CN114501545A

CN114501545A - Slice information processing method, device, equipment and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114501545A
Application number: CN202011155244.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李永竞; 王丹
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2020-10-26
Filing date: 2020-10-26
Publication date: 2022-05-13

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a slice information processing method, a slice information processing device, slice information processing equipment and a storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) obtains a plurality of network slice identifications which are requested to be registered by user equipment; network slices corresponding to at least two of the plurality of network slice identifications have conflicts; selecting a target Access Management Function (AMF) based on the network slice identifications and network slices supported by the AMFs, using a network slice identification corresponding to a network slice supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as an available network slice identification, and using a network slice identification corresponding to a network slice not supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as a rejected network slice identification.

Description

Slice information processing method, device, equipment and storage medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communications, and in particular, to a slice information processing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium.

Background

Network slicing is one of the important key technologies of a 5G core network. Due to the flexibility of the architecture of the 5G core network based on the service, the network slice can flexibly combine the network functions of the 5G core network according to the requirements of vertical industry customers on the network to form a virtual logic network.

A User Equipment (UE) wants to access a network slice, and selects an AMF corresponding to the network slice during a registration process. In the registration process, a Radio Access Network (RAN) first selects an initial AMF to send a registration request, the initial AMF checks whether the initial AMF can serve all Network slices requested by a UE, if not, the initial AMF initiates an AMF redirection process and sends a request to a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) to request to find an AMF that can serve all Network slices requested by the UE.

And each UE may request one or more network slices simultaneously. However, depending on the configuration of the network, and the needs of the industry vertical, there may be an incompatibility between slices in the multiple network slices requested by the UE. When the UE requests multiple network slices with conflicts at the same time, how the network side handles the network slices is not yet an effective solution.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the existing technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a slice information processing method, apparatus, device, and storage medium.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is realized as follows:

in a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a slice information processing method, where the method includes:

the NSSF acquires a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; network slices corresponding to at least two of the plurality of network slice identifications have conflicts;

selecting a target network slice (AMF) based on the network slice identifications and network slices supported by Access and Mobility Management functions (AMFs), taking a network slice identification corresponding to a network slice supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as an available network slice identification, and taking a network slice identification corresponding to a network slice not supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as a rejected network slice identification.

In the above scheme, the acquiring, by the NSSF, a plurality of network slice identifiers requested to be registered by the ue includes: the NSSF receives a request message sent by an initial AMF and used for reselecting the AMF; the request message comprises the network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; the initial AMF does not support all network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications.

In the above scheme, the method further comprises: the NSSF sends the information of the target AMF to the initial AMF, and sends the available network slice identifier and/or the rejection network slice identifier.

In the foregoing solution, the selecting a target AMF based on the multiple network slice identifiers and the network slices supported by the AMFs includes: the NSSF searches network slices supported by each AMF, and judges whether network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications supporting the multiple network slices exist or not;

taking the AMF supporting the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications are supported;

taking the AMF supporting the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slice supporting the plurality of network slice identifications does not correspond to the target AMF;

and if at least two AMFs which support the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications exist, selecting a default AMF from the at least two AMFs as a target AMF, or randomly selecting one AMF from the at least two AMFs as the target AMF.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a slice information processing method, where the method includes:

after network slice registration based on a target AMF is completed, user equipment obtains an available network slice identifier sent by the target AMF, and/or rejects the network slice identifier and a rejection reason value; the reject cause value indicates that at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the reject network slice identification conflict with at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the available network slice identifications; the target AMF is determined by NSSF based on a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment and network slice selection supported by each AMF;

and the user equipment initiates a de-registration process under the condition that the network slice corresponding to the available network slice identification does not meet the service requirement.

In the above scheme, the method further comprises: and the user equipment reinitiates a registration request of the network slice, wherein the registration request comprises the network slice identification without conflict.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a slice information processing apparatus, where the apparatus includes: an acquisition unit and a selection unit; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the acquiring unit is used for acquiring a plurality of network slice identifiers which are requested to be registered by the user equipment; network slices corresponding to at least two of the plurality of network slice identifications have conflicts;

the selection unit is configured to select a target AMF based on the multiple network slice identifiers and the network slices supported by the AMFs, use a network slice identifier corresponding to a network slice supported by the target AMF among the multiple network slice identifiers as an available network slice identifier, and use a network slice identifier corresponding to a network slice not supported by the target AMF among the multiple network slice identifiers as a rejected network slice identifier.

In the above scheme, the obtaining unit is configured to receive a request message sent by an initial AMF and used for reselecting the AMF; the request message comprises the network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; the initial AMF does not support all network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications.

In the foregoing solution, the apparatus further includes a sending unit, configured to send information of the target AMF to the initial AMF, and send the available network slice identifier and/or the reject network slice identifier.

In the above solution, the selecting unit is configured to search for a network slice supported by each AMF, and determine whether a network slice supporting a corresponding identifier of the plurality of network slices exists; taking the AMF supporting the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications are supported; taking the AMF supporting the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slice supporting the plurality of network slice identifications does not correspond to the target AMF; and if at least two AMFs which support the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications exist, selecting a default AMF from the at least two AMFs as a target AMF, or randomly selecting one AMF from the at least two AMFs as the target AMF.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a slice information processing apparatus, where the apparatus includes: a receiving unit and an execution unit; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the receiving unit is configured to obtain an available network slice identifier sent by a target AMF and/or a reject network slice identifier and a reject cause value after network slice registration based on the target AMF is completed; the reject cause value indicates that at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the reject network slice identification conflict with at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the available network slice identifications; the target AMF is determined by NSSF based on a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment and network slice selection supported by each AMF;

and the execution unit is used for initiating a de-registration process under the condition that the network slice corresponding to the available network slice identifier does not meet the service requirement.

In the foregoing solution, the execution unit is further configured to reinitiate a registration request of a network slice, where the registration request includes a network slice identifier without a conflict.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, where the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the slice information processing method according to the first aspect or the second aspect of the embodiment of the present invention.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, where the processor implements the steps of the slice information processing method according to the first aspect or the second aspect of the embodiment of the present invention when executing the program.

The embodiment of the invention provides a slice information processing method, a slice information processing device, slice information processing equipment and a storage medium, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the NSSF acquires a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; network slices corresponding to at least two of the plurality of network slice identifications have conflicts; selecting a target network slice (AMF) based on the network slice identifications and network slices supported by Access and Mobility Management functions (AMFs), taking a network slice identification corresponding to a network slice supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as an available network slice identification, and taking a network slice identification corresponding to a network slice not supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as a rejected network slice identification. By adopting the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, under the condition that a plurality of network slices requested to be registered by the user equipment have conflicted network slices, namely under the condition that the current AMF does not support all network slices requested to be registered by the user equipment, the NSSF reselects a target AMF for the user equipment to carry out slicing service based on the condition of the network slices requested by the user equipment and the condition of the network slices supported by each AMF, thereby solving the problems of AMF selection and relevant slicing information processing under the condition that the user equipment simultaneously requests to be registered and the conflicted network slices exist.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a first flowchart illustrating a slice information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a second flowchart illustrating a slice information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic interaction flow diagram of a slice information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a first schematic diagram illustrating a first exemplary configuration of a slice information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a second exemplary embodiment of a slice information processing apparatus;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a hardware configuration of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

The embodiment of the invention provides a slice information processing method. Fig. 1 is a first flowchart illustrating a slice information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 1, the method includes:

step 101: the NSSF acquires a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; network slices corresponding to at least two of the plurality of network slice identifications have conflicts;

step 102: selecting a target AMF based on the network slice identifications and the network slices supported by the AMFs, taking the network slice identification corresponding to the network slice supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as an available network slice identification, and taking the network slice identification corresponding to the network slice not supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as a rejected network slice identification.

The embodiment of the invention is premised on that User Equipment (UE) simultaneously requests to register at least two network slices, and at least two network slices have conflict. Wherein, the two network slices have conflict, which means that the two network slices cannot be registered on one AMF at the same time. For example, an enterprise campus deploys an enterprise network slice independently of a large network slice, and the enterprise network slice is independent of the large network slice due to the requirement of data security. That is, the enterprise slice is not deployed on the AMF where the large-network slice is deployed, and the large-network slice (for example, an Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) slice) is not deployed on the AMF where the enterprise slice is deployed, so that the enterprise network slice and the large-network slice are two network slices having a conflict.

In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the NSSF obtaining a plurality of network slice identifiers requested to be registered by a user equipment, includes: the NSSF receives a request message sent by an initial AMF and used for reselecting the AMF; the request message comprises the network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; the initial AMF does not support all network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications.

In this embodiment, in a process of initiating a Network slice registration by a user equipment, a registration request is first sent to a Radio Access Network (RAN); the RAN selects an AMF for the registration request, which is used as the initial AMF. Wherein, the registration request includes a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment. The method comprises the steps that an initial AMF checks whether the self capability supports network slices corresponding to a plurality of network slice identifications requested by user equipment, initiates an AMF redirection process after determining that the self capability does not support all network slices requested by the user equipment, and sends a request message for reselecting the AMF to NSSF, wherein the request message comprises a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment.

Illustratively, the Network Slice identifier may be Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI).

In this embodiment, the NSSF reselects an AMF according to the capability of each AMF (i.e. the supported network slice) and the network slice identifiers requested to be registered by the ue, where the AMF is used as the target AMF.

Specifically, in some optional embodiments of the present invention, the selecting a target AMF based on the multiple network slice identifiers and the network slices supported by the AMFs includes: the NSSF searches network slices supported by each AMF, and judges whether network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications supporting the multiple network slices exist or not; taking the AMF supporting the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications are supported; taking the AMF supporting the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slice supporting the plurality of network slice identifications does not correspond to the target AMF; and if at least two AMFs which support the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications exist, selecting a default AMF from the at least two AMFs as a target AMF, or randomly selecting one AMF from the at least two AMFs as the target AMF.

In this embodiment, the NSSF may search, based on a plurality of network slices requested by the user equipment, a situation of network slices supported by each AMF, and if there are AMFs capable of supporting all network slices requested by the user equipment, take the AMF as a target AMF; if the AMFs capable of supporting all the network slices requested by the user equipment do not exist, taking the AMF with the maximum number of the network slices supported in the network slices requested by the user equipment as a target AMF; if at least two AMFs with the maximum number of network slices are supported, selecting the default AMF as the target AMF according to the configuration condition of the at least two AMFs, namely the AMF is configured as the default AMF; or one AMF may be randomly selected as the target AMF in a random manner.

In this embodiment, the NSSF may select, based on the condition of the network slice supported by the target AMF and the condition of the network slice requested by the user equipment, a network slice identifier requested by the user equipment and supported by the target AMF as an available network slice identifier, where the available network slice identifier may also be referred to as an allowed network slice identifier. For example, the Allowed network slice identity may be marked as Allowed (Allowed NSSAI). Accordingly, the network slice identifier requested by the user equipment and not supported by the target AMF is used as the reject network slice identifier. Illustratively, the reject network slice identification may be denoted as reject S-NSSAIs.

In some optional embodiments of the invention, the method further comprises: the NSSF sends information of the target AMF to the initial AMF, and sends the available network slice identifier and/or the rejected network slice identifier.

In this embodiment, the NSSF sends the information of the target AMF to the initial AMF, and sends the available network slice identifier and/or the rejected network slice identifier, so that the initial AMF sends the rerouting message to the target AMF, so that the user equipment can perform a normal registration procedure based on the rerouting message.

Based on the foregoing embodiment, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a slice information processing method. FIG. 2 is a second flowchart illustrating a slice information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 2, the method includes:

step 201: after network slice registration based on a target AMF is completed, user equipment obtains an available network slice identifier sent by the target AMF, and/or rejects the network slice identifier and a rejection reason value; the reject cause value indicates that at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the reject network slice identification conflict with at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the available network slice identifications; the target AMF is determined by NSSF based on a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment and network slice selection supported by each AMF;

step 202: and the user equipment initiates a de-registration process under the condition that the network slice corresponding to the available network slice identification does not meet the service requirement.

On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, after network slice registration is completed based on a redirected target AMF, the target AMF sends an available network slice identifier to a user equipment, where the available network slice identifier indicates a network slice identifier supported by the target AMF in network slice identifiers requested to be registered by the user equipment; the reject network slice identifier represents a network slice identifier which is not supported by the target AMF and is in the network slice identifiers requested to be registered by the user equipment.

In this embodiment, the user equipment initiates a de-registration process when it is determined that the network slice corresponding to the available network slice identifier does not meet the service requirement, that is, the target AMF does not meet the service requirement of the user equipment.

In some optional embodiments of the invention, the method further comprises: and the user equipment reinitiates a registration request of the network slice, wherein the registration request comprises the network slice identification without conflict.

In this embodiment, when the user equipment re-initiates the registration request of the network slice, considering that the rejected network slice identifier fed back by the target AMF and the corresponding rejection reason value are that at least part of the network slices corresponding to the rejected network slice identifier conflict with at least part of the network slices corresponding to the available network slice identifier, the registration request does not carry the conflicting network slice identifier, that is, only carries the network slice identifier without conflict.

By adopting the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention, under the condition that a plurality of network slices requested to be registered by the user equipment have conflicted network slices, namely under the condition that the current AMF does not support all network slices requested to be registered by the user equipment, the NSSF reselects a target AMF for the user equipment to carry out slicing service based on the condition of the network slices requested by the user equipment and the condition of the network slices supported by each AMF, thereby solving the problems of AMF selection and relevant slicing information processing under the condition that the user equipment simultaneously requests to be registered and the conflicted network slices exist.

The following describes a slice information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to a specific example.

FIG. 3 is a schematic interaction flow diagram of a slice information processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 3, the method includes:

step 301: UE initiates a registration request to RAN; wherein the registration request is for requesting registration of the network slice. The registration request comprises AN AN message (AN message), and the AN message comprises the requested network slice identifier; the network slice identifier of the request may be, for example, a Requested NSSAI (Requested NSSAI), where the Requested NSSAI includes at least two S-NSSAIs, and there is a conflict between the at least two S-NSSAIs.

Step 302: the RAN selects an initial AMF.

If the registration request includes 5G-S-TMSI or Globally Unique AMF Identifier (GUAMI), RAN may select one AMF as the initial AMF according to 5G-S-TMSI or GUAMI; if the registration request does not include 5G-S-TMSI or GUAMI, the RAN selects an AMF as the initial AMF according to the configuration.

Wherein GUAMI is used to uniquely identify an AMF. The 5G-S-TMSI is a short format of a 5G Globally Unique Temporary UE Identity (5G-GUTI, 5G Global Unique UE Identity),

step 303: the RAN sends an N2 message to the initial AMF, where the N2 message carries the registration request for registering the network slice, and accordingly, the registration request includes the Requested NSSAI, and the Requested NSSAI includes at least two S-NSSAIs with collision.

Step 304: the initial AMF checks whether the initial AMF can serve all network slice identifications in the Requested NSSAI Requested by the UE; and under the condition that all network slice identifications requested by the UE cannot be served by the UE, initiating a redirection flow by the initial AMF, and initiating a request message to the NSSF, wherein the request message is used for requesting a proper AMF. Illustratively, the request message may be an nssf _ NSSelection _ Get message. Wherein, the request message includes the at least two S-NSSAIs with conflict.

Step 305: the NSSF reselects an appropriate AMF for the UE as a target AMF based on at least two S-NSSAIs and network slice identities supported by each AMF.

Specifically, firstly, the NSSF searches for a network slice identifier supported by each AMF, and determines whether an AMF capable of supporting the at least two S-NSSAIs exists; if the AMF capable of supporting the at least two S-NSSAIs is judged to exist, taking the AMF capable of supporting the at least two S-NSSAIs as a target AMF; if it is determined that there is no AMF capable of supporting the at least two S-NSSAIs, comparing the number of slices capable of serving the at least two S-NSSAIs in each AMF, and taking the AMF supporting the largest number of network slices corresponding to the at least two S-NSSAIs as a target AMF; if at least two AMFs supporting the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the at least two S-NSSAIs exist, selecting a default AMF from the at least two AMFs as a target AMF, or randomly selecting one AMF as the target AMF; and if the default AMF does not exist in the at least two AMFs, randomly selecting one AMF as the target AMF.

Further, after the NSSF determines the target AMF, the S-NSSAI supported by the target AMF in the at least two S-NSSAIs is used as an identifier corresponding to an initial available network slice, and the identifier corresponding to the initial available network slice is intersected with a network slice identifier subscribed by the UE, so as to obtain an available network slice identifier in the above embodiment, that is, an allowed NSSAI (allowed NSSAI).

Step 306: the NSSF sends a response message corresponding to the request message to the initial AMF, where the response message includes information of the target AMF and the available network slice identifier (i.e., Allowed NSSAI).

For example, the Response message may be a Response to nssf _ NSSelection _ Get message.

Step 307: and the initial AMF sends a notification message to the target AMF, wherein the notification message carries the rerouting message.

For example, the notification message may specifically be a Namf _ Communication _ N1MessageNotify message; the rerouting message may specifically be a rerouting non-access stratum message (rerouted NAS message).

Step 308: the UE performs a normal registration procedure.

Step 309: after the registration procedure is successful, the target AMF sends a registration accept message to the UE, where the registration accept message may include an available network slice identifier (i.e., Allowed nsai), and/or reject network slice identifiers (reject S-nsais) and a reject cause value (reject cause value); the reject cause value indicates that at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the reject network slice identification conflict with at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the available network slice identifications. Illustratively, the Registration Accept message may be a user equipment Registration Accept (UE Registration Accept) message.

Step 310: and the UE judges that the available network slice identifier can meet the self service requirement, and if the available network slice identifier cannot meet the self service requirement, the UE initiates a de-registration process.

Here, the UE checks whether a network slice corresponding to a service desired to be requested is included in an available network slice identity (i.e., Allowed NSSAI); if the network slice corresponding to the service that the UE wants to request is not within the available network slice identifier (i.e., Allowed NSSAI), the UE initiates a de-registration procedure if the available network slice identifier cannot meet the service requirement.

Step 311: and the UE re-initiates a registration request, judges the conflict between the slices by considering the returned information, and carries the non-conflicting S-NSSAI in the Requested NSSAI to re-request registration.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a slice information processing device which is applied to NSSF. FIG. 4 is a first schematic diagram illustrating a first exemplary configuration of a slice information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; as shown in fig. 4, the apparatus includes: an acquisition unit 41 and a selection unit 42; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the obtaining unit 41 is configured to obtain a plurality of network slice identifiers requested to be registered by a user equipment; network slices corresponding to at least two of the plurality of network slice identifications have conflicts;

the selecting unit 42 is configured to select a target AMF based on the multiple network slice identifiers and the network slices supported by the AMFs, use a network slice identifier corresponding to a network slice supported by the target AMF among the multiple network slice identifiers as an available network slice identifier, and use a network slice identifier corresponding to a network slice not supported by the target AMF among the multiple network slice identifiers as a rejected network slice identifier.

In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the obtaining unit 41 is configured to receive a request message sent by an initial AMF for reselecting the AMF; the request message comprises the network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; the initial AMF does not support all network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications.

In some optional embodiments of the invention, the apparatus further comprises a sending unit, configured to send information of the target AMF to the initial AMF, and send the available network slice identifier and/or the rejected network slice identifier.

In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the selecting unit 42 is configured to search for a network slice supported by each AMF, and determine whether there is a network slice corresponding to the network slice identifier that supports the multiple network slices; taking the AMF supporting the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications are supported; taking the AMF supporting the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slice supporting the plurality of network slice identifications does not correspond to the target AMF; and if at least two AMFs which support the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications exist, selecting a default AMF from the at least two AMFs as a target AMF, or randomly selecting one AMF from the at least two AMFs as the target AMF.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the selecting Unit 42 in the apparatus may be implemented by a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Micro Control Unit (MCU), or a Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) in practical application; the acquiring unit 41 and the sending unit in the device can be realized by a communication module (including a basic communication suite, an operating system, a communication module, a standardized interface, a protocol and the like) and a transceiving antenna in practical application.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a slice information processing device which is applied to the user equipment. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a second exemplary embodiment of a slice information processing apparatus; as shown in fig. 5, the apparatus includes: a receiving unit 51 and an executing unit 52; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the receiving unit 51 is configured to obtain an available network slice identifier sent by a target AMF after network slice registration based on the target AMF is completed, and/or reject the network slice identifier and a reject cause value; the reject cause value indicates that at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the reject network slice identification conflict with at least a portion of the network slices corresponding to the available network slice identifications; the target AMF is determined by NSSF based on a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment and network slice selection supported by each AMF;

the execution unit 52 is configured to initiate a de-registration process when it is determined that the network slice corresponding to the available network slice identifier does not meet the service requirement.

In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the executing unit 52 is further configured to reinitiate a registration request of a network slice, where the registration request includes a network slice identifier without a conflict.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the execution unit 52 in the apparatus may be implemented by a CPU, a DSP, an MCU, or an FPGA in practical application; the receiving unit 51 of the device can be realized by a communication module (including a basic communication suite, an operating system, a communication module, a standardized interface, a protocol and the like) and a transceiving antenna in practical application.

It should be noted that: in the slicing information processing apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, when the slicing information processing is performed, only the division of each program module is exemplified, and in practical applications, the processing may be distributed to different program modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the apparatus may be divided into different program modules to perform all or part of the processing described above. In addition, the slice information processing apparatus and the slice information processing method provided by the above embodiments belong to the same concept, and specific implementation processes thereof are described in the method embodiments and are not described herein again.

The embodiment of the invention also provides communication equipment, and the communication equipment can be the NSSF or the user equipment in the embodiment. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 6, the communication device includes a memory 62, a processor 61, and a computer program stored in the memory 62 and executable on the processor 61, where the processor 61 implements the steps of the slice information processing method applied to NSSF according to an embodiment of the present invention when executing the program, or the processor 61 implements the steps of the slice information processing method applied to user equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention when executing the program.

Optionally, a network interface 63 is also included in the communication device. The various components of the communication device may be coupled together by a bus system 64. It will be appreciated that the bus system 64 is used to enable communications among the components. The bus system 64 includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus in addition to the data bus. For clarity of illustration, however, the various buses are labeled as bus system 64 in fig. 6.

It will be appreciated that the memory 62 can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, and can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Among them, the nonvolatile Memory may be a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a magnetic random access Memory (FRAM), a Flash Memory (Flash Memory), a magnetic surface Memory, an optical disk, or a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM); the magnetic surface storage may be disk storage or tape storage. Volatile Memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache Memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Synchronous Static Random Access Memory (SSRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Double Data Rate Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (DDRSDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (ESDRAM), Enhanced Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (Enhanced DRAM), Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SLDRAM), Direct Memory (DRmb Access), and Random Access Memory (DRAM). The memory 62 described in connection with the embodiments of the invention is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

The method disclosed in the above embodiments of the present invention may be applied to the processor 61, or implemented by the processor 61. The processor 61 may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware or instructions in the form of software in the processor 61. The processor 61 described above may be a general purpose processor, a DSP, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware components, or the like. Processor 61 may implement or perform the methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in embodiments of the present invention. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed by the embodiment of the invention can be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or can be implemented by combining hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in a storage medium located in the memory 62, and the processor 61 reads the information in the memory 62 and performs the steps of the aforementioned method in conjunction with its hardware.

In an exemplary embodiment, the communication Device may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), DSPs, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), FPGAs, general purpose processors, controllers, MCUs, microprocessors (microprocessors), or other electronic components for performing the aforementioned methods.

In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention further provides a computer readable storage medium, such as a memory 62 comprising a computer program, which is executable by a processor 61 of a communication device to perform the steps of the aforementioned method. The computer readable storage medium can be Memory such as FRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, magnetic surface Memory, optical disk, or CD-ROM; or may be various devices including one or any combination of the above memories.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, where the program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the slice information processing method applied in the NSSF in the embodiments of the present invention, or the program, when executed by the processor, implements the steps of the slice information processing method applied in the user equipment in the embodiments of the present invention.

The methods disclosed in the several method embodiments provided in the present application may be combined arbitrarily without conflict to obtain new method embodiments.

Features disclosed in several of the product embodiments provided in the present application may be combined in any combination to yield new product embodiments without conflict.

The features disclosed in the several method or apparatus embodiments provided in the present application may be combined arbitrarily, without conflict, to arrive at new method embodiments or apparatus embodiments.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. The above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, for example, the division of the unit is only a logical functional division, and there may be other division ways in actual implementation, such as: multiple units or components may be combined, or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. In addition, the coupling, direct coupling or communication connection between the components shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection between the devices or units may be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units; some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, all the functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be separately regarded as one unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit; the integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, or in a form of hardware plus a software functional unit.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or part of the steps for implementing the method embodiments may be implemented by hardware related to program instructions, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, the program performs the steps including the method embodiments; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: a removable storage device, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic or optical disk, or various other media that can store program code.

Alternatively, the integrated unit of the present invention may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium if it is implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as a separate product. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention may be essentially implemented or a part contributing to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the methods described in the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a removable storage device, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic or optical disk, or various other media that can store program code.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A slice information processing method, characterized by comprising:

a network slice selection function NSSF acquires a plurality of network slice identifications requested to be registered by user equipment; network slices corresponding to at least two of the plurality of network slice identifications have conflicts;

selecting a target AMF based on the network slice identifications and the network slices supported by the access and mobility management functions AMF, taking the network slice identification corresponding to the network slice supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as an available network slice identification, and taking the network slice identification corresponding to the network slice not supported by the target AMF in the network slice identifications as a rejected network slice identification.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the NSSF obtains a plurality of network slice identities for which the user equipment requests registration, comprising:

the NSSF receives a request message which is sent by the initial AMF and used for reselecting the AMF; the request message comprises the network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; the initial AMF does not support all network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

the NSSF sends information of the target AMF to the initial AMF, and sends the available network slice identifier and/or the rejected network slice identifier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting a target AMF based on the plurality of network slice identifications and the network slices supported by each AMF comprises:

the NSSF searches network slices supported by each AMF, and judges whether network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications supporting the multiple network slices exist or not;

5. A slice information processing method, characterized by comprising:

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

and the user equipment reinitiates a registration request of the network slice, wherein the registration request comprises the network slice identification without conflict.

7. A slice information processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: an acquisition unit and a selection unit; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the obtaining unit is configured to receive a request message sent by an initial AMF for reselecting the AMF; the request message comprises the network slice identifications requested to be registered by the user equipment; the initial AMF does not support all network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a sending unit configured to send information of the target AMF to the initial AMF, and send the available network slice identifier and/or the rejected network slice identifier.

10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the selecting unit is configured to search for a network slice supported by each AMF, and determine whether a network slice corresponding to the network slice identifier that supports the plurality of network slices exists; taking the AMF supporting the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications are supported; taking the AMF supporting the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the plurality of network slice identifications as a target AMF under the condition that the network slice supporting the plurality of network slice identifications does not correspond to the target AMF; and if at least two AMFs which support the maximum number of network slices corresponding to the network slice identifications exist, selecting a default AMF from the at least two AMFs as a target AMF, or randomly selecting one AMF from the at least two AMFs as the target AMF.

11. A slice information processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: a receiving unit and an execution unit; wherein the content of the first and second substances,

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the execution unit is further configured to reinitiate a registration request of a network slice, and wherein the registration request includes a network slice identifier without a conflict.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4; alternatively, the program when executed by a processor implements the steps of the method of claim 5 or 6.

14. A communication device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor when executing the program performs the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 4; alternatively, the processor implements the steps of the method of claim 5 or 6 when executing the program.