CN110875827A

CN110875827A - Network slice management method and device

Info

Publication number: CN110875827A
Application number: CN201811010266.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 武绍芸; 苏偌宇
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-08-31
Filing date: 2018-08-31
Publication date: 2020-03-10
Anticipated expiration: 2038-08-31
Also published as: WO2020042848A1; CN110875827B

Abstract

A network slice management method and device are used for optimizing management of end-to-end network slices. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a proxy node receives a network slice creating request from NSMF, the network slice creating request is used for requesting to create a first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the created end-to-end network slice, the first end-to-end network slice comprises a first core network slice and a first access network slice, the first core network slice is created according to the network slice creating request, the first core network slice and the created second core network slice share resources, the access network slice creating request is sent to access network equipment supporting network slice proxy, the access network slice creating request is used for requesting to create the first access network slice, the access network slice creating request carries first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the first core network slice and the second core network slice to share resources.

Description

Network slice management method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for managing network slices.

Background

The 5th-generation, 5G mobile communication system introduces a network slicing technique to cope with the difference of network performance requirements of different communication services. In the related art, a slice that can provide AN end-to-end network service from AN Access Network (AN) to a Core Network (CN) for a terminal is referred to as AN end-to-end network slice. Hereinafter, AN and CN are collectively referred to as a subnet. Where an end-to-end network slice may include a subnet slice, such as a core network slice, an access network slice, and so on.

In the prior art, an end-to-end network slice is managed by a Network Slice Management Function (NSMF), for example, the end-to-end network slice may be created, updated, or destroyed by the NSMF. Taking the creation of the end-to-end network slice as an example, the NSMF may respectively send network slice creation requests to Network Slice Subnet Management Functions (NSSMFs) deployed in the subnets, and the NSSMFs in each subnet may respectively create subnet slices according to the network slice creation requests, thereby implementing the creation of the end-to-end network slice.

Early network slice research is mainly focused on a core network, research on AN access network slice is deficient, a scenario that NSSMF is not deployed in AN may exist when NSSMF deployment in AN is late, and NSMF cannot manage the access network slice and further cannot manage AN end-to-end network slice in the scenario.

Furthermore, even if NSSMFs are deployed within AN, NSSMFs within each subnet may make inconsistent decisions when managing subnet slices because the NSMF does not know the implementation details of the control plane of each subnet.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a network slice management method and device, which are used for optimizing management of an end-to-end network slice.

The embodiment of the application provides the following specific technical scheme:

in a first aspect, a network slice management method is provided, where an execution subject of the method may be a proxy node, and the proxy node may be a node newly added in a CN or may be integrated on an NSSMF in the CN. The specific method steps can be as follows: receiving a network slice creation request from the NSMF, wherein the network slice creation request is used for requesting to create a first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with a created end-to-end network slice, the first end-to-end network slice comprises a first core network slice and a first access network slice, the first core network slice is created according to the network slice creation request, the first core network slice and a created second core network slice share resources, and sending an access network slice creation request to an access network device supporting a network slice proxy, the access network slice creation request is used for requesting to create the first access network slice, the access network slice creation request carries first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the first core network slice and the second core network slice to share resources. In a scenario where NSSMF is not deployed in AN, NSMF may send a network slice management message (e.g., a network slice creation request) to AN access network device supporting a network slice proxy in the AN through the proxy node to implement management of end-to-end network slices. Under the scene of deploying NSSMF in AN, NSMF does not respectively send network slice management messages to AN and CN like the prior art, but sends the network slice management messages to a proxy node in CN first, the node to be proxy makes a decision according to the network slice management messages, then the proxy node sends the network slice management messages to access network equipment supporting network slice proxy in AN, and the proxy node informs the access network equipment of the decision made by CN side, so that the access network equipment at AN side can refer to the decision made by CN side, and further make a decision consistent with CN side.

The network slice management method provided by the embodiment of the present application is exemplarily illustrated by an example. Assuming that the NSMF sends a network slice creation request to the proxy node, requesting to create an end-to-end network slice 3 sharing resources with the created end-to-end network slice, the end-to-end network slice 3 may include a core network slice 3 and an access network slice 3, where the created end-to-end network slice includes an end-to-end network slice 1 and an end-to-end network slice 2, the end-to-end network slice 1 includes the core network slice 1 and the access network slice 1, and the end-to-end network slice 2 includes the core network slice 2 and the access network slice 2. If the existing method is adopted, in a scenario where NSSMF is deployed in AN, NSMF may send a core network slice creation request to NSSMF in CN, request to create a core network slice 3 sharing resources with the created core network slice, send AN access network slice creation request to NSSMF in AN, request to create AN access network slice 3 sharing resources with the created access network slice, NSSMF in CN may create a core network slice 3 sharing resources with the created core network slice 1 or core network slice 2 according to the core network slice creation request, NSSMF in AN may create AN access network slice 3 sharing resources with the created access network slice 1 or access network slice 2 according to the access network slice creation request, NSSMF within CN may be caused to create core network slice 3 sharing resources with the created core network slice 1, while NSSMF within AN creates AN access network slice 3 that shares resources with the already created access network slice 2. Thus, subnet slices created within the AN and CN do not belong to the same end-to-end network slice, which may lead to errors in subsequent use of end-to-end network slice 3. If the existing method is adopted, under the scene that NSSMF is not deployed in AN, NSMF cannot send AN access network slice creation request to AN, and further cannot create AN end-to-end network slice. By adopting the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the NSMF can send a network slice creation request to a proxy node in the CN, the proxy node creates a core network slice 3 sharing resources with the created core network slice 1 according to the network slice creation request, and sends AN access network slice creation request to AN access network device supporting the network slice proxy in the AN, and the access network slice creation request carries indication information to indicate the core network slice 1 and the core network slice 3 to share resources, so that the access network device supporting the network slice proxy can create the access network slice 3 sharing resources with the created access network slice 1 according to the access network slice creation request, so that subnet slices created in the AN and the CN belong to the same end-to-end network slice, and errors in subsequent use of the end-to-end network slice 3 can be avoided.

In one possible design, an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice may be carried in a network slice creation request, where the network slice creation request may be used to request creation of the first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the second end-to-end network slice. That is, a network slice creation request may be used to request creation of a first end-to-end network slice that shares resources with a particular end-to-end network slice.

In the embodiment of the present application, how the proxy node creates the first core network slice is described below.

In one possible design, the proxy node receives a network slice creation request from the NSMF, where the network slice creation request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, and is used to request to create the first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the second end-to-end network slice, where the second end-to-end network slice includes the second core network slice, and creates the first core network slice, where the first core network slice shares resources with the second core network slice included in the second end-to-end network slice.

In one possible design, after receiving a network slice creation request from the NSMF, the proxy node may create the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and resource sharing slice information of a core network to which the proxy node belongs, where the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes information of core network slices that have been created in the core network and support resource sharing. Therefore, the proxy node can acquire the implementation details of the core network control plane according to the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs, and then can relatively accurately create the first core network slice by combining the implementation details of the core network control plane.

In the embodiment of the present application, how a proxy node creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and resource sharing slice information of a core network to which the proxy node belongs is described below.

In one possible design, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs may include information of a core network slice that has been created and supports resource sharing, and the information of the core network slice includes an identification of the core network slice and a resource occupancy rate. In this design, the proxy node may create the first core network slice as follows: and the proxy node determines the core network slice with the lowest resource occupancy rate in the core network slices as the second core network slice, and creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the identifier of the second core network slice. In this way, the proxy node creates a core network slice with the lowest resource occupancy rate according to the resource consumption condition of the core network slice, and shares the first core network slice of the resource, so as to optimize the resource sharing effect. In the prior art, resource sharing of a network slice can only be decided by the NSMF, and the NSMF cannot exactly sense the resource consumption conditions of the network slices in the core network and the access network, so that when a certain new network slice is created, the NSMF cannot accurately determine which network slice to be created has the optimal resource sharing effect. Obviously, the method of the application can optimize the management of the network slices.

In one possible design, the network slice creation request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes information of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice, and the information of the core network slice includes the identifier of the core network slice and the resource occupancy rate. In this design, the proxy node may create the first core network slice as follows: and when the resource occupancy rate of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice is smaller than a preset value, the proxy node determines the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice as the second core network slice, and creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the identifier of the second core network slice. In this way, the proxy node creates the first core network slice sharing resources with the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice only when the resource occupancy rate of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice is smaller than a preset value, so as to optimize the resource sharing effect.

It should be noted that the preset value can be set according to an actual application scenario. The preset value may be set according to a principle that after the core network slice with the resource occupancy rate smaller than the preset value shares the resource with the first core network slice, the two core network slices sharing the resource can be normally used.

In one possible design, the proxy node may send an access network slice creation request to an access network device supporting network slice proxy through a default access and mobility management entity (AMF). In this design, after the proxy node sends an access network slice creation request to the access network device supporting network slice proxy through the default AMF, the proxy node may further receive a first list from the default AMF, where the first list includes a creation result of the first access network slice by the access network device supporting network slice proxy. For example, the creation result may be a creation success or a failure.

It should be noted that, in other possible designs, the proxy node may also interact with the access network device supporting the network slice proxy through another AMF (different from the default AMF), which is not limited in this application.

In one possible design, after the proxy node receives the first list from the default AMF, the first list may also be sent to the NSMF. Thereby enabling the NSMF to make subsequent decisions in accordance with the first list. For example, if the creation results included in the first list are all creation success, the NSMF does not have to perform other operations. If there is a creation failure in the creation results included in the first list, the NSMF may reinitiate the slice creation process for the slice whose creation failed.

In this embodiment of the present application, an access network device supporting network slice proxy may be understood that an access network slice in the access network device may be managed by the proxy node. The capability of the proxy node to manage the access network slice in the access network device may be pre-agreed by the proxy node, the NSMF, and the access network device, or determined by real-time negotiation among the proxy node, the NSMF, and the access network device.

In one possible design, the capability of managing access network slices in the access network device by the proxy node may be negotiated prior to the proxy node receiving a network slice creation request from the NSMF. In this design, the proxy node may negotiate as follows: the proxy node receives a slice management proxy request from a default AMF, where the slice management proxy request may carry an identifier of an access network to which the access network device belongs, and the slice management proxy request may be used to request the proxy node to perform network slice proxy for the access network device in the access network. After receiving the slice management proxy request, the proxy node may also send the slice management proxy request to the NSMF. In this way, when NSSMF is not deployed in the access network, it may be determined through negotiation that the proxy node manages the access network slice in the access network, so as to assist the NSMF in implementing management of the end-to-end network slice, and further, management of the end-to-end network slice may be optimized.

In a possible design, the proxy node sends an access network slice update request to the access network device supporting network slice proxy, where the access network slice update request may carry second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the first core network slice and a created third core network slice share resources. In this way, the access network device can update the resource sharing relationship between the first access network slice and the created access network slice according to the second indication information, and ensure that the decisions of the AN side and the CN side are consistent. For example, if the proxy node updates the resource shared by the first core network slice and the created second core network slice to the resource shared by the first core network slice and the created third core network slice, the update content may be notified to the access network device on the AN side through the second indication information, and accordingly, the access network device may also update the resource sharing relationship of the first access network slice according to the decision on the CN side.

In a second aspect, a network slice management method is provided, where an execution subject of the method may be an access network device, and the access network device supports a network slice proxy, and the specific method may include the following steps: receiving an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, where the access network slice creation request is used to request creation of a first access network slice, where the access network slice creation request may carry first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first core network slice and a second core network slice share resources, and creating the first access network slice according to the access network slice creation request, where the first access network slice and the created second access network slice share resources, where the first core network slice and the first access network slice belong to a first end-to-end network slice, and the second core network slice and the created second access network slice belong to a created second end-to-end network slice. The access network device can acquire the decision made by the CN side according to the first indication information, and then can make a decision consistent with the CN side by referring to the decision made by the CN side, for example, the subnet slices created in the AN and the CN belong to the same end-to-end network slice, so that errors can be avoided when the end-to-end network slice is subsequently used.

In one possible design, the access network device may receive an access network slice creation request from a proxy node through a default AMF. In this design, before the access network device receives an access network slice creation request from an agent node through a default AMF, the access network device may further send a slice management agent request to the default AMF, where the slice management agent request carries a slice proxy support flag bit and an identifier of the access network device, and the slice proxy support flag bit is used to indicate that the access network device supports network slice proxy. And enabling the default AMF to subscribe a network slice proxy to a proxy node, and under the condition that NSSMF is not deployed in an access network, managing the access network slice in the access network through the proxy node so as to assist the NSMF in realizing management of the end-to-end network slice.

In a third aspect, a network slice management method is provided, where an execution subject of the method may be a default AMF, and steps of a specific method may be as follows: receiving an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, wherein the access network slice creation request is used for requesting creation of an access network slice, the access network slice creation request carries first indication information, the first indication information is used for indicating a first core network slice and a second core network slice to share resources, the default AMF and the proxy node belong to the same core network, and the access network slice creation request is sent to access network equipment supporting network slice proxy in an access network according to a pre-stored identifier of the access network equipment supporting network slice proxy.

In a possible design, after the default AMF sends the access network slice creation request to an access network device supporting network slice proxy in an access network, the default AMF may further receive a response message from the access network device, where the response message includes a creation result of an access network slice, and send a first list to a proxy node according to the response message, where the first list includes a creation result of an access network slice included in a response message received by the default AMF within a preset time.

In a possible design, before receiving an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, the default AMF may further receive a first slice management proxy request from the access network device, where the first slice management proxy request carries a supported slice proxy flag bit and an identifier of the access network device, the supported slice proxy flag bit is used to indicate that the access network device supports network slice proxy, and when a first ratio is greater than a first threshold, the default AMF sends a second slice management proxy request to the proxy node according to the first slice management proxy request, where the first ratio is a ratio of a number of access network devices in the access network that send the first slice management proxy request to the default AMF to a number of all access network devices included in the access network within a preset time, and the second slice management proxy request carries the identifier of the access network, the second slice management proxy request is used for requesting the proxy node to perform network slice proxy for the access network device in the access network.

In a fourth aspect, a network slice management method is provided, where an execution subject of the method may be NSSF, and steps of a specific method may be as follows: receiving a slice management agent request from an agent node, wherein the slice management agent request carries an identifier of an access network and an identifier of the agent node, the slice management agent request is used for requesting the agent node to perform network slice proxy for access network equipment in the access network, and sending a network slice creation request carrying the identifier of the agent node to the agent node, the network slice creation request is used for requesting to create an end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the created end-to-end network slice, and the end-to-end network slice comprises a core network slice and an access network slice.

In one possible design, the NSMF receives a first list from the proxy node, the first list including the creation of the access network slice.

In a fifth aspect, a network slice management apparatus is provided, which has a function of implementing the proxy node behavior in any one of the possible designs of the first aspect and the first aspect. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible design, the device may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

In one possible design, the apparatus includes a memory storing a set of programs and a processor for executing the programs stored in the memory, and when the programs are executed, the apparatus may perform the method described in any one of the possible designs of the first aspect and the first aspect.

In one possible design, the apparatus further includes a transceiver for communicating between the apparatus and other network elements.

In one possible design, the device is a proxy node, which may be a newly added node in the CN or integrated on the NSSMF in the CN.

A sixth aspect provides a network slice management apparatus having a function of implementing the behavior of the access network device in any one of the possible designs of the second aspect and the second aspect. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible design, the device may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

In one possible design, the apparatus includes a memory storing a set of programs and a processor for executing the programs stored in the memory, and when the programs are executed, the apparatus may perform the method described in any one of the possible designs of the second aspect and the second aspect.

In one possible design, the apparatus is an access network device.

In a seventh aspect, a network slice management apparatus is provided, which has a function of implementing default AMF behavior in any one of the possible designs of the third and fourth aspects. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible design, the device may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

In one possible design, the apparatus includes a memory storing a set of programs and a processor for executing the programs stored in the memory, and when the programs are executed, the apparatus may perform the method described in any one of the possible designs of the third aspect and the third aspect.

In one possible design, the device is the default AMF.

In an eighth aspect, a network slice management apparatus is provided, which has a function of implementing the NSMF behavior in any one of the possible designs of the fourth and fourth aspects. The functions can be realized by hardware, and the functions can also be realized by executing corresponding software by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-described functions.

In one possible design, the device may be a chip or an integrated circuit.

In one possible design, the apparatus includes a memory storing a set of programs and a processor for executing the programs stored in the memory, and when the programs are executed, the apparatus may perform the method described in any one of the possible designs of the fourth aspect and the fourth aspect.

In one possible design, the device is an NSMF.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a chip, which is connected to a memory or which comprises a memory, for reading and executing a software program stored in said memory, to implement the method as described in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, any of the possible designs of the first aspect, any of the possible designs of the second aspect, any of the possible designs of the third aspect, and any of the possible designs of the fourth aspect.

A tenth aspect provides a communication system comprising the apparatus of any two or more of the first to fourth aspects.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer storage medium storing a computer program comprising instructions for performing the aspects described above and any possible method in design of aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer program product which, when read and executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as described in the aspects and any possible design of aspects.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a second schematic diagram of a system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3a is a third schematic diagram of a system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3b is a fourth schematic diagram of a system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

fig. 5 is a flowchart of another network slice management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6a is a fifth exemplary system architecture diagram according to the present application;

FIG. 6b is a sixth schematic block diagram of a system architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of another network slice management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of another network slice management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of another network slice management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a flowchart of another network slice management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a flowchart of another network slice management method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a network slice management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a second schematic structural diagram of a network slice management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a third exemplary diagram of a network slice management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a fourth schematic structural diagram of a network slice management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a fifth schematic structural diagram of a network slice management device in the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The application provides a network slice management method and device, which are used for assisting NSMF (network non-trivial details function) to optimize management of an end-to-end network slice through a proxy node. The method and the device are based on the same or similar conception of the same invention, and because the principle of solving the problem by the method and the device is similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be mutually referred, and repeated parts are not repeated. In the description of the embodiment of the present application, "and/or" describes an association relationship of associated objects, which means that three relationships may exist, for example, a and/or B may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. At least one referred to in this application means one or more; plural means two or more. In addition, it is to be understood that the terms first, second, etc. in the description of the present application are used for distinguishing between the descriptions and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. "at least one" means one or more; "at least one" means one or more; plural means two or more.

The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The network slice management method provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applicable to a 5G communication system, and may also be applicable to a future new communication system (e.g., the 6th-generation, 6G) mobile communication system, and the present application is not limited thereto.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system architecture to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to be applied to the system architecture shown in fig. 1. Each network element shown in fig. 1 may be hardware, or may be functionally divided into software, or a combination of the two. As shown in fig. 1, a system architecture provided in this embodiment of the present application includes a terminal, AN Access Network (AN) device, AN access and mobility management network element (which may also be referred to as AN access and mobility management function/access and mobility management function entity), a user plane network element (which may also be referred to as a user plane function/user plane function entity), a network slice management network element (or a network slice management function/network slice management function entity), a network slice subnet management network element (or a network slice subnet management function/network slice subnet management function entity), and a data network (data network, DN). The terminal establishes communication with the DN through the access network equipment and the user plane network element.

It should be noted that, the network element referred to in this embodiment may also be referred to as a function or a functional entity, for example, the network slice management network element may also be referred to as a network slice management function or a network slice management functional entity, and the access and mobility management network element may be referred to as an access and mobility management function or an access and mobility management functional entity, etc.

The names of the network elements are not limited in this application, and those skilled in the art can replace the names of the network elements with other names to perform the same functions, all of which belong to the protection scope of this application.

Illustratively, the system architecture shown in FIG. 1 may be the system architecture of 5G as shown in FIG. 2. Wherein the functions of the respective network elements or devices are as follows.

A terminal, also referred to as User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), a terminal device, etc., is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user. For example, the terminal includes a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, and the like having a wireless connection function. Currently, the terminal may be: a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm top computer, a Mobile Internet Device (MID), a wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an Augmented Reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in unmanned driving (self), a wireless terminal in remote surgery (remote medical supply), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like.

The access network device (also referred to as AN device) is responsible for wireless side access of the terminal, and possible deployment forms include: a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) separate scenarios; and single site scenarios. The single station includes a gbb/NR-NB, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), a Base Band Unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (access point, AP), etc. In the 5G communication system, a single site is gNB/NR-NB. Among them, a CU supports Radio Resource Control (RRC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), and other protocols. CUs are typically deployed at central offices with relatively rich computing resources. The DU mainly supports a Radio Link Control (RLC), a Medium Access Control (MAC) and a physical layer (PHY) protocol. The DU is generally deployed in a distributed manner, and in general, more than one DU is connected to one CU. The gNB has the functions of a CU and a DU, and is generally deployed as a single-site modality.

The access and mobility management network element may be an access and mobility management entity (AMF) in 5G. The access and mobility management network element is responsible for access and mobility management of terminals in the mobile network.

The user plane network element may be a User Plane Function (UPF) in a 5G architecture, as shown in fig. 2. The UPF is responsible for message processing and forwarding.

The DN, which provides a data transmission Service for the terminal, may be a PDN network, such as the internet (internet), IP Multimedia Service (IMS), and the like.

The network slice management network element may be a Network Slice Management Function (NSMF) in a 5G architecture, and is configured to manage a network slice of the entire network.

The network slice subnet management network element may be a Network Slice Subnet Management Function (NSSMF) in a 5G architecture, and may be deployed in each subnet, for example, may be deployed in CN or AN for managing a network slice in the subnet. The NSSMF deployed in the CN may be referred to as AN intra-CN NSSMF or AN NSSMF of the CN domain, and the like, and similarly, the NSSMF deployed in the AN may be referred to as AN intra-AN NSSMF or AN NSSMF of the AN domain, and the like. The name of NSSMF deployed in a subnet is not limited in this application.

The system architecture shown in fig. 1 may also be, for example, the system architecture of 5G shown in fig. 3 a. In fig. 3a, NSSMF is deployed at AN and CN, respectively. In the system architecture shown in fig. 3a, the end-to-end network slices may be managed by the NSMF, e.g., the end-to-end network slices may be created, updated, or destroyed by the NSMF. Taking the creation of the end-to-end network slice as AN example, the NSMF may send a network slice creation request to the NSSMF in the AN and the NSSMF in the CN, respectively, the NSSMF in the AN creates AN access network slice according to the network slice creation request, and the NSSMF in the CN creates a core network slice according to the network slice creation request, thereby completing the creation of the end-to-end network slice. However, since the implementation details of the core network and the control plane of the access network are not known by the NSMF, it may result in that the NSMF cannot make a decision accurately.

In addition, the early network slice research is mainly focused on the core network, the research on the access network slice is deficient, and a scenario that NSSMF is not deployed in the AN may exist for NSSMF deployment in the AN is late, as shown in fig. 3b, in such a scenario, since NSSMF is not deployed in the AN, a decision of NSMF cannot be sent to the AN, so that NSMF cannot manage the access network slice, and further cannot manage the end-to-end network slice.

Based on the above existing problems, embodiments of the present application provide a network slice management method for optimizing management of an end-to-end network slice.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a network slice management method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method comprises the following processing flows.

S401: the proxy node receives a network slice creation request from the NSMF.

Wherein the network slice creation request may be for requesting creation of a first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the created end-to-end network slice, which may include a first core network slice and a first access network slice.

Shared resources in this application may refer to shared virtual machines or containers, etc.

In the present application, the proxy node may be a newly added node in the CN, or may be integrated on NSSMF in the CN, and the following description of the present application embodiment takes the proxy node as the newly added node in the CN as an example.

In this application, a network slice creation request may also be referred to as an end-to-end network slice creation request or a slice creation request. The end-to-end network slice may be a slice that provides the end-to-end network service from the AN to the CN for the terminal, and may also be referred to as a network slice or slice, etc. The end-to-end network slice may include a core network slice, an access network slice, and the like. The network slice in the core network may also be referred to as a network slice in the CN domain or a core network slice, and the network slice in the access network may also be referred to as a network slice in the AN domain or AN access network slice.

In this application, AN and CN may be collectively referred to as a subnet, which may also be referred to as a sub-network or a sub-domain. Accordingly, the network slices within the core network and the network slices within the access network may be collectively referred to as subnet slices, or intra-subnet slices, etc.

S402: and the proxy node creates a first core network slice according to the network slice creation request. Wherein the first core network slice shares resources with the created second core network slice.

Optionally, the network slice creation request may carry an identifier of the second end-to-end network slice. When the network slice creation request carries the identifier of the second end-to-end network slice, the network slice creation request may be used to request creation of a first end-to-end network slice that shares resources with the second end-to-end network slice. That is, the NSMF may request to create a first end-to-end network slice that shares resources with a particular end-to-end network slice.

In one example, if the network slice request does not carry an identification of an end-to-end network slice, that is, the NSMF does not specify with which created end-to-end network slice the first end-to-end network slice to be created shares resources, the proxy node may determine itself that the first end-to-end network slice to be created shares resources with a particular created end-to-end network slice. How the proxy node creates the first core network slice is described in detail below.

In another example, if the network slice request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, that is, the NSMF specifies that a first end-to-end network slice to be created shares resources with a created second end-to-end network slice, in this example, the proxy node may create the first end-to-end network slice that shares resources with the NSMF-specified second end-to-end network slice, or may create the first end-to-end network slice that shares resources with a created end-to-end network slice different from the second end-to-end network slice. This will be illustrated in detail for different cases hereinafter.

S403: the proxy node sends an access network slice creation request to the access network device supporting network slice proxy. The access network slice creation request may be used to request creation of a first access network slice, where the access network slice creation request may carry first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate that the first core network slice and a second core network slice share resources.

In this application, the proxy node may send an access network slice creation request to the access network device through control plane signaling.

A detailed description of how the proxy node creates the first end-to-end network slice follows.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice creation request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, where the second end-to-end network slice includes a second core network slice, and the proxy node may determine, according to the identifier of the second end-to-end network slice carried in the network slice creation request, a second core network slice included in the second end-to-end network slice corresponding to the identifier, and further may create a first core network slice sharing resources with the second core network slice included in the second end-to-end network slice. That is, the proxy node may create a first core network slice that shares resources with a core network slice included in the second end-to-end network slice based on the identification of the second end-to-end network slice.

Wherein the second end-to-end network slice includes a second core network slice, it can also be understood that the second core network slice belongs to the second end-to-end network slice.

In another possible implementation manner, the proxy node may create the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs.

The resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs may include information of a core network slice that has been created in the core network to which the proxy node belongs and supports resource sharing. For example, the information of the core network slice may include an identification of the core network slice, resource occupancy, and the like. In the present application, the resource occupancy of a core network slice may include the resource occupancy of a virtual machine or a container that deploys the core network slice.

In this embodiment, taking the example that the information of the core network slice includes the identifier of the core network slice or includes the identifier of the core network slice and the resource occupancy rate, the following describes that the proxy node creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs.

The core network slices which are created in the core network to which the proxy node belongs and support resource sharing may be one or more.

In one example, when one core network slice that is created in the core network to which the proxy node belongs and supports resource sharing is provided, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs may include an identifier of the one created core network slice that supports resource sharing, and the proxy node may create, according to the identifier, a first core network slice of the core network slice that shares resources corresponding to the identifier.

In another example, when the created core network slices supporting resource sharing in the core network to which the proxy node belongs are at least two, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs may include an identification of the at least two created core network slices supporting resource sharing and a resource occupancy rate. In this example, the proxy node may determine, as the second core network slice, a core network slice with the lowest resource occupancy among at least two core network slices included in the core network to which the proxy node belongs, and create, according to the network slice creation request and the identification of the second core network slice, the first core network slice sharing resources with the second core network slice. For example, assuming that the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes three created core network slices, which are core network slice a, core network slice B, and core network slice C, respectively, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs may include identifiers and resource occupancy rates of core network slice a, core network slice B, and core network slice C, further assuming that the identifier of core network slice a is identifier a and resource occupancy rate is 30%, the identifier of core network slice B is identifier B and resource occupancy rate is 70%, the identifier of core network slice C is identifier C and resource occupancy rate is 50%, after receiving a network slice creation request from the NSMF, the proxy node may determine, according to the request, that a first end-to-end network slice that needs to create resources sharing with the created end-to-end network slice, and further may determine that a first core network slice that needs to create resources sharing with the created core network slice, to ensure that the created first core network slice has sufficient resources, the proxy node may create the first core network slice sharing resources with the core network slice a having the lowest resource occupancy. By the method provided by this example, the proxy node may create the first core network slice sharing resources with the created core network slice with the lowest resource occupancy rate according to the resource consumption of the core network slice in the core network to which the proxy node belongs, so as to optimize the resource sharing effect. The problem of low resource utilization rate caused by the fact that NSMF cannot sense the resource consumption condition of the subnet slices in the core network and the access network in the prior art is solved. Obviously, the method of the application can optimize the management of the network slices.

In yet another example, the network slice creation request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, and the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes the identifier of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice and the resource occupancy rate. In this example, when the proxy node determines that the resource occupancy rate of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice is less than the preset value, the proxy node determines the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice as the second core network slice, and creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the identifier of the second core network slice. For example, a first core network slice may be created that shares resources with an already created core network slice according to the requirements of the end-to-end network slice carried in the network slice creation request. The requirements of the end-to-end network slice may include latency requirements, isolation requirements, and the like.

Illustratively, assuming that the network slice creation request carries the identity 2 of the second end-to-end network slice, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes the identifier 22 of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice and the resource occupancy rate 40%, assuming that the preset value is 50%, the proxy node, upon receiving the network slice creation request from the NSMF, may determine from the request that a first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with a second end-to-end network slice already created needs to be created, it may then be determined that a first core network slice sharing resources with a core network slice in a second end-to-end network slice needs to be created, the proxy node may further determine that 40% of resource occupancy of a core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice is less than a preset value of 50%, a first core network slice may then be created that shares resources with a core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice. With the method provided by this example, the proxy node creates the first core network slice sharing resources with the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice, so as to optimize the resource sharing effect, when the resource occupancy rate of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice is smaller than the preset value.

The network slice management method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in more detail below with reference to the flow shown in fig. 4. As shown in fig. 5, the flow of the network slice management method is as follows. And taking the proxy node as a new node specification in the CN.

For S501-S503, reference may be made to the descriptions of S401-S403, which are not described herein again.

In one possible implementation, the proxy node may receive a network slice creation request from the NSMF through the NSSMF within the CN, see S501a and S501b in fig. 5.

In one possible implementation, the proxy node sends an access network slice creation request to the access network device supporting network slice proxy through a default (default) AMF, which is shown in S503a-S503c in fig. 5. And after receiving the access network slice creation request from the proxy node, the default AMF sends the access network slice creation request to the access network equipment supporting the network slice proxy in the access network according to the pre-stored identification of the access network equipment supporting the network slice proxy.

It should be noted that the access network device in fig. 5 refers to an access network device that supports network slice proxy.

In other possible designs, the proxy node may also interact with the access network device supporting the network slice proxy through another AMF (different from the default AMF), which is not limited in this application.

And when the terminal is not determined to access a specific AMF after registering to the network, selecting to access a default AMF.

In fig. 5, the steps marked with solid lines refer to steps that have to be executed, such as S501, S502, and S503, and the steps marked with dotted lines refer to steps that can be executed optionally, such as S503a, S503c, S501a, and S501 b. In addition, in the drawings related to the present application, steps marked by solid lines all refer to steps which must be executed, and steps marked by dotted lines all refer to steps which can be executed optionally.

After the access network device supporting the network slice proxy in the access network receives the access network slice creation request sent by the proxy node, S504 may be executed.

S504: and the access network equipment supporting the network slice proxy in the access network creates a first access network slice according to the access network slice creation request.

For example, an access network device supporting network slice proxy in the access network may create a first access network slice according to a delay requirement, an isolation requirement, and the like carried in the access network slice creation request.

Wherein the first access network slice and the created second access network slice share resources. The second core network slice and the second access network slice belong to a second end-to-end network slice that has been created.

S505: and the access network equipment supporting the network slice proxy in the access network sends a response message to the default AMF.

The response message may include a creation result of the access network slice, for example, the creation result may be a creation success or a creation failure.

S506: the default AMF sends the first list to the proxy node according to the response message.

The first list may include a creation result of the access network slice included in a response message received by the default AMF within a preset time. For example, it is assumed that 500 access network devices supporting network slice proxy in an access network may send a response message including a creation result of an access network slice to a default AMF after a first access network slice is created according to an access network slice creation request, but each access network device supporting network slice proxy may not send a response message to the default AMF at the same time, the default AMF may receive response messages sent by each access network device supporting network slice proxy within a preset time, and assuming that the default AMF receives response messages sent by 450 access network devices supporting network slice proxy within the preset time, the creation results of the access network slices included in the 450 response messages may be configured into a first list and the first list may be sent to a proxy node.

S507: the proxy node receives the first list from the default AMF.

After receiving the first list sent by the default AMF, the proxy node may be processed by the proxy node in the CN domain, for example, if the creation result included in the first list does not include creation failure, the first list is ignored, and if the creation result included in the first list includes creation failure, the creation process may be restarted for the access network slice whose creation failed.

Of course, S508 may be executed instead of the proxy node of the CN domain.

S508: the proxy node sends the first list to the NSMF.

In particular, the NSMF performs subsequent processing upon receipt of the first list. For example, if the creation result included in the first list does not include the creation failure, the first list is ignored, and if the creation result included in the first list includes the creation failure, the creation process may be reinitiated for the slice whose creation failed.

In one possible implementation, the proxy node may send the first list to the NSMF through the NSSMF in the CN in step S508, see S508a and S508b in fig. 5.

In the embodiment of the present application, the access network device supporting network slice proxy may be understood that an access network slice in the access network device may be managed by a proxy node. The capability of the proxy node to manage the access network slice in the access network device may be pre-agreed by the proxy node, the NSMF, and the access network device, or determined by real-time negotiation among the proxy node, the NSMF, and the access network device.

In one possible implementation, the capability of managing access network slices in the access network device by the proxy node is negotiated before the proxy node receives the network slice creation request from the NSMF, see S500a-S500f in fig. 5.

S500 a: the access network device sends a first slice management agent request to the default AMF.

The first slice management agent request is used for requesting network slice proxy for the access network equipment. The first slice management agent request may carry an identifier of the access network device.

Optionally, the first slice management agent request may further carry a slice proxy support flag. The slice proxy supporting flag bit is used for indicating that the access network equipment supports network slice proxy. The supporting slice proxy flag may be one or more bits.

Optionally, after receiving the first slice management agent request, the default AMF may further confirm the first slice management agent request, and may further send a confirmation message confirming receipt of the first slice management agent request to the access network device.

It should be noted that the number of the access network devices may be one or more. When the number of the access network devices is one, the default AMF forwards the first chip management agent request to the agent node after receiving the first chip management agent request sent by the access network devices. When the number of the access network devices is multiple, the default AMF may perform S500b after receiving the first slice management agent request sent by the access network device.

S500 b: and when the first ratio is larger than the first threshold value, the default AMF sends a second slice management agent request to the agent node according to the first slice management agent request.

The first ratio is the ratio of the number of access network devices which send the first slice management agent request to the default AMF in the access network within the preset time to the number of all access network devices included in the access network. For example, if there are 500 access network devices in the access network, and the number of access network devices that send the first slice management agent request to the default AMF within the preset time is 450, the first ratio is 450/500 ═ 0.9.

The second slice management agent request may carry an identifier of an access network to which the access network device supporting the network slice agent belongs. The second slice management agent request is used for requesting the agent node to perform network slice agent for the access network device in the access network. Optionally, the second slice management agent request may also carry an identifier of an agent node.

Optionally, after receiving the second slice management agent request, the proxy node may further confirm the second slice management agent request, and may further send a confirmation message to the default AMF to confirm receipt of the second slice management agent request.

It should be noted that the first threshold may be an empirical value, and may be preset in the default AMF. The first threshold may be different for different application scenarios.

S500 d: and the proxy node sends the third slice management proxy request to the NSMF according to the received second slice management proxy request.

Accordingly, the NSMF may know, after receiving the third slice management agent request: the proxy node described above may manage access network slices in the access network that will not be managed later by the NSMF. For example, subsequent messages that the NSMF needs to send to the access network device in the access network may be sent by the proxy node.

The third slice management agent request may carry an identifier of an access network to which the access network device supporting the network slice agent belongs and an identifier of the agent node. The third slice management agent request is used for requesting the agent node to perform network slice agent for the access network device in the access network.

In one possible implementation, the proxy node may send the third slice management proxy request to the NSMF through the NSSMF in the CN, see S500e and S500f in fig. 5.

S500 e: the proxy node sends the third slice management proxy request to the NSSMF within the CN.

S500 f: the NSSMF within the CN sends the third slice management agent request to the NSMF.

Accordingly, the NSMF may know, after receiving the third slice management agent request: the proxy node described above may manage access network slices in the access network that will not be managed later by the NSMF.

Optionally, after receiving the third slice management agent request, the NSMF may further confirm the third slice management agent request, and may further send a confirmation message to confirm receipt of the third slice management agent request to the proxy node.

In the following, taking as an example that the proxy node and the NSMF interact through NSSMF in the CN, the proxy node and the access network device interact through default AMF, and the network slice creation request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, and the proxy node negotiates the capability of managing the access network slice in the access network device by the proxy node before receiving the network slice creation request from the NSMF, a description is given to a message name, a network element involved, and a cell and an interface/protocol type mainly carried in the message in the above flow of creating a network slice in fig. 5, referring to table 1.

TABLE 1

In a scenario of deploying NSSMF in AN, referring to fig. 3a, a proxy node may be added in a CN by the method according to the above embodiment of the present application, referring to fig. 6a, the NSMF may send a network slice creation request to the proxy node in the CN, and after the proxy node creates a core network slice according to the network slice creation request, the proxy node sends AN access network slice creation request to AN access network device supporting network slice proxy in the AN, and the proxy node notifies the access network device of a decision made by a CN side, so that the AN side refers to the decision made by the CN side, and makes a decision consistent with the CN side.

In a scenario where NSSMF is not deployed in AN, referring to fig. 3b, a proxy node may be added in a CN by the method according to the foregoing embodiment of the present application, and referring to fig. 6b, NSMF may send a network slice creation request to AN access network device supporting a network slice proxy in AN through the proxy node, so as to implement creation of AN end-to-end network slice. Furthermore, the AN side can also refer to the decisions made by the CN side to make decisions consistent with the CN side.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of another network slice management method according to an embodiment of the present application. The proxy node integration in the CN on NSSMF is illustrated in fig. 7. In the implementation of fig. 7, the operations performed by the proxy node may be understood as being performed by NSSMF in CN, referring to fig. 7, the operations performed by S700a-S700d in fig. 7 may refer to S500a-S500d in fig. 5, and the operations performed by S701-S708 in fig. 7 may refer to S501-S508 in fig. 5, which are not described herein again. The difference is that the operations performed by the proxy node in figure 5 are all performed by NSSMF within the CN in figure 7.

It should be noted that, in fig. 7, the third slice management agent request may carry an identifier of NSSMF in CN.

It is understood that the above embodiments of the present application are described by taking network slice creation as an example. Likewise, network slice update may also use the above-described method embodiments, as shown with reference to fig. 8 and 9.

In the implementation shown in fig. 8 and fig. 9, the operations performed by S800a-S800f may refer to S500a-S500f in fig. 5, and the operations performed by S900a-S900d may refer to S500a-S500d in fig. 5, and the proxy node in fig. 8 and the NSSMF in CN in fig. 9 may further send an access network slice update request to the access network device supporting network slice proxy, where the access network slice update request carries second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the first core network slice and the created third core network slice share resources. In this way, the access network device may update the sharing relationship between the first access network slice and the created access network slice according to the second indication information, for example, assuming that the proxy node shares the resource with the first core network slice and the second core network slice, and updates the resource with the first core network slice and the third core network slice, and the third core network slice and the third access network slice belong to the third end-to-end network slice, the proxy node sends the second indication information to the access network device, so that the access network device updates the resource with the first access network slice and the second access network slice to the resource with the first access network slice and the third access network slice, so that the subnet slices on the AN side and the CN side after updating the network slice belong to the same end-to-end network slice. In this implementation, the response message in S805 in fig. 8 and the response message in S905 in fig. 9 may carry an update result of the access network slice, for example, success or failure of the update. Wherein the second list in fig. 8 and 9 may include the updated results of the access network slices fed back by the plurality of access network devices.

In the following, taking as an example that the proxy node and the NSMF interact through NSSMF in the CN, the proxy node and the access network device interact through default AMF, the capability of the proxy node to manage the access network slice in the access network device is pre-agreed by the proxy node, the NSMF and the access network device, and the network slice update request carries an identifier of a third end-to-end network slice, a description is given to a message name, a network element involved, a cell mainly carried in the message, and an interface/protocol type involved in the process of updating the network slice in fig. 8, referring to table 2.

TABLE 2

It is to be understood that web slice destruction may also use the above-described method embodiments, as illustrated with reference to fig. 10 and 11.

In the implementation shown in fig. 10 and fig. 11, the operations performed by S1000a-S1000f may refer to S500a-S500f in fig. 5, and the operations performed by S1100a-S1100d may refer to S500a-S500d in fig. 5, and the proxy node in fig. 10 and the NSSMF in CN in fig. 11 may further send an access network slice destroy request to the access network device supporting the network slice proxy, where the access network slice destroy request may carry an identifier of the first access network slice. For example, assuming that the proxy node destroys the first core network slice, the proxy node sends the identifier of the first access network slice to the access network device, so that the access network device destroys the first access network slice. In this implementation manner, the response message in S1005 in fig. 10 and the response message in S1105 in fig. 11 may carry the destruction result of the access network slice, for example, the destruction success or failure. Wherein the third list in fig. 10 and fig. 11 may include the destruction result of the access network slice fed back by the plurality of access network devices.

In the following, taking as an example that the proxy node and the NSMF interact through NSSMF in the CN, the proxy node and the access network device interact through default AMF, the capability of the proxy node to manage the access network slice in the access network device is pre-agreed by the proxy node, the NSMF and the access network device, and the identifier of the first end-to-end network slice is carried in the network slice destruction request, the name of the related message, the related network element, the cell mainly carried in the message, and the interface/protocol type in the process of destroying the network slice in fig. 10 are described, referring to table 3.

TABLE 3

Based on the same inventive concept of the foregoing method embodiment, as shown in fig. 12, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network slice management apparatus 1200, configured to execute an operation executed by a proxy node in the foregoing network slice management method. The apparatus 1200 may include a receiving unit 1201, a processing unit 1202, and a transmitting unit 1203.

A receiving unit 1201, configured to receive a network slice creation request from the NSMF, where the network slice creation request is used to request creation of a first end-to-end network slice that shares resources with a created end-to-end network slice, and the first end-to-end network slice includes a first core network slice and a first access network slice;

a processing unit 1202, configured to create the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request, where the first core network slice and the created second core network slice share resources;

a sending unit 1203, configured to send an access network slice creation request to an access network device supporting network slice proxy, where the access network slice creation request is used to request to create the first access network slice, and the access network slice creation request carries first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first core network slice and the second core network slice share resources.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice creation request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, and the network slice creation request is used for requesting to create the first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the second end-to-end network slice.

In one possible implementation, the second end-to-end network slice includes the second core network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 1202 is configured to create the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and resource sharing slice information of a core network to which the proxy node belongs, where the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes information of a core network slice that is already created in the core network and supports resource sharing.

In a possible implementation manner, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes information of a core network slice that has been created and supports resource sharing, and the information of the core network slice includes an identifier of the core network slice and a resource occupancy rate. In this implementation, the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine, as the second core network slice, a core network slice with a lowest resource occupancy rate in the core network slices; and creating the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the identifier of the second core network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the network slice creation request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes information of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice, and the information of the core network slice includes the identifier of the core network slice and the resource occupancy rate. In this implementation, the processing unit 1202 is configured to determine a core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice as the second core network slice when the resource occupancy of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice is smaller than a preset value; and creating the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the identifier of the second core network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending unit 1203 sends an access network slice creation request to an access network device supporting a network slice proxy through a default AMF. After the sending unit 1203 sends an access network slice creation request to an access network device supporting network slice proxy through a default AMF, the receiving unit 1201 is further configured to receive a first list from the default AMF, where the first list includes a creation result of the first access network slice by the access network device supporting network slice proxy.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending unit 1203 is further configured to send the first list to the NSMF.

In a possible implementation manner, before receiving a network slice creation request from the NSMF, the receiving unit 1201 is further configured to receive a slice management proxy request from a default AMF, where the slice management proxy request carries an identifier of an access network to which the access network device belongs, and is used to request the proxy node to perform network slice proxy for the access network device in the access network; the sending unit 1203 is further configured to send the slice management agent request to the NSMF.

In a possible implementation manner, the sending unit 1203 is further configured to send an access network slice update request to the access network device supporting network slice proxy, where the access network slice update request carries second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate that the first core network slice and a created third core network slice share resources.

Based on the same inventive concept of the foregoing method embodiment, as shown in fig. 13, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network slice management apparatus 1300, configured to execute an operation executed by an access network device in the foregoing network slice management method. The apparatus 1300 may include a receiving unit 1301 and a processing unit 1302. Optionally, a sending unit 1303 may be further included.

A receiving unit 1301, configured to receive an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, where the access network slice creation request is used to request creation of a first access network slice, the access network slice creation request carries first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that a first core network slice and a second core network slice share resources, and the access network device supports network slice proxy;

a processing unit 1302, configured to create the first access network slice according to the access network slice creation request, where the first access network slice and the created second access network slice share resources; wherein the first core network slice and the first access network slice belong to a first end-to-end network slice, and the second core network slice and the second access network slice belong to a created second end-to-end network slice.

In one possible implementation, the receiving unit 1301 receives an access network slice creation request from a proxy node through a default AMF. Before the receiving unit 1301 receives an access network slice creation request from an agent node through a default AMF, the sending unit 1303 is configured to send a slice management agent request to the default AMF, where the slice management agent request carries a slice proxy support flag bit and an identifier of the access network device, and the slice proxy support flag bit is used to indicate that the access network device supports network slice proxy.

Based on the same inventive concept of the foregoing method embodiment, as shown in fig. 14, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network slice management device 1400, configured to perform an operation performed by a default AMF in the foregoing network slice management method. The apparatus 1400 may include a receiving unit 1401 and a transmitting unit 1402. Optionally, a processing unit 1403 may also be included.

A receiving unit 1401, configured to receive an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, where the access network slice creation request is used to request creation of an access network slice, and the access network slice creation request carries first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first core network slice and a second core network slice share resources, and the default AMF and the proxy node belong to a same core network;

a sending unit 1402, configured to send the access network slice creation request to an access network device supporting network slice proxy in an access network according to a pre-stored identifier of the access network device supporting network slice proxy.

In a possible implementation manner, after the sending unit 1402 sends the request for creating an access network slice to an access network device supporting network slice proxy in an access network, the receiving unit 1401 is further configured to receive a response message from the access network device, where the response message includes a creation result of the access network slice; the sending unit 1402 is configured to send a first list to the proxy node according to the received response message, where the first list includes a creation result of an access network slice included in the response message received by the default AMF within a preset time.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit 1401 is configured to, before receiving an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, further be configured to receive a first slice management proxy request from the access network device, where the first slice management proxy request carries a slice proxy supporting flag bit and an identifier of the access network device, and the slice proxy supporting flag bit is used to indicate that the access network device supports network slice proxy; the sending unit 1402 is further configured to send, when a first ratio is greater than a first threshold, a second slice management agent request to the proxy node according to the first slice management agent request, where the first ratio is a ratio of the number of access network devices in the access network that send the first slice management agent request to the default AMF within a preset time to the number of all access network devices included in the access network, and the second slice management agent request carries an identifier of the access network and is used to request the proxy node to perform network slice proxy for the access network devices in the access network.

Based on the same inventive concept of the foregoing method embodiment, as shown in fig. 15, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network slice management apparatus 1500, configured to execute operations executed by the NSMF in the foregoing network slice management method. The apparatus 1500 may include a receiving unit 1501 and a transmitting unit 1502.

A receiving unit 1501, configured to receive a slice management agent request from an agent node, where the slice management agent request carries an identifier of an access network and an identifier of the agent node, and the slice management agent request is used to request the agent node to perform network slice proxy for an access network device in the access network;

a sending unit 1502, configured to send a network slice creation request carrying an identifier of the proxy node to the proxy node, where the network slice creation request is used to request to create an end-to-end network slice that shares resources with the created end-to-end network slice, and the end-to-end network slice includes a core network slice and an access network slice.

In a possible implementation manner, the receiving unit 1501 is further configured to receive a first list from the proxy node, where the first list includes a creation result of the access network slice.

Based on the same inventive concept as that of the above method embodiment, as shown in fig. 16, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network slice management apparatus 1600, where the communication apparatus 1600 is configured to implement operations performed by a proxy node, an access network device, a default AMF, or an NSMF in the method provided by the above embodiment, for brief description, a schematic diagram of possible entity apparatuses of the above network elements is illustrated by referring to fig. 16, and it can be understood that fig. 16 is only a schematic diagram, and it can be applied to various network elements described above. The network slice management apparatus 1600 includes: a transceiver 1601, a processor 1602, and a memory 1603. The processor 1602 is configured to invoke a set of programs that, when executed, cause the processor 1602 to perform the operations performed by the proxy node, the access network device, the default AMF, or the NSMF in one of the methods provided by the above-described embodiments. The memory 1603 is used for storing programs executed by the processor 1602. The transmitting unit and the receiving unit in fig. 11 to 14 may be implemented by the transceiver 1601, and the processing unit may be implemented by the processor 1602.

The processor 1602 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP.

The processor 1602 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The PLD may be a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a General Array Logic (GAL), or any combination thereof.

Memory 1603 may include volatile memory (volatile memory), such as random-access memory (RAM); the memory 1603 may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile) such as a flash memory (flash memory), a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD); memory 1603 may also include a combination of the types of memory described above.

In the methods provided in the above embodiments of the present application, some or all of the operations and functions performed by the described network elements or devices may be implemented by chips or integrated circuits.

In order to implement the functions of the apparatus described in fig. 12 to fig. 16, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes a processor and is configured to support the apparatus to implement the functions related to the method provided by the foregoing embodiment. In one possible design, the chip is connected to or includes a memory for storing the necessary program instructions and data for the device.

The embodiment of the application provides a computer storage medium, which stores a computer program, wherein the computer program comprises instructions for executing the method provided by the embodiment.

The present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the method provided by the above embodiments.

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 embodiments of 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.

While the preferred embodiments of the present application have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the application.

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

Claims

1. A method for network slice management, comprising:

the proxy node receives a network slice creation request from a network slice management function NSMF, wherein the network slice creation request is used for requesting to create a first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the created end-to-end network slice, and the first end-to-end network slice comprises a first core network slice and a first access network slice;

the proxy node creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request, and the first core network slice and the created second core network slice share resources;

the proxy node sends an access network slice creation request to access network equipment supporting network slice proxy, wherein the access network slice creation request is used for requesting creation of the first access network slice, the access network slice creation request carries first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating the first core network slice and the second core network slice to share resources.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein an identification of a second end-to-end network slice is carried in the network slice creation request, the network slice creation request requesting creation of the first end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the second end-to-end network slice.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second end-to-end network slice comprises the second core network slice.

4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the proxy node creating the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request comprises:

and the proxy node creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs, wherein the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs comprises the information of the created core network slice which supports resource sharing in the core network.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes information of a core network slice that has been created and supports resource sharing, the information of the core network slice including an identification of the core network slice and a resource occupancy;

the proxy node creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs, and the method comprises the following steps:

the proxy node determines the core network slice with the lowest resource occupancy rate in the core network slices as the second core network slice;

and the proxy node creates the first core network slice according to the network slice creation request and the identifier of the second core network slice.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the network slice creation request carries an identifier of a second end-to-end network slice, the resource sharing slice information of the core network to which the proxy node belongs includes information of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice, and the information of the core network slice includes the identifier of the core network slice and the resource occupancy rate;

when the resource occupancy rate of the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice is smaller than a preset value, the proxy node determines the core network slice in the second end-to-end network slice as the second core network slice;

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the proxy node sending an access network slice creation request to an access network device supporting network slice proxy, comprising:

the proxy node sends an access network slice creation request to access network equipment supporting network slice proxy through a default access and mobility management function AMF;

after the proxy node sends an access network slice creation request to the access network device supporting network slice proxy through the default AMF, the method further includes:

the proxy node receives a first list from the default AMF, wherein the first list comprises a creation result of the first access network slice by the access network device supporting network slice proxy.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

the proxy node sends the first list to the NSMF.

9. The method according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein before the proxy node receives a network slice creation request from the NSMF, further comprising:

the proxy node receives a slice management proxy request from a default AMF, wherein the slice management proxy request carries an identifier of an access network to which the access network equipment belongs, and is used for requesting the proxy node to perform network slice proxy for the access network equipment in the access network;

the proxy node sends the slice management proxy request to the NSMF.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, further comprising:

and the proxy node sends an access network slice updating request to the access network equipment supporting the network slice proxy, wherein the access network slice updating request carries second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating the first core network slice and the created third core network slice to share resources.

11. A method for network slice management, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that an access network device receives an access network slice creating request from a proxy node, the access network slice creating request is used for requesting to create a first access network slice, the access network slice creating request carries first indication information, the first indication information is used for indicating a first core network slice and a second core network slice to share resources, and the access network device supports network slice proxy;

the access network equipment creates the first access network slice according to the access network slice creating request, and the first access network slice and the created second access network slice share resources;

wherein the first core network slice and the first access network slice belong to a first end-to-end network slice, and the second core network slice and the second access network slice belong to a created second end-to-end network slice.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the access network device receiving an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, comprising:

the access network equipment receives an access network slice creation request from a proxy node through a default access and mobility management function (AMF);

before the access network device receives the access network slice creation request from the proxy node, the method further includes:

and the access network equipment sends a slice management agent request to the default AMF, wherein the slice management agent request carries a slice agent supporting flag bit and an identifier of the access network equipment, and the slice agent supporting flag bit is used for indicating that the access network equipment supports network slice agent.

13. A method for network slice management, comprising:

a default access and mobility management function (AMF) receives an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, wherein the access network slice creation request is used for requesting creation of an access network slice, the access network slice creation request carries first indication information, the first indication information is used for indicating a first core network slice and a second core network slice to share resources, and the default AMF and the proxy node belong to the same core network;

and the default AMF sends the access network slice creation request to the access network equipment supporting the network slice proxy in the access network according to the pre-stored identification of the access network equipment supporting the network slice proxy.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein after the default AMF sends the access network slice creation request to an access network device in an access network that supports network slice proxying, further comprising:

the default AMF receives a response message from the access network equipment, wherein the response message comprises a creation result of an access network slice;

and the default AMF sends a first list to the proxy node according to the response message, wherein the first list comprises the creation result of the access network slice included in the response message received by the default AMF in the preset time.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein prior to the default AMF receiving an access network slice creation request from a proxy node, further comprising:

the default AMF receives a first slice management proxy request from the access network equipment, wherein the first slice management proxy request carries a slice proxy supporting flag bit and an identifier of the access network equipment, and the slice proxy supporting flag bit is used for indicating that the access network equipment supports network slice proxy;

when the first ratio is larger than a first threshold value, the default AMF sends a second slice management agent request to the agent node according to the first slice management agent request;

the first ratio is a ratio of the number of access network devices in the access network that send the first slice management agent request to the default AMF within a preset time to the number of all access network devices included in the access network, the second slice management agent request carries an identifier of the access network, and the second slice management agent request is used for requesting the agent node to perform network slice proxy for the access network devices in the access network.

16. A method for network slice management, comprising:

a network slice management function NSMF receives a slice management proxy request from a proxy node, wherein the slice management proxy request carries an identifier of an access network and an identifier of the proxy node and is used for requesting the proxy node to perform network slice proxy for access network equipment in the access network;

the NSMF sends a network slice creating request carrying the identification of the proxy node to the proxy node, wherein the network slice creating request is used for requesting to create an end-to-end network slice sharing resources with the created end-to-end network slice, and the end-to-end network slice comprises a core network slice and an access network slice.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the NSMF receives a first list from the proxy node, the first list including a creation result of the access network slice.

18. A network slice management apparatus, comprising: a processor coupled with a memory;

a memory for storing a computer program;

a processor for executing a computer program stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-10.

19. A network slice management apparatus, comprising: a processor coupled with a memory;

a memory for storing a computer program;

a processor for executing a computer program stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 11-12.

20. A network slice management apparatus, comprising: a processor coupled with a memory;

a memory for storing a computer program;

a processor for executing a computer program stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 13-15.

21. A network slice management apparatus, comprising: a processor coupled with a memory;

a memory for storing a computer program;

a processor for executing a computer program stored in the memory to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 16-17.