CN109842507B

CN109842507B - Network slice management method and equipment

Info

Publication number: CN109842507B
Application number: CN201711208165.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蒋若冰; 孙文琦; 冯珍妮; 陆伟; 杨水根; 谭巍
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: XFusion Digital Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-11-27
Filing date: 2017-11-27
Publication date: 2020-11-06
Anticipated expiration: 2037-11-27
Also published as: CN109842507A

Abstract

The application discloses a network slice management method and equipment. In the method, a network slice management device determines transmission requirements for a transmission network, wherein the transmission requirements include at least one of the following: the method comprises the following steps that (1) network slice level transmission requirements, network slice subnet level transmission requirements and connection point level transmission requirements are met; the network slice management equipment sends a network slice transmission management request to the transmission network management equipment, wherein the network slice transmission management request comprises the information of the transmission requirement; and the transmission network management equipment manages transmission resources according to the transmission requirements and sends a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management equipment. By the method, communication between the network slice management equipment and the transmission network management equipment is realized, so that the transmission network management equipment can manage the transmission network according to hierarchical transmission requirements, and different requirements of different network slices, different network slice subnets or different connection point pairs are met.

Description

Network slice management method and equipment

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a network slice management method and device.

Background

The concept of Network Slicing (NS) was introduced in the fifth generation mobile communication system (5G) to cope with the difference of network performance requirements for different communication services. A network slice is a logical network that can provide a particular network function, meeting the needs of a particular service, including a collection of network function modules and resources needed to complete a particular function or service.

The network slice may be a complete end-to-end network including a terminal, AN Access Network (AN), a Transport Network (TN), a Core Network (CN), and AN application server, and may provide a complete communication service. Of course, the network slice may also be a partial combination of the terminal, the AN, the TN, the CN and the application server.

A network slice may be divided into several network slice sub-Networks (NSSI). The network slice subnet may not need to provide complete network service end to end, and the network slice subnet may be a set formed by network functions of the same equipment in the network slice, or a set formed by network functions divided by domains, such as a CN network slice subnet, AN network slice subnet, or a set formed by other manners, such as a deployment location. A network slice subnet may be shared by multiple network slices.

Fig. 1 exemplarily shows an end-to-end network slice, TN is required between and inside a Radio Access Network (RAN) network slice subnet part and a CN network slice subnet part in 5G to provide connectivity support, and a Transport Network Management System (TNMS) is responsible for managing network functions of the TN and interacting with a 3rd generation partnership project (3 GPP) management system.

However, in the prior art, the interface and the transferred information between the network slice management device and the transmission network management device are not standardized, so how to communicate between the network slice management device and the transmission network management device, and further, how to manage the transmission network according to the requirement of the network slice is a problem to be solved urgently.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a network slice management method and device, which are used for solving the problem of how to communicate between a network slice management device and a transmission network management device.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network slice management method, including:

the network slice management device determines transmission requirements of the network slice on a transmission network, wherein the transmission requirements comprise at least one of the following transmission requirements: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level; the network slice management equipment sends a network slice transmission management request to the transmission network management equipment, wherein the network slice transmission management request comprises the information of the transmission requirement; and the transmission network management equipment manages transmission resources according to the transmission requirements and sends a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management equipment.

In the method, the network slice management device sends the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the network slice subnet level or the connection point pair level in the network slice to the transmission network management device, so that the transmission network management device can manage the transmission network according to the hierarchical transmission requirements to meet different requirements of different network slices, different network slice subnets or different connection point pairs.

In one possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirement at the network slice level includes an identification of a network slice;

the information of the transmission requirement of the network slice level further comprises at least one of the following information: the identification corresponds to the topology information of the network slice, and the identification corresponds to the transmission performance requirement information of the network slice level;

the topology information comprises information of network elements to be connected in the network slice, a connection relation to be established between the network elements and an identification of a connection point pair formed after connection is established;

the transmission performance requirement information at the network slice level includes first transmission performance requirement information, or includes first transmission performance requirement information and second transmission performance requirement information, where the first transmission performance requirement information indicates that the network slice transmission management request is used to instruct the transmission network management device to create, modify, or release the transmission resources of the network slice, the second transmission performance requirement information includes a performance requirement parameter at the network slice level of the network slice to the transmission network, and the performance requirement parameter at the network slice level is used to instruct a value range or level of a sum of transmission performance requirements of all pairs of connection points in the network slice, or is used to instruct a uniform value range or level of the performance requirement parameters of all pairs of connection points in the network slice.

In the above method, the network slice management device may send the transmission requirement of the network slice level to the transmission network management device, for example, send the total bandwidth, priority, throughput rate, and the like occupied by the network slice to the transmission network, so that the transmission network management device manages the corresponding network slice according to the transmission requirement of the network slice level.

In a possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirement at the network slice subnet level includes an identifier of the first network slice subnet and an identifier of the second network slice subnet;

the information of the transmission requirement of the network slice subnet level further comprises at least one of the following information: topology information between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, transmission performance requirement information at a subnet level between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, and network slice identifiers to which the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet belong;

the topology information comprises information of network elements in the first network slice subnet and network elements in the second network slice subnet to be connected, a connection relation to be established between the network elements and an identification of a connection point pair formed after connection is established;

the transmission performance requirement information includes first transmission performance requirement information, or includes first transmission performance requirement information and second transmission performance requirement information, the first transmission performance requirement information indicates that the network slice transmission management request is used to instruct the transmission network management device to create, modify or release transmission resources between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, the second transmission performance requirement information includes a transmission performance requirement parameter at a subnet level between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, the transmission performance requirement parameter at the subnet level is used to instruct a range or a level of a sum of transmission performance requirements of all pairs of connection points between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, or is used to instruct a uniform range of values of the performance requirement parameters of all pairs of connection points between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet Or a grade.

In the method, the network slice management device may send the transmission requirement of the network slice subnet level to the transmission network management device, so that the transmission network management device manages the corresponding network slice subnet according to the transmission requirement of the network slice subnet level.

In one possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirement of the contact point pair level includes an identification of the contact point pair;

the information of the connection point to level transmission requirement further comprises at least one of the following information: the topology information of the connection point pair corresponding to the identifier, the transmission performance requirement information of the connection point pair level corresponding to the identifier, the identifier of the network slice to which the connection point pair belongs, and the identifier of the network slice subnet to which the connection point pair belongs;

the topology information of the connection point pair comprises the information of the network elements contained in the connection point pair;

the transmission performance requirement information of the connection point pair level comprises first transmission performance requirement information or first transmission performance requirement information and second transmission performance requirement information, the first transmission performance requirement information represents that the network slice transmission management request is used for indicating the transmission network management equipment to create, modify or release the transmission resources of the connection point pair, and the second transmission performance requirement information comprises a performance requirement parameter of the connection point pair on the transmission network.

In the above method, the network slice management device may send the transmission requirement of the link point pair level to the transmission network management device, for example, send the total bandwidth, priority, throughput rate, and the like occupied by the link point pair to the transmission network, so that the transmission network management device manages the corresponding link point pair according to the transmission requirement of the link point pair level.

In a possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirement includes a priority of a network slice level, a priority of a pair of connection points in a network slice, or a priority of a type of a packet transmitted on the pair of connection points.

In one possible implementation, the determining, by the network slice management device, a transmission requirement for a transmission network includes:

the network slice management device determines transmission requirements of the network slice on a transmission network, wherein the transmission requirements comprise at least one of the following: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the network slice management device determines transmission requirements of a network slice subnet on a transmission network, wherein the transmission requirements include at least one of the following: the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the network slice management device determines transmission requirements of a connection point for a transmission network, the transmission requirements including connection point to level transmission requirements.

In the method, the network slice management device can determine transmission requirements of different levels according to different scenes. For example, when determining the transmission requirement of a newly created network slice level, the transmission requirement of the network slice level may be directly determined, or, if the network slice is composed of a plurality of established network slice subnets, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet levels may be respectively determined.

In one possible implementation manner, the determining, by the network slice management device, a transmission requirement of the network slice on the transmission network includes: the network slice management equipment determines the transmission requirements of the network slices on the transmission network according to the service requirements supported by the network slices and/or the transmission requirements of the network slice subnets or network elements in the network slices; the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet include: the transmission requirements of the network elements in the network slice subnet and the network elements in the network slice except the network slice subnet during transmission, and/or the transmission requirements of the network elements in the network slice subnet during transmission.

In the method, the network slice management device can determine the transmission requirements of the network slices according to the related requirements of the upper layer on the network slices, and also can determine the transmission requirements of the network slices according to the transmission requirements of each network slice subnet so as to adapt to various application scenarios.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the transmission network management equipment sends the capability information of the transmission network to the network slice management equipment; and the network slice management equipment determines the transmission requirement on the transmission network according to the capability information of the transmission network.

In the method, the transmission network management device may actively send the capability information of the transmission network to the network slice management device, or may send the capability information of the transmission network to the network slice management device when receiving a request for obtaining the capability information sent by the network slice management device, so that the transmission requirement determined by the network slice management device is the transmission requirement that can be met by the transmission network.

In a possible implementation manner, the capability information of the transmission network includes one or any combination of the following information: the network slice of the transmission network service comprises a transmission network type which can be adopted by the network slice of the transmission network service, a coverage area of the transmission network, transmission performance parameters which can be supported by the transmission network, information of a virtual local area network VLAN which can be supported by the transmission network, a transmission network fault processing strategy, a transmission network fault reporting strategy, transmission performance monitoring capability information of the transmission network on the service network slice, and whether the transmission network supports reporting of topology information of the transmission network.

In a possible implementation, the network slice management device includes a network slice management function NSMF, a network slice sub-network management function NSSMF, a network manager NM, a domain manager DM, or a network element manager EM.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice management device may further send indication information to a network element in a network slice or a network element in a network slice subnet, where the indication information is used to indicate that the network element adds a network slice identifier, a network slice subnet identifier, or an identifier of a connection point pair in a network slice to a data packet when sending the data packet.

In the method, the transmission requirements determined by the network slice management device can be classified into a network slice level, a network slice subnet level and a connection point pair level, so that in order to facilitate the transmission network to identify the transmission requirements corresponding to the information sent by each network element, each network element can add a network slice identifier, a network slice subnet identifier or a connection point pair identifier to the information when sending the information, so that the transmission network management device can transmit the information according to the corresponding transmission requirements according to the identifier in the information.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network slice management device, including: the processor is connected with the memory and the transceiver respectively; the processor is used for calling the computer program prestored in the memory to execute:

determining transmission requirements for a transmission network, the transmission requirements comprising at least one of the following transmission requirements: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level;

sending a network slice transmission management request to transmission network management equipment through the transceiver, wherein the network slice transmission management request comprises the information of the transmission requirement;

and receiving a network slice transmission management response sent by the transmission network management equipment through the transceiver.

In a possible implementation manner, the processor, when determining a transmission requirement for the transmission network, is specifically configured to:

determining transmission requirements of the network slice for the transmission network, the transmission requirements including at least one of: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

determining transmission requirements of a network slice subnet on a transmission network, wherein the transmission requirements comprise at least one of the following: the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

transmission requirements of the connection point for the transmission network are determined, the transmission requirements including transmission requirements of the connection point to the level.

In a possible implementation manner, the processor, when determining a transmission requirement of the network slice on the transmission network, is specifically configured to:

determining the transmission requirements of the network slices on a transmission network according to the service requirements supported by the network slices and/or the transmission requirements of the network slice subnets or network elements in the network slices;

the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet include: the transmission requirements of the network elements in the network slice subnet and the network elements in the network slice except the network slice subnet during transmission, and/or the transmission requirements of the network elements in the network slice subnet during transmission.

In one possible implementation, the processor is further configured to:

receiving, by the transceiver, capability information of the transmission network transmitted by the transmission network management apparatus;

when determining a transmission requirement for a transmission network, the processor is specifically configured to:

and determining the transmission requirement for the transmission network according to the capability information of the transmission network.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice management device is a network slice management function NSMF, a network slice sub-network management function NSSMF, a network manager NM, a domain manager DM, or a network element manager EM.

In one possible implementation, the processor is further configured to:

and sending indication information to the network elements in the network slice or the network elements in the network slice subnet through the transceiver, wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the network elements add network slice identifiers, network slice subnet identifiers or identifiers of connection point pairs in the network slice to the data packets when the data packets are sent by the network elements.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a transmission network management device, including: the processor is connected with the memory and the transceiver respectively; the processor is used for calling the computer program prestored in the memory to execute:

receiving, by the transceiver, a network slice transmission management request sent by a network slice management device, where the network slice transmission management request includes at least one of the following transmission requirements: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level;

managing transmission resources according to the transmission requirements;

sending, by the transceiver, a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management device.

In one possible implementation, the processor is further configured to:

and sending the capability information of the transmission network to the network slice management equipment through the transceiver.

In a fourth aspect, this embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer instructions are stored, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the instructions cause the computer to perform the method according to the first aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network slice provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network slice management system according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a life cycle of a network slice provided by an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a network slice management method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a second schematic diagram of a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a third schematic diagram of a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a fourth schematic diagram of a network slice provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a network slice management device determining transmission requirements of a network slice level according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a network slice network management device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a second schematic structural diagram of a network slice management device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a transmission network management device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a second schematic structural diagram of a transmission network management device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A network slice is a logical network that can provide a particular network function, meeting the needs of a particular service, including a collection of network function modules and resources needed to complete a particular function or service. An operator may provide multiple network slices that achieve the same network functionality for a group of terminal devices of different feature or quality of service (QoS) classes. The same terminal device may also access multiple network slices simultaneously over the 5G access network, using different types of services provided by the network slices. For example, network slices may be created for three types of services, enhanced mobile broadband services (eMBB), high-reliability low-latency communications (URLLC), and large-scale Internet of Things (MIoT), respectively, where each network slice provides a service that can satisfy the quality of service required by its corresponding service type.

A network slice may be divided into several network slice subnets. The network slice subnet may not need to provide complete network service end to end, and the network slice subnet may be a set formed by network functions of the same equipment provider in the network slice, or a set formed by network functions divided by domains, such as a core network slice subnet, an access network slice subnet, or a set formed by other manners, such as a deployment location. A network slice subnet may be shared by multiple network slices.

The network slice and the network slice subnet are created and managed by a network slice management system. A network slice management system may create and manage multiple network slices, multiple network slice subnets simultaneously, such as monitoring network performance of the network slices during operation, managing faults, modifying configuration parameters, and the like.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a Network Slice Management System (NSMS), which may include: a Communication Service Management Function (CSMF), a Network Slice Management Function (NSMF), and a Network Slice Subnet Management Function (NSSMF).

Among them, the CSMF is mainly used to convert the requirements related to the communication service into the requirements related to the network slice, such as network type, capacity, QoS requirements, etc., and transmit the related service requirements and management requests to the NSMF through an interface with the NSMF.

The NSMF is mainly used for receiving network slice management requirements related to communication services through an interface of the CSMF, managing life cycle, performance, faults and the like of the network slices, further converting the related service requirements into management requirements related to network slice subnets, and sending the network slice subnet management requirements through the interface of the NSSMF.

NSSMF is mainly used to receive the requirements of network slice subnet management through the interface with NSMF, and manage the life cycle, performance, failure, etc. of the network slice subnet.

The lifecycle management of network slices by a network slice management system may include three phases as shown in fig. 3:

network slice instantiation, configuration and activation stages: all shared and unshared network resources and network functions related to the network slice are created and configured, so that the network slice can normally run various communication services supported in the activation phase.

Network slicing operation stage: network slice performance supervision, reporting and online modification. Wherein, the modification operation comprises online upgrade, reconfiguration, network slice capacity expansion, capacity modification, topology modification, association and disassociation of network functions and the like.

Network slice retirement stage: and performing deactivation operation on the network slice, configuring shared resources or network functions in the network slice, and then terminating the network slice.

As shown in fig. 1, the connection between the network elements in the network slice is established via a transmission network. The transmission network establishes a communication link based on the address of each network element in the network and supports information transmission between the network elements. The transmission network may transmit based on transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP); network transport devices, such as switches, routers, may implement addressing, transport based on Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, IP addresses, or TCP ports.

The transmission requirements of different network slices for the network elements may be different, the transmission requirements of different network elements in the same network slice may also be different, and the transmission requirements of different network slice subnets in the network slice for the network elements are also different. For example, network slices that provide URLLC type services have a transmission delay requirement of no more than 0.5ms, while network slices that provide other types of services have a lower transmission delay requirement. Therefore, a Transport Network Management System (TNMS) should manage a transport network according to a transport requirement of a network slice, so as to meet the requirement of the network slice. However, at present, the communication interface between the network slice management system and the transport network management system is not standardized.

The embodiment of the application provides a network slice management method, which is used for solving the problem of how to communicate between a network slice management device and a transmission network management device.

In this embodiment of the present application, the network slice management device may be an NSMF or an NSSMF in the network slice management system; however, fig. 2 is only an example of a network slice management system, and therefore, the network slice management device in the embodiment of the present application may also be other devices having a function of managing a network slice, such as a Network Manager (NM), a Domain Manager (DM), or an Element Manager (EM).

The transmission network management device in the embodiment of the present application has a device for managing a transmission network, which is not specifically limited in the present application.

Referring to fig. 4, a flowchart of a network slice management method provided in an embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated, and as shown in the drawing, the method may include the following steps:

step 401, the network slice management device determines the transmission requirement for the transmission network.

The transmission requirement determined by the network slice management device may be a transmission requirement at a network slice level, a transmission requirement at a network slice subnet level, or a transmission requirement at a level of a connection point in a network slice.

In some embodiments, a network slice management device may determine transmission requirements of a network slice for a transport network. Accordingly, the network slice management device may determine a transmission requirement at a network slice level for the network slice. If the network slice comprises a plurality of network slice subnets, the network slice management device can also determine the transmission requirements of the network slice at the subnet level, and the transmission requirements of the network slice on the transmission network are reflected by the transmission requirements of the plurality of network slice subnets at the subnet level. In addition, since the network slice includes several pairs of contact points, the network slice management device may also determine, for each pair of contact points of the network slice, a contact point pair level transmission requirement.

In some further embodiments, the network slice management device may determine transmission requirements of the network slice subnet for the transport network. If the network slice subnet comprises a plurality of nested network slice subnets, the network slice management device can determine the transmission requirement of the network slice subnet level aiming at the network slice subnet. If the network slice subnet includes a plurality of connection point pairs, the network slice management device may also determine, for each connection point pair, a transmission requirement of the network slice subnet at the connection point pair level, thereby embodying the transmission requirement of the network slice subnet.

In still other embodiments, the network slice management device may also determine the transmission requirements of the connection point for the transmission network. For example, in order to improve the performance of a network slice or a subnet, the network slice management device may determine to create a new contact point pair for a network slice or a subnet, and determine the transmission requirement of the contact point pair level corresponding to the contact point pair to be created.

In a possible implementation manner, the transmission requirements of various levels determined by the network slice management device may include the first transmission performance requirement, or may include the first transmission performance requirement and the second transmission performance requirement.

Wherein the first transmission performance requirement indicates a need for the transmission network to create, modify or release transmission resources of the corresponding level. For example, the network slice management device may determine transmission resources for creating a network slice, or determine that transmission resources for an already created network slice need to be modified, or may also determine to release transmission resources for the network slice. Of course, the network slice management device may determine that a transmission requirement of the network slice subnet needs to be created, modified or released, or may also determine that a transmission resource of a pair of connection points needs to be created, modified or released.

The second transmission performance requirement is a transmission performance requirement parameter of a corresponding level to be created or modified. In some scenarios, the first transmission performance requirement determined by the network slice management device is that a network slice needs to be created, and further determines transmission performance parameters at a slice level, a subnet level, or a connection point pair level that the network slice to be created needs to meet, such as a total bandwidth parameter at the slice level, a uniform delay parameter, a total throughput rate, a slice level priority, an isolation requirement, and the like. In some other scenarios, the first transmission performance requirement determined by the network slice management device is a transmission performance requirement for modifying the created network slice, and further determines a transmission performance parameter that needs to be satisfied after the network slice to be modified is modified. In other scenarios, the network slice management device may further determine, according to actual requirements, a transmission requirement that requires creation or modification of a network slice subnet or a connection point pair, and accordingly, the second transmission performance requirement indicates a transmission performance parameter of a created or modified network slice subnet level or a connection point pair level.

In some embodiments, the first transmission performance requirement determined by the network slice management device may also be a requirement for releasing a network slice, a network slice subnet, or a pair of connection points, and at this time, the network slice management device may no longer determine the second transmission performance requirement.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice management device determines the transmission requirement at the network slice level, and may also include the first transmission performance requirement, or include the first transmission performance requirement and the second transmission performance requirement. The first transmission performance requirement may be a transmission resource for creating, modifying or releasing the network slice, and the second transmission performance requirement may be a transmission performance requirement parameter at a slice level of the network slice to be created or modified. The slice-level performance requirement parameter refers to a value range or a level of the sum of transmission performance requirements of all the connection point pairs in a slice, or a uniform value range or a level of the performance requirement parameters of all the connection point pairs. For example, as shown in fig. 7, the network slice includes k pairs of connection points, and the network slice management device may determine that the sum of bandwidths of the k pairs of connection points is X megabits, and the maximum value of the transmission delay parameter of the k pairs of connection points is Y milliseconds. Alternatively, the transmission network may dynamically adjust the bandwidth of each contact pair while ensuring that the total bandwidth of the k contact pairs is X megabits. Although the network slice includes k pairs of contact points, it is not meant that 2 × k network elements are included in the network slice, for example, the pair of contact points 1 and the pair of contact points 2 in fig. 5 include the gNB1, or the uplink and the downlink between two network elements may also become two pairs of contact points.

Optionally, the transmission requirement of the network slice level determined by the network slice management device may further include a topology requirement of the network slice. In a specific embodiment, if the network slice management device determines to create or modify a network slice, the network slice management device may further determine a connection relationship to be created or modified between network elements in the network slice. For example, the network slice management device requests to create a network slice, where the network slice includes network element 1, network element 2, and network element 3, and the network slice management device may also determine that the network element 1 and the network element 2 need to establish a pair of connection points, and the network element 1 and the network element 3 need to establish a pair of connection points.

In another possible implementation manner, when determining the transmission requirements at the network slice level, the network slice management device may determine the transmission requirements inside the network slice subnets in the network slice and/or the transmission requirements between the network slice subnets, and then further determine the transmission requirements at the slice level of the network slice. Because the modes of dividing the network slice subnets in the network slice are various, the network elements inside the divided network slice subnets may need to communicate, or the network elements inside the network slice subnets may not need to communicate, but only communicate among the network slice subnets, so that when the network slice management device determines the transmission requirements at the network slice level, the transmission requirements at the network slice level can be determined after the transmission requirements inside the network slice subnets or among the network slice subnets are comprehensively considered.

For example, taking fig. 6 as an example, the newly created network slice utilizes the created network slice subnets a, B and C, wherein the network slice subnets a include gNB1 and gNB2, the network slice subnet B includes AMF, and the network slice subnet C includes UPF. The network slice management device may determine the transmission requirements between the network slice subnets a and B, the transmission requirements between the network slice subnets a and C, and the transmission requirements between the network slice subnets B and C, and determine the transmission requirements of the network slice at the slice level according to the transmission requirements between the subnets. Specifically, the network slice management device acquires that the network slice subnet a, the network slice subnet B and the network slice subnet C include 5 pairs of connection points, that is, gNB1 and AMF, gNB1 and UPF, gNB2 and AMF, gNB2 and UPF, and AMF and UPF. The network slice management device may determine the transmission requirement of the network slice level according to the acquired information of the connection point pairs and/or the transmission requirement of each connection point pair.

In another possible implementation manner, when the network slice management device determines the transmission requirement of the network slice level for the network slice, the value range or the level of the transmission requirement parameter of the network slice level corresponding to the network slice of the network may be determined according to the service requirement supported by the network slice. For example, if one network slice is used to provide a URLLC type service, the network slice management device may determine, according to the requirements of high reliability and low delay of the URLLC type service, a value range or a level of parameters such as a uniform throughput rate and a uniform transmission delay of a network slice level corresponding to the network slice.

Of course, the network slice management device may further determine, by combining the service requirement supported by the network slice, the transmission requirement of the connection point pair in the network slice, and the transmission requirement between the subnets of the network slice, the transmission requirement of the network slice level corresponding to the network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level may include the identifications of the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, and optionally, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level may further include the identifications of the network slices to which the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet belong. Optionally, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level may further include transmission requirements when communication is performed between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet. The transmission requirements of the subnet levels of the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet determined by the network slice management device may further include a first transmission performance requirement, or the first transmission performance requirement and a second transmission performance requirement. The first transmission performance requirement may be a transmission performance requirement parameter of a subnet level between the network slice subnets to be created or modified, and the second transmission performance requirement may be a transmission performance requirement parameter of a subnet level between the network slice subnets to be created or modified. The subnet-level transmission performance requirement parameter refers to a value range or a level of a sum of transmission performance requirements of all the connection point pairs between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, or a uniform value range or a level of the performance requirement parameters of all the connection point pairs between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet.

Optionally, the transmission requirement of the network slice subnet level determined by the network slice management device may further include topology information between the two network slice subnets. The topology information includes information of network elements in the first network slice subnet and network elements in the second network slice subnet to be connected, a connection relationship to be established between the network elements, and an identifier of a connection point pair formed after connection is established. For example, the network slice management device may determine a connection relationship of network element 1 in network slice subnet 1 and network element 2 in network slice subnet 2.

Specifically, when determining the transmission requirement of the subnet level between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, the network slice management device may first determine the transmission requirement of the first network slice subnet for the outside and the transmission requirement of the second network slice subnet for the outside, and then determine the transmission requirement of the communication between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet according to the transmission requirement of the first network slice subnet for the outside and the transmission requirement of the second network slice subnet for the outside.

The external transmission requirement of the first network slice subnet is a transmission requirement when the network elements in the first network slice subnet and the network elements except the first network slice subnet perform transmission. For example, as shown in fig. 5, the network slice subnet a includes a gNB1 and a gNB2, and the gNB1 can be connected to the AMF through the transport network and also connected to the UPF through the transport network. The network slice management device may determine a transmission requirement for the transmission network when the gNB1 in the network slice subnet a communicates with the network element, such as the AMF, a transmission requirement for the transmission network when the gNB1 communicates with the network element, such as the UPF, a transmission requirement for the transmission network when the gNB2 communicates with the network element, such as the AMF, and a transmission requirement for the transmission network when the gNB2 communicates with the network element, such as the UPF, respectively.

Similarly, the external transmission requirement of the second network slice subnet is a transmission requirement when the network element in the second network slice subnet transmits with a network element other than the second network slice subnet. As shown in fig. 5, the network slice subnet B includes AMF1 and UPF1, AMF1 can be connected to the gNB through the transport network, and UPF1 can be connected to the gNB through the transport network. The network slice management device may determine a transmission requirement for the transmission network when the network element, such as the AMF1 and the gNB, in the network slice subnet B communicates and a transmission requirement for the transmission network when the network element, such as the UPF1 and the gNB, communicates, respectively.

After the network slice management device respectively determines the external transmission requirements of the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, the network slice management device further determines the transmission requirements between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet. Still taking fig. 5 as an example, a connection point pair 1 formed by the gNB1 and the AMF1, a connection point pair 2 formed by the gNB1 and the UPF1, a connection point pair 3 formed by the gNB2 and the AMF1, and a connection point pair 4 formed by the gNB2 and the UPF1 may be included between the network slice subnet a and the network slice subnet B. If the bandwidth requirement of the gNB1 for communication with the AMF is 20M, gNB2, and the bandwidth requirement of the AMF for communication with the gNB is 10M, and the bandwidth requirement of the AMF1 for communication with the gNB is 10M, it is determined that the bandwidth requirement of the connection point pair 1(gNB1 and AMF1) is 20M, and the bandwidth requirement of the connection point pair 3(gNB2 and AMF1) is 10M; if the bandwidth requirement for communications between the gNB1 and the UPF is 5M when 10M, gNB2 and 5M when the UPF1 and the gNB communicate, the bandwidth requirement for the pair of connection points 2(gNB1 and UPF1) and 5M when the pair of connection points 4(gNB2 and UPF1) are determined to be 10M and 5M, respectively. The bandwidth requirement at the subnet level between network slice subnet a and network slice subnet B is (20+10+10+5) M.

In some embodiments, when the network slice management device determines the transmission requirement of the subnet level for a network slice, the value range or the level of the transmission requirement parameter of the subnet level between subnets in the network slice may be determined according to the service requirement supported by the network slice. For example, as shown in fig. 6, the network slice subnet a includes gNB1 and gNB2, the network slice subnet B includes AMF, and the network slice subnet C includes UPF, and since the control plane information is transmitted between the network slice subnet a and the network slice subnet B, and the user plane information is transmitted between the network slice subnet a and the network slice subnet C, the transmission requirement at the subnet level between the network slice subnet a and the network slice subnet B can be determined according to the transmission requirement for the control plane information in the service requirement, such as the delay is X milliseconds, and the transmission requirement at the subnet level between the network slice subnet a and the network slice subnet C can be determined according to the transmission requirement for the user plane information in the service requirement, such as the delay is Y milliseconds. The priority for transmission between the network slice subnet a and the network slice subnet B may also be set to a high priority level, the priority for transmission between the network slice subnet a and the network slice subnet C may be set to a low priority level, and when the requirement for communication with the AMF in the network slice subnet B and the UPF in the network slice subnet C is generated by the gNB1 and the gNB2 at the same time, if the transmission resource cannot meet the requirement for transmitting information at the same time, the information is preferentially transmitted to the AMF in the network slice subnet B, and then the information is transmitted to the UPF in the network slice subnet C.

Specifically, two network elements capable of establishing connection for communication may form a connection point pair, and the transmission requirement of the connection point pair is the transmission requirement between the two network elements. In order to accurately meet the service requirement of the network slice, the network slice management device may determine the transmission requirement of the connection point pair level corresponding to one or some connection point pairs, so that the transmission network may configure the transmission resource between two network elements included in the corresponding connection point pair according to the transmission requirement of the connection point pair level, so as to meet the corresponding transmission requirement.

In a particular embodiment, different priority levels may be set for different pairs of connection points. For example, since the priority of the control plane information is higher and the priority of the user plane information is lower, the priority of a connection point pair formed by a next generation base station node (gNB) and an access and mobility management function (AMF) may be set to a high priority, and the priority of a connection point pair formed by the gNB and a User Plane Function (UPF) may be set to a low priority; when the gNB generates the communication requirements with the AMF and the UPF at the same time, if the transmission resources can not meet the requirement of sending information at the same time, the gNB preferentially sends the information to the AMF and then sends the information to the UPF.

In another embodiment, the priority of the packet level may also be set for different types of packets of the same contact pair. For example, the data packets transmitted between the network elements AMF and the gNB may include a plurality of different types for managing registration, mobility, session establishment, etc. of the terminal, each type of data packet may have different transmission requirements due to different service requirements, and therefore, when transmission resources are in short supply due to the fact that different types of data packets simultaneously occur to the gNB by the AMF, the data packets with higher transmission requirements may be preferentially transmitted.

Similar to the setting of different priorities for different pairs of connection points, other second transmission performance requirements such as different time delays and bandwidths may also be set for different pairs of connection points, and details are not repeated here.

In addition, since one connection point pair can be shared by a plurality of network slices, when the connection point pair transmits information in different network slices, the transmission network can transmit the information according to the transmission requirement of the network slice corresponding to the information. For example, the contact pair 1 is shared by the network slice a and the network slice B, and the network slice management device determines that the delay of the contact pair 1 when transmitting the information in the network slice a is 0.5ms, and the delay of the contact pair when transmitting the information in the network slice B is 1ms, then the transmission network should control the delay to be within 0.5ms when transmitting the information in the network slice a, and should control the delay to be within 1ms when transmitting the information in the network slice B.

In a specific embodiment, the network slice a includes a network element 1 and a network element 2, and the network element 1 and the network element 2 are already established when the network slice a is created, so as to form a connection point pair 1; when network slice B is created subsequently, network slice B also includes network element 1 and network element 2, and in network slice B, network element 1 and network element 2 also need to establish a connection. The transmission network establishes a logical link between network element 1 and network element 2 for network slice a and network slice B, respectively. Alternatively, the transmission network may establish only one physical link between the network element 1 and the network element 2, or may also establish one physical link for the network slice a and the network slice B, respectively.

In some embodiments, for a pair of connection points formed by two network elements, it may further distinguish uplink and downlink, and the uplink and downlink are respectively used as two connection point pairs. For example, the information sent by the network element 1 to the network element 2 is called uplink, and the uplink corresponds to the connection point pair 1; the network element 2 sends information called downlink to the network element 1, and the downlink corresponds to the connection point pair 2. In some application scenarios, the uplink and downlink transmission requirements may also be different, so that if the uplink or downlink transmission requirement can be further determined and notified to the transmission network when determining the connection point to level transmission requirement, the transmission network can perform uplink and downlink transmission more accurately, thereby further satisfying the user requirement and improving the user experience.

As described above, the transmission requirement of the link pair level determined by the network slice management device may be a transmission requirement of a link pair formed by two network elements, or a transmission requirement of a link pair formed by the same two network elements in different network slices or network slice subnets, or an uplink or downlink transmission requirement between the same two network elements, so that the identifier of the link pair determined by the network slice management device may only distinguish which link pair formed by two network elements, or may distinguish a link pair formed by the same two network elements in different network slices or network slice subnets, or may distinguish an uplink or downlink between the same two network elements.

For example, the contact pair identifier 1 may only indicate a contact pair formed by the network element 1 and the network element 2, and cannot distinguish whether the contact pair is in the network slice 1 or the network slice 2, and if the network slice management device wants to further distinguish, the identifier of the contact pair identifier 1+ the network slice 1 or the identifier of the contact pair identifier 1+ the network slice 2 may be used for distinguishing. For another example, the pair of connection points identifier a may represent a pair of connection points of the network element 1 and the network element 2 in the network slice 1, and the pair of connection points identifier B may represent a pair of connection points of the network element 1 and the network element 2 in the network slice 2. For another example, the pair of connection points identifier i represents a transmission link when the network element 1 sends information to the network element 2, and the pair of connection points identifier ii represents a transmission link when the network element 2 sends information to the network element 1.

In one possible implementation, the transmission requirements within a network slice subnet may include transmission requirements at the network slice subnet level and/or transmission requirements at the connection point level. Specifically, the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet is a transmission requirement for communication between network elements in one network slice subnet.

Optionally, the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet determined by the network slice management device may further include a topology requirement inside the network slice subnet. In a specific embodiment, if the network slice management device determines to create or modify a network slice subnet, the network slice management device may further determine a connection relationship to be created or modified between network elements in the network slice subnet.

Further, the transmission requirements inside the network slice subnet determined by the network slice management device may further include a first transmission performance requirement, or may include the first transmission performance requirement and a second transmission performance requirement. The first transmission performance requirement may be a transmission performance requirement parameter of a subnet level and/or a connection point pair level inside the network slice subnet to be created or modified.

In a specific embodiment, when the network slice management device determines the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet for the network slice subnet, the network slice management device may determine the transmission requirement of the network slice level and/or the connection point pair level corresponding to the network slice according to the service requirement supported by the network slice subnet. For example, if one network slice subnet is used to provide access service for the terminal, the network slice management device may determine the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet according to the requirement of the access service; if one network slice subnet is used for providing the core network function, the network slice management device can determine the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet according to the requirement of the core network function.

In another specific embodiment, when the network slice management device determines the transmission requirements inside the network slice subnet for the network slice subnet, the transmission requirements of the connection point pairs formed by each network element in the network slice subnet may be summarized to obtain the transmission requirements inside the network slice subnet. For example, if a network slice subnet includes the gNB1, the gNB2, and the AMF, the gNB1 and the AMF can establish a connection to form the connection point pair 1, and the gNB2 and the AMF can establish a connection to form the connection point pair 2, the transmission requirement of the connection point pair 1 and the transmission requirement of the connection point pair 2 can be used as the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet. If the bandwidth requirements of the connection point pair 1 and the connection point pair 2 are both 10M, the bandwidth requirement inside the network slice subnet can be considered to be 20M; if the bandwidth requirements of the connection point pair 1 and the connection point pair 2 are both 1ms, the delay requirement inside the network slice subnet can be considered to be 1 ms.

In addition, the network slice management device may also determine the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet according to the service requirement supported by the network slice subnet and the transmission requirement of each connection point pair in the network slice subnet.

In a specific embodiment, the external transmission requirement of each network slice subnet or the transmission requirement of the network element in the network slice may be determined by NSSMF, NSSMF sends the determined external transmission requirement of the network slice subnet to NSMF, NSMF integrates the received external transmission requirements of each network slice subnet, determines the transmission requirement of the network slice level or the subnet level or the connection point level, and NSMF sends the determined information of the transmission requirement of the network slice to the transmission network management device. Of course, the above-described NSMF may be replaced by other network slice management devices.

Step 402, the network slice management device sends a network slice transmission management request to the transmission network management device, where the request includes the information of the transmission requirement.

As described above, the network slice management device has determined the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the network slice subnet level, or the connection point pair level, and then carries the information of the determined transmission requirements in the network slice transmission management request to transmit to the transmission network management device.

In a possible implementation manner, the information of the transmission requirement at the network slice level includes an identifier of the network slice, that is, an identifier of the network slice to be created, modified, or released, which is determined by the network slice management device. The identifier of the network slice may be an identity Identifier (ID) of the network slice, or may also be other identifiers that can be used to distinguish the network slices, for example, if the network slice management device does not want to expose the ID of the network slice to the transmission network, other mapping identifiers may be used.

Further, the information of the transmission requirement at the network slice level may further include at least one of topology information and transmission performance requirement information of a network slice corresponding to the network slice identifier.

As mentioned above, the transmission requirement of the network slice may include the first transmission performance requirement, or the first transmission performance requirement and the second transmission performance requirement, and accordingly, the transmission performance information may also include the first transmission performance requirement information, or the first transmission performance requirement information and the second transmission performance requirement information.

Specifically, the first transmission performance requirement information indicates that the network slice management request is used to instruct the transmission network management device to create, modify or release the transmission resource of the network slice corresponding to the network slice identifier, for example, the first transmission performance requirement information may be represented by 2 bits, where a value of the 2 bits is "00" may indicate creation, "01" may indicate modification, and "10" may indicate release.

The second transmission performance requirement information corresponds to the second transmission performance requirement, and the network slice management device sends the determined transmission performance requirement to the transmission network management device through the second transmission performance requirement information. As previously mentioned, the second transmission performance requirement information may include parameters such as priority, bandwidth, latency, throughput, isolation, etc.

Specifically, each transmission performance requirement parameter may be used to indicate a value or a level of a sum of transmission performance requirements of each connection point pair to be created or modified in the network slice, for example, if the bandwidth parameter is 100M, it may indicate that the sum of bandwidths of each connection point pair in the network slice is 100M, but the transmission network may dynamically adjust the bandwidth of each connection point pair; or, the method may also be used to indicate a uniform value range or level of the transmission performance requirement parameter of each connection point pair in the network slice, for example, the delay parameter may indicate a uniform maximum delay or delay level of each connection point, and the priority parameter may indicate a level of priority of each connection point pair for transmitting information. The meaning of each transmission performance requirement parameter may be predetermined so that the transmission network management device can correctly create or modify the transmission resources of the network slice according to each parameter.

The topology information of the network slice corresponds to the topology requirement, and may include information of network elements to be connected in the network slice, a connection relationship to be established between the network elements, and an identifier of a connection point pair formed after connection is established.

For example, the network slice management device requests to create a network slice, and the transmission network needs to establish the connection between network element 1 and network element 2 and the connection between network element 1 and network element 3 in the network slice to be created. At this time, the network slice management device may send the information of the network element 1, the information of the network element 2, the indication information of the connection established between the network element 1 and the network element 2, and the identifier of the connection point pair formed by the network element 1 and the network element 2 to the transmission network management device; the information of the network element 1, the information of the network element 3, the indication information of the connection relationship established between the network element 1 and the network element 3, and the identifier of the connection point pair formed by the network element 1 and the network element 3 may also be sent to the transmission network management device.

Optionally, the information of the network element may include a name, an ID, an IP address, an MAC address, port number information, an ID of a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), and the like of the network element, and is used to identify the network element to which the connection is to be established.

As previously mentioned, the identification of the pairs of contact points may be used to distinguish pairs of contact points formed between different network elements. Further, the identification of a pair of contact points may also be used to distinguish pairs of contact points formed by the same two network elements in different network slices. In addition, the connecting point pair identifier can also be used for distinguishing uplink and downlink transmission links between two network elements.

In one possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirements at the network slice subnet level may include information of the transmission requirements between network slice subnets.

Specifically, the information of the transmission requirements between the network slice subnets includes an identifier of the first network slice subnet and an identifier of the second network slice subnet, that is, the transmission resources between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet to be created, modified, or released, which are determined by the network slice management device. The identifier of the network slice subnet may be an ID of the network slice subnet, or may be other identifiers that can be used to distinguish the network slice subnets.

Further, the information of the transmission requirement between the network slice subnets may further include at least one of topology information between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet and transmission performance requirement information between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet.

As mentioned above, the transmission performance information between the network slice subnets may also include the first transmission performance requirement information, or the first transmission performance requirement information and the second transmission performance requirement information. Specifically, the first transmission performance requirement information indicates that the network slice management request is used to instruct the transmission network management device to create, modify or release the transmission resource between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet; the second transmission performance requirement information indicates a transmission requirement performance parameter between the network slice subnets. Specifically, each transmission performance requirement parameter may be used to indicate a value range or a level of a sum of transmission performance requirements of each to-be-created or to-be-modified connection point pair between two network slice subnets, and may also be used to indicate a uniform value range or a level of the transmission performance requirement parameter of each connection point pair between the network slice subnets.

The topology information between the network slice subnets corresponds to the topology requirement between the network slice subnets, and may include information of network elements to be connected between the two network slice subnets, a connection relationship to be established between the network elements, and an identifier of a connection point pair formed after connection is established. Specifically, the information of the network element and the identification of the connection point pair may refer to the above-mentioned topology information at the network slice level.

In one possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirements of the contact pair level in the network slice may include an identification of the contact pair, i.e. an identification of the contact pair to be created, modified or deleted. Specifically, the identifier of the connection point pair is used to indicate a connection relationship between two network elements, so that when the connection point pair is subsequently modified or released, the network slice management device may not send the information of the network element in the connection point pair to the transmission network management device, and only the transmission network management device that sends the identifier of the connection point pair may know which two network elements to modify or release the transmission resource between.

Further, the information of the transmission requirement of the pair of connection points may further include at least one of topology information of the pair of connection points corresponding to the pair of connection points identifier and transmission performance requirement information of the pair of connection points level corresponding to the pair of connection points identifier.

As described above, the transmission performance requirement information of the connection point pair level may also include the first transmission performance requirement information, or the first transmission performance requirement information and the second transmission performance requirement information. Specifically, the first transmission performance requirement information indicates that the network slice management request is used to instruct the transmission network management device to create, modify or release the transmission resource of the connection point pair corresponding to the connection point pair identifier; the second transmission performance requirement information indicates a transmission requirement performance parameter of the connection point pair level.

The topology information of the connection point pair may include information of network elements in the connection point pair to be established and a connection relationship to be established between the network elements. Optionally, the information of the network element may include a name, an ID, an IP address, an MAC address, port number information, a VLAN ID, and the like of the network element, and is used to identify the network element to which the connection is to be established.

In one possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirements inside the network slice subnet may include information of the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level or the connection point pair level.

Specifically, the information of the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet includes an identifier of the network slice subnet, that is, an identifier of the network slice subnet to be created, modified, or released, which is determined by the network slice management device. The identifier of the network slice subnet may be an ID of the network slice subnet, or may be other identifiers that can be used to distinguish the network slice subnets.

Further, the information of the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet may further include at least one of topology information inside the network slice subnet corresponding to the network slice subnet identification and transmission performance requirement information at a subnet level or a connection point pair level inside the network slice subnet corresponding to the network slice subnet identification.

As mentioned above, the transmission performance information within the network slice subnet may also include the first transmission performance requirement information, or the first transmission performance requirement information and the second transmission performance requirement information. Specifically, the first transmission performance requirement information indicates that the network slice management request is used to instruct the transmission network management device to create, modify or release the transmission resource inside the network slice subnet corresponding to the network slice subnet identifier; the second transmission performance requirement information indicates a transmission performance requirement parameter at a subnet level or a connection point pair level inside the network slice subnet. Specifically, the transmission performance requirement parameter at the subnet level may be used to indicate a value range or a level of a sum of transmission performance requirements of all pairs of connection points between every two nested subnets to be created or modified in the network slice subnet, and may also be used to indicate a uniform value range or a level of the transmission performance requirement parameter of all pairs of connection points between every two nested subnets in the network slice subnet.

The transmission performance requirement parameter of the contact point pair level may be used to respectively indicate a value range or a level of a transmission performance requirement of each contact point pair to be created or modified in the network slice subnet.

The topology information inside the network slice subnet corresponds to the topology requirement inside the network slice subnet, and may include information of network elements to be connected in the network slice subnet, a connection relationship to be established between the network elements, and an identifier of a connection point pair formed after connection is established. Optionally, the information of the network element may include a name, an ID, an IP address, an MAC address, port number information, a VLAN ID, and the like of the network element, and is used to identify the network element to which the connection is to be established. The identifier of the contact point pair is similar to the identifier of the contact point pair in the topology information of the network slice, and is not described herein again.

In one embodiment, the transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet may be determined by NSSMF, and the NSSMF may send a network slice transmission management request to the transmission network management device. Of course, the NSSMF may also send the determined transmission requirement inside the network slice subnet to the NSMF or other network slice management device, and then the NSMF or other network slice management device sends the transmission requirement to the transmission network management device.

Step 403, the transmission network management device manages the transmission resource according to the transmission requirement.

Specifically, the transmission network management device may manage transmission resources of the corresponding network slice according to the transmission requirement of the network slice level sent by the network slice management device; the transmission resources in the corresponding network slices or within the subnets or between the network slice subnets can be managed according to the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level sent by the network slice management equipment; and managing transmission resources of the corresponding connection point pair according to the transmission requirements of the connection point pair level sent by the network slice management equipment.

How the transmission network management device manages the transmission resources is not limited in this application.

Step 404, the transmission network management device sends a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management device.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice transmission management response sent by the transmission network management device may include a network slice transmission management result, where the network slice transmission management result may include indication information used to indicate that the management of the transmission network according to the transmission requirement information is successful or indication information used to indicate that the management of the transmission network according to the transmission requirement information is failed.

Further, if the transmission network management device fails to manage the transmission network according to the transmission requirement, for example, a connection point pair needs to be created but the creation is not successful, the failure indication information may further include information of the connection point pair, the network slice subnet, or the network slice that failed to be managed. In addition, the failure indication information may further include a reason for the failure.

In a possible implementation manner, if the network slice management device receives a network slice transmission management response sent by the transmission network management device and includes indication information of the management device, the network slice management device may also resend the network slice transmission management request after a period of time, or modify transmission requirement information carried in the request and resend the network slice transmission management request.

For example, as shown in fig. 8, the network slice management device determines transmission requirements at a network slice level, the transmission requirements including creating a connection between network element 1 and network element 2 in the network slice (pair of connection points 1) and creating a connection between network element 1 and network element 3 (pair of connection points 2). The network slice management equipment sends a network slice transmission management request to the transmission network management equipment, wherein the request comprises the identifier of the network slice, the information of the network elements 1, 2 and 3, the indication information for establishing the connection relationship between the network elements 1 and 2, the identifier of the connection point pair 1, the indication information for establishing the connection relationship between the network elements 1 and 3 and the identifier of the connection point pair 2. The transmission network management device sends a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management device, wherein the response indicates that the creation of the connecting point pair 1 is successful and the creation of the connecting point pair 2 is failed. The network slice management device may send a network slice transmission management request again to the transmission network management device after a period of time, the request being for requesting the transmission network to create again the connection relationship between the network element 1 and the network element 3. The transmission network management device sends a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management device, the response indicating that the creation of the point pair 2 is successful.

In a possible implementation manner, the transmission network management device may further send capability information of the transmission network to the network slice management device, so that the network slice management device determines the transmission requirement of the network slice, the network slice subnet, or the connection point pair according to the capability information of the transmission network, so as to avoid that the transmission requirement determined by the network slice management device exceeds the capability range of the transmission network.

Optionally, the network slice management device may send a request for obtaining the capability information to the transmission network, so that the transmission network management device reports the capability information of the transmission network, or the transmission network management device may also report the capability information of the transmission network actively.

In some embodiments, the capability information of the transmission network transmitted by the transmission network management device includes one or any combination of the following information: the network slice of the transmission network service can adopt the transmission network type (such as an optical transmission network and the like) and related transmission network technology (such as Software Defined Network (SDN), Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) and the like), the coverage area of the transmission network, the transmission performance parameters which can be supported by the transmission network, the information of the VLAN which can be supported by the transmission network, the fault processing strategy of the transmission network, the fault reporting strategy of the transmission network, the monitoring capability information of the transmission network for the service network slice, and whether the transmission network supports the topology information of the transmission network service.

In a possible implementation manner, the transmission network management device may also monitor the transmission performance of each network slice, network slice subnet, or connection point pair served by the transmission network management device, and send the monitored transmission performance to the network slice management device. Alternatively, the transmission network management device may periodically send the transmission performance monitoring information to the network slice management device after receiving the indication information sent by the network slice management device, or send the transmission performance monitoring information only after receiving the indication information each time; or, the transmission network management device may send a performance parameter requesting for query to the network slice management device according to the query request after receiving the query request sent by the network slice management device; or the transmission network management device may also actively send the transmission performance monitoring information to the network slice management device. The performance monitoring request or query request sent by the network slice management device may include an identifier of a network slice, a subnet, and a connection point pair, which need to monitor or query transmission performance.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice management device may send indication information to each network element to indicate that the network element adds a network slice identifier, or adds a network slice subnet identifier, or adds an identifier of a connection point pair to a data packet when sending the data packet. When the transmission network transmits a data packet for each network element, forwarding devices such as switches or routers can parse the data packet to obtain the network slice, the network slice subnet, or the connection point pair to which the data packet belongs, and correspondingly transmit the data packet according to the transmission requirements of the network slice, the network slice subnet, or the connection point pair to which the data packet belongs.

Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application provide a network slice management device, which is used to implement the above network slice management method embodiments.

Referring to fig. 9, the network slice management apparatus provided for the embodiment of the present application may include a determining unit 901, a transmitting unit 902, and a receiving unit 903.

Specifically, the determining unit 901 is configured to determine a transmission requirement for the transmission network, where the transmission requirement includes at least one of the following transmission requirements: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level.

The sending unit 902 is configured to send a network slice transmission management request to the transmission network management device, where the network slice transmission management request includes information of the transmission requirement.

The receiving unit 903 is configured to receive a network slice transmission management response sent by the transmission network management device.

In one possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirements at the network slice subnet level includes an identification of the first network slice subnet and an identification of the second network slice subnet;

In one possible implementation, the information of the transmission requirement includes a priority of a network slice level, a priority of a pair of connection points in a network slice, or a priority of a type of data packet transmitted on the pair of connection points.

In a possible implementation manner, when determining the transmission requirement for the transmission network, the determining unit 901 is specifically configured to:

determining transmission requirements of the network slice on a transmission network, wherein the transmission requirements comprise at least one of the following: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

In a possible implementation manner, the determining unit 901 is configured to, when determining a transmission requirement of a network slice on a transmission network, specifically:

determining the transmission requirements of the network slices on a transmission network according to the service requirements supported by the network slices and/or the transmission requirements of the network slice subnets or network elements in the network slices; the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet include: the transmission requirements of the network elements in the network slice subnet and the network elements in the network slice except the network slice subnet during transmission, and/or the transmission requirements of the network elements in the network slice subnet during transmission.

In one possible implementation manner, the receiving unit 903 is further configured to: and receiving the capability information of the transmission network sent by the transmission network management equipment.

The determining unit 901 is specifically configured to: and determining the transmission requirement for the transmission network according to the capability information of the transmission network.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice management device includes a network slice management function NSMF, a network slice sub-network management function NSSMF, a network manager NM, a domain manager DM, or a network element manager EM.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending unit 902 is further configured to: and sending indication information to the network elements in the network slices or the network elements in the network slice subnets, wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the network elements add network slice identifiers, network slice subnet identifiers or identifiers of connection point pairs in the network slices to the data packets when the data packets are sent by the network elements.

Referring to fig. 10, the network slice management apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application may include a processor 1001, a memory 1002 and a transceiver 1003 respectively connected to the processor 1001;

the processor 1001 is configured to call a computer program stored in the memory 1002 in advance to execute:

sending a network slice transmission management request to a transmission network management device through the transceiver 1003, where the network slice transmission management request includes information of the transmission requirement;

a network slice transmission management response sent by the transmission network management device is received through the transceiver 1003.

In a possible implementation manner, the processor 1001, when determining a transmission requirement for a transmission network, is specifically configured to:

In a possible implementation manner, the processor 1001, when determining a transmission requirement of a network slice on a transmission network, is specifically configured to:

In one possible implementation, the processor 1001 is further configured to:

receiving, by the transceiver 1003, capability information of the transmission network transmitted by the transmission network management apparatus;

when determining the transmission requirement for the transmission network, the processor 1001 is specifically configured to:

In one possible implementation, the processor 1001 is further configured to:

and sending, by the transceiver 1003, indication information to a network element in a network slice or a network element in a network slice subnet, where the indication information is used to indicate that the network element adds a network slice identifier, a network slice subnet identifier, or an identifier of a connection point pair in a network slice to a data packet when sending the data packet.

Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the application provides a transmission network management device, which is used for realizing the embodiment of the network slice management method.

Referring to fig. 11, the transmission network management apparatus provided for the embodiment of the present application may include a receiving unit 1101, a managing unit 1102, and a sending unit 1103.

Specifically, the receiving unit 1101 is configured to receive a network slice transmission management request sent by a network slice management device, where the network slice transmission management request includes at least one of the following transmission requirements: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level.

The management unit 1102 is configured to manage transmission resources according to the transmission requirement;

the sending unit 1103 is configured to send a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management device.

In one possible implementation, the sending unit 1103 is further configured to: and sending the capability information of the transmission network to the network slice management equipment.

Referring to fig. 12, a network slice management apparatus provided in this embodiment of the present application may include a processor 1201, a memory 1202 and a transceiver 1203 respectively connected to the processor 1201;

the processor 1201 is configured to call a computer program pre-stored in the memory 1202 to execute:

receiving, by the transceiver 1203, a network slice transmission management request sent by a network slice management device, where the network slice transmission management request includes at least one of the following transmission requirements: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level;

managing transmission resources according to the transmission requirements;

a network slice transmission management response is sent to the network slice management device via the transceiver 1203.

In one possible implementation, the processor 1201 is further configured to:

capability information of the transmission network is sent to the network slice management device via the transceiver 1203.

Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to execute the network slice management method as described above.

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

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

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

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

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method for network slice management, comprising:

the network slice management device determines transmission requirements for a transmission network, wherein the transmission requirements comprise at least one of the following transmission requirements: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level;

the network slice management equipment sends a network slice transmission management request to transmission network management equipment, wherein the network slice transmission management request comprises the information of the transmission requirement;

the network slice management equipment receives a network slice transmission management response sent by the transmission network management equipment;

wherein the information of the transmission requirement of the network slice level comprises an identifier of a network slice;

the transmission performance requirement information at the network slice level comprises first transmission performance requirement information or comprises first transmission performance requirement information and second transmission performance requirement information, the first transmission performance requirement information indicates that the network slice transmission management request is used for indicating the transmission network management equipment to create, modify or release the transmission resources of the network slice, the second transmission performance requirement information comprises a performance requirement parameter at the network slice level of the network slice to the transmission network, and the performance requirement parameter at the network slice level is used for indicating the value range or level of the sum of the transmission performance requirements of all the connection point pairs in the network slice or indicating the uniform value range or level of the performance requirement parameter of all the connection point pairs in the network slice;

the information of the transmission requirement of the network slice subnet level comprises an identifier of a first network slice subnet and an identifier of a second network slice subnet;

the transmission performance requirement information includes first transmission performance requirement information, or includes first transmission performance requirement information and second transmission performance requirement information, the first transmission performance requirement information indicates that the network slice transmission management request is used to instruct the transmission network management device to create, modify or release transmission resources between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, the second transmission performance requirement information includes a transmission performance requirement parameter at a subnet level between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, the transmission performance requirement parameter at the subnet level is used to instruct a range or a level of a sum of transmission performance requirements of all pairs of connection points between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet, or is used to instruct a uniform range of values of the performance requirement parameters of all pairs of connection points between the first network slice subnet and the second network slice subnet Or a grade;

the information of the transmission requirement of the connecting point pair level comprises an identification of the connecting point pair;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of transmission requirements comprises a priority of a network slice level, a priority of a pair of connection points in a network slice, or a priority of a type of data packet transmitted on a pair of connection points.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the network slice management device determines transmission requirements for a transmission network, comprising:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the network slice management device determining transmission requirements of a network slice for a transmission network comprises:

the network slice management equipment determines the transmission requirements of the network slices on the transmission network according to the service requirements supported by the network slices and/or the transmission requirements of the network slice subnets or network elements in the network slices;

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the network slice management equipment receives the capability information of the transmission network sent by the transmission network management equipment;

the network slice management device determines transmission requirements for a transmission network, including:

and the network slice management equipment determines the transmission requirement on the transmission network according to the capability information of the transmission network.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the capability information of the transport network comprises one or any combination of the following information: the network slice of the transmission network service comprises a transmission network type which can be adopted by the network slice of the transmission network service, a coverage area of the transmission network, transmission performance parameters which can be supported by the transmission network, information of a virtual local area network VLAN which can be supported by the transmission network, a transmission network fault processing strategy, a transmission network fault reporting strategy, transmission performance monitoring capability information of the transmission network on the service network slice, and whether the transmission network supports reporting of topology information of the transmission network.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network slice management device comprises a network slice management function NSMF, a network slice sub-network management function NSSMF, a network manager NM, a domain manager DM or a network element manager EM.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the network slice management device sends indication information to network elements in network slices or network elements in network slice subnets, wherein the indication information is used for indicating that the network elements add network slice identifiers, network slice subnet identifiers or identifiers of connection point pairs in the network slices to data packets when the data packets are sent by the network elements.

9. A method for network slice management, comprising:

the transmission network management equipment receives a network slice transmission management request sent by the network slice management equipment, wherein the network slice transmission management request comprises at least one of the following transmission requirements: the transmission requirements of the network slice level, the transmission requirements of the network slice subnet level and the transmission requirements of the connection point to the level;

the transmission network management equipment manages transmission resources according to the transmission requirements;

the transmission network management equipment sends a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management equipment;

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the information of transmission requirements comprises a priority of a network slice level, a priority of a pair of connection points in a network slice, or a priority of a type of data packet transmitted on a pair of connection points.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

and the transmission network management equipment sends the capability information of the transmission network to the network slice management equipment.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the capability information of the transport network comprises one or any combination of the following information: the network slice of the transmission network service comprises a transmission network type which can be adopted by the network slice of the transmission network service, a coverage area of the transmission network, transmission performance parameters which can be supported by the transmission network, information of a virtual local area network VLAN which can be supported by the transmission network, a transmission network fault processing strategy, a transmission network fault reporting strategy, transmission performance monitoring capability information of the transmission network on the service network slice, and whether the transmission network supports reporting of topology information of the transmission network.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the network slice management device comprises a network slice management function NSMF, a network slice sub-network management function NSSMF, a network manager NM, a domain manager DM or a network element manager EM.

14. A network slice management apparatus, comprising: the processor is connected with the memory and the transceiver respectively;

the processor is used for calling the computer program prestored in the memory to execute:

receiving, by the transceiver, a network slice transmission management response sent by the transmission network management device;

15. The network slice management device of claim 14, wherein the information of the transmission requirement comprises a priority of a network slice level, a priority of a pair of connection points in a network slice, or a priority of a type of data packet transmitted on a pair of connection points.

16. The network slice management device of claim 14, wherein the processor, when determining a transmission need for the transport network, is specifically configured to:

17. The network slice management device of claim 16, wherein the processor, when determining the transmission needs of the network slice for the transport network, is specifically configured to:

18. The network slice management device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:

19. The network slice management device of claim 18, wherein the capability information of the transport network comprises one or any combination of the following information: the network slice of the transmission network service comprises a transmission network type which can be adopted by the network slice of the transmission network service, a coverage area of the transmission network, transmission performance parameters which can be supported by the transmission network, information of a virtual local area network VLAN which can be supported by the transmission network, a transmission network fault processing strategy, a transmission network fault reporting strategy, transmission performance monitoring capability information of the transmission network on the service network slice, and whether the transmission network supports reporting of topology information of the transmission network.

20. The network slice management device according to claim 14, wherein the network slice management device is a network slice management function NSMF, a network slice sub-network management function NSSMF, a network manager NM, a domain manager DM or an element manager EM.

21. The network slice management device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:

22. A transmission network management apparatus, characterized by comprising: the processor is connected with the memory and the transceiver respectively;

managing transmission resources according to the transmission requirements;

sending, by the transceiver, a network slice transmission management response to the network slice management device;

23. The transmission network management apparatus of claim 22, wherein the information of the transmission requirement includes a priority of a network slice level, a priority of a pair of connection points in a network slice, or a priority of a type of packet transmitted on a pair of connection points.

24. The transport network management device of claim 22, wherein the processor is further configured to:

25. The transmission network management apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the capability information of the transmission network includes one or any combination of the following information: the network slice of the transmission network service comprises a transmission network type which can be adopted by the network slice of the transmission network service, a coverage area of the transmission network, transmission performance parameters which can be supported by the transmission network, information of a virtual local area network VLAN which can be supported by the transmission network, a transmission network fault processing strategy, a transmission network fault reporting strategy, transmission performance monitoring capability information of the transmission network on the service network slice, and whether the transmission network supports reporting of topology information of the transmission network.

26. Transmission network management device according to claim 22, characterized in that the network slice management device comprises a network slice management function NSMF, a network slice sub-network management function NSMF, a network manager NM, a domain manager DM or an element manager EM.

27. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13.