CN116567803A - Network slice registration method, AMF unit, user equipment, base station and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to a network slice registration method, an AMF unit, a user equipment, a base station and a storage medium. The method includes: receiving a registration request sent by a user equipment UE through a base station, and in response to the registration request, obtaining subscription slice information and default slice information from a user data management unit, and determining the UE's corresponding permission according to the subscription slice information and default slice information. slice information to complete network slice registration. Since in this embodiment, the user equipment does not need to have the ability to identify network slice information, generate requested network slice information, and other slice information-related capabilities, the AMF unit obtains the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit, and according to Subscribing slice information and default slice information determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, and complete network slice registration, thus reducing dependence on user equipment.

Description

Network slice registration method, AMF unit, user equipment, base station and storage medium

technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of network slice registration, and in particular to a network slice registration method, an AMF unit, user equipment, a base station, and a storage medium.

Background technique

With the development of communication technology, all walks of life are developing towards informatization and intelligence. Different application scenarios such as high-definition video, Internet of Things, and Internet of Vehicles have different requirements for network mobility, security, delay, and reliability. , in order to meet the needs of different application scenarios, network slicing came into being. Network slicing is an on-demand networking method that allows operators to separate multiple network slices on a unified infrastructure, and logically isolate each network slice to meet the needs of different application scenarios.

After the terminal selects a network slice from the multiple network slices allowed to be accessed for registration, it can use the network slice for data communication. However, the current network slice registration process has the problem of a large dependence on the terminal.

Contents of the invention

Based on this, it is necessary to provide a network slice registration method, an AMF unit, a user equipment, a base station, and a storage medium that can reduce the dependence of the network slice registration process on the terminal for the above technical problems.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a network slice registration method. The method is applied to the access and mobility management function AMF unit, and the method includes:

receiving a registration request sent by the user equipment UE through the base station;

Obtain the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit in response to the registration request;

According to the subscription slice information and the default slice information, determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE; the allowed slice information is used for network slice registration.

In one of the embodiments, according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information, determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, including:

According to preset slice priority rules, allowable slice information is determined from contracted slice information and default slice information.

In one of the embodiments, according to the preset slice priority rules, the allowed slice information is determined from the contracted slice information and the default slice information, including:

According to the slice priority rule, the allowed slice information less than or equal to the preset number is determined from the contracted slice information and the default slice information; the preset number is related to the processing capability of the network to which the AMF unit is connected.

In one of the embodiments, the slice priority rule includes at least one of the following:

The priority of the default slice information is higher than that of the contracted slice information;

Slice information with high usage frequency has a higher priority than slice information with low usage frequency.

In one of the embodiments, in response to the registration request, the subscription slice information and default slice information are obtained from the user data management unit, including:

In response to the registration request, send an authentication request to the authentication server; the authentication request is used to instruct the authentication server to obtain the authentication parameters of the UE from the user data management unit;

If the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received, the subscription slice information and the default slice information are obtained from the user data management unit; the authentication response is a response sent by the authentication server after passing the authentication parameter authentication.

In one of the embodiments, if the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received, the subscription slice information and the default slice information are obtained from the user data management unit, including:

If an authentication response is received, send a subscription data acquisition request to the user data management unit;

The receiving user data management unit acquires subscription data of the UE sent by the request based on the subscription data; the subscription data includes subscription slice information and default slice information.

In one embodiment, the subscribed slice information includes signed network slice selection auxiliary information, and the default slice information includes default network slice selection auxiliary information.

In one embodiment, the method also includes:

The base station sends a registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

In one of the embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In the second aspect, the present application also provides a network slice registration method, the method is applied to the user equipment UE, and the method includes:

Send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit;

Receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit; the registration response is the response sent by the AMF unit after determining the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information, and the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

In one of the embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In one of the embodiments, the registration response does not carry allowed slice information.

In the third aspect, the present application also provides a network slice registration method, the method is applied to a base station, and the method includes:

Receive a registration request sent by the UE;

Send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit, and determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information;

Receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit, and send the registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

In one of the embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In one of the embodiments, the registration response does not carry allowed slice information.

In the fourth aspect, the present application also provides an AMF unit, and the AMF unit includes:

A receiving module, configured to receive a registration request sent by the UE through the base station;

An acquisition module, configured to acquire subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit in response to the registration request;

The determining module is configured to determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and the default slice information; the allowed slice information is used for network slice registration.

In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a user equipment, where the user equipment includes:

The sender is used to send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit;

The receiver is used to receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit; the registration response is the response sent by the AMF unit after determining the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information, and the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

In a sixth aspect, the present application also provides a base station, and the base station includes:

a receiver, configured to receive a registration request sent by the UE;

The sender is used to send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit, and determine the corresponding allowed slice of the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information information;

The receiver is also used to receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit, and send the registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

In a seventh aspect, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the above method are realized.

In a fifth aspect, the present application also provides a computer program product. A computer program product includes a computer program that implements the steps of the above method when the computer program is executed by a processor.

The above network slice registration method, AMF unit, user equipment, base station and storage medium, receive the registration request sent by the user equipment UE through the base station, and respond to the registration request, obtain the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit, according to Subscribe to slice information and default slice information, and determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, thereby completing network slice registration. In this embodiment, it is not necessary for the user equipment to have the ability to identify network slice information, generate requested network slice information, and other slice information-related capabilities, but the AMF unit obtains the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit, and according to The subscription slice information and the default slice information determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, and complete the registration of the network slice, thus reducing the dependence on the user equipment.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is an application environment diagram of a network slice registration method in an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a network slice registration method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for obtaining slice information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of another slice information acquisition method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another network slice registration method provided by the embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of another network slice registration method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic signaling diagram of a network slice registration method in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a structural block diagram of an AMF unit provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present application, and are not intended to limit the present application.

At present, user equipment (UE) has a strong dependence on terminals when performing network slice registration. For example, UE is required to have the ability to identify network slice information, generate requested network slice information, and other related network slice information. However, the replacement of UE is more difficult than that of the network, especially if there is no clear and large demand, no corresponding development will be carried out. Therefore, in order to reduce the dependence on the UE, the present application provides a network slice registration method, which is mainly based on the network side. Wherein, the network slice is uniquely identified by Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI), and a set of one or more S-NSSAI is called NSSAI. In 5G New Radio (NR), with NSSAI as the category, there are multiple categories of NSSAI for storage by the UE and the network. For example, various categories of NSSAIs include, but are not limited to, allowed, requested NSSAIs, or configured NSSAIs.

The network slice registration method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the application environment shown in FIG. 1 . The application environment includes a user equipment 101, a base station 102, an access and mobility management function (Access and mobility Management function, AMF) unit 103, a user data management (Unified Data Management, UDM) unit 104, and the user equipment 101 sends a registration request to the base station 102 , the base station 102 sends the registration request to the AMF unit 103, and the AMF unit 103 obtains the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the UDM unit 104 in response to the registration request, and determines the allowed slice corresponding to the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information information.

Wherein, the user equipment 101 may be, but not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet computer, and a portable wearable device. Portable wearable devices can be smart watches, smart bracelets, head-mounted devices, and the like. The base station 102 may be a base station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS for short) in Global System of Mobile communication (GSM for short) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA for short), or a wideband code division multiple access (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, referred to as WCDMA) in the base station (NodeB, referred to as NB), can also be evolved in LTE base station (Evolutional Node B, referred to as eNB or eNodeB), or relay station or access point, or 5G network base station etc. The AMF unit 103 and the UDM unit 104 can be implemented by an independent server or a server cluster composed of multiple servers.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a network slice registration method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The method is applied to the AMF unit in FIG. 1 as an example. The method includes The following steps:

S201. Receive a registration request sent by a user equipment UE through a base station.

In this embodiment, if the UE needs to perform network slice registration, it will initiate a registration request. Correspondingly, the base station receives the registration request sent by the UE, and determines the target AMF unit.

Wherein, the registration request may carry indication information such as 5G Temporary Mobile Station Identifier (SAE Temporary MobileStation Identifier, S-TMSI), Global Unique AMF Identification (Global Unique AMF Identifier, GUAMI), etc., and the base station may base on the indication carried in the registration request The information selects an AMF unit as the target AMF unit, or determines the target AMF unit based on other rules. Taking the base station determining the target AMF unit based on other rules as an example, the base station uses a pre-configured AMF unit as the target AMF unit, or an AMF unit that is frequently used by the UE as the target AMF unit.

After determining the target AMF unit, the base station may send the registration request to the target AMF unit, and correspondingly, the target AMF unit receives the registration request. Taking the AMF unit in FIG. 1 as the target AMF unit as an example, the AMF unit receives the registration request sent by the base station.

S202. Obtain subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit in response to the registration request.

After receiving the registration request, the AMF unit will respond to the registration request and obtain the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the UDM unit.

In this embodiment, the default slice information may be the identifier of any one of the multiple network slices subscribed by the UE, and the subscribed slice information refers to slice information other than the default slice information among the multiple network slice information signed by the UE . Multiple network slices signed for UE are network slices allowed to be used by UE. The information of network slices allowed to be used by UE must be signed on UDM unit, and UE has the right to use the network slices signed in UDM unit.

Subscription information corresponding to different UEs is stored in the UDM. Exemplarily, if the subscription slice information corresponding to the UE includes S-NSSAI1, S-NSSAI2, and S-NSSAI3, the UE may use the single network slices respectively subscribed to by S-NSSAI1, S-NSSAI2, and S-NSSAI3. Optionally, the subscription slice information may also include other content such as usage rate and congestion rate of a single network slice.

S203. Determine allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and default slice information; the allowed slice information is used for network slice registration.

In the embodiment of the present application, the usage frequency of each slice information in the subscribed slice information may be determined, and the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE may be determined based on the usage frequency and default slice information. For example, the default slice information and the slice information with the highest usage frequency are used as the permitted slice information corresponding to the UE.

Optionally, the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE may also be determined from the subscribed slice information and the default slice information according to the service type of the user equipment. For example, the service type of the user equipment is service A, and certain slice information in the subscription slice information corresponds to service A, then the default slice information and the slice information corresponding to service A may be used as allowed slice information.

The AMF unit determines the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, and then the Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) unit selects the corresponding network slice instance based on the allowed slice information, and uses the selected network slice instance to perform network slice registration.

In the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, by receiving the registration request sent by the user equipment UE through the base station, and responding to the registration request, the subscription slice information and the default slice information are obtained from the user data management unit, and according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information, Determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, so as to complete the network slice registration. In this embodiment, it is not necessary for the user equipment to have the ability to identify network slice information, generate requested network slice information, and other slice information-related capabilities, but the AMF unit obtains the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit, and according to The subscription slice information and the default slice information determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, and complete the registration of the network slice, thus reducing the dependence on the user equipment.

In some of these embodiments, on the basis of the above embodiments, the above S203 may be implemented in the following manner:

According to preset slice priority rules, allowable slice information is determined from contracted slice information and default slice information.

For example, the preset slice priority rule includes: priority of slice information with high usage frequency is higher than priority of slice information with low usage frequency. In this embodiment, according to the usage frequency of the slice information, a preset number of slice information can be selected from the highest usage frequency, and the selected preset number of slice information can be used as the allowed slice information.

The method provided in this embodiment determines the allowed slice information from the contracted slice information and the default slice information according to the preset slice priority rules, and ensures that the determined allowed slice information is slice information with a higher priority, thereby ensuring that all The determined probability that the allowed slice information is the slice information frequently used by the user equipment, so as to meet the needs and habits of the user.

In some of these embodiments, the determination of allowed slice information from contracted slice information and default slice information according to the preset slice priority rules above can be implemented in the following manner:

According to the slice priority rule, the allowed slice information less than or equal to the preset number is determined from the contracted slice information and the default slice information; the preset number is related to the processing capability of the network to which the AMF unit is connected.

The preset number is related to the processing capability of the network connected to the AMF unit. For example, if the maximum processing capability of the network connected to the AMF unit is 8, the preset number can be set to a value less than or equal to 8.

In one of the embodiments, the slice priority rule includes at least one of the following:

The priority of the default slice information is higher than that of the contracted slice information;

Slice information with high usage frequency has a higher priority than slice information with low usage frequency.

For example, if the preset number is 8, the default slice information includes one S-NSSAI, and the contract slice information includes 10 S-NSSAI, since the priority of the default slice information is higher than that of the contract slice information, the default slice information is allowed One of the slice information, and then determine 7 pieces of slice information from the contracted slice information, and the 7 pieces of slice information are slice information selected in descending order according to the frequency of use. Thereby, a total of 8 S-NSSAIs are determined from the default slice information and the contracted slice information as allowed slice information.

For another example, if the preset number is 8, the default slice information includes one S-NSSAI, and the contracted slice information includes two S-NSSAIs, then the two S-NSSAIs in the default slice information and the contracted slice information can be used as permission Slicing information, that is, the total number of S-NSSAIs allowed in the slice information is 3.

For another example, if the preset number is 1 and the default slice information includes one S-NSSAI, the default slice information is used as the allowed slice information.

The slice priority rule in this embodiment can ensure that slice information with a high priority is selected first, thereby increasing the probability that the selected allowable slice information is slice information frequently used by the user equipment, thereby meeting user needs and habits.

Referring to FIG. 3 , FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for obtaining slice information provided by an embodiment of the present application. This embodiment relates to a possible implementation manner of how to obtain subscription slice information and default slice information from a user data management unit in response to a registration request. The above S202 may include the following steps:

S301. In response to the registration request, send an authentication request to the authentication server; the authentication request is used to instruct the authentication server to acquire authentication parameters of the UE from the user data management unit.

In this embodiment, in order to improve the security of network slice registration, the AMF unit may verify the identity of the UE. The AMF unit can verify the identity of the UE in the following ways:

After receiving the registration request, the AMF unit sends an authentication request to the authentication server in response to the registration request, and the authentication server sends the authentication request to the UDM unit, so as to acquire authentication parameters of the UE from the UDM unit. Afterwards, the authentication server performs authentication on the UE based on the obtained authentication parameters and the authentication parameters of the UE carried in the registration request, so as to determine whether the identity of the UE that initiates the registration request is legitimate.

Wherein, the registration request may include the UE's authentication parameter, and the UE's authentication parameter may be an original authentication parameter, or an encrypted authentication parameter obtained by encrypting the original authentication parameter. If the registration request includes encrypted authentication parameters, the AMF unit can decrypt the encrypted authentication parameters to obtain the original authentication parameters, and send the original authentication parameters to the authentication server in the authentication request, or the AMF unit sends the encrypted authentication parameters to the authentication server. server, the authentication server decrypts the encrypted authentication parameters to obtain the original authentication parameters.

The authentication server performs authentication and authentication on the UE based on the obtained original authentication parameters and the authentication parameters of the UE carried in the registration request. The authentication and authentication process is, for example: if the authentication server determines that the obtained authentication parameters The authentication of the UE passes; if the obtained authentication parameters are inconsistent with the original authentication parameters, it is determined that the authentication of the UE fails.

If the authentication server passes the authentication of the UE, it can send an authentication response to the AMF unit, and the authentication response is used to indicate that the authentication of the UE is passed; if the authentication server fails the authentication of the UE, it can send an authentication response to the AMF unit A failed authentication response is sent, and the failed authentication response is used to indicate that the authentication of the UE fails.

S302. If the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received, acquire the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit; the authentication response is a response sent by the authentication server after passing the authentication parameter authentication.

In this embodiment, if the authentication server passes the authentication and authentication of the UE, it may send an authentication response to the AMF unit, and correspondingly, the AMF unit receives the authentication response. When the AMF unit receives the authentication response, it acquires the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit.

The method provided in this embodiment sends an authentication request to the authentication server to instruct the authentication server to obtain the authentication parameters of the UE from the user data management unit in response to the registration request, and when receiving the authentication response sent by the authentication server, Obtain the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit to ensure that the subscription slice information and default slice information are obtained from the user data management unit only after the authentication of the user equipment is passed, so as to improve the efficiency of network slice registration safety.

Referring to FIG. 4 , FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of another method for obtaining slice information provided by an embodiment of the present application. This embodiment relates to a possible implementation of how to obtain subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit when the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received. On the basis of the above embodiments, the above S302 includes the following steps:

S401. If an authentication response is received, send a subscription data acquisition request to the user data management unit.

The subscription data acquisition request includes the identifier of the UE, and the AMF unit sends the subscription data acquisition request to the UDM unit. Correspondingly, the UDM unit receives the subscription data acquisition request, and sends the UE’s subscription data to the AMF unit in response to the subscription data acquisition request. .

S402. The receiving user data management unit obtains the subscription data of the UE requested to be sent based on the subscription data; the subscription data includes subscription slice information and default slice information.

In the method provided in this embodiment, when an authentication response is received, the subscription data acquisition request is sent to the user data management unit, and the subscription data of the UE sent by the user data management unit based on the subscription data acquisition request is received to ensure that the acquired subscription data The data is the subscription data of the legal user equipment, thereby improving the security of the network slice registration of the user equipment.

In some of the embodiments, the subscribed slice information includes signed network slice selection auxiliary information, and the default slice information includes default network slice selection auxiliary information.

In some of these embodiments, after the AMF unit determines the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and the default slice information, the following steps may also be included:

The base station sends a registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

The AMF unit determines the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, and then the Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) unit selects the corresponding network slice instance based on the allowed slice information, and uses the selected network slice instance to perform network slice registration. After the AMF unit determines that the network slice is registered, it may send a registration response to the base station, and correspondingly, the base station sends the registration response to the terminal.

In some of these embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In the traditional technology, when the UE initiates a slice registration request, it will carry information about network slices in the slice registration request. That is to say, in the current network slice registration process, the UE needs to store the relevant information of the network slice in advance, and needs to have the ability to identify and process the relevant information of the network slice. Therefore, it is necessary to develop these capabilities for the UE to realize UE's network slice registration.

However, in this embodiment, since the registration request does not carry the relevant information of the network slice, the UE does not need to store the relevant information of the network slice in advance, nor does it need to have the ability to identify and process the relevant information of the network slice. Therefore, in the network slice registration method provided in this embodiment, there is no need to identify the UE and develop the ability to process the related information of the network slice, which reduces the dependence on the UE.

In the foregoing embodiments, the network slice registration method is introduced with the AMF unit as the execution subject. Here, with reference to FIG. 5 , the network slice registration method is introduced with the user equipment in FIG. 1 as the execution subject. Referring to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a schematic flow diagram of another network slice registration method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

S501. Send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit.

S502. Receive a registration response sent by the AMF unit.

Wherein, the registration response is a response sent by the AMF unit after determining the permitted slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and the default slice information, and the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

The method provided in this embodiment sends a registration request to the AMF unit and receives the registration response sent by the AMF unit. In this embodiment, it is not necessary for the user equipment to have the ability to identify network slice information, generate requested network slice information, and other information related to slice information. , but the AMF unit obtains the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit, and according to the subscription slice information and default slice information, determines the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, and completes the network slice registration. Device dependency.

In one of the embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In one of the embodiments, the registration response does not carry allowed slice information.

Since there is no need for the user equipment to identify slice information and process slice information in this embodiment, the registration response does not need to be sent to the user equipment, and only the registration response indicating the success or failure of network slice registration is sent to the user equipment, thereby reducing the overhead of network resources and improving improve the efficiency of network slice registration.

In the above embodiments, the network slice registration method is introduced with the user equipment as the execution subject. Here, with reference to FIG. 6 , the network slice registration method is introduced with the base station in FIG. 1 as the execution subject. Referring to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of another network slice registration method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

S601. Receive a registration request sent by a user equipment UE.

S602. Send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit, and determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information.

S603. Receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit, and send the registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

The method provided in this embodiment receives the registration request sent by the user equipment UE, sends the registration request to the AMF unit, receives the registration response sent by the AMF unit, and sends the registration response to the UE. In this embodiment, it is not necessary for the user equipment to have the ability to identify network slice information, generate requested network slice information, and other slice information-related capabilities, but the AMF unit obtains the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit, and according to The subscription slice information and the default slice information determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE, and complete the registration of the network slice, thus reducing the dependence on the user equipment.

In one of the embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In one of the embodiments, the registration response does not carry allowed slice information.

Since there is no need for the user equipment to identify slice information and process slice information in this embodiment, the registration response does not need to be sent to the user equipment, and only the registration response indicating the success or failure of network slice registration is sent to the user equipment, thereby reducing the overhead of network resources and improving improve the efficiency of network slice registration.

In order to more clearly introduce the network slice registration method in this application, it will be described here with reference to FIG. 7 . FIG. 7 is a schematic signaling diagram of a network slice registration method in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7, the network slice registration method includes the following steps:

S701. The UE sends a registration request to the base station.

Wherein, the registration request (Registration Request) carries the identity of the UE and the authentication parameters of the UE, but does not carry information related to network slicing.

S702. The base station selects an AMF unit.

S703. The base station sends a registration request to the AMF unit.

S704. The AMF unit sends an authentication request to the authentication server in response to the registration request. Wherein, the authentication request includes the user identifier and authentication parameters of the UE.

S705. The authentication server sends an authentication request to the UDM unit in response to the authentication request.

S706. The UDM unit sends the authentication parameters of the UE to the authentication server in response to the authentication request.

S707. The authentication server authenticates the UE based on the authentication parameter in the authentication request and the authentication parameter obtained from the UDM unit.

S708. After the authentication is passed, the authentication server sends an authentication response to the AMF unit.

S709. After receiving the authentication response, the AMF unit sends a subscription data acquisition request to the UDM unit.

S710. The UDM unit sends the subscription data of the UE to the AMF unit.

S711. The AMF unit determines allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and the default slice information in the subscribed data.

The AMF unit performs network slice registration based on the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE.

S712. The AMF unit sends a registration response to the base station.

S713. The base station sends a registration response to the UE.

It should be understood that although the steps in the flow charts involved in the above embodiments are shown sequentially according to the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed sequentially in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless otherwise specified herein, there is no strict order restriction on the execution of these steps, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least some of the steps in the flow charts involved in the above-mentioned embodiments may include multiple steps or stages, and these steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but may be performed at different times For execution, the execution order of these steps or stages is not necessarily performed sequentially, but may be executed in turn or alternately with other steps or at least a part of steps or stages in other steps.

Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network slice registration device for implementing the above-mentioned network slice registration method. The solution to the problem provided by the device is similar to the implementation described in the above method, so for the specific limitations in one or more embodiments of the network slice registration device provided below, please refer to the network slice registration method above. limited and will not be repeated here.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a structural block diagram of an AMF unit provided in an embodiment of the present application. The device 800 includes:

A receiving module 801, configured to receive a registration request sent by the UE through the base station;

An obtaining module 802, configured to obtain subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit in response to the registration request;

The determining module 803 is configured to determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and the default slice information; the allowed slice information is used for network slice registration.

In one of the embodiments, the determining module 803 is specifically configured to determine the allowed slice information from the contracted slice information and the default slice information according to the preset slice priority rule.

In one of the embodiments, the determination module 803 is specifically configured to determine the allowed slice information less than or equal to the preset number from the contracted slice information and the default slice information according to the slice priority rule; related to the processing capacity of the network.

In one of the embodiments, the slice priority rule includes at least one of the following:

The priority of the default slice information is higher than that of the contracted slice information;

Slice information with high usage frequency has a higher priority than slice information with low usage frequency.

In one of the embodiments, the acquisition module 802 includes:

The sending unit is configured to send an authentication request to the authentication server in response to the registration request; the authentication request is used to instruct the authentication server to acquire the authentication parameters of the UE from the user data management unit;

The obtaining unit is configured to obtain the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit if the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received; the authentication response is a response sent by the authentication server after passing the authentication parameter authentication.

In one of the embodiments, the acquiring unit is specifically configured to send the subscription data acquisition request to the user data management unit if the authentication response is received; receive the UE subscription data sent by the user data management unit based on the subscription data acquisition request; the subscription data Including contract slice information and default slice information.

In one embodiment, the subscribed slice information includes signed network slice selection auxiliary information, and the default slice information includes default network slice selection auxiliary information.

In one of the embodiments, the apparatus 800 may further include a sending module, configured to send a registration response to the UE through the base station; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

In one of the embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In one embodiment, a communication device is provided, see FIG. 9 . FIG. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment provided by an embodiment of the present application. The user equipment 900 shown in FIG. 9 includes: at least one processor 901 , a memory 902 , at least one network interface 904 and a user interface 903 . Various components in the user equipment 900 are coupled together through the bus system 905 . It can be understood that the bus system 905 is used to realize connection and communication between these components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 905 also includes a power bus, a control bus and a status signal bus. However, the various buses are labeled as bus system 905 in FIG. 9 for clarity of illustration. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, a transceiver 906 is also included. The transceiver may be a plurality of components, that is, includes a transmitter and a receiver, and provides a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium.

Wherein, the user interface 903 may include a display, a keyboard, or a pointing device (for example, a mouse, a trackball (trackball), a touch panel, or a touch screen, and the like.

It can be understood that the memory 902 in this embodiment of the present invention may be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (Read-OnlyMemory, ROM), programmable read-only memory (ProgrammableROM, PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (ErasablePROM, EPROM), electrically erasable Programming read-only memory (Electrically EPROM, EEPROM) or flash memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), which acts as an external cache. By way of illustration and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available such as Static RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (Synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), Double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DoubleDataRateSDRAM, DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (Enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous connection dynamic random access memory (SynchlinkDRAM, SLDRAM) and direct memory bus random access Memory (Direct Rambus RAM, DRRAM). The memory 902 of the systems and methods described in embodiments of the present invention is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

In some implementations, the memory 902 stores the following elements, executable modules or data structures, or their subsets, or their extended sets: an operating system 9021 and an application program 9022 .

Among them, the operating system 9021 includes various system programs, such as framework layer, core library layer, driver layer, etc., for realizing various basic services and processing hardware-based tasks. The application program 9022 includes various application programs, such as a media player (MediaPlayer), a browser (Browser), etc., and is used to implement various application services. The program for realizing the method of the embodiment of the present invention may be included in the application program 9022 .

In the embodiment of the present invention, by calling the program or instruction stored in the memory 902, specifically, it may be the program or instruction stored in the application program 9022, wherein the sender is used to send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to Instruct the AMF unit to obtain the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit; the receiver is used to receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit; the registration response is for the AMF unit to determine the corresponding permission of the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information The response sent after the slice information, the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

It can be understood that the embodiments described in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the processing unit can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (Application Specific Integrated Circuits, ASIC), digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processing, DSP), digital signal processing device (DSPDevice, DSPD), programmable logic device (ProgrammableLogicDevice, PLD ), Field-Programmable Gate Array (Field-Programmable GateArray, FPGA), general-purpose processor, controller, microcontroller, microprocessor, other electronic units for performing the functions described in this application, or a combination thereof.

For software implementation, the techniques described in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented through modules (such as procedures, functions, etc.) that execute the functions described in the embodiments of the present invention. The software codes may be stored in a memory and executed by the processor 901 . The memory may be implemented in the processor 901 or external to the processor 901 .

In one of the embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In one of the embodiments, the registration response does not carry allowed slice information.

FIG. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station provided by an embodiment of the present application. The base station 1000 shown in FIG. 10 includes: at least one processor 1001 , a memory 1002 , and at least one network interface 1004 . Various components in the base station 1000 are coupled together through the bus system 1005 . It can be understood that the bus system 1005 is used to realize connection and communication between these components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 1005 also includes a power bus, a control bus and a status signal bus. However, the various buses are labeled as bus system 1005 in FIG. 10 for clarity of illustration. In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, a transceiver 1006 is also included. The transceiver may be a plurality of components, that is, includes a transmitter and a receiver, and provides a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium.

It can be understood that the memory 1002 in this embodiment of the present invention may be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (Read-OnlyMemory, ROM), programmable read-only memory (ProgrammableROM, PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (ErasablePROM, EPROM), electrically erasable Programming read-only memory (Electrically EPROM, EEPROM) or flash memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), which acts as an external cache. By way of illustration and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available such as Static RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM (Synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), Double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DoubleDataRateSDRAM, DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (Enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchronous connection dynamic random access memory (SynchlinkDRAM, SLDRAM) and direct memory bus random access Memory (Direct Rambus RAM, DRRAM). The memory 1002 of the systems and methods described in embodiments of the present invention is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

In some implementations, the memory 1002 stores the following elements, executable modules or data structures, or their subsets, or their extended sets: operating system 10021 . Among them, the operating system 10021 includes various system programs, such as framework layer, core library layer, driver layer, etc., for realizing various basic services and processing tasks based on hardware.

In the embodiment of the present invention, by invoking the program or instruction stored in the memory 1002, the receiver is used to receive the registration request sent by the UE; the transmitter is used to send the registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit from Obtain the subscription slice information and default slice information in the user data management unit, and determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information;

The receiver is also used to receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit, and send the registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

It can be understood that the embodiments described in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the processing unit can be implemented in one or more application-specific integrated circuits (Application Specific Integrated Circuits, ASIC), digital signal processor (Digital Signal Processing, DSP), digital signal processing device (DSPDevice, DSPD), programmable logic device (ProgrammableLogicDevice, PLD ), Field-Programmable Gate Array (Field-Programmable GateArray, FPGA), general-purpose processor, controller, microcontroller, microprocessor, other electronic units for performing the functions described in this application, or a combination thereof.

For software implementation, the techniques described in the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented through modules (such as procedures, functions, etc.) that execute the functions described in the embodiments of the present invention. The software codes may be stored in a memory and executed by the processor 1001 . The memory may be implemented in the processor 1001 or outside the processor 1001 .

In one of the embodiments, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In one of the embodiments, the registration response does not carry allowed slice information.

In one embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the following steps are implemented:

receiving a registration request sent by the user equipment UE through the base station;

Obtain the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit in response to the registration request;

According to the subscription slice information and the default slice information, determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE; the allowed slice information is used for network slice registration.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

According to preset slice priority rules, allowable slice information is determined from contracted slice information and default slice information.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

According to the slice priority rule, the allowed slice information less than or equal to the preset number is determined from the contracted slice information and the default slice information; the preset number is related to the processing capability of the network to which the AMF unit is connected.

In one embodiment, the slice priority rule includes at least one of the following:

The priority of the default slice information is higher than that of the contracted slice information;

Slice information with high usage frequency has a higher priority than slice information with low usage frequency.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

In response to the registration request, send an authentication request to the authentication server; the authentication request is used to instruct the authentication server to obtain the authentication parameters of the UE from the user data management unit;

If the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received, the subscription slice information and the default slice information are obtained from the user data management unit; the authentication response is a response sent by the authentication server after passing the authentication parameter authentication.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

If the authentication response is received, send a subscription data acquisition request to the user data management unit; receive the subscription data of the UE sent by the user data management unit based on the subscription data acquisition request; the subscription data includes subscription slice information and default slice information.

In an embodiment, the subscribed slice information includes signed network slice selection auxiliary information, and the default slice information includes default network slice selection auxiliary information.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

The base station sends a registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

In one embodiment, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

In one embodiment, a computer program product is provided, comprising a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the following steps:

receiving a registration request sent by the user equipment UE through the base station;

Obtain the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit in response to the registration request;

According to the subscription slice information and the default slice information, determine the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE; the allowed slice information is used for network slice registration.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

According to preset slice priority rules, allowable slice information is determined from contracted slice information and default slice information.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

According to the slice priority rule, the allowed slice information less than or equal to the preset number is determined from the contracted slice information and the default slice information; the preset number is related to the processing capability of the network to which the AMF unit is connected.

In one embodiment, the slice priority rule includes at least one of the following:

The priority of the default slice information is higher than that of the contracted slice information;

Slice information with high usage frequency has a higher priority than slice information with low usage frequency.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

In response to the registration request, send an authentication request to the authentication server; the authentication request is used to instruct the authentication server to obtain the authentication parameters of the UE from the user data management unit;

If the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received, the subscription slice information and the default slice information are obtained from the user data management unit; the authentication response is a response sent by the authentication server after passing the authentication parameter authentication.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

If the authentication response is received, send a subscription data acquisition request to the user data management unit; receive the subscription data of the UE sent by the user data management unit based on the subscription data acquisition request; the subscription data includes subscription slice information and default slice information.

In an embodiment, the subscribed slice information includes signed network slice selection auxiliary information, and the default slice information includes default network slice selection auxiliary information.

In one embodiment, when the computer program is executed by the processor, the following steps are also implemented:

The base station sends a registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful.

In one embodiment, the registration request does not carry information about network slices.

It should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user equipment information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in this application are all Information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties.

Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the processes in the methods of the above-mentioned embodiments can be completed by instructing related hardware through computer programs, and the computer programs can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable memory In the medium, when the computer program is executed, it may include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods. Wherein, any reference to storage, database or other media used in the various embodiments provided in the present application may include at least one of non-volatile and volatile storage. Non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash memory, optical memory, high-density embedded non-volatile memory, resistive variable memory (ReRAM), magnetic variable memory (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory, MRAM), Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FRAM), Phase Change Memory (Phase Change Memory, PCM), graphene memory, etc. The volatile memory may include random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM) or external cache memory. As an illustration and not a limitation, RAM can be in various forms, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) or Dynamic Random Access Memory (Dynamic Random Access Memory, DRAM). The databases involved in the various embodiments provided in this application may include at least one of a relational database and a non-relational database. The non-relational database may include a blockchain-based distributed database, etc., but is not limited thereto. The processors involved in the various embodiments provided by this application can be general-purpose processors, central processing units, graphics processors, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices, data processing logic devices based on quantum computing, etc., and are not limited to this.

The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. To make the description concise, all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be It is considered to be within the range described in this specification.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several implementation modes of the present application, and the description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but should not be construed as limiting the patent scope of the present application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims (20)

1. A network slice registration method, characterized in that, the method is applied to an access and mobility management function AMF unit, and the method comprises: receiving a registration request sent by the user equipment UE through the base station; Responding to the registration request, acquiring subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit; Determine allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and default slice information; the allowed slice information is used for network slice registration. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, according to the subscription slice information and default slice information, determining the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE comprises: The permitted slice information is determined from the contracted slice information and the default slice information according to a preset slice priority rule. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, according to preset slice priority rules, determining the allowed slice information from the contracted slice information and the default slice information includes: According to the slice priority rule, determine the allowed slice information less than or equal to a preset number from the contracted slice information and the default slice information; the preset number is related to the network accessed by the AMF unit related to the processing capacity. 4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the slice priority rule includes at least one of the following: The priority of the default slice information is higher than that of the contracted slice information; Slice information with high usage frequency has a higher priority than slice information with low usage frequency. 5. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein in response to the registration request, obtaining the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit includes: In response to the registration request, send an authentication request to the authentication server; the authentication request is used to instruct the authentication server to acquire the authentication parameters of the UE from the user data management unit; If the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received, the subscription slice information and the default slice information are obtained from the user data management unit; the authentication response is the response sent by the authentication server after the authentication parameter is authenticated. . 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein if the authentication response sent by the authentication server is received, obtaining the subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit, comprising: If the authentication response is received, send a subscription data acquisition request to the user data management unit; receiving the subscription data of the UE sent by the user data management unit based on the subscription data acquisition request; the subscription data includes the subscription slice information and the default slice information. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the contract slice information includes contracted network slice selection auxiliary information, and the default slice information includes default network slice selection auxiliary information. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the method further comprises: Sending a registration response to the UE through the base station; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the registration request does not carry information about network slices. 10. A network slice registration method, characterized in that the method is applied to a user equipment UE, and the method comprises: Send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit; receiving a registration response sent by the AMF unit; the registration response is a response sent by the AMF unit after determining the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information, and the registration response is used for Indicates that the network slice registration is successful. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the registration request does not carry information about network slices. 12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the registration response does not carry the allowed slice information. 13. A network slice registration method, characterized in that the method is applied to a base station, and the method comprises: Receive a registration request sent by the UE; Send the registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit, and determine according to the subscription slice information and the default slice information Allowed slice information corresponding to the UE; Receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit, and send the registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful. 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the registration request does not carry information about network slices. 15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the registration response does not carry the allowed slice information. 16. An AMF unit, characterized in that the AMF unit comprises: A receiving module, configured to receive a registration request sent by the UE through the base station; An acquisition module, configured to acquire subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit in response to the registration request; A determining module, configured to determine allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and default slice information; the allowed slice information is used for network slice registration. 17. A user equipment, characterized in that the user equipment comprises: A sender, configured to send a registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain subscription slice information and default slice information from the user data management unit; The receiver is configured to receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit; the registration response is a response sent by the AMF unit after determining the allowed slice information corresponding to the UE according to the subscribed slice information and the default slice information, and the The above registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful. 18. A base station, characterized in that the base station comprises: a receiver, configured to receive a registration request sent by the UE; a sender, configured to send the registration request to the AMF unit; the registration request is used to instruct the AMF unit to obtain the subscription slice information and the default slice information from the user data management unit, and according to the subscription slice information and the Default slice information, determining allowed slice information corresponding to the UE; The receiver is further configured to receive the registration response sent by the AMF unit, and send the registration response to the UE; the registration response is used to indicate that the registration of the network slice is successful. 19. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, wherein, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 are realized. 20. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, characterized in that, when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 are realized.