WO2024104360A1 - Network access method and apparatus, device, storage medium, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed in embodiments of the present application are a network access method and apparatus, a device, a storage medium, and a program. The method comprises: when a terminal accesses a non-3GPP network, acquiring N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network; and on the basis of the N3IWF selection information, selecting a target N3IWF and accessing a 5G core network. Therefore, a terminal can acquire N3IWF selection information without a local configuration and without first accessing a 5G network.

Description

Network access method, device, equipment, storage medium and program

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on the Chinese patent application with application number 202211425566.X, application date November 14, 2022, and name “Network Access Method, Device, Equipment and Storage Medium”, and claims the priority of the Chinese patent application. The entire content of the Chinese patent application is hereby introduced into this application as a reference.

Technical Field

The present application relates to, but is not limited to, the fields of communication technology and computer technology, and in particular to a network access method, device, equipment, storage medium and program.

Background technique

As a new generation of communication technology, the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) uses its large bandwidth, low latency, high reliability, and wide connection characteristics to provide the necessary network infrastructure support for vertical industry applications, promote the intelligent upgrade of various industries, and move towards the intelligent interconnection of all things. However, various vertical industries have generally deployed local area networks and the Internet of Things based on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, wired, Zigbee, Lora and other network types, and need to consider the integration of 5G networks with other types of networks.

In actual production and life scenarios, there are areas where 5G signals have no coverage or poor signal quality, such as some residential areas, hospitals and factories in remote areas. At this time, terminals with 5G capabilities can access the 5G network through "non-3GPP network + N3IWF". They need to first access the non-3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) network, and then discover and select N3IWF (Non-3GPP InterWorking Function).

The 3GPP standard defines the terminal's N3IWF selection information in the terminal's ANDSP (Access Network Discovery & Selection Policy). According to the 3GPP specification, the configuration methods of ANDSP on the terminal include terminal pre-configuration and network configuration. However, the former does not support dynamic modification of rules. When the N3IWF network deployment changes, it is necessary to go to the business hall or even the manufacturer to modify the rules, which is very inconvenient. The latter has the problem that the terminal cannot directly register with the 5G network, and thus cannot obtain ANDSP rules for N3IWF discovery and selection, resulting in the inability to access the 5G network through the "non-3GPP network + N3IWF" method.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a network access method, apparatus, device, storage medium and program, which at least solve the problem that the terminal cannot perform N3IWF selection in a non-5G network access scenario, and the problem that dynamic configuration modification is difficult in the existing pre-configured N3IWF selection scheme.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application is implemented as follows:

On the one hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a network access method, the method comprising:

When the terminal accesses a non-3GPP network, obtain N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network; based on the N3IWF selection information, select a target N3IWF and access the 5G core network.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a network access device, the device comprising:

An information acquisition module, configured to acquire N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network when the terminal accesses the non-3GPP network;

The access selection module is configured to select the target N3IWF and access the 5G core network based on the N3IWF selection information.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be executed on the processor, and when the processor executes the program, some or all of the steps in the above method are implemented.

On the other hand, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which implements part or all of the steps in the above method when executed by a processor.

In another aspect, the present application provides a computer program readable storage medium. When the code runs in an electronic device, a processor in the electronic device executes part or all of the steps in the method.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal first accesses the non-3GPP network, then obtains the N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network, and then selects a suitable target N3IWF to access the 5G network. Based on the 5G fixed-mobile convergence architecture, the terminal can obtain the N3IWF selection information without local configuration or access to the 5G network first.

It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary and explanatory, and are not intended to limit the technical solutions of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification. These drawings illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and are used together with the specification to illustrate the technical solution of the present application.

FIG. 1A is a diagram of a 3GPP and non-3GPP network integration architecture based on N3IWF provided by a related art;

FIG1B is a diagram of a 5G fixed-mobile converged network architecture provided by a related technology;

FIG1C is an architecture diagram of UE accessing 5GC through N3IWF under 5G-RG provided by the related technology;

FIG. 1D is a 3GPP standard EDGE APP architecture provided by related technologies;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an optional flow chart of a network access method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an optional flow chart of a network access method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of an optional flow chart of a network access method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of an optional flow chart of a network access method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a logic flow of accessing a core network based on N3IWF according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7A is a schematic diagram of a process of obtaining N3IWF selection information from a 5G network through a 5G-RG according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7B is a schematic diagram of a process of obtaining N3IWF selection information from a configuration server through 5G-RG according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7C is a schematic diagram of a process of obtaining N3IWF selection information based on the 3GPP EDGEAPP architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of a network access device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a hardware entity of a computer device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the technical solutions of the present application are further elaborated in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. The described embodiments should not be regarded as limiting the present application. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present application.

In the following description, reference is made to “some embodiments”, which describe a subset of all possible embodiments, but it will be understood that “some embodiments” may be the same subset or different subsets of all possible embodiments and may be combined with each other without conflict.

The terms "first/second/third" involved are merely used to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific ordering of the objects. It is understandable that "first/second/third" can be interchanged with a specific order or sequence where permitted so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application belongs. The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing this application and are not intended to limit this application.

Before further describing the embodiments of the present application in detail, the relevant technologies involved in the embodiments of the present application are described first. The nouns and terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are subject to the following explanations.

In order to achieve the integration of 5G and other networks, the 3GPP standards organization, the developer of 5G communication specifications, has defined the architecture for the integration of 3GPP networks and non-3GPP networks. Based on multiple network elements such as N3IWF and TNGF, non-3GPP networks can Access to the 5G core network. As shown in Figure 1A, the converged network architecture diagram based on N3IWF: N3IWF 101 connects to the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) 102 and UPF (User Plane Function) 103 network elements of the 5G core network through the N2 and N3 interfaces respectively. The two N2 instances in Figure 1A are applicable to a single AMF of the UE, which is connected to the same 5G core network through 3GPP access and untrusted non-3GPP access (Untrusted Non-3GPP Acess) at the same time. Based on the above architecture, UEs with 5G capabilities can directly access the 5G core network through non-3GPP networks, and realize 5G network communication through the standard 5G N1 interface and the 5G NAS (Non-Access-Stratum) protocol.

Fixed-mobile convergence refers to the convergence of fixed and mobile networks, also known as wireless and wired convergence. It is achieved through the integration and cooperation between fixed networks and mobile networks, thereby realizing the operation of full services and integrated services, and providing users with a variety of high-quality communication, information, entertainment and other services, regardless of their terminals, networks, applications and locations. In order to achieve 5G fixed-mobile convergence, the 3GPP specification defines two types of gateways: resident gateway RG and wired access gateway function W-AGF, which are deployed on the user side and the network side respectively to solve the convergence problem of the two locations. Among them, RG is between the terminal and the access network, and is divided into 5G-RG and FN-RG (fixed network RG). 5G-RG has 5G communication capabilities and can be connected to NG RAN or wired access networks; while FN-RG can only be connected to wired access networks;

"RG+W-AGF" is the basis for realizing 5G fixed-mobile convergence. The fixed-mobile convergence network architecture based on 5G-RG+W-AGF is shown in Figure 1B. The UE first accesses 5G-RG 111 through a non-3GPP network (WLAN, wired, Bluetooth, etc.), and then indirectly accesses the 5G core network through 5G-RG 111. W-AGF 112 is between the wired access network and 5GC, and together with the wired access network, it forms W-5GAN 113 (wired 5G access network), and is connected to 5GC through standard 3GPP N2 and N3 interfaces.

The terminal under 5G-RG may also have 5G capabilities, but based on the 5G fixed-mobile convergence architecture, it can only indirectly access 5GC. In this case, the 3GPP and non-3GPP converged network architecture can be combined to regard the 5G fixed-mobile converged access as a "non-trusted non-3GPP access". The network architecture is shown in Figure 1C. The UE directly accesses the AMF 123 and UPF 124 of 5GC through the N3IWF 122 with the help of the Nwu (No Wireless) interface. In this way, the UE under 5G-RG can access the 5GC through the standard 5G NAS protocol to achieve 5G communication.

Edge computing is one of the key technologies of 5G. To enable edge computing applications in various industries, 3GPP defines the EDGEAPP (edge application enablement) architecture, as shown in Figure 1D. In this architecture, EAS (Edge Application Server) 132 and EES (Edge Enable Server) 133 are deployed in the edge data network 131; ECS (Edge Configuration Server) 134 provides EES-related configurations, including detailed information on the edge data network hosting EES 133; UE includes AC (Application Client) 135 and EEC (Edge Enable Client) 136. To provide 5G high-speed, low-latency services, UEs in different locations may access different EASs. The process of UE discovering EAS 132 is as follows: UE obtains the address of ECS 134 through local pre-configuration or user configuration; EEC 136 on the UE accesses ECS 134 through the Eecs interface to obtain EES 133 information; EEC 136 accesses EES 133 through the Eees interface to obtain EAS 132 information.

In actual production and life scenarios, there are areas where 5G signals are not covered or the signal quality is poor, such as some residential areas, hospitals and factories in remote areas, etc. UEs with 5G capabilities can access the 5G network based on the aforementioned 5G fixed-mobile convergence architecture, but under this architecture, UEs access 5G indirectly through 5G-RG, and do not support the N1 standard interface and protocol between UE and 5GC, and cannot conveniently use 5G advanced technologies, such as network slicing, URSP (UE Route Selection Policy), etc. The architecture of UE accessing 5GC through N3IWF under 5G-RG can solve the above problems. UEs can access non-3GPP networks and access 5GC through N3IWF to achieve 5G communication.

When a UE accesses a 5G network through a "non-3GPP network + N3IWF", it needs to first access the non-3GPP network, then discover and select N3IWF. The 3GPP standard defines the UE's N3IWF selection information in the UE's ANDSP. According to the 3GPP specification, there are two ways to configure ANDSP rules on the UE: pre-configuration on the UE: pre-configuration of ANDSP rules on the UE, such as pre-configuration on the UE device by the manufacturer, or pre-configuration on the UE's SIM card by the operator; network configuration: the 5G network sends ANDSP rules to the UE, usually by the PCF. Initiate the configuration process.

However, both of the above two configuration methods have certain technical problems: the pre-configuration method on the UE does not require the intervention of the network and other equipment, but does not support dynamic modification of rules. When the N3IWF network deployment changes, it is necessary to go to the business hall or even the manufacturer to modify the rules, which is very inconvenient; the network configuration method requires the UE to register with the 5G network first. As described in the above scenario, the UE may currently be in an area without 5G signal coverage, so it cannot directly register with the 5G network, and thus cannot obtain ANDSP rules for N3IWF discovery and selection, resulting in the inability to access the 5G network based on the "non-3GPP network + N3IWF" method.

The embodiment of the present application provides a network access method, which can be executed by a processor of a terminal. The terminal may refer to a server, a laptop, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a smart TV, a set-top box, a mobile device (such as a mobile phone, a portable video player, a personal digital assistant, a dedicated messaging device, a portable gaming device) and other devices with network access capabilities. FIG2 is an optional flow diagram of the network access method provided in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2, the method includes the following steps S210 to S220:

Step S210: When the terminal accesses a non-3GPP network, obtain N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network.

Here, the terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality terminal, an augmented reality terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

The non-3GPP network includes but is not limited to WLAN, wired, Bluetooth, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The terminal first accesses the non-3GPP network, and then obtains N3IWF selection information based on the non-3GPP network.

The N3IWF selection information includes the following two parts: N3IWF identifier configuration, which includes the IP address or FQDN information of the N3IWF in the HPLMN; non-3GPP access node selection information, which includes a PLMN list and the preferred N3IWF corresponding to each PLMN.

Step S220: Based on the N3IWF selection information, select N3IWF and access the 5G core network.

Here, after the terminal receives the N3IWF selection information sent by the non-3GPP network, it saves and selects N3IWF to access the 5G network based on the N3IWF selection information.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal first accesses the non-3GPP network, then obtains the N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network, and then selects a suitable target N3IWF to access the 5G network. Based on the 5G fixed-mobile convergence architecture, the terminal can obtain the N3IWF selection information without local configuration or access to the 5G network first.

In some embodiments, the N3IWF selection information includes at least one of the following auxiliary information: slices supported by N3IWF, DNNs supported by N3IWF, application types supported by N3IWF, and application identifiers supported by N3IWF; the above step S220 can be further implemented as: saving the N3IWF selection information; using the auxiliary information in the N3IWF selection information, selecting the target N3IWF and accessing the 5G core network.

Here, the slice supported by the N3IWF is used to indicate that the terminal selects the N3IWF that supports the slice when accessing the network slice, and the implementation method includes but is not limited to: S-NSSAI, NSSAI; the DNN supported by the N3IWF, is used to indicate that the UE selects the N3IWF that supports the DNN when accessing the DNN; the application type supported by the N3IWF is used to indicate that the UE selects the N3IWF that supports the application type when using a certain type of application, and the implementation method can be a bitmap method, a numbering method, a string method, etc. For example: when the bitmap method is used, "0001" represents the video class, "0010" represents the virtual reality class, and "0011" represents both the video class and the virtual reality class; when the numbering method is used, "0000" represents the video class, and "0001" represents the virtual reality class; when the string method is used, "video" represents the video class, and "XR" represents the virtual reality class; the application identifier supported by the N3IWF is used for the UE to select the N3IWF that supports the application when using a certain application, and the implementation method can be a variety of ID numbers or string methods. For example: when the ID numbering method is used, "OSId+APPId" (operating system ID+application ID) is used to identify the application; when the string method is used, "AppName+Provider" (application name+application provider) is used to identify the application.

In some embodiments, the 5G core network stores the N3IWF selection information subscribed by the terminal. An optional flow chart of a network access method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG3 . The above step S210 may include the following steps S310 to S320:

Step S310, when the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network, sending a first request message to the resident gateway; the first request message is used to instruct the resident gateway to obtain the N3IWF selection information subscribed by the terminal from the 5G core network;

Here, the resident gateway (RG) is between the terminal and the access network, including but not limited to 5G-RG and FN-RG (fixed network RG).

The first request message carries at least the terminal identifier, the network slice identifier, and DNN (Data Network Name). Among them, the terminal identifier is used to characterize the unique identity of the terminal, and the implementation methods include but are not limited to: MSISDN (The Mobile Station ISDN number), IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identification Number), SUPI (Subscription Permanent Identifier), SUCI (Subscription Concealed Identifier), IP (Internet Protocol) address, MAC (Media Access Control) address, PEI; the network slice identifier is used to indicate the network slice that the terminal expects to access, and the implementation methods include but are not limited to: NSSAI (Network Slice Selection Assistance Information), S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information); the DNN is the DNN that the terminal expects to access.

In implementation, after receiving the first request message sent by the terminal, the resident gateway forwards it to the 5G core network, and the 5G core network retrieves the N3IWF selection information signed by the terminal based on the terminal information carried in the message. The actual internal execution process of the 5G core network should be: the request message of the resident gateway will first be sent to AMF, and AMF will request UDM (Unified Data Management) to retrieve the N3IWF selection information of the terminal. UDM retrieves the N3IWF selection information from UDR based on the terminal identifier, network slice identifier or DNN and returns it to AMF;

Step S320: receiving the N3IWF selection information sent by the resident gateway.

In the above embodiment, since the resident gateway has been connected to the 5G network, and the 5G core network stores the N3IWF selection information signed by the terminal. Therefore, after the terminal accesses the resident gateway, the resident gateway obtains the N3IWF selection information corresponding to the terminal from the 5G network and then sends it to the terminal. In this way, the N3IWF selection information is obtained from the non-3GPP network, which is suitable for 5G network access in areas where the 5G signal has no coverage or the signal quality is poor.

In some embodiments, when the resident gateway is connected to a designated configuration server, the N3IWF selection information can be obtained from the configuration server through the resident gateway. FIG4 is an optional flow chart of the network access method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG4, the above step S210 "obtaining N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network when the terminal accesses a non-3GPP network" may include the following steps S410 to S420:

Step S410, when the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network, sending a second request message to the connected configuration server through the resident gateway; the second request message is used to instruct the configuration server to configure the N3IWF selection information for the terminal and send it to the resident gateway;

Here, the resident gateway is connected to a designated configuration server, which is generally used to uniformly manage multiple resident gateways. The second request message carries at least an identifier of the terminal.

Step S420: Acquire the N3IWF selection information configured by the configuration server through the resident gateway.

Here, the resident gateway first reports terminal information such as the terminal identifier to the configuration server, and then the configuration server configures N3IWF selection information for the terminal and sends it to the resident gateway. Finally, the resident gateway actively or passively sends the N3IWF selection information to the terminal.

In some implementations, the terminal receives the N3IWF selection information actively sent by the resident gateway to the terminal; in other implementations, the terminal sends a request to the resident gateway to obtain the N3IWF selection information configured by the configuration server, for example, through the ANQP protocol.

In the above embodiment, after the terminal accesses the resident gateway, the resident gateway reports the UE information to the designated configuration server, and the server configures the N3IWF selection information of the terminal and sends it to the resident gateway, and then the resident gateway can actively Or after receiving the terminal request, the N3IWF selection information is sent to the terminal. In this way, the N3IWF selection information configured by the configuration server for the terminal supports dynamic modification of rules, and the N3IWF selection information can be obtained without the terminal registering the 5G network, so that it can adapt to 5G network access in areas with no 5G signal coverage or poor signal quality.

In some embodiments, based on the design concept of edge computing, the N3IWFs accessed by the terminal at different locations may be different. Therefore, the above step S210 "obtaining N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network when the terminal accesses the non-3GPP network" can be further implemented as follows: when the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network, the N3IWF selection information is obtained from the edge computing platform locally deployed by the network provider through the resident gateway. For example, the terminal obtains N3IWF selection information based on the edge enabling server in the EDGEAPP architecture defined by the 3GPP standard.

In some embodiments, the edge computing platform includes an edge configuration server (Edge Configuration Server, ECS) and an edge enable server (Edge Enable Server, EES), and an edge enable client (Edge Enable Configuration, EEC). FIG5 is an optional flow chart of a network access method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5, the method includes the following steps S510 to S530:

Step S510, accessing the edge computing platform through the resident gateway, and obtaining the address of the edge configuration server through local pre-configuration or user configuration;

Here, the 5G fixed-mobile converged network architecture implemented based on the resident gateway and W-AGF is shown in Figure 1B. The terminal first accesses the UPF through the resident gateway, and then the UPF accesses the edge computing platform.

Step S520: using the edge enabling client on the terminal to access the edge configuration server through the first interface to obtain the address of the edge enabling server;

Here, the first interface is an interface between the edge enabling client and the edge configuration server, that is, an Eecs interface.

Step S530: Access the edge enabling server through the first interface to obtain the N3IWF selection information.

Here, the first interface is the interface between the edge enabling client and the edge configuration server, namely, the Eees interface; the edge enabling server stores the N3IWF selection information pre-configured by the local network service provider or industry user.

In the above embodiment, after the terminal accesses the resident gateway, it obtains N3IWF selection information from the edge computing platform locally deployed by the network provider. In this way, the N3IWF selection information can be obtained without the terminal registering the 5G network, so that it can adapt to 5G network access in areas where the 5G signal has no coverage or the signal quality is poor. It is also applicable to different N3IWFs accessed by the terminal in different locations (such as different enterprise parks).

The above network access method is described below in conjunction with a specific embodiment. However, it should be noted that this specific embodiment is only for better illustrating the present application and does not constitute an improper limitation on the present application.

The embodiment of the present application is based on the 5G fixed-mobile convergence architecture. The following is an example of a terminal being a UE. The UE (User Equipment) obtains N3IWF selection information from a local non-3GPP network, so that the UE can obtain N3IWF selection information without local configuration or access to a 5G network first, thereby selecting a suitable N3IWF to access the 5G network. The overall technical solution is shown in FIG6 . The method includes steps S601 to 602:

Step S601: UE obtains N3IWF selection information from a non-3GPP network.

Here, based on the 5G fixed-mobile convergence and non-3GPP and 3GPP network convergence architecture defined by the current 3GPP standard, the implementation method of the UE obtaining the N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network may include the following three methods:

Method 1: Obtain from the 5G network through 5G-RG: Because the 5G-RG has been connected to the 5G network, after the UE accesses the 5G-RG, the 5G-RG obtains the N3IWF selection information corresponding to the UE from the 5G network and then sends it to the UE.

Method 2: Obtain from the configuration server through 5G-RG: that is, after the UE accesses the 5G-RG, the 5G-RG reports the UE information to the designated configuration server, and the server configures the UE's N3IWF selection information and sends it to the 5G-RG. Then, the 5G-RG can actively or after receiving the UE request, send the N3IWF selection information to the UE.

Method 3: Acquisition based on 3GPP EDGEAPP architecture: Based on the design concept of edge computing, the N3IWF accessed by UE at different locations may be different. UE can enable from the edge based on 3GPP EDGEAPP architecture The server EES obtains the N3IWF selection information.

Step S602: UE selects N3IWF to access the 5G network.

The embodiment of the present application is based on the 5G fixed-mobile convergence architecture. The UE obtains N3IWF selection information from the local non-3GPP network, so that the UE can obtain the N3IWF selection information without local configuration or accessing the 5G network first, thereby selecting a suitable N3IWF to access the 5G network.

The premise for implementing the above method 1 is that the N3IWF selection information of the UE subscription has been saved in the 5G core network. The subscription method can be through the BOSS system or network capability opening, which is not limited in the embodiment of this application. The specific flow chart is shown in Figure 7A, including the following steps S711 to S714:

Step S711, the UE sends a request to 5G-RG to obtain N3IWF selection information.

Here, the request message includes at least one of the following: UE identification: a unique identity for the UE, and the implementation methods include but are not limited to: MSISDN, IMSI, SUPI, SUCI, IP address, MAC address, PEI; Network slice identification: used to indicate the network slice that the UE expects to access, and the implementation methods include but are not limited to: NSSAI, S-NSSAI; DNN: used to indicate the DNN that the UE expects to access.

Step S712, 5G-RG sends a request to 5GC to obtain the N3IWF selection information signed by the UE;

Here, the information carried in the request includes at least one of the following: UE identifier, network slice identifier, DNN, and 5GC retrieves the N3IWF selection information signed by the UE based on the above information.

The actual internal execution process of 5GC should be: the request message of 5G-RG will be sent to AMF first, AMF will request UDM to retrieve the N3IWF selection information of UE, and UDM will retrieve the N3IWF selection information from UDR based on the UE identifier and UE supported slice identifier and return it to AMF.

In step S713, 5GC sends the N3IWF selection information subscribed by the UE to 5G-RG.

Step S714, 5G-RG returns N3IWF selection information to the UE.

The premise for implementing the above method 2 is that the 5G-RG is connected to a designated configuration server, which is generally used to uniformly manage multiple 5G-RGs. The specific flow chart is shown in FIG7B , including the following steps S721 to S725:

Step S721, UE accesses 5G-RG.

Step S722, 5G-RG reports UE information to the configuration server.

Here, the carried information at least includes a UE identifier, and implementation methods include but are not limited to: MSISDN, IMSI, SUPI, SUCI, IP address, MAC address, and PEI.

Step S723: The configuration server configures the N3IWF selection information of the UE.

Step S724: The configuration server sends the UE's N3IWF selection information to the 5G-RG.

In step S725, 5G-RG actively or passively sends N3IWF selection information to the UE.

Here, the sending method includes at least one of the following: active sending and passive sending, wherein active sending means that 5G-RG actively sends its N3IWF selection information to UE; passive sending means that UE sends a request to 5G-RG to obtain N3IWF selection information, such as obtaining it through the ANQP protocol.

The above method three is applicable to the case where the UE accesses different N3IWFs at different locations (such as different enterprise campuses). The UE obtains the N3IWF selection information based on the EDGEAPP architecture defined by the 3GPP standard. The premise for the implementation of this method three is that the N3IWF selection information has been configured on the EES, and the configuration method is pre-configured by the local network service provider or industry user. When the UE accesses a non-3GPP network through 5G-RG, the UE can obtain the address of the local EES from the ECS through the Eecs interface. After the UE obtains the EES address, the EEC on the UE obtains the N3IWF selection information from the EES based on the Eees interface.

The specific flow chart is shown in FIG. 7C , and includes the following steps S731 to S732:

Step S731, the EEC on the UE sends a request to obtain N3IWF selection information to the EES.

Here, the carried information includes at least a UE identifier, and implementation methods include but are not limited to: MSISDN, IMSI, SUPI, SUCI, IP address, and MAC address.

Step S732: EES sends N3IWF selection information to EEC.

Here, the EES sends the UE's N3IWF selection information to the UE.

To facilitate UE to select a suitable N3IWF, N3IWF is added to the N3IWF selection information defined in the 3GPP standard. The auxiliary information is selected and sent to the UE in the above-mentioned manners. The content of the auxiliary information selected by the N3IWF includes at least one of the following:

The slice supported by N3IWF is used to instruct the UE to select the N3IWF supporting the slice when accessing the network slice. The implementation methods include but are not limited to: S-NSSAI, NSSAI;

The DNN supported by the N3IWF is used to instruct the UE to select the N3IWF supporting the DNN when accessing the DNN;

The application types supported by N3IWF are used to indicate to UE to select N3IWF that supports a certain type of application when using it. The implementation methods can be bitmap, numbering, string, etc. For example, when using the bitmap method, "0001" represents the video class, "0010" represents the virtual reality class, and "0011" represents both the video class and the virtual reality class; when using the numbering method, "0000" represents the video class, and "0001" represents the virtual reality class; when using the string method, "video" represents the video class, and "XR" represents the virtual reality class.

The application identifier supported by N3IWF is used by UE to select the N3IWF that supports an application when using the application. The implementation method can be ID number or string method. For example, when the ID number method is used, "OSId+APPId" (operating system ID+application ID) is used to identify the application; when the string method is used, "AppName+Provider" (application name+application provider) is used to identify the application.

The embodiments of the present application are based on the 5G fixed-mobile convergence, non-3GPP and 3GPP network convergence architecture, and EDGEAPP architecture defined by the current 3GPP standard, and solve the problem that related technologies cannot perform N3IWF selection in non-5G networks, and the problem that dynamic configuration modification is difficult in existing pre-configured N3IWF selection schemes, so as to enable UE to complete N3IWF selection in non-5G network access scenarios.

Due to the influence of big video, cloud applications and new social applications, the growth of domestic mobile broadband and fixed broadband users has been very rapid since 2014. Fixed-mobile convergence has become a general trend, and its driving forces include business and network requirements: the driving force at the business level is mainly unified user accounts and authentication, unified billing, business continuity assurance, and business experience consistency, so that users can use a variety of telecommunications services across time, space, and access mode restrictions; the driving force of the network includes the reduction of network construction and operation and maintenance costs under a unified network architecture. 5GC with cloud-based and service-oriented architecture can better support 5G fixed-mobile convergence. The embodiment of the present application can solve the problem that under the fixed-mobile convergence architecture, the UE selects a suitable N3IWF to access the 5GC and connect to the 5G network when there is no local configuration and no 5G network access. It promotes a deeper integration of 5G and wired networks, and has good promotion prospects and application value.

Based on the foregoing embodiments, the embodiments of the present application provide a network access device, which includes the modules included, and the sub-modules and units included in each module, which can be implemented by a processor in a computer device; of course, it can also be implemented by a specific logic circuit; in the implementation process, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor (MPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of a network access device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8 , the device 800 includes: an information acquisition module 810 and an access selection module 820, wherein:

The information acquisition module 810 is configured to acquire N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network when the terminal accesses the non-3GPP network;

The access selection module 820 is configured to select a target N3IWF and access the 5G core network based on the N3IWF selection information.

In some possible embodiments, the 5G core network stores the N3IWF selection information of the terminal signing a contract; the information acquisition module 810 includes: a first sending submodule, configured to send a first request message to the resident gateway when the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network; the first request message is configured to instruct the resident gateway to obtain the N3IWF selection information of the terminal signing a contract from the 5G core network; a first receiving submodule, configured to receive the N3IWF selection information sent by the resident gateway.

In some possible embodiments, the information acquisition module 810 includes: a second sending submodule, configured to, when the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network, send a message to the connected The configuration server sends a second request message; the second request message is used to instruct the configuration server to configure the N3IWF selection information for the terminal and send it to the resident gateway; the first acquisition submodule is configured to obtain the N3IWF selection information configured by the configuration server through the resident gateway.

In some possible embodiments, the first acquisition submodule includes: a receiving unit configured to receive the N3IWF selection information actively sent by the resident gateway to the terminal; or a sending unit configured to send a request to the resident gateway to obtain the N3IWF selection information configured by the configuration server.

In some possible embodiments, the information acquisition module 810 is further configured to obtain the N3IWF selection information from an edge computing platform locally deployed by a network provider through the resident gateway when the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network.

In some possible embodiments, the edge computing platform includes an edge configuration server, an edge enabling server, and an edge enabling client; the edge enabling server stores the N3IWF selection information pre-configured by a local network service provider or industry user; the information acquisition module 810 includes: a second acquisition submodule, configured to access the edge computing platform through the resident gateway, and obtain the address of the edge configuration server through local pre-configuration or user configuration; a third acquisition submodule, configured to use the edge enabling client on the terminal to access the edge configuration server through a first interface to obtain the address of the edge enabling server; the first interface is an interface between the edge enabling client and the edge configuration server; a fourth acquisition submodule, configured to access the edge enabling server through a second interface to obtain the N3IWF selection information; the second interface is an interface between the edge enabling client and the edge enabling server.

In some possible embodiments, the N3IWF selection information includes at least one of the following auxiliary information: slices supported by N3IWF, DNNs supported by N3IWF, application types supported by N3IWF, and application identifiers supported by N3IWF; the selection access module 820 includes: a saving submodule configured to save the N3IWF selection information; and a selection submodule configured to use the auxiliary information in the N3IWF selection information to select the target N3IWF and access the 5G core network.

The description of the above device embodiment is similar to the description of the above method embodiment, and has similar beneficial effects as the method embodiment. In some embodiments, the functions or modules included in the device provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure can be used to execute the method described in the above method embodiment. For technical details not disclosed in the device embodiment of the present application, please refer to the description of the method embodiment of the present application for understanding.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, if the above-mentioned network access method is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can be essentially or partly reflected in the form of a software product that contributes to the relevant technology. The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk. In this way, the embodiments of the present application are not limited to any specific hardware, software or firmware, or any combination of hardware, software, and firmware.

An embodiment of the present application provides a computer device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be run on the processor, and when the processor executes the program, some or all of the steps in the above method are implemented.

The embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, some or all of the steps in the above method are implemented. The computer-readable storage medium can be transient or non-transient.

An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program, including a computer-readable code. When the computer-readable code is run in a computer device, a processor in the computer device executes some or all of the steps for implementing the above method.

The embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, and when the computer program is read and executed by a computer, some or all of the steps in the above method are implemented. The computer program product can be implemented specifically by hardware, software or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the computer program product is specifically embodied as a computer storage medium, and in other embodiments, the computer program product is specifically embodied as a software product, such as a software development kit (SDK), etc.

It should be noted here that the description of the various embodiments above tends to emphasize the differences between the various embodiments, and the same or similar aspects can be referenced to each other. The description of the above device, storage medium, computer program and computer program product embodiments is similar to the description of the above method embodiment, and has similar beneficial effects as the method embodiment. For technical details not disclosed in the embodiments of the device, storage medium, computer program and computer program product of this application, please refer to the description of the method embodiment of this application for understanding.

It should be noted that FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a hardware entity of a computer device in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 9 , the hardware entity of the computer device 900 includes: a processor 901, a communication interface 902, and a memory 903, wherein:

Processor 901 generally controls the overall operation of computer device 900 .

The communication interface 902 enables the computer device to communicate with other terminals or servers through a network.

The memory 903 is configured to store instructions and applications executable by the processor 901, and can also cache data to be processed or processed by the processor 901 and each module in the computer device 900 (for example, image data, audio data, voice communication data, and video communication data), which can be implemented by flash memory (FLASH) or random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM). Data can be transmitted between the processor 901, the communication interface 902, and the memory 903 through the bus 904.

It should be understood that "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" mentioned throughout the specification means that specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" appearing throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned steps/processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each step/process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application. The serial numbers of the embodiments of the present application are for description only and do not represent the advantages and disadvantages of the embodiments.

It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as: multiple units or components can be combined, or can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored, or not executed. In addition, the coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection between the components shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units; they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units; some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment.

In addition, all functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be separately configured as a unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit; the above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of implementing the above method embodiment can be completed by hardware related to program instructions, and the aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it executes the steps of the above method embodiment; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: mobile storage devices, read-only memories (ROM), magnetic disks or optical disks, and other media that can store program codes.

Alternatively, if the above-mentioned integrated unit of the present application is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can essentially or in other words, the part that contributes to the relevant technology can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as mobile storage devices, ROMs, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

The above is only an implementation method of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims (11)

A network access method, applied to a terminal, comprising: In a case where the terminal accesses a non-3rd Generation Partnership Project 3GPP network, obtaining non-3GPP network interworking function N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network; Based on the N3IWF selection information, select the target N3IWF and access the 5G core network. The method according to claim 1, wherein the 5G core network stores N3IWF selection information subscribed by the terminal; and when the terminal accesses a non-3GPP network, obtaining the N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network comprises: When the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network, sending a first request message to the resident gateway; the first request message is used to instruct the resident gateway to obtain the N3IWF selection information subscribed by the terminal from the 5G core network; Receive the N3IWF selection information sent by the resident gateway. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when the terminal accesses a non-3GPP network, obtaining N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network comprises: When the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network, a second request message is sent to the connected configuration server through the resident gateway; the second request message is used to instruct the configuration server to configure the N3IWF selection information for the terminal and send it to the resident gateway; The N3IWF selection information configured by the configuration server is obtained through the resident gateway. The method according to claim 3, wherein the obtaining, through the resident gateway, the N3IWF selection information configured by the configuration server comprises: receiving the N3IWF selection information actively sent by the resident gateway to the terminal; or, Send a request to the resident gateway to obtain the N3IWF selection information configured by the configuration server. The method according to claim 1, wherein, when the terminal accesses a non-3GPP network, obtaining N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network comprises: In the case where the terminal accesses the resident gateway through the non-3GPP network, the N3IWF selection information is obtained from an edge computing platform locally deployed by a network provider through the resident gateway. The method according to claim 5, wherein the edge computing platform includes an edge configuration server, an edge enabling server, and an edge enabling client; the edge enabling server stores the N3IWF selection information preconfigured by a local network service provider or an industry user; The obtaining the N3IWF selection information from the edge computing platform locally deployed by the network provider through the resident gateway includes: Accessing the edge computing platform through the resident gateway, and obtaining the address of the edge configuration server through local pre-configuration or user configuration; Using the edge enabling client on the terminal to access the edge configuration server through a first interface to obtain an address of the edge enabling server; the first interface is an interface between the edge enabling client and the edge configuration server; The edge enabling server is accessed through a second interface to obtain the N3IWF selection information; the second interface is an interface between the edge enabling client and the edge enabling server. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the N3IWF selection information includes at least one of the following auxiliary information: slices supported by N3IWF, DNNs supported by N3IWF, application types supported by N3IWF, and application identifiers supported by N3IWF; The selecting a target N3IWF based on the N3IWF selection information and accessing the 5G core network includes: Save the N3IWF selection information; Utilize the auxiliary information in the N3IWF selection information to select the target N3IWF and access the 5G core network. A network access device, comprising an information acquisition module and an access selection module, wherein: The information acquisition module is configured to acquire N3IWF selection information from the non-3GPP network when the terminal accesses the non-3GPP network; The access selection module is configured to select a target N3IWF based on the N3IWF selection information and access the 5G core network. A computer device comprises a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be run on the processor, and when the processor executes the program, the steps in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps in the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A computer program includes a computer-readable code. When the computer-readable code is executed in an electronic device, a processor in the electronic device executes the network access method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.