EP-4740608-A1 - METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A NETWORK SLICE INSTANCE INFORMATION

EP4740608A1EP 4740608 A1EP4740608 A1EP 4740608A1EP-4740608-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method and a system for providing a network slice instance information The present disclosure encompasses: receiving, by a transceiver unit [302], at a h-NSSF module [502], a request for the network slice instance information from a v-NSSF module [504]; determining, by a determination unit [304], at the h-NSSF module [502], a route for one of an international roaming subscriber and a national roaming subscriber; selecting, by a selection unit [306], at the h-NSSF module [502], a Network Repository Function (NRF) module from one or more NRF modules and the network slice instance information based on determining the route; and transmitting, by the transceiver unit [302], at the h-NSSF module [502], information of the selected one or more NRF modules and the network slice instance information to the v- NSSF module [504].

Inventors

JHA, ADITYAKAR
SINHA, ANURAG
BHATNAGAR, AAYUSH
KHANDELWAL, Ankush
SINGH, HEMANT
Sarohi, Meenakshi
YADAV, Santosh Kumar
VASHISHTH, Yog
MISHRA, SOMYA
SHARMA, Smridhi

Assignees

Jio Platforms Limited

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240613

Claims (11)

1. A method for providing a network slice instance information, the method comprising: receiving, by a transceiver unit [302], at a home network slice selection function (h- NSSF) module [502], a request for the network slice instance information from a visited network slice selection function (v-NSSF) module [504]; determining, by a determination unit [304], at the h-NSSF module [502], a route for the request for the network slice instance information for one of an international roaming subscriber and a national roaming subscriber; selecting, by a selection unit [306], at the h-NSSF module [502], a Network Repository Function (NRF) module from one or more Network Repository Function (NRF) modules and the network slice instance information based on determining the route for the request of the network slice instance information; and - transmitting, by the transceiver unit [302], at the h-NSSF module [502], information of the selected one or more NRF modules and the network slice instance information to the v-NSSF module [504],
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request for the network slice instance information is received in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session request comprising of one or more request parameters.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the determining, by the determination unit [304], the route for the request for the network slice instance information is performed based on the one or more request parameters of the PDU session request.
4. The method as claimed in claim 2, the method further comprising: - maintaining, by a maintenance unit [308], at the h-NSSF module [502], a list of one or more national Public hand Mobile Networks (PUMNs); and comparing, by a comparator unit [310], at the h-NSSF module [502], the one or more request parameters of the PDU session request with the list of one or more national PUMNs, wherein the request is determined based on the national roaming subscriber upon a positive match, and the request is determined to be for the international roaming subscriber upon a negative match.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprises: segregating, by a segregation unit [312], at the h-NSSF module [502], the network slice instance information based on a dynamic configuration and one or more parameters associated with the request; and storing, by a storage unit [314], at the h-NSSF module [502], the segregated network slice instance information.
6. A system [300] for providing a network slice instance information, the system [300] comprising: a transceiver unit [302]; a determination unit [304] connected at least to the transceiver unit [302]; a selection unit [306] connected at least to the determination unit [304]; wherein: - the transceiver unit [302] is configured to receive at a home network slice selection function (h-NSSF) module [502], a request for the network slice instance information from a visited network slice selection function (v-NSSF) module [504], - the determination unit [304] is configured to determine, at the h-NSSF module [502], a route for the request for the network slice instance information for one of an international roaming subscriber and a national roaming subscriber, - the selection unit [306] is configured to select, at the h-NSSF module [502], a Network Repository Function (NRF) module from one or more Network Repository Function (NRF) modules and the network slice instance information based on determining the route for the request of the network slice instance information, and - the transceiver unit [302] is configured to transmit, at the h-NSSF module [502], information of the selected one or more NRF modules and the network slice instance information to the v-NSSF module [504],
7. The system [300] as claimed in claim 6, wherein the request for the network slice instance information is received in a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session request comprising of one or more request parameters.
8. The system [300] as claimed in claim 7, wherein the determination unit [304] is configured to determine at the h-NSSF module [502] the route for the request for the network slice instance information based on one or more request parameters of the PDU session request.
9. The system [300] as claimed in claim 7, wherein the system [300] further comprises: a maintenance unit [308] connected at least to the selection unit [306], the maintenance unit [308] is configured to maintain, at the h-NSSF module [502], a list of one or more national public land mobile networks (PLMNs); and a comparator unit [310] connected at least to the maintenance unit [308], the comparator unit [310] is configured to compare, at the h-NSSF module [502], the one or more request parameters of the PDU session request with the list of one or more national PLMNs, wherein the request is determined to be for the national roaming subscriber upon a positive match, and the request is determined to be for the international roaming subscriber upon a negative match.
10. The system [300] as claimed in claim 9, wherein the system [300] further comprises: a segregation unit [312] connected at least to the comparator unit [310], the segregation unit [312] is configured to segregate, at the h-NSSF module [502], the network slice instance information based on a dynamic configuration and one or more parameters associated with the request; and a storage unit [314] connected at least to the segregation unit [312], the storage unit [314] is configured to store the segregated network slice instance information.
11. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for providing a network slice instance information, the storage medium comprising executable code which, when executed by one or more units of a system [300], causes: a transceiver unit [302], at a home network slice selection function (h-NSSF) module [502], to receive a request for the network slice instance information from a visited network slice selection function (v-NSSF) module [504]; a determination unit [304], at the h-NSSF module [502], to determine a route for the request for the network slice instance information for one of an international roaming subscriber and a national roaming subscriber; a selection unit [306], at the h-NSSF module [502], to select a Network Repository Function (NRF) module from one or more Network Repository Function (NRF) modules and the network slice instance information based on determining the route for the request of the network slice instance information; and - the transceiver unit [302], at the h-NSSF module [502], to transmit information of the selected one or more NRF modules and the network slice instance information to the v-NSSF module [504],

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING A NETWORK SLICE INSTANCE INFORMATION TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to network performance management systems. More particularly, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems for providing a network slice instance information. BACKGROUND [0002] The following description of the related art is intended to provide background information pertaining to the field of the disclosure. This section may include certain aspects of the art that may be related to various features of the present disclosure. However, it should be appreciated that this section is used only to enhance the understanding of the reader with respect to the present disclosure, and not as admissions of the prior art. [0003] Wireless communication technology has rapidly evolved over the past few decades, with each generation bringing significant improvements and advancements. The first generation of wireless communication technology was based on analog technology and offered only voice services. However, with the advent of the second-generation (2G) technology, digital communication and data services became possible, and text messaging was introduced. The third- generation (3G) technology marked the introduction of high-speed internet access, mobile video calling, and location-based services. The fourth-generation (4G) technology revolutionized wireless communication with faster data speeds, better network coverage, and improved security. Currently, the fifth-generation (5G) technology is being deployed, promising even faster data speeds, low latency, and the ability to connect multiple devices simultaneously. With each generation, wireless communication technology has become more advanced, sophisticated, and capable of delivering more services to its users. [0004] In the 5G communication system, there is provided a number of functional modules, for example an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), and a Network Repository Function (NRF), one or more of which interact with each other to implement multiple operations of the 5G communication system. NSSF is one of the key components of 5G communication system. The 5G communication system can deploy multiple Network Slice Instances delivering exactly the same features for different groups of user equipment (UE)s. The NSSF offers services to the AMF and the NSSF in a different Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) via the NSSF service-based interface. The key Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) functionalities include: authorization of the set of network slice instances for AMF Availability (Registration); determining the allowed NSSAI for selection of Slice information; and determining the AMF Set /Candidate list to be used to serve the UE based on the AMF Availability registration. [0005] In other words, an AMF node and an NSSF node suitably interact with each other, for the slice selection and providing communication service to the UE. When the UE is accessing sliced network service and moves from a visited PLMN network to a home PLMN network, the UE is required to get access and/or service retrieval information for continuing service access in the home PLMN network, with a new slice information thereof. The NRF maintains an updated repository of the 5G elements available in the network along with the services provided by each of the elements in the 5G core that are expected to be instantiated, scaled and terminated without or minimal manual intervention. The NSSF provides the AMF with a suitable NRF endpoint/ address, for providing service to the visited UE, however, this process is less efficient and time consuming and providing service to international roamer and national roamer users with single NRF module is less secure, thereby making this process undesirable. [0006] Thus, there exists an imperative need in the art to provide a faster and efficient system and method for providing service to the UE in visited PLMN and/ or in home network by two different NRF modules based on determining parameters from their PDU session request for secured and reduced signalling overhead, which the present disclosure aims to address. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE [0007] This section is provided to introduce certain aspects of the present disclosure in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify the key features or the scope of the claimed subject matter. [0008] An aspect of the present disclosure may relate to a method for providing a network slice instance information. The method comprises receiving, by a transceiver unit, at a home network slice selection function (h-NSSF) module, a request for the network slice instance information from a visited network slice selection function (v-NSSF) module. The method further comprises determining, by a determination unit, at the h-NSSF module,