CN111447077A

CN111447077A - Network element configuration method, device and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN111447077A
Application number: CN201910044392.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李响; 孙军帅
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2019-01-17
Filing date: 2019-01-17
Publication date: 2020-07-24
Anticipated expiration: 2039-01-17
Also published as: CN111447077B

Abstract

The invention discloses a network element configuration method, a network element configuration device and a storage medium, which are used for realizing cross-manufacturer CU/DU management aiming at an application scene of 5G CU/DU separation deployment and improving CU/DU management efficiency and accuracy. The network element configuration method implemented by the network management system side comprises the following steps: receiving a network element registration request, wherein the network element registration request carries a network element identifier of a network element to be registered; aiming at the network element registration request, distributing a network management identifier for the network element to be registered; and sending the network management identifier distributed for the network element to be registered to a requesting party.

Description

Network element configuration method, device and storage medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications technologies, and in particular, to a network element configuration method, apparatus, and storage medium.

Background

According to 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), BBU (Building base band Unit) functions of 5G (New Radio) NR (New Radio) are reconfigured into two functional entities, CU (Centralized Unit) and DU (Distributed Unit), to meet different wireless service requirements. The CU and DU functions are divided to process the real-time performance of the content for distinguishing, the CU equipment mainly comprises a non-real-time wireless high-level protocol stack function and also supports the function sinking of a part of core network and the deployment of MEC (multi-access edge computing) edge application service, and the DU equipment mainly processes the layer 2 function of the physical layer function and the real-time performance requirement. In consideration of saving transmission resources between a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) and a DU, part of the physical layer functions may also be moved down to the RRU.

In terms of management of 5G NR, the existing 3GPP standard defines three deployment modes, CU and DU separation, CU-CP (Control Plane)/CU-UP (User Plane), and DU separation, and CU and DU integration. However, only the gbb (5G base station) Resource Model (NRM) is currently defined by 3GPP, and Management models of a Network Management System (NMS) and an Element Management System (EMS) are not yet defined. In practical application, the same EMS can be adopted to manage both the CU and the DU, but the mode is not suitable for the management of the CU/DU of the cross-manufacturer, and because each manufacturer has a private management model and cannot be exposed to other manufacturers, the efficiency and the accuracy of the management of the CU/DU of the cross-manufacturer cannot be ensured. As shown in fig. 1, when an operator needs to assign DU-1 and DU-2 of vendor 1 to be controlled by CU of vendor 2, EMS2 cannot identify DU-1 and DU-2 because there is no DU management Identity (ID), and if the existing gNB DU ID is used, the following problems may occur: the gNBDUID of DU-1 of gNB1 is modified to be gNBDUID of gNB2 by EMS1, but the configuration will not be validated after modification because the gNB DU ID does not belong to gNB 1; EMS2 cannot modify the gNB DU ID of DU-1 of gNB1 because it cannot identify the DU device of gNB 1; since the deployment positions of the CU and the DU are different, the time delay constraint is provided, and the interface between the CU and the DU is a control signaling channel and has no function of a network management channel, the multiplexing of the control channel for transmitting the network management instruction can affect the bandwidth and the control signaling time delay.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a network element configuration method, a network element configuration device and a storage medium, which are used for realizing cross-manufacturer CU/DU management aiming at an application scene of 5G CU/DU separation deployment and improving CU/DU management efficiency and accuracy.

In a first aspect, a network element configuration method implemented by a network management system side is provided, including:

receiving a network element registration request, wherein the network element registration request carries a network element identifier of a network element to be registered;

aiming at the network element registration request, distributing a network management identifier for the network element to be registered;

and sending the network management identifier distributed for the network element to be registered to a requesting party.

Optionally, the network element to be registered includes a distributed unit DU or a centralized unit CU to be registered; and

receiving a network element registration request, comprising:

and receiving a network element registration request sent by the CU or the DU through the equipment management system EMS to which the CU or the DU belongs.

Optionally, sending the network management identifier allocated to the network element to be registered to the requester specifically includes:

and sending the network management identifier distributed to the CU or the DU to the EMS, and configuring the network management identifier distributed to the CU or the DU by the EMS.

Optionally, the network element identifier includes an operation, administration and maintenance, OAM, internet protocol, IP address of the registered network element.

In a second aspect, a network element configuring method implemented by a network element side is provided, including:

sending a network element registration request to a network management system NMS, wherein the network element registration request carries a network element identifier of a network element to be registered;

and receiving and storing the network management identifier distributed by the NMS for the network element registration request.

sending a network element registration request to a Network Management System (NMS), specifically comprising:

and sending the network element registration request to a Network Management System (NMS) through an attributive Equipment Management System (EMS).

Optionally, the network management identifier is configured by the EMS according to the network management identifier sent by the NMS.

In a third aspect, an apparatus for configuring a network element is provided, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a network element registration request, where the network element registration request carries a network element identifier of a to-be-registered network element;

the allocation unit is used for allocating a network management identifier for the network element to be registered aiming at the network element registration request;

and the sending unit is used for sending the network management identifier distributed for the network element to be registered to the requesting party.

the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive a network element registration request sent by the CU or the DU through an equipment management system EMS to which the CU or the DU belongs.

Optionally, the sending unit is specifically configured to send, to the EMS, a network management identifier allocated to the CU or DU, where the EMS configures the CU or DU with the allocated network management identifier.

In a fourth aspect, a network element configuration device implemented by a network management system side is provided, which includes:

a sending unit, configured to send a network element registration request to a network management system NMS, where the network element registration request carries a network element identifier of a network element to be registered;

a receiving unit, configured to receive a network management identifier allocated by the NMS for the network element registration request;

and the storage unit is used for storing the network management identifier.

the sending unit is specifically configured to send the network element registration request to a network management system NMS through an affiliated device management system EMS.

In a fifth aspect, a computing device is provided, which comprises at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by the processor, the program causes the processor to perform the steps of any of the above network element configuring methods.

In a sixth aspect, a computer readable medium is provided, which stores a computer program executable by a computing device, and when the program is run on the computing device, the computer program causes the computing device to execute the steps of any of the above network element configuring methods.

In the network element configuration method, device and storage medium provided by the embodiment of the invention, the network element to be registered sends the registration request to the network management system, the network management system allocates the network management identifier to the network element to be registered, and the network element to be registered is managed through the network management identifier, so that the cross-manufacturer network element management can be realized, and the network element management efficiency and accuracy are improved.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention and not to limit the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network management architecture in the prior art;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation flow of a network element configuration method implemented by a network management system side in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a process of distributing a network management identifier to a CU or a DU by an NMS in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of CU and DU management models according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an implementation flow of a network element configuration method implemented by a network element side in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a first network element configuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a second network element configuring apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computing device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

In order to realize cross-manufacturer CU/DU management and improve CU/DU management efficiency and accuracy aiming at an application scene of 5G CU/DU separation deployment, the embodiment of the invention provides a network element configuration method, a device and a storage medium.

Reference herein to "a plurality or a number" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which 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.

The embodiment of the invention provides a 5G CU and DU distributed NMS/EMS management method, which defines the distribution method of network management identification by using the parameters of the GnRM and the GnRM of the CU, so that the EMS can independently manage the CU and the DU and better support the management of the CU and the DU of a manufacturer.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the specification, it being understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are merely for illustrating and explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention, and that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present invention may be combined with each other without conflict.

As shown in fig. 2, it is a schematic diagram of an implementation flow of a network element configuration method implemented by a network management system side according to an embodiment of the present invention, and includes the following steps:

and S21, receiving the network element registration request.

In specific implementation, a network element registration request is sent to a Network Management System (NMS) through a network element to be registered, the NMS distributes a network management identifier for the network element, the network management identifier is unique in the network management system, and the NMS manages the network element through the network management identifier. And carrying the network element identification of the network element to be registered in the received network element registration request. In a specific implementation, the network element identifier may be, but is not limited to, an OAM (operation administration and maintenance) IP (internet protocol) address of the network element to be registered.

S22, aiming at the received network element registration request, distributing a network management identification for the network element to be registered.

And after receiving the network element registration request, the NMS distributes a network management identifier for the network element to be registered.

S23, sending the network management identification distributed for the network element to be registered to the requesting party.

In specific implementation, the network elements to be registered may be CUs and DUs in the 5G network communication system, and based on this, in step S21, the NMS receives the network element registration request sent by the CUs or the DUs through the EMS to which the CUs belongs. In step S23, the NMS sends to the EMS the network management identity allocated to the CU or DU, the network management identity allocated to the CU or DU is configured by the EMS, and the CU or DU stores the network management identity configured by the EMS, as shown in fig. 3, which is a flowchart illustrating how the NMS allocates the network management identity to the CU or DU. As shown in fig. 4, which is a schematic diagram of a CU and DU management model according to an embodiment of the present invention, in the CU or DU management model according to an embodiment of the present invention, a gNB CU (including a CU-CP and a CU-UP) and a gNB DU have independent network management identities for managing a system and expose an OAM IP, respectively, and the gNB CU and the gNB DU are managed by an independent device management system (EMS), respectively, so that the NMS can perform FCAPS (Fault Configuration access performance and Security) management on the CU and the DU at a finer granularity.

In order to further enhance management of CUs and DUs, in the embodiment of the present invention, a network element OAM IP address and a network management identifier are added to an NRM (network resource model) of the CUs and DUs. And carrying the OAMIP address as the network element identifier in the interactive message of the network element, the NMS and the EMS.

As shown in table 1, it is a table showing parameters of a gNB DU Function (base station distributed unit Function) provided in an embodiment of the present invention:

TABLE 1

Parameter name	Whether or not it is necessary to
		gNB DU ID	Must be provided with
gNB DU Name	Optionally
		gNB ID	Must be provided with
DU OAM ID	Must choose
		OAM IP Address	Must choose

Wherein, the gNB DU ID represents a DU identifier, the gNB DU Name represents a DU Name, the gNB ID represents a base station identifier, the DUOAM ID represents a network management identifier allocated to the DU, and the OAM IP Address represents an operation, management and maintenance IP Address corresponding to the DU.

As shown in table 2, it is a table of parameters of a gNB CU CP Function (base station centralized unit control plane Function) provided in the embodiment of the present invention:

TABLE 2

Parameter name	Whether or not it is necessary to
		gNB ID	Must be provided with
gNB CU Name	Optionally
		PLMN IDList	Must be provided with
CU CP OAM ID	Must choose
		OAM IP Address	Must choose

Wherein, the gNB ID represents a base station identifier, the gNB CU Name represents a CU Name, the P L MN ID L ist represents a public land mobile network identifier list, the CU CP OAM ID represents a network management identifier allocated by the CU CP, and the OAM IP Address represents an operation, management and maintenance IP Address of the CU CP.

As shown in table 3, it is a parameter table illustration of a gNB CU UP Function (base station centralized unit user plane Function) provided in the embodiment of the present invention:

TABLE 3

Parameter name	Whether or not it is necessary to
		PLMN ID List	Must be provided with
gNB ID	Must be provided with
		CU UP OAM ID	Must be provided with
OAM ID Address	Must choose

Wherein, P L MN ID L ist represents a public land mobile network identifier list, gNB ID represents a base station identifier, CUUP OAM ID represents a network management identifier allocated for CU UP, and OAM IP Address represents an operation, management and maintenance IP Address of CU UP.

In the network element configuration method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the management models of NMS, EMS, gNB CU and gNB DU are defined, so that the FCAPS management of gNB CU and DU of different manufacturers can be realized, and the management efficiency and accuracy of CU and DU of different manufacturers are improved.

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present invention further provide a network element configuration method implemented by the network element side and a corresponding network element configuration device, and because the principle of solving the problem by the above device and method is similar to the network element configuration method implemented by the network management system side, the implementation of the above device and method can refer to the implementation of the network element configuration method implemented by the management system side, and repeated details are omitted.

As shown in fig. 5, it is a schematic implementation flow diagram of a network element configuration method implemented at a far side of a network, and includes the following steps:

and S51, sending a network element registration request to the NMS.

Wherein, the network element registration request carries the network element identification of the network element to be registered.

And S52, receiving and storing the network management identification distributed by the NMS aiming at the network element registration request.

As shown in fig. 6, which is a schematic structural diagram of a first network element configuring apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present invention, including:

a receiving unit 61, configured to receive a network element registration request, where the network element registration request carries a network element identifier of a to-be-registered network element;

an allocating unit 62, configured to allocate a network management identifier to the network element to be registered, according to the network element registration request;

a sending unit 63, configured to send the network management identifier allocated to the network element to be registered to the requester.

As shown in fig. 7, which is a schematic structural diagram of a second network element configuring apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present invention, including:

a sending unit 71, configured to send a network element registration request to a network management system NMS, where the network element registration request carries a network element identifier of a network element to be registered;

a receiving unit 72, configured to receive the network management identifier allocated by the NMS for the network element registration request;

a storage unit 73, configured to store the network management identifier.

For convenience of description, the above parts are separately described as modules (or units) according to functional division. Of course, the functionality of the various modules (or units) may be implemented in the same or in multiple pieces of software or hardware in practicing the invention.

Having described the network element configuring method and apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a computing apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described next.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or program product. Thus, various aspects of the invention may be embodied in the form of: an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, microcode, etc.) or an embodiment combining hardware and software aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," module "or" system.

In some possible embodiments, a computing device according to the present invention may include at least one processor, and at least one memory. Wherein the memory stores program code which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the steps of the network element configuring method according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described above in this specification. For example, the processor may execute step S21 shown in fig. 2, receiving a network element registration request, and step S22, allocating a network management identifier to the network element to be registered for the received network element registration request; step S23, sending the network management identification distributed for the network element to be registered to the request party; or executing step S51 shown in fig. 5, sending a network element registration request to the NMS; and step S52, receiving and storing the network management identification distributed by the NMS for the network element registration request.

The computing device 80 according to this embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to fig. 8. The computing device 80 shown in fig. 8 is only an example and should not impose any limitations on the functionality or scope of use of embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 8, the computing apparatus 80 is in the form of a general purpose computing device. Components of computing device 80 may include, but are not limited to: the at least one processor 81, the at least one memory 82, and a bus 83 connecting the various system components including the memory 82 and the processor 81.

Bus 83 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a processor, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

The memory 82 may include readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as Random Access Memory (RAM)821 and/or cache memory 822, and may further include Read Only Memory (ROM) 823.

Memory 82 may also include a program/utility 825 having a set (at least one) of program modules 824, such program modules 824 including, but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which, or some combination thereof, may comprise an implementation of a network environment.

Computing device 80 may also communicate with one or more external devices 84 (e.g., keyboard, pointing device, etc.), as well as with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computing device 80, and/or with any device (e.g., router, modem, etc.) that enables computing device 80 to communicate with one or more other computing devices, such communication may occur via input/output (I/O) interfaces 85. also, computing device 80 may communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area network (L AN), Wide Area Network (WAN) and/or a public network, such as the Internet) via network adapter 86. As shown, network adapter 86 communicates with other modules for computing device 80 via bus 83. it should be understood, although not shown, that other hardware and/or software modules may be used in conjunction with computing device 80, including, but not limited to, microcode, device drivers, redundant processors, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems, etc.

In some possible embodiments, the various aspects of the network element configuring method provided by the present invention may also be implemented in the form of a program product, which includes program code for causing a computer device to execute the steps in the network element configuring method according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described above in this specification when the program product runs on the computer device, for example, the computer device may execute step S21 shown in fig. 2, receive a network element registration request, and step S22, allocate a network management identity to a network element to be registered for the received network element registration request; step S23, sending the network management identification distributed for the network element to be registered to the request party; or executing step S51 shown in fig. 5, sending a network element registration request to the NMS; and step S52, receiving and storing the network management identification distributed by the NMS for the network element registration request.

The program product may employ any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the readable storage medium include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

The program product for network element provisioning of embodiments of the present invention may employ a portable compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and may be run on a computing device. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited in this regard and, in the present document, a readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

A readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated data signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium that is not a readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including AN object oriented programming language such as Java, C + +, or the like, as well as conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" language or similar programming languages.

It should be noted that although several units or sub-units of the apparatus are mentioned in the above detailed description, such division is merely exemplary and not mandatory. Indeed, the features and functions of two or more of the units described above may be embodied in one unit, according to embodiments of the invention. Conversely, the features and functions of one unit described above may be further divided into embodiments by a plurality of units.

Moreover, while the operations of the method of the invention are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this does not require or imply that the operations must be performed in this particular order, or that all of the illustrated operations must be performed, to achieve desirable results. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps combined into one step execution, and/or one step broken down into multiple step executions.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention 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 invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. 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 preferred embodiments of the present invention 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 such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

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

Claims

1. A method for configuring a network element, comprising:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the network element to be registered comprises a distributed unit to be registered DU or a centralized unit CU; and

receiving a network element registration request, comprising:

3. The method of claim 2, wherein sending the network management identifier allocated to the network element to be registered to the requester specifically includes:

4. A method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the network element identity comprises an operation, administration, maintenance, OAM, internet protocol, IP address of the registered network element.

5. A method for configuring a network element, comprising:

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the network element to be registered comprises a distributed unit to be registered DU or a centralized unit CU; and

7. A method according to claim 6, in which the network management identity is configured by the EMS in accordance with a network management identity sent by the NMS.

8. The method according to claim 5, 6 or 7, wherein the network element identification comprises an operation, administration, maintenance, OAM, Internet protocol, IP, address of the registered network element.

9. An apparatus for configuring a network element, comprising:

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the network element to be registered comprises a distributed unit to be registered DU or a centralized unit CU; and

11. The apparatus of claim 10,

the sending unit is specifically configured to send, to the EMS, a network management identifier allocated to the CU or DU, where the EMS configures, for the CU or DU, the network management identifier allocated to the CU or DU.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9, 10 or 11, wherein the network element identification comprises an operation, administration, maintenance, OAM, internet protocol, IP address of the registered network element.

13. An apparatus for configuring a network element, comprising:

and the storage unit is used for storing the network management identifier.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the network element to be registered comprises a distributed unit to be registered DU or a centralized unit CU; and

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the network management identity is configured by the EMS according to a network management identity sent by the NMS.

16. The apparatus according to claim 13, 14 or 15, wherein the network element identification comprises an operation, administration, maintenance, OAM, internet protocol, IP address of the registered network element.

17. A computing device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores a computer program that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform the steps of the method of any of claims 1 to 8.

18. A computer-readable medium, in which a computer program is stored which is executable by a computing device, the program, when run on the computing device, causing the computing device to perform the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.