CN117478513A

CN117478513A - Method, device and equipment for managing and arranging network slices

Info

Publication number: CN117478513A
Application number: CN202210858536.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘险峰
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-07-20
Filing date: 2022-07-20
Publication date: 2024-01-30

Abstract

The invention discloses a method, a device and equipment for managing and arranging network slices, which are used for effectively incorporating the existing network functions of non-MNAO instantiation in a network into the automatic management and arrangement of the network slices, thereby improving the utilization rate of network resources and the efficiency of slice management and arrangement. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring related information of each network function which is established and not managed by the network slice management function; screening target network functions meeting the service requirements from the network functions according to the service requirements of the network slices and the related information of the network functions; performing management related to the network slice on the target network function.

Description

Method, device and equipment for managing and arranging network slices

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of network slicing technologies, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a device for managing and arranging network slices.

Background

The end-to-end network slicing requirement is decomposed into slicing sub-network requirements of a wireless, a bearing network and a core network, and the management and arrangement of the slicing sub-network are completed by each slicing sub-network management function (Network Slice Subnet Management Function, NSSMF). For the core Network domain, a sliced subnetwork management function (NSSMF) converts resource requirements of the sliced subnetwork into Network Services (NS), and issues instantiation/update/termination requests of the Network Services (NS) to a Network Function Virtualization Orchestrator (NFVO) function of a Network function virtualization (Network Function Virtualization, NFV) management and orchestration system (MANO).

While at the time of actual deployment there may be a built Network Function (NF) that is not instantiated by the MNAO, for example, a user plane network function (UPF) in hardware form may be used for a specific customer and/or a specific service. Especially for user plane requirements, such as high forwarding performance, UPFs are usually deployed on dedicated servers in advance and provided in the form of an integrated machine. The slice subnet management function (NSSMF) cannot acquire such a built Network Function (NF) through the NFV management and orchestration system (MANO), and thus orchestrate and manage the slice subnets.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a method, a device and equipment for managing and arranging network slices, which are used for effectively incorporating a non-MNAO-instantiated Network Function (NF) existing in a network into the automatic management and arrangement of the network slices, thereby improving the utilization rate of network resources and the efficiency of slice management and arrangement.

In a first aspect, a method for managing and arranging network slices provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes:

acquiring related information of each network function which is established and not managed by the network slice management function from a network management system;

screening target network functions meeting the service requirements from the network functions according to the service requirements of the network slices and the related information of the network functions;

Performing management related to the network slice on the target network function.

According to the network slice management and arrangement method, the network functions existing in the network can be effectively utilized in the network slice management and arrangement through the management (namely management) of the network functions existing in the network, and the utilization rate of network resources and the efficiency of slice management and arrangement are improved.

As an optional implementation manner, the acquiring, from the network management system, related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function includes:

and acquiring related information of each network function which is established and not managed by the network slice management function from the network management system.

receiving a network function list sent by the network management system, wherein the network function list comprises all established network functions and related information of all the established network functions;

and determining relevant information of each network function which is not managed by the network slice management function from the network function list.

As an optional implementation manner, after the acquiring the related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function, the method further includes:

storing the related information of each network function;

the screening the target network functions meeting the service requirement from the network functions comprises the following steps:

and when the network slice is created or updated, screening out the target network functions meeting the service requirements from the stored network functions.

As an alternative embodiment, further comprising:

determining a network management system corresponding to the related information of the target network function, and establishing and storing the association relation between the target network function and the network management system; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

and determining a network management system corresponding to the relevant information of each network function, and establishing and storing at least one association relation between the network function and the network management system.

As an alternative embodiment, the method further comprises:

setting a nanotube identifier of the target network function; and/or the number of the groups of groups,

and establishing and storing the association relation between the network slice and the target network function.

As an optional implementation manner, after the target network functions meeting the service requirement are screened out from the network functions, the method further includes:

Indicating the network management system that the target network function has been managed by the network slice management function.

As an alternative embodiment, the performing management related to the network slice on the target network function includes:

and initializing and configuring the data parameters and the service parameters of the target network function.

and in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the service requirement of the modified network slice, indicating the network management system that the target network function is not managed by the network slice management function.

As an alternative embodiment, in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic requirement of the modified network slice, the management related to the network slice is performed on the target network function by any one or more of the following ways:

deleting the stored related information of the target network function; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

deleting the stored association relation between the target network function and the network management system; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

And deleting the stored association relationship between the network slice and the target network function.

As an alternative embodiment, in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the service requirement of the modified network slice, the method further includes:

screening target network functions meeting the service requirements of the modified network slices from the network functions according to the service requirements of the modified network slices and the related information of the network functions;

and executing management related to the network slice on the target network functions meeting the service requirements of the modified network slice.

in the case where the network slice is terminated and the target network function is not used by other network slices than the terminated network slice, the network management system is instructed not to manage the target network function by the network slice management function.

Generating a configuration script of the target network function according to the service requirement of the network slice, wherein the configuration script characterizes configuration information related to the service requirement;

and sending the configuration script to the network management system to instruct the network management system to update the configuration information of the target network function based on the configuration script.

As an optional implementation manner, the performing management related to the network slice on the target network function further includes:

receiving the update information of the target network function sent by a network management system, and determining configuration information irrelevant to the service requirement of the network slice in the update information;

and notifying a network management system to update parameters corresponding to the target network function according to configuration information irrelevant to the service requirement of the network slice.

In a second aspect, an apparatus for managing and arranging network slices provided by an embodiment of the present invention includes:

an acquiring network element unit, configured to acquire related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function;

a screening network element unit, configured to screen out a target network function that meets the service requirement from the network functions according to the service requirement of the network slice and the related information of the network functions;

And the slice management unit is used for performing management related to the network slice on the target network function.

As an optional implementation manner, the acquiring network element unit is specifically configured to:

As an optional implementation manner, after the slave network management system acquires the related information of each network function which is established and not managed by the network slice management function, the acquiring network element unit is specifically further configured to:

storing the related information of each network function;

As an alternative embodiment, the screening network element unit is specifically further configured to:

As an optional implementation manner, after the screening the target network functions that meet the service requirement from the network functions, the screening network element unit is specifically further configured to:

As an alternative embodiment, the slice management unit is specifically configured to:

As an alternative embodiment, in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic requirement of the modified network slice, the slice management unit is specifically configured to perform management related to the network slice on the target network function by any one or more of the following manners:

As an alternative embodiment, in case the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic demand of the modified network slice, the slice management unit is specifically further configured to:

As an alternative embodiment, the slice management unit is specifically further configured to:

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network slice management and arrangement apparatus, the apparatus including a processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store a program executable by the processor, the processor being configured to read the program in the memory and perform the steps of:

acquiring related information of each network function which is established and not managed by the network slice management function;

As an alternative embodiment, the processor is specifically configured to perform:

As an alternative embodiment, after the slave network management system obtains the related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function, the processor is specifically further configured to perform:

storing the related information of each network function;

As an alternative embodiment, the processor is specifically further configured to perform:

As an optional implementation manner, after the screening the target network functions that meet the service requirement from the respective network functions, the processor is specifically further configured to perform:

As an alternative embodiment, in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic requirement of the modified network slice, the processor is specifically configured to perform the management related to the network slice on the target network function by any one or more of the following:

As an alternative embodiment, in case the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic demand of the modified network slice, the processor is specifically further configured to perform:

In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for carrying out the steps of the method of the first aspect described above when executed by a processor.

These and other aspects of the present application will be more readily apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings that are needed in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below, it will be apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and that other drawings can be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a slice management and organization framework according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a relationship between management levels and management objects according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flow chart of current core network slice subnet creation provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for managing network slices according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a network slice management and orchestration system according to an embodiment of the present invention to obtain information about a network function;

fig. 6 is a flowchart for creating a core network slice subnet example according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of an example update of a core network slice subnet according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of an example termination of a core network slice subnet according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for managing and arranging network slices according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a device for managing and arranging network slices according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

In the embodiment of the invention, the term "and/or" describes the association relation of the association objects, which means that three relations can exist, for example, a and/or B can be expressed as follows: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character "/" generally indicates that the context-dependent object is an "or" relationship.

The application scenario described in the embodiment of the present invention is for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art can know that the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention is applicable to similar technical problems as the new application scenario appears. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise indicated, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more.

Network slicing is one of the key technologies of 5G. For the slice management and orchestration framework of mobile networks, the 3gpp SA5 working group defines three levels of management functions towards deployment: the present embodiment provides a framework schematic diagram of slice management and orchestration, as shown in fig. 1, in which the Communication Service Management Function (CSMF) is used to convert the communication service requirements into the network slice requirements for the NSMF; the Network Slice Management Function (NSMF) is used for decomposing the SLA (Service-Level Agreement) requirement of the network slice into the SLA requirement of the network slice subnet, and issuing a network slice subnet deployment request to the NSSMF; the Network Slicing Subnet Management Function (NSSMF) is configured to receive the deployment requirement of the network slicing subnet issued from the NSMF, convert the SLA requirement of the network slicing subnet into a network function service parameter, and issue the network function. For the core network field, converting the resource requirement of the network slicing sub-network into network service, and issuing a deployment request of the network service to the NFVO function of the NFV orchestrator; NSSMF and NFVO (NFV biochemistry orchestrator) are connected through Os-Ma-NFVO interface, NFMF (NF Management function, network function management function) and VNFM (VNF Manager, virtual network function management) are connected through Ve-Vnfm-em interface, VNF (virtual network function and) VNFM is connected through Ve-Vnfm-VNF interface; NFVO and VIM (Virtualized Infrasructure Manager, virtualized architecture manager) are connected by an Or-Vi interface, where the combination of CSMF, NSMF, NSSMF may be referred to as slice management and orchestration. As shown in fig. 2, the present embodiment further provides a schematic diagram of a relationship between each management level and a management object, where the network slice includes AN-NSS (wireless slice subnet), TN-NSS (carrier network slice subnet), CN-NSS (core network slice subnet instance), and CN-NSS includes a plurality of NS (network services), and the network slice is managed by NSMF, the slice subnet is managed by NSSMF, the network service is managed by NFVO, and the VNF is managed by VNFM (virtual network function).

At present, the end-to-end network slicing requirement is decomposed into slicing sub-network requirements of a wireless, a bearing network and a core network, and the management and arrangement of the slicing sub-network are completed by each slicing sub-network management function (NSSMF). For the core network domain, a sliced subnetwork management function (NSSMF) converts the resource requirements of the sliced subnetwork into Network Services (NS), issuing instantiation/update/termination requests of the Network Services (NS) to the NFVO function of the NFV management and orchestration system (MANO). As shown in fig. 3, the current core network slice subnet creation flow is briefly described as follows:

step 300, CN NSSMF receives a slicing subnet creation request, carrying S-NSSAI, NSI ID and attribute parameters of a core network slicing subnet;

the user creates a core network subnet of the network slice in the CN NSSMF and sends the core network subnet to the CN NSSMF, and the created slice subnet creation request comprises S-NSSAI (network slice service identifier), NSI ID (network slice instance identifier) and attribute parameters (SliceProrofile) of the core network slice subnet.

Step 301, the CN NSSMF checks the validity of the request for creating the subnet of the slice;

and carrying out validity and integrity check on the subnet creation request, and checking the validity of parameters carried in the subnet creation request.

Step 302, CN NSSMF creates NSSI ID, generates the example information of the slicing subnet, records the binding relation between NSI ID and NSSI ID;

and if the necessity of newly creating the slicing subnet instance is judged according to the slicing subnet attribute information carried in the subnet creation request, creating an NSSI slicing instance record, generating an NSSI ID, and recording the binding relation between the NSSI ID and the NSI ID.

Step 303a, CN NSSMF uploads VNF images, VNF packets, PNFD, and NSD to NFVO;

wherein the dynamic creation of virtual resources needs to be done through the orchestration capabilities of the network services of the NFV orchestrator NFVO. The NSSMF obtains the corresponding NSD ID from the NSST, and uploads the NSD and the mirror image of the VNF, VNF package and PNFD involved in the NSD to the NFV orchestrator NFVO through the interface of the NFV orchestrator NFVO (this step may be avoided if the NSD, VNF package and PNFD have already been uploaded to the NFV orchestrator NFVO at the time of the preparation phase or the previous slice subnetwork creation).

Step 303b, NFVO distributes VNF images to VIM and VNF packages to VNFM.

Wherein this step may not be performed if the mirror and VNF packages have been distributed to the VIM and VNFM.

Step 304, CN NSSMF sends an instantiation network service request to NFVO, carrying NSD ID (network service description file identifier);

Step 305, NFVO completes network service instantiation;

step 306, NFVO returns an instantiation result to CN NSSMF and carries NS ID (network service instance identifier);

step 307, the CN NSSMF records the binding relationship between the nsi ID and the NS ID;

step 308, completing the basic configuration, the configuration of the opening data and the service configuration related to the slicing of the VNF;

and for the newly created VNF instance in NSSI, completing the basic configuration, the configuration of the opening data and the service configuration related to the slicing of the VNF. For the VNF instances and PNFs that have been instantiated in NSSI (specifically, VNF instances and PNFs included in Network Services (NS) that may be acquired through MANO), slice-related provisioning data configuration and traffic configuration of these NFs are completed.

Step 309, the CN NSSMF waits for all NFs to complete configuration during the configuration of NFs included in the NSSI;

step 310, the NF itself or the NFMF determines that the NF completes configuration, and notifies the CN NSSMF when entering a service available state;

the NF itself or the NFMF judges whether the NF completes configuration, enters a service available (network slice function can be started) state when the NF is determined to complete configuration, and notifies the CN NSSMF when the service available state is reached, so that the CN NSSMF can continue to process the slice related service of the NF.

Step 311, CN NSSMF issues the created new NSI ID, S-nsai ID and binding relation between them to NF contained in NSSI, or issues related configuration through NFMF to which NF belongs.

Step 312, CN NSSMF returns the creation result carrying NSSI ID to the user.

The user may be an operator who specifically operates NSSMF or a management function system of a previous stage (for example, NSMF).

At the time of actual deployment, there may be non-MNAO instantiated Network Functions (NF), e.g. user plane network functions UPF in hardware form may be used for specific customers and/or specific services. Especially for user plane requirements, such as high forwarding performance, UPFs are usually deployed on dedicated servers in advance and provided in the form of an integrated machine. As can be seen from the above-mentioned core network slice subnet creation flow, the slice subnet management function (NSSMF) cannot acquire such a Network Function (NF) through the NFV management and orchestration system (MANO), so as to orchestrate and manage the slice subnets. The core network slicing subnet management function (CN-NSSMF) converts the resource requirement into the network service requirement according to the slicing subnet service requirement, and issues the management method of the deployment request of the network service to the NFVO function of the NFV management and orchestration system (MANO), which cannot effectively utilize the existing network functions in the network.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present embodiment provides a network slice management method, whose core idea is to obtain the information of the network functions (i.e. network elements) already managed (i.e. managed) by the network slice subnet management function from the network management system, and when creating or updating the network slice, screen the target network functions meeting the service requirements of the network slice from the network functions, thereby incorporating the Network Functions (NF) existing in the network into the network slice automation management and arrangement, and effectively utilizing the network functions existing in the network.

It should be noted that, the method for managing a network slice provided in this embodiment may be applied to a network slice management and arrangement system, where the network slice management and arrangement system includes at least one of CSMF, NSMF, NSSMF, that is, the method for managing a network slice provided in this embodiment may be applied to a network slice management device, such as NSMF, or may be applied to a network slice management and arrangement system composed of functions provided in CSMF, NSMF, NSSMF, which is not limited in this embodiment too.

The network slice management and arrangement system can correspond to one or more network management systems, namely, the network slice management and arrangement system can acquire network functions and related information thereof from one or more network management systems, and one network function is managed by one network management system.

As shown in fig. 4, an implementation flow of a method for managing network slices provided by an embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

step 400, obtaining the related information of each network function which is established and not managed by the network slice management function;

in some embodiments, the network slice management functions in this embodiment include network slice management and network slice orchestration functions, which may be implemented by the MANO, by any one or more combinations of CSMF, NSMF, NSSMF, and by any one or more combinations of MANO and CSMF, NSMF, NSSMF, which is not excessively limited in this embodiment.

The network slice management function in the present embodiment may be provided by the network slice management and orchestration system in the present embodiment.

In some embodiments, the information about the network function includes, but is not limited to: configuration information and/or topological relationships, wherein the configuration information includes, but is not limited to: at least one of location information, TA List of services (tracking area List), DNN List of support (Data Network Name List ), service capability of support; wherein the topological relation characterizes the connection relation between the network function and other network functions.

In some embodiments, information about each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function is obtained from a network management system.

In some embodiments, the network management system in this embodiment includes, but is not limited to: at least one of OSS (integrated service operation and management platform), EMS (network element management system), NFMF, and other devices implementing network element management functions, which is not excessively limited in this embodiment.

In implementation, the embodiment may acquire all established network functions and related information of the network functions from the network management system, and compare the network functions with the network functions locally managed by the network slice management function, and in the case that there is a network function inconsistent with the network functions locally managed by the network slice management function in the network management system, determine the inconsistent network function as the network function which is established and not managed by the network slice management function. The comparison mode may be to compare the identification information of the network function, and compare the information characterizing the uniqueness of the network function, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In some embodiments, relevant information for each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function is obtained from the network management system by:

(1) Receiving a network function list sent by the network management system, wherein the network function list comprises all established network functions and related information of all the established network functions;

(2) And determining relevant information of each network function which is not managed by the network slice management function from the network function list.

In some embodiments, after acquiring the related information of each network function which is established and not managed by the network slice management function from the network management system, the related information of each network function may also be saved; when creating a network slice or updating the network slice, a target network function meeting the service requirement is screened from the stored network functions according to the service requirement of the network slice and the related information of each network function.

In some embodiments, the relevant information of the various network functions that are established and not managed by the network slice management function may also be obtained in real time from the network management system each time a network slice is created or updated.

In some embodiments, after acquiring the related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function, the association relationship between each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function and the network management system may also be established and stored.

Step 401, screening out target network functions meeting the service requirements from the network functions according to the service requirements of the network slices and the related information of the network functions;

in some embodiments, when creating a network slice or updating a network slice, determining a service requirement of the network slice, and according to the service requirement of the network slice, screening out a target network function corresponding to the acquired related information of each network function, wherein the target network function corresponds to the related information meeting the service requirement.

In implementation, according to the service requirement of the network slice, the configuration information and the topology relation which meet the service requirement are screened out from the configuration information and the topology relation of each network function, and the network function corresponding to the configuration information and the topology relation which meet the service requirement is determined as the target network function.

In some embodiments, the network slice in the present embodiment includes, but is not limited to, at least one of a network slice instance NSI and a network slice subnet instance NSSI, which is not excessively limited by the present embodiment.

Step 402, performing management related to the network slice on the target network function.

Optionally, the network slice management and arrangement system determines the target network function which can be incorporated into the network slice instance or the slice subnet instance according to the service requirement of the network slice, the acquired configuration information and the topological relation of the target network function, records that the target network function is managed by the network slice management and arrangement system (incorporation management), and can store the target network function and related information thereof locally so as to facilitate the management and arrangement of the target network function related to the network slice.

In some embodiments, performing management related to the network slice on the target network function in this embodiment specifically includes: and initializing and configuring the data parameters and the service parameters of the target network function.

In practice, for a target network function that has been managed by the network slice management function, the configuration of the outgoing data and the configuration of the traffic of the network slice of the target network function are completed.

In some embodiments, after the target network functions meeting the service requirement are screened out from the network functions, a network management system corresponding to the relevant information of the target network functions can be determined, and the association relationship between the target network functions and the network management system is established and stored; or, determining the network management system corresponding to the related information of each network function, and establishing and storing at least one association relation between the network function and the network management system.

In implementation, the network slice management and arrangement system can acquire the network function and related information thereof from one or more network management systems, so that the network management system corresponding to the target network function can be determined according to the association relation between the target network function and the network management system, and the network management system corresponding to the target network function can be notified when the network slice is deleted or updated, or whether to accept the update of the target network function can be determined according to the update request of the network management system when the target network function is updated.

In some embodiments, after the target network functions satisfying the service requirement are selected from the network functions, the network slice management function is further used to indicate to the network management system that the target network functions have been managed by the network slice management function.

In the implementation, according to the association relation between the target network function and the network management system, the network management system associated with the target network function is determined, and the network slice management function is used for indicating that the target network function of the network management system associated with the target network function is managed.

In some embodiments, after the target network functions satisfying the service requirement are selected from the network functions, the method is further used for generating a configuration script of the target network functions according to the service requirement of the network slice, wherein the configuration script characterizes configuration information related to the service requirement; and sending the configuration script to the network management system to instruct the network management system to update the configuration information of the target network function based on the configuration script.

In implementation, a configuration script may be generated for a target Network Function (NF) including a Network Slice Instance (NSI) or a Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) by a network slice management and orchestration system according to a service requirement of a network slice or a network slice subnet, a network management system associated with the target network function is determined according to an association relationship between the target network function and the network management system, the configuration script is sent to the associated network management system, the network management system is instructed to update the configuration information of the target network function based on the configuration script, and the network management system may be instructed to manage the target network function of the network slice management function.

In some embodiments, after the target network functions satisfying the service requirement are selected from the network functions, the method is further used for setting a nanotube identifier of the target network function, so as to determine that the target network function is a network function managed by the network slice management function according to the nanotube identifier.

In practice, a target Network Function (NF) may be recorded by the network slice management and orchestration system, and a nanotube flag may be set to indicate to the network management system associated with the target network function that the target network function has been managed by the network slice management function (or network slice management function).

In some embodiments, after the target network functions meeting the service requirement are selected from the network functions, the method is further used for establishing and storing the association relationship between the network slice and the target network functions. In the implementation, the network slice management and arrangement system records the managed target network functions and the association relation between the target network functions and the network slice instance or the slice subnet instance.

It should be noted that, the network slice management function in this embodiment may be provided by the network slice management and orchestration system, and the implementation of the network slice management function in the method of this embodiment may be implemented by the network slice management and orchestration system.

In some embodiments, the present embodiment performs the following management on the target network function in relation to the network slice:

and in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the service requirement of the modified network slice, indicating the network management system that the target network function is no longer managed by the network slice management function.

In some embodiments, in the event that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic requirements of the modified network slice, the management related to the network slice is performed on the target network function by any one or more of:

(1) Deleting the stored related information of the target network function;

in an implementation, when the network slice is modified, the target network function does not meet the service requirement of the modified network slice, the target network function is not used by other network slices, and the network slice management and arrangement system locally stores the related information of the target network function, the stored related information of the target network function is deleted.

(2) Deleting the stored association relation between the target network function and the network management system;

In implementation, when the network slice is modified, the target network function does not meet the service requirement of the modified network slice, the target network function is not used by other network slices, and the network slice management and arrangement system locally stores the association relationship between the target network function and the network management system, the stored association relationship between the target network function and the network management system is deleted.

(3) And deleting the stored association relationship between the network slice and the target network function.

In implementation, when the network slice is modified, the target network function does not meet the service requirement of the modified network slice, and the network slice management and arrangement system locally stores the association relationship between the network slice and the target network function, the stored association relationship between the network slice and the target network function is deleted.

In some implementations, when the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the service requirement of the modified network slice, the target network function meeting the service requirement of the modified network slice may be further selected from the network functions according to the service requirement of the modified network slice and the related information of the network functions; and executing management related to the network slice on the target network functions meeting the service requirements of the modified network slice.

In one embodiment, the network slice management and arrangement system stores the related information of each network function obtained from the network management system, and at this time, the target network function meeting the service requirement of the modified network slice can be screened from the stored related information of each network function, and if the target network function meeting the service requirement of the modified network slice is not screened from the stored related information of each network function, the related information of each network function can be obtained from the network management system in real time, and the screening can be performed from the related information of each network function. In another case, each time a network slice is created, updated, and modified, relevant information of each network function is obtained from the network management system in real time, and the target network function of the service requirement of the modified network slice is satisfied from the relevant information of each network function.

In some embodiments, performing management related to the network slice on the target network function specifically includes:

In implementation, in the case that the network management system receives the indication that the target network function is not managed by the network slice management function, the network management system may determine whether to accept update, modification, and the like of the target network function, without notifying the network slice management function or waiting for the indication of the network slice management function.

In some embodiments, the method further includes performing management related to the network slice on the target network function, and further configured to receive update information of the target network function sent by a network management system, and determine configuration information in the update information, which is irrelevant to a service requirement of the network slice; and notifying a network management system to update parameters corresponding to the target network function according to configuration information irrelevant to the service requirement of the network slice.

In practice, the network management system may determine a subsequent management action according to an indication that the target network function is managed by the network slice management function, for example, prohibit the third party from performing configuration update on the target network function, or receive a partial configuration update (a configuration update unrelated to a service requirement of the network slice) of the third party and notify the network slice management and orchestration system. The network slice management and arrangement system can also determine which of the update information is the configuration information irrelevant to the service requirement of the network slice, thereby receiving the configuration information and informing the network management system to update the parameters corresponding to the target network function.

As shown in fig. 5, the embodiment further provides a flowchart for acquiring information related to a network function of a network slice management and orchestration system, where the specific implementation process is as follows:

step 500, the network slice management and arrangement system sends a request for inquiring NF to the network management system;

for example, CN NSSMF sends a request to NFMF to query NF.

Step 501, the network management system returns a locally managed NF list to the slice management and orchestration system;

the NF list comprises established network functions and related information of the established network functions;

step 502, the network slice management and orchestration system determines NF identifications of all non-nanotubes;

the network slice management and arrangement system queries the locally stored network slice instance or the slice subnet instance and the information of the NFs and compares the information with NFs in the NF list, and when the NFs in the list are not in the network slice management and arrangement system, the NFs in the list and not in the network slice management and arrangement system are determined to be the NFs without nanotubes, and the NF identifications without nanotubes are determined.

Step 503, the network slice management and arrangement system sends a request for inquiring the NF information of the non-nanotube to the network management system, wherein the request carries the NF identification of the non-nanotube and can also carry the option to be inquired;

Step 504, the network management system returns relevant information of the non-managed NF, including configuration information and topological relation of the NF;

step 505, the network slice management and orchestration system stores related information of the NF without nanotubes, and association relation between the NF without nanotubes and the network management system.

As shown in fig. 6, the present embodiment uses CN NSSMF as a network slice management and arrangement system and NFMF as a network management system, and further provides a core network slice subnet instance creation flow, where specific implementation steps of the flow are as follows:

step 600, CN NSSMF receives a slicing subnet creation request, carrying S-NSSAI, NSI ID and attribute parameters of a core network slicing subnet;

step 601, CN NSSMF checks the validity of the request for creating the subnet of the slice;

step 602, CN NSSMF obtains the configuration information and the topological relation of each NF which are established and not managed by CN NSSMF from NFMF, and establishes and stores the association relation of each NF and NFMF respectively;

step 603, CN NSSMF creates NSI ID, generates a slicing subnet instance information, records the binding relationship between NSI ID and NSI ID, and determines the target NF meeting the service requirement according to the configuration information and topology relationship of each NF of the slicing subnet;

When the CN NSSMF determines that a slicing subnet instance needs to be created according to the service requirement of the attribute parameters of the core network slicing subnet, creating slicing subnet instance information, generating NSSI ID, and recording the binding relation between NSSI ID and NSI ID; and determining a target NF meeting the service requirement according to the configuration information and the topological relation of each NF according to the service requirement of the slicing subnet.

Step 604a, CN NSSMF uploads VNF images, VNF packets, PNFD, and NSD to NFVO;

step 604b, NFVO distributes VNF images to VIMs and VNF packages to VNFM.

Step 605, CN NSSMF sends an instantiation network service request to NFVO, carrying NSD ID;

step 606, NFVO completes network service instantiation;

step 607, NFVO returns an instantiation result to CN NSSMF and carries NS ID;

step 608, the CN NSSMF records the binding relationship between the nsi ID and the NS ID, records the corresponding relationship between the target NF and the nsi, and sets the nanotube identifier of the target NF;

step 609, completing the basic configuration, the configuration of the opening data and the service configuration related to the slice of the VNF, and for the target NF of the nano tube in the NSSI, completing the configuration of the opening data and the service configuration of the target NF, and indicating that the target NF of the NFMF has been managed (or managed) by the CN NSSMF nano tube.

Step 610, the CN NSSMF waits for all NFs to complete configuration during the configuration of NFs included in the NSSI;

step 611, the NF itself or the NFMF determines that the NF completes configuration, and notifies the CN NSSMF when entering a service available state;

step 612, the CN NSSMF issues the created new NSI ID and S-nsai ID and the binding relationship between them to NF contained in the NSSI; or issue related configurations through NFMF to which NF belongs.

Step 613, CN NSSMF returns the creation result carrying NSSI ID to the user.

Wherein the user may be an operator specifically operating NSSMF or a superior management function system (e.g., NSMF).

As shown in fig. 7, in this embodiment, CN NSSMF is used as a network slice management and arrangement system, NFMF is used as a network management system, and a core network slice subnet instance update flow is further provided, and specific implementation steps of the flow are as follows:

step 700, CN NSSMF receives a slice subnet modification request, and carries S-NSSAI, NSI ID, NSSI ID and attribute parameters of a new core network slice subnet;

step 701, CN NSSMF checks the validity of the modification request of the subnet;

the CN NSSMF determines whether a slice subnet instance corresponding to the nsi ID exists, and returns failure when determining that the NSSI corresponding to the nsi ID cannot be found.

Step 702, CN NSSMF analyzes NSSI instance content to be updated according to service requirements of attribute parameters of the new core network slicing subnet;

NSSI instance content that needs to be updated includes, but is not limited to: a resource portion and a configuration portion. Wherein the updating of the resource part mainly comprises updating of a network service Instance NS Instance contained in NSSI; the update of the configuration section mainly includes an update of the configuration of NFs included in NSSI instances.

Step 703, CN NSSMF determines that the service requirement of the attribute parameter of the new core network slice subnet needs to be satisfied by updating NF;

step 704, the CN NSSMF acquires the configuration information and the topological relation of each NF which are established and not managed by the CN NSSMF from the NFMF, and establishes and stores the association relation of each NF and the NFMF respectively;

step 705, CN NSSMF determines new target NF meeting the service requirement according to the service requirement of the new core network slicing subnet, the configuration information and topological relation of each NF which is established and not managed;

step 706, CN NSSMF deletes old NF identification that does not meet the service requirement of the new core network slice subnet, deletes the configuration of the opening data and the service configuration of the old NF, and instructs NFMF that the old NF is no longer managed by NSSMF;

Step 707, CN NSSMF records new target NF mark, and sets the nanotube mark of new target NF; and completing the configuration of the opening data and the service of the new target NF mark, and indicating the NFMF that the network function is already managed by the NSSMF.

Step 708, CN NSSMF updates the new target NF instance contained in the NSSI instance through NFVO.

Wherein the update operation includes scaling of the network service (NS scaling also includes scaling for VNF instances). The NF configuration can also be updated according to the requirements to meet the service requirements of the attribute parameters of the new core network slice subnetwork of the NSSI instance.

Step 709, CN NSSMF issues updating of the relevant opening data configuration and service configuration of the slice to the new target NF through NFMF based on the configuration script.

Step 710, CN NSSMF updates the attribute parameters of the core network slice subnet of the NSSI instance.

Step 711, NSSMF returns the update result to the user.

As shown in fig. 8, in this embodiment, CN NSSMF is used as a network slice management and arrangement system, NFMF is used as a network management system, and a core network slice subnet instance termination flow is further provided, where specific implementation steps of the flow are as follows:

Step 800, a CN NSSMF slicing subnet termination request carries NSI ID and NSSI ID;

the user terminates the slicing subnet instance in the CN NSSMF, and designates the slicing subnet instance NSSI ID needing to be terminated and the corresponding network slicing instance NSI ID thereof in the termination request. Wherein the NSI ID parameter is optional, if not specified by the user, indicates that the NSI will be terminated even if it is shared by multiple NSI instances.

Step 801, CN NSSMF checks validity of the request for terminating the subnet;

and searching whether the corresponding NSSI exists according to the NSSI ID in the termination request, and returning a failure result that the NSSI does not exist if the corresponding NSSI cannot be found.

Step 802, if the NSI ID is in the termination request, deleting the binding relationship between the NSI ID and the corresponding NSI ID; and checks whether the NSSI is used by other NSIs, and NSSI used by other NSIs is not deleted.

The NSSI instance corresponding to the NSI ID is not deleted, but the NSSI instance may be changed (including a change on a resource or a service configuration) due to the deletion of the binding relationship between the NSSI and the NSI. The NSSMF determines whether the binding relationship between the deletion and the NSI needs to be changed for the NSSI instance, and details of the update procedure of the core network slice subnet instance are described in the foregoing, which is not repeated herein.

Step 803, the CN NSSMF updates the binding relationship between the NSI instance and the NSI, and deletes the binding of the NSI corresponding to the NSI ID.

Step 804, the CN NSSMF issues a delete slice instance related service configuration to the NF contained in the NSSI through the NFMF, and checks whether the NF contained in the NSSI is used by other NSSIs, if not, indicates that the NF is no longer used by the CN NSSMF nanotube.

Step 805, CN NSSMF terminates virtual resources corresponding to NSSI.

The CN NSSMF determines a corresponding network service instance NS ID according to NSSI and terminates virtual resources corresponding to NSSI.

Step 806, CN NSSMF sends a request for terminating the network service instance to NFVO, carrying NS ID.

Step 807, NFVO completes the operation flow of terminating the network service instance.

Step 808, NFVO returns the result of terminating the network service to CN NSSMF.

Step 809, CN NSSMF deletes the local NSSI record.

Step 810, CN NSSMF returns termination result to user.

According to the network slice management and arrangement method, the existing network functions in the network can be effectively utilized in the network slice management and arrangement through the nano-tubes of the existing network functions in the network, and the utilization rate of network resources and the slice management and arrangement efficiency are improved.

Embodiment 2, based on the same inventive concept, the present invention further provides a device for managing and arranging network slices, and since the device is the device in the method in the embodiment of the present invention, and the principle of the device for solving the problem is similar to that of the method, the implementation of the device can refer to the implementation of the method, and the repetition is omitted.

As shown in fig. 9, the apparatus includes:

an acquiring network element unit 900, configured to acquire related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function;

a screening network element unit 901, configured to screen out a target network function that meets the service requirement from the network functions according to the service requirement of the network slice and the related information of each network function;

a slice management unit 902, configured to perform management related to the network slice on the target network function.

As an optional implementation manner, the acquiring network element unit 900 is specifically configured to:

As an optional implementation manner, after the slave network management system acquires the related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function, the acquiring network element unit 900 is specifically further configured to:

storing the related information of each network function;

As an optional implementation manner, the screening network element unit 901 is specifically further configured to:

As an optional implementation manner, after the screening the target network functions that meet the service requirement from the respective network functions, the screening network element unit 901 is specifically further configured to:

As an alternative embodiment, the slice management unit 902 is specifically configured to:

As an alternative embodiment, in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic requirement of the modified network slice, the slice management unit 902 is specifically configured to perform, on the target network function, management related to the network slice by any one or more of the following manners:

As an alternative embodiment, in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic requirement of the modified network slice, the slice management unit 902 is specifically further configured to:

As an alternative embodiment, the slice management unit 902 is specifically further configured to:

Embodiment 3, based on the same inventive concept, the present embodiment further provides a device for managing and arranging network slices, and since the device is the device in the method in the embodiment of the present invention, and the principle of the device for solving the problem is similar to that of the method, the implementation of the device can refer to the implementation of the method, and the repetition is omitted.

As shown in fig. 10, the apparatus includes a processor 1000 and a memory 1001, the memory 1001 is used for storing a program executable by the processor 1000, and the processor 1000 is used for reading the program in the memory 1001 and executing the steps of:

As an alternative embodiment, the processor 1000 is specifically configured to perform:

As an alternative embodiment, after the slave network management system obtains the related information of each network function that is already established and not managed by the network slice management function, the processor 1000 is specifically further configured to perform:

storing the related information of each network function;

As an alternative embodiment, the processor 1000 is specifically further configured to perform:

As an alternative embodiment, after the screening the target network functions from the respective network functions to meet the service requirement, the processor 1000 is specifically further configured to perform:

As an alternative embodiment, in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic requirement of the modified network slice, the processor 1000 is specifically configured to perform the management related to the network slice on the target network function by any one or more of the following:

As an alternative embodiment, in the case that the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic requirement of the modified network slice, the processor 1000 is specifically further configured to perform:

Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of:

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that 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, magnetic disk storage, 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 flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

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

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

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention also include such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method of network slice management, the method comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining information about each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function comprises:

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the acquiring, from the network management system, the related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function, comprises:

4. The method of claim 1, wherein after obtaining the related information of each network function that is established and not managed by the network slice management function, further comprising:

storing the related information of each network function;

and in the case of creating a network slice or updating the network slice, screening out target network functions meeting the service requirements from the stored network functions.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

7. The method of claim 1, wherein after the screening the target network functions from the respective network functions to meet the service requirement, further comprising:

8. The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein said performing management of said target network function in relation to said network slice comprises:

9. The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein in case the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic demand of the modified network slice, the management related to the network slice is performed on the target network function by any one or more of the following:

10. The method according to any of claims 1-7, further comprising, in case the network slice is modified and the target network function does not meet the traffic demand of the modified network slice:

11. The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein said performing management of said target network function in relation to said network slice comprises:

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein after the screening the target network functions satisfying the service requirement from the respective network functions, further comprises:

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein said performing management of said target network function in relation to said network slice further comprises:

14. An apparatus for network slice management and organization, the apparatus comprising:

15. An apparatus for network slice management and orchestration, characterized in that the apparatus comprises a processor and a memory, said memory being adapted to store a program executable by said processor, said processor being adapted to read the program in said memory and to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-13.

16. A computer storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, which when executed by a processor performs the steps of the method according to any of claims 1 to 13.