Network slicing update method and system, storage medium and electronic device

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a network slice update method and system, a storage medium and an electronic device, and relates to the field of wireless communication technology. The method includes: a network device obtains a virtual tracking area identifier and first network slice information; the network device generates and sends an update request message according to the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information; and the network element responds to the update request message and updates the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier with the first network slice information in the update request message. At least to a certain extent, the accuracy and consistency of the interaction of network slice configuration information between the access network and the core network are improved, thereby improving the communication quality.

Description

Background Art

[0002] With the advent of the 5th generation mobile networks (5G) era, 5G mobile networks can not only meet people's communication needs, but also support the connection of massive IoT devices and provide mobile communication services for thousands of industries. The bandwidth, latency differences and security isolation requirements of different industries may be different. Network slicing technology provides isolated network environments for different application scenarios by deploying multiple virtual networks on the basis of shared infrastructure, thereby providing differentiated network services for different services or user groups. The network slice selection function (NSSF) entity can provide slice instance selection and target AMF selection services for the access and mobility management function (AMF) entity of the home network. NSSF can provide AMF with slice update, subscription and notification functions based on the tracking area (TA).

[0003] However, the above-mentioned related technologies cannot guarantee the accuracy and consistency of the interaction of network slice configuration information between the access network and the core network.

[0004] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide a network slice update method and system, a storage medium and an electronic device, which can at least to some extent overcome the problem of low accuracy and consistency in the interaction of network slice configuration information between the access network and the core network in the related technology.

[0006] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part by the practice of the present disclosure.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a network slice update method is provided, including: a network device obtains a virtual tracking area identifier and first network slice information; the network device generates and sends an update request message according to the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information; and a network element responds to the update request message, and updates the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier with the first network slice information in the update request message.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, before the network device obtains the target virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information, it also includes: the network device configures the virtual tracking area identifier based on the second network slice information; the network device performs associated storage on the virtual tracking area identifier and the second network slice information; and the network device forwards the associated storage result to the network element.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the network device configures a virtual tracking area identifier based on the second network slice information, including: if the cells covered by the network device have the same number of network slices and network slice IDs, the network device obtains a second correspondence between the network device and the second network slice information; the network device configures a virtual tracking area identifier based on the network device level based on the second correspondence.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, if the cells covered by the network device have different numbers of network slices and network slice IDs, the network device obtains a third correspondence between the cell and the second network slice information; the network device configures a virtual tracking area identifier based on the cell level based on the third correspondence.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a cell includes a first cell and a second cell, wherein the network device configures a cell-level virtual tracking area identifier for the cell based on a third correspondence, including at least one of the following: if the first cell and the second cell correspond to different numbers of network slices, different virtual tracking area identifiers are configured for the first cell and the second cell; if the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same number of network slices and the corresponding network slice IDs are consistent, the same virtual tracking area identifier is configured for the first cell and the second cell; if the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same number of network slices but the corresponding network slice IDs are inconsistent, different virtual tracking area identifiers are configured for the first cell and the second cell.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, updating the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier with the first network slice information in the update request message includes: the network element determines whether the local database contains the second network slice information associated with the virtual tracking area identifier; if so, updating the second network slice information with the first network slice information; if not, storing the virtual tracking area identifier in association with the first network slice information.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: the network element feeds back an update confirmation message to the network device in response to the update completion; and the network device receives the update confirmation message.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network slice update system is provided, the system including a network device and a network element, in the system, including: the network device is used to obtain a virtual tracking area identifier and first network slice information; the network device is also used to generate and send an update request message according to the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information; the network element is used to respond to the update request message, and use the first network slice information in the update request message to update the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute the above-mentioned network slice update method by executing the executable instructions.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned network slice update method is implemented.

[0017] The network slice update method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure realizes accurate interaction of the slice configurations of both parties by configuring the virtual tracking area identifier during the interaction between the core network side and the access network side, thereby improving the management efficiency and accuracy of the network slices.

[0018] Furthermore, compared with the network slice update method based on tracking areas in the prior art, the network slice is decoupled from the current tracking area (TA). When the network adjusts and cuts over the TA, there is no need to change the correspondence between VTAI and the network slice on both the base station side and the core network side. At the same time, the TA adjustment demand caused by the network slice configuration is also reduced, and it has good result consistency and update feasibility.

[0019] Furthermore, by optimizing the network slice update strategy of the access network and the core network through the virtual tracking area identifier, not only can users quickly adopt the appropriate network slice for communication, but also compared with the existing technology, the present application scheme will not affect the network paging performance during the network slice update process, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0020] It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

[0022] Figure 1A and 1B A schematic structural diagram of a communication system in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 2 A flowchart of a network slice updating method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0024] Figure 3 A method for associating and storing a virtual tracking area identifier and a network slice before a network slice update method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D A flowchart and a scenario diagram of a method for configuring a virtual tracking identifier in an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown.

[0026] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a network slice update system in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 6 A structural block diagram of a computer device for updating a network slice in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete and to fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0029] In addition, the accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar parts, and their repeated description will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities can be implemented in software form, or implemented in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or implemented in different networks and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0030] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present disclosure, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0031] In view of the technical problems existing in the above-mentioned related technologies, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a message display method to solve at least one or all of the above-mentioned technical problems.

[0032] In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, a brief introduction to the related technologies of the present application is first given as follows:

[0033] Network slice (NS), also known as sliced ​​network or simply slice, refers to the customization of different logical networks based on the service requirements of different tenants' services on physical or virtual network infrastructure. A network slice can be a complete end-to-end network including user equipment (UE), access network, transmission network, core network and service server, or a complete end-to-end network including only core network but supplemented by UE, access network, transmission network and service server, which can provide complete communication services and have certain network capabilities. A network slice can be a communication resource that ensures that the bearer service or service can meet the requirements of the service level agreement, or it can be considered as a combination of network functions and communication resources required to complete a certain communication service or certain communication services. A network slice can be identified by single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). S-NSSAI consists of slice / service type (SST) and slice differentiator (SD). Among them, SST and SD can be defined by the standard or customized by the operator; SD is optional information to supplement SST to distinguish multiple network slices of the same SST, for example, it can be used to characterize the ownership relationship of network slices.

[0034] In addition, after the introduction of slice authentication and authorization, there is also a pending NSSAI (which can be called pending NSSAI). Pending NSSAI can also be called NSSAI that requires authentication and authorization or NSSAI to be processed. The pending NSSAI can be included in the allowed NSSAI after passing authentication and authorization, that is, the pending NSSAI can allow UE access after passing authentication and authorization.

[0035] Protocol data unit (PDU) session: An association between a UE and a data network that provides a PDU connection service. In a communication system (e.g., a 5G network or a 5G communication system), a PDU session may contain one or more quality of service (QoS) flows. A QoS flow refers to a data transmission channel that meets specific QoS quality requirements for a UE within the communication system (e.g., a 5G network or a 5G communication system), which may be identified by a QoS flow identity (QFI). On the UE and network side, a PDU session may contain the following attribute information: data network name (DNN), address information (such as Internet protocol (IP) address, media access control (MAC) address, etc.), S-NSSAI, service and session continuity (SSC) mode, etc. A PDU session is usually identified by a PDU session identifier, which may be assigned by the UE.

[0036] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0037] Figure 1A and 1B FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a communication system in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 1A As shown, the communication system includes: UE 120, radio access network 110 (radio access network, RAN / AN) and core network. Further, the communication system may also include data network 130 (data network, DN), DN 130 may refer to a service network that provides data transmission services for users, such as IP multimedia service (IP multi-media service, IMS), Internet, etc.

[0038] Among them, Figure 1BAs shown, the UE terminal 120 can be a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, a game console, a tablet computer, an e-book reader, smart glasses, an MP4 (Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer IV) player, a smart home device, an AR (Augmented Reality) device, a VR (Virtual Reality) device, or the terminal 120 can also be a personal computer (Personal Computer, PC), such as a laptop computer and a desktop computer.

[0039] In addition, the access network is used to implement functions related to wireless access, and the access network may include a third generation partnership project (3GPP) access network and a non-3GPP access network. The access network device may refer to a network device 110a that provides access services for UE 120, and the network device 110a may be a device for communicating with a mobile device, and the network device may be an access point (AP) in WLAN, a base station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, or a base station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA, or an evolved base station (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device (gNB) in an NR network or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc.

[0040] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device 110 provides services for the cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources used by the cell (for example, frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell corresponding to the network device 110 (for example, a base station) may belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cells here may include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0041] Furthermore, the core network may include the following logical network elements: a session management function (SMF) network element 140a, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element 140b, an authentication server function (AUSF) network element 140c, a user plane function (UPF) network element 140d, an application function (AF) network element 140e, a unified data management (UDM) network element 140f, a policy control function (PCF) network element 140g, a network repository function (NRF) network element 140h, a network exposure function (NEF) network element 140i, and a network slice selection function (NSSF network element) network element 140j, etc. The functions of different core network elements are introduced and explained below, as shown below.

[0042] SMF network element 140a: a core network control plane network element, which is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification, and release; specific functions include allocating IP addresses to users, selecting UPF that provides message forwarding functions, etc.

[0043] AMF network element 140b: a core network control plane network element, mainly responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as user location update, user registration network, user switching, etc.

[0044] AUSF network element 140c: a core network control plane network element, which is provided by the operator and is used to perform authentication, for example, to perform authentication of the 3GPP network for its subscribers.

[0045] UPF network element 140d: core network user plane network element, responsible for forwarding and receiving user data in UE. It can receive user data from DN and transmit it to UE through access network equipment. UPF network element can also receive user data from UE through access network equipment and forward it to DN.

[0046] AF network element 140e: mainly supports interaction with the 3GPP core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions or providing some third-party services to the network side.

[0047] UDM network element 140f: a core network control plane network element, used to store user subscription data, generate authentication credentials, user identity processing (for example, storing and managing user permanent identities, etc.), access authorization control and subscription data management, etc.

[0048] PCF network element 140g: core network control plane network element, mainly supports providing a unified policy framework to control network behavior, provides policy rules to the control layer network functions, and is responsible for obtaining user subscription information related to policy decisions.

[0049] NRF network element 140h: core network control plane network element, used to support service discovery functions and maintain information about available network function network elements and the services they support.

[0050] NEF network element 140i: core network control plane network element, mainly responsible for opening up mobile network capabilities to the outside world.

[0051] NSSF network element 140j: core network control plane network element, mainly used for 5G slicing services, for example, responsible for the selection of the target network slice instance (NSI). Optionally, the NSSF network element can also be replaced by a network slice specific authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF) network element.

[0052] Optionally, in order to implement authentication and authorization-related functions for slices, a network slice-specific authentication and authorization function (NSSAAF) network element can be introduced.

[0053] exist Figure 1AIn the communication system shown, the UE can communicate with the AMF network element 140b through the N1 interface, the R(AN) device can communicate with the AMF network element 140b through the N2 interface, the R(AN) device can communicate with the UPF network element 140d through the N3 interface, and the UPF network element 140d can communicate with the DN 130 through the N4 interface. In addition, the network elements in the core network can communicate through the service-based interface, for example, the service-based interface may include: NNSSF interface, Nnef interface, Nnrf interface, Npcf interface, Nudm interface, Naf interface, Nausf interface, NAMF interface and Nnsm interface. It can be understood that in the above Figure 1A In the communication system shown, the functions and interfaces of each network element are only exemplary, and not all functions of each network element are required when applied in the embodiments of the present application.

[0054] Furthermore, in the present application, the communication system may also include: an authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) server, and the AAA server may also be referred to as AAA-S. AAA-S may communicate with the AMF network element 140b through an intermediate network element that supports communication between AAA-S and the AMF network element 140b, and the intermediate network element may be an AUSF network element 140c, a NEF network element 140i, a NSSAAF network element, or other network elements used for authentication and authorization processes, etc. Optionally, the communication system may also include: an authentication, authorization and accounting proxy (AAA-P). When AAA-S communicates with the AMF network element 140b, AAA-S may first communicate with AAA-P, and AAA-P sends the communication information of AAA-S to the AMF network element 140b via intermediate network elements such as the AUSF network element 140c, the NEF network element 140i or the NSSAAF network element; similarly, the AMF network element 140b sends the communication information to AAA-P via intermediate network elements such as the AUSF network element 140c, the NEF network element 140i or the NSSAAF network element, and AAA-P sends it to AAA-S.

[0055] Figure 2 A flow chart of a network slice updating method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2 As shown, the method 200 provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure may include the following steps:

[0056] Step S210, the network device obtains the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information.

[0057] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a virtual tracking area identifier refers to a unique identifier assigned to a minimum area unit based on the area covered by a network device or a cell. The selection of a network device area level or a cell area level depends on whether the corresponding network slice information is consistent. This solution sets a virtual tracking area identifier VTAI to decouple it from the tracking area TA, so as to avoid inconsistent slice information on the access network side and the core network side due to the update of the TA.

[0058] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network slice information includes one or more identification IDs of the network slices, so as to obtain a unique network slice according to the network slice ID. In addition, the network slice information may also be other identity information representing the network slice.

[0059] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device on the access network side performs a slice update on the area specified by the unique virtual tracking area VTAI according to the first network slice ID. The network device on the access network side stores the virtual tracking area VTAI identifier and the associated network slice information locally, and the network device on the access network side first updates the locally stored virtual tracking area identifier VTAI and the associated network slice and then synchronizes the update information to the core network.

[0060] Step S220: The network device generates and sends an update request message based on the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information.

[0061] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, after the network device on the access network side updates the network slice ID corresponding to the virtual tracking identifier with the first network slice ID, the updated first network slice ID needs to be synchronized to the network element on the core network side to ensure the normal function of the slice. Therefore, the network device needs to synchronize the update information to the network element on the core network side, where the update information includes the virtual tracking area identifier to be updated and the new network slice ID. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device on the access network side (such as a base station) sends an update request message to the network element on the core network side (such as an AMF) to include the above update information.

[0062] Step S230: The network element responds to the update request message and updates the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier with the first network slice information in the update request message.

[0063] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second network slice information refers to the historical network slice information of the area corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier, including the historical network slice ID. In some embodiments, the core network updates one or more second network slice IDs stored in association with the virtual tracking area identifier carried in the update request message to one or more first network slice IDs to achieve synchronization and update of the new network slice information on the access network side and the core network side.

[0064] The present invention realizes accurate interaction of slice configurations of both parties by configuring virtual tracking area identifiers during the interaction between the core network side and the access network side, thereby improving the management efficiency and accuracy of network slices.

[0065] Furthermore, compared with the network slice update method based on tracking areas in the prior art, the network slice is decoupled from the current tracking area (TA). When the network adjusts and cuts over the TA, there is no need to change the correspondence between VTAI and the network slice on both the base station side and the core network side. At the same time, the TA adjustment demand caused by the network slice configuration is also reduced, and it has good result consistency and update feasibility.

[0066] Furthermore, by optimizing the network slice update strategy of the access network and the core network through the virtual tracking area identifier, not only can users quickly adopt the appropriate network slice for communication, but also compared with the existing technology, the present application scheme will not affect the network paging performance during the network slice update process, thereby improving communication efficiency.

[0067] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, step S230, the network element updates the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier with the first network slice information in the update request message, and may also include: the network element determines whether the local database contains the second network slice information associated with the virtual tracking area identifier; if so, uses the first network slice information to update the second network slice information; if not, associates and stores the virtual tracking area identifier with the first network slice information.

[0068] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, a network element determines whether a local database has a historical second network slice ID associated with a virtual tracking area identifier. If so, the second network slice ID is updated with the first network slice ID; if not, associated storage is performed based on the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice ID information.

[0069] The present invention can effectively reduce the storage redundancy in the first corresponding relationship database of each network element by judging whether there is network slice data identical to the acquired virtual tracking area identifier in the database and then entering it into the database according to the judgment result.

[0070] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, if the core network includes both AMF network elements and NSSF network elements, after the AMF network elements in the core network locally store the association between the virtual tracking identifier and the network slice information, they also need to forward it to the NSSF network element to achieve information synchronization.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network element also feeds back an update confirmation message to the network device in response to the update completion; and the network device receives the update confirmation message.

[0072] By updating the confirmation message, the update execution process can be effectively controlled, the network device can be prevented from retransmitting the update instruction, and the waste of power resources can be reduced.

[0073] Figure 3 A method for associating and storing a virtual tracking area identifier and a network slice before a network slice update method in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The method 300 includes:

[0074] Step S310: The network device configures a virtual tracking area identifier based on the second network slice information.

[0075] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network slice information includes one or more network slice IDs. In some embodiments, the network slice information may also be other identity information representing the network slice.

[0076] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device configures a virtual tracking area identifier according to one or more second network slice IDs corresponding to the covered area, for example, configuring the same virtual tracking area identifier for areas corresponding to the same network slice ID and number of network slices.

[0077] In step S320, the network device associates and stores the virtual tracking area identifier with the second network slice information.

[0078] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, a network device establishes an association table with one or more second network slice IDs using a virtual tracking area identifier as an index, and stores the association table locally.

[0079] Step S330: The network device forwards the associated storage result to the network element.

[0080] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, a network device synchronously forwards an association table between a virtual tracking area identifier and one or more network slice IDs as an association result to a network element.

[0081] The present invention saves network slice information data corresponding to different virtual area identifiers and directly calls the associated storage technical solution when updating. It only needs to match the virtual tracking area identifier in the update request message with the virtual tracking area identifier stored on the core network side to achieve the update of the network slice, and save the updated data to the core network in real time, which not only improves the efficiency and accuracy of the update, but also effectively avoids the problem of untimely synchronization of network slice updates between the access network and the core network in the prior art.

[0082] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4D A flowchart and a scenario diagram of a method for configuring a virtual tracking identifier in an embodiment of the present disclosure are shown. Figure 4A As shown, the method includes:

[0083] Step S410, determine whether the cells covered by the network device have the same number of network slices and network slice IDs.

[0084] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, step S410 may include determining whether the number of network slices and network slice IDs of all cells covered by the same network device are respectively the same. In some embodiments, step S410 may also include determining whether all cells respectively covered by multiple network devices have the same number of network slices and network slice IDs.

[0085] If the cells covered by the network device have the same number of network slices and network slice IDs, execute step S420 to obtain a second correspondence between the network device and the second network slice information; and step S422 to configure a virtual tracking area identifier based on the network device level based on the second correspondence.

[0086] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, if one or more cells covered by one or more network devices have the same number of network slices and network slice IDs, one or more second correspondences between one or more network devices and one or more second network slice information are obtained. One or more virtual tracking area identifiers are assigned to one or more network devices based on the second correspondences. One or more second network slice information is stored according to the one or more virtual tracking area identifiers of the one or more network devices.

[0087] For example Figure 4B As shown, all cells 41a, 41b and 41c covered by the network device 41 correspond to only one network slice and all correspond to network slice 1, and all cells 42a, 42b and 42c covered by the network device 42 correspond to only one network slice and all correspond to network slice 2. Then, the network device 41 and the network device 42 are respectively configured with virtual tracking area identifiers VTAI41 and VTAI42 based on the network device level, then all cells 41a, 41b and 41c covered by the target network device 41 correspond to the same VTAI41, and all cells 42a, 42b and 42c covered by the target network device 42 correspond to the same VTAI42. Then the core network network element can store the second network slice 1 according to the virtual tracking area identifier VTAI41 of the network device 41 and store the second network slice 2 according to the virtual tracking area identifier VTAI42 of the network device 42 to realize the core network side to update the network slice based on the virtual tracking area identifier.

[0088] The present invention uses the correspondence between the cells covered by the network equipment and the network slices. On the premise that multiple cells have the same network slice, the network equipment level (base station level) VTAI identifier is configured to solve the network slice update. There is no need to configure the identifier for each cell separately, thus avoiding unnecessary waste of VTAI resource costs and improving the VTAI resource utilization efficiency of the wireless access network.

[0089] If the cells covered by the network device have different numbers of network slices and network slice IDs, execute step S430 to obtain a third correspondence between the cell and the second network slice; and step S432 to configure a cell-level virtual tracking area identifier based on the third correspondence.

[0090] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, if one or more cells covered by one or more network devices have different numbers of network slices and network slice IDs, one or more third correspondences between the one or more cells and one or more second network slice information (such as network slice IDs) are obtained. One or more virtual tracking area identifiers are allocated to the one or more cells based on the one or more third correspondences. One or more second network slice information is stored according to the one or more virtual tracking area identifiers of the one or more cells.

[0091] like Figure 4C As shown, the cells 43a, 43b, and 43c covered by the network device 43 have different numbers of network slices and network slice IDs, so the correspondence between the above three areas and slice 3 and slice 4 is obtained respectively, and then different virtual tracking area identifiers VTAI are configured for the above three cells based on the correspondence.

[0092] The present invention uses the correspondence between the cells covered by the network device and the network slices. On the premise that the multiple cells covered by the network device have different network slices, the cell-level VTAI identifier is configured to solve the network slice update. While minimizing the waste of VTAI resources, the accuracy and consistency of the network slice update on the core network side and the access network side are guaranteed.

[0093] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, step S432, configuring a cell-level virtual tracking area identifier for a cell based on the third corresponding relationship may specifically include: Figure 4D The method shown comprises:

[0094] Step S432a, determine whether the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same number of network slices.

[0095] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, specifically Figure 4CAs shown, taking the target network device 43 as an example: the cells 43a and 43b covered by the target network device 43 both have 1 network slice 3, while the cell 43c has 2 network slices including network slices 3 and 4.

[0096] If the first cell and the second cell correspond to different numbers of network slices, step S432d is executed to configure different virtual tracking area identifiers for the first cell and the second cell. Figure 4C As shown, since the number of network slices corresponding to cells 43a and 43c is different, different virtual tracking area identifiers VTAI43 and VTAI44 are configured for cells 43a and 43c.

[0097] If the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same number of network slices, execute step S432b to determine whether the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same network slice ID.

[0098] If the first cell and the second cell still correspond to the same network slice ID, step S432c is executed to configure the same virtual tracking area identifier for the first cell and the second cell. Figure 4C As shown, since the number of network slices corresponding to cells 43a and 43b is the same, the same virtual tracking area identifier VTAI43 is configured for cells 43a and 43b.

[0099] If not, execute step S432d to configure different virtual tracking area identifiers for the first cell and the second cell. Figure 4C As shown, taking cell 43c covered by network device 43 and cell 45a covered by network device 45 as examples, 43c and 45a both have 2 network slices, but cell 43c corresponds to network slices 3 and 4, while cell 45a corresponds to network slices 4 and 5, so different VTAI44 and VTAI45 are configured for cell 43c and cell 45a.

[0100] The present invention configures cell-level VTAI by comparing the number of network slices and the network slice ID, thereby avoiding errors in slice information interaction when executing network slice updates on the cell without reducing the efficiency of network resource utilization, thereby ensuring the accuracy and reliability of network slice updates.

[0101] It should be noted that the above-mentioned figures are only schematic illustrations of the processes included in the method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and are not intended to be limiting. It is easy to understand that the processes shown in the above-mentioned figures do not indicate or limit the time sequence of these processes. In addition, it is also easy to understand that these processes can be performed synchronously or asynchronously, for example, in multiple modules.

[0102] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a network slice update system in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 5As shown, the system 500 includes:

[0103] The network device 510 is used to obtain the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information. The network device 510 is also used to generate and send an update request message according to the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information. The network element 520 is used to respond to the update request message and update the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier with the first network slice information in the update request message.

[0104] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 510 is also used to configure a virtual tracking area identifier based on the second network slice information; perform associated storage on the virtual tracking area identifier and the second network slice information; and the network device forwards the associated storage result to the network element.

[0105] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 510 is also used to obtain a second correspondence between the network device and the second network slice information if the cells covered by the network device have the same number of network slices and network slice IDs; and configure a virtual tracking area identifier based on the network device level based on the second correspondence.

[0106] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 510 is also used to execute if the cell covered by the network device has different numbers of network slices and network slice IDs, the network device obtains a third correspondence between the cell and the second network slice information; and configures a cell-level virtual tracking area identifier based on the third correspondence.

[0107] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device 510 is also used to execute: if the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same number of network slices and the corresponding network slice IDs are consistent, then the same virtual tracking area identifier is configured for the first cell and the second cell; if the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same number of network slices but the corresponding network slice IDs are inconsistent, then different virtual tracking area identifiers are configured for the first cell and the second cell.

[0108] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, network element 520 is also used to determine whether there is second network slice information associated with the virtual tracking area identifier in the local database; if so, the second network slice information is updated using the first network slice information; if not, the virtual tracking area identifier is associated with the first network slice information and stored.

[0109] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the network element 520 is further configured to feedback an update confirmation message to the network device in response to the update completion; and the network device 510 is further configured to receive the update confirmation message.

[0110] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various aspects of the present invention may be implemented as a system, method or program product. Therefore, various aspects of the present invention may be specifically implemented in the following forms, namely: a complete hardware implementation, a complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software, which may be collectively referred to herein as a "circuit", "module" or "system".

[0111] Refer to the following Figure 6 The electronic device 600 according to this embodiment of the present invention is described. The electronic device 600 shown in Figure 600 is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0112] like Figure 6 As shown, the electronic device 600 is in the form of a general computing device. The components of the electronic device 600 may include but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 610, at least one storage unit 620, and a bus 630 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 620 and the processing unit 610).

[0113] The storage unit stores program codes, which can be executed by the processing unit 610, so that the processing unit 610 performs the steps according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described in the above “Exemplary Method” section of this specification. For example, the processing unit 610 can perform the following steps: Figure 2 As shown in S210, the network device obtains the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information; S220, the network device generates and sends an update request message according to the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information; S230, the network element responds to the update request message, and updates the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier with the first network slice information in the update request message.

[0114] The storage unit 620 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access memory unit (RAM) 6201 and / or a cache memory unit 6202 , and may further include a read-only memory unit (ROM) 6203 .

[0115] The storage unit 620 may also include a program / utility 6204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 8205, such program modules 6205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment.

[0116] Bus 630 may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory unit bus or memory unit controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

[0117] The electronic device 600 may also communicate with one or more external devices (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, Bluetooth devices, etc.), may also communicate with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 600, and / or may communicate with any device (e.g., routers, modems, etc.) that enables the electronic device 600 to communicate with one or more other computing devices. This communication may be performed through an input / output (I / O) interface 650. In addition, the electronic device 600 may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and / or public networks, such as the Internet) through a network adapter 660. As shown, the network adapter 660 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 600 through a bus 630. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and / or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device 600, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems, etc.

[0118] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, on which a program product capable of implementing the above method of the present specification is stored. In some possible implementations, various aspects of the present invention can also be implemented in the form of a program product, which includes a program code, and when the program product is run on a terminal device, the program code is used to enable the terminal device to execute the steps according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described in the above "Exemplary Method" section of the present specification.

[0119] The program product for implementing the above method according to an embodiment of the present invention may adopt a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) and include program code, and may be run on a terminal device, such as a personal computer. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited thereto, and in this document, a readable storage medium may be any tangible medium containing or storing a program, which may be used by or in combination with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0120] The program product may be any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. The readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0121] Computer readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, in which readable program code is carried. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. Readable signal media may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0122] The program code embodied on the readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0123] Program code for performing the operations of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a separate software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider).

[0124] It should be noted that, although several modules or units of the device for action execution are mentioned in the above detailed description, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. On the contrary, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided into multiple modules or units to be embodied.

[0125] In addition, although the steps of the method in the present disclosure are described in a specific order in the drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in this specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired results. Additionally or alternatively, some steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or one step may be decomposed into multiple steps, etc.

[0126] Through the description of the above implementation, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example implementation described here can be implemented by software, or by software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the implementation of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a mobile terminal, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementation of the present disclosure.

[0127] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any modification, use or adaptation of the present disclosure, which follows the general principles of the present disclosure and includes common knowledge or customary techniques in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are intended to be exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A network slice update method, characterized in that: include: The network device on the access network side obtains a virtual tracking area identifier and first network slice information, wherein the virtual tracking area identifier refers to a unique identifier allocated with the area covered by the network device or cell as the minimum area unit; The network device generates and sends an update request message according to the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information; and The network element on the core network side responds to the update request message and updates the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier using the first network slice information in the update request message.

2. The network slice update method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before the network device on the access network side obtains the target virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information, the method further includes: The network device configures the virtual tracking area identifier based on the second network slice information; The network device associates and stores the virtual tracking area identifier with the second network slice information; and The network device forwards the associated storage result to the network element.

3. The network slice update method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The network device configuring the virtual tracking area identifier based on the second network slice information includes: If the cells covered by the network device have the same number of network slices and network slice IDs, the network device obtains a second corresponding relationship between the network device and the second network slice information; The network device configures the virtual tracking area identifier based on the network device level based on the second corresponding relationship.

4. The network slice update method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: If the cell covered by the network device has different numbers of network slices and network slice IDs, the network device obtains a third correspondence between the cell and the second network slice information; The network device configures the virtual tracking area identifier based on the cell level based on the third corresponding relationship.

5. The network slice update method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cell includes a first cell and a second cell, wherein the network device configures the cell-level virtual tracking area identifier for the cell based on the third corresponding relationship, including at least one of the following: If the first cell and the second cell correspond to different numbers of network slices, different virtual tracking area identifiers are configured for the first cell and the second cell; If the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same number of network slices and the corresponding network slice IDs are consistent, the same virtual tracking area identifier is configured for the first cell and the second cell; If the first cell and the second cell correspond to the same number of network slices, but the corresponding network slice IDs are inconsistent, different virtual tracking area identifiers are configured for the first cell and the second cell.

6. The network slice update method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Updating the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier using the first network slice information in the update request message includes: The network element determines whether there is second network slice information associated with the virtual tracking area identifier in the local database; if so, the second network slice information is updated using the first network slice information; if not, the virtual tracking area identifier is associated with the first network slice information for storage.

7. The network slice update method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method comprises: In response to the completion of the update, the network element feeds back an update confirmation message to the network device; The network device receives the update confirmation message.

8. A network slice update system, characterized in that: The system includes a network device on the access network side and a network element on the core network side. In the system, the system includes: The network device is used to obtain a virtual tracking area identifier and first network slice information, wherein the virtual tracking area identifier refers to a unique identifier allocated with an area covered by the network device or cell as a minimum area unit; The network device is further used to generate and send an update request message according to the virtual tracking area identifier and the first network slice information; The network element is used to respond to the update request message and update the second network slice information corresponding to the virtual tracking area identifier using the first network slice information in the update request message.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that: include: processor; as well as A memory, configured to store executable instructions of the processor; The processor is configured to execute the network slice update method described in any one of claims 1 to 7 by executing the executable instructions.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the network slice update method described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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