Core network selection method, apparatus and system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10588074-B2
Application number	US-201515760897-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 18, 2015
Priority date	Sep 18, 2015
Publication date	Mar 10, 2020
Grant date	Mar 10, 2020

Abstract

Embodiments provide a core network selection method, an apparatus, and a system. The method includes the following steps: obtaining first dedicated core network (DCN) information from an access network device, where the first DCN information includes information about at least one DCN that can be accessed by the access network device. The method also includes selecting a to-be-accessed DCN from the at least one DCN according to the first DCN information, and sending information about the to-be-accessed DCN to the access network device, so that the access network device determines a core network device according to the information about the to-be-accessed DCN.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
obtaining, by a terminal, first network slice information from an access network device, wherein the first network slice information comprises information about at least one network slice;
selecting, by the terminal, information about a to-be-accessed network slice from the first network slice information; and
sending, by the terminal, the information about the to-be-accessed network slice to the access network device, wherein the information about the to-be-accessed network slice is used by the access network device to determine a core network device;
wherein the first network slice information comprises at least one network slice type;
wherein selecting, by the terminal, the information about the to-be-accessed network slice from the first network slice information comprises:
selecting, by the terminal from the at least one network slice type, a network slice type which matches a service type of the terminal, as a type of the to-be-accessed network slice; and

wherein sending, by the terminal, the information about the to-be-accessed network slice to the access network device comprises:
sending, by the terminal, the type of the to-be-accessed network slice to the access network device, wherein the type of the to-be-accessed network slice is used by the access network device to determine the core network device.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein selecting the information about the to-be-accessed network slice from the first network slice information comprises:
determining a to-be-accessed public land mobile network (PLMN) according to a first preset rule; and
selecting, from the at least one network slice type, a network slice type which matches the service type of the terminal and is supported by the to-be-accessed PLMN, as the type of the to-be-accessed network slice.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first network slice information further comprises at least one network slice identity (ID) and a priority for each of the at least one network slice type;
wherein selecting the information about the to-be-accessed network slice from the first network slice information comprises:
when only one network slice type of the at least one network slice type matches the service type of the terminal, determining the only one network slice type as the type of the to-be-accessed network slice, or

when multiple network slice types of the at least one network slice type match the service type of the terminal, selecting the type of the to-be-accessed network slice from the multiple network slice types according to the respective priority of each of the multiple network slice types; and
wherein sending the information about the to-be-accessed network slice to the access network device, wherein the access network device determines the core network device according to the information about the to-be-accessed network slice, further comprises:
sending the network slice ID of the to-be-accessed network slice to the access network device, wherein the network slice ID of the to-be-accessed network slice is used by the access network device to determine the core network device.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein before obtaining the first network slice information from the access network device, the method further comprises:
sending a first message to the access network device, wherein the first message indicates a network slice selection capability of the terminal; and
wherein obtaining the first network slice information from the access network device comprises:
receiving a second message from the access network device according to the first message, wherein the second message comprises the first network slice information.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein before sending the information about the to-be-accessed network slice to the access network device, the method further comprises:
requesting, to the access network device, to establish a wireless connection.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first network slice information further comprises at least one network slice ID and a priority for each of the at least one network slice type;
wherein selecting the information about the to-be-accessed network slice from the first network slice information comprises:
determining a to-be-accessed public land mobile network (PLMN) according to a first preset rule;
selecting, from the at least one network slice, a network slice type which matches the service type of the terminal and is supported by the to-be-accessed PLMN; and
when only one network slice type of the at least one network slice-type matches the service type of the terminal, determining the only one network slice type to be the type of the to-be-accessed network slice; or
when multiple network slice types of the at least one network slice type match the service type of the terminal, selecting the type of the to-be-accessed network slice from the multiple network slice types according to the respective priority of each of the multiple network slice types; and

wherein sending the information about the to-be-accessed network slice to the access network device, wherein the access network device determines the core network device according to the information about the to-be-accessed network slice, further comprises:
sending the network slice ID of the to-be-accessed network slice to the access network device, wherein the network slice ID of the to-be-accessed network slice is used by the access network device to determine the core network device.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein obtaining the first network slice information from the access network device comprises:
receiving a third message sent by the access network device, wherein the third message comprises the first network slice information.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein selecting the information about the to-be-accessed network slice from the first network slice information further comprises:
selecting a preset default network slice as the to-be-accessed network slice when the at least one network slice does not comprise a network slice whose type matches a service type of the terminal; or
sending an access termination request to the access network device when the at least one network slice does not comprise a network slice whose type matches the service type of the terminal; or
obtaining the first network slice information from another access network device when the at least one network slice does not comprise a network slice whose type matches the service type of the terminal.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein a network slice type of the at least one network slice type is Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT), Ultra-Reliable communication, or mobile broadband network.

10. A method, comprising:
sending, by an access network device, first network slice information to a terminal, wherein the first network slice information is used by a terminal to select a to-be-accessed network slice, wherein the first network slice information comprises information about at least one network slice that can be accessed by an access network device, and wherein a communications network is sliced into a plurality of network slices, and each network slice of the plurality of network slices comprises a set of function entities supporting a communication service of the respective network slice of the plurality of network slices;
receiving, by the access network device, information about the to-be-accessed network slice sent by the terminal; and
determining, by the access network device, a core network device for the terminal according to the information about the to-be-access

Assignees

• Huawei Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Duan Xiaoyan
• Jin Hui
• Yi Qiang
• He Yue

Classifications

• H04W48/20

  Selecting an access point · CPC title

• H04W8/04

  Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server] · CPC title

• H04W48/18 Primary

  Selecting a network or a communication service · CPC title

• H04W84/00

  Network topologies · CPC title

• H04W48/12

  using downlink control channel · CPC title