CN111107611B

CN111107611B - Method and device for selecting user plane function

Info

Publication number: CN111107611B
Application number: CN201811270023.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李海民
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-10-29
Filing date: 2018-10-29
Publication date: 2022-04-05
Anticipated expiration: 2038-10-29
Also published as: CN111107611A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for selecting a user plane function, which are applied to a network node for deploying preset services, wherein the preset services are registered in a network storage function (NRF), and the method comprises the following steps: responding to a registration request of a User Plane Function (UPF), and storing instance information of the UPF; and responding to a UPF selection request of a Session Management Function (SMF), and returning instance information corresponding to the target UPF to the SMF. The embodiment of the invention can reduce the complexity of SMF maintenance, improve the security of a core network and realize the quick adjustment of the UPF selection strategy.

Description

Method and device for selecting user plane function

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for selecting a user plane function.

Background

A 5G (5th generation, fifth generation) mobile communication network employs a service-oriented architecture and completely separates a mobile control plane and a user plane. The control plane mainly includes the following network functions: AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function), SMF (Session Management Function), PCF (Policy Control Function), and NRF (Network storage Function). The user plane mainly includes a UPF (user plane function).

According to the protocol flow of 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), during the Session establishment process, the SMF (Session Management Function) needs to select an UPF according to information such as DN (Data Network), Network slice, service area, and the like.

Currently, SMF can select UPF by means of local configuration, or by NRF. If the UPF is selected in a local configuration manner, all UPF instance information needs to be configured in each SMF, so that if the UPF or the SMF is added, the configuration information of the SMF needs to be modified, which increases the complexity of maintaining the SMF. If the UPF is selected by adopting a local configuration mode, the change of the selection policy causes the SMF network element to be updated, the period cost is high, and the policy cannot be adjusted quickly. If the UPF is selected through the NRF, an interface needs to be added between the UPF and the NRF, and since the NRF is connected to all control plane network elements of the core network, the addition of the interface of the NRF may cause the core network to be attacked, and especially in the case of UPF edge deployment or non-operator equipment, a great threat may be caused to the security of the core network.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for selecting a user plane function, which can reduce the complexity of maintaining an SMF and improve the security of a core network in the process of selecting a UPF by the SMF.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method for selecting a user plane function, which is applied to a network node for deploying preset services, wherein the preset services are registered in a network storage function (NRF), and the method comprises the following steps:

responding to a registration request of a User Plane Function (UPF), and storing instance information of the UPF;

and responding to a UPF selection request of a Session Management Function (SMF), and returning instance information corresponding to the target UPF to the SMF.

The embodiment of the invention provides a device for selecting a user plane function, which is applied to a network node for deploying preset services, wherein the preset services are registered in a network storage function (NRF), and the device comprises:

the registration module is used for responding to a registration request of a User Plane Function (UPF) and storing the instance information of the UPF;

and the selection module is used for responding to a UPF selection request of the session management function SMF and returning the instance information corresponding to the target UPF to the SMF.

The embodiment of the invention has the following advantages:

the embodiment of the invention can realize the UPF registration and selection functions in the 5G mobile communication network through the preset service, store the UPF instance information in the network in the preset service, and does not need to configure the UPF instance information in each SMF, thereby reducing the complexity of SMF maintenance. In addition, because the embodiment of the invention connects the UPF and the NRF through the preset service, an interface does not need to be added between the UPF and the NRF, so that the UPF can be prevented from being directly connected with the NRF of the core network control plane, and the safety of the core network can be further improved. Moreover, the embodiment of the invention separates the UPF selection function from the SMF, and even if the UPF selection strategy changes, the SMF network element does not need to be upgraded, thereby realizing the rapid adjustment of the UPF selection strategy.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive labor.

FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method of selecting user plane functionality of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture for deploying pre-provisioning services in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another network architecture for deploying provisioning services according to the present invention;

fig. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the apparatus for selecting a user plane function according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Method embodiment

Referring to fig. 1, a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for selecting a user plane function according to the present invention is shown, where the method is applied to a network node deploying a provisioning service, where the provisioning service is registered in a network storage function NRF, and the method specifically may include:

step 101, responding to a registration request of a User Plane Function (UPF), and storing instance information of the UPF;

and step 102, responding to a UPF selection request of a session management function SMF, and returning instance information corresponding to a target UPF to the SMF.

The embodiment of the invention deploys the preset service in the 5G mobile communication network, wherein a network node deploying the preset service can be an operating system or a virtual machine. The preset service is obtained by separating the functions related to UPF selection in NRF and SMF, and an interface is arranged between the preset service and SMF and UPF, and the interface can adopt a service interface. Referring to fig. 2, a schematic diagram of a network architecture for deploying preset services is shown. As shown in fig. 2, the URMS (UPF Resource Management Service) is a provisioning Service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the preset service may include the following two services: nupf _ Management (UPF Management service) and Nupf _ Discovery (UPF selection service). The UPF management service is used for managing instance information corresponding to UPF instances deployed in the network, and the UPF selection service is used for selecting a target UPF instance from the UPF instances deployed.

Specifically, through the preset service, the process of selecting UPF by SMF may be as follows:

first, after the instantiation operation is completed, the provisioning service may register with the NRF, so that the SMF or other network functions may query and use the provisioning service through the network discovery function, and specifically, information such as a service identifier, a service list, and a network address corresponding to the provisioning service may be registered in the NRF.

Then, the preset service may receive and respond to a registration request of a user plane function UPF, and call an UPFRegister (UPF registration) operation in the Nupf _ Management service to register the UPF, and store instance information of the UPF. The instance information may specifically include: example identification corresponding to the UPF, service area, IP (Internet Protocol Address) Address or FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name), supported S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information), and DNN (Data Network Name).

Finally, a UPF selection request of the SMF may be received and responded, a Nupf _ Discovery service of the preset service is called, a target UPF is selected for a session of the SMF, and instance information corresponding to the target UPF is returned to the SMF.

In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the step of returning the instance information corresponding to the target UPF to the SMF in response to the UPF selection request of the session management function SMF may include the following steps:

step S11, responding to UPF selection request of SMF, matching session parameters carried in the UPF selection request with stored UPF instance information, and determining UPF of the instance information matched with the session parameters as target UPF;

and step S12, returning the instance information corresponding to the target UPF to the SMF.

When the SMF selects an UPF for a session, the SMF may send a UPF selection request to a preset service, where the UPF selection request carries session parameters of the SMF, and the session parameters may specifically include: after receiving the UPF selection request, the preset service may query the stored UPF instance information according to the session parameters carried in the UPF selection request, find out a target UPF whose instance information matches the session parameters, and return the instance information corresponding to the target UPF to the SMF.

It can be seen that the embodiment of the present invention can realize the registration and selection functions of the UPF in the 5G mobile communication network through the preset service, and store the instance information of the UPF in the network in the preset service without configuring the instance information of the UPF in each SMF, thereby reducing the complexity of maintaining the SMFs. In addition, because the embodiment of the invention connects the UPF and the NRF through the preset service, an interface does not need to be added between the UPF and the NRF, so that the UPF can be prevented from being directly connected with the NRF of the core network control plane, and the safety of the core network can be further improved. Moreover, the embodiment of the invention separates the UPF selection function from the SMF, and even if the UPF selection strategy changes, the SMF network element does not need to be upgraded, thereby realizing the rapid adjustment of the UPF selection strategy.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the preset service is used to implement a management function and a selection function of a UPF, and the functions are relatively single, so in an optional embodiment of the present invention, the preset service may adopt a micro service architecture.

The micro service is a minimum software unit with high function cohesion and low coupling, and can be independently developed, compiled, tested, released, deployed, upgraded and operated and maintained. The embodiment of the invention adopts a micro-service architecture to realize the preset service, and the preset service can be independently deployed, can also be used as a service of other network functions, and can be deployed in other network functions, such as SMF, NRF or NSSF. In addition, the embodiment of the invention can upgrade the preset service at any time according to the adjustment of the UPF selection strategy without influencing other network functions. Furthermore, the preset service may be deployed at any position in the network according to actual needs, for example, when the SMF and the UPF are deployed in a local service area or at a network edge, the preset may be deployed in a network local service area or at the network edge at the same time, and referring to fig. 3, a schematic diagram of another network structure for deploying the preset service according to the present invention is shown.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the method may further comprise the steps of:

responding to an instance updating request of the UPF, and updating the stored instance information corresponding to the UPF according to instance updating parameters carried in the instance updating request; or

And responding to the un-instantiation request of the UPF, and executing the un-instantiation operation on the stored UPF.

In the Nupf _ Management (UPF Management service) according to the embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the UPFRegister (UPF registration) operation, the Nupf _ Management may further include an UPFUpdate (UPF instance update) operation and an UPFDeregister (UPF de-instantiation) operation.

The UPFUpdate operation is configured to respond to an instance update request of the UPF when instance information of the UPF changes (for example, a supported network slice changes), and update the stored instance information corresponding to the UPF according to an instance update parameter carried in the instance update request.

The UPFDereggisterer operation is used for responding to the de-instantiation request of the UPF when the UPF needs to be de-instantiated due to maintenance operation and the like, and executing de-instantiation operation on the stored UPF.

and responding to the UPF subscription request of the SMF, and sending instance information corresponding to the stored UPF to the SMF.

In addition, the Nupf _ Management (UPF Management service) in the embodiment of the present invention may further include an upsstatus subscribe operation and an upsstatus notify operation.

Wherein the UPFStatausubscript operation is to respond to a UPF subscription request of the SMF. And the UPFStatausNotify operation is used for sending the stored instance information corresponding to the UPF to the SMF subscribed to the UPF.

and after the instance information corresponding to the stored UPF is updated, sending the updated instance information corresponding to the UPF to the SMF subscribed to the UPF.

Specifically, when the preset service stores the instance information of a new UPF, or when the stored instance information of the UPF is updated, the updated instance information corresponding to the UPF may be sent to the SMF subscribed to the UPF through an upstattasnotify operation.

and in response to the UPF subscription cancellation request of the SMF, canceling the sending of the stored instance information corresponding to the UPF to the SMF.

Specifically, the Nupf _ Management (UPF Management service) may further include an upstatatus unsubscribe operation, configured to cancel sending the stored instance information corresponding to the UPF to the SMF in response to a request for canceling the UPF subscription of the SMF, where after the operation is completed, the instance information of the UPF does not send a notification to the SMF that cancels the subscription.

Referring to table 1, a specific illustration of one preset service operation of the present invention is shown.

TABLE 1

It can be understood that the two types of services, i.e., Nupf _ Management service and Nupf _ Discovery service, and the operations corresponding to the two types of services are only used as an example of an application of the present invention, and in a specific application, a person skilled in the art may flexibly set the type of the service and the operation included in the service according to needs, and the embodiment of the present invention does not limit the type and the function of the service and the operation in the preset service.

In summary, the embodiment of the present invention can realize the registration and selection functions of the UPF in the 5G mobile communication network through the preset service, and store the instance information of the UPF in the network in the preset service without configuring the instance information of the UPF in each SMF, thereby reducing the complexity of maintaining the SMFs. In addition, because the embodiment of the invention connects the UPF and the NRF through the preset service, an interface does not need to be added between the UPF and the NRF, so that the UPF can be prevented from being directly connected with the NRF of the core network control plane, and the safety of the core network can be further improved. Moreover, the embodiment of the invention separates the UPF selection function from the SMF, and even if the UPF selection strategy changes, the SMF network element does not need to be upgraded, thereby realizing the rapid adjustment of the UPF selection strategy.

Device embodiment

Referring to fig. 4, a block diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus for selecting a user plane function according to the present invention is shown, where the apparatus is applied to a network node that deploys a provisioning service, and the provisioning service is registered in a network storage function NRF, and the apparatus may specifically include:

a registration module 401, configured to respond to a registration request of a user plane function UPF, and store instance information of the UPF;

a selecting module 402, configured to, in response to a UPF selection request of a session management function SMF, return instance information corresponding to a target UPF to the SMF.

Optionally, the UPF selection request carries session parameters of the SMF, and the selection module includes:

the matching sub-module is used for responding to a UPF selection request of the SMF, matching session parameters carried in the UPF selection request with stored UPF example information, and determining the UPF of which the example information is matched with the session parameters as a target UPF;

and the return sub-module is used for returning the instance information corresponding to the target UPF to the SMF.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include:

the updating module is used for responding to an instance updating request of the UPF and updating the stored instance information corresponding to the UPF; or

And the de-instantiation module is used for responding to the de-instantiation request of the UPF and executing de-instantiation operation on the stored UPF.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include:

and the subscription module is used for responding to the UPF subscription request of the SMF and sending the stored instance information corresponding to the UPF to the SMF.

Optionally, the apparatus may further include:

and the update notification module is used for sending the updated instance information corresponding to the UPF to the SMF subscribed to the UPF after the saved instance information corresponding to the UPF is updated.

Optionally, the provisioning service may employ a micro-service architecture.

Optionally, the registration information of the preset service in the NRF includes: and the service identifier, the service list and the network address corresponding to the preset service.

The embodiments in the present specification are described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other.

With regard to the apparatus in the above-described embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs the operation has been described in detail in the embodiment related to the method, and will not be elaborated here.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, apparatus, or computer program product. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, terminal devices (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing terminal to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing terminal, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing terminal to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing terminal to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable terminal to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable terminal provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications of these embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the embodiments of the invention.

Finally, it should also be noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or terminal that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or terminal. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or terminal that comprises the element.

The method for selecting the user plane function and the device for selecting the user plane function provided by the invention are described in detail, a specific example is applied in the text to explain the principle and the implementation mode of the invention, and the description of the embodiment is only used for helping to understand the method and the core idea of the invention; meanwhile, for a person skilled in the art, according to the idea of the present invention, there may be variations in the specific embodiments and the application scope, and in summary, the content of the present specification should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a user plane function, applied to a network node deploying a provisioning service, the provisioning service being registered in a network storage function, NRF, the method comprising:

responding to a UPF selection request of a Session Management Function (SMF), and returning instance information corresponding to a target UPF to the SMF;

the user plane function UPF and the network storage function NRF are connected through the preset service;

the preset service is deployed independently.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UPF selection request carries session parameters of the SMF, and the returning, to the SMF, the instance information corresponding to the target UPF in response to the UPF selection request of the session management function SMF includes:

responding to a UPF selection request of SMF, matching session parameters carried in the UPF selection request with stored UPF instance information, and determining the UPF of which the instance information is matched with the session parameters as a target UPF;

and returning the instance information corresponding to the target UPF to the SMF.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responding to an instance updating request of the UPF, and updating the stored instance information corresponding to the UPF;

or responding to the un-instantiation request of the UPF, and executing the un-instantiation operation on the stored UPF.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the provisioning service employs a micro-service architecture.

7. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the registration information of the preset service in NRF comprises: and the service identifier, the service list and the network address corresponding to the preset service.

8. An apparatus for selecting a user plane function, applied to a network node deploying a provisioning service, the provisioning service being registered in a network storage function, NRF, the apparatus comprising:

the selection module is used for responding to a UPF selection request of a Session Management Function (SMF) and returning instance information corresponding to a target UPF to the SMF;

the preset service is deployed independently.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the request for UPF selection carries 10 session parameters of the SMF, and wherein the selection module comprises:

10. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

11. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

12. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising:

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the provisioning service employs a micro-service architecture.

14. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 to 12, wherein the registration information of the preset service in the NRF comprises: and the service identifier, the service list and the network address corresponding to the preset service.