CN116367145A

CN116367145A - Method and device for realizing multiple network numbers of core network

Info

Publication number: CN116367145A
Application number: CN202111623481.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 董嘉; 杜晓宁
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2021-12-28
Filing date: 2021-12-28
Publication date: 2023-06-30

Abstract

A method and device for realizing multi-network number of core network, the method includes: the AMF synchronizes first parameter information corresponding to a service home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) supported by the AMF to the base station, wherein the AMF supports at least two service PLMNs, and each service PLMN has the corresponding first parameter information. The invention can be applied to the scenes that a core network roaming user accesses or a plurality of operators share one set of core network elements and base stations, and the core network multi-network number can be realized by modifying and configuring updating based on the core network element functions without additionally deploying one set of core network elements, thereby greatly reducing the realization cost of the core network multi-network number.

Description

Method and device for realizing multiple network numbers of core network

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of mobile communication, in particular to a method and equipment for realizing multiple network numbers of a core network.

Background

5G core network foreign network roaming, also known as 5G core network roaming, refers to: in a Stand Alone (SA) mode, a home network side user uses a 5G service by accessing a visited network side 5G network in a roaming area. 5G access networks and core networks of both sides of the 5G core network roaming operators are independently constructed and managed, and users are independently managed.

A network providing 5G core network roaming should provide data services, voice/video services over IP multimedia system (IP Multimedia Subsystem, IMS) and short message service over IP (Short Messaging Service, SMS over IP) (IMS) to subscribers. Both operators providing the 5G core network roaming service should provide corresponding services for the roaming subscribers based on the inter-network roaming agreements.

Under the 5G independent networking (SA) network architecture, the 5G core network (5 GC) roaming adopts a home routing mode, namely, the data of the roaming user returns to the home network, and the user service is processed by the home network. The visited network and the home network are connected by a Border Gateway (BG). The roaming networking structure of the 5G core network under independent networking is shown in figure 1. The 5G core network roaming support provides roaming service for multiple operators, and users of different home network sides can access through the 5G network of the visiting network side and are connected to the 5G home core networks which are independent. The networking architecture for providing 5G core network roaming to different operators is shown in fig. 2. The reference point based 5G core network roaming network architecture is shown in fig. 3. A 5G core network roaming network architecture based on a service interface is shown in fig. 4.

At present, a scheme for realizing core network roaming among different operators requires an operator to additionally deploy a set of core network elements to serve users accessing other operators through different network roaming, so that the network deployment cost of the operator is greatly increased, and meanwhile, the management operation and maintenance cost is also increased.

Disclosure of Invention

At least one embodiment of the invention provides a method and equipment for realizing multiple network numbers of a core network, which can realize the multiple network numbers of the core network based on the function transformation and configuration updating of network elements of the core network without additionally deploying a set of network elements of the core network, thereby greatly reducing the realization cost of the multiple network numbers of the core network.

In order to solve the technical problems, the invention is realized as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network, including:

the access and mobility management function AMF synchronizes first parameter information corresponding to a service home public land mobile network PLMN supported by the AMF to a base station, wherein the AMF supports at least two service PLMNs, and each service PLMN has first parameter information corresponding to each service PLMN.

Optionally, the first parameter information corresponding to the serving PLMN supported by the base station is synchronized to the base station, specifically:

sending first parameter information corresponding to the at least two service PLMNs to a base station through an NG establishment response message, wherein the first parameter information comprises: the globally unique AMF identifies the GUAMI and, hence, the network number of the serving PLMN.

Optionally, each serving PLMN has a respective access control policy.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the AMF receives a registration request message of a first terminal sent by a base station, wherein the registration request message carries the network number of a first service PLMN to which the first terminal requests to access;

the AMF determines a first access control strategy corresponding to a first service PLMN according to the first service PLMN which the first terminal requests to access, and performs access control on the first terminal according to the first access control strategy and a first home PLMN to which a user of the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, the AMF includes at least two AMF instances, each AMF instance corresponding to a serving PLMN supported by the AMF; the method further comprises the steps of:

after the AMF receives the registration request message of the first terminal, determining a first AMF instance corresponding to a first service PLMN which the first terminal requests to access, and performing access control on the first terminal by the first AMF instance, wherein in the access control process, the message sent by the first AMF instance carries information of the first AMF instance.

Optionally, performing access control on the first terminal according to the first access control policy and a first home PLMN to which the user of the first terminal belongs, including:

And judging whether to accept the registration of the terminal of the first home PLMN according to the first access control strategy, and accepting or rejecting the registration of the first terminal according to the judgment result.

Optionally, part or all of PLMNs in the at least two service PLMNs are configured with the same or different equivalent EPLMN lists; the method further comprises the steps of:

and the AMF determines a first equivalent EPLMN list corresponding to the first service PLMN according to the first service PLMN registered by the first terminal, and sends the first equivalent EPLMN list to the first terminal.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

and respectively counting network management index data corresponding to each service PLMN according to each service PLMN supported by the AMF.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the AMF carries the capability information supported by the at least two service PLMNs when registering the service with the network storage function NRF, wherein the capability information comprises at least one of the following components: PLMN, gui, tracking area identity TAI, TAI range, single network slice selection assistance information S-nsai.

Optionally, at least one of the following is further included:

the session management function SMF has a multi-PLMN supporting capability, and when the SMF registers with the NRF, the SMF carries second parameter information supported by each PLMN, where the second parameter information includes at least one of the following: PLMN, S-NSSAI, TAI, TAI range;

The NRF is configured with the supporting capability of multiple PLMN network numbers, and when receiving a service registration message, the NRF executes a service management function according to one or more information in PLMN, S-NSSAI, TAI and TAI ranges carried in the service registration message;

when the NRF receives the service discovery request message, according to the PLMN carried in the service discovery request message, searching a corresponding target network element in a registered PLMN list, and returning a service discovery response message for indicating the target network element.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the AMF conceals the supporting capability of the AMF to a plurality of service PLMNs from a first core network element, and only indicates a specified service PLMN and corresponding third parameter information thereof supported by the AMF to the first core network element when indicating the service PLMNs supported by the AMF to the first core network element, and does not indicate other service PLMNs and corresponding third parameter information thereof except the specified service PLMNs; wherein the third parameter information includes at least one of: TAI, GUAMI, S-NSSAI.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network, including:

the base station receives first parameter information corresponding to at least two service PLMNs supported by the AMF, wherein each service PLMN has the corresponding first parameter information.

Optionally, receiving first parameter information corresponding to at least two service PLMNs supported by the AMF and synchronized by the AMF includes:

receiving first parameter information corresponding to the at least two service PLMNs and sent by the AMF through an NG establishment response message, where the first parameter information includes: the globally unique AMF identifies the GUAMI and, hence, the network number of the serving PLMN.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an AMF comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein,

the processor is configured to synchronize, with the base station, first parameter information corresponding to a serving home public land mobile network PLMN supported by the base station through the transceiver, where the AMF supports at least two serving PLMNs, and each serving PLMN has first parameter information corresponding to the serving PLMN.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an AMF, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method as described in the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, including a transceiver and a processor, where,

the processor is configured to receive, through the transceiver, first parameter information corresponding to at least two serving PLMNs supported by the AMF and synchronized by the AMF, where each serving PLMN has respective first parameter information.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a base station, including: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor implements the steps of the method as described in the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a program which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method as described above.

Compared with the prior art, the method and the device for realizing the core network multi-network number can be applied to the scenes that a core network roaming user accesses or a plurality of operators share one set of core network elements and base stations. In addition, the embodiment of the invention mainly needs to perform functional modification on the AMF, other network elements can support the multi-network number capability only by adding configuration based on the existing functions, and the modification complexity is low.

Drawings

Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting the invention. Also, like reference numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the figures. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a standalone networking (SA) 5G core network roaming;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture for providing roaming of a 5G core network to different operators;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture for reference point-based 5G core network roaming;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a network architecture for 5G core network roaming based on service interfaces;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of an implementation method of a core network multi-network number applied to an AMF according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 6 is an exemplary diagram of first parameter information corresponding to an AMF and a base station synchronization service PLMN in an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network in an embodiment of the present invention when applied to a base station;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an AMF according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an AMF according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an AMF according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of an AMF according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be 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 invention to those skilled in the art.

The terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar objects and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged where appropriate such that embodiments of the present application described herein may be capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein, for example. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. "and/or" in the specification and claims means at least one of the connected objects.

At present, the core network roaming scene adopts an international roaming scheme, but the actual application scene belongs to a domestic roaming scene and is essentially different from international roaming. In an international roaming scenario, for example, a user of carrier a in china roams to the united states, the base station in the united states only broadcasts the network number of the united states carrier, no carrier a home network number exists, the network number is not in the forbidden public land mobile network (Forbidden Public Land Mobile Network, FPLMN) list of the terminal, and on the premise that the two-country carrier signs a roaming agreement, the user can access from the base station of the united states carrier and realize service access through the international roaming scheme.

In the domestic roaming scenario, the base stations of operators A, B and C exist in China at the same time to broadcast the network numbers of three operators, and in order to avoid interference of the local network user by the network numbers broadcast by other operators, the network numbers of the other two operators are listed in an FPLMN list in the subscriber identification module (Subscriber Identity Module, SIM) card of the three operators so as to inhibit terminal access. Under this premise, in the area without home network signal, if the user of the operator B/C wants to access the base station of the operator a through the core network roaming scheme, there are two possible schemes:

1) The base station of the operator A broadcasts the network number (such as network number 1) of the operator A, and the user of the operator B/C changes the SIM card to remove the network number 1 from the FPLMN list

2) In addition to broadcasting the network number of carrier a, the base station of carrier a needs to additionally broadcast a new network number, such as network number 2, that is not in the SIM card FPLMN list of carrier B/C.

From the user experience perspective, card replacement is not friendly, scheme 1 is not adopted, and scheme 2 is adopted as a final scheme by the existing network. However, from the perspective of the operator, scheme 2 also introduces the problem of the core network supporting multiple network numbers.

In view of the above-mentioned needs, according to the prior art, the problem that the core network supports multiple network numbers can be solved by the following scheme: an operator (e.g., operator a) needs to additionally deploy a set of core network elements, including access and mobility management functions (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), session management functions (Session Management Function, SMF), network storage functions (Network Repository Function, NRF), network slice selection function entities (Network Slice Selection Function, NSSF), etc., to support home HPLMN (Home PLMN) of network number 2 as a service, serving other operators (e.g., operators B/C) as heterogeneous roaming access subscribers. The deployed core network element of the existing network still supports the HPLMN with the network number 1 as a service, and serves the home network user of the operator A.

Although the above scheme does not involve network element function transformation, a set of core network elements for the different network roaming of the core network needs to be newly deployed, which introduces additional network deployment cost overhead, and simultaneously, the network management operation and maintenance cost is greatly increased.

Aiming at the problems, the embodiment of the invention provides a method for realizing the multi-network number of the core network, which can support the access of a roaming user of the core network based on the function transformation and configuration updating of the core network element of the existing network without additionally deploying a set of core network element, thereby greatly reducing the realization cost of the roaming of the core network. The method can be adapted to networks including 5G SA.

Referring to fig. 5, a method for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network according to an embodiment of the present invention, when applied to AMF, includes:

in step 51, the AMF synchronizes first parameter information corresponding to the serving PLMNs supported by the AMF to the base station, where the AMF supports at least two serving PLMNs, and each serving PLMN has first parameter information corresponding to each serving PLMN.

Here, the AMF transmits first parameter information of at least two serving PLMNs supported by the AMF to the base station, and the base station may broadcast network numbers of all or part of PLMNs in the at least two serving PLMNs for access by the terminal. Optionally, the at least two serving PLMNs are not equivalent PLMNs.

Through the above steps, the embodiment of the present invention enhances the function of the AMF to support at least two service PLMNs, where the service PLMNs have first parameter information corresponding to each other, and the first parameter information may specifically include: a globally unique AMF identification (Globally Unique AMF Identifier, GUAMI), and a network number of the serving PLMN. That is, the GUAMI corresponding to different service PLMNs is different, and the network numbers corresponding to different service PLMNs are also different.

Through the steps, the embodiment of the invention enhances the functions of the AMF, so that the AMF can support a plurality of service PLMNs, and the service PLMNs have the corresponding first parameter information, thereby realizing a solution of the core network multi-network number.

As shown in fig. 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, the AMF may send first parameter information corresponding to the serving PLMN supported by the AMF to the base station during the process of establishing NG connection with the base station, for example, the AMF may send first parameter information corresponding to the at least two serving PLMNs to the base station through an NG establishment response message (NG SETUP RESPONSE).

Here, there are various implementations for transmitting the first parameter information corresponding to the at least two service PLMNs, for example, the guim and the PLMN network number corresponding to each service PLMN are respectively transmitted, that is, the guim and the PLMN network number corresponding to each service PLMN are respectively transmitted as a set of parameters. Taking two serving PLMNs as an example, at this time (GUAMI 1, PLMN 1) and (GUAMI 2, PLMN 2) may be sent. For another example, the guim corresponding to all the serving PLMNs may be sent, and the PLMN network numbers corresponding to all the serving PLMNs may be sent. For example, transmissions Served GUAMI Item and PLMN Support Item, wherein Served GUAMI Item includes GUMAI1 and GUMAI2, PLMN Support Item includes PLMN1 and PLMN2.

In the embodiment of the invention, in order to realize differentiated access control, each service PLMN has a corresponding access control strategy. In particular, different serving PLMNs may have the same or different access control policies.

Further, the AMF may receive a registration request message of the first terminal sent by the base station, where the registration request message carries a network number of the first serving PLMN to which the first terminal requests to access. And then, the AMF determines a first access control strategy corresponding to the first service PLMN according to the first service PLMN which the first terminal requests to access, and performs access control on the first terminal according to the first access control strategy and a first home PLMN to which a user of the first terminal belongs.

Here, the AMF may determine whether to accept the registration of the terminal of the first home PLMN according to the first access control policy, and accept or reject the registration of the first terminal according to the determination result.

For example, when the first terminal accesses the first serving PLMN, if the first access control policy corresponding to the first serving PLMN does not allow the terminal of the first home PLMN to access, the AMF will reject the registration request of the first terminal. For another example, if the first access control policy allows access by the terminal of the first home PLMN, the AMF may accept the registration request of the first terminal and continue with the subsequent protocol data unit (Protocol Data Unit, PDU) session establishment procedure.

As an implementation manner, the embodiment of the present invention may generate one AMF instance for each service PLMN supported by the AMF, that is, each AMF instance corresponds to one service PLMN supported by the AMF. The AMF embodiment externally embodied by the AMF is determined according to the PLMN network number accessed by the terminal. For example, after receiving the registration request message of the first terminal, the AMF determines a first AMF instance corresponding to a first service PLMN to which the first terminal requests access, and then the first AMF instance performs access control on the first terminal, where in the access control process, the message sent by the first AMF instance carries information of the first AMF instance, so that the first AMF instance is externally reflected. Specifically, the information of the first AMF instance may include at least one of the following information: information such as a network number of a serving PLMN corresponding to the first AMF instance, a guim, a tracking area identifier (Tracking Area Identity, TAI), single network slice selection assistance information (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, S-NSSAI), and the like.

In the embodiment of the present invention, an equivalent PLMN (Equivalent Public Land Mobile Network, EPLMN) list may also be configured for the serving PLMN, where the EPLMN list includes one or more PLMNs that are equivalent. It should be noted that the EPLMN list may be flexibly configured. For example, the EPLMN list may not be configured for any serving PLMN, or the respective corresponding EPLMN list may be configured for some or all of the serving PLMNs of the AMF. The EPLMN lists configured by different service PLMNs may be the same or different, which is not particularly limited in the embodiment of the present invention. The AMF may further determine a first equivalent EPLMN list corresponding to the first serving PLMN according to a first serving PLMN registered by the first terminal, and send the first equivalent EPLMN list to the first terminal. Of course, the AMF may not issue the first equivalent EPLMN list to the first terminal.

After introducing a plurality of service PLMNs, the embodiment of the invention can respectively count the network management index data corresponding to each service PLMN according to each service PLMN supported by the AMF. These network management index data include delay, packet loss rate, etc.

In addition, the AMF in the embodiment of the present invention further needs to perform service registration with the NRF, where when performing service registration, the AMF may carry capability information supported by the at least two serving PLMNs in a service registration message, where the capability information includes at least one of the following: PLMN, GUMAI, TAI, TAI range (TAI range), S-NSSAI, etc.

After introducing the supporting capability of the AMF to the multiple service PLMNs, the SMF in the core network may also introduce the supporting capability to the multiple PLMNs, where the SMF has the supporting capability to the multiple PLMNs, and when the SMF registers with the NRF, the SMF may carry, in a service registration message, second parameter information supported by each PLMN, where the second parameter information includes at least one of: PLMN, S-NSSAI, TAI, TAI range, etc.

Similarly, the NRF may also configure the support capability of multiple PLMN codes, so that when the NRF receives a service registration message from another core network element (such as AMF, SMF, etc.), the NRF performs a service management function according to one or more information of PLMN, S-nsai, TAI and TAI range carried in the service registration message.

In addition, when the NRF receives service discovery request messages from other core network elements (such as AMF, SMF, etc.), the NRF may find a corresponding target network element from the registered PLMN list according to the PLMN carried in the service discovery request message, and return a service discovery response message for indicating the target network element.

In some scenarios, it may be desirable for the AMF to hide the AMF's support capability for multiple service PLMNs from some core network elements, for example, the AMF hides the AMF's support capability for multiple service PLMNs from a first core network element, where when the AMF indicates to the first core network element the service PLMNs supported by the AMF, only indicates to the first core network element one specified service PLMN and its corresponding third parameter information supported by the AMF, and does not indicate other service PLMNs other than the specified service PLMN and its corresponding third parameter information; wherein the third parameter information includes at least one of: TAI, GUAMI, S-NSSAI, etc. Here, the first core network element may be preconfigured and may be one or more. The specified serving PLMN may also be preconfigured, and in particular, may be one of a plurality of serving PLMNs supported by the AMF.

Referring to fig. 7, a method for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network according to an embodiment of the present invention includes, when applied to a base station side:

in step 71, the base station receives first parameter information corresponding to at least two service PLMNs supported by the AMF, where each service PLMN has first parameter information corresponding to each service PLMN.

Here, the base station may receive, through an NG establishment response message, first parameter information corresponding to the at least two serving PLMNs sent by the AMF, where the first parameter information may specifically include: GUAMI and the network number of the serving PLMN. In addition, the GUAMI corresponding to different service PLMNs may be different, and the network numbers corresponding to different service PLMNs may be different.

Through the steps, the embodiment of the invention enhances the functions of the AMF, so that the AMF can support a plurality of service PLMNs, and synchronizes the first parameter information corresponding to the service PLMNs supported by the AMF to the base station, so that the base station can broadcast the network numbers of one or more PLMNs in the at least two service PLMNs for the terminal to access, thereby realizing a solution of the core network multi-network number.

From the above, it can be seen that the AMF network element in the embodiment of the present invention supports multiple network numbers that can be used for broadcasting by the base station, and performs differentiated access control based on different access network numbers. Here, the multiple network numbers may be multiple network numbers of one operator, or network numbers of different operators.

The above method will be exemplified by a certain operator a.

1) It is assumed that the AMF of the current operator a supports a plurality of serving PLMNs (e.g. network number 1, network number 3, network number 4), but can only support one serving PLMN for radio broadcasting (e.g. network number 1), which are all peer-to-peer. To support core network roaming, in this example, the AMF needs to support multiple serving PLMNs and support multiple serving PLMNs for wireless broadcast (such as network number 1 and network number 2), and network number 1 and network number 2 are not equivalent, i.e., they are not EPLMNs. When the AMF and the wireless side interact through the NG SETUP message, the supporting capability of the AMF to the network number 1 and the network number 2 is synchronized to the wireless side, and when the supporting capability is synchronized, first parameter information corresponding to the two network numbers, such as GUAMI and PLMN network numbers, can be sent.

2) The configuration related to the home network PLMN locally related to the AMF of the prior art can only relate to one PLMN, the AMF will carry this PLMN related information at each interface, and the guim also contains this PLMN information, such as network number 1. To support core network roaming, the AMF of this example may be virtualized into two (or more) AMF instances, where the home PLMN of one AMF instance is configured with network number 1 and the home PLMN of the other AMF instance is configured with network number 2, so that users of both (or more) PLMNs may be served separately.

3) Based on the multi-network number support capability mentioned in 1, AMF further enhances the ability to support differentiated access control through different access network numbers, and determines admission logic through a combination of the user's PLMN (e.g., PLMN in SUPI) and the accessed PLMN. If a user such as operator B, C accesses network number 1 network number broadcast by the base station of operator a, the AMF may refuse access; the AMF may allow access if the network number 2 network number broadcast by the base station of operator a is accessed. For another example, if the user who is diffused in the united states accesses the network number 1 broadcast by the base station of the operator a, the AMF allows access; if the network number 2 network number broadcast by the base station of the operator A is accessed, the AMF refuses the access.

4) Based on the multi-network number support capability mentioned in 1, AMF further enhances support of configuring different EPLMN lists based on different access network numbers, and issues required PLMNs to user terminals (UE) in a registration accept message and a registration update response message in the 5G network. For example, the user of the operator B, C accesses the network number 2 broadcast by the base station of the operator a, and the AMF does not issue the EPLMN list; the USA diffuse-in user is accessed by the network number 3 broadcasted by the base station of the operator A, and the AMF issues the EPLMN list carrying the network number 1.

5) Based on the capability of supporting multiple service PLMN network numbers mentioned in 1, the present example can implement multidimensional index statistics based on different access PLMNs from the network management level and the index analysis statistics level of the operator.

6) After the AMF increases the configuration supporting a plurality of service PLMN network numbers, parameters such as a supported multi-PLMN list (such as network number 1 and network number 2), TAI of the multi-PLMN, S-NSSAI of the multi-PLMN and the like are carried when the AMF carries out service registration to the NRF, DNN OI is not carried, and meanwhile, users accessing to different network numbers are supported. (configuration increases only, no innovation points are involved)

In this example, the configuration that may be added for other network elements is as follows:

1) The SMF network element supports the supporting capability of configuring multiple network numbers, carries the supported parameters such as a multiple PLMN list (such as network number 1 and network number 2), TAI of multiple PLMNs, S-NSSAI of multiple PLMNs and the like when registering services to NRF, does not carry DNN OI, and simultaneously should support users accessing different network numbers.

2) The NRF network element configuration supports the capability of multiple network numbers, can process parameters such as a multiple PLMN list, TAI of multiple PLMNs, S-NSSAI of multiple PLMNs and the like carried in network element service registration, and correctly execute service management functions such as NF instance registration, updating, deregistration, NF/service state subscription and notification, NF/service state deregistration and the like.

In this example, for the core network roaming scenario, the multiple network numbers are actually all served by the same operator, and on the premise that the operator can consider the multiple network number hiding function of the AMF, so as to avoid the configuration influence on the SMF and the NRF. For example, in the case where the AMF conceals multiple network numbers from the outside, no matter the user accesses the AMF through network number 1 or network number 2, the AMF only reflects network number 1 to other core network elements (e.g. SMF, NRF, NSSF). However, considering the authentication requirement, the AMF should embody the true access network number for the authentication service function (Authentication Server Function, AUSF), i.e. embody the network number 2 in the user access scenario of the operator B, C.

In summary, in the above method according to the embodiment of the present invention, the AMF configures parameters such as a plurality of broadcasted service PLMNs, GUAMI, and the like, and the PLMN selected based on the radio access carries corresponding discovery parameters when discovering services. The base station broadcasts multiple network numbers, and under the condition of connecting the same AMF, the AMF can support network number differentiation configuration access control capability based on user access, so that users in specific number segments are ensured to be only allowed to access through a first designated network number (such as network number 2), and other heterogeneous roaming users are ensured to access through a second designated network number. . In addition, the AMF in the embodiment of the invention supports the configuration of PLMNs based on different wireless access networks to issue EPLMN lists, and can also hide multiple network numbers (i.e. embody network number 1 and network number 2) for AUSF or AUSF and UDM, but hide multiple network numbers (i.e. embody network number 1) for other network elements, thereby improving the configuration flexibility and reducing the configuration workload of network elements such as SMF, NRF and the like. According to the implementation scheme of the core network multi-network number, a set of core network elements does not need to be additionally deployed, so that the network deployment cost is saved, and the network management and maintenance are facilitated. In addition, the embodiment of the invention mainly needs to perform functional modification on the AMF, other network elements can support the multi-network number capability only by adding configuration based on the existing functions, and the modification complexity of the scheme is low.

The foregoing describes various methods of embodiments of the present invention. An apparatus for carrying out the above method is further provided below.

Referring to fig. 8, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an AMF 800, including:

a first synchronization module 801, configured to synchronize first parameter information corresponding to a serving home public land mobile network PLMN supported by the AMF to a base station, where the AMF supports at least two serving PLMNs, and each serving PLMN has first parameter information corresponding to the serving PLMN.

Optionally, the first synchronization module is further configured to send, to the base station, first parameter information corresponding to the at least two serving PLMNs through an NG establishment response message, where the first parameter information includes: the globally unique AMF identifies the GUAMI and, hence, the network number of the serving PLMN.

Optionally, each serving PLMN has a respective access control policy.

Optionally, the AMF further comprises:

the first receiving module is used for receiving a registration request message of a first terminal sent by a base station, wherein the registration request message carries a network number of a first service PLMN to which the first terminal requests to access;

the first control module is used for determining a first access control strategy corresponding to a first service PLMN according to the first service PLMN which the first terminal requests to access, and performing access control on the first terminal according to the first access control strategy and a first home PLMN to which a user of the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, the AMF includes at least two AMF instances, each AMF instance corresponding to a serving PLMN supported by the AMF; the first control module is further configured to:

after receiving the registration request message of the first terminal, determining a first AMF instance corresponding to a first service PLMN which the first terminal requests to access, and performing access control on the first terminal by the first AMF instance, wherein in the access control process, the message sent by the first AMF instance carries information of the first AMF instance.

Optionally, the first control module is further configured to determine whether to accept the registration of the terminal of the first home PLMN according to the first access control policy, and accept or reject the registration of the first terminal according to a determination result.

Optionally, part or all of PLMNs in the at least two service PLMNs are configured with the same or different equivalent EPLMN lists; the AMF further comprises:

and the first sending module is used for determining a first equivalent EPLMN list corresponding to the first service PLMN according to the first service PLMN registered by the first terminal, and sending the first equivalent EPLMN list to the first terminal.

Optionally, the AMF further comprises:

and the statistics module is used for respectively counting network management index data corresponding to each service PLMN according to each service PLMN supported by the AMF.

Optionally, the AMF further comprises:

the registration module is configured to carry capability information supported by the at least two serving PLMNs when performing service registration with a network storage function NRF, where the capability information includes at least one of the following: PLMN, gui, tracking area identity TAI, TAI range, single network slice selection assistance information S-nsai.

Optionally, the core network in which the AMF is located further includes at least one of the following network elements:

an SMF having support capability of multiple PLMNs, wherein the SMF, when registering with an NRF, carries second parameter information supported by each PLMN, the second parameter information including at least one of: PLMN, S-NSSAI, TAI, TAI range;

an NRF with supporting capability of multiple PLMN network numbers, wherein when receiving a service registration message, the NRF executes a service management function according to one or more information in PLMN, S-NSSAI, TAI and TAI ranges carried in the service registration message;

Optionally, the AMF further comprises:

a hiding processing module, configured to hide, from a first core network element, a supporting capability of the AMF for a plurality of service PLMNs, and when indicating, to the first core network element, a service PLMN supported by the AMF, only indicate, to the first core network element, a specified service PLMN supported by the AMF and corresponding third parameter information thereof, and not indicate other service PLMNs other than the specified service PLMN and corresponding third parameter information thereof; wherein the third parameter information includes at least one of: TAI, GUAMI, S-NSSAI.

The apparatus in this embodiment corresponds to the method shown in fig. 5, and the implementation manner in each embodiment is applicable to the embodiment of the apparatus, so that the same technical effects can be achieved. The device provided by the embodiment of the invention can realize all the method steps realized by the embodiment of the method and can achieve the same technical effects, and the parts and the beneficial effects which are the same as those of the embodiment of the method in the embodiment are not described in detail.

Referring to fig. 9, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an AMF 900, including: a transceiver 901 and a processor 902;

The processor 902 is configured to synchronize, with the base station, first parameter information corresponding to a serving home public land mobile network PLMN supported by the base station through the transceiver 901, where the AMF supports at least two serving PLMNs, and each serving PLMN has first parameter information corresponding to the serving PLMN.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to send, to the base station, first parameter information corresponding to the at least two serving PLMNs through an NG establishment response message, where the first parameter information includes: the globally unique AMF identifies the GUAMI and, hence, the network number of the serving PLMN.

Optionally, each serving PLMN has a respective access control policy.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

receiving a registration request message of a first terminal sent by a base station, wherein the registration request message carries a network number of a first service PLMN to which the first terminal requests to access;

determining a first access control strategy corresponding to a first service PLMN according to the first service PLMN which the first terminal requests to access, and performing access control on the first terminal according to the first access control strategy and a first home PLMN to which a user of the first terminal belongs.

Optionally, the AMF includes at least two AMF instances, each AMF instance corresponding to a serving PLMN supported by the AMF; the processor is further configured to:

Optionally, the processor is further configured to determine whether to accept the registration of the terminal of the first home PLMN according to the first access control policy, and accept or reject the registration of the first terminal according to a determination result.

Optionally, part or all of PLMNs in the at least two service PLMNs are configured with the same or different equivalent EPLMN lists; the processor is further configured to determine a first equivalent EPLMN list corresponding to the first serving PLMN according to the first serving PLMN registered by the first terminal, and send the first equivalent EPLMN list to the first terminal.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to respectively count network management index data corresponding to each service PLMN according to each service PLMN supported by the AMF.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to carry capability information supported by the at least two serving PLMNs when registering services with a network storage function NRF, where the capability information includes at least one of the following: PLMN, gui, tracking area identity TAI, TAI range, single network slice selection assistance information S-nsai.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to hide, from a first core network element, a supporting capability of the AMF for a plurality of service PLMNs, and when the service PLMNs supported by the AMF are indicated to the first core network element, only indicate, to the first core network element, a specified service PLMN and corresponding third parameter information supported by the AMF, and not indicate other service PLMNs other than the specified service PLMN and corresponding third parameter information; wherein the third parameter information includes at least one of: TAI, GUAMI, S-NSSAI.

Referring to fig. 10, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a base station 1000, including:

the first receiving module 1001 is configured to receive first parameter information corresponding to at least two service PLMNs supported by the AMF and synchronized by the AMF, where each service PLMN has respective corresponding first parameter information.

Optionally, the first receiving module is further configured to receive, through an NG establishment response message, first parameter information corresponding to the at least two serving PLMNs sent by the AMF, where the first parameter information includes: the globally unique AMF identifies the GUAMI and, hence, the network number of the serving PLMN.

Optionally, the base station further includes:

and the broadcasting module is used for broadcasting the network numbers of one or more PLMNs in the at least two service PLMNs.

The apparatus in this embodiment corresponds to the method shown in fig. 7, and the implementation manner in each embodiment is applicable to the embodiment of the apparatus, so that the same technical effects can be achieved. The device provided by the embodiment of the invention can realize all the method steps realized by the embodiment of the method and can achieve the same technical effects, and the parts and the beneficial effects which are the same as those of the embodiment of the method in the embodiment are not described in detail.

Referring to fig. 11, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network device 1100, including: a transceiver 1101 and a processor 1102;

the processor 1102 is configured to receive, through the transceiver 1101, first parameter information corresponding to at least two serving PLMNs supported by the AMF and synchronized by the AMF, where each serving PLMN has respective first parameter information.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to receive, through an NG establishment response message, first parameter information corresponding to the at least two serving PLMNs sent by the AMF, where the first parameter information includes: the globally unique AMF identifies the GUAMI and, hence, the network number of the serving PLMN.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to broadcast network numbers of one or more PLMNs of the at least two serving PLMNs.

Referring to fig. 12, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an AMF 1200, which includes a processor 1201, a memory 1202, and a computer program stored in the memory 1202 and capable of running on the processor 1201, where the computer program, when executed by the processor 1201, implements each process of the embodiment of the method for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network by the AMF, and can achieve the same technical effect, and for avoiding repetition, will not be described herein.

Referring to fig. 13, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a base station 1300, including a processor 1301, a memory 1302, and a computer program stored in the memory 1302 and capable of running on the processor 1301, where the computer program when executed by the processor 1301 implements each process of the above embodiment of the method for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network by the base station, and can achieve the same technical effect, so that repetition is avoided and redundant description is omitted herein.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a computer readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which when executed by a processor, implements each process of the above-mentioned method embodiment for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network, and can achieve the same technical effect, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here. Wherein the computer readable storage medium is selected from Read-Only Memory (ROM), random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), magnetic disk or optical disk.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

From the above description of the embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiment method may be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, but of course may also be implemented by means of hardware, but in many cases the former is a preferred embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium (e.g. ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) comprising instructions for causing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to perform the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and many forms may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention and the scope of the claims, which are to be protected by the present invention.

Claims

1. The method for realizing the multi-network number of the core network is characterized by comprising the following steps of:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein synchronizing to the base station the first parameter information corresponding to the serving PLMN supported by the base station is:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each serving PLMN has a respective access control policy.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

5. The method of claim 4, wherein,

the AMF comprises at least two AMF instances, and each AMF instance corresponds to one service PLMN supported by the AMF; the method further comprises the steps of:

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the access control for the first terminal according to the first access control policy and a first home PLMN to which the user of the first terminal is home, comprises:

7. The method of claim 1, wherein,

a part of PLMNs or all PLMNs in the at least two service PLMNs are configured with the same or different equivalent EPLMN lists; the method further comprises the steps of:

The AMF determines a first equivalent EPLMN list corresponding to a first service PLMN according to the first service PLMN registered by the first terminal, and sends the first equivalent EPLMN list to the first terminal.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

11. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

12. A method for implementing multiple network numbers of a core network, comprising:

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving first parameter information corresponding to at least two serving PLMNs supported by the AMF in synchronization with the AMF comprises:

14. An AMF comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein,

15. An AMF, comprising: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor, performs the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

16. A base station comprising a transceiver and a processor, wherein,

17. A base station, comprising: a processor, a memory and a program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor performs the steps of the method according to any one of claims 12 to 13.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, which computer program, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.