CN114125809A

CN114125809A - Slicing service obtaining method and related device

Info

Publication number: CN114125809A
Application number: CN202111263512.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张燕; 张咏霞; 武海峰; 吕学礼
Original assignee: Spreadtrum Communications Shanghai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Spreadtrum Communications Shanghai Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-10-28
Filing date: 2021-10-28
Publication date: 2022-03-01
Also published as: WO2023072054A1

Abstract

The application discloses a slicing service acquisition method and a related device, which can quickly acquire specific slicing service in a roaming scene. The method can comprise the following steps: sending a first message including description information, the description information being used for describing the requested network slice, the first message being used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message including the slice information; determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of a plurality of PLMNs corresponding to the visited place; and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

Description

Slicing service obtaining method and related device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a slicing service obtaining method and a related apparatus.

Background

Network slicing, dividing the physical network of the operator into a plurality of virtual networks, each virtual networkThe network flexibly deals with different network application scenes according to different service requirements, such as a fifth generation communication technology (5)^thGeneration, 5G), an enhanced mobile bandwidth (eMBB) scenario, an ultra-reliable low latency communication (urlllc) scenario, and a large-scale machine type communication (mtc) scenario.

In a non-roaming scenario, a User Equipment (UE) may subscribe to multiple network slices from a Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) to obtain a slice service provided by the network slices. In a roaming scenario, when a UE enters a visited place for the first time and there is no preset slice information on the UE, the UE registers with a most preferred Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN) to obtain a slice service provided by a network slice from the most preferred VPLMN.

In a roaming scenario, how to quickly acquire a specific slicing service is an urgent technical problem to be solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a slicing service acquisition method and a related device, which can quickly acquire a specific slicing service in a roaming scene.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a slicing service obtaining method, which may include: sending a first message, wherein the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing the requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including slice information; determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of a plurality of PLMNs corresponding to the visited place; and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

By the method described in the first aspect, the terminal device obtains the specific slicing service from the target VPLMN by carrying the description information in the first message. The slicing service provided by the requested network slice may be understood as a specific slicing service.

In a possible implementation manner, the description information includes Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) and/or NSSAI rules, where the NSSAI rules are used to indicate location information and/or time information. The requested network slice is described by NSSAI and/or NSSAI rules to obtain matching slice information.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first message includes the description information.

In a possible implementation manner, under the condition that the terminal device is known to move to the visited place, a first message is sent; or, in case there is no slice information matching the description information, the first message is transmitted.

In a possible implementation, the target VPLMN is different from or the same as the most preferred PLMN in the multiple PLMNs corresponding to the visited place.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message is a policy configuration request message, and the second message is a management policy instruction or a policy configuration rejection message.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message is a registration request message, and the second message is a management policy instruction.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a communication unit and a processing unit, wherein: the communication unit is used for sending a first message, the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing the requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including slice information; the processing unit is used for determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of a plurality of PLMNs corresponding to a visited place; the communication unit is also used for acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor, a memory, and a transceiver for receiving signals or transmitting signals; the memory for storing program code; the processor is configured to call the program code from the memory to perform the method according to the first aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a chip, configured to send a first message, where the first message includes description information, and the description information is used to describe a requested network slice, and the first message is used to request slice information matching the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including slice information; determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of a plurality of PLMNs corresponding to the visited place; and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a module device, which includes a communication module, a power module, a storage module, and a chip module, wherein: the power module is used for providing electric energy for the module equipment; the storage module is used for storing data and instructions; the communication module is used for carrying out internal communication of the module equipment or is used for carrying out communication between the module equipment and external equipment; this chip module is used for: sending a first message, wherein the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing the requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including slice information; determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of a plurality of PLMNs corresponding to the visited place; and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions that, when run on a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of the first aspect and any of its possible implementations.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program or computer program product comprising code or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as in the first aspect and any one of its possible implementations.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious for a person skilled in the art to obtain other drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G system architecture;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture to which embodiments of the present application are applied;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a slicing service obtaining method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of another slicing service obtaining method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a module apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The terminology used in the following embodiments of the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used in the specification of the present application and the appended claims, the singular forms "a", "an", "the" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the listed items.

It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like in the description and claims of the present application and in the drawings described above are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the data so used is interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application described herein are capable of operation in other sequences than described or illustrated herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, or server that comprises a list of steps or elements is not necessarily limited to those steps or elements expressly listed, but may include other steps or elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

The embodiment of the application can be applied to a 5G system, and can also be called a New Radio (NR) system; or may also be applied to a sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) system, or a seventh generation (7th generation, 7G) system, or other future communication systems; or may also be used for device-to-device (D2D) systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) systems, and so forth. The embodiment of the application can be applied to the field of vehicle to electric networking (V2X) and can also be applied to other fields.

Please refer to fig. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a 5G system architecture. Fig. 1 may be a 5G non-roaming reference point based system architecture, which may include a terminal device, an access network, and a core network.

The terminal equipment has a wireless transceiving function, can be deployed on land and comprises an indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted terminal; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship and the like); and may also be deployed in the air (e.g., airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (Pad), a computer with wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), and so on. A terminal device may also be sometimes referred to as a terminal, UE, access terminal device, vehicle mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, remote terminal device, mobile device, UE agent, or UE device, etc. The terminal equipment may also be fixed or mobile. In the embodiment of the application, the terminal equipment is mobile.

The access network is used for realizing access related functions, providing network access functions for authorized users in a specific area, and determining transmission tunnels with different qualities according to user levels, service requirements and the like so as to transmit user data. The access network forwards control signals and user data between the terminal equipment and the core network.

The access network may include access network equipment, which may be equipment that provides access for the terminal device. In systems using different radio access technologies, the access network device names may be different, for example, in a 5G system, the name is called next-generation base station (gNB) or ng-eNB.

The core network is responsible for maintaining subscription data of the mobile network and providing functions of session management, mobility management, policy management, security authentication and the like for the UE. The core network may include the following network elements: user Plane Function (UPF), authentication service function (AUSF), access and mobility management function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), network open function (NEF), network function repository function (NRF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Unified Data Management (UDM), and Application Function (AF).

The AMF is mainly responsible for mobility management in a mobile network, such as user location update, user registration network, user handover, and the like. The SMF is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, and release. The specific functions include, for example, allocating an Internet Protocol (IP) address to a user, and selecting a UPF that provides a message forwarding function. The UPF is responsible for forwarding and receiving user data in the terminal equipment, can receive the user data from a data network, and transmits the user data to the terminal equipment through the access network equipment; user data can also be received from the terminal device via the access network device and forwarded to the data network. The PCF mainly supports providing a unified policy framework to control network behavior, provides policy rules to a control layer network function, and is responsible for acquiring user subscription information related to policy decision. The PCF may provide policies, such as quality of service (QoS) policies, slice selection policies, etc., to the AMF, SMF. AUSF for performing security authentication of the UE. NSSF, for selecting network slices for the UE. NEF, mainly used to support the opening of capabilities and events. NRF, used to provide storage function and selection function of network function entity information for other network elements. UDM for storing user data such as subscription data, authentication/authorization data, etc. The AF mainly supports interaction with a 3GPP core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions or providing some services of a third party to the network side.

The Data Network (DN) is used to provide service for users, and may be a private network, such as a local area network; or an external network not controlled by the operator, such as the Internet (Internet); it may also be a proprietary network co-deployed by the operator, such as a network providing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS).

First, some terms referred to in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

1. Network slicing

The network slice is a logic network characterized by end-to-end, customized and isolated according to needs, and can provide differentiated network services for different services or user groups through flexible design of functions, performance, connection relation, operation and maintenance and the like. End-to-end means that the network slice not only needs a core network, but also comprises an access network, a transmission network, a management network and the like; the on-demand customization means that the service, function, capacity, service quality and connection relation of the network slice can be customized as required, and meanwhile, the life cycle management of the slice can be carried out as required; isolation includes security isolation, resource isolation, and operation maintenance isolation.

2、NSSAI

NSSAI is a set of single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) that identifies a set of network slices. S-NSSAI is used to uniquely identify a network slice. The class of NSSAI can be divided into:

(1) configured NSSAI (configured NSSAI), NSSAI pre-configured in the UE, the NSSAI may also be generated by NSSF or AMF and issued to the UE, and is mainly used to generate requested NSSAI (requested NSSAI) used in initial registration.

(2) A subscribed NSSAI, which stores the NSSAI information of the user subscription in the UDM.

(3) Allowed NSSAI, (allowed NSSAI), which the UE is allowed to register for access at the current time.

(4) Rejected nssai, (rejected nssai), slices rejected for UE access. For a slice not supported by a PLMN, the UE can not access under the PLMN any more; for slices not supported by the current registration area, the UE cannot access any more before moving out of the registration area.

(5) The requested NSSAI (requested NSSAI) is generated by the UE according to the configured NSSAI and the allowed NSSAI, and may be carried in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) and non-access-stratum (NAS) message of an initial registration message, which indicates that the UE requests the NSSAI to be used in the current registration. Embodiments of the present application relate to requested NSSAI.

Please refer to fig. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application are applied. The network architecture is a network architecture under a roaming scene and comprises UE, HPLMN and VPLMN. The HPLMN comprises the access network and the core network shown in fig. 1, and the VPLMN also comprises the access network and the core network shown in fig. 1.

The HPLMN is a PLMN to which the UE belongs, and a Mobile Country Code (MCC) and a Mobile Network Code (MNC) included in an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) card on a Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) card are consistent with the MCC and MNC on the HPLMN. For single-card UEs there is one HPLMN, and for dual-card UEs there is one or two HPLMNs. The VPLMN is a PLMN visited by the UE, and the MCC and MNC in the IMSI on the USIM card are not identical to the MCC and MNC on the VPLMN. One or more of the VPLMNs for the UE, depending on the visited network situation.

The embodiment of the application can be applied to a scenario that the UE moves from HPLMN to VPLMN, for example, the UE moves from country a to country B, and can also be applied to a scenario that the UE is about to move from HPLMN to VPLMN, for example, the UE flies from city C of country a to city D of country B two hours later.

In one embodiment of the application, the UE sends a first message including description information to a VPLMN, wherein the description information is used for describing a requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; the VPLMN can not provide the slicing service of the network slice, acquires the slicing information matched with the description information from the HPLMN, and sends a second message comprising the slicing information to the UE; and the UE determines the target VPLMN according to the slice information and acquires the slice service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN, so that the UE can quickly acquire the specific slice service. The slicing service provided by the requested network slice may be understood as a specific slicing service.

In another embodiment of the present application, the UE sends a first message including description information to the HPLMN, the description information being used for describing the requested network slice, the first message being used for requesting slice information matching the description information; the HPLMN provides the slice information matched with the description information for the UE, and sends the slice information through a second message; and the UE determines the target VPLMN according to the slice information and acquires the slice service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN, so that the UE can quickly acquire the specific slice service.

Please refer to fig. 3, which is a flowchart illustrating a slicing service obtaining method according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps:

and 301, sending a first message, wherein the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing the requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information.

The description information is used to describe the requested network slice, and the requested network slice may also be understood as the required network slice. The slicing service provided by the requested network slice may be understood as a specific slicing service, or a well-defined slicing service, or a targeted slicing service. The description information includes NSSAI, which is a requested NSSAI, defined with reference to the protocol 3GPP TS 2401 close 9.11.3.37, and/or NSSAI rules (rule). The NSSAI rule is used to indicate location information and/or time information by which a required network slice is described. It should be noted that the description information, requested NSSAI and NSSAI rule are used for example and do not limit the embodiments of the present application.

It is to be understood that the description information includes an NSSAI, and the first message includes a requested NSSAI for indicating a network slice requested for use; the description information includes an NSSAI rule for indicating that the network slice satisfying the rule is requested to be used. When the UE needs to acquire a slice service provided by a specific network slice or network slices, a requested NSSAI may be carried in the first message; when the UE needs to acquire a network slice satisfying the location information and/or the time information, the first message may carry an NSSAI rule; when the UE needs to acquire a network slice that is specific and satisfies location information and/or time information, requested NSSAI and NSSAI rules may be carried in the first message.

In one implementation, the NSSAI rule Information Element (IE) may be as shown in table 1 below.

TABLE 1

In Table 1, the definitions of valid area ind, 3GPP loc ind, WLAN loc ind, Geo loc ind, Time of day ind, Validity area and Time of day can be referred to the description of 3GPP TS 24.526. Where valid area ind, 3GPP loc ind, WLAN loc ind, Geo loc ind and valid area may represent location information, and Time of day ind and Time of day may represent Time information. The relevance area may be expressed in various location types, may be different location accuracies, and may represent a country by representing it as an invalid value in addition to the MCC as in the 3GPP expression. It can be further extended to set the scope of relevance area, such as geo-fence, etc., which is not expanded here.

The first message may be a POLICY configuration REQUEST message, such as a UE POLICY PROVISIONING REQUEST message, or a REGISTRATION REQUEST message, such as a REGISTRATION REQUEST message.

In one implementation, in a case that the UE knows that it will move to the visited place, for example, the UE flies from city C of country a to city D of country B after 5 hours, and there is no network slice information of the visited place in the UE and the USIM card, if the UE is registered in country a as the HPLMN, a first message is sent to the HPLMN to obtain slice information of city D in advance from the HPLMN, where the slice information may include slice information of VPLMN of city D signed with the HPLMN; if the UE is registered in the country A as the VPLMN-A, A first message is sent to the VPLMN-A, and the VPLMN-A acquires the slice information from the HPLMN and sends the slice information to the UE so that the UE can acquire the slice information of the city D in advance.

In one implementation, the UE roams from home to visited, where the most preferred VPLMN cannot support all required network slices, but where there is one VPLMN supporting slices that are not available in the most preferred VPLMN. When the UE first enters the visited place and the UE and USIM card do not have any pre-configured network slice information, a first message is registered and sent to the most preferred VPLMN, so that the most preferred VPLMN obtains the slice information from the HPLMN.

In one implementation, in the absence of slice information on the UE that matches the description information, a first message is sent to one VPLMN at the visited place. For example, the UE once saved the network slice information of the visited place, but since the storage capacity is available, the relevant data has been cleared, and when a certain network slice needs to be used, a first message is sent to a VPLMN of the visited place.

Optionally, the first message further includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first message includes description information. For example, the indication information is 1 bit, and when the value is "0", it indicates that the first message does not include the description information, and when the value is "1", it indicates that the first message includes the description information.

A second message is received 302, the second message including slice information.

The slice information may include slice information of a VPLMN of a visited place contracted with the HPLMN, and may be used to determine a correspondence between the network slice and the PLMN. The home operator has an agreement with various other operators to support the same network slice for roaming UEs. It is to be understood that the VPLMN may obtain the correspondence between the network slice and the PLMN from the HPLMN based on the protocol.

Optionally, the UE receives a second message from the HPLMN, or receives a second message from the visited place, which is the most preferred VPLMN, and the second message includes slice information, where the slice information is NSSAI configuration information matched with the description information, and is used to indicate a correspondence between the requested network slice and the PLMN.

In the case where the first message is a policy configuration request message, the second message may be a management policy instruction or a policy configuration rejection message. In the case where the first message is a registration request message, the second message may be a management policy instruction. Management POLICY instructions, such as MANAGE UE POLICY COMMAND; a POLICY configuration REJECT message, such as a UE POLICY behavior visibility REJECT message.

303, determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, where the target VPLMN is one or more of multiple PLMNs corresponding to the visited place.

Optionally, the UE determines, according to the correspondence included in the slice information, a VPLMN corresponding to the requested network slice, that is, a target VPLMN. It can be appreciated that the target VPLMN supports the requested network slice. The target VPLMN may be different from the optimal PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs to which the visited place corresponds, for example, the target VPLMN may be different from the most preferred PLMN when the most preferred PLMN cannot provide the slicing service of the required network slice. The target VPLMN may be the same as an optimal PLMN in the multiple PLMNs corresponding to the visited place, for example, in a case where the slice information is known in advance, the PLMN corresponding to the required network slice includes the most preferred PLMN, or the target PLMN is taken as the most preferred PLMN.

Illustratively, the PLMNs corresponding to the visited place include VPLMN-A, VPLMN-B and VPLMN-C, wherein the VPLMN-B and VPLMN-C can provide slicing services of the required network slices, and the VPLMN-A is the most preferable PLMN according to the network selection rule without considering the required network slices, that is, the UE registers with the VPLMN-A. And if the UE knows the corresponding relation between the VPLMN-B and the VPLMN-C and the required network slice in advance, the UE registers to the VPLMN-B or the VPLMN-C to obtain the slice service of the required network slice. If the UE does not know the corresponding relation between the VPLMN-B and the VPLMN-C and the required network slice in advance, the UE registers to the VPLMN-A and sends A first message to the VPLMN-A.

And 304, acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

In the case that the target VPLMN is determined, the UE registers with the target VPLMN to obtain the slicing service provided by the required network slice.

Illustratively, in the case where the UE roams from city C of country A to city D of country B, the PLMNs corresponding to city D include VPLMN-A, VPLMN-B and VPLMN-C, the UE will register with the most preferred PLMN, i.e., VPLMN-A, according to the network selection rules. When A certain application on the UE needs to use the network slice 1, the UE sends A first message to the VPLMN-A, the VPLMN-A learns from the HPLMN that the network slice protocol on the VPLMN-C is available, and forwards the corresponding relation to the UE. Under the condition that the UE learns that the protocol of the network slice on the VPLMN-C is available, the UE can automatically select A network, disconnect the network from the VPLMN-A and register the network with the VPLMN-C; or the connection with the VPLMN-A can be disconnected in A manual network selection mode, the VPLMN-C is registered, and after the slicing service provided by the network slice 1 is obtained from the VPLMN-C, the connection with the VPLMN-C is disconnected, and the connection with the VPLMN-A is reconnected.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the UE acquires a specific slicing service from the target VPLMN by carrying the description information in the first message.

Please refer to fig. 4, which is a flowchart illustrating another slicing service obtaining method according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps:

401, the UE sends A UE policy configuration request message to the VPLMN-A. Accordingly, the VPLMN-A receives A UE policy configuration request message from the UE.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, it is assumed that the UE is registered with VPLMN-A, which is the most preferred PLMN among the PLMNs corresponding to the visited place. The UE POLICY configuration REQUEST message may be a UE POLICY PROVISIONING REQUEST message. Specifically, the UE sends A UE policy configuration request message to the AMF in the VPLMN-A.

The UE policy configuration request message includes description information, and the description information includes NSSAI and/or NSSAI rules. The content of the UE POLICY visibility REQUEST message can be found in the following

Table 2.

TABLE 2

In table 2, the last two rows are available for representing the description information. NSSAI Rule can be seen in Table 1.

The VPLMN-A obtains slice information from the HPLMN 402.

Specifically, the VPLMN-A obtaining the slice information from the HPLMN may include: when receiving the UE policy configuration request message, the AMF sends an Npcf _ UE PolicyControl _ UpdatA request to A V-PCF (PCF in A visited network) in the VPLMN-A; the V-PCF sends Npcf _ UE PolicyControl _ Updata request to the H-PCF (PCF in the home network), and the H-PCF sends Npcf _ UE PolicyControl _ Updata response to the V-PCF; the V-PCF sends Npcf _ UE PolicyControl _ Updata response to the AMF. Optionally, the method further includes: the H-PCF sends Npcf _ UE PolicyControl _ Updata Notify request to the V-PCF, and the V-PCF sends Npcf _ UE PolicyControl _ Updata Notify response to the H-PCF. Wherein, Npcf _ UE PolicyControl _ Updata response may include slice information.

403, the VPLMN-A sends UE management policy instruction to the UE. Correspondingly, the UE receives the UE management policy instruction from the VPLMN-A. Wherein the UE management policy instruction includes slice information.

404, the UE determines VPLMN-C according to the slice information.

405, the UE obtains the slicing service provided by the network slice from the VPLMN-C.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, it is assumed that VPLMN-C is the VPLMN to which the required network slice corresponds. Reference may be made to the detailed description of steps 302 to 304 in steps 403 to 405, which are not described herein again.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the UE acquires a specific slicing service from the target VPLMN by carrying the description information in the first message.

As an alternative embodiment, if the UE is registered with the HPLMN, the UE sends a first message to the HPLMN, and the HPLMN directly obtains the slice information from the H-PCF upon receiving the first message, and sends a second message including the slice information to the UE, so that the UE determines the target VPLMN according to the slice information.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the UE sends a UE policy configuration request message including description information to obtain slice information matching the description information, in another implementation, the UE sends a registration request message including the description information, and after the registration is completed, the network (HPLMN or VPLMN) sends a management policy instruction including the slice information to the UE.

The content included in the registration request message can be seen in table 3 below.

TABLE 3

In table 3, the last two rows are available for representing the description information. NSSAI Rule can be seen in Table 1. It should be noted that the names of the last two rows in table 3 are for example and do not limit the embodiments of the present application.

By adopting the embodiment of the application, if the UE is a terminal with a small moving range, the first message sent by the UE can be used for searching an available network slice in a small range, for example, searching an available network slice in a hotel range; if the UE is active in a certain area within a certain time period, a first message sent by the UE can be used for searching for a network slice in the area which is valid within the time period; if the UE needs a certain network slice or a plurality of network slices, the first message sent by the UE can be used for searching the corresponding network slice; if the UE storage space is large enough, the first message sent by the UE may be used to find network slices in a sufficient range of locations.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communications apparatus shown in fig. 5 may be configured to perform some or all of the functions of the UE in fig. 3 or fig. 4 described above. The apparatus may be a UE, an apparatus in the UE, or an apparatus capable of being used with the UE. Wherein, the communication device can also be a chip system. The communication device shown in fig. 4 may include a communication unit 501 and a processing unit 502. The processing unit 502 is configured to perform data processing. A communication unit 501, configured to communicate with other devices. The communication unit 501 is integrated with a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit 501 may also be referred to as a transceiving unit. Alternatively, communication section 501 may be divided into a reception section and a transmission section.

The communication unit 501 is configured to send a first message, where the first message includes description information, where the description information is used to describe a requested network slice, and the first message is used to request slice information that matches the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including slice information; a processing unit 502, configured to determine a target VPLMN according to the slice information, where the target VPLMN is one or more of multiple PLMNs corresponding to the visited place; the communication unit 501 is further configured to acquire the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

In a possible implementation manner, the description information includes NSSAI and/or NSSAI rules, and the NSSAI rules are used for indicating the location information and/or the time information.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message further includes indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that the first message includes description information.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 501 is specifically configured to send a first message when it is known that the terminal device will move to the visited place; or, in case there is no slice information matching the description information, transmitting the first message.

In one possible implementation, the target VPLMN is different from or the same as the most preferred PLMN of the multiple PLMNs corresponding to the visited place.

In a possible implementation manner, the first message is a policy configuration request message, and the second message is a management policy instruction or a management configuration reject message.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which can perform the relevant steps of the UE in the foregoing method embodiment. The chip is used for: the system comprises a first message and a second message, wherein the first message is used for sending a first message, the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing a requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including slice information; determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of a plurality of PLMNs corresponding to the visited place; and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

Fig. 6 shows a communication apparatus 60 according to an embodiment of the present application, which is used for implementing the functions of the terminal device. The apparatus may be a terminal device or an apparatus for a terminal device. The means for the terminal device may be a system of chips or a chip within the terminal device. The chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

The communication device 60 includes at least one processor 620, which is configured to implement the data processing function of the terminal device in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 60 may further include a communication interface 610, configured to implement transceiving operations of a terminal device in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. In embodiments of the present application, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface for communicating with other devices over a transmission medium. For example, the communication interface 610 is used for devices in the apparatus 60 to communicate with other devices. The processor 620 utilizes the communication interface 610 to send and receive data and is configured to implement the method described in the method embodiment above with respect to fig. 2.

The apparatus 60 may also include at least one memory 630 for storing program instructions and/or data. The memory 630 is coupled to the processor 620. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or a communication connection between devices, units or modules, and may be an electrical, mechanical or other form for information interaction between the devices, units or modules. The processor 620 may operate in conjunction with the memory 630. Processor 620 may execute program instructions stored in memory 630. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

When the device 60 is powered on, the processor 620 can read the software program in the memory 630, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 620 outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit after performing baseband processing on the data to be sent, and the radio frequency circuit sends the radio frequency signal to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna after performing radio frequency processing on the baseband signal. When data is transmitted to the device 60, the rf circuit receives an rf signal through the antenna, converts the rf signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 620, and the processor 620 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

In another implementation, the rf circuitry and antennas may be provided independently of the processor 620 performing baseband processing, for example in a distributed scenario, the rf circuitry and antennas may be in a remote arrangement independent of the communication device.

The specific connection medium among the communication interface 610, the processor 620 and the memory 630 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 630, the processor 620, and the communication interface 610 are connected by the bus 640 in fig. 6, the bus is represented by a thick line in fig. 6, and the connection manner between other components is merely illustrative and not limited. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 6, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

The output or reception of the communication interface 610 may be a baseband signal when the apparatus 60 is specifically used in a terminal device, for example, when the apparatus 60 is specifically a chip or a chip system. When the apparatus 60 is a terminal device, the communication interface 610 may output or receive radio frequency signals. In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, operations, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The operations of the methods disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

As shown in fig. 7, fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a module device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The module device 70 can perform the steps related to the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments, and the module device 70 includes: a communication module 701, a power module 702, a memory module 703 and a chip module 704.

The power module 702 is configured to provide power for the module device; the storage module 703 is used for storing data and instructions; the communication module 701 is used for performing module device internal communication, or is used for performing module device and external device communication.

The chip module 704 is configured to send a first message, where the first message includes description information, the description information is used to describe a requested network slice, and the first message is used to request slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including slice information; determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of a plurality of PLMNs corresponding to the visited place; and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, in which instructions are stored, and when the computer-readable storage medium is executed on a processor, the method flow of the above method embodiments is implemented.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, where when the computer program product runs on a processor, the method flow of the above method embodiments is implemented.

It is noted that, for simplicity of explanation, the foregoing method embodiments are described as a series of acts or combination of acts, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present application is not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance with the present application, occur in other orders and/or concurrently. Further, those skilled in the art should also appreciate that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments and that the acts and modules referred to are not necessarily required in this application.

The descriptions of the embodiments provided in the present application may be referred to each other, and the descriptions of the embodiments have respective emphasis, and for parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference may be made to related descriptions of other embodiments. For convenience and brevity of description, for example, the functions and operations performed by the devices and apparatuses provided in the embodiments of the present application may refer to the related descriptions of the method embodiments of the present application, and may also be referred to, combined with or cited among the method embodiments and the device embodiments.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used for illustrating the technical solutions of the present application, and not for limiting the same; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some or all of the technical features may be equivalently replaced; and the modifications or the substitutions do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions depart from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A slicing service acquisition method, the method comprising:

sending a first message, wherein the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing a requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information;

receiving a second message, the second message including the slice information;

determining a target Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN) according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of a plurality of Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) corresponding to a visited place;

and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the description information comprises network slice selection assistance information NSSAI and/or NSSAI rules, and wherein the NSSAI rules are used for indicating location information and/or time information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first message further comprises indication information indicating that the first message comprises the description information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the first message comprises:

under the condition that the terminal equipment is known to move to the visit place, sending a first message;

or, in case there is no slice information matching the description information, transmitting the first message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the target VPLMN is different from or the same as a most preferred PLMN of the plurality of PLMNs corresponding to the visited place.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first message is a policy configuration request message and the second message is a management policy instruction or a policy configuration reject message.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first message is a registration request message and the second message is a management policy instruction.

8. A communication device, characterized in that the communication device comprises a processing unit and a communication unit,

the communication unit is used for sending a first message, the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing a requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including the slice information;

the processing unit is configured to determine a target VPLMN according to the slice information, where the target VPLMN is one or more of multiple PLMNs corresponding to a visited place;

the communication unit is further configured to acquire the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

9. A chip, characterized in that,

the chip is used for sending a first message, the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing a requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including the slice information; determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of multiple PLMNs corresponding to a visited place; and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

10. The utility model provides a module equipment, its characterized in that, module equipment includes communication module, power module, storage module and chip module, wherein:

the power supply module is used for providing electric energy for the module equipment;

the storage module is used for storing data and instructions;

the communication module is used for carrying out internal communication of module equipment or is used for carrying out communication between the module equipment and external equipment;

the chip module is used for: sending a first message, wherein the first message comprises description information, the description information is used for describing a requested network slice, and the first message is used for requesting slice information matched with the description information; receiving a second message, the second message including the slice information; determining a target VPLMN according to the slice information, wherein the target VPLMN is one or more of multiple PLMNs corresponding to a visited place; and acquiring the slicing service provided by the network slice from the target VPLMN.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored which, when run on a communication apparatus, causes the communication apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 7.