Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of communications, and provide a communication method and apparatus. The communication method comprises: a network function service consumer entity sends a first request to a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, wherein the first request comprises priority indication information, the first request is used for requesting the NWDAF network element to feed back a plurality of analytics results of a network policy on the basis of the priority indication information, and the priority indication information is used for indicating feedback priorities of the plurality of analytics results of the network policy; and the NWDAF network element sends a first response to the network function service consumer entity, wherein the first response comprises at least one analytics result, and the at least one analytics result is determined from among the plurality of analytics results on the basis of the feedback priorities of the plurality of analytics results. In this way, the NWDAF network element can selectively feed back at least one analytics result to the network function service consumer entity on the basis of the priority indication information, thereby improving the value of recommendation of the NWDAF network element.

Description

Communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese Patent Application No. 202311820532.5, filed on December 26, 2023, and entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0004] With the development of communication technology, the types and quantities of network elements in a communication network are increasing. Among them, a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element in the communication network can provide policy analysis or policy recommendation for the network. In the prior art, a policy control function (PCF) network element can send a request to the NWDAF network element to obtain a recommendation result of a quality of service (QoS) parameter by the NWDAF network element. However, the NWDAF network element can generate multiple recommendation results, and the NWDAF network element sends the multiple recommendation results to the PCF network element. The current NWDAF network element cannot selectively send the recommendation results to the PCF network element, and the recommendation value is low. SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, and the network data analytics function network element can selectively send the analysis result to the first network element, thereby improving the recommendation value.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network function service consumer entity. The method includes: sending, by the network function service consumer entity, a first request to a network data analytics function network element, and receiving a first response from the network data analytics function network element. The first request includes priority indication information, and the first request is used to request the network data analytics function network element to feed back multiple analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information. The priority indication information is used to indicate the feedback priority of the multiple analysis results of the network policy. The first response includes at least one analysis result, and the at least one analysis result is determined from the multiple results according to the feedback priority of the multiple analysis results.

[0007] In the method, the network function service consumption entity sends a first request including priority indication information to the network data analysis function network element, and then the network data analysis function network element can feed back at least one analysis result of the network policy to the network function service consumption entity according to the priority indication information. In this way, the network data analysis network element can select the most valuable analysis result from multiple analysis results to recommend to the network function service consumption entity, thereby improving the recommendation value.

[0008] In a possible design, the first response includes the first analysis result, and the first analysis result is an analysis result with the highest priority in the multiple analysis results of the network policy; or the first response includes at least one analysis result, and the at least one analysis result is determined from analysis results at the front of the order according to the feedback priority.

[0009] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can feed back the analysis result with the highest priority to the network function service consumption entity from the multiple analysis results, and can also feed back at least one analysis result at the front of the order to the network function service consumption entity from the multiple analysis results ordered according to the feedback priority, thereby recommending the most valuable analysis result to the network function service consumption entity, and further improving the recommendation service experience.

[0010] In a possible design, each analysis result of the multiple analysis results corresponds to a set of values of a corresponding parameter combination of the network policy; the priority indication information includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates priorities of multiple constraint conditions of the corresponding parameter combination of the network policy; and the priorities of the multiple constraint conditions are used to determine the first analysis result in the multiple analysis results.

[0011] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can determine the priorities of the multiple analysis results fed back to the network function service consumption entity according to the priorities of the multiple constraint conditions, thereby recommending the first analysis result with the highest value to the network function service consumption entity, and further improving the recommendation service experience.

[0012] In a possible design, each constraint condition of the multiple constraint conditions includes a value range of each parameter in the parameter combination.

[0013] Through the design, the network function service consumption entity can inform the network data analysis network element of the analysis result of interest by setting the value range of each parameter in the parameter combination of the constraint condition, so that the network data analysis network element can quickly select the first analysis result required by the network function service consumption entity from the multiple analysis results.

[0014] In a possible design, the priority indication information includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate priorities of the multiple parameters included in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0015] By this design, the network function service consumption entity can assist the network data analysis network element in selecting the recommended analysis result by providing the priorities of the multiple parameters to the network data analysis network element, so as to obtain the desired analysis result, thereby the recommendation value of the network data analysis network element can be provided.

[0016] In a possible design, the first analysis result is an analysis result that meets a constraint condition with a high priority among the multiple constraint conditions.

[0017] By this design, the network data analysis network element can select, from the analysis results that meet the multiple constraint conditions, the analysis result that meets the constraint condition with the high priority among the multiple constraint conditions as the first analysis result, and feed back the first analysis result to the network function service consumption entity, so as to selectively feed back the analysis result to assist the network function service consumption entity in adjusting the network policy, thereby the recommendation value of the network data analysis network element can be improved.

[0018] In a possible design, the first analysis result is an analysis result that meets a value range of a parameter with the highest priority among the multiple parameters in the parameter combination.

[0019] By this design, the network data analysis network element can select, from the multiple analysis results, the first analysis result that meets the value range of the parameter with the high priority in the parameter combination based on the priorities of the multiple parameters in the parameter combination, and feed back the first analysis result to the network function service consumption entity, so as to selectively feed back the analysis result to assist the network function service consumption entity in adjusting the network policy, thereby the recommendation value of the network data analysis network element can be improved.

[0020] In a possible design, the first response further includes third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate a reason why the first analysis result does not meet a constraint condition with the highest priority among the multiple constraint conditions.

[0021] By this design, when the network data analysis network element does not send the most expected analysis result to the network function service consumption entity, the network data analysis network element can feed back the reason to the network function service consumption entity, so that the network function service consumption entity can adjust the network policy according to the received reason, thereby the recommendation value and experience can be improved.

[0022] In a possible design, the first request further includes feedback indication information, where the feedback indication information includes a feedback policy, and the feedback indication information is used to indicate that the network data analysis network element feeds back multiple analysis results of the network policy to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback policy.

[0023] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can feed back the expected analysis result to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback policy, and the recommended value and experience can be improved by selectively feeding back the analysis result.

[0024] In a possible design, the feedback policy can be the number of analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0025] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can select a certain number of analysis results from the multiple analysis results of the network policy according to the feedback policy, and feed back the analysis results to the network function service consumption entity, so as to selectively feed back the analysis result to assist the network function service consumption entity to adjust the network policy, and the recommended value of the network data analysis network element can be improved.

[0026] In a possible design, the feedback policy can be the priority of the analysis result fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0027] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can prioritize the multiple analysis results, and select the analysis result with the required priority of the network function service consumption entity, for example, sort the multiple analysis results according to the priority of the multiple analysis results, select one or more analysis results from the multiple analysis results in front of the sorting, and feed back the analysis result to the network function service consumption entity, so as to selectively feed back the analysis result to assist the network function service consumption entity to adjust the network policy, and the recommended value of the network data analysis network element can be improved.

[0028] In a possible design, the network function server consumption entity can be a policy control network element or an application function network element. The first request further includes at least one constraint condition of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a network data analysis function network element, and the method comprises:

[0030] The network data analysis function network element receives a first request from a network function service consumption entity; wherein the first request includes priority indication information, and the first request is used to request the network data analysis function network element to feed back multiple analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information, and the priority indication information is used to indicate the feedback priority of the multiple analysis results of the network policy. The network data analysis network element sends a first response to the network function service consumption entity, and the first response includes at least one analysis result, which is determined from the multiple results according to the feedback priority of the multiple analysis results.

[0031] In the method, the network data analysis function network element can select at least one most valuable analysis result from multiple analysis results according to the priority indication information sent by the network function service consumption entity, and recommend the at least one analysis result to the network function service consumption entity, thereby improving the value of the analysis result recommended by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0032] In a possible design, the first response includes a first analysis result, and the first analysis result is an analysis result with the highest priority in the multiple analysis results of the network policy; or the first response includes at least one analysis result, and the at least one analysis result is determined from analysis results in a front rank according to a sorting of the multiple analysis results from high to low according to the feedback priority.

[0033] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can select an analysis result with the highest priority from the multiple analysis results to feed back to the network function service consumption entity, and can also select at least one analysis result in a front rank from the multiple analysis results sorted according to the feedback priority to feed back to the network function service consumption entity, thereby recommending a first analysis result with the highest value to the network function service consumption entity, and further improving the recommended service experience.

[0034] In a possible design, each analysis result of the multiple analysis results corresponds to a set of values of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priority indication information includes first indication information, the first indication information indicates priorities of multiple constraint conditions of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; and the priorities of the multiple constraint conditions are used to determine the first analysis result from the multiple analysis results.

[0035] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can determine the priorities of the multiple analysis results fed back to the network function service consumption entity according to the priorities of the multiple constraint conditions, thereby recommending a first analysis result with the highest value to the network function service consumption entity, and further improving the recommended service experience.

[0036] In a possible design, each constraint condition of the multiple constraint conditions includes a value range of each parameter in the parameter combination.

[0037] Through the design, the network data analysis function network element can quickly select a first analysis result required by the network function service consumption entity from the multiple analysis results according to the value range of each parameter in the parameter combination.

[0038] In a possible design, the priority indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate priorities of multiple parameters included in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0039] Through the design, the network data analysis function network element can select the first analysis result fed back from the multiple analysis results according to the priority of the multiple parameters when the multiple analysis results cannot meet the constraint condition of the parameter combination, so that the network data analysis function network element can feed back the analysis result corresponding to the parameter interested by the network function service consumption entity to the network function service consumption entity under the condition that there is no analysis result meeting the constraint condition, for subsequent adjustment of the network policy.

[0040] In a possible design, the network data analysis network element can also select the analysis result meeting the constraint condition with high priority as the first analysis result.

[0041] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can select the analysis result meeting the constraint condition with high priority from the analysis results meeting the constraint condition, and recommend the analysis result to the network function service consumption entity, so that the network data analysis network element can selectively feed back the analysis result, thereby improving the recommendation value of the network data analysis network element.

[0042] In a possible design, the network data analysis network element can also determine the analysis result meeting the multiple constraint conditions from the multiple analysis results; when none of the multiple analysis results meets any one of the multiple constraint conditions, the network data analysis network element can also select the analysis result meeting the value range of the parameter with the highest priority in the parameter combination meeting the multiple constraint conditions as the first analysis result.

[0043] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can also select the analysis result meeting the value range of the parameter with high priority in the parameter combination meeting the multiple constraint conditions to feed back to the network function service consumption entity when none of the multiple analysis results meets the multiple constraint conditions, so that the network data analysis network element can selectively feed back the analysis result, thereby improving the recommendation value of the network data analysis network element.

[0044] In a possible design, the first response further includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate the reason why the first analysis result does not meet the constraint condition with the highest priority in the multiple constraint conditions.

[0045] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can feed back the reason to the network function service consumption entity when the network data analysis network element does not send the analysis result most interested by the network function service consumption entity to the network function service consumption entity, so that the network function service consumption entity can adjust the network policy according to the received reason, thereby improving the recommendation value and experience.

[0046] In a possible design, the first request further includes feedback indication information, and the feedback indication information includes a feedback strategy, and the feedback indication information is used to indicate that the network data analysis network element feeds back the multiple analysis results of the network policy to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback strategy.

[0047] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can feed back the expected analysis result to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback strategy, and the recommended value and experience can be improved by selectively feeding back the analysis result.

[0048] In a possible design, the feedback strategy can be the number of analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0049] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can select a certain number of analysis results from the multiple analysis results of the network policy according to the feedback strategy, feed back the analysis results to the network function service consumption entity, and selectively feed back the analysis result to assist the network function service consumption entity in adjusting the network policy, so that the recommended value of the network data analysis network element can be improved.

[0050] In a possible design, the feedback strategy can be the priority of the analysis result fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0051] Through the design, the network data analysis network element can prioritize the multiple analysis results, and select the analysis result with the required priority of the network function service consumption entity, for example, sort the multiple analysis results according to the priority, select one or more analysis results from the multiple analysis results in front of the sorting, and feed back the analysis result to the network function service consumption entity, so that the analysis result is selectively fed back to assist the network function service consumption entity in adjusting the network policy, so that the recommended value of the network data analysis network element can be improved.

[0052] In a possible design, the network function server consumption entity can be a policy control network element or an application function network element. The first request further includes at least one constraint condition of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0053] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be a network function service consumption entity, or a device, module or chip in the network function service consumption entity, or an apparatus capable of being used with the network function service consumption entity. In a design, the communication apparatus can include a module corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In a design, the communication apparatus can include a processing module and a communication module. Optionally, the processing module can be replaced by a processing unit, and the communication module can be replaced by a communication unit, a transceiver unit or a communication interface, etc. The communication module can also be composed of a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0054] The sending unit is configured to send data.

[0055] receiving unit, configured to receive data;

[0056] The processing unit is configured to send, by the sending unit, a first request to a network data analysis network element, the first request comprising priority indication information, the first request being used to request the network data analysis function network element to feed back a plurality of analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information, the priority indication information being used to indicate feedback priorities of the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; receive, by the receiving unit, a first response from the network data analysis network element, the first response comprising at least one analysis result, the at least one analysis result being determined from the plurality of analysis results according to the feedback priorities.

[0057] In a possible design, the first response comprises a first analysis result, the first analysis result being an analysis result with the highest priority in the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; or the first response comprises at least one analysis result, the at least one analysis result being determined from analysis results in the front of the order according to the feedback priorities after the plurality of analysis results are sorted according to the feedback priorities from high to low.

[0058] In a possible design, each analysis result of the plurality of analysis results corresponds to a set of values of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priority indication information comprises first indication information, the first indication information indicating priorities of a plurality of constraint conditions of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priorities of the plurality of constraint conditions are used to determine the first analysis result in the plurality of analysis results.

[0059] In a possible design, each constraint condition of the plurality of constraint conditions comprises a value range of each parameter in the parameter combination.

[0060] In a possible design, the priority indication information comprises second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate priorities of a plurality of parameters included in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0061] In a possible design, the first analysis result is an analysis result satisfying a constraint condition with a high priority in the plurality of constraint conditions.

[0062] In a possible design, the first analysis result is an analysis result satisfying a value range of a parameter with the highest priority in the plurality of parameters of the parameter combination.

[0063] In a possible design, the first response further comprises third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate a reason why the first analysis result does not satisfy a constraint condition with the highest priority in the plurality of constraint conditions.

[0064] In a possible design, the first request further includes feedback indication information, the feedback indication information including a feedback policy, and the feedback indication information is used to instruct the network data analysis network element to feed back the multiple analysis results of the network policy to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback policy.

[0065] In a possible design, the feedback policy can be the number of analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0066] In a possible design, the feedback policy can be the priority of the analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0067] In a possible design, the first request further includes at least one constraint condition of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; and the network function service consumption entity is a policy control function network element or an application function network element.

[0068] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication apparatus, which can be a network data analysis network element, a device, a module or a chip in the network data analysis network element, or an apparatus capable of being used in matching with the network data analysis network element. In a design, the communication apparatus can include a module corresponding to each of the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect, which can be a hardware circuit, a software or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In a design, the communication apparatus can include a processing module and a communication module. Optionally, the processing module can be replaced by a processing unit, and the communication module can be replaced by a communication unit, a transceiver unit or a communication interface, and the communication module can also be composed of a sending unit and a receiving unit.

[0069] The sending unit is configured to send data.

[0070] The receiving unit is configured to receive data.

[0071] The processing unit is configured to receive, by the receiving unit, a first request from a network function service consumption entity, the first request including priority indication information, the first request being used to request the network data analysis function network element to feed back multiple analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information, and the priority indication information being used to indicate feedback priorities of the multiple analysis results of the network policy; and send, by the sending unit, a first response to the network function service consumption entity, the first response including at least one analysis result determined from the multiple analysis results according to the feedback priorities.

[0072] In a possible design, the first response includes a first analysis result, and the first analysis result is a highest-priority analysis result in the multiple analysis results of the network policy; or the first response includes at least one analysis result, and the at least one analysis result is determined from analysis results at a front of the multiple analysis results in descending order of feedback priorities.

[0073] In a possible design, each analysis result of the multiple analysis results corresponds to a set of values of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priority indication information includes first indication information, and the first indication information indicates priorities of multiple constraint conditions of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; and the priorities of the multiple constraint conditions are used to determine the first analysis result in the multiple analysis results.

[0074] In a possible design, each constraint condition of the multiple constraint conditions includes a value range of each parameter in the parameter combination.

[0075] In a possible design, the priority indication information includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate priorities of multiple parameters included in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0076] In a possible design, the processing unit is further configured to:

[0077] determine the first analysis result as an analysis result that meets a constraint condition with a high priority in the multiple constraint conditions.

[0078] In a possible design, the processing unit is further configured to:

[0079] determine the first analysis result as an analysis result that meets a value range of a parameter with a highest priority in the multiple parameters of the parameter combination when the multiple analysis results all do not meet the multiple constraint conditions.

[0080] In a possible design, the first response further includes third indication information, and the third indication information is used to indicate a reason why the first analysis result does not meet a constraint condition with a highest priority in the multiple constraint conditions.

[0081] In a possible design, the first request further includes feedback indication information, and the feedback indication information includes a feedback policy; and the feedback indication information is used to instruct the network data analysis network element to feed back the multiple analysis results of the network policy to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback policy.

[0082] In a possible design, the feedback policy can be a number of analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0083] In a possible design, the feedback policy can be a priority of feedback of an analysis result of the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0084] In a possible design, the first request further includes at least one constraint condition of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; and the network function service consumption entity is a policy control function network element or an application function network element.

[0085] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, which comprises a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is used to receive a signal from another apparatus outside the communication apparatus and transmit the signal to the processor or send a signal from the processor to another apparatus outside the communication apparatus, and the processor implements the method in the first aspect and any possible design of the first aspect or implements the method in the second aspect and any possible design of the second aspect by executing code instructions through a logic circuit. Optionally, the communication apparatus further comprises a memory coupled with the processor, which stores necessary program instructions and data of the apparatus.

[0086] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which comprises the communication apparatus in the third aspect and the communication apparatus in the fourth aspect.

[0087] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which comprises a processor coupled with a memory, and the memory is used to store a program or an instruction, when the program or the instruction is executed by the processor, the chip system implements the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect or implements the method in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0088] Optionally, the chip system further comprises an interface circuit used to interact code instructions to the processor.

[0089] Optionally, the processor in the chip system can be one or more processors, and the processor can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, and the processor is implemented by reading software code stored in the memory.

[0090] Optionally, the memory in the chip system can also be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or can be arranged separately from the processor, and the application does not make a limitation. Exemplarily, the memory can be a non-transient processor, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), which can be integrated on the same chip as the processor, or can be arranged on different chips respectively, and the application does not make a limitation on the type of the memory and the arrangement manner of the memory and the processor.

[0091] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the computer program or instructions cause a computer to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or execute the method in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0092] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, when a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the computer program product causes the computer to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, or execute the method in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0093] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the communication device in the third aspect or the communication device in the fourth aspect.

[0094] The beneficial effects of the third aspect to the ninth aspect are specifically refer to the technical effects that can be achieved by the corresponding designs in the first aspect, which will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0095] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture;

[0096] FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram of a communication system architecture;

[0097] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0099] FIG. 5 is another flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0100] FIG. 6 is still another flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0101] FIG. 7 is yet another flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0102] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0104] For the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present application to be clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The specific operation methods in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments.

[0105] In the following, some terms related to the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate the understanding of the skilled in the art.

[0106] Each network element shown in the terms of the embodiments of the present application can be a physical concept, for example, in physics, it can be a single device, or at least two network elements can be integrated on the same physical device, or the network element shown in the present application can be a logical concept, for example, a software module or a network function corresponding to the services provided by each network element. The network function can be understood as a virtualized function under virtualization implementation, and can also be understood as a network function providing services under service-oriented architecture.

[0107] The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. The term "multiple" in the embodiments of the present application means two or more. In view of this, "multiple" in the embodiments of the present application can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be understood as one or more, for example, one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and does not limit which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B and C means that A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C can be included. Similarly, the understanding of "at least one" and the like is also similar. "At least one of the following" or the like means any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or multiple items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. "And / or", which describes the association relationship of the associated objects, means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B can mean that A exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", if not specially stated, generally represents an "or" relationship between the front and rear associated objects.

[0108] Unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers "first", "second" and the like mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish a plurality of objects, and are not used to limit the order, time sequence, priority or importance of the plurality of objects, and the description of "first", "second" does not necessarily mean that the objects are different.

[0109] The various aspects, embodiments or features presented in this application can be presented in connection with a system that can include various devices, components, modules, etc. It is to be understood and appreciated that such a system can include additional devices, components, modules, etc. and / or can not include all of the devices, components, modules etc. discussed in connection with the figures. A combination of these approaches can also be used. Additionally, the language used in the application should not be limited to mean that which is written in the present application. For example, the phrases "exemplary," "for example," and the like can be used to merely mean example, one example, and / or to illustrate an implementation. Any implementation described herein as "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Rather, use of the term "example" is intended to present concepts in a particular, concrete and tangible manner.

[0110] In addition, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "include", "including", "have", "has", "contain", "containing", "include" and "including" used in this application and claims and the drawings are not exclusive. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a list of steps or modules is not limited to the listed steps or modules, and can also include steps or modules that are not listed.

[0111] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: long term evolution (LTE) communication system, universal mobile communication system (UMTS) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wireless local area network (WLAN), next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) system, new radio (NR) communication technology, 5th generation (5G) communication system, 6th generation (6G) communication system and other communication systems evolved after 5G. The following introduces the network architecture applicable to the present application. In the following introduction, the terminal device is taken as an example of user equipment (UE).

[0112] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture based on a service-oriented architecture. The communication system includes terminal devices, access network devices (ANs), and core network devices (CNs). The terminal devices access a data network (DN) through the access network devices and the core network devices. The core network devices include some or all of the following network elements: a unified data management (UDM) network element, a unified data repository (UDR) network element, a network exposure function (NEF) network element, an application function (AF) network element, a policy control function (PCF) network element, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a session management function (SMF) network element, a user plane function (UPF) network element, a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, a network repository function (NRF) network element, a location management function (LMF) network element (not shown in the figure), a binding support function (BSF) network element, and an operations administration management (OAM) network element.

[0113] The access network device can be a radio access network (RAN) device. For example, a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, a next generation NodeB in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc. The access network device can also be a module or unit that performs part of the functions of a base station, for example, a central unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The wireless access network device can be a macro base station, a micro base station, or an indoor station, and can also be a relay node or a donor node, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form of the wireless access network device.

[0114] The terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal device can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), internet of things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart power grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an urban air vehicle (such as a pilotless plane, a helicopter, etc.), a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc.

[0115] The access network device and the terminal device can be fixed in position or movable. The access network device and the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface; can also be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites in the air. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the access network device and the terminal device.

[0116] The AMF network element contains functions such as performing mobility management, access authentication / authorization, etc. In addition, it is also responsible for transferring user policies between the terminal device and the PCF.

[0117] SMF network element, containing functions of performing session management, execution of control policy issued by PCF, selection of UPF, allocation of internet protocol (IP) address of terminal device, etc.

[0118] UPF network element, as an interface with data network, containing functions of completing user plane data forwarding, charging statistics based on session / stream level, bandwidth limitation, etc.

[0119] UDM network element, containing functions of performing management of subscription data, user access authorization, etc.

[0120] UDR network element, containing functions of accessing data of types of subscription data, policy data, application data, etc.

[0121] NEF network element, used for supporting opening of capabilities and events.

[0122] AF network element, delivering requirements of application side to network side, for example, quality of service (QoS) requirements or user state event subscription, etc. AF can be a third party functional entity or an application server deployed by an operator.

[0123] PCF network element, containing policy control functions of being responsible for charging, QoS bandwidth guarantee and mobility management at session / service flow level, policy decision for terminal device, etc.

[0124] NRF network element, which can be used to provide network element discovery function, based on a request of another network element, provide network element information corresponding to a network element type. NRF network element also provides network element management services, such as network element registration, update, deregistration, and network element state subscription and push, etc.

[0125] NWDAF network element, mainly used for collecting data (including one or more of terminal device data, access network device data, core network element data, and third-party application device data), wherein the data can be terminal device, access network device, core network element, or third-party application device itself data, or terminal device data on the access network device, the core network element, or the third-party application device, then performing data analysis according to the collected data, and outputting data analysis results for network, network management device, and application to execute policy decision. The NWDAF can use a machine learning model to perform data analysis. In the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) Release 17, the training function and inference function of the NWDAF are split, and a NWDAF can support only the model training function, or only the data inference function, or both the model training function and the data inference function. The NWDAF supporting the model training function can also be referred to as a training NWDAF, or a NWDAF supporting a model training logical function (MTLF) (referred to as NWDAF(MTLF)). The training NWDAF can perform model training according to the obtained data to obtain a trained model. The NWDAF supporting the data inference function can also be referred to as an inference NWDAF, or a NWDAF supporting an analytics logical function (AnLF) (referred to as NWDAF(AnLF)). The inference NWDAF can input input data into the trained model to obtain analysis results or inference data. In the embodiments of the present application, the training NWDAF refers to a NWDAF supporting at least the model training function. As a possible implementation method, the training NWDAF can also support the data inference function. The inference NWDAF refers to a NWDAF supporting at least the data inference function. As a possible implementation method, the inference NWDAF can also support the model training function. If a NWDAF supports both the model training function and the data inference function, the NWDAF can be referred to as a training NWDAF, an inference NWDAF, or a training and inference NWDAF, or a NWDAF. In the embodiments of the present application, a NWDAF can be a separate network element, or can be combined with other network elements, for example, the NWDAF is set in a PCF network element or an AMF network element.

[0126] OAM network element, responsible for the operation, management, and maintenance of network elements in the 5GC, can collect measurement data of network elements in the 5GC, including signaling measurement, data measurement, and general network element measurement.

[0127] The LMF network element is used for managing the location information of the terminal device, can calculate or verify the location of the terminal device and / or estimate the speed of the terminal device, and provide the accuracy of the estimation. The LMF network element can receive a location request for the terminal device from the AMF network element through the Nlmf interface. The granularity of the location of the terminal calculated by the LMF network element can be one or more of longitude, latitude, altitude, a tracking area, a cell, and a global positioning system (GPS).

[0128] The DN is a network located outside the operator network, and the operator network can access multiple DNs. The DN can deploy various services and provide data and / or voice services for the terminal device. For example, the DN is a private network of a smart factory, and the sensors installed in the workshop of the smart factory can be terminal devices. A control server of the sensors is deployed in the DN, and the control server can provide services for the sensors. The sensors can communicate with the control server, obtain instructions from the control server, and transmit the collected sensor data to the control server according to the instructions. For another example, the DN is an internal office network of a company, and the mobile phones or computers of the employees of the company can be terminal devices. The mobile phones or computers of the employees can access information and data resources on the internal office network of the company.

[0129] The Nudr, Npcf, Namf, Nudm, Nsmf, Naf, and Nnwdaf in FIG. 1 are service interfaces provided by the UDR, PCF, AMF, UDM, SMF, AF, and NWDAF respectively, and are used to invoke corresponding service operations. N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 are interface serial numbers, and the meanings of these interface serial numbers are as follows.

[0130] 1) N1: an interface between the AMF network element and the terminal device, which can be used to transmit non-access stratum (NAS) signaling (such as QoS rules from the AMF network element) to the terminal device.

[0131] 2) N2: an interface between the AMF network element and the access network device, which can be used to transmit radio bearer control information from the core network side to the access network device.

[0132] 3) N3: an interface between the access network device and the UPF network element, which is mainly used to transmit uplink and downlink user plane data between the access network device and the UPF network element.

[0133] 4) N4: an interface between the SMF network element and the UPF network element, which can be used to transmit information between the control plane and the user plane, including the transmission of forwarding rules, QoS rules, and traffic statistics rules from the control plane to the user plane, and the information reporting of the user plane.

[0134] 5), N6: the interface between the UPF network element and the DN, used to transmit the uplink and downlink user data flow between the UPF network element and the DN.

[0135] It can be understood that the above network element or function can be a network element in a hardware device, or a software function running on a dedicated hardware, or a virtualized function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). Optionally, the above network element or function can be implemented by one device, or can be implemented by multiple devices together, or can be a functional module in a device, and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0136] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "network element" can be replaced by "entity" or "device" and the like. For example, "AMF network element" can also be written as "AMF entity" or "AMF device", "SMF network element" can also be written as "SMF entity" or "SMF device", and the like. In the following, "XXX network element" is uniformly abbreviated as "XXX", for example, "AUSF network element" can also be abbreviated as "AUSF", "SMF network element" can also be abbreviated as "SMF", and NWDAF can be abbreviated as NWDAF.

[0137] As an implementation method, the network data analysis function network element in the embodiments of the present application can be the above-mentioned NWDAF network element, or a network element having the function of the above-mentioned NWDAF network element in future communications such as 6G network. For the convenience of description, the network data analysis network element is taken as an example of the NWDAF network element in the following.

[0138] In order to understand the embodiments of the present application, the following first introduces the technologies related to the embodiments of the present application.

[0139] In the 5G Release 16 research stage (technical report, TR), the basic framework of the NWDAF providing recommendation services is proposed. In this framework, the basic principles of the NWDAF providing recommendation services are proposed:

[0140] 1) The NWDAF does not need to understand the internal operation logic and configuration of the network function service consumer (NFc) entity. Among them, the network function service consumer entity is referred to as "NFc entity" or "NFc". Specifically, it can be an NF that can call a function service in a service-oriented architecture, for example, the network element can be any of the following: OAM network element, AMF network element, PCF network element, SMF network element, NRF network element, or AF network element.

[0141] 2) The NWDAF only provides recommendation results and does not interfere with the operation of the NFc. The final decision is made by the NFc based on its internal business logic, and only the NFc is responsible for the decision result.

[0142] 3) The NWDAF needs to consider the various recommendations it has provided before in order to provide the recommendation result, so as to avoid conflicts between various recommendations.

[0143] In some embodiments, the parameters contained in the request sent by the NFc to the NWDAF network element are as follows:

[0144] (1) The desired recommendation on a given domain, expressed as a recRequirement object, including the recommendation registered ID in the given domain, optimization goals, and constraints per requested parameter, expressed as parameter ranges. Among them, optimization goals and constraints are optional parameters.

[0145] (2) The observation period [start..end] in the future on which recommendations are requested.

[0146] (3) The maximum tolerable delay for the provision of the recommendations.

[0147] (4) Event parameters for periodic notification, which means that the corresponding notification event parameters are notified to the NFc in a periodic notification manner.

[0148] (5) Preferences on recommendations, which is an optional parameter.

[0149] (6) Event reporting target, which can be target of event reporting (TER), event filtering information (EFI), and denotation of explicit lists.

[0150] In the embodiments of the present application, the parameter requested by the NFc to the NWDAF network element is the QoS parameter. In the existing standard, the QoS flow can be "guaranteed bit rate (GBR)" or "non-GBR", depending on its QoS profile. The QoS profile of the QoS flow is sent to the (R)AN, which contains the QoS parameters as described below:

[0151] 1) For each QoS flow, the QoS profile should include the QoS parameters: 5G QoS identifier (5QI) and allocation and retention priority (ARP);

[0152] 2) For each QoS flow, the QoS profile can also include the QoS parameters: PDU set delay budget (PSDB), PDU set error rate (PSER), and PDU set integrated handling information (PSIHI);

[0153] 3) For each non-GBR QoS flow only, the QoS profile can also include the QoS parameter: reflective QoS attribute (RQA);

[0154] 4) For each GBR QoS flow only, the QoS profile should also include the QoS parameters: up link and down link guaranteed flow bit rate (UL and DL GFBR) and up link and down link maximum flow bit rate (UL and DL MFBR);

[0155] 5) In the case of GBR QoS flow only, in the case of GBR QoS flow only, the QoS profile can also include one or more QoS parameters: notification control and maximum packet loss rate-UL and DL.

[0156] Taking the recommendation service of the NWDAF network element called by the PCF network element as an example, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture based on a recommendation service architecture. The communication system includes a UE, a gNB, a UPF network element, a DN, a SMF network element, an OAM network element, a NWDAF network element, and a PCF network element. The NWDAF network element provides a recommendation service for the PCF network element, including the following steps:

[0157] Step 1: The PCF network element sends a request to the NWDAF network element, requesting the NWDAF network element to provide a recommended result of a QoS parameter of a service scenario.

[0158] For example, the PCF network element can request the NWDAF network element to provide a bit rate and a latency recommended in a service mean opinion score (Mos) >= 4 scenario.

[0159] Step 2: The NWDAF network element collects data from the OAM network element or other network elements, such as wireless signal reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) from the OAM network element, and transmission delay of data from the UPF network element, and comprehensively analyzes the collected data to obtain recommended bit rate and latency data.

[0160] Step 3: The NWDAF network element sends the recommended result to the PCF network element.

[0161] Step 4: The PCF selects a set of parameters according to the received NWDAF recommendation result to set the QoS, so that the service mean opinion score Mos of the service is >= 4.

[0162] However, the NWDAF network element can generate multiple recommended results, and the NWDAF network element sends multiple recommended results to the PCF network element. The current NWDAF network element cannot selectively send the recommended results to the PCF network element, and the recommendation value is low.

[0163] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method to ensure that the NWDAF network element can selectively make recommendations, thereby improving the recommendation value.

[0164] Next, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be introduced in combination with the drawings. For ease of description, the network function service consumer is referred to as NFc hereinafter. In the drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of the present application, optional steps are indicated by dashed lines.

[0165] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, which is described below.

[0166] S301: The NFc sends a first request to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the first request from the NFc.

[0167] The first request includes priority indication information, and the first request is used to request the NWDAF network element to feed back multiple analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information. Further, the network policy can be optimization goals, which is used to indicate that the NWDAF network element provides analysis results according to the network policy, i.e., the network policy represents the goal that the analysis result requested by the NFc can achieve. For example, when the network policy is a scenario of service experience Mos>4, the analysis result requested by the NFc is the parameter value of the QoS parameter that can achieve the scenario of service experience Mos>4.

[0168] Optionally, the NFc can subscribe to a recommendation service from the NWDAF network element through an analysis open architecture, or through a recommendation architecture. For example, the NFc can subscribe to the recommendation service from the NWDAF network element after discovering the NWDAF network element in the analysis open architecture or the recommendation architecture. Further, the NFc can discover the NWDAF network element with recommendation capability through the NRF network element, and subscribe to the recommendation service from the NWDAF network element. Optionally, the NFc can be a PCF network element or an AF network element.

[0169] After receiving the first request, the NWDAF network element can collect data from other network elements based on the network policy in the first request, and comprehensively analyze the data to obtain multiple analysis results of the network policy. The other network elements can be AF network elements and NFs network elements.

[0170] Optionally, the first request can further include at least one constraint condition of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy, and the constraint condition is used to select the required analysis result of the network policy from the multiple analysis results of the network policy. The NWDAF network element can select the analysis result expected to be fed back by the NFc according to the at least one constraint condition. Optionally, the constraint condition includes the value range of each parameter in the parameter combination. For example, when the parameter combination includes the following parameters: down link guaranteed flow bit rate (DL GFBR) and maximum flow bit rate (DL MFBR), the constraint condition corresponding to the parameter combination (i.e., DL GFBR and DL MFBR) can be DL GFBR[m1, m2] and DL MFBR[n1, n2], m2>m1, n2>n1.

[0171] The priority indication information is used to indicate the feedback priority (or feedback order) of the multiple analysis results of the network policy. It can also be understood that the priority indication information is used to indicate the order of the multiple analysis results of the network policy fed back by the NWDAF network element.

[0172] Optionally, the priority indication information can include first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the priority of the multiple constraint conditions of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy. The priority of the multiple constraint conditions is used to determine a first analysis result in the multiple analysis results, and the first analysis result is an analysis result with the highest priority in the multiple analysis results of the network policy. The number of the first analysis result can be one or multiple. For example, the NFc can configure the priority of the multiple constraint conditions of the parameter combination to inform the NWDAF network element of the priority of the analysis result most expected to be received. For example, the multiple constraint conditions corresponding to the QoS parameter combination can be divided into the following five levels (level), and each level corresponds to a constraint condition:

[0173] level1: DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%];

[0174] level2: DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%];

[0175] level3: DL GFBR: [60Mbps, 80Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%];

[0176] level4: DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [5%-8%];

[0177] level5: DL GFBR: [60Mbps, 80Mbps], DL MPLR: [5%-8%].

[0178] Among them, level1-5 are used to represent the priority of the constraint condition, and the priority of the constraint condition decreases from 1-5.

[0179] Optionally, the NWDAF network element can recommend the analysis result meeting the constraint condition with high priority in the multiple constraint conditions to the NFc as the first analysis result. That is, the NWDAF network element can select the first analysis result most expected to be received by the NFc from the analysis results meeting the multiple constraint conditions according to the priority of the multiple constraint conditions. For example, the NWDAF network element can determine the analysis results meeting the multiple constraint conditions in the multiple analysis results, and determine the feedback priority of the analysis results according to the priority of the constraint conditions met by the analysis results. The feedback priority refers to the order of the feedback of the analysis results by the NWDAF network element to the NFc, and the NWDAF network element only sends the analysis result with the highest feedback priority to the NFc. Further, the feedback priority of the analysis result is determined according to the priority of the constraint condition met by the analysis result, and the higher the priority of the constraint condition met by the analysis result, the higher the corresponding feedback priority. Among them, the analysis result meeting the constraint condition with the highest priority has the highest feedback priority in the multiple analysis results, and is also the analysis result most interested by the NFc. For example, when the NWDAF network element obtains the QoS parameter meeting the level 1 constraint condition requirement through analysis, the NWDAF network element can determine that the feedback priority of the analysis result corresponding to the QoS parameter is the highest, and recommend the analysis result corresponding to the QoS parameter to the NFc as the first analysis result. At the same time, the NWDAF network element will not send the analysis result meeting other level constraint conditions to the NFc. For another example, when the NWDAF network element finds through analysis that there is no QoS parameter meeting the level 1 constraint condition in the multiple analysis results, but there is a QoS parameter meeting the level 2-level 5 constraint condition, the feedback priority of the analysis result meeting the level 2 constraint condition is the highest in the multiple analysis results. That is, the NWDAF network element will only recommend the analysis result meeting the level 2 constraint condition to the NFc as the first analysis result. By analogy, when the NWDAF network element finds through analysis that there is no analysis result meeting the level 1-level 4 constraint condition in the multiple analysis results, and there is only an analysis result meeting the level 5 constraint condition, the NWDAF network element will only recommend the analysis result meeting the level 5 constraint condition to the NFc as the first analysis result.

[0180] Optionally, the first indication information can be implicit indication information. For example, the multiple constraint conditions corresponding to the QoS parameter combination include five sets of constraint conditions (DL GFBR: [100 Mbps, 150 Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]; DL GFBR: [80 Mbps, 100 Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]; DL GFBR: [60 Mbps, 80 Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]; DL GFBR: [80 Mbps, 100 Mbps], DL MPLR: [5%-8%]; DL GFBR: [60 Mbps, 80 Mbps], DL MPLR: [5%-8%]). The priority of the constraint conditions is determined according to the order of the constraint conditions, and the constraint condition in the first order is the constraint condition with the highest priority. For example, the order of the constraint conditions can be the position order of the multiple constraint conditions in the first request, or the execution order of the multiple constraint conditions. For example, the NWDAF network element can determine the priority of the multiple constraint conditions according to the position order of the multiple constraint conditions corresponding to the QoS parameter combination in the first request, and the constraint condition in the first order is the constraint condition with the highest priority. For another example, the NWDAF network element can determine the priority of the multiple constraint conditions according to the execution order of the multiple constraint conditions corresponding to the QoS parameter combination, and the first constraint condition for filtering the multiple analysis results is the constraint condition with the highest priority.

[0181] Optionally, the NFc can configure one constraint condition in the constraints per requested parameter carried in the first request, or can configure multiple constraint conditions in the constraints per requested parameter. Further, when the constraints per requested parameter contains multiple constraint conditions, the first indication information is used to indicate the priority of the multiple constraint conditions.

[0182] Optionally, the NFc can further configure a constraint condition in the constraints per requested parameter, and add another separate parameter alternative constraints per requested parameter in the first request to provide at least one candidate constraint condition to the NWDAF network element. For example, when the constraints per requested parameter contains a constraint condition and the alternative constraints per requested parameter contains at least one candidate constraint condition, the first indication information can indicate the priority of the constraint condition and the priority of the at least one candidate constraint condition. Among them, the priority of the constraint condition is higher than the priority of the at least one candidate constraint condition.

[0183] For example, the constraints per requested parameter carried in the first request only contains a constraint condition, which is: Level1: DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]; The alternative constraints per requested parameter carried in the first request contains multiple candidate constraint conditions, wherein the multiple candidate constraint conditions are as follows:

[0184] level2: DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%];

[0185] level3: DL GFBR: [60Mbps, 80Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%];

[0186] level4: DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [5%-8%];

[0187] level5: DL GFBR: [60Mbps, 80Mbps], DL MPLR: [5%-8%].

[0188] Wherein, level 1-5 is used to represent the priority of the constraint condition, wherein the priority of the constraint condition is sequentially decreased from 1-5. As shown in the above example, level 1-level 5 is the display indication information, and level 1-level 5 can also be implicit information. When there is no display indicating level 1-level 5 in multiple candidate constraint conditions, the priority of the constraint condition can be determined according to the order of the constraint condition. Specifically as follows:

[0189] DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%];

[0190] DL GFBR: [60Mbps, 80Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%];

[0191] DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [5%-8%];

[0192] DL GFBR: [60Mbps, 80Mbps], DL MPLR: [5%-8%].

[0193] Wherein, the priority of DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%] is higher than that of DL GFBR: [60Mbps, 80Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%] and the constraint condition behind. Exemplarily, the order of the constraint condition can be the order of the multiple constraint conditions in the first request, or the execution order of the constraint condition.

[0194] The NWDAF network element can select a first analysis result that the NFc most desires to receive from multiple analysis results that meet the constraint conditions or candidate constraint conditions according to the priority of the constraint conditions. For example, the NWDAF network element can determine the analysis result that meets the above five constraint conditions from the multiple analysis results. When the NWDAF network element obtains the QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition requirement of level 1 through analysis, the analysis result corresponding to the QoS parameter is recommended as the first analysis result to the NFc. At the same time, the NWDAF network element does not send the analysis result that meets the constraint condition of other levels to the NFc. For another example, when the NWDAF network element finds through analysis that there is no QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition of level 1 in the multiple analysis results, but there is a QoS parameter that meets the candidate constraint condition of level 2-level 5, the NWDAF network element only recommends the analysis result that meets the candidate constraint condition of level 2 as the first analysis result to the NFc. In this way, when the NWDAF network element finds through analysis that there is no analysis result that meets the constraint condition of level 1-level 4 in the multiple analysis results, but there is an analysis result that meets the candidate constraint condition of level 5, the NWDAF network element only recommends the analysis result that meets the candidate constraint condition of level 5 as the first analysis result to the NFc.

[0195] Optionally, the priority indication information can further include second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the priority of the multiple parameters in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy. The NFc can further provide the priority of the multiple parameters in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy, so as to inform the NWDAF network element of the parameter that the NFc is interested in when the analysis result does not meet the constraint condition. The parameter that the NFc is interested in can also be understood as the parameter that the NFc prefers or the parameter that the NFc needs. In this way, the NWDAF network element can provide the analysis result that only meets the parameter with the highest priority in the constraint condition to the NFc when the multiple analysis results do not meet the constraint condition.

[0196] Optionally, when the NWDAF network element determines that the multiple parameters in the parameter combination corresponding to the multiple analysis results do not meet any one of the constraint conditions, the NWDAF network element can select the analysis result that meets part of the constraint condition of the parameter in the parameter combination corresponding to the multiple analysis results as the analysis result of the network policy and recommend it to the NFc. Further optionally, it can be defined that the priority of the parameter that meets part of the constraint condition in the parameter combination is higher than that of other parameters. For example, when the multiple analysis results do not meet any one of the constraint conditions, the NWDAF network element can select the analysis result that meets the parameter with the highest priority in the multiple parameters in the parameter combination as the first analysis result.

[0197] For example, the first request includes a constraint condition: DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]; the NWDAF analyzes the network policy according to the collected data, and obtains two analysis results. Among them, analysis result 1 is: DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [6%-10%]; analysis result 2 is: DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]. The NWDAF network element can determine that the obtained analysis result 1 and analysis result 2 do not meet the constraint condition included in the first request; and the NFc indicates in the second indication information that the priority of DL GFBR is lower than that of DL MPLR, in which case the NWDAF can feed back the analysis result 2 of DL MPLR meeting the constraint condition to the NFc as the first analysis result.

[0198] For example, the first request includes a constraint condition: DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]; the NWDAF analyzes the network policy according to the collected data, and obtains two analysis results. Among them, analysis result 1 is: DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [6%-10%]; analysis result 2 is: DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [6%-10%]. The NWDAF network element can determine that the obtained analysis result 1 and analysis result 2 do not meet the constraint condition included in the first request; and the NFc indicates in the second indication information that the priority of DL GFBR is lower than that of DL MPLR, in which case the NWDAF can feed back the analysis result 2 of DL MPLR meeting the constraint condition to the NFc as the first analysis result.

[0199] Optionally, the first request can also carry feedback indication information, the feedback indication information including a feedback policy, the feedback indication information being used to instruct the NWDAF network element to feed back a plurality of analysis results of the network policy to the NFc according to the feedback policy. As an example, the feedback policy can be the number of analysis results fed back by the NWDAF network element to the NFc, in which case the feedback indication information is used to instruct the NWDAF network element to feed back N analysis results to the NFc. Illustratively, the NWDAF network element can determine the feedback priorities of the plurality of analysis results of the network policy according to the priority indication information. The NWDAF network element can select N analysis results from the plurality of analysis results in descending order of the feedback priorities and feed back the N analysis results to the NFc. For example, the priority of analysis result 1 is 1, the priority of analysis result 2 is 2, the priority of analysis result 3 is 3, and the priority of analysis result 4 is 4, where the priority levels of the analysis results decrease from 1 to 4 in turn. When N is 3, the feedback indication information instructs the NWDAF network element to feed back 3 analysis results according to the feedback priorities of the analysis results. In this case, the NWDAF network element can select 3 analysis results from the 4 analysis results in the order of the priorities, which are analysis result 1, analysis result 2, and analysis result 3. The NWDAF network element recommends the analysis result 1, the analysis result 2, and the analysis result 3 to the NFc.

[0200] For another example, the priority of analysis result 1, analysis result 5, and analysis result 6 is 1, the priority of analysis result 2 is 2, the priority of analysis result 3 is 3, and the priority of analysis result 4 is 4, where the priority levels of the analysis results decrease from 1 to 4 in turn. When N is 3, the feedback indication information instructs the NWDAF network element to feed back 3 analysis results according to the feedback priorities of the analysis results. In this case, the NWDAF network element can select 3 analysis results from the 4 analysis results in the order of the priorities, which are analysis result 1, analysis result 5, and analysis result 6. The NWDAF network element recommends the analysis result 1, the analysis result 5, and the analysis result 6 to the NFc.

[0201] As another example, the feedback policy can also be the priority of the analysis result fed back by the NWDAF network element to the NFc. Illustratively, the NFc can instruct the NWDAF network element to feed back the analysis result with the highest priority or the first M analysis results with the highest priorities according to the feedback policy. For example, after determining the feedback priorities of the plurality of analysis results, the NWDAF network element can feed back the analysis result with the highest priority to the NFc. For another example, the NWDAF network element determines the priorities of the plurality of analysis results to be 1-5, where the priority levels of the analysis results decrease from 1 to 5 in turn. When M is 3, the NWDAF network element feeds back the analysis result with the priority 1, the analysis result with the priority 2, and the analysis result with the priority 3 to the NFc according to the feedback policy.

[0202] S302: The NWDAF network element sends a first response to the NFc. The NFc receives the first response from the NWDAF network element.

[0203] The first response includes at least one analysis result determined from the plurality of analysis results according to the feedback priority of the plurality of analysis results. As an example, the first response includes a first analysis result, which can be the analysis result with the highest feedback priority from the plurality of analysis results. As another example, the first response includes at least one analysis result, which can be determined from the analysis results with high feedback priority from the plurality of analysis results. For example, the at least one analysis result can be the analysis result with high feedback priority from the plurality of analysis results.

[0204] Optionally, the first response can further include third indication information indicating the reason why the first analysis result does not satisfy the constraint condition with the highest priority from the plurality of constraint conditions. That is, the reason why the NWDAF network element does not generate the analysis result satisfying the constraint condition with the highest priority. For example, when the NWDAF network element selects the first analysis result from the plurality of analysis results based on the constraint condition and the priority indication information, the NWDAF network element can further determine whether there is an analysis result of the plurality of analysis results that is most interesting to the NFc. For example, when the first analysis result selected by the NWDAF network element is not the analysis result satisfying the constraint condition with the highest priority, the NWDAF network element can further analyze the reason why the analysis result satisfying the constraint condition with the highest priority is not obtained, and generate the reason why the analysis result is not obtained. For example, the reason why the analysis result satisfying the constraint condition with the highest priority is not obtained can be environmental problems, complexity, and the like. For another example, the NWDAF network element can further generate the reason why the first analysis result satisfying the constraint condition with the non-highest priority is fed back, and feed back the reason to the NFc together with the first analysis result.

[0205] After receiving the first response, the NFc can know the reason why the NWDAF network element fails to feed back the analysis result satisfying the constraint condition with the highest priority or the reason why the analysis result satisfying the constraint condition with the non-highest priority is fed back according to the third indication information. In this way, the NFc can adjust the network policy according to the reason fed back by the NWDAF network element, without analyzing the problem by itself, thereby improving the recommendation value of the NWDAF network element.

[0206] In the above embodiments, the NFc can carry priority indication information in the request sent to the NWDAF network element, to inform the NWDAF network element of the analysis result it is interested in. In this way, the NWDAF network element can select the analysis result with the highest priority from multiple analysis results according to the priority indication information and feed back to the NFc, so as to selectively provide the most recommended analysis result to the NFc, thereby improving the recommendation value of the NWDAF network element.

[0207] Based on the method provided in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the application further provides a communication instance, which is shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6 and 7.

[0208] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the application. The NFc is a PCF network element for analyzing an open architecture. As shown in FIG. 4, the method comprises the following steps:

[0209] S401: The PCF network element sends a network element discovery request to the NRF network element. The NRF network element receives the network element discovery request from the PCF network element. The network element discovery request is used to request the NRF network element to discover a NWDAF network element with recommendation capability. For example, the network element discovery request can be Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request.

[0210] Optionally, the network element discovery request can carry, but is not limited to, the following parameters: target NF = "NWDAF", recommendation capability, AOI.

[0211] S402: The NRF network element sends a discovery response message to the PCF network element. The PCF network element receives the discovery response message sent by the NRF network element. The discovery response message includes the NWDAF network element with recommendation capability. For example, the discovery response message can be Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Response.

[0212] S403: The PCF network element sends an analysis subscription message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the analysis subscription message sent by the PCF network element. The analysis subscription message can be Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe. The analysis subscription message can include the first request described in the above embodiments.

[0213] The first request carries an analytics ID, a recommendation flag, and optimization goals. The analytics ID is used to indicate the type of analysis requested by the PCF network element. The recommendation flag is used to request the NWDAF network element to provide the analysis result. The optimization goals are used to indicate that the PCF network element expects the NWDAF network element to provide the analysis result according to the optimization goal. The optimization goal can be the network policy in the above embodiments. For example, the optimization goal can be a scenario in which the service experience Mos > 4.

[0214] Optionally, the first request can also carry part or all of the following parameters:

[0215] 1) constraints per requested parameter, used to indicate the constraint condition of the parameter combination.

[0216] The constraints per requested parameter can carry at least one constraint condition. The parameter refers to a parameter that can achieve the optimization goal.

[0217] Optionally, when the constraints per requested parameter carries multiple constraint conditions, the constraints per requested parameter can carry the priority of the multiple constraint conditions. The priority of the multiple constraint conditions can be explicitly indicated by an indication or implicitly indicated according to the order of the constraint conditions. That is, the NFc can carry first indication information in the constraints per requested parameter. That is, the first indication information can be a specific indication or an implicit indication (the order of the constraint conditions).

[0218] 2) alternative constraints per requested parameter, used to indicate the candidate constraint condition of the parameter.

[0219] When the constraints per requested parameter only carries one constraint condition, the alternative constraints per requested parameter can carry the priority of at least one candidate constraint condition. That is, the NFc can provide second indication information in the alternative constraints per requested parameter. For example, when the alternative constraints per requested parameter carries one candidate constraint condition, the priority of the candidate constraint condition provided by the NFc is lower than the constraint condition in the constraints per requested parameter.

[0220] 3) Parameter priority preference of QoS parameter, used to indicate the priority of the parameter in the constraint condition.

[0221] 4) Feedback indication information, used to indicate that the NWDAF network element feeds back the analysis result according to the feedback policy.

[0222] Optionally, the feedback indication information can carry the feedback policy, and the feedback policy can be the number or priority of the analysis result fed back by the NWDAF network element.

[0223] S404: The NWDAF network element collects data from other network elements AF, NFs, and the process is as follows:

[0224] S404a1: The NWDAF network element sends a collection request to the AF network element. The AF network element receives the collection request from the NWDAF network element. Wherein, the collection request can be Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe. The Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe carries an event ID, which is used to obtain service experience information.

[0225] S404a2: The AF network element sends a notification message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the notification message from the AF network element. Wherein, the notification message can be Naf_EventExposure_Notify, which carries the data required by the NWDAF network element.

[0226] S404b1: The NWDAF network element sends a collection request to the NFs network element. The NFs network element receives the collection request from the NWDAF network element. Wherein, the collection request is the same as the collection request in step S404a1.

[0227] S404b2: The NFs network element sends a notification message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the notification message from the NFs network element. Wherein, the notification message can be Naf_EventExposure_Notify, carrying the data required by the NWDAF network element.

[0228] S405: The NWDAF network element generates a plurality of analysis results according to the data.

[0229] S406: The NWDAF network element selects the analysis result corresponding to the optimization target from the plurality of analysis results.

[0230] In an implementation manner, when the constraints per requested parameter carried by the first request provides multiple levels of constraint conditions, the NWDAF network element can determine the feedback order of the plurality of analysis results according to the multiple levels of constraint conditions. For example, the NWDAF network element determines the analysis result that meets the constraint condition in the plurality of analysis results, and can classify the analysis result that meets the constraint condition according to the priority level of the constraint condition it meets. The NWDAF network element can take the analysis result with the highest priority in the analysis result that meets the constraint condition as the analysis result corresponding to the optimization target.

[0231] For example, when there is an analysis result that meets the constraint condition with the highest priority in the plurality of analysis results, the NWDAF network element only takes this analysis result as the analysis result corresponding to the optimization target. For another example, when the NWDAF network element determines that there is no analysis result that meets the constraint condition with the highest priority in the plurality of analysis results, and there is an analysis result that meets the constraint condition with other priority levels, the NWDAF network element can take the analysis result that meets the constraint condition with the highest priority in the other priority levels as the analysis result corresponding to the optimization target.

[0232] In another implementation, when the constraints per requested parameter carried by the first request only provides one constraint condition, the PCF network element can provide at least one candidate constraint condition through a separate parameter alternative constraints per requested parameter. The at least one candidate constraint condition has a priority, and the priority of the at least one candidate constraint condition is lower than the constraint condition provided by the constraints per requested parameter. The NWDAF network element first determines whether there is an analysis result satisfying the constraint condition in the plurality of analysis results; if yes, the analysis result is taken as the analysis result of the optimization target. If not, the NWDAF network element can determine the analysis result satisfying the at least one candidate constraint condition in the plurality of analysis results, and prioritize the analysis result according to the priority of the candidate constraint condition satisfied by the analysis result. The NWDAF network element can take the analysis result corresponding to the highest priority in the analysis result satisfying the candidate constraint condition as the analysis result of the optimization target.

[0233] In another implementation, the first request can also carry a preference of QoS parameter, which provides the parameter preferred by the PCF network element for the NWDAF network element. When the NWDAF network element determines that none of the plurality of analysis results satisfies the constraint condition and the candidate constraint condition, the NWDAF network element can take the analysis result satisfying the constraint condition of the parameter with the highest priority in the preference of QoS parameter as the analysis result of the optimization target.

[0234] For example, the PCF network element provides a constraint condition in the constraints per requested parameter: DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]; the NWDAF network element analyzes multiple analysis results as DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [6%-10%], and DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%]. In this case, the NWDAF network element can find that the multiple analysis results obtained by it cannot meet all requirements of the constraints per requested parameter constraint condition. Since the PCF network element provides the parameter DL GFBR in the preference of QoS parameter, the NWDAF network element can return the analysis result of DL GFBR: [100Mbps, 150Mbps], DL MPLR: [6%-10%] to the PCF network element as the analysis result of the optimization target. For another example, when the PCF network element provides the parameter DL MPLR in the preference of QoS parameter, the NWDAF network element returns the analysis result of DL GFBR: [80Mbps, 100Mbps], DL MPLR: [1%-5%] to the PCF network element.

[0235] In another implementation, when the first request carries the feedback indication information, the NWDAF network element can determine the analysis result corresponding to the optimization target from the multiple analysis results according to the feedback strategy in the feedback indication information. For example, the NWDAF network element can determine the first N analysis results in the multiple analysis results sorted in descending order of the feedback priority as the analysis result corresponding to the optimization target, or determine the analysis result with the first M priority as the analysis result corresponding to the optimization target.

[0236] After obtaining the analysis result of the optimization target, the NWDAF network element can also generate a reason for feeding back the analysis result to the PCF network element. For another example, when the analysis result of the optimization target determined by the NWDAF network element is not the analysis result corresponding to the highest priority indicated by the priority indication information provided by the PCF network element, the NWDAF network element can generate a reason for not providing the analysis result corresponding to the highest priority.

[0237] S407: The NWDAF network element sends an analysis notification message to the PCF network element. The PCF network element receives the analysis notification message from the NWDAF network element.

[0238] The analysis notification message Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify includes the analysis result of the optimization target. Optionally, the analysis result can be included in the recommendation QoS parameter combinations or the newly added parameter alternative Recommendation QoS parameter combinations. The analysis result is located in the above-mentioned parameters, indicating that the NWDAF network element provides a non-optimal analysis result or an alternative QoS parameter combination that meets part of the requirements according to the hierarchical parameter requirements or the requirements of the preference of QoS parameter in the constraints per requested parameter or the alternative constraints per requested parameter.

[0239] Optionally, the analysis notification message can also include the reason why the NWDAF network element cannot provide an optimal analysis result or the reason for the current analysis result.

[0240] Based on the content shown in FIG. 4, the PCF network element can limit the analysis result returned by the NWDAF network element to meet the constraint condition, or when the NWDAF network element determines that multiple analysis results cannot all meet the constraint condition, the NWDAF network element can select an analysis result that meets the constraint condition of the parameter preferred by the PCF according to the preference of QoS parameter carried by the analysis subscription message sent by the PCF, thereby realizing selective feedback of the analysis result, assisting the PCF network element to obtain the most preferred analysis result, and further improving the recommendation value.

[0241] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the application. The NFc is an AF network element under the analysis open architecture. As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes the following steps:

[0242] S501: The AF network element sends a network element discovery request to the NRF network element. The NRF network element receives the network element discovery request from the AF network element.

[0243] S502: The NRF network element sends a discovery response message to the AF network element. The AF network element receives the discovery response message sent by the NRF network element.

[0244] S503: The AF network element sends an analysis subscription message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the analysis subscription message sent by the AF network element.

[0245] S504: The NWDAF network element collects data from other network elements AF, NFs, the process is as follows:

[0246] S504a1: The NWDAF network element sends a collection request to the AF network element. The AF network element receives the collection request from the NWDAF network element. Wherein the collection request can be Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe. Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe carries event ID, which is used to obtain service experience information.

[0247] S504a2: The AF network element sends a notification message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the notification message from the AF network element. Wherein the notification message can be Naf_EventExposure_Notify, carrying the data required by the NWDAF network element.

[0248] S504b1: The NWDAF network element sends a collection request to the NFs network element. The NFs network element receives the collection request from the NWDAF network element. Wherein the collection request is the same as the collection request in step S404a1.

[0249] S504b2: The NFs network element sends a notification message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the notification message from the NFs network element. Wherein the notification message can be Naf_EventExposure_Notify, carrying the data required by the NWDAF network element.

[0250] S505: The NWDAF network element generates a plurality of analysis results according to the data.

[0251] S506: The NWDAF network element selects an analysis result corresponding to the optimization target from the plurality of analysis results.

[0252] S507: The NWDAF network element sends an analysis notification message to the AF network element. The AF network element receives the analysis notification message from the NWDAF network element.

[0253] Wherein the specific execution process of S501-S507 above is the same as the process of S401-S407 in the above figure 4, which will not be repeated here.

[0254] S508: The AF network element sends the QoS parameter in the analysis result to the PCF network element.

[0255] In one implementation manner, the AF network element can directly send the analysis result to the PCF network element.

[0256] In another implementation, the AF network element can send the analytics result to the PCF network element via the NEF network element. For example, the AF network element can send the analytics result to the NEF network element via the Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create / Update Request. The Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create service operation allows the AF network element to request the network to provide specific QoS for the AF session. The Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create / Update Request carries, but is not limited to, the following parameters: AF ID, UE address, recommended QoS parameters. The AF ID is used to indicate the identity of the AF, the UE address is used to indicate the public IP address or the subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) allocated by the UPF for the UE in the PDU session established by the UE and the AF network element, and the recommended QoS parameters are used to indicate the parameter combination corresponding to the analytics result received from the NWDAF network element.

[0257] Upon receiving the Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create / Update Request, the NEF network element responds with a transaction reference ID. The NEF network element sends the Nnef_PolicyAuthorization_Create / Update Request to the PCF network element. The Nnef_PolicyAuthorization_Create / Update Request includes the AF ID, the UE address, and the recommended QoS parameters.

[0258] S509: The PCF network element returns an acknowledgement response to the AF network element. The AF network element receives the acknowledgement response from the PCF network element. The acknowledgement response is used to indicate that the PCF network element determines the parameter combination corresponding to the analytics result.

[0259] When the parameter combination is sent to the PCF network element via the NEF network element, the PCF network element sends the Nnef_PolicyAuthorization_Create / Update Response carrying the acknowledgement response to the NEF network element. Upon receiving the acknowledgement response, the NEF network element sends the Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create / Update Response carrying the acknowledgement response to the AF network element.

[0260] Based on the content shown in FIG. 5, the AF network element can provide parameters for the NWDAF network element to feedback analysis results in analyzing the subscription request. In this way, the NWDAF network element can selectively select the analysis result preferred by the AF network element from multiple analysis results, thereby improving the recommendation value of the NWDAF network element.

[0261] FIG. 6 shows a flow diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. Wherein, NFc is a PCF network element under the recommendation architecture. As shown in FIG. 6, the method comprises the following steps:

[0262] S601: The PCF network element sends a network element discovery request to the NRF network element. The NRF network element receives the network element discovery request from the PCF network element.

[0263] S602: The NRF network element sends a discovery response message to the PCF network element. The PCF network element receives the discovery response message sent by the NRF network element.

[0264] Wherein, S601-S602 are the same as S401-S402 in FIG. 4, and will not be described here.

[0265] S603: The PCF network element sends a recommendation subscription message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the recommendation subscription message from the PCF network element. Wherein, the recommendation subscription message can be Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Subscribe. Illustratively, the parameters carried in the recommendation subscription message are the same as the parameters carried in the analysis subscription message Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and will not be described here.

[0266] S604: The NWDAF network element collects data from other network elements AF, NFs, and the process is as follows:

[0267] S604a1: The NWDAF network element sends a collection request to the AF network element. The AF network element receives the collection request from the NWDAF network element. Wherein, the collection request can be Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe. Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe carries an event ID, which is used to obtain service experience information.

[0268] S604a2: The AF network element sends a notification message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the notification message from the AF network element. The notification message can be Naf_EventExposure_Notify, carrying the data required by the NWDAF network element.

[0269] S604b1: The NWDAF network element sends a collection request to the NFs network element. The NFs network element receives the collection request from the NWDAF network element. The collection request is the same as the collection request in step S404a1.

[0270] S604b2: The NFs network element sends a notification message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the notification message from the NFs network element. The notification message can be Naf_EventExposure_Notify, carrying the data required by the NWDAF network element.

[0271] S605: The NWDAF network element generates a plurality of analysis results according to the data.

[0272] S606: The NWDAF network element selects an analysis result corresponding to the optimization target from the plurality of analysis results.

[0273] The execution process of steps S604-S605 is the same as that of steps S404-S406 in FIG. 4, and will not be described here.

[0274] S607: The NWDAF network element sends a recommendation subscription notification to the PCF network element. The PCF network element receives the recommendation subscription notification from the NWDAF network element.

[0275] The recommendation subscription notification can be Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Notify. The parameters carried in Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Notify are the same as those contained in the analysis notification message Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify in FIG. 4, and will not be described here.

[0276] Based on the content shown in FIG. 6, in the recommendation architecture, the PCF network element can limit the analysis results fed back by the NWDAF network element. In this way, the NWDAF network element can select the analysis result preferred by the PCF network element from the plurality of analysis results and feed it back to the PCF network element, thereby improving the recommendation value of the NWDAF network element.

[0277] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. In the figure, NFc is an AF network element in a recommendation architecture. As shown in FIG. 7, the method includes the following steps:

[0278] S701: The AF network element sends a network element discovery request to the NRF network element. The NRF network element receives the network element discovery request from the AF network element.

[0279] S702: The AF network element sends a discovery response message to the PCF network element. The AF network element receives the discovery response message sent from the NRF network element.

[0280] Wherein, S701-S702 are the same as S401-S402 in FIG. 4, and will not be described here again.

[0281] S703: The AF network element sends a recommendation subscription message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the recommendation subscription message from the AF network element. Wherein, the recommendation subscription message can be Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Subscribe. Illustratively, the parameters carried in the recommendation subscription message are the same as the parameters carried in the analysis subscription message Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and will not be described here again.

[0282] S704: The NWDAF network element collects data from other network elements AF, NFs, and the process is as follows:

[0283] S704a1: The NWDAF network element sends a collection request to the AF network element. The AF network element receives the collection request from the NWDAF network element. Wherein, the collection request can be Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe. Naf_EventExposure_Subscribe carries an event ID, which is used to obtain service experience information.

[0284] S704a2: The AF network element sends a notification message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the notification message from the AF network element. Wherein, the notification message can be Naf_EventExposure_Notify, which carries the data required by the NWDAF network element.

[0285] S704b1: The NWDAF network element sends a collection request to the NFs network element. The NFs network element receives the collection request from the NWDAF network element. Wherein, the collection request is the same as the collection request in step S404a1.

[0286] S704b2: The NFs network element sends a notification message to the NWDAF network element. The NWDAF network element receives the notification message from the NFs network element. Wherein, the notification message can be Naf_EventExposure_Notify, which carries the data required by the NWDAF network element.

[0287] S705: The NWDAF network element generates a plurality of analysis results according to the data.

[0288] S706: The NWDAF network element selects an analysis result corresponding to the optimization target from the plurality of analysis results.

[0289] The execution processes of steps S704-S706 are the same as those of S404-S406 in FIG. 4, and will not be described here again.

[0290] S707: The NWDAF network element sends a recommendation subscription notification to the AF network element. The AF network element receives the recommendation subscription notification from the NWDAF network element.

[0291] The recommendation subscription notification can be Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Notify. The parameters carried in the Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Notify are the same as those contained in the analysis notification message Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify in FIG. 4, and will not be described here again.

[0292] S708: The AF network element sends the QoS parameter in the analysis result to the PCF network element.

[0293] S709: The PCF network element returns a confirmation response to the AF network element.

[0294] The execution processes of steps S707-S708 are the same as those of S507-S508 in FIG. 5, and will not be described here again.

[0295] Based on the content shown in FIG. 7, under the recommendation architecture, the AF network element can limit the analysis results fed back by the NWDAF network element, so that the NWDAF network element can select the most valuable analysis result for the AF network element from the plurality of analysis results, improving the recommendation value of the NWDAF network element. In addition, when the NWDAF network element does not feed back the analysis result corresponding to the highest priority indicated by the AF network element to the AF network element, the NWDAF network element can feed back the reason to the AF network element, so that the AF network element can adjust the optimization target or network policy according to the reason.

[0296] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between network elements. It can be understood that the execution sequence of each step in the above method embodiments is only an example, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In order to implement the above functions, each device can include a hardware structure and / or a software module corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is implemented in hardware or computer software driven hardware depends on the specific application and implementation manner constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of the present application.

[0297] The embodiments of the present application can divide the functional units of the network element according to the above method examples, for example, each functional unit can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or software functional unit.

[0298] In the case of using an integrated unit, FIG. 8 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of a communication apparatus involved in the embodiments of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the communication apparatus 800 can include a sending unit 801, a processing unit 802 and a receiving unit 803. The processing unit 802 is configured to control and manage the actions of the communication apparatus 800. The receiving unit 803 is configured to support the communication between the communication apparatus 800 and other devices. Optionally, the receiving unit 803 and the sending unit 801 can also be a unit (such as a transceiver unit or a communication unit), which can be used to perform receiving and sending operations. Optionally, the communication apparatus 800 can further include a storage unit 804 configured to store the program code and / or data of the communication apparatus 800.

[0299] The processing unit 802 can support the communication apparatus 800 to perform the actions of the NFc or NWDAF network element in each method example described above. Alternatively, the processing unit 802 mainly performs the internal actions of the NFc or NWDAF network element in the method examples. The receiving unit 803 and the sending unit 801 can support the communication between the communication apparatus 800 and other devices.

[0300] For example, the communication apparatus 800 can be the NFc in each of the above embodiments, or can also be a component (such as a chip) of the NFc in each of the above embodiments.

[0301] The processing unit 802 is configured to send, by the sending unit 801, a first request to a NWDAF network element, the first request comprising priority indication information, the first request being used to request the network data analysis function network element to feed back a plurality of analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information, the priority indication information being used to indicate a feedback priority of the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; and the processing unit 802 is configured to receive, by the receiving unit 803, a first response from the NWDAF network element, the first response comprising at least one analysis result, the at least one analysis result being determined from the plurality of analysis results according to the feedback priority.

[0302] In a possible implementation, the first response comprises a first analysis result, the first analysis result being an analysis result with the highest priority in the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; or the first response comprises at least one analysis result, the at least one analysis result being determined from analysis results in the front of the plurality of analysis results according to the feedback priority from high to low.

[0303] In a possible implementation, each analysis result of the plurality of analysis results corresponds to a set of values of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priority indication information comprises first indication information, the first indication information indicating a priority of a plurality of constraint conditions of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; and the priority of the plurality of constraint conditions is used to determine the first analysis result in the plurality of analysis results.

[0304] Optionally, the first indication information can be a specific priority indication identifier, or can be an implicit identifier of an order of the constraint conditions.

[0305] In a possible implementation, each constraint condition of the plurality of constraint conditions comprises a value range of each parameter in the parameter combination.

[0306] In a possible implementation, the priority indication information comprises second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a priority of a plurality of parameters included in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0307] In a possible implementation, the first analysis result is an analysis result satisfying a constraint condition with a high priority in the plurality of constraint conditions.

[0308] In a possible implementation, the first analysis result is an analysis result satisfying a value range of a parameter with the highest priority in the plurality of parameters of the parameter combination.

[0309] In a possible implementation, the first response further includes third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate a reason why the first analysis result does not satisfy a constraint condition with the highest priority among the plurality of constraint conditions.

[0310] In a possible implementation, the first request further includes feedback indication information, the feedback indication information including a feedback policy, and the feedback indication information being used to instruct the network data analysis network element to feed back the plurality of analysis results of the network policy to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback policy.

[0311] In a possible implementation, the feedback policy can be a number of analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0312] In a possible implementation, the feedback policy can be a priority of analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0313] In a possible implementation, the network function service consumption entity is a policy control function network element or an application function network element, and the first request further includes at least one constraint condition of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0314] For another example, the communication apparatus 800 can be a NWDAF network element in the above-described embodiments, or can also be a component (such as a chip) of the NWDAF network element in the above-described embodiments.

[0315] The processing unit 802 is configured to receive, by the receiving unit 803, a first request from the NFc, the first request including priority indication information, the first request being used to request the network data analysis function network element to feed back a plurality of analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information, and the priority indication information being used to indicate a feedback priority of the plurality of analysis results of the network policy.

[0316] The processing unit 802 is configured to send, by the sending unit 801, a first response to the NFc, the first response including at least one analysis result determined from the plurality of analysis results according to the feedback priority.

[0317] In a possible implementation, the first response includes a first analysis result, and the first analysis result is an analysis result with the highest priority among the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; or the first response includes at least one analysis result determined from analysis results in a front row after the plurality of analysis results are sorted according to the feedback priority from high to low.

[0318] In a possible implementation, each of the plurality of analysis results corresponds to a set of values of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priority indication information comprises first indication information, the first indication information indicating priorities of a plurality of constraint conditions of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; and the priorities of the plurality of constraint conditions are used to determine the first analysis result from the plurality of analysis results.

[0319] In a possible implementation, each of the plurality of constraint conditions comprises a value range of each parameter in the parameter combination.

[0320] In a possible implementation, the priority indication information comprises second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate priorities of a plurality of parameters included in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0321] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0322] When the first analysis result does not satisfy the plurality of constraint conditions, determining, as the first analysis result, an analysis result that satisfies a value range of a parameter with the highest priority in the plurality of parameters in the parameter combination.

[0323] In a possible implementation, the processing unit 802 is further configured to:

[0324] When the first analysis result does not satisfy the plurality of constraint conditions, determining, as the first analysis result, an analysis result that satisfies a value range of a parameter with the highest priority in the plurality of parameters in the parameter combination.

[0325] In a possible implementation, the first response further comprises third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate a reason why the first analysis result does not satisfy a constraint condition with the highest priority in the plurality of constraint conditions.

[0326] In a possible implementation, the first request further comprises feedback indication information, the feedback indication information comprising a feedback policy, and the feedback indication information being used to instruct the network data analysis network element to feed back, to the network function service consumption entity, the plurality of analysis results of the network policy according to the feedback policy.

[0327] In a possible implementation, the feedback policy can be a number of analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0328] In a possible implementation, the feedback policy can be a priority of an analysis result fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity.

[0329] In a possible implementation, the network function service consumption entity is a policy control function network element or an application function network element; and the first request further includes at least one constraint condition of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy.

[0330] It should be understood that the division of units in the above apparatus is only a logical division of functions, and in actual implementation, all or part of the units can be integrated into one physical entity, or can be physically separated. The units in the apparatus can all be implemented in the form of software invoked by a processing element; or all be implemented in the form of hardware; or part of the units are implemented in the form of software invoked by a processing element, and part of the units are implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or can be integrated in a chip of the apparatus, in addition, the unit can also be stored in the form of a program in a memory, and the function of the unit is invoked and executed by a processing element of the apparatus. In addition, all or part of the units can be integrated together, or can be independently implemented. The processing element herein can be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with a signal processing capability. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each unit can be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processing element, or in the form of software invoked by the processing element.

[0331] In one example, the units in any of the above apparatuses can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, for example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the units in the apparatus are implemented in the form of a program invoked by a processing element, the processing element can be a processor such as a general purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processors capable of invoking programs. For another example, the units can be integrated together to implement in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0332] The above receiving unit is an interface circuit of the apparatus for receiving signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the apparatus is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit of the chip for receiving signals from other chips or apparatuses. The above sending unit is an interface circuit of the apparatus for sending signals to other apparatuses. For example, when the apparatus is implemented in the form of a chip, the sending unit is an interface circuit of the chip for sending signals to other chips or apparatuses.

[0333] Please refer to FIG. 9, which is a schematic diagram of a communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present application, used to implement the operations of the NFc or NWDAF network element in the above embodiments. The communication apparatus 900 includes a processor 910 and an interface 930. Optionally, the communication apparatus 900 further includes a memory 920. The interface 930 is configured to implement communication with other devices.

[0334] In the above embodiments, the method performed by the NFc or NWDAF network element can be implemented by the processor 910 invoking the program stored in the memory (which can be the memory 920 in the NFc or NWDAF network element, or an external memory). That is, the communication apparatus 900 used to implement the functions of the NFc or NWDAF network element can include the processor 910, which performs the method performed by the NFc or NWDAF network element in the above method embodiments by invoking the program in the memory. The processor here can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capability, such as a CPU. The access network device can be implemented by one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method. For example: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. Alternatively, the above implementation manners can be combined.

[0335] When the communication apparatus 900 is used for the above method, the processor 910 is configured to implement the functions of the above processing unit 802, and the interface 930 is configured to implement the functions of the above sending unit 801 and receiving unit 803.

[0336] In the embodiments described above, all or some of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, all or some of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product storing computer program instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded into and executed by a computer, all or some of the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable apparatuses. The computer program instructions can be stored in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer program instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center through wired (for example, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. integrated with one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, solid state disk (SSD)) and the like.

[0337] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithms described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented or performed by a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, optionally the general purpose processor can also be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration.

[0338] The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software unit can reside in RAM, flash memory, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium can reside in an ASIC.

[0339] These computer program instructions can 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 and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0340] In one or more exemplary implementations, the functions described can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or data signals adapted for

[0341] Those skilled in the art should understand that, in one or more examples described above, the functions described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the functions can be stored in a computer readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium includes computer storage medium and communication medium, wherein the communication medium includes any medium that facilitates transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a general or special purpose computer.

[0342] The above detailed description of the specific implementation of the present application has further detailed the purpose, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific implementation of the embodiments of the present application and is not used to limit the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. The above description of the present application specification can enable any person skilled in the art to utilize or implement the embodiments of the present application. Any modification based on the disclosed content should be considered as obvious in the art and the basic principles described in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to other variations without deviating from the essence and scope of the present application. Therefore, the content disclosed in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to the described embodiments and implementation, but can be extended to the maximum scope consistent with the principles of the present application and the disclosed new features.

[0343] Although the present application is described in combination with specific features and embodiments thereof, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Accordingly, the present specification and drawings are only exemplary of the present application defined by the appended claims, and any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents that fall within the scope of the present application are intended to be covered. Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the embodiments of the present application are intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a network function service consumption entity, and the method comprises the following steps: sending a first request to a network data analysis function network element, wherein the first request comprises priority indication information, the first request is used for requesting the network data analysis function network element to feed back a plurality of analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information, and the priority indication information is used for indicating feedback priorities of the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; receiving a first response from the network data analysis function network element, wherein the first response comprises at least one analysis result, and the at least one analysis result is determined from the plurality of analysis results according to the feedback priorities. The method of claim 1, wherein The first response comprises a first analysis result, and the first analysis result is an analysis result with the highest priority in the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; or The first response comprises at least one analysis result, and the at least one analysis result is determined from analysis results in the front of the plurality of analysis results in descending order of the feedback priorities. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Each analysis result of the plurality of analysis results corresponds to a set of values of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priority indication information comprises first indication information, the first indication information indicates priorities of a plurality of constraint conditions of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; and the priorities of the plurality of constraint conditions are used for determining the first analysis result in the plurality of analysis results. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Each constraint condition of the plurality of constraint conditions comprises a value range of each parameter in the parameter combination. The method according to any one of claims 3-4, characterized in that, The priority indication information comprises second indication information, and the second indication information is used for indicating priorities of a plurality of parameters included in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy. The method according to any one of claims 3-5, characterized in that The first analysis result is an analysis result that satisfies a constraint condition with a high priority in the plurality of constraint conditions. The method according to any one of claims 3-5, characterized in that The first analysis result is an analysis result that satisfies a value range of a parameter with the highest priority in the plurality of parameters of the parameter combination. The method according to any one of claims 3-7, characterized in that The first response further comprises third indication information, and the third indication information is used for indicating a reason why the first analysis result does not satisfy a constraint condition with the highest priority in the plurality of constraint conditions. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The first request further comprises feedback indication information, the feedback indication information comprises a feedback policy, and the feedback indication information is used for instructing the network data analysis network element to feed back the plurality of analysis results of the network policy to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback policy. The method of claim 9, wherein The feedback policy is a number of analysis results fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity. The method of claim 9, wherein The feedback policy is a priority of an analysis result fed back by the network data analysis network element to the network function service consumption entity. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that The network function service consumption entity is a policy control function network element or an application function network element. The first request further comprises at least one constraint condition of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy. A communication method characterized by comprising: The method is applied to a network data analysis function network element, and the method comprises the following steps: receiving a first request from a network function service consumption entity, the first request comprising priority indication information, the first request being used to request the network data analytics function network element to feed back a plurality of analysis results of a network policy according to the priority indication information, the priority indication information being used to indicate a feedback priority of the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; sending a first response to the network function service consumption entity, the first response comprising at least one analysis result, the at least one analysis result being determined from the plurality of analysis results according to the feedback priority. The method of claim 13, wherein the first response comprises a first analysis result, the first analysis result being a highest-priority analysis result in the plurality of analysis results of the network policy; or the first response comprises at least one analysis result, the at least one analysis result being determined from analysis results in a front rank after the plurality of analysis results are sorted according to the feedback priority from high to low. The method of claim 14, wherein each analysis result of the plurality of analysis results corresponds to a set of values of a parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priority indication information comprises first indication information, the first indication information indicating a priority of a plurality of constraint conditions of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy; the priority of the plurality of constraint conditions is used to determine the first analysis result in the plurality of analysis results. The method of claim 15, wherein each constraint condition of the plurality of constraint conditions comprises a value range of each parameter in the parameter combination. The method according to any one of claims 15-16, characterized in that the priority indication information comprises second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate a priority of a plurality of parameters included in the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy. The method according to any one of claims 15-17, characterized in that The method further comprises: taking an analysis result satisfying a higher-priority constraint condition in the plurality of constraint conditions as the first analysis result. [Rule 91 Correction 13.01.2026] The method according to any one of claims 15-17, characterized in that, The method further comprises: when it is determined that none of the plurality of analysis results satisfies the plurality of constraint conditions, taking an analysis result satisfying a value range of a parameter with a higher priority in the plurality of parameters of the parameter combination as the first analysis result. The method according to any one of claims 15-19, characterized in that The first response further comprises third indication information, the third indication information being used to indicate a reason why the first analysis result does not satisfy a constraint condition with the highest priority in the plurality of constraint conditions. The method according to any one of claims 13-20, characterized in that The first request further comprises feedback indication information, the feedback indication information comprising a feedback policy, the feedback indication information being used to indicate that the network data analytics network element feeds back the plurality of analysis results of the network policy to the network function service consumption entity according to the feedback policy. The method of claim 21, wherein The feedback policy is a number of analysis results fed back by the network data analytics network element to the network function service consumption entity. The method of claim 21, wherein The feedback policy is a priority of analysis results fed back by the network data analytics network element to the network function service consumption entity. The method according to any one of claims 13-23, characterized in that The network function service consumption entity is a policy control function network element or an application function network element; The first request further comprises at least one constraint condition of the parameter combination corresponding to the network policy. A communication device, characterized by comprise a memory and one or more processors, the memory being coupled to the one or more processors; The memory is configured to store computer programs or instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1-24. A communication device, characterized by comprising a transceiver and a processing unit; The transceiver is configured to receive and transmit data. The processing unit is configured to perform the method of any of claims 1-24 via the transceiver. A chip characterized by comprising a processor coupled to a memory, configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, causing the chip to perform the method of any of claims 1-24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized by comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-24. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1-24.

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