WO2023124685A1

WO2023124685A1 - Pcc policy control method, pcf, smf, and communication system

Info

Publication number: WO2023124685A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/134424
Authority: WO
Inventors: 顾晓蕴
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2021-12-31
Filing date: 2022-11-25
Publication date: 2023-07-06
Also published as: CN116419170A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application relate to a PCC policy control method, a PCF, an SMF, and a communication system. The PCC policy control method comprises: according to user information currently reported by a session management function (SMF) and subscription information of a user acquired from a unified data repository function (UDR), determining a user group to which the user belongs; issuing to the SMF a group policy of the user group to which the user belongs, so that the SMF executes the group policy for the user, the group policy comprising a PCC policy shared by users within the group.

Description

PCC strategy control method, PCF, SMF and communication system

related application

This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application with application number 202111672989.7 filed on December 31, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The embodiment of the present application relates to the technical field of 5G communication, and in particular to a method for controlling a PCC strategy, a PCF, an SMF, and a communication system.

Background technique

In the era of mobile Internet, operators are faced with the strong challenge of Internet companies surpassing operators to develop various video and data service businesses (Over The Top, OTT) based on the open Internet. In order to avoid pipelining, operators need to strengthen the refined operation capability of data services, optimize the use of network resources, improve the intelligence level of the network, improve user experience, and enhance competitiveness. To achieve this goal, operators need to implement unified, multi-dimensional policy control in network operations.

In the current 5G communication scenario, policy control and billing control are performed based on the PDU (Protocol Data Unit, protocol data unit) session granularity. After the user establishes a PDU session, the policy control function (Policy Control Functionality, PCF) is issued for the PDU session. Session management policy, PCC policy and control charging (Policy Control and Charging, PCC) control on the session, but cannot control a group of users as a whole.

Contents of the invention

The main purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a PCC policy control method, PCF, SMF and communication system, which can perform unified policy control on users of a user group.

In order to at least achieve the above purpose, an embodiment of the present application provides a PCC policy control method, which is applied to the policy control function PCF, including: according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the user information obtained from the unified data warehouse function UDR the subscription information of the user to determine the user group to which the user belongs; the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs is sent to the SMF for the SMF to implement the group policy for the user, wherein the group policy Including policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group.

In order to at least achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application also provides a PCC policy control method, which is applied to the session management function SMF, including: reporting the user information of the current user to the policy control function PCF, and providing the PCF with the user information based on the user information and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR to determine the user group to which the user belongs; receive the group policy of the user group to which the PCF issues, wherein the group policy includes User-shared policy control and charging PCC policy; enforces said group policy for said user.

In order to at least achieve the above purpose, an embodiment of the present application also provides a PCC policy control method, which is applied to the user plane function UPF, including: receiving the group policy of the user group issued by the session management function SMF, wherein the group policy The policy control function PCF determines the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR, and the group policy includes Shared policy control and charging PCC policy; enforces the group policy for the user.

In order to at least achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application also provides a PCF, including: a determining module, configured to determine the The user group to which the user belongs; a sending module, configured to send the group policy of the user group to the SMF for the SMF to execute the group policy for the user, wherein the group Policies include policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group.

In order to at least achieve the above purpose, an embodiment of the present application also provides an SMF, including: a reporting module, configured to report the user information of the current user to the policy control function PCF, for the PCF to use the user information based on the user information and from the unified data warehouse The subscription information of the user obtained in the function UDR determines the user group to which the user belongs; the receiving module is configured to receive the group policy of the user group to which the PCF issues, wherein the group policy includes the user in the group Shared policy control and charging PCC policy; an execution module, configured to execute the group policy for the user.

In order to at least achieve the above purpose, an embodiment of the present application further provides a UPF, including: a receiving module, configured to receive the group policy of the user group issued by the session management function SMF, wherein the group policy is the policy control function PCF according to The user information currently reported by the SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR determine the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs, and the group policy includes policy control and calculation shared by users in the group. No PCC policy; an execution module, configured to execute the group policy for the user.

In order to at least achieve the above purpose, an embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, including: at least one processor; and a memory connected to the at least one processor in communication; wherein, the memory stores information that can be used by the Instructions executed by at least one processor, the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, so that the at least one processor can execute the above-mentioned control method applied to the PCC policy of the policy control function PCF, or execute the above-mentioned control method applied to the session The control method of the PCC policy of the management function SMF, or the control method of executing the above-mentioned PCC policy applied to the user plane function UPF.

In order to achieve at least the above object, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned control method of the PCC policy applied to the policy control function PCF is implemented, Or implement the above PCC policy control method applied to the session management function SMF, or implement the above PCC policy control method applied to the user plane function UPF.

The PCC policy control method proposed in the embodiment of the present application determines the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR; The group policy is sent to the SMF for the SMF to implement the group policy for the user. The group policy includes the policy control and charging PCC policy shared by the users in the group, that is, the PCF in the embodiment of the application can report the user information and information from the SMF through the SMF. The contract information obtained in the unified data warehouse function UDR determines the user group to which the user belongs. Among them, the user group is not a field of the agreement, but is flexibly defined based on the attributes of the user, and then the group policy of the user group is sent to SMF, SMF The user group can be controlled and billed according to the group policy. While reducing the signaling interaction between network elements, the unified policy control of the user group is realized, and the user group can be flexibly defined to meet various scenarios. Under the requirements of unified policy control for user groups.

Description of drawings

One or more embodiments are exemplified by corresponding pictures in the drawings, and these exemplifications do not constitute a limitation to the embodiments, and elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings represent similar elements, Unless otherwise stated, the drawings in the drawings are not limited to scale.

Figure 1 is an architecture diagram of a 5G system;

Fig. 2 is a flow chart 1 of a control method of a PCC strategy provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is an overall architecture diagram of a PCC strategy provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a second flow chart of a PCC strategy control method provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart three of a PCC strategy control method provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is an interaction flowchart 1 of a method for controlling a PCC strategy provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is an interactive flow chart II of a PCC strategy control method provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the association between a PDU session policy and a group policy of a user group;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a PCF provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an SMF provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram of a UPF provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 12 is a structural diagram of a communication system provided according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that in each embodiment of the application, many technical details are provided for readers to better understand the application. However, even without these technical details and various changes and modifications based on the following embodiments, the technical solutions claimed in this application can also be realized. The division of the following embodiments is for the convenience of description, and should not constitute any limitation to the specific implementation of the present application, and the embodiments can be combined and referred to each other on the premise of no contradiction.

For ease of understanding, the related technologies of the embodiments of the present application are now described as follows:

The embodiment of the present application is applicable to the fifth generation communication system (5G), and the architecture diagram of the 5G system is shown in Figure 1, specifically including: user equipment (User Equipment, UE), radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), User plane function (User plane function, UPF), data network (Data Network, DN) data network, access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management function, AMF), session management function (Session Management function, SMF), network Slice selection (The Network Slice Selection Function, NSSF), authentication server function (Authentication Server Function, AUSF), unified data management function (Unified Data Management, UDM), network storage function (Network Repository Function), application layer function (Application layer function) Function, AF) and PCF.

Among them, the RAN is responsible for air interface resource scheduling and air interface connection management for terminals accessing the network.

The AMF is the control plane entity of the core network, and is mainly responsible for user mobility management.

The AUSF is the control plane entity of the core network, and is responsible for authenticating and authorizing users to ensure that the users are legitimate users.

UDM is the core network control plane entity, which belongs to the user server and permanently stores user subscription data.

SMF is the control plane entity of the core network, responsible for maintaining PDU sessions, assigning user IP addresses, and having Quality of Service (QoS) control and charging functions.

The UPF is the control plane entity of the core network, and is responsible for forwarding user data packets, and at the same time, it is used to collect statistics and charge for user data packets.

PCF is the core network control plane entity responsible for access and mobility management policies, UE policies, session management policies and charging rules. It is responsible for generating access and mobility management based on service information, user subscription information, and operator configuration information. Policies, UE routing policies, Qos rules and charging rules for user data transmission, etc.

N1-N6, N7-N8, N10-N13, N15, N19 and N22 are interfaces for signaling interaction between network elements.

In the 5G era, various demand scenarios have clearer network requirements for operators, so the preferential, exclusive, and exclusive product functions of 5G virtual private networks are proposed to meet industry needs, for example, for different industry needs and scenarios , China Telecom's 5G customized network provides three types of service models: "Zhiyuan", "Ninja" and "Ruyi" for wide-area priority industry customers, delay-sensitive regional government and enterprise customers, and security-sensitive regional government and enterprise customers. To meet the differentiated needs of customers in different industries for network, edge, cloud, application, etc. in the process of digital transformation and upgrading.

Specifically, business isolation can be achieved by planning a private network, or by slicing, data network name (Data Network Name, DNN), etc., so as to adopt different strategies for different services. However, some 2C group users reuse public Network equipment and DNN, and ordinary 2C users cannot perform business isolation, or the definition of some group users changes in real time, resulting in the inability to adopt different policy controls for a group of users, but can be realized through the method of the embodiment of this application Policy control for a group of users as a whole.

The application scenarios of the embodiments of the present application may include, but are not limited to: scenarios where unified policy control is performed on terminals without individual differentiation, such as control modules, cameras, containers, etc., and operators/enterprises have differentiated control Scenarios for policy and billing requirements.

An embodiment of the present application relates to a method for controlling a PCC policy, which is applied to a PCF. The specific implementation flowchart of the control method of the PCC strategy in this embodiment is shown in Figure 2, including:

Step 201, according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR, determine the user group to which the user belongs.

Step 202: Send the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs to the SMF, so that the SMF can implement the group policy for the user, wherein the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group.

In this embodiment, according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the subscription information of the user, the user group to which the user belongs is determined; the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs is sent to the SMF for the SMF to execute the group policy for the user, wherein , the group policy includes the policy control shared by users in the group and the charging PCC policy. The PCF can determine the user group to which the user belongs through the user information and subscription information reported by the SMF, and then deliver the group policy of the user group to the SMF. The SMF then User groups can be controlled and billed according to group policies, which realizes unified policy control of user groups.

The implementation details of the control method of the PCC strategy in this embodiment are described in detail below, and the following content is only the implementation details provided for the convenience of understanding, and is not necessary for implementing the solution.

In step 201, the PCF determines the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information reported by the SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the UDR. Among them, a user group is a group of users sharing the same PCC strategy; user information includes one or any combination of the following: slice information, Data Network Name (DNN) information, wireless access information, user location, user usage dosage.

In one example, before determining the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the SMF and the user subscription information obtained from the UDR, the PCF will first perform the Division of user groups: time period, slice information, DNN information, wireless access information, user location, and user usage, so as to determine the user group to which the user belongs after receiving the user information and user subscription information reported by the SMF. By flexibly dividing user groups according to user information and user subscription information, the PCF satisfies the need for policy control on a batch of users in various scenarios. For example, if the wireless resource load of a cell is heavy, the PCF can assign the users accessing the cell to a user group according to the cell location reported by the SMF, and perform unified policy control on the users of the user group to achieve the purpose of congestion control .

Wherein, the SMF reports the user information to the PCF through a specific service provided by the PCF, for example, the Npcf_SMPolicyControl service.

In one example, before determining the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the UDR, the PCF will receive a PCC policy request initiated by the SMF, wherein the PCC policy request carries the user information, and then the PCF obtains the user's subscription information from the UDR according to the user information, so as to determine the user group to which the user belongs through the user information and subscription information.

In an example, the overall architecture diagram of the PCC strategy is shown in Figure 3, specifically including:

AF, Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Billing CHF, PCF, AMF, SMF, and UPF. Among them, N4, N5, N7, N15, N23, N28-N30, N36 and N40 are interfaces for signaling interaction between network elements.

In step 202, the PCF performs signaling interaction with the SMF through the N7 interface, that is, the PCF sends the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs to the SMF through the N7 interface, so that the SMF can execute the group policy for the user.

In an example, after receiving the PCC policy request carrying user information initiated by the SMF, when the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs is issued for the first time, the group policy is carried in the response message of the PCC policy request, and the next Send to SMF.

In another example, after receiving the PCC policy request carrying user information initiated by the SMF, if the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is not issued for the first time, the identification information of the group policy is carried in the PCC policy request In the response message, send it to SMF.

Wherein, the response message will also carry the user's PDU session policy. In the case that the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs is issued for the first time, the PDU session policy and the group policy are carried in different fields of the response message; When the group policy of the group is not delivered for the first time, the identification information of the PDU session policy and the group policy are carried in different fields of the response message. By carrying the PDU session policy and group policy or the identification information of the PDU session policy and group policy in the response message, the SMF can distinguish whether the policy type issued by the PCF is a PDU session policy or a group policy.

Wherein, the PDU session policy is used for the SMF to execute the PCC policy related to the PDU session.

The group policy of the user group is shared between users. In order to reduce the signaling interaction of the N7 interface, the PCF can deliver the complete group policy of the user group to the SMF through only one PDU session. Other users in the user group communicate with the PCF After the PDU session is established, the group policy of the user group can be directly associated with the key.

In an example, the group policy also includes: quality of service QoS bandwidth and/or usage monitoring; wherein, the QoS bandwidth is the QoS bandwidth shared by users in the group or the exclusive QoS bandwidth, and the usage monitoring is the usage monitoring shared by users in the group or exclusive usage monitoring. That is, the PCF may indicate in the group policy of the user group that QoS bandwidth and/or usage monitoring in the group policy is exclusive to or shared by users in the group.

The quality of service QoS bandwidth and/or usage monitoring in the above group policy is only for illustration, and the control policy in the group policy is not unique.

Another embodiment of the present application relates to a PCC policy control method, which is applied to SMF. The implementation details of the PCC policy control method in this embodiment are described in detail below. The following content is only the implementation details provided for easy understanding, not Necessary to implement this program. The specific implementation flowchart of the control method of the PCC strategy in this embodiment is shown in Figure 4, including:

Step 401: Report the user information of the current user to the policy control function PCF, so that the PCF can determine the user group to which the user belongs based on the user information and the user's subscription information obtained from the UDR.

Specifically, the SMF initiates a PCC policy request to the PCF, and the PCC policy request carries the user information for the PCF to obtain the user's subscription information from the UDR based on the user information, and determine the user's affiliation based on the user information and the user's subscription information. user group.

Step 402, receiving the group policy of the user group delivered by the PCF, wherein the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group.

Specifically, the SMF receives a response message fed back from the PCF to the PCC policy request, and the response message carries the group policy or identification information of the group policy, and then obtains the group policy of the user group to which it belongs according to the response message.

In an example, when the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs is issued for the first time, the response message carries the group policy, that is, the SMF directly obtains the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs.

In another example, when the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is not delivered for the first time, the response message carries identification information of the group policy, and the SMF obtains the group policy of the user group through key association.

In an example, the response message also carries the user's PDU session policy, wherein the PDU session policy and the group policy or identification information of the group policy are carried in different fields of the response message. Therefore, after receiving the response message of the PCC policy request fed back by the PCF, the SMF will also obtain the PDU session policy according to the response message, and then execute the PCC policy related to the PDU session for the user according to the PDU session policy.

In an example, after receiving the group policy of the user group delivered by the PCF, the SMF will deliver the group policy to the user plane function UPF. The identification information of the group policy is issued, and the group policy is delivered to the UPF for the UPF to execute the group policy.

In one example, the group policy includes: quality of service QoS bandwidth and/or usage monitoring; wherein, the QoS bandwidth is the QoS bandwidth shared by users in the group or the exclusive QoS bandwidth, and the usage monitoring is the usage monitoring shared by users in the group or exclusive Usage monitoring.

Step 403, execute the group policy on the user.

Another embodiment of the present application relates to a PCC policy control method, which is applied to UPF. The implementation details of the PCC policy control method in this embodiment are described in detail below. The following content is only the implementation details provided for easy understanding, not Necessary to implement this program. The specific implementation flowchart of the control method of the PCC strategy in this embodiment is shown in Figure 5, including:

Step 501, receiving the group policy of the user group issued by the session management function SMF.

Among them, the group policy is the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs, which is determined by the policy control function PCF according to the user information currently reported by the SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the UDR. Fee PCC strategy.

Step 502, execute the group policy on the user. For example, after receiving the group policy of the user group issued by the SMF, the UPF judges that the QoS policy in the obtained group policy of the user group is the QoS bandwidth exclusively owned by the user or shared by the user. For QoS bandwidth, UPF creates a separate QoS rate-limiting bucket for the user group, and all users under the user group share this rate-limiting bucket to limit the rate. When the QoS bandwidth is the exclusive QoS bandwidth of the user in the group, UPF is the PDU of the user The session establishes a separate QoS rate-limiting bucket for rate-limiting.

In one embodiment, in the case that the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is issued for the first time, the interactive flow chart of the control method for implementing the PCC policy in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 6 , which specifically includes:

S601. The SMF initiates a PCC policy request to the PCF, wherein the PCC policy request carries the user information.

S602. The PCF obtains the subscription information of the user from the UDR.

S603, the PCF determines the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the SMF and the subscription information of the user.

S604, the PCF returns a response message carrying the group policy.

S605. The SMF executes the group policy for the user.

S606. The SMF delivers the group policy to the UPF.

S607. The UPF receives the group policy of the user group delivered by the SMF.

S608. The UPF executes the group policy for the user.

In another embodiment, in the case that the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is not issued for the first time, the interactive flow chart for implementing the control method of the PCC policy in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 7 , specifically including:

S701. The SMF initiates a PCC policy request to the PCF, wherein the PCC policy request carries the user information.

S702. The PCF obtains the subscription information of the user from the UDR.

S703. The PCF determines the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the SMF and the subscription information of the user, and determines that a group policy has been delivered to the user group to which the user belongs.

S704, the PCF returns a response message carrying the identification information of the group policy.

S705. The SMF acquires the group policy of the user group according to the identification information of the group policy, and executes the group policy for the user.

S706, the SMF sends the identification information of the group policy to the UPF.

S707. The UPF receives the group policy identification information delivered by the SMF, and obtains the group policy of the user group according to the identification information of the group policy.

S708. The UPF executes the group policy for the user.

In an example, the relationship between the PDU session policy and the group policy of the user group on PCF, SMF, and UPF can be shown in Figure 8, wherein, PDU session 1 belongs to user group 1 and user group 3; PDU session 2 belongs to user group 1 and user group 3; Belongs to user group 1 and user group 3; PDU session 3 belongs to user group 2 and user group 3; PDU session 4 belongs to user group 2 and user group 3. A user group can contain multiple PDU sessions, and a PDU session can also belong to multiple user groups.

PCF maintains the relationship between PDU sessions and user groups from the source; SMF obtains the relationship between PDU sessions delivered by PCF and group policies of user groups from the N7 interface; UPF obtains the PDU sessions delivered by SMF and group policies of user groups from N4 interface relationship; PCF, SMF, and UPF can obtain the relationship between PDU sessions and group policies of user groups at the same time.

Traditional technology cannot realize the policy control of user groups. The embodiment of this application uses the existing PCC architecture to realize unified policy control for users of user groups, which is easy to implement. Furthermore, user groups are not a field of a protocol. PCF User groups can be defined according to the flexible division of users, which can meet the needs of policy control for batch users in various scenarios.

The above-mentioned examples in this embodiment are illustrations for easy understanding, and do not limit the technical solution of this application.

The step division of the above various methods is only for the sake of clarity of description. During implementation, it can be combined into one step or some steps can be split and decomposed into multiple steps. As long as they include the same logical relationship, they are all within the scope of protection of this patent. ; Adding insignificant modifications or introducing insignificant designs to the algorithm or process, but not changing the core design of the algorithm and process are all within the scope of protection of this patent.

Another embodiment of the present application relates to a PCF. The details of the PCF in this embodiment are described below in detail. The following content is only the implementation details provided for easy understanding, and is not necessary for the implementation of this embodiment. FIG. A schematic diagram of the PCF described above, including: a determination module 901 and a delivery module 902;

The determining module 901 is configured to determine the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR;

The sending module 902 is configured to send the group policy of the user group to which it belongs to the SMF, so that the SMF can implement the group policy for the user, wherein the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policy shared by users in the group.

In one example, the delivery module 902 is also configured to carry the group policy in the response message of the PCC policy request and deliver it to the SMF when the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is issued for the first time; When the group policy of the user group is not delivered for the first time, the identification information of the group policy is carried in the response message of the PCC policy request and delivered to the SMF.

This embodiment is a PCF embodiment corresponding to the foregoing method embodiment, and this embodiment may be implemented in cooperation with the foregoing method embodiment. The relevant technical details and technical effects mentioned in the above embodiments are still valid in this embodiment, and will not be repeated here to reduce repetition. Correspondingly, the relevant technical details mentioned in this embodiment can also be applied in the above embodiments.

Another embodiment of the present application relates to a SMF. The details of the SMF in this embodiment are described in detail below. The following content is only the implementation details provided for easy understanding, and is not necessary for the implementation of this embodiment. FIG. A schematic diagram of the SMF described above, including: a reporting module 1001, a receiving module 1002 and an execution module 1003;

The reporting module 1001 is configured to report the user information of the current user to the policy control function PCF, for the PCF to determine the user group to which the user belongs based on the user information and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR.

In an example, the reporting module 1001 is further configured to initiate a PCC policy request to the PCF, wherein the PCC policy request carries user information;

The receiving module 1002 is configured to receive the group policy of the user group delivered by the PCF, wherein the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group.

In an example, the receiving module 1002 is also used to receive the response message of the PCC policy request fed back by the PCF, wherein, when the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is issued for the first time, the PDU session policy and the group policy are carried in the response In different fields of the message; when the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is not issued for the first time, the identification information of the PDU session policy and group policy is carried in different fields of the response message, and the user group to which it belongs is obtained according to the response message group policy.

Executing module 1003, configured to execute group policies on users.

This embodiment is an SMF embodiment corresponding to the above method embodiment, and this embodiment may be implemented in cooperation with the above method embodiment. The relevant technical details and technical effects mentioned in the above embodiments are still valid in this embodiment, and will not be repeated here to reduce repetition. Correspondingly, the relevant technical details mentioned in this embodiment can also be applied in the above embodiments.

Another embodiment of the present application relates to a UPF. The details of the UPF in this embodiment are described in detail below. The following content is only the implementation details provided for the convenience of understanding, and is not necessary for the implementation of this embodiment. Figure 11 shows the A schematic diagram of the UPF described above, including: a receiving module 1101 and an executing module 1102;

The receiving module 1101 is configured to receive the group policy of the user group issued by the session management function SMF, wherein the group policy is the user information currently reported by the policy control function PCF according to the SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR , the group policy of the user group to which the determined user belongs, wherein the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group;

An execution module 1102, configured to execute group policies for users.

This embodiment is a UPF embodiment corresponding to the foregoing method embodiment, and this embodiment may be implemented in cooperation with the foregoing method embodiment. The relevant technical details and technical effects mentioned in the above embodiments are still valid in this embodiment, and will not be repeated here in order to reduce repetition. Correspondingly, the relevant technical details mentioned in this embodiment can also be applied in the foregoing embodiments.

Another embodiment of the present application relates to a communication system. The details of the communication system in this embodiment will be described in detail below. The following content is only the implementation details provided for the convenience of understanding, and is not necessary for the implementation of this embodiment. Figure 12 is the implementation of this embodiment The structural diagram of the communication system described in the example, specifically includes:

PCF1201, SMF1202 and UPF1203. Wherein, UPF1203 is connected with SMF1202 by communication, and SMF1202 is connected with PCF1201 by communication.

Specifically, PCF1201 is used to determine the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF1202 and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR; The SMF1202 is used for the SMF1202 to implement group policies for users, wherein the group policies include policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group.

In an example, PCF1201 is also used to receive the PCC policy request initiated by SMF1202 before determining the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF1202 and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR , where the PCC policy request carries user information; when the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is issued for the first time, the group policy is carried in the response message of the PCC policy request and sent to SMF1202; If the group policy is not delivered for the first time, the identification information of the group policy is carried in the response message of the PCC policy request and delivered to the SMF1202.

In an example, PCF1201 is also used to determine the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF1202 and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR, according to the user's subscription information and the following One of the information or any combination thereof is used to divide user groups: time period, slice information, DNN information, wireless access information, user location, and user usage.

SMF1202 is used to report the user information of the current user to the policy control function PCF1201, for PCF1201 to determine the user group to which the user belongs based on the user information and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR; The group policy of the user group, wherein the group policy includes the policy control and charging PCC policy shared by users in the group; the group policy is executed for the user.

In an example, the SMF1202 is also used to initiate a PCC policy request to the PCF1201, wherein the PCC policy request carries the user information; receives a response message of the PCC policy request fed back by the PCF1201, wherein the response message carries the group policy or the group policy Identification information; obtain the group policy of the user group to which it belongs according to the response message.

In an example, SMF1202 is further configured to obtain a PDU session policy according to the response message after receiving the response message of the PCC policy request fed back by PCF1201; and execute the PCC policy related to the PDU session for the user according to the PDU session policy.

In an example, SMF1202 is also configured to deliver the group policy to the user plane function UPF1203 after receiving the group policy of the user group delivered by PCF1201; Send the identification information of the group policy to the UPF1203, and send the group policy to the UPF1203.

UPF1203 is used to receive the group policy of the user group issued by the session management function SMF1202, wherein the group policy is determined by the policy control function PCF1201 according to the user information currently reported by SMF1202 and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR The group policy of the user group to which the user belongs. The group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policy shared by users in the group; the group policy is implemented for users.

This embodiment is a system embodiment corresponding to the foregoing method embodiments, and this embodiment may be implemented in cooperation with the foregoing method embodiments. The relevant technical details and technical effects mentioned in the above embodiments are still valid in this embodiment, and will not be repeated here in order to reduce repetition. Correspondingly, the relevant technical details mentioned in this embodiment can also be applied in the above embodiments.

Each module involved in the above PCF embodiment, SMF embodiment, UPF embodiment and communication system embodiment is a logical module. In practical applications, a logical unit can be a physical unit or a physical unit. Part of it can also be implemented as a combination of multiple physical units. In addition, in order to highlight the innovative part of the present application, units that are not closely related to solving the technical problem proposed in the present application are not introduced in this embodiment, but this does not mean that there are no other units in this embodiment.

Another embodiment of the present application relates to an electronic device, as shown in FIG. 13 , including: at least one processor 1301; and a memory 1302 communicatively connected to the at least one processor 1301; wherein, the memory 1302 stores An instruction that can be executed by the at least one processor 1301, the instruction is executed by the at least one processor 1301, so that the at least one processor 1301 can execute the PCC policy control method in the foregoing embodiments.

Wherein, the memory and the processor are connected by a bus, and the bus may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, and the bus connects one or more processors and various circuits of the memory together. The bus may also connect together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, all of which are well known in the art and therefore will not be further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface between the bus and the transceivers. A transceiver may be a single element or multiple elements, such as multiple receivers and transmitters, providing means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. The data processed by the processor is transmitted on the wireless medium through the antenna, further, the antenna also receives the data and transmits the data to the processor.

The processor is responsible for managing the bus and general processing, and can also provide various functions, including timing, peripheral interface, voltage regulation, power management, and other control functions. Instead, memory can be used to store data that the processor uses when performing operations.

Another embodiment of the present application relates to a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. The above method embodiments are implemented when the computer program is executed by the processor.

That is, those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps in the method of the above-mentioned embodiments can be completed by instructing related hardware through a program, the program is stored in a storage medium, and includes several instructions to make a device ( It may be a single chip microcomputer, a chip, etc.) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), magnetic disk or optical disc, etc., which can store program codes. .

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that the above-mentioned implementation modes are specific examples for realizing the present application, and in practical applications, various changes can be made to it in form and details without departing from the spirit and spirit of the present application. scope.

Claims

A method for controlling a PCC strategy, applied to a strategy control function PCF, comprising:

According to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR, determine the user group to which the user belongs;

Send the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs to the SMF, so that the SMF can execute the group policy for the user, wherein the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group .
The PCC policy control method according to claim 1, wherein the user to which the user belongs is determined according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR Before the group, also include:

receiving a PCC policy request initiated by the SMF, where the PCC policy request carries the user information;

The sending the group policy of the user group to which it belongs to the SMF includes:

In the case that the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is delivered for the first time, carrying the group policy in the response message of the PCC policy request, and delivering it to the SMF;

In the case that the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs is not delivered for the first time, the identification information of the group policy is carried in the response message of the PCC policy request, and delivered to the SMF.
The control method of the PCC strategy according to claim 2, wherein the response message also carries the user's PDU session strategy;

Wherein, when the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs is issued for the first time, the PDU session policy and the group policy are carried in different fields of the response message;

In the case that the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is not issued for the first time, the identification information of the PDU session policy and the group policy is carried in different fields of the response message;

The PDU session policy is used for the SMF to execute the PCC policy related to the PDU session.
The method for controlling PCC policies according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the user information includes one of the following or any combination thereof: slice information, data network name DNN information, wireless access information, user location , the amount used by the user;

Before determining the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR, it also includes:

User groups are divided according to the user's subscription information and one of the following information or any combination thereof: time period, slice information, DNN information, wireless access information, user location, and user usage.
The control method of the PCC strategy according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the group strategy includes: quality of service QoS bandwidth and/or usage monitoring;

Wherein, the QoS bandwidth is the shared QoS bandwidth or the exclusive QoS bandwidth of the users in the group, and the usage monitoring is the shared usage monitoring or the exclusive usage monitoring of the users in the group.
A control method of a PCC policy, applied to a session management function SMF, comprising:

Report the user information of the current user to the policy control function PCF, for the PCF to determine the user group to which the user belongs based on the user information and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR;

receiving the group policy of the belonging user group issued by the PCF, wherein the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group;

Enforcing the group policy on the user.
The control method of the PCC strategy according to claim 6, wherein, reporting the user information of the current user to the policy control function PCF includes:

Initiating a PCC policy request to the PCF, where the PCC policy request carries the user information;

The receiving the group policy of the belonging user group issued by the PCF includes:

receiving a response message of the PCC policy request fed back by the PCF, where the response message carries the group policy or identification information of the group policy;

Obtain the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs according to the response message.
The PCC policy control method according to claim 7, wherein the response message also carries the user's PDU session policy; wherein, when the group policy of the user group to which it belongs is issued for the first time, the The PDU session policy and the group policy are carried in different fields of the response message; when the group policy of the user group to which the user belongs is not issued for the first time, the PDU session policy and the group policy The identification information is carried in different fields of the response message;

After receiving the response message of the PCC policy request fed back by the PCF, it further includes:

Obtain the PDU session policy according to the response message;

Execute a PCC policy related to the PDU session for the user according to the PDU session policy.
The PCC policy control method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein, after receiving the group policy of the belonging user group issued by the PCF, further comprising:

sending the group policy to the user plane function UPF;

Wherein, in the case that the group policy is not delivered for the first time, the identification information of the group policy is delivered to the UPF, so that the UPF obtains the group policy through the identification information of the group policy.
A method for controlling a PCC policy, applied to a user plane function UPF, comprising:

receiving the group policy of the user group issued by the session management function SMF, wherein the group policy is determined by the policy control function PCF according to the user information currently reported by the SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR The group policy of the user group to which the user belongs, the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group;

Enforcing the group policy on the user.
A PCF comprising:

A determining module, configured to determine the user group to which the user belongs according to the user information currently reported by the session management function SMF and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR;

A sending module, configured to send the group policy of the belonging user group to the SMF, so that the SMF can execute the group policy for the user, wherein the group policy includes a policy shared by users in the group Control and billing PCC policies.
An SMF comprising:

The reporting module is configured to report the user information of the current user to the policy control function PCF, for the PCF to determine the user group to which the user belongs based on the user information and the user's subscription information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR;

A receiving module, configured to receive the group policy of the belonging user group issued by the PCF, wherein the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group;

An executing module, configured to execute the group policy on the user.
A UPF consisting of:

The receiving module is configured to receive the group policy of the user group issued by the session management function SMF, wherein the group policy is the user information currently reported by the policy control function PCF and the user information obtained from the unified data storage function UDR The subscription information, the determined group policy of the user group to which the user belongs, the group policy includes policy control and charging PCC policies shared by users in the group;

An executing module, configured to execute the group policy on the user.
A communication system, comprising: the PCF according to claim 11, the SMF according to claim 12, and the UPF according to claim 13;

Wherein, the UPF is connected in communication with the SMF, and the SMF is connected in communication with the PCF.
An electronic device comprising:

at least one processor; and,

a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; wherein,

The memory stores instructions executable by the at least one processor, the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, so that the at least one processor can perform the operation described in any one of claims 1 to 5 The control method of the PCC strategy as described above, or the control method of the PCC strategy as described in any one of claims 6 to 9, or the control method of the PCC strategy as described in claim 10.
A computer-readable storage medium, storing a computer program, wherein, when the computer program is executed by a processor, it realizes the control method of the PCC strategy according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or realizes the control method according to any one of claims 6 to 5 The control method of the PCC strategy according to any one of claim 9, or the control method of realizing the PCC strategy according to claim 10.