performed manually, and there are problems of low efficiency and easy error.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, an apparatus, an electronic device, and a storage medium for determining a core network element, which overcome the above problems or at least partially solve the above problems.

In a first aspect, a method for determining a core network element is provided, where the method includes:

receiving a network element determination request, wherein the network element determination request comprises at least one of a slicing network service area, a terminal attribution, a terminal data flow unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address, and the terminal is a terminal for accessing the data network address in the slicing network service area;

determining candidate core network elements of at least one type of core network elements according to at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal attribution, a terminal data traffic unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address;

and determining the disaster recovery mode of at least one type of core network element, and determining a target core network element from the corresponding candidate core network elements according to the disaster recovery mode.

In one possible implementation, the core network element includes a network warehousing function NRF network element;

determining candidate core network elements of at least one type of core network elements according to at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal attribution, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address, and the method comprises the following steps:

judging whether the terminal is in a roaming place or not according to the home location of the terminal and the service area of the slice network;

if the terminal is in a non-roaming place, the candidate NRF network element corresponding to the terminal is empty;

if the terminal is in the roaming place, taking the NRF network elements in the areas except the roaming place in the slice network service area as first candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, and taking the NRF network elements in the areas except the roaming place in the slice network service area as second candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, wherein the candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal comprise the first candidate NRF network elements and the second candidate NRF network elements.

In one possible implementation, the core network element includes a policy control function PCF network element;

if the roaming access mode is a home routing mode, determining PCF network elements in a coincidence area between a service area of the slice network and a home of the terminal as candidate PCF network elements corresponding to the terminal;

and if the roaming access mode is a roaming place routing mode, determining the PCF network element of the home place of the terminal as a candidate PCF network element corresponding to the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the core network element includes a unified data management function UDM network element;

if the roaming access mode is an attribution routing mode, determining a UDM network element in a superposition area between a slice network service area and an attribution of the terminal as a candidate UDM network element of the terminal;

and if the roaming access mode is a roaming place routing mode, determining the UDM network element of the home place of the terminal as a candidate UDM network element corresponding to the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the core network element includes a network slice selection function NSSF network element;

and determining the NSSF network elements in the service area of the slicing network as candidate NSSF network elements.

In one possible implementation, the core network element includes a session management function, SMF, network element;

determining candidate core network elements of at least one type of core network elements according to at least one of a slice network service area, a home location of a terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address, including:

if the exclusive network element is required to be the exclusive SMF network element, taking the SMF network element which does not bear the slicing service and has the exclusive attribute in the slicing network service area as a candidate SMF network element;

and if the exclusive network element is required to be the non-exclusive SMF network element, taking the SMF network element with the attribute of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slicing network as a candidate SMF network element.

In one possible implementation, the core network element includes an access and mobility management function AMF network element;

if the exclusive network element is required to be the exclusive AMF network element, taking the AMF network element which does not bear the slice service and has the exclusive attribute in the slice network service area as a candidate AMF network element;

and if the exclusive network element is required to be the non-exclusive AMF network element, taking the AMF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slice network as a candidate AMF network element.

In one possible implementation, the core network element includes a user plane function UPF network element;

if the exclusive network element is required to be the exclusive UPF network element, the UPF network element which does not bear the slicing service and has the attribute of exclusive sharing in the slicing network service area is taken as a candidate UPF network element;

and if the requirement of the exclusive network element is the non-exclusive UPF network element, taking the UPF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slicing network as the candidate UPF network element.

In one possible implementation manner, determining a target core network element from corresponding candidate core network elements according to a disaster tolerance manner includes:

if the disaster recovery mode is a master-standby mode, the master core network element in the candidate core network elements is taken as a target core network element;

and if the disaster recovery mode is the POOL networking mode, taking the candidate core network element as a target core network element.

In a second aspect, an apparatus for determining a core network element is provided, including:

the network element determining request comprises at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal attribution, a terminal data traffic unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address, and the terminal is used for accessing the data network address in the slice network service area;

the candidate network element determining module is used for determining candidate core network elements of at least one type of core network elements according to at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal attribution, a terminal data traffic unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address;

and the target network element determining module is used for determining the disaster recovery mode of at least one type of core network element and determining the target core network element from the corresponding candidate core network elements according to the disaster recovery mode.

the candidate network element determining module comprises an NRF candidate network element determining submodule, and the NRF candidate network element determining submodule is specifically configured to:

the candidate network element determining module comprises a PCF candidate network element determining submodule, which is specifically configured to: if the roaming access mode is a home routing mode, determining PCF network elements in a coincidence area between a service area of the slice network and a home of the terminal as candidate PCF network elements corresponding to the terminal; and if the roaming access mode is a roaming place routing mode, determining the PCF network element of the home place of the terminal as a candidate PCF network element corresponding to the terminal.

In one possible implementation manner, the core network element includes a unified data management function UDM network element;

the candidate network element determining module comprises a UDM candidate network element determining submodule, and the UDM candidate network element determining submodule is specifically configured to:

the candidate network element determining module comprises an NSSF candidate network element determining submodule, and the NSSF candidate network element determining submodule is specifically configured to: and determining the NSSF network elements in the service area of the slicing network as candidate NSSF network elements.

the candidate network element determining module comprises an SMF candidate network element determining submodule, and the SMF candidate network element determining submodule is specifically configured to:

the candidate network element determining module comprises an AMF candidate network element determining submodule, and the AMF candidate network element determining submodule is specifically configured to:

if the requirement of the exclusive network element is that the AMF network element is not exclusively shared, taking the AMF network element with the attribute of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slice network as a candidate AMF network element

the candidate network element determining module comprises a UPF candidate network element determining sub-module, and the UPF candidate network element determining sub-module is specifically configured to:

and if the requirement of the exclusive network element is the non-exclusive UPF network element, taking the UPF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slicing network as a candidate UPF network element.

In one possible implementation, the target network element determining module includes:

the first target determination submodule is used for taking a main core network element in the candidate core network elements as a target core network element if the disaster recovery mode is a main/standby mode;

and the second target determining submodule is used for taking the candidate core network element as the target core network element if the disaster recovery mode is the POOL networking mode.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an electronic device, which includes a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, and when the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the method as provided in the first aspect are implemented.

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method as provided in the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program, where the computer program includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when a processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the steps of implementing the method provided in the first aspect.

The method, the device, the electronic equipment and the storage medium for determining the core network element provided by the embodiment of the invention are characterized in that the network element determines a request by receiving the network element determination request, the network element determines at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal home location, a terminal data traffic unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address in the request, and input factors required by a slice core network when the network element is selected are determined by analyzing the slice requirement, and the embodiment of the application determines candidate core network elements according to different slice requirements for different types of core network elements, and finally determines a target core network element from the candidate core network elements according to the disaster tolerance type of each type of core network element, thereby obviously improving the user experience, getting rid of the user from the fussy network element investigation and selection work, and automatically selecting the network element according with the slice requirement for the user, and the efficiency of core network subnet investigation is effectively promoted.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of the present application will be briefly described below.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G network slice of the related art;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a core network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of selecting a candidate PCF network element according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a network element of a core network according to another embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for determining a network element of a core network according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present application, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary only for the purpose of explaining the present application and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, 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. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. Further, "connected" or "coupled" as used herein may include wirelessly connected or wirelessly coupled. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes all or any element and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

To make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the core network part of the 5G wireless communication field of the operator, each core network element is classified into different types according to different functions, such as NRF, UDM, PCF, AMF, SMF, UPF, and the like, and the elements can be deployed and distinguished according to management responsibilities and management areas. Multiple sets of network elements of the same type can be deployed in different areas, and each set is responsible for managing a certain area range.

When creating a 5G network slice, a group of core network elements meeting the service requirements needs to be selected for instantiation and configuration. How to select a suitable network element among the plurality of network elements to serve the network slice is one of the important points to be considered.

Therefore, how to optimally select a suitable core network element in a 5G network slice core network becomes the key of core network subnet networking in the 5G network slice.

The current solution for selecting the subnet network elements of the 5G network slice core network is manually performed, and various different types of core network elements meeting the conditions are selected by performing manual analysis, manual filtering and manual selection in all the core network elements according to experience and the current situation of network element deployment, so that the core network subnets of the 5G network slice are created, and networking among the network elements is completed.

The current solution has certain disadvantages, the manual selection mode is low in efficiency and easy to make mistakes, and if the network element is selected by mistake, the whole core network subnet network element is made mistakes, which affects service opening.

The application provides a method, an apparatus, an electronic device and a computer-readable storage medium for determining a core network element, which aim to solve the above technical problems in the prior art.

The following describes the technical solutions of the present application and how to solve the above technical problems with specific embodiments. The following several specific embodiments may be combined with each other, and details of the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments. Embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 2, a schematic flowchart of a method for determining a core network element according to an embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown, and as shown in the drawing, the method includes:

s101, receiving a network element determining request, wherein the network element determining request comprises at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal attribution, a terminal data traffic unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address, and the terminal is a terminal for accessing the data network address in the slice network service area.

The slice network service area, i.e. the geographical range of the service provided by the slice grid, may be the geographical range of a sector, a beam, a cell, a tracking area, a paging area, a serving access network equipment site, a trp (total Radiated power), a DU centralized unit or CU distributed unit, etc.

The attribution of the terminal can refer to the attribution of the sim card in the terminal, the attribution is a city unit, such as Shenzhen city in Guangdong province, Wuhan city in Hubei province, and the attribution of the terminal also belongs to a regional concept. The terminal of the embodiment of the application is a terminal for accessing a data network address in a slice network service area

Terminal data traffic offloading (mobile data offloading), i.e. using complementary network technologies to carry data traffic originally loaded on the mobile cellular network, to alleviate network congestion and create an additional revenue source. The goal of mobile data offloading is to maintain the user's service instructions while reducing the cost and image of bandwidth demanding services on the mobile network. Currently common complementary network technologies include Wi-Fi, Femtocell (micro cellular), and opportunistic communication networks (networks that communicate with contact opportunities between terminals). The terminal data traffic offload area may be an area where 5G communication data is output.

The roaming access method can be divided into the following two roaming methods:

home routed roaming access, also known as Home routing, refers to the access of a user plane traffic flow to a data network address by returning to Home. The home AUSF and the roaming AMF are communicated through an N12 interface, the home UDM and the roaming AMF are communicated through an N8 interface, the home H-PCF and the roaming V-PCF are communicated through an N24 interface, the home H-SMF and the roaming V-SMF are communicated through an N16 interface, and the home UPF and the roaming UPF are communicated through an N9 interface. The home network of the scheme manages the session and controls the service, all control plane traffic returns to the home network through an N16 interface, and the service traffic enters the data network address from the home UPF through an N9 interface.

Local breakout roaming access, also known as roaming ground routing, refers to the access of user plane traffic to a data network address through a roaming ground UPF. The home AUSF and the roaming AMF are communicated through an N12 interface, the home UDM and the roaming AMF are communicated through an N8 interface, the home UDM and the roaming SMF are communicated through an N10 interface, and the interfaces are mainly used for the authentication and registration management of the home network to the user. The home H-PCF interworks with the roaming place V-PCF through an N24 interface and is used for providing policy rules for the roaming place.

The requirement of the exclusive network element, that is, the information indicating whether some core network elements have the exclusive requirement, generally has the requirement of the exclusive network element for the service type of the private network or the service with high reliability requirement.

A Data Network (Data Network) address is an address where a Data Network is located, for example, an address where a terminal wants to access a certain web page and a server providing the web page is located is a Data Network address.

S102, determining candidate core network elements of at least one type of core network elements according to at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal attribution area, a terminal data flow unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address.

S103, determining the disaster recovery mode of at least one type of core network element, and determining a target core network element from the corresponding candidate core network elements according to the disaster recovery mode.

According to the embodiment of the application, firstly, at least one type of core network element is screened for the first time according to information contained in a network element determination request, so that candidate core network elements are obtained, and then, according to the disaster recovery mode of each type of core network element, a target core network element is determined from the candidate core network elements, wherein the target core network element is a network element meeting slicing requirements.

The embodiment of the application receives the network element determination request, the network element determines at least one of the service area of the slice network, the attribution of the terminal, the data flow unloading area of the terminal, the roaming access mode, the requirement of the exclusive network element and the data network address in the request, by analyzing the slicing requirements, input factors required by the sliced core network when selecting network elements are defined, and the embodiment of the application determines the candidate core network elements according to different slicing requirements for different types of core network elements, and finally determines the target core network element from the candidate core network elements according to the disaster tolerance type of each type of core network element, thereby obviously improving the user experience and getting rid of the user from the fussy network element exploration and selection work, the method can automatically select the network elements meeting the slicing requirements for the user, and effectively improves the efficiency of core network subnet exploration.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, as an optional embodiment, the core Network element includes an NRF (Network redundancy Function) Network element; the NRF network element supports the following functions:

supporting a service discovery Function, receiving a NF discovery request from a NF (Network Function) instance, and providing information of a discovered NF instance (discovered) to the NF instance.

NF profiles are maintained for available NF instances and their supported services.

When the terminal roams to a non-terminal data traffic offload area, data needs to be guided to the terminal data traffic offload area, and the function is realized by information interaction between NRFs in different areas. Therefore, the embodiment of the application needs to perform NRF network element selection of the terminal roaming place and the non-roaming place. Specifically, determining a candidate core network element of at least one type of core network element according to at least one of a slice network service area, a home location of a terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement, and a data network address includes:

s201, judging whether the terminal is in a roaming place according to the attribution of the terminal and the service area of the slice network.

Specifically, when the slice network service area does not belong to the home of the terminal, it indicates that the terminal is in the roaming place, and when the slice network service area belongs to the home of the terminal, it indicates that the terminal is in the non-roaming place. For example, the attribution of the terminal is Guangdong Shenzhen city, and the slice network server region is located in Beijing city, which indicates that the terminal is currently located in Beijing city, i.e., the terminal is in a roaming place.

S202, if the terminal is in a non-roaming place, the candidate NRF network element corresponding to the terminal is empty;

s202', if the terminal is in the roaming place, using the NRF network elements in the area other than the roaming place in the slice network service area as first candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, and using the NRF network elements in the area other than the roaming place in the slice network service area as second candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, where the candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal include the first candidate NRF network elements and the second candidate NRF network elements.

Because the function of guiding the data to the terminal data flow unloading area is realized by information interaction between NRFs in different areas, when the terminal is not in a roaming place, the terminal does not need an NRF network element. When the terminal is in the roaming place, in the embodiment of the present application, the NRF network elements in the areas other than the roaming place in the service area of the slice network are used as the first candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, and then the NRF network elements in the areas other than the roaming place in the service area of the slice network are used as the second candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, that is, when the terminal is in the roaming place, two candidate NRF network elements are needed.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, as an optional embodiment, the core network element includes a PCF (Policy Control Function) network element, and provides all mobility, User Equipment (UE) access selection, and a Policy related to a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session that are responsible for the PCF network element.

Since the PCF network element realizes the 5G policy and charging function, and the subscription policy of the SIM card is obtained from the PCF of the home location no matter the roaming mode in the 5G slice network is home-routed or local-breakout, the candidate PCF network element corresponding to the terminal is determined according to the service area of the slice network and the home location of the terminal.

Specifically, determining a candidate core network element of at least one type of core network element according to at least one of a slice network service area, a home location of a terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement, and a data network address includes:

and if the roaming access mode is a home routing mode, determining PCF network elements in a superposed region between the service region of the slice network and the home of the terminal as candidate PCF network elements corresponding to the terminal. And if the roaming access mode is a roaming place routing mode, determining the PCF network element of the home place of the terminal as a candidate PCF network element corresponding to the terminal.

Please refer to fig. 3, which exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of selecting a candidate PCF network element in the embodiment of the present application, where a roaming manner of a terminal in the diagram is a home routing manner, as shown in the figure, a slice network service area includes PCF network elements 1 to 4, a home of the terminal includes PCF network elements 3 to 7, and a coincidence area between the slice network server area and the home of the terminal includes PCF network element 3, so that PCF network element 3 is taken as the candidate PCF network element corresponding to the terminal.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, as an optional embodiment, the core network element includes a UDM (Unified Data Management) network element, and the UDM network element supports the following functions:

(1) generation of 3GPP AKA authentication credentials

(2) Subscriber identity handling (e.g. storage and management of SUPI for each subscriber in a 5G system)

(3) Supporting unhidden privacy protected user identifier (SUCI)

(4) Access authentication based on subscription data (e.g., roaming restrictions)

(5) NF registration management for UE services

(6) Supporting service/session continuity

(7) MT (Mobile terminated) -SMS delivery support

(8) Lawful interception functionality (especially in outbound roaming scenario, where UDM is the only contact point for LI)

(9) Subscription management

(10) Short Message Service (SMS) management

The UDM realizes the function of 5G user subscription management, the subscription information of the SIM card is acquired from the UDM, and the subscription strategy of the SIM card is acquired from the UDM of the home no matter the roaming mode in the 5G slice network is home-routed or local-breakdown. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, determining a candidate core network element of at least one type of core network element according to at least one of a slice network service area, a home location of a terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement, and a data network address includes:

and if the roaming access mode is an attribution routing mode, determining the UDM network element in a superposed region between the service region of the slice network and the attribution of the terminal as a candidate UDM network element of the terminal. And if the roaming access mode is a roaming place routing mode, determining the UDM network element of the home place of the terminal as a candidate UDM network element corresponding to the terminal.

On The basis of The foregoing embodiments, as an optional embodiment, a core Network element includes an NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function) Network element, and supports The following functions:

selecting a set of network slice instances to serve a UE

Determining allowed NSSAI (Network Slice Selection Assistant information) and, if necessary, determining a mapping to a signed S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistant information)

Determining configured NSSAI, and if necessary, mapping to subscribed S-NSSAI

Determining a set of AMFs that may be used to query the UE, or determining a list of candidate AMFs based on the configuration.

Since the NSSF realizes a 5G network slice selection function, when a session is created in a slice network by a SIM card, the NSSF is required to assist in selecting all network elements that can serve the slice, and because the NSSF is required to perform relevant slice configuration when the slice network is created, according to at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal home location, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement, and a data network address, the embodiment of the present application determines a candidate core network element of at least one type of core network element, including:

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, as an optional embodiment, the core network element includes an SMF (Session Management Function) network element, and the SMF is an important functional unit of the 5G core network and is responsible for processing the service of the user. The SMF realizes a session management function of 5G, and when a SIM card creates a session in a slice network, the SMF is required to select all UPF network elements that can serve the slice, and thus the SMF needs to be configured with a relevant slice when the slice network is created.

and if the exclusive network element requirement is the non-exclusive SMF network element, taking the SMF network element with the attribute of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slice network as a candidate SMF network element.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, as an optional embodiment, the core network element includes an AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) network element, and has the following functions:

terminating RAN CP interface (N2) (Termination of RAN CP interface (N2))

Terminating NAS (N1), NAS encryption and integrity protection (Termination of NAS (N1), NAS encryption and integrity protection)

Registration management (Registration management)

Connection management (Connection management)

Reachability management (Reachability management)

Mobility Management (Mobility Management)

Lawful interception (Lawful intercept)

Providing for SM messages between UE and SMF (Provide transport for SM messages between UE and SMF)

Transparent proxies (Transparent proxy for routing SM messages)

-Access Authentication (Access Authentication)

-Access Authorization (Access Authorization)

-providing transport of UE and SMSF SMS messages (Providetransport for SMS messages between UE and SMSF)

-Security Anchor function (SEAF) as specified in TS)

Location Services management for supervision Services (Location Services)

-providing transport for Location Services messages between UE and LMF and between RAN and LMF (Provide transport for Location Services messages between UE and LMF as between RAN and LMF)

EPS Bearer ID allocation for interworking with EPS (EPS Bearer ID allocation for interworking with EPS)

-UE mobility event notification (UE mobility event notification)

Support Control Plane CIoT 5GS optimization (Support for Control Plane CIoT 5GS optimization)

Support for User Plane CIoT 5GS optimization (Support for User Plane CIoT 5GS optimization)

-providing external parameters (providing of external parameters)

Support for Specific Network Slice Authentication and Authorization (Support for Network Slice Authentication and Authorization)

The AMF realizes the access of 5G and the mobility management function, when the SIM card establishes a session in a slice network, a base station is required to access to a default AMF and then select all AMF network elements capable of serving the slice, and the AMF is required to be subjected to related slice configuration when the slice network is established. Determining candidate core network elements of at least one type of core network elements according to at least one of a slice network service area, a home location of a terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address, including:

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, as an optional embodiment, the core network element includes a UPF (User Plane Function) network element, and has the following functions:

anchor point for Intra-RAT/Inter-RAT Mobility (Anchor point for Intra-/Inter-RAT Mobility)

Session point of External PDU and Data Network interconnection (External PDU Session point of interconnection to Data Network)

Packet routing and forwarding, e.g., instances supporting uplink classifiers to route traffic flows to a data network, branch points to support multi-homed PDU sessions

Packet inspection, e.g. service flow template based application detection and optional PFD received from SMF

User plane partial policy rule enforcement, e.g. gating, redirection, traffic steering

Lawful interception (Lawful interrupt)

Traffic usage reporting (Traffic usage reporting)

The UPF realizes the function of 5G user plane, when the SIM card creates a session in the slicing network, all UPF network elements which can bear the slicing service data and carry out data routing and forwarding in the session need to be selected, and the UPF needs to be subjected to relevant slicing configuration when the slicing network is created.

if the request of the independent sharing network element is the independent sharing UPF network element, the UPF network element which does not bear the slicing service and has the attribute of independent sharing in the slicing network service area is taken as a candidate UPF network element;

On the basis of the foregoing embodiments, as an optional embodiment, determining a target core network element from corresponding candidate core network elements according to a disaster recovery manner includes:

if the disaster recovery mode is a master-slave mode, the master core network element in the candidate core network elements is used as a target core network element;

and if the disaster recovery mode is a POOL networking mode, taking the candidate core network element as a target core network element.

Specifically, if the NRF network elements are networked in the active/standby mode, the active NRF network element in the candidate NRF network elements is required to be the target NRF network element, and if the NRF network elements are networked in the POOL networking mode, all the candidate NRF network elements are required to be selected as the target NRF network elements.

If the PCF network element adopts the main and standby mode for networking, the main PCF network element in the candidate PCF network elements is needed to be used as a target PCF network element, and if the PCF network element adopts the POOL networking mode for networking, all the candidate PCF network elements are needed to be selected to be used as the target PCF network element.

If the UDM network elements are networked in a main and standby mode, a main UDM network element in the candidate UDM network elements is required to be used as a target UDM network element, and if the UDM network elements are networked in a POOL networking mode, all the candidate UDM network elements are required to be selected to be used as the target UDM network element.

If the NSSF network elements are networked in a main and standby mode, a main NSSF network element in the candidate NSSF network elements is needed to be used as a target NSSF network element, and if the NSSF network elements are networked in a POOL networking mode, all the candidate NSSF network elements are needed to be selected to be used as the target NSSF network elements.

If the SMF network elements adopt the main and standby mode for networking, the main SMF network element in the candidate SMF network elements is required to be used as a target SMF network element, and if the SMF network elements adopt the POOL mode for networking, all the candidate SMF network elements are required to be selected to be used as the target SMF network element.

If the AMF network elements adopt the main and standby mode for networking, the main AMF network element in the candidate AMF network elements is required to be used as a target SMF network element, and if the AMF network elements adopt the POOL networking mode for networking, all the candidate AMF network elements are required to be selected as the target AMF network element.

If the UPF network elements are networked in a main and standby mode, the main UPF network element in the candidate UPF network elements is required to be used as a target UPF network element, and if the UPF network elements are networked in a POOL networking mode, all the candidate UPF network elements are required to be selected as the target UPF network elements.

Referring to fig. 4, a schematic flow chart of a method for determining a core network element according to another embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown, and as shown in the drawing, the method includes:

1. core network exploration begins: the step formally enters all processes of the network elements of the core network, and is used for executing the automatic investigation method of the network elements of the core network.

2. Receiving a network element determination request, and analyzing an input factor in the request, wherein the input factor comprises: the terminal is at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal attribution, a terminal data flow unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address, and the terminal is a terminal for accessing the data network address in the slice network service area;

3. determining candidate core network elements according to the input factors, wherein the step of performing first-stage matching on the related core network elements by using data of the input factors, the related core network elements are classified according to basic network elements required by slice networking, and comprise NRF, PCF, UDM, NSSF, SMF, AMF and UPF network elements, and the step of specifically determining the candidate core network elements comprises the following steps:

if the terminal is in a roaming place, taking the NRF network elements in the areas except the roaming place in the slice network service area as first candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, and taking the NRF network elements in the areas except the roaming place in the slice network service area as second candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, wherein the candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal comprise the first candidate NRF network elements and the second candidate NRF network elements;

if the roaming access mode is a roaming place routing mode, determining a PCF network element of the home place of the terminal as a candidate PCF network element corresponding to the terminal;

if the roaming access mode is a home routing mode, determining a UDM network element in a superposition area between a service area of the slice network and a home of the terminal as a candidate UDM network element of the terminal; if the roaming access mode is a roaming place routing mode, determining a UDM network element of a home place of the terminal as a candidate UDM network element corresponding to the terminal;

determining NSSF network elements in a slice network service area as candidate NSSF network elements;

if the exclusive network element is required to be the exclusive SMF network element, taking the SMF network element which does not bear the slicing service and has the exclusive attribute in the slicing network service area as a candidate SMF network element; if the exclusive network element is required to be the non-exclusive SMF network element, taking the SMF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slice network as a candidate SMF network element;

if the exclusive network element is required to be the exclusive AMF network element, taking the AMF network element which does not bear the slice service and has the exclusive attribute in the slice network service area as a candidate AMF network element; if the exclusive network element is required to be the non-exclusive AMF network element, taking the AMF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slice network as a candidate AMF network element;

if the exclusive network element is required to be the exclusive UPF network element, the UPF network element which does not bear the slicing service and has the attribute of exclusive sharing in the slicing network service area is taken as a candidate UPF network element; and if the requirement of the exclusive network element is the non-exclusive UPF network element, taking the UPF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slicing network as the candidate UPF network element.

4. Taking the output results of the NRF, PCF, UDM, NSSF, SMF, AMF, and UPF candidate network elements as basic data, and performing a second matching by combining a disaster recovery method of the network element, where the disaster recovery method of the network element includes primary and standby, POOL networking, and the like, and the commonly deployed network elements are backed up by a principle of 1+1 primary and standby, or are load balanced and disaster recovery by means of all the POOL networks of the network elements in the area. In this step, secondary matching is performed according to the active/standby and POOL networking mechanisms of various different network elements in actual deployment, and a target core network element is output:

if the NRF network elements are networked in a master-slave manner, a master NRF network element in the candidate NRF network elements is required to be used as a target NRF network element, and if the NRF network elements are networked in a POOL networking manner, all the candidate NRF network elements are required to be selected as the target NRF network elements.

If the UPF network elements are networked in a main and standby mode, the main UPF network element in the candidate UPF network elements is required to be used as a target UPF network element, and if the UPF network elements are networked in a POOL networking mode, all the candidate UPF network elements are required to be selected as the target UPF network elements

5. Generating a target network element selection result: after the above two determinations are completed, the automatic investigation of each network element of NRF, PCF, UDM, NSSF, SMF, AMF and UPF is completed, and the step summarizes the completed automatic confirmation results of the target network elements of NRF, PCF, UDM, NSSF, SMF, AMF and UPF.

6. And (5) finishing the core network exploration: the step ends the flow of the core network element, files the flow, and outputs the result of each target network element in the core network.

An embodiment of the present application provides a device for determining a core network element, and as shown in fig. 5, the device may include: the request receiving module 101, the candidate network element determining module 102 and the target network element determining module 103 specifically:

a request receiving module 101, configured to receive a network element determination request, where the network element determination request includes at least one of a slice network service area, a home location of a terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement, and a data network address, and the terminal is a terminal accessing the data network address in the slice network service area;

a candidate network element determining module 102, configured to determine a candidate core network element of at least one type of core network element according to at least one of a slice network service area, a home location of a terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement, and a data network address;

and the target network element determining module 103 is configured to determine a disaster recovery mode of at least one type of core network element, and determine a target core network element from corresponding candidate core network elements according to the disaster recovery mode.

The apparatus for determining a core network element provided in the embodiment of the present invention specifically executes the process of the method embodiment, and please refer to the content of the method embodiment for determining a core network element in detail, which is not described herein again. The device for determining the network element of the core network provided by the embodiment of the invention receives the network element determination request, the network element determines at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal home location, a terminal data traffic unloading area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address in the request, by analyzing the slicing requirements, input factors required by the sliced core network when selecting network elements are defined, and the embodiment of the application determines the candidate core network elements according to different slicing requirements for different types of core network elements, and finally determines the target core network element from the candidate core network elements according to the disaster tolerance type of each type of core network element, thereby obviously improving the user experience and getting rid of the user from the fussy network element exploration and selection work, the method can automatically select the network elements meeting the slicing requirements for the user, and effectively improves the efficiency of core network subnet exploration.

the candidate network element determining module comprises an NRF candidate network element determining sub-module, and the NRF candidate network element determining sub-module is specifically configured to:

the candidate network element determining module comprises a PCF candidate network element determining submodule, which is specifically configured to: determining PCF network elements in a coincidence region between a service region of a slicing network and a home region of a terminal as candidate PCF network elements corresponding to the terminal

and determining the UDM network elements in the overlapping area between the service area of the slicing network and the home location of the terminal as candidate UDM network elements of the terminal.

if the exclusive network element is required to be the exclusive AMF network element, taking the AMF network element which does not bear the slicing service and has the exclusive attribute in the slicing network service area as a candidate AMF network element;

if the exclusive network element is required to be the non-exclusive AMF network element, taking the AMF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slicing network as a candidate AMF network element

An embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device, including: a memory and a processor; at least one program stored in the memory for execution by the processor, which when executed by the processor, implements: receiving a network element determination request, determining at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal home location, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address in the request by the network element, and determining input factors required by a slice core network when the network element is selected by analyzing the slice requirement.

In an alternative embodiment, an electronic device is provided, as shown in fig. 6, the electronic device 4000 shown in fig. 6 comprising: a processor 4001 and a memory 4003. Processor 4001 is coupled to memory 4003, such as via bus 4002. Optionally, the electronic device 4000 may further comprise a transceiver 4004. In addition, the transceiver 4004 is not limited to one in practical applications, and the structure of the electronic device 4000 is not limited to the embodiment of the present application.

The Processor 4001 may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a general-purpose Processor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (field programmable Gate Array) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor 4001 may also be a combination that performs a computational function, including, for example, a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, or the like.

Bus 4002 may include a path that carries information between the aforementioned components. The bus 4002 may be a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus, an EISA (Extended Industry Standard Architecture) bus, or the like. The bus 4002 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 6, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

The Memory 4003 may be a ROM (Read Only Memory) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or other optical Disc storage, optical Disc storage (including Compact Disc, laser Disc, optical Disc, digital versatile Disc, blu-ray Disc, etc.), a magnetic Disc storage medium or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these.

The memory 4003 is used for storing application codes for executing the scheme of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 4001. Processor 4001 is configured to execute application code stored in memory 4003 to implement what is shown in the foregoing method embodiments.

The present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which, when running on a computer, enables the computer to execute the corresponding content in the foregoing method embodiments. Compared with the prior art, by receiving the network element determination request, the network element determines at least one of the service area of the slice network, the attribution of the terminal, the data traffic unloading area of the terminal, the roaming access mode, the requirement of the exclusive network element and the data network address in the request, by analyzing the slicing requirements, input factors required by the sliced core network when selecting network elements are defined, and the embodiment of the application determines the candidate core network elements according to different slicing requirements for different types of core network elements, and finally determines the target core network element from the candidate core network elements according to the disaster tolerance type of each type of core network element, thereby obviously improving the user experience and getting rid of the user from the fussy network element exploration and selection work, the method can automatically select the network elements meeting the slicing requirements for the user, and effectively improves the efficiency of core network subnet exploration.

Embodiments of the present application provide a computer program, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when a processor of a computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium, the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the computer device executes the contents shown in the foregoing method embodiments. Compared with the prior art, by receiving the network element determination request, the network element determines at least one of the service area of the slice network, the attribution of the terminal, the data traffic unloading area of the terminal, the roaming access mode, the requirement of the exclusive network element and the data network address in the request, by analyzing the slicing requirements, input factors required by the sliced core network when selecting network elements are defined, and the embodiment of the application determines the candidate core network elements according to different slicing requirements for different types of core network elements, and finally determines the target core network element from the candidate core network elements according to the disaster tolerance type of each type of core network element, thereby obviously improving the user experience and getting rid of the user from the fussy network element exploration and selection work, the method can automatically select the network elements meeting the slicing requirements for the user, and effectively improves the efficiency of core network subnet exploration.

It should be understood that, although the steps in the flowcharts of the figures are shown in order as indicated by the arrows, the steps are not necessarily performed in order as indicated by the arrows. The steps are not performed in the exact order shown and may be performed in other orders unless otherwise indicated herein. Moreover, at least a portion of the steps in the flow chart of the figure may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages, which are not necessarily performed at the same time, but may be performed at different times, which are not necessarily performed in sequence, but may be performed alternately or alternately with other steps or at least a portion of the sub-steps or stages of other steps.

The foregoing is only a partial embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, various modifications and decorations can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and these modifications and decorations should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for determining a network element of a core network, comprising:

receiving a network element determination request, wherein the network element determination request comprises at least one of a slice network service area, a terminal home location, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement and a data network address, and the terminal is a terminal accessing the data network address in the slice network service area;

determining candidate core network elements of at least one type of core network elements according to at least one of the slice network service area, the home location of the terminal, the terminal data traffic unloading area, the roaming access mode, the exclusive network element requirement and the data network address;

and determining the disaster recovery mode of the at least one type of core network element, and determining a target core network element from the corresponding candidate core network elements according to the disaster recovery mode.

2. The method for determining the core network element according to claim 1, wherein the core network element comprises a network warehousing function (NRF) network element;

the determining a candidate core network element of at least one type of core network element according to at least one of the slice network service area, the home location of the terminal, the terminal data traffic offload area, the roaming access mode, the exclusive network element requirement, and the data network address includes:

judging whether the terminal is in a roaming place or not according to the attribution of the terminal and the service area of the slice network;

if the terminal is in a roaming place, taking the NRF network elements in the areas except the roaming place in the slice network service area as first candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, and taking the NRF network elements in the areas except the non-roaming place in the slice network service area as second candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal, wherein the candidate NRF network elements corresponding to the terminal comprise the first candidate NRF network elements and the second candidate NRF network elements.

3. The method of determining a network element of a core network of claim 1, wherein the network element of the core network comprises a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element;

the determining a candidate core network element of at least one type of core network element according to at least one of the slice network service area, the home location of the terminal, the terminal data traffic offload area, the roaming access mode, the requirement of an exclusive network element, and the data network address includes:

if the roaming access mode is a home routing mode, determining PCF network elements in a coincidence area between the service area of the slice network and the home of the terminal as candidate PCF network elements corresponding to the terminal;

4. The method for determining a network element of a core network according to claim 1, wherein the network element of the core network comprises a unified data management function (UDM) network element;

if the roaming access mode is an attribution routing mode, determining a UDM network element in a superposition area between the service area of the slice network and the attribution of the terminal as a candidate UDM network element of the terminal;

5. The method for determining a network element of a core network according to claim 1, wherein the network element of the core network comprises a network slice selection function NSSF network element;

and determining the NSSF network elements in the slice network service area as candidate NSSF network elements.

6. The method for determining a network element of a core network according to claim 1, wherein the network element of the core network comprises a Session Management Function (SMF) network element;

if the exclusive sharing network element is required to be the exclusive sharing SMF network element, taking the SMF network element which does not bear the slicing service and has the attribute of exclusive sharing in the slicing network service area as a candidate SMF network element;

and if the exclusive network element is required to be a non-exclusive SMF network element, taking the SMF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slice network as a candidate SMF network element.

7. The method for determining a network element of a core network according to claim 1, wherein the network element of the core network comprises an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element;

if the exclusive network element is required to be an exclusive AMF network element, taking the AMF network element which does not bear the slice service and has the exclusive attribute in the slice network service area as a candidate AMF network element;

and if the exclusive network element requirement is a non-exclusive AMF network element, taking the AMF network element with the property of non-exclusive sharing in the service area of the slice network as a candidate AMF network element.

8. The method for determining a network element of a core network according to claim 1, wherein the network element of the core network comprises a User Plane Function (UPF) network element;

if the request of the exclusive network element is an exclusive UPF network element, taking the UPF network element which does not bear the slicing service and has the attribute of exclusive sharing in the service area of the slicing network as a candidate UPF network element;

and if the requirement of the exclusive network element is a non-exclusive UPF network element, taking the UPF network element with the property of non-exclusive in the service area of the slicing network as a candidate UPF network element.

9. The method for determining a core network element according to claim 1, wherein the determining a target core network element from the corresponding candidate core network elements according to the disaster recovery manner includes:

10. An apparatus for determining a network element of a core network, comprising:

a request receiving module, configured to receive a network element determination request, where the network element determination request includes at least one of a slice network service area, a home location of a terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement, and a data network address, and the terminal is a terminal accessing the data network address in the slice network service area;

a candidate network element determining module, configured to determine a candidate core network element of at least one type of core network element according to at least one of the slice network service area, a home location of the terminal, a terminal data traffic offload area, a roaming access mode, an exclusive network element requirement, and a data network address;

and the target network element determining module is used for determining the disaster recovery mode of the at least one type of core network element and determining the target core network element from the corresponding candidate core network elements according to the disaster recovery mode.

11. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that the processor implements the steps of the method for determining a core network element according to any of claims 1 to 9 when executing the program.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that it stores computer instructions that cause the computer to perform the steps of the method for determining a core network element according to any one of claims 1 to 9.