Network slice selection method, device, computer equipment and readable medium

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a network slice selection method, receiving a slice selection request sent by an AMF, obtaining the slice information of the location and the slice information of the home location carried therein, wherein the slice information of the location at least includes the regional information of the location, and the slice information of the home location at least includes information used to indicate the service quality of the home location; determining the network slice of the location according to the regional information of the location, the information used to indicate the service quality of the home location, and the mapping relationship between the service quality information, the regional information, and the network slice; sending the network slice of the location to the AMF; by defining the regional information and the service quality information in the slice information, and configuring the mapping relationship between the service quality information, the regional information, and the network slice locally in the NSSF, selecting the network slice of the roaming location for the cross-regional roaming user, and realizing the automatic switching of the network slices of each region in the same PLMN. The present disclosure also provides a network slice selection device, a computer device, and a readable medium.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a network slice selection method, apparatus, computer equipment and readable medium. Background Art

[0002] The 5GC (5G core network) NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function) network element selects available network slices for users through the Nnssf_NSSelection (network slice selection) service. The 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) specification only defines the network slice selection method when the user is not roaming or roaming across PLMNs (Public Land Mobile Networks).

[0003] China has a large land area and a limited number of communication operators. Network slices are usually deployed according to regional planning. For example, a province is divided into a region, and the network slices of each region in the same PLMN of the same operator are different. When users roam across regions, NSSF will not be able to select the correct available network slice for users in the roaming area. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art, the present disclosure provides a network slice selection method, apparatus, computer device and readable medium.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a network slice selection method, including:

[0006] Receive a slice selection request sent by the core access and mobility management function entity AMF;

[0007] Obtaining slice information of the location and slice information of the home location carried in the slice selection request, wherein the slice information of the location at least includes area information of the location, and the slice information of the home location at least includes information used to indicate quality of service of the home location;

[0008] Determine the network slice of the location according to the mapping relationship between the regional information of the location, the information used to indicate the service quality of the home location, the preset service quality information, the regional information and the network slice;

[0009] The network slice of the location is sent to the AMF.

[0010] In some embodiments, the slice information of the home location further includes regional information of the home location, and determining the network slice of the home location according to the mapping relationship between the regional information of the location, the information used to represent the quality of service of the home location, the preset quality of service information, the regional information and the network slice includes:

[0011] If the regional information of the place of origin is different from the regional information of the location, the network slice of the location is determined based on the regional information of the location, information used to represent the service quality of the place of origin and preset service quality information, and a mapping relationship between regional information and network slices.

[0012] In some embodiments, the method further comprises:

[0013] If the area information of the home location is the same as the area information of the location, the network slice of the home location is sent to the AMF.

[0014] In some embodiments, the slice information includes a slice / service type SST field and a slice distinguisher SD field, the SD field includes an area identification field for indicating the area information, and the SST field is used to indicate the quality of service.

[0015] In some embodiments, the SD field also includes a service information field, and the SST field and the service information field are used to indicate service quality.

[0016] On the other hand, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a network slice selection device, including: a receiving module, an acquisition module, a processing module and a sending module, wherein the receiving module is used to receive a slice selection request sent by a core access and mobility management function entity AMF;

[0017] The acquisition module is used to acquire the slice information of the location and the slice information of the home location carried in the slice selection request, wherein the slice information of the location at least includes the area information of the location, and the slice information of the home location at least includes information used to indicate the service quality of the home location;

[0018] The processing module is used to determine the network slice of the location according to the regional information of the location, the information used to indicate the service quality of the home location and the preset service quality information, the regional information and the mapping relationship between the network slice;

[0019] The sending module is used to send the network slice of the location to the AMF.

[0020] In some embodiments, the slice information of the place of origin also includes regional information of the place of origin, and the processing module is used to determine the network slice of the location according to the regional information of the location, information used to represent the service quality of the place of origin and preset service quality information, and a mapping relationship between regional information and network slices when the regional information of the place of origin is different from the regional information of the location.

[0021] In some embodiments, the sending module is also used to send the network slice of the home location to the AMF when the processing module determines that the area information of the home location is the same as the area information of the location.

[0022] In another aspect, the present disclosure also provides a computer device, including:

[0023] one or more processors;

[0024] a storage device having one or more programs stored thereon;

[0025] When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the network slice selection method as described above.

[0026] On the other hand, an embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the program, when executed, implements the network slice selection method as described above.

[0027] The network slice selection method and device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure include: receiving a slice selection request sent by the AMF, obtaining the slice information of the location and the slice information of the home location carried therein, wherein the slice information of the location at least includes the regional information of the location, and the slice information of the home location at least includes the information used to indicate the service quality of the home location; determining the network slice of the location according to the regional information of the location, the information used to indicate the service quality of the home location and the preset service quality information, and the mapping relationship between the regional information and the network slice; sending the network slice of the location to the AMF; the embodiment of the present disclosure defines the regional information and the service quality information in the slice information, and locally configures the mapping relationship between the service quality information, the regional information and the network slice in the NSSF, so as to select the network slice of the roaming location for the user in the cross-region roaming scenario, thereby realizing the automatic switching of network slices of each region within the same PLMN of the same operator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a system architecture provided for an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 2Schematic diagram of the network slice selection process provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 1 ;

[0030] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the network slice selection process provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 2 ;

[0031] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the existing S-NSSAI format;

[0032] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the S-NSSAI format provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the structure of a network slice selection device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Example embodiments will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the example embodiments may be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the present disclosure thorough and complete and to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the scope of the present disclosure.

[0035] As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0036] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "made of" are used in this specification, the presence of the features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components is specified, but the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and / or groups thereof is not excluded.

[0037] The embodiments described herein may be described with reference to plan views and / or cross-sectional views by means of idealized schematic diagrams of the present disclosure. Therefore, the example illustrations may be modified according to manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances. Therefore, the embodiments are not limited to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, but include modifications of the configurations formed based on the manufacturing process. Therefore, the regions illustrated in the accompanying drawings have schematic properties, and the shapes of the regions shown in the figures illustrate the specific shapes of the regions of the elements, but are not intended to be limiting.

[0038] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. It will also be understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted as having an idealized or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined as such herein.

[0039] The present disclosure provides a network slice selection method, which is applied to Figure 1 In the network system shown, the system includes AMF (Core Access and Mobility Management Function) and NSSF. AMF is a 5GC standard network element used to provide standard services such as user access; NSSF is a 5GC standard network element used to provide standard services such as slice selection and slice availability management.

[0040] like Figure 2 As shown, the network slice selection method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following steps:

[0041] Step 11, receive the slice selection request sent by AMF.

[0042] In this step, when the user terminal moves from one area to another within the PLMN and accesses the base station of the current area (i.e., the location), or when the user terminal registers with the base station of the current area to which it is connected, the base station of the current area sends a notification message to the AMF of the current area. Accordingly, the AMF sends a slice selection request to the NSSF to request the NSSF to provide slices for the current area.

[0043] Usually, for ease of management, the same PLMN is divided into regions according to provinces, and one region corresponds to one province.

[0044] Step 12, obtain the slice information of the location and the slice information of the home place carried in the slice selection request, the slice information of the location at least includes the area information of the location, and the slice information of the home place at least includes information used to indicate the service quality of the home place.

[0045] The slice information of the location includes the regional information of the location, and may also include information used to indicate the service quality of the location. The information used to indicate the service quality includes at least the slice / service type, and the regional information may be the regional identifier. The home location refers to the registration location of the user's communication number.

[0046] Step 13, determine the network slice of the location based on the regional information of the location, the information used to represent the service quality of the home location and the preset service quality information, the mapping relationship between the regional information and the network slice.

[0047] It should be noted that different service qualities in the same area have different network slices. Therefore, the mapping relationship between service quality information, regional information and network slices is pre-configured in NSSF. In this step, NSSF queries the mapping relationship based on the regional information of the location and the information used to represent the service quality of the home location to obtain the network slice of the location.

[0048] Step 14: Send the network slice of the location to the AMF.

[0049] In this step, NSSF returns the determined network slice to AMF.

[0050] The network slice selection method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure includes: receiving a slice selection request sent by an AMF, obtaining slice information of a location and slice information of a home location carried therein, wherein the slice information of the location at least includes regional information of the location, and the slice information of the home location at least includes information used to indicate the service quality of the home location; determining the network slice of the location according to the regional information of the location, the information used to indicate the service quality of the home location and the mapping relationship between preset service quality information, regional information and network slices; sending the network slice of the location to the AMF; the embodiment of the present disclosure defines regional information and service quality information in the slice information, and locally configures the mapping relationship between service quality information, regional information and network slices in the NSSF, so as to select the network slice of the roaming location for the user in the cross-region roaming scenario, thereby realizing automatic switching of network slices of various regions within the same PLMN of the same operator.

[0051] In some embodiments, the slice information of the home location may also include the regional information of the home location, that is, the slice selection request sent by the AMF to the NSSF carries not only the regional information of the location, but also the regional information of the home location. Figure 3 As shown, the determining of the network slice of the location (i.e., step 13) according to the mapping relationship between the regional information of the location, the information used to represent the service quality of the home location, the preset service quality information, the regional information, and the network slice includes the following steps:

[0052] Step 21: If the area information of the home location is different from the area information of the location, execute step 13; otherwise, execute step 22.

[0053] In this step, if the regional information of the home location is different from the regional information of the current location, it means that the user is roaming, that is, the user is not currently located in the home location and needs to use the network slice of the current location. Therefore, NSSF determines the network slice of the current location based on the regional information of the location, the information used to represent the service quality of the home location and the preset service quality information, and the mapping relationship between the regional information and the network slice.

[0054] If the regional information of the home location is the same as the regional information of the current location, it means that the user is not roaming, that is, the user is currently in the home location and the network slice has not changed. Therefore, NSSF can send the network slice of the home location to AMF.

[0055] Step 22: Send the network slice of the home location to AMF.

[0056] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, S-NSSAI (Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information) is used to identify the slice information of the network slice. The format of S-NSSAI is defined in the 3GPP TS 23.003 standard, such as Figure 4 As shown, S-NSSAI may include an SST (Slice / Service type) field and an SD (Slice Differentiator) field. The SST field is 8 bits long and has a value range of 0 to 255, where 0 to 127 are defined by the standard and 128 to 255 are defined by the operator. SD is an optional field with a bit length of 24 bits and a value range of 0 to 16777215 (000000 to FFFFFF). When S-NSSAI includes the SD field, the total bit length is 32 bits, and when the SD field is not included, the total bit length is 8 bits.

[0057] Currently, 3GPP TS.23.501 has defined four SST types, as shown in Table 1.

[0058] Table 1

[0059] Slice / Business Type SST value Functionality / Service Features eMBB 1 5G Enhanced Mobile Broadband uL 2 Highly reliable and low latency communication MIoT 3 Massive Internet of Things V2X 4 V2X Services

[0060] The SST field can indicate the quality of service, that is, different slices / service types have different service qualities.

[0061] The SD field is a supplement to the SST field and is used to distinguish multiple network slices of the same SST. Among them, 0 to 16777214 (000000 to FFFFFE) is defined by the operator; 16777215 (FFFFFF) is reserved, indicating that the S-NSSAI only contains the SST field and does not contain the SD field. When the S-NSSAI only contains the SST field, the value of the SD field is FFFFFF, and the actual effective bit length is only 8 bits of the SST; when the S-NSSAI contains both the SST field and the SD field, the value of the SD field is 000000 to FFFFFE, and the total bit length of the S-NSSAI is 32 bits.

[0062] S-NSSAI can be divided into two categories: standard value and non-standard value. The S-NSSAI with standard value only contains the SST field but not the SD field, and the value of the SST field belongs to the SST defined by the standard (as shown in Table 1). The S-NSSAI with non-standard value includes two types: S-NSSAI that contains both the SST field and the SD field, and S-NSSAI that only contains the SST field but not the SD field, and the value of the SST field does not belong to the SST defined by the standard (as shown in Table 1).

[0063] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the meaning of the SD field is customized and the SD field is used to identify the regional information of the network slice to solve the problem of network slice selection when roaming across regions within the PLMN.

[0064] In some embodiments, Figure 5 As shown, the slice information (i.e., S-NSSAI) includes an SST field and an SD field. The SD field includes an area identification field (excluding a service information field) for indicating area information. In this case, the SST field is used to indicate the quality of service. The SST field is 8 bits and the SD field is 24 bits.

[0065] In some embodiments, the SD field may also include a service information field (i.e., the SD field includes both a region identification field and a service information field). In this case, the SST field and the service information field are used together to indicate the quality of service. In some embodiments, the SD field may also include a manufacturer identification field. The region identification field in the SD field is 8 bits long, the service information field is 12 bits long, and the manufacturer identification field is 4 bits long.

[0066] It should be noted that the regional information represented by the regional identification field is the regional information of the network slice. Taking the division of regions by provinces in China as an example, the regional identifications of each region are shown in Table 2.

[0067] Table 2

[0068]

[0069]

[0070] The following is combined with Table 2 to illustrate the mapping relationship between service quality information, area information and network slices. For example, the eMBB network slice of Jiangsu is SST=0000 0001, SD=0000 0000 1010 0000 0000 0000, defined as network slice 1; the uRLLC network slice of Jiangsu is SST=0000 0002, SD=0000 0000 1010 000000000 0000, defined as network slice 2; the eMBB network slice of Anhui is SST=0000 0001, SD=0000 00001100 0000 0000 0000, defined as network slice 3; the uRLLC network slice of Anhui is SST=0000 0002, SD=0000 0000 1100 0000 0000 0000, defined as network slice 4. Among them, Jiangsu's network slice 1 and Anhui's network slice 3 are network slices with the same service quality, and Jiangsu's network slice 2 and Anhui's network slice 4 are network slices with the same service quality.

[0071] The mapping relationship between service quality information, area information and network slices can be shown in Table 3.

[0072] Table 3

[0073]

[0074]

[0075] When a Jiangsu user who has subscribed to an eMBB slice (i.e., network slice 1) roams to Anhui, Anhui's AMF sends a slice selection request to NSSF, which carries Anhui's slice information (including Anhui's area identifier 0000 1100) and Jiangsu's slice information (including the value of SST 0000 0001 corresponding to the service quality information eMBB). NSSF queries the preset mapping relationship (i.e., Table 3 above) based on Anhui's area identifier 00001100 and service quality information 0000 0001, and obtains Anhui's network slice 3, i.e., SST = 0000 0001, SD = 0000 0000 1100 0000 0000 0000, and sends the network slice 3 to Anhui's AMF. That is to say, when a Jiangsu user who has subscribed to an eMBB slice (i.e., network slice 1) roams to Anhui, NSSF selects network slice 3, which is available in Anhui and has the same service quality as network slice 1 (i.e., eMBB), to provide services to the user. In this case, network slice 1 and network slice 3 are corresponding mapping slices.

[0076] The disclosed embodiment implements the slice selection function when the user roams across regions in the same PLMN by customizing the meaning of the network slice information (S-NSSAI) field and cooperating with the slice mapping relationship configured locally by the NSSF.

[0077] Based on the same technical concept, the embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a network slice selection device, which may be a NSSF, such as Figure 6 As shown, the network slice selection device includes: a receiving module 101, an acquisition module 102, a processing module 103 and a sending module 104. The receiving module 101 is used to receive a slice selection request sent by the core access and mobility management function entity AMF.

[0078] The acquisition module 102 is used to obtain the slice information of the location and the slice information of the home place carried in the slice selection request, the slice information of the location at least includes the area information of the location, and the slice information of the home place at least includes information used to represent the service quality of the home place.

[0079] The processing module 103 is used to determine the network slice of the location based on the regional information of the location, the information used to represent the service quality of the home location and the preset service quality information, the mapping relationship between the regional information and the network slice.

[0080] The sending module 104 is used to send the network slice of the location to the AMF.

[0081] In some embodiments, the slice information of the place of origin also includes regional information of the place of origin, and the processing module 103 is used to determine the network slice of the location according to the regional information of the location, the mapping relationship between the information representing the quality of service of the location and the preset quality of service information, the regional information and the network slice when the regional information of the place of origin is different from the regional information of the location.

[0082] In some embodiments, the sending module 104 is also used to send the network slice of the home location to the AMF when the processing module 103 determines that the area information of the home location is the same as the area information of the location.

[0083] In some embodiments, the slice information includes a slice / service type SST field and a slice distinguisher SD field, the SD field includes an area identification field for indicating the area information, and the SST field is used to indicate the quality of service.

[0084] In some embodiments, the SD field also includes a service information field, and the SST field and the service information field are used to indicate service quality.

[0085] An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a computer device, which includes: one or more processors and a storage device; wherein one or more programs are stored on the storage device, and when the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the network slice selection method provided in the aforementioned embodiments.

[0086] An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a computer-readable medium on which a computer program is stored, wherein when the computer program is executed, the network slice selection method provided in the aforementioned embodiments is implemented.

[0087] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that all or some of the steps in the method disclosed above, the functional modules / units in the device may be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof. In hardware implementations, the division between the functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, a physical component may have multiple functions, or a function or step may be performed by several physical components in cooperation. Some physical components or all physical components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or implemented as hardware, or implemented as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which may include a computer storage medium (or non-transitory medium) and a communication medium (or temporary medium). As known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and can be accessed by a computer. In addition, it is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art that communication media typically contain computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media.

[0088] Example embodiments have been disclosed herein, and although specific terms are employed, they are used and should be interpreted only in a general illustrative sense and not for limiting purposes. In some instances, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, unless otherwise expressly stated, features, characteristics, and / or elements described in conjunction with a particular embodiment may be used alone or in combination with features, characteristics, and / or elements described in conjunction with other embodiments. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A network slice selection method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive a slice selection request sent by the core access and mobility management function entity AMF; Obtaining slice information of a location and slice information of a home location carried in the slice selection request, wherein the slice information of the location includes at least regional information of the location, and the slice information of the home location includes at least information used to indicate quality of service of the home location, wherein the information used to indicate quality of service of the home location is a slice or a service type; the location and the home location belong to different areas within the same public land mobile network; If the regional information of the home location is different from the regional information of the location, determining the network slice of the location according to the regional information of the location, information used to indicate the quality of service of the home location and the preset quality of service information, and a mapping relationship between the regional information and the network slice; The network slice of the location is sent to the AMF.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: If the area information of the home location is the same as the area information of the location, the network slice of the home location is sent to the AMF.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The slice information includes a slice / service type SST field and a slice distinguishing identifier SD field, the SD field includes an area identifier field for indicating the area information, and the SST field is used to indicate the quality of service.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The SD field also includes a service information field, and the SST field and the service information field are used to indicate service quality.

5. A network slice selection device, characterized in that: include: A receiving module, an acquiring module, a processing module and a sending module, wherein the receiving module is used to receive a slice selection request sent by a core access and mobility management function entity AMF; The acquisition module is used to acquire the slice information of the location and the slice information of the home location carried in the slice selection request, wherein the slice information of the location includes at least the area information of the location, and the slice information of the home location includes at least the information used to indicate the service quality of the home location, and the information used to indicate the service quality of the home location is a slice or a service type; the location and the home location belong to different areas in the same public land mobile network; The processing module is used to determine the network slice of the location according to the mapping relationship between the regional information of the location, the information used to represent the service quality of the location, the preset service quality information, the regional information and the network slice when the regional information of the home location is different from the regional information of the location; The sending module is used to send the network slice of the location to the AMF.

6. The network slice selection device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The sending module is also used to send the network slice of the home location to the AMF when the processing module determines that the area information of the home location is the same as the area information of the location.

7. A computer device comprising: one or more processors; a storage device having one or more programs stored thereon; When the one or more programs are executed by the one or more processors, the one or more processors implement the network slice selection method as described in any one of claims 1-4.

8. A computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein: When the program is executed, the network slice selection method as described in any one of claims 1 to 4 is implemented.

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