Resource management method, upf and storage medium

Abstract

The application provides a resource management method, a UPF and a storage medium. The resource management method comprises the following steps: receiving a slice support request, determining a plurality of slice instances according to the slice support request; allocating a first service unit belonging only to each slice instance according to a preset strategy, the first service unit being a service unit in the UPF for processing user plane data; and deploying the first service unit to a first physical device. According to the scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, independent occupation of resources for processing user plane data by each slice instance can be realized, and the first service unit is deployed on the first physical device, thereby realizing physical isolation of resources and providing a resource basis for supporting multi-slice sharing and independently managing each slice for a set of UPFs.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of mobile communication, and particularly relates to a resource management method, a UPF and a storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a 5G mobile communication system, a user plane function (UPF) is a kind of functional network element, and is an important part of user plane equipment and slicing technology. In actual application, a set of UPF can be exclusively used by one slice, or shared by multiple slices for resource saving. In order to meet the operation needs of the slice, the UPF usually needs to provide fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security (FCAPS) management of the slice. In the case that the UPF is shared by multiple client slices, due to resource and data sharing, the FCAPS management and resource occupation cannot be independently provided for each client, and different UPFs need to be allocated to different clients, resulting in waste of resources. SUMMARY

[0003] The following is a summary of the subject matter described in detail herein. This summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a resource management method, a UPF and a storage medium, which can realize independent occupation and isolation of slice resources.

[0005] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a resource management method applied to a UPF, comprising:

[0006] receiving a slice support request, and determining a plurality of slice instances according to the slice support request;

[0007] allocating a first service unit belonging only to each of the slice instances according to a preset strategy, the first service unit being a service unit in the UPF for processing user plane data;

[0008] deploying the first service unit to a first physical device.

[0009] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a UPF, comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, and the processor implements the resource management method of the first aspect when executing the computer program.

[0010] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present application further provide a computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions, and the computer executable instructions are used to execute the resource management method of the first aspect.

[0011] The embodiment of the present application comprises: receiving a slice support request, determining a plurality of slice instances according to the slice support request; allocating a first service unit belonging only to each of the slice instances according to a preset policy, the first service unit being a service unit in the UPF for processing user plane data; and deploying the first service unit to a first physical device. According to the scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application, independent occupation of resources for processing user plane data by each slice instance can be realized, and the deployment of the first service unit in the first physical device realizes physical isolation of resources, thereby providing a resource basis for independent management of each slice in the case of supporting multi-slice sharing for a set of UPF.

[0012] Other features and advantages of the present application will be set forth in the following description, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the description, or can be learned by practice of the present application. The objects and other advantages of the present application can be achieved and obtained by means of the structures particularly pointed out in the description, claims and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the technical scheme of the present application, and constitute a part of the specification, and are used together with the embodiments of the present application to explain the technical scheme of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical scheme of the present application.

[0014] Figure 1 is a flowchart of a resource management method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0015] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a UPF instance provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 3 is a flowchart of determining deployment information of a first service unit and allocating in a resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Figure 4 is a flowchart of deploying a first service unit to a first physical device according to a topological relationship in a resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of deployment of each service unit in a physical device in a UPF provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 6 is a flowchart of determining S-NSSAI in a resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 7is a flowchart of establishing the mapping relationship between the S-NSSAI and the first service unit in the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 8 is a flowchart of deploying the shared service unit in the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 9 is a flowchart of generating the data label by the shared service unit in the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 10 is a flowchart of generating the data label by the first service unit in the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the data label in the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 12 is a flowchart of the FCAPS management in the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 13 is a flowchart of distributing the operation information in the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of distributing the operation information in the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the UPF for executing the resource management method provided by another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application, and are not used to limit the present application.

[0030] It should be noted that although the functional modules are divided in the device schematic diagram, and the logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in a manner different from the module division in the device or the order in the flowchart. The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification, claims or above-described drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not necessarily describe a specific order or sequence.

[0031] The application provides a resource management method, a user plane function (UPF) and a storage medium. The resource management method comprises the following steps: receiving a slice support request, obtaining service level agreement (SLA) parameter information of a slice instance from the slice support request; receiving the slice support request, determining a plurality of slice instances according to the slice support request; allocating a first service unit belonging only to each slice instance according to a preset strategy, wherein the first service unit is a service unit for processing user plane data in the UPF; and deploying the first service unit to a first physical device. According to the scheme provided in the embodiment of the application, the independent occupation of resources for processing user plane data by each slice instance can be realized, and the physical isolation of resources is realized by deploying the first service unit to the first physical device, thereby providing a resource basis for the independent management of each slice in the case of supporting the sharing of multiple slices for a set of UPF.

[0032] The embodiments of the application will be further described below with reference to the drawings.

[0033] As shown in the figure, Figure 1 Figure 1 is a flowchart of a resource management method provided by an embodiment of the application. The resource management method is applied to a UPF, and the method comprises but is not limited to steps S110, S120 and S130.

[0034] In step S110, a slice support request is received, and a plurality of slice instances are determined according to the slice support request.

[0035] It should be noted that the slice support request can be generated by a slice management unit of the UPF according to actual slice requirements and sent to a UPF life cycle management unit, and the slice support request is parsed by the UPF life cycle management unit, and the deployment of the service unit is performed according to the parsed information. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the slice support request can include any information related to slice support, such as the number of slice instances, the performance requirements required to be met by each slice instance, etc., and the present embodiment is not limited thereto.

[0036] ​It is worth noting that the slice instance determined according to the slice support request can be arbitrary, for example, when the number of determined slice instances is 1, the UPF is essentially used to support only one slice instance, in this case, the subsequent embodiment steps can be executed to complete resource allocation and deployment, so that multiple sets of UPFs in the system implement resource management in the same method, and of course, the method in the prior art can be used for resource management of the UPF, and the present embodiment does not make too many limitations; for example, when the number of determined slice instances is at least two, the UPF needs to support multiple slices, in this case, different slice instances can belong to the same customer or belong to different customers, although the customer attribution of the slice instance can be distinguished before the resource is allocated, but it inevitably increases the complexity of data processing, in order to save the customer attribution of the slice instance, the identification information of each slice instance can be carried in the slice support request, which is used to distinguish different slice instances, so as to independently manage each slice instance for failure, configuration, accounting, performance and security (Fault Configure Accounting Performance Secrecy, FCAPS), when the slice instance belongs to different customers, independent FCAPS management can be performed respectively, when at least two slice instances belong to the same customer, the FCAPS data of each slice instance can be obtained respectively, and the data can be integrated later, and the specific integration method is not discussed in the present embodiment, and will not be described here. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the above identification information can be of any type, for example, the slice is numbered, or the slice is distinguished by single network slice selection auxiliary information (Single Network Slice Select Assistant Information, S-NSSAI), and the specific information type can be selected according to actual needs.

[0037] In step S120, only the first service unit belonging to each slice instance is allocated according to a preset policy, and the first service unit is a service unit in the UPF for processing user plane data.

[0038] In an embodiment, the preset policy can be set locally in each set of UPFs, or can be a policy shared between multiple sets of UPFs, which can be set according to actual needs, and the present embodiment does not make too many limitations. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the preset policy can be used to determine the number and specific type of the first service unit, and the specific policy can be adjusted according to actual resource conditions and needs, and will not be limited here.

[0039] It should be noted that the service unit in the embodiment of the application can be each component module or unit inside the UPF, the substantive carrier can be a process, a container or a virtual machine, and can be used to implement a specific service, and the embodiment does not make further limitation, for the convenience of description, the embodiment of the application uniformly adopts the service unit as the description manner, and subsequent details will not be described.

[0040] It should be noted that processing user plane data can be to provide identification, routing and forwarding of terminal user plane data and the like, therefore, the first service unit can be a service unit for user plane data policy identification, user plane data routing or user plane data forwarding, and a corresponding service unit can be selected according to the specific function of the slice instance.

[0041] In an embodiment, the first service unit in the UPF can be shared, therefore, in order to realize exclusive occupation of resources, there can be various forms, for example, when the first service unit is allocated for the slice instance, a unique mapping relationship between the first service unit and the identification information of the slice instance is established, or the topology relationship between the slice instance and the first physical device is obtained, and the first service unit is deployed to the corresponding first physical device to realize physical isolation, which can ensure that each first service unit is occupied by a unique slice instance.

[0042] For example, referring to the UPF instance schematic diagram shown in Figure 2 According to the two slice instances determined according to the slice support request, the identification information adopts S-NSSAI, in order to facilitate distinction, the S-NSSAI of the two slice instances is numbered respectively, and is divided into S-NSSAI 1 and S-NSSAI 2, corresponding to the first slice instance and the second slice instance, wherein S-NSSAI 1 is allocated with three first service units, which are first service unit a, first service unit b and first service unit c, and the above three first service units belong to S-NSSAI 1 only; similarly, S-NSSAI 2 has three first service units respectively, which are first service unit d, first service unit e and first service unit f, and belong to S-NSSAI 2 only.

[0043] Step S130, deploying the first service unit to the first physical device.

[0044] In an embodiment, the first service unit is deployed to the first physical device, which can ensure that the first service units of different slice instances are physically isolated. It should be noted that when multiple first service units are deployed in the same first physical device, their resources and data will be shared with each other, and exclusive occupation of data and resources cannot be realized, therefore, the first service units of different slice instances are deployed to different first physical devices, which can realize physical isolation of the first service units of multiple slice instances, and further realize independent occupation of resources.

[0045] Those skilled in the art can understand that the first physical device can be any device for carrying services, and the embodiment does not make too many limitations on the first physical device.

[0046] It is worth noting that whether the first physical device is shared by multiple first service units can be determined by the resource usage level of the slice instance, for example, the resource usage level of the slice instance is set to exclusive through the SLA parameter information, then the first physical device is only used to deploy the first service unit of the slice instance, and for another example, the resource usage level of the slice instance is set to shared through the SLA parameter information, then the first physical device can be shared by multiple first service units of the slice instance, and the embodiment can set the resource usage level in the SLA parameter to exclusive, avoiding that the first service units of different slice instances share the first physical device, so as to realize the physical isolation of the first service unit and thus realize the independent occupation of the resource.

[0047] In an embodiment, the first physical device corresponding to the slice instance can be determined according to the actually available first physical device, for example, after the UPF lifecycle management unit receives the slice support request, the currently available first physical device is determined, and the first service unit is deployed into the first physical device according to the principle that the first physical device can meet the demand of the slice instance, thereby providing a device basis for exclusive management of data.

[0048] For example Figure 5 As shown in the figure, Figure 5 For Figure 2 The deployment relationship between the UPF instance shown in the figure and the first physical device, in the embodiment, there are 9 available first physical devices, among which, the first service unit of the slice instance S-NSSAI1 can be pre-set to be deployed into the first physical device 2, the first service units of the slice instance S-NSSAI2 are respectively deployed into the first physical device 5 and the first physical device 6, when the allocation of the first service unit is completed according to the pre-set strategy, the first service unit a, the first service unit b and the first service unit c are deployed into the first physical device 2, the first service unit d and the first service unit e are deployed into the first physical device 5, and the first service unit f is deployed into the first physical device 6, thereby realizing the physical isolation of the resource, and based on the topology relationship, it can also be determined that the FCPAS data generated by the first physical device 2 belongs to S-NSSAI1, and the FCPAS data generated by the first physical device 4 and the first physical device 5 belongs to S-NSSAI2, thereby realizing the independent FCAPS management of each slice instance.

[0049] In addition, with reference to Figure 3 In an embodiment, Figure 1 The step S120 in the embodiment shown further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0050] Step S310, obtaining SLA parameter information of the slice instance from the slice support request;

[0051] Step S320, determining deployment information of the first service unit according to the SLA parameter information and a preset policy, the deployment information including quantity information and specification information;

[0052] Step S330, allocating the first service unit belonging only to the slice instance for the slice instance according to the deployment information.

[0053] In an embodiment, the SLA parameter information can be contained in the slice support request, and is set according to actual needs when the slice support request is generated. Alternatively, the SLA parameter information can be set in the identification information of the slice instance, for example, in S-NSSAI. The specific setting method is not improved in the embodiment, and the SLA parameter information can be obtained according to the slice support request, and thus will not be described herein.

[0054] In an embodiment, the SLA parameter information can be a parameter required to be met by the slice instance, for example, a user number, uplink and downlink throughput, coverage density, resource usage level, and the like. Alternatively, the SLA parameter information can include a performance required to be implemented by each slice instance. The specific parameter type can be determined according to an actual function of the slice instance. It is worth noting that a person skilled in the art can further determine the specification information of the first service unit according to the performance required to be implemented by each slice instance. The specification information can be computing capability information, storage capability information, network capability information, and the like possessed by the first service unit. For example, when a virtual machine is used as the first service unit, the computing capability information can be a kernel number of the virtual machine, the storage information can be a specific capacity of a required hard disk, and the network capability information can be a bandwidth possessed by the virtual machine. A person skilled in the art has the motivation to perform equivalent replacement of the specification information according to the specific type of the first service unit, and thus will not be described herein.

[0055] The step S320 in the embodiment is exemplified below by taking a specific example. It is to be noted that, for the convenience of description, the user number in the SLA parameter information is taken as an example for description in the specific example, and a person skilled in the art can determine the deployment information of the first service unit according to the content of the specific example by using other types of parameters.

[0056] Since the number of users that each first service unit can satisfy is known, the preset strategy in this example can take the form of a preset ratio, i.e., the ratio between the number of users and the number of first service units, for example, 1 first service unit is needed for every 0.5 million users. When the UPF lifecycle management unit receives a slice support request, it obtains that the number of users required by the slice instance is 1.2 million, and according to the above-mentioned preset ratio, it can be determined that 3 first service units are needed, so the number information of the first service units of the slice instance is determined to be 3, and 3 exclusive first service units are allocated to the slice instance.

[0057] In addition, with reference to Figure 4 In an embodiment, after step S130 in the illustrated embodiment is performed, the following steps are further included, but are not limited to: Figure 1

[0058] Step S410, determining the current topology relationship, and determining the first physical device that can be used to deploy the first service unit according to the topology relationship, the topology relationship being the topology relationship between the deployed first service unit and the first physical device used to deploy the first service unit;

[0059] Step S420, deploying the first service unit to the determined first physical device, and updating the topology relationship.

[0060] In an embodiment, after the first service unit is first deployed to the first physical device, the UPF lifecycle management unit can also establish the topology relationship between the two, and update the topology relationship in the subsequent deployment process, so as to realize the management and maintenance of the topology relationship. Based on the above-mentioned embodiment, the deployment information of the first service unit is determined based on the preset strategy and the SLA parameter information, and the specific first physical device used to deploy the first service unit cannot be predetermined, but by using the topology relationship in the UPF lifecycle management unit, the first physical device that has been occupied before this deployment can be determined. In order to realize physical isolation, the first physical device that has been occupied can be excluded, so as to determine the first physical device that can be used at present, and further deploy the first service unit determined this time to the first physical device that can be used, which effectively avoids the reuse of the first physical device by the first service unit.

[0061] It is worth noting that the UPF supports the slice instance and the deployment of the first service unit is not only performed once, so after the deployment of the first service unit is completed each time, the UPF lifecycle management unit can further update and maintain the topology relationship, so as to improve the efficiency of determining the first physical device.

[0062] ​In an embodiment, since the plurality of first physical devices can be the same device, in order to facilitate the distinction, the device information of the first physical device can be used to establish a topological relationship with the first service unit, the device information can be any information that can be used to distinguish different first physical devices, for example Figure 5 The device name is used for distinction as shown in the embodiment of

[0063] In addition, referring to Figure 6 In an embodiment, after step S110 in the embodiment of Figure 1 is performed, the following steps are further included, but are not limited to:

[0064] Step S610, obtaining the S-NSSAI from the slice support request;

[0065] Step S620, determining the slice instance uniquely corresponding to the S-NSSAI.

[0066] In an embodiment, in order to identify different slice instances, the S-NSSAI can be used as slice identification information, and is set to uniquely correspond to the slice instance, for example, the embodiment of Figure 2 and Figure 5 Each S-NSSAI is numbered, and the specific numbering method can be selected according to actual needs.

[0067] In addition, referring to Figure 7 In an embodiment, after step S120 in the embodiment of Figure 1 is performed, the following steps are further included, but are not limited to:

[0068] Step S710, establishing a mapping relationship between the S-NSSAI and the first service unit.

[0069] Based on the above embodiment, the S-NSSAI is used as the identification information of the slice, and in order to facilitate independent FCAPS management, a mapping relationship between the S-NSSAI and the first service unit can be established, so that the FCPAS data generated by each first service unit can be determined. It can be understood that the mapping relationship can be realized in the form of a mapping relationship table, and the specific mode is not limited in the embodiment.

[0070] In addition, referring to Figure 8 In an embodiment, the following steps are further included, but are not limited to:

[0071] Step S810, allocating a shared service unit to the slice instance, and the shared service unit is shared by a plurality of slice instances in the UPF;

[0072] Step S820, deploying the shared service unit to the second physical device.

[0073] It should be noted that in the process of carrying the service, the first service unit is used to process the user plane data, therefore, the resource utilization mode of the first service unit will affect the service quality, therefore, the first service unit needs to be deployed exclusively, and in addition to the user plane data processing, the UPF also needs to perform a variety of functions, such as providing FCPAS management and maintenance and transmitting and receiving control panel messages, for this type of function, it will not occupy too many resources, therefore, it can be deployed in the form of a shared service unit, so that multiple slice instances share, saving the resources of the UPF.

[0074] In an embodiment, the second physical device and the first physical device can be the same device, which is used to deploy different service units, for example Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1, the first physical device is used to deploy the first service unit, and the second physical device is used to deploy the shared service unit, which ensures the physical isolation between the two.

[0075] In addition, referring to Figure 9 In an embodiment, the following steps are included, but are not limited to:

[0076] Step S910, determining the slice instance corresponding to the FCAPS data in the shared service unit;

[0077] Step S920, generating a data tag of the FCAPS data according to the S-NSSAI of the slice instance.

[0078] In an embodiment, since the data of the shared service unit is shared by each slice instance, the FCAPS data generated by multiple slice instances can be sent to the shared service unit, in order to realize independent FCAPS management, it is necessary to distinguish the FCAPS data generated by different slice instances, therefore, the S-NSSAI of the slice instance can be used to generate a data tag, for example, as shown in Figure 11 The shared service unit and the FCPAS data in S-NSSAI 1 and S-NSSAI 2 in the UPF instance are respectively added with a data tag, and independent FCAPS management can be realized by screening through the data tag. It can be understood that the data tag can be added when the slice instance generates the FCAPS data, or the data tag can be added when the shared service unit receives the FCAPS data, and the specific mode can be selected according to actual needs.

[0079] In addition, referring to Figure 10 In an embodiment, the following steps are included, but are not limited to:

[0080] Step S1010, when the first service unit generates FCAPS data, generating a data tag of the FCAPS data according to the S-NSSAI corresponding to the first service unit.

[0081] In an embodiment, the FCPAS management is generally for the entire slice instance, therefore, after the first service unit generates the FCAPS data, the first service unit can generate a data tag of the FCAPS data according to the corresponding S-NSSAI, of course, if the specific first service unit management is required, the data tag of the FCAPS data can also be generated according to the specific first service unit, and the specific manner is selected according to the actual management requirement.

[0082] In an embodiment, after the first service unit generates the FCAPS data and generates the data tag, the first service unit can save the FCAPS data in the corresponding slice instance, for example, as shown in Figure 11 , the FCAPS data generated by the first service unit a, the first service unit b and the first service unit c is saved in the S-NSSAI 1, and can be further sent to the shared service unit for storage, and the actual data storage condition is adjusted.

[0083] In addition, referring to Figure 12 , the shared service unit includes a second service unit, and the second service unit is a service unit for FCAPS data management in the UPF, and further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0084] Step S1210, when the second service unit receives the FCAPS management request, obtaining the target data tag from the FCAPS management request;

[0085] Step S1220, obtaining the corresponding FCAPS data according to the target data tag.

[0086] In an embodiment, the second service unit can be a service unit for providing UPF management and maintenance functions, for example, for FCAPS management, multi-unit cooperation or network element health detection, and the specific type is selected according to actual requirements. It should be noted that the FCAPS management request can be initiated through a network management system, and one or more target data tags required to obtain data can be set in the FCAPS management request, and the actual requirement is adjusted.

[0087] It should be noted that based on the above embodiment, the FCAPS data in the shared service unit and the slice instance are provided with data tags, so that the target data tag can be used as a matching value to obtain all FCAPS data with the same target data tag from the UPF instance, and independent FCAPS management is realized through the data tag.

[0088] In addition, referring to Figure 13 , the shared service unit further includes a third service unit, and further includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0089] Step S1310, when the third service unit receives the operation information, obtaining the target S-NSSAI from the operation information;

[0090] Step S1320, sending the operation information to the slice instance corresponding to the target S-NSSAI.

[0091] In an embodiment, the third service unit can be a service unit for providing a message interface outside the UPF, or a service unit for communication protocol stack processing, such as a common interface management unit, a protocol stack processing unit, a message distribution unit, etc., and a specific type can be selected according to specific message transmission requirements.

[0092] It should be noted that the number of second service units and third service units can also be determined by the slice support request and the preset strategy, for example, after determining the number of slice instances according to the slice support request, determining the number of second service units according to the demand of FCPAS management, and determining the number of third service units according to the transmission requirements of operation information.

[0093] It should be noted that the data of the second service unit and the third service unit can be shared, so in the actual running process, the load sharing principle or the N+M master-backup principle can be used for business bearing, for example, for the third service unit, in the process of bearing business, the distribution of operation information needs to be frequently carried out, according to the load sharing principle, the load rate of each third service unit can be preset to be the same, to ensure that the resources are fully utilized; for example, the N+M master-backup principle is that N third service units are used for bearing business, and M third service units are used as backup service units, to ensure safe operation.

[0094] It should be noted that the operation information is usually the processing of user plane data, which can be user session creation information, user session modification information or user session release information generated by the session management function (SMF), and the embodiment does not limit the specific type of operation information, which can be completed by the first service unit. It can be understood that, since the embodiment realizes the exclusive use of the first service unit resource, in order to ensure that the operation information is sent to the correct slice instance, S-NSSAI can also be added in the operation information, and the third service unit receives the operation information to obtain the target S-NSSAI, to determine the slice instance for receiving the operation information. For example Figure 14 As shown in the third service unit, after receiving the operation information, the operation information a of S-NSSAI 1 and the operation information b of S-NSSAI 2 are determined from the operation information, so that the operation information a is sent to S-NSSAI 1, and the operation information b is sent to S-NSSAI 2.

[0095] It is understood that the identification information of the first service unit can be further added to the operation information, or the slice instance can automatically distribute the slices according to the specific function performed by the first service unit. This embodiment does not impose any limitations.

[0096] Additionally, refer to Figure 15 An embodiment of the present invention also provides a UPF1500, which includes: a memory 1510, a processor 1520, and a computer program stored on the memory 1510 and executable on the processor 1520.

[0097] The processor 1520 and memory 1510 can be connected via a bus or other means.

[0098] The non-transitory software program and instructions required to implement the resource management method of the above embodiments are stored in the memory 1510. When executed by the processor 1520, the resource management method applied to the UPF1500 in the above embodiments is executed, for example, the method described above is executed. Figure 1 Method steps S110 to S130, Figure 3 Method steps S310 to S330, Figure 4 Method steps S410 to S420, Figure 6 Method steps S610 to S620, Figure 7 Method step S710, Figure 8 Method steps S810 to S820, Figure 9 Method steps S910 to S920, Figure 10 Method step S1010, Figure 12 Method steps S1210 to S1220, Figure 13 Method steps S1310 to S1320.

[0099] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0100] Furthermore, one embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that are executed by a processor or controller, for example, by a processor in the above-described UPF embodiment, causing the processor to perform the resource management method applied to the UPF in the above-described embodiment, for example, performing the above-described... Figure 1 Method steps S110 to S130,Figure 3 the method steps S310-S330 in the method of Figure 4 the method steps S410-S420 in the method of Figure 6 the method steps S610-S620 in the method of Figure 7 the method step S710 in the method of Figure 8 the method steps S810-S820 in the method of Figure 9 the method steps S910-S920 in the method of Figure 10 the method step S1010 in the method of Figure 12 the method steps S1210-S1220 in the method of Figure 13 the method steps S1310-S1320 in the method of. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that all or some of the steps, systems, etc. in the above-disclosed methods can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, or a combination thereof. Some or all of the physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, such as an application- specific integrated circuit. Such software can be distributed on computer readable media, which can comprise computer storage media (or non-transitory media) and communication media (or transitory media). As is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is 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 tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computer. Further, as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, communication media typically embodies 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 includes any information delivery media.

[0101] The above description is specific to the preferred embodiments of the present application, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art can make various equivalent modifications or replacements without departing from the spirit of the present application, and these equivalent modifications or replacements are included in the scope of the present application as defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A resource management method applied to a user plane function (UPF), comprising: receiving a slice support request, and determining a plurality of slice instances according to the slice support request; allocating, according to a preset policy, a first service unit belonging only to each of the slice instances, the first service unit being a service unit in the UPF for processing user plane data; deploying the first service unit to a first physical device, wherein the first service units of different slice instances are deployed to different first physical devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The allocating, according to a preset policy, a first service unit belonging only to each of the slice instances comprises: obtaining service level agreement (SLA) parameter information of the slice instances from the slice support request; determining deployment information of the first service unit according to the SLA parameter information and the preset policy, the deployment information comprising quantity information and specification information; allocating, according to the deployment information, the first service unit belonging only to the slice instance for the slice instance.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The deploying the first service unit to a first physical device comprises: determining a current topology relationship, and determining, according to the topology relationship, a first physical device available for deploying the first service unit, the topology relationship being a topology relationship between the first service units that have been deployed and the first physical devices that have been used for deploying the first service units; deploying the first service unit to the determined first physical device, and updating the topology relationship.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, The determining a plurality of slice instances according to the slice support request comprises: obtaining single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) from the slice support request; determining a slice instance corresponding uniquely to the S-NSSAI.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, After the allocating, according to a preset policy, a first service unit belonging only to each of the slice instances, the method further comprises: establishing a mapping relationship between the S-NSSAI and the first service unit.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The method further comprises: allocating, for the slice instance, a shared service unit, the shared service unit being shared by a plurality of the slice instances in the UPF; deploying the shared service unit to a second physical device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The method further comprises: determining the slice instance corresponding to failure, configuration, charging, performance and security (FCAPS) data in the shared service unit; generating a data tag of the FCAPS data according to the S-NSSAI of the slice instance. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein: when the first service unit generates FCAPS data, a data tag of the FCAPS data is generated according to the S-NSSAI corresponding to the first service unit.

9. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein, The shared service unit comprises a second service unit, the second service unit being a service unit in the UPF for FCAPS data management, and the method further comprises: when the second service unit receives an FCAPS management request, obtaining a target data tag from the FCAPS management request; obtaining corresponding FCAPS data according to the target data tag.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein, The shared service unit further comprises a third service unit, the third service unit being configured to: receive operation information, obtain a target S-NSSAI from the operation information; send the operation information to the slice instance corresponding to the target S-NSSAI.

11. A UPF, comprising: A memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor implements the resource management method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 when executing the computer program. 12.A computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions for performing the resource management method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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