Method and apparatus for managing network slices in a wireless communication system

Abstract

A method performed by a network function (NF) in a 5G core network (5GC) in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes receiving an event subscription request message including network slice related quota information of a network slice from an application function (AF), determining whether an event notification triggering condition of the network slice is met based on the network slice related quota information and data received from at least one NF in the 5GC, and transmitting an event notification message of the network slice to the AF based on the determined result.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology for managing network slices in a wireless communication system. The present disclosure also relates to a method and apparatus for controlling the data rate of each network slice in a wireless communication system. Background Art

[0002] In order to meet the growing demand for wireless data traffic after the commercialization of the fourth generation (4G) communication system, considerable efforts have been made to develop a quasi-fifth generation (5G) communication system or a 5G communication system. This is one of the reasons why the "5G communication system" or "quasi-5G communication system" is called a "super-4G network communication system" or a "post-long term evolution (LTE) system". In order to achieve high data transmission rates, the 5G communication system is being developed to be implemented in ultra-high frequency bands (millimeter waves (mmWave), such as the 60 GHz band). In order to reduce the path loss of radio waves in such ultra-high frequency bands and increase the transmission distance of radio waves in the 5G communication system, various technologies such as beamforming, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, and massive antennas are being studied and discussed. In order to improve the system network of the 5G communication system, various technologies have been developed, such as evolved small cells, advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (Cloud-RAN), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, mobile networks, cooperative communications, coordinated multi-point (CoMP), and interference cancellation. In addition, for the 5G communication system, other technologies have been developed, such as hybrid frequency shift keying (FSK) and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC), which are advanced coding modulation (ACM)) schemes, and filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA), which are advanced access schemes.

[0003] The Internet has evolved from a human-based connected network where humans create and consume information to the Internet of Things (IoT), in which distributed configurations (such as objects) exchange information with each other to process information. Internet of Everything (IoE) technology is emerging, in which IoT-related technologies are combined with technologies for processing big data, such as by connecting to cloud servers. In order to realize IoT, various technical components such as sensing technology, wired / wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, security technology, etc. are required. In recent years, technologies including sensor networks for connecting objects, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), etc. have been studied. In the IoT environment, smart Internet technology (IT) services can be provided to collect and analyze data obtained from interconnected objects, thereby creating new value for human life. As existing information technology (IT) technologies and various industries merge and combine with each other, IoT can be applied to various fields such as smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart cars or connected cars, smart grids, medical care, smart home appliances, high-quality medical services, etc.

[0004] Various attempts have been made to apply 5G communication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies related to sensor networks, M2M communications, MTC, etc. are being implemented by using 5G communication technologies including beamforming, MIMO, array antennas, etc. The application of the above-mentioned cloud radio access network (RAN) as a big data processing technology can be an example of the fusion of 5G communication technology and IoT technology.

[0005] As described above, due to the development of mobile communication systems, various services can be provided, and therefore, more particularly, a method for efficiently managing network slices is required.

[0006] In addition, as described above, due to the development of wireless communication systems, various services can be provided, and therefore a method for smoothly providing such services is required. More specifically, due to the development of various IT, with the application of virtualization technology, network devices have evolved into virtualized network functions (NFs). Virtualized NFs can be implemented in the form of software without physical restrictions to be installed / operated in various types of clouds or data centers (DCs). In particular, NFs can be freely expanded or scaled, or installed (started) or terminated according to service requirements, system capacity, or network load.

[0007] Network slicing technology has been introduced for such various network structures to support various services. Network slicing technology is a technology that logically configures a network slice as a group of NFs that support a specific service and separates the network slice from another slice. One user equipment (UE) can access two or more slices when receiving various services.

[0008] The above information is provided as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art to the present disclosure. Summary of the invention

[0009]

Technical solution

[0010] A method performed by a network function (NF) in a 5G core network (5GC) in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes receiving an event subscription request message including network slice related quota information of a network slice from an application function (AF), determining whether an event notification triggering condition of the network slice is met based on the network slice related quota information and data received from at least one NF in the 5GC, and transmitting an event notification message of the network slice to the AF based on the determined result. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a fifth generation (5G) system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 2 is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system obtains slice strategy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 3A is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system provides managed slice policy information to a network function (NF) of a 5G core network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 3B is a flow chart of a process for storing policy control function (PCF) information supporting a slice policy according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system updates managed slice policy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system updates managed slice policy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system transmits a monitoring report of managed slice policy information to an application function (AF) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 7is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system transmits a monitoring report of managed slice policy information to an AF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system applies a managed slice policy to multiple NFs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Fig. 9 is a flowchart for describing a method by which a network function in a 5GC manages a network slice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Fig.10 is a block diagram of a configuration of a user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] Fig.11 is a block diagram of a configuration of a network entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] Fig.13 is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station is configured with a data rate of a network slice from a slice manager (operation, administration and maintenance (OAM)) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0026] Fig.14 is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station is configured with a data rate of a network slice from an access and mobility management function (AMF) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] Fig.15 is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station is configured with a data rate of a network slice from a network function (NF) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0028] Fig.16 is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station receives information about a network slice from an AMF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] Fig.17 is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station receives information about a network slice from a NF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0030] Fig.18 is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station monitors and reports the status of a data rate and data usage of each network slice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0031] Fig.19is a block diagram of a configuration of a user equipment (UE) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0032] Fig. 20 is a block diagram of a configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0033] Fig.21 is a block diagram of a configuration of a network entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] The same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to denote the same elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and / or disadvantages and provide at least the advantages described below. Therefore, one aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for efficiently providing a service in a wireless communication system.

[0036] Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method and apparatus for controlling a data rate of each network slice in a wireless communication system.

[0037] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments of the disclosure.

[0038] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a network function (NF) in a 5G core network (5GC) in a wireless communication system is provided. The method includes receiving an event subscription request message including network slice related quota information of a network slice from an application function (AF), determining whether an event notification triggering condition of the network slice is met based on the network slice related quota information and data received from at least one NF in the 5GC, and transmitting an event notification message of the network slice to the AF based on the determined result.

[0039] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the network slice-related quota information of the network slice includes at least one of the maximum number of user equipments (UEs) registered for the network slice or the maximum number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions established for the network slice.

[0040] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method also includes storing network slice related quota information.

[0041] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method also includes updating the quota of the network slice based on the quota information related to the network slice.

[0042] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method also includes monitoring the current number of UEs registered for the network slice, and determining whether the event notification triggering conditions of the network slice are met based on the network slice-related quota information and the monitoring results.

[0043] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method also includes updating the current number of PDU sessions successfully established for the network slice based on the maximum number of PDU sessions established for the network slice.

[0044] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the event notification trigger condition includes at least one of a first condition or a second condition, the first condition being: the current number of UEs registered for the network slice is equal to or greater than the maximum number of UEs registered for the network slice, and the second condition being: the current number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions successfully established for the network slice is equal to or greater than the maximum number of PDU sessions established for the network slice.

[0045] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the network slice-related quota information of the network slice also includes the maximum data rate of the network slice.

[0046] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the NF is a Policy Control Function (PCF).

[0047] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the data received from at least one NF in the 5GC includes at least one of the following: each of the current numbers of UEs registered for the network slice and supported by each of the at least one NF, respectively, or each of the current numbers of PDU sessions successfully established for the network slice and supported by each of the at least one NF, respectively.

[0048] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a network function (NF) in a 5G core network (5GC) in a wireless communication system is provided. The NF includes a transceiver, and at least one processor, which is operably connected to the transceiver and configured to control the transceiver to receive an event subscription request message including network slice related quota information of a network slice from an application function (AF), determine whether an event notification trigger condition of the network slice is met based on the network slice related quota information and data received from at least one NF in the 5GC, and control the transceiver to transmit an event notification message of the network slice to the AF based on the determined result.

[0049] Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0050] [Implementation Methods of the Invention]

[0051] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in understanding, but these are to be regarded as exemplary only. Therefore, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the various embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and structures may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0052] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographic meanings, but are used only by the inventor to achieve a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0053] It should be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

[0054] By referring to the following detailed description and drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the advantages and features of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure and the methods for achieving them can be more easily understood. In this regard, the embodiments of the present disclosure may have different forms and should not be understood as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Instead, these embodiments of the present disclosure are provided to make the present disclosure thorough and complete, and to fully convey the concept of the present disclosure to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the present disclosure will only be limited by the appended claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals represent the same elements.

[0055] Here, it will be understood that the combination of blocks in a flowchart or process flow chart can be performed by computer program instructions. Because these computer program instructions can be loaded into a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device create units for performing the functions described in (one or more) flowchart blocks. Computer program instructions can be stored in a computer executable or computer readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing device to implement functions in a specific manner, so the instructions stored in the computer executable or computer readable memory can also produce an article containing instruction units for performing the functions described in (one or more) flowchart blocks. Computer program instructions can also be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device, so the instructions for operating a computer or other programmable data processing device by generating a computer-executed process when a series of operations are performed in the computer or other programmable data processing device can provide operations for performing the functions described in (one or more) flowchart blocks.

[0056] In addition, each frame can represent a module, segment or a part of code including one or more executable instructions for performing (one or more) specified logical functions. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions mentioned in the frame can occur out of order. For example, two frames shown in succession can actually be performed substantially at the same time, or frames can sometimes be performed in reverse order according to corresponding functions.

[0057] Here, the term "unit" in the embodiment refers to a software component or a hardware component, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and performs a specific function. However, the term "unit" is not limited to software or hardware. A "unit" may be formed in an addressable storage medium, or may be formed to operate one or more processors. Therefore, for example, the term "unit" may refer to various components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, and may include processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcodes, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, or variables. The functions provided by components and "units" may be associated with a smaller number of components and "units", or may be divided into additional components and "units". In addition, components and "units" may be embodied in reproducing one or more central processing units (CPUs) in a device or a secure multimedia card.

[0058] Throughout the disclosure, the expression "at least one of a, b, or c" means only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, all of a, b, and c, or variations thereof.

[0059] Examples of the terminal may include a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a computer, a multimedia system capable of performing a communication function, and the like.

[0060] In this disclosure, a controller may also be referred to as a processor.

[0061] Throughout the specification, a layer (or a layer arrangement) may also be referred to as an entity.

[0062] Hereinafter, a base station is an entity that allocates resources to a terminal, and may be at least one of a node B (NB), a base station (BS), a next generation node B (gNB), an evolved node B (eNB), a radio access unit, a BS controller, or a node on a network. In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to other communication systems having a technical background or channel type similar to the embodiments of the present disclosure described below. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to other communication systems with some modifications without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0063] In addition, the terms used herein for identifying access nodes, terms indicating network entities or network functions (NFs), terms indicating messages, terms indicating interfaces between network entities, terms indicating various types of identification information, etc. are exemplified for convenience of description. Therefore, the terms used in the present disclosure are not limited, and other terms indicating objects having the same technical meaning may be used.

[0064] In the following, for the convenience of description, the present disclosure uses the terms and names defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) and the 5th Generation (5G) standards. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such terms and names and can also be applied to systems conforming to other standards.

[0065] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0066] refer to Figure 1According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a 5G system may include a UE (or terminal) 100, a base station (i.e., a radio access network (RAN)) 110, and a 5G core network (5GC) 120. The 5GC 120 may include a network function (NF) such as an access and mobility management function (AMF) 121, a session management function (SMF) 122, a policy control function (PCF) 123, a unified data management (UDM) 124, a user plane function (UPF) 125, a network slice selection function (NSSF) 126, a network repository function (NRF) 127, a service communication proxy (SCP) 128, a network open function (NEF) 129, a unified data repository (UDR) 130, and a binding support function (BSF) 132. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a NF may represent a network entity (NE) or a network resource. The base station 110 may include a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) (hereinafter, may be used interchangeably with 5G-RAN or RAN), an evolved universal terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN), and the like. UE 100 can access 5GC 120 via base station 110.

[0067] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the AMF 121 may be a NF that manages the access of the UE 100 to the wireless network and the mobility of the UE 100 .

[0068] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the SMF 122 may be a NF that manages a packet data network connection provided to the UE 100. The packet data network connection may be referred to as a protocol data unit (PDU) session. The PDU session information may include quality of service (QoS) information, charging information, or information about packet processing.

[0069] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF 123 may be a NF that applies a service policy, a charging policy, and a PDU session policy of a mobile operator to the UE 100 .

[0070] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UPF 125 may be used as a gateway for transmitting packets transmitted and received by the UE 100, and may be an NF controlled by the SMF 122. The UPF 125 may be connected to a data network (DN) to perform a function of transmitting an uplink data packet generated by the UE 100 to an external data network via the 5G system. In addition, the UPF 125 may perform a function of transmitting downlink data generated in an external DN to the UE 100 via the 5G system. For example, the UPF 125 may be connected to a DN connected to the Internet to route a data packet transmitted from the UE 100 to the Internet or to route a data packet transmitted from the Internet to the UE 100.

[0071] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UDM 124 may be a NF that stores and manages information about subscribers.

[0072] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, NEF 129 is an NF capable of accessing information for managing UE 100 through a 5G network, and may be an NF that performs a function of transmitting information about UE 100 to 5GC by connecting to the NF of 5GC, or reporting information about UE 100 to the outside via subscription to mobility management events of UE 100, subscription to session management events of UE 100, request for session-related information, charging information configuration of UE 100, or PUD session policy change request about UE 100.

[0073] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, UDR 130 may be a NF that stores and manages data. For example, UDR 130 may store UE subscription information and provide the UE subscription information to UDM 124. UDR 130 may store mobile operator policy information and provide the mobile operator policy information to PCF 123. UDR 130 may store network service opening related information and provide network service opening related information to NEF 129.

[0074] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the NSSF 126 may be an NF that determines network slices available to the UE 100 and determines a network slice instance to configure such network slices.

[0075] Each NF defines the services it provides, and the services provided by the NF may be referred to as Npcf, Nsmf, Namf, Nnef services. For example, when the AMF 121 transmits a session-related message to the SMF 122, the AMF 121 may use a service (or application program interface (API)) called Nsmf_PDUSession_CreateSMContext.

[0076] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, application functions (AF) 140 and 150 may be NFs that are capable of using services and functions provided by the 5G network. In addition, AFs 140 and 150 may be application servers. More specifically, AF 150 may communicate with the NF configuring 5GC 120 via NEF 129, or AF 140 may communicate directly with the NF configuring 5GC 120 without NEF 129. In addition, AFs 140 and 150 may be located inside 5CG 120 or in an external network (e.g., a network of a third-party service provider).

[0077] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE 100 may access the AMF 121 via the base station 110 and exchange control plane signaling messages with the 5GC 120. In addition, the UE 100 may access the UPF 125 via the base station 110 to exchange user plane data with the DN. An application server that provides application layer services to the UE 100 may be referred to as an AF 140 when exchanging control plane signaling messages with the 5GC 120, and may be referred to as a DN when exchanging user plane data with the UE 100. In addition, the AF 140 and the DN may be used interchangeably to refer to the application server.

[0078] A mobile communication system (wireless communication system) may include a network that supports network slicing. In other words, in a mobile communication system, one physical network may include logically separated network slices (hereinafter, used interchangeably with slices) and may be managed. Mobile operators may provide dedicated network slices that are respectively dedicated to various services with different characteristics. Depending on the service characteristics, network slices may have different types and amounts of required resources, and the mobile communication system may guarantee the resources required for each network slice. For example, a network slice that provides voice call services may have control plane signaling that occurs at a high frequency and may be configured by a dedicated NF associated therewith. A network slice that provides Internet data services may have massive data traffic that occurs at a high frequency and may be configured by a dedicated NF associated therewith.

[0079] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a 5G system defined by 3GPP, a network slice may be referred to as a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). S-NSSAI may include a slice / service type (SST) value and a slice differentiator (SD) value. The SST value may indicate the characteristics of the services supported by the slice (e.g., enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), vehicle-to-everything (V2X)), etc.). The SD value may be a value used as an additional indicator of a specific service indicated by the SST value.

[0080] NSSAI may include one or more S-NSSAIs. Examples of NSSAI include configured NSSAI stored in the UE, requested NSSAI requested by the UE, allowed NSSAI determined by the NF of 5GC (e.g., AMF, NSSF, etc.) that the UE is allowed to use, and subscribed NSSAI to which the UE subscribes, but are not limited thereto.

[0081] The mobile operator may define the size (i.e., quota) of network resources that can be provided for each network slice. In the present disclosure, such a definition may be referred to as a network slicing strategy or a slicing strategy. The slicing strategy information may include at least one of the following information. However, the information is not limited thereto.

[0082] -S-NSSAI

[0083] - Maximum number of UEs

[0084] - Maximum number of sessions (e.g., maximum number of PDU sessions or maximum number of PDN connections)

[0085] -Maximum data rate

[0086] - Whether to enable / disable the indication of the maximum quota for the number of UEs

[0087] - Whether to enable / disable the indication of the quota for the maximum number of sessions

[0088] - Whether to enable / disable the indication of the quota for the maximum data rate

[0089] -Use monitoring control conditions

[0090] The S-NSSAI included in the slice policy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be an indicator indicating a slice. A mobile operator may use a network slice instance (NSI) identifier (ID) as an indicator indicating a slice instead of the S-NSSAI.

[0091] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the maximum number of UEs included in the slice policy information may indicate the number of UEs allowed to use S-NSSAI. The UE may transmit the requested NSSAI used during the registration process or the attachment process to the AMF, and the AMF may determine the allowed NSSAI available to the UE and provide the allowed NSSAI to the UE. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the maximum number of UEs may indicate the maximum value of the number of UEs that receive the allowed NSSAI including the S-NSSAI during the registration process. For example, when the maximum number of UEs for eMBB slices is one million, the 5GC (or at least one NF in the 5GC) may transmit the allowed NSSAI including the S-NSSAI indicating the eMBB slice to up to one million UEs. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

[0092] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the maximum number of sessions included in the slice policy information may indicate the number of PDU sessions or packet data network (PDN) connections established by using S-NSSAI. The UE may transmit a session establishment request message to the 5GC (or at least one NF in the 5GC) by including the slice information (S-NSSAI) to be used during the PDU session establishment process or the PDN connection establishment process, and the 5GC (or at least one NF in the 5GC) may establish a session by processing the session establishment request of the UE. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the maximum number of sessions may indicate the maximum value of sessions established via S-NSSAI during the session establishment process. For example, when the maximum number of sessions in an eMBB slice is 3 million, the 5GC (or at least one NF in the 5GC) may allow the maximum number of sessions established via S-NSSAI representing the eMBB slice to be up to 3 million. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

[0093] The maximum data rate included in the slice policy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may indicate a transmission rate of user plane data transmitted from a session established by using S-NSSAI. For example, when the maximum data rate of an eMBB slice is 3 million terabytes per second (or 3 million terabits per second), 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may allow a maximum data rate of up to 3 million terabytes per second (or 3 million terabits per second) for data transmitted from a session established via S-NSSAI indicating an eMBB slice. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples.

[0094] Since the maximum number of UEs, the maximum number of sessions, and the maximum data rate included in the slice policy information are information about the quota allowed for the slice, they can be classified as slice-related quota information. That is, in the present disclosure, the slice-related quota information may include at least one of the maximum number of UEs, the maximum number of sessions, and the maximum data rate.

[0095] According to the slice policy information of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs included in the slice policy information may indicate a value in an on / off form or an enabled / disabled form. For example, when the maximum number of UEs is one million and the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs is on or enabled, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may allow up to one million users to use S-NSSAI. When the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs is off or disabled, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs. In other words, more than one million UEs may be allowed to use S-NSSAI.

[0096] According to the slice policy information of an embodiment of the present disclosure, the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions included in the slice policy information may indicate a value in an on / off form or an enabled / disabled form. For example, when the maximum number of sessions is 3 million and the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions is on or enabled, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may allow up to three million sessions to use S-NSSAI. When the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions is off or disabled, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions. In other words, more than three million sessions may be allowed to use S-NSSAI.

[0097] The indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum data rate included in the slice policy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may indicate a value in an on / off form or an enabled / disabled form. For example, when the maximum data rate is 3 million terabytes per second (or 3 million terabits per second) and the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum data rate is on or enabled, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may allow up to 3 million terabytes per second (or 3 million terabits per second) of data to be transmitted from a session using S-NSSAI. When the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum data rate is off or disabled, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may disable the quota for the maximum data rate. In other words, more than 3 million terabytes per second (or 3 million terabits per second) of data may be allowed to be transmitted from a session using S-NSSAI.

[0098] The usage monitoring control conditions included in the slice policy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include conditions for transmitting a notification message about the use of a network slice called S-NSSAI. The conditions for transmitting a notification message about the use of a network slice may include the number of currently registered UEs, the number of currently used sessions, the current data rate, the maximum number of UEs reached, the maximum number of sessions reached, and the maximum data rate reached, but are not limited thereto, and may include any condition information that can be set by a mobile operator or a network slice user.

[0099] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the maximum number of UEs is 1 million and the number of UEs for using monitoring control conditions is 800,000, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) can transmit a notification message when the number of UEs allowed to use S-NSSAI reaches 800,000, and transmit a notification message when the number of UEs reaches the maximum number of UEs (i.e., 1 million).

[0100] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the maximum number of sessions is 3 million and the number of sessions for using monitoring control conditions is 2.5 million, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may transmit a notification message when the number of sessions established via S-NSSAI reaches 2.5 million, and transmit a notification message when the number of sessions reaches the maximum number of sessions (i.e., 3 million).

[0101] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the maximum data rate is 3 million terabytes per second (or 3 million terabits per second) and the data rate for using monitoring control conditions is 2.5 million terabytes per second (or 2.5 million terabits per second), 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) may transmit a notification message when the transmission rate of data transmitted from a session established via S-NSSAI reaches 2.5 million terabytes per second (or 2.5 million terabits per second), and transmit a notification message when the transmission rate of the data reaches the maximum data rate, i.e., 3 million terabytes per second (or 3 million terabits per second).

[0102] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, 5GC (or at least one NF in 5GC) can store and manage slice policy information in NF. For example, PCF 123 among the NFs of 5GC can manage slice policy information. In the present disclosure, for the convenience of description, PCF 123 is used as an example to manage slice policy information. However, among the NFs of 5GC, NFs other than PCF 123 can manage slice policy information, and the description of PCF 123 managing slice policy information in the present disclosure can also be applied to other NFs.

[0103] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the slice policy information stored in PCF 123 may be determined by the policy of the mobile operator. The mobile operator may store the slice policy information in PCF 123 and update the slice policy information via an operation, management, and maintenance (OAM) method. Alternatively, the slice policy information may be stored in PCF 123 and updated according to the request of AF 140 operated by the mobile operator, and in this case, AF 140 may communicate directly with PCF 123.

[0104] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the slice policy information stored in PCF 123 may be determined by a service level agreement (SLA) between a mobile operator and a third-party service provider. The third-party service provider may store the slice policy information in PCF 123 and update the slice policy information according to a request of AF 150 operated by the third-party service provider. In this case, AF 150 may communicate with PCF 123 via NEF 129, or may communicate directly with PCF 123.

[0105] References Figure 1 The description is not limited to specific parts of the present disclosure, but can be applied to the entire description of the methods and devices for managing network slices described in the present disclosure.

[0106] Figure 2 It is a flowchart of the process by which a 5G system obtains slicing strategy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0107] refer to Figure 2 , the PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may register the slice information (S-NSSAI) supported by the PCF 123 (service) in the binding support function (BSF) 132 in operation 210. For example, the PCF 123 may register the slice information (S-NSSAI) supported by the PCF 123 in the BSF 132 via an Nbsf_Mangement_Register request message. Here, the name of the message is not limited to Figure 2 The name of the

[0108] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, S-NSSAI may instruct PCF 123 to store and manage slice policy information for S-NSSAI regardless of the session (PDU session or PDN connection). When PCF 123 supports one or more S-NSSAIs, PCF 123 may register one or more S-NSSAIs in BSF 132. The registration request message (Nbsf_Mangement_Register request message) of operation 210 may include at least one of a PCF ID indicating PCF 123, a PCF set ID including PCF 123, and one or more S-NSSAIs (i.e., S-NSSAIs) supported by PCF 123. BSF 132 may store the received information.

[0109] refer to Figure 2 According to the embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 AF 140 and 150 may generate an AF request message. The AF request message may include slice strategy information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0110] The NEF 129 may receive an AF request message from the AF 150 in operation 212 .

[0111] NEF 129 may authenticate the AF request message. When the authentication is successful, NEF 129 may select a PCF 123 that supports (service) slicing (S-NSSAI) based on the slice information (S-NSSAI) included in the AF request message. For example, NEF 129 may transmit a discovery request message to BSF 132 in operation 214. The discovery request message may be an Nbsf_Management_Discovery request message. However, the name of the message is not limited thereto. The discovery request message may include S-NSSAI. BSF 132 may select a PCF 123 that supports (service) the S-NSSAI received in operation 214 based on the slice information (service) supported by PCF 123 and the PCF information (e.g., PCF ID, PCF set ID, etc.) stored in operation 210. BSF 132 may transmit a discovery response message to NEF 129 in operation 216. The discovery response message may be an Nbsf_Management_Discovery response message. However, the name of the message is not limited thereto. The discovery response message may include PCF information (PCF ID and / or PCF set ID) selected by the BSF 132.

[0112] The NEF 129 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may select a PCF 123 supporting the S-NSSAI included in the (serving) AF request message based on the PCF information received from the BSF 132 in operation 216 or the PCF information stored in the NEF 129. When the PCF information is a PCF ID, the NEF 129 may select a PCF 123 indicated by the PCF ID. When the PCF information is a PCF set ID, the NEF 129 may select a PCF 123 from among the PCFs included in the PCF set.

[0113] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the NEF 129 may transmit a slice policy request message to the PCF 123 in operation 218. The slice policy request message may be an Npcf_SlicePolicy_Create / Update / Delete request message. However, the name of the message is not limited thereto. The slice policy request message may include the slice policy information included in the AF request message received by the NEF 129 from the AF 150.

[0114] In addition, in operation 218, the AF 140 or 150 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may transmit the slice policy request message directly to the PCF 123 without passing through the NEF 129. The slice policy request message may include slice policy information generated by the AF 140 or 150.

[0115] The PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may authenticate the slice policy request message received in operation 218. When the authentication is successful, the PCF 123 may store the received slice policy information in operation 220. Then, the PCF 123 may perform a slice policy association process or a slice policy modification process in operation 222. This will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0116] The UDM 124 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may store and manage UE subscription information. The UE subscription information may include subscription slice information (subscribed S-NSSAI) available to the UE. When there is slice policy information associated with an S-NSSAI among multiple S-NSSAIs included in the subscription slice information, an indicator indicating the slice policy information may be included in the UDM 124. In addition, the UDM 124 may include PCF information (PCF ID or PCF set ID) for managing slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI.

[0117] References Figure 2 The description is not limited to specific parts of the present disclosure, but can be applied to the entire description of the methods and devices for network slicing described in the present disclosure.

[0118] Figure 3A 4 is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system provides managed slice policy information to the NF of 5GC 120 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0119] refer to Figure 3A , the PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may in operation 220 via OAM and Figure 2 The process shown stores slice policy information associated with S-NSSAI.

[0120] The PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI to the first NF 300 configuring the 5GC 120. For example, the PCF 123 may provide the slice policy information associated with one or more S-NSSAIs to the first NF 300 during a registration process. In this case, the first NF 300 may be the AMF 121. Alternatively, the PCF 123 may provide the slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI to be used by the PDU session to the first NF 300 during a PDU session establishment process. In this case, the first NF 300 may be the SMF 122. In other words, the first NF 300 may represent one of the NFs in the network.

[0121] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) may request UE subscription information from UDM 124 in operation 310 during a registration process or a PDU session establishment process. The UE subscription information request message (e.g., UE subscription request) may include a UE ID (e.g., a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), a 5G globally unique temporary identifier (5G-GUTI), an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), etc.). In operation 312, UDM 124 may transmit the UE subscription information represented by the UE ID received via a UE subscription information response message (e.g., UE subscription response) to the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122). Here, the name of the message is not limited to Figure 3A The name of the

[0122] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) may determine in operation 314 whether there is an S-NSSA having slice policy information among slices of network slice I (multiple S-NSSAIs, subscribed S-NSSAIs, and allowed S-NSSAIs) to be provided to the UE based on the UE subscription information received from the UDM 124. For example, when the UE subscription information includes an indicator indicating that there is slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI, the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) may determine the slice policy information to which the S-NSSAI is to be applied.

[0123] The first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may select a PCF 123 supporting a slice policy of (serving) S-NSSAI in operation 316. For example, the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) may select a PCF 123 supporting a slice policy associated with S-NSSAI based on PCF information that manages slice policy information associated with S-NSSAI included in UE subscription information received in operation 312. Alternatively, the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) may transmit an NF discovery request message for discovering a PCF supporting (serving) S-NSSAI policy information to the NRF 127, and select a PCF 123 supporting a slice policy associated with S-NSSAI based on the PCF information included in the NF discovery response message received from the NRF 127. Alternatively, when a PCF 123 associated with the S-NSSAI has been selected during a previous registration procedure or a PDU session establishment procedure for another UE, the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) may use a slice policy association with the PCF 123.

[0124] The PCF 123 supporting the slice policy associated with the S-NSSAI may be the same as or different from the PCF managing the UE policy, AM policy, or SM policy.

[0125] In operation 318, the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may transmit a slice policy association request message to the PCF 123 selected in operation 316. The slice policy association request message may include one or more S-NSSAIs. In operation 320, the PCF 123 may transmit the requested slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI to the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122). In addition, the message (e.g., slice policy association response message) transmitted by the PCF 123 to the first NF 300 in operation 320 may include slice quota information available to the first NF 300. For example, the slice quota information included in the message of operation 320 may include information indicating that the maximum number of registered UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A is 1 million and the maximum number of registered UEs available to the first NF 300 is 300,000. When there are multiple NFs supporting S-NSSAI A, the following method may be adopted to allocate multiple registered UEs to several NFs. Alternatively, for example, the slice quota information included in the message of operation 320 may include information indicating that the maximum number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A is 3 million and the maximum number of sessions available to the first NF 300 is 600000. When there are multiple NFs supporting S-NSSAI A, the following method may be adopted to allocate multiple sessions to several NFs.

[0126] The first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) and PCF 123 perform a slice policy association establishment procedure associated with S-NSSAI in operations 318 and 320, and exchange relevant information when an event associated with slice policy information occurs in a subsequent process.

[0127] In operation 322, the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may implement a slicing policy associated with the S-NSSAI received from the PCF 123.

[0128] The first NF 300 (AMF 121) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine allowed slices (allowed NSSAI) based on the received slice policy information in operation 322. For example, the first NF 300 (AMF 121) may not provide allowed slices to UEs greater than the maximum number of UEs or the allowed number of UEs.

[0129] For example, the first NF 300 (SMF 122) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine whether to establish a PDU session based on the received slice policy information in operation 322. For example, the first NF 300 (SMF 122) may not allow the establishment of a session greater than the maximum number of sessions or the allowed number of sessions.

[0130] The first NF 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be configured according to Figure 3B The process shown stores the PCF 123 associated with the S-NSSAI in the UDM 124 .

[0131] Figure 3B It is a flowchart of the process of storing policy control function (PCF) information that supports slicing policies according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0132] refer to Figure 3A and 3B , the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) can select a PCF that supports the slicing policy of (serving) S-NSSAI in operation 316.

[0133] When there is no PCF supporting the slicing policy of S-NSSAI (for example, when there is no PCF information managing the slicing policy information associated with S-NSSAI in the UE subscription information received from UDM 124, or when the PCF 123 associated with S-NSSAI is not selected during the registration process or PDU session establishment process for another UE before the first NF 300), the first NF 300 can perform a process for selecting the PCF 123 managing the slicing policy information associated with S-NSSAI (for example, a process of transmitting an NF discovery request message for discovering a PCF supporting (serving) S-NSSAI policy information to NRF 127 and selecting the PCF 123 supporting the slicing policy associated with S-NSSAI based on the PCF information included in the NF discovery response message received from NRF 127).

[0134] In operation 318, the slice policy association request message may be transmitted to the PCF 123 selected in operation 316. The slice policy association request message may include one or more S-NSSAIs. In operation 320, the PCF 123 may transmit the requested slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI to the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122). Figure 3A The content corresponds to that of , so the details are omitted.

[0135] In operation 330, the first NF 300 may register, provide, or transmit the PCF information selected in operation 316 in or to the UDM 124. For example, the registration request message transmitted by the first NF 300 to the UDM 124 may include the S-NSSAI and the PCF information (e.g., PCF ID) selected in association with the S-NSSAI. Here, the name of the message is not limited to Figure 3B The name of the

[0136] The UDM 124 may store the information (eg, S-NSSAI and PCF information selected in association with the S-NSSAI) received from the first NF 300. For example, the UDM 124 may store the S-NSSAI and PCF information selected in association with the S-NSSAI as subscription information.

[0137] In operation 332, the UDM 124 may transmit a registration response message to the first NF 300. Here, the name of the message is not limited to Figure 3B The name of the

[0138] Operations 340 to 344 may be performed with Figure 3A Operations 310 to 316 correspond.

[0139] More specifically, the sixth NF 301 (eg, AMF 121 or SMF 122) may, at operation 340 (with Figure 3A ) in operation 310 corresponding to requesting UE subscription information from UDM 124.

[0140] In operation 342, the UDM 124 may transmit the UE subscription information represented by the UE ID received via the UE subscription information response message (eg, UE subscription response) to the sixth NF 301 (eg, AMF 121 or SMF 122) (with Figure 3A The UDM 124 may add the PCF information associated with the S-NSSAI stored according to the information received in operation 330 to the UE subscription information.

[0141] The sixth NF 301 (eg, AMF 121 or SMF 122) may, at operation 344 (with Figure 3A The sixth NF 301 (e.g., AMF 121 or SMF 122) may select a PCF 123 supporting a slice policy associated with S-NSSAI based on the PCF information managing the slice policy information associated with S-NSSAI included in the UE subscription information received in operation 342.

[0142] The UDM 124 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be configured according to Figure 3B The process shown stores the PCF information associated with the S-NSSAI. In addition, the UDM 124 may provide the stored PCF information associated with the S-NSSAI to the first NF 300 or the sixth NF 301 (eg, Figure 3A Operation 312 or Figure 3B Operation 342).

[0143] References Figure 3A and Figure 3B The description is not limited to specific parts of the present disclosure, but can be applied to the entire description of the methods and devices for managing network slices described in the present disclosure.

[0144] Figure 4 It is a flowchart of the process by which a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure updates managed slice policy information.

[0145] refer to Figure 4 , the PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may in operation 220 via OAM and Figure 2 The process shown in stores the slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI. In operation 220, information about the slice-related quota can be set to be applied or not applied. For example, the value of whether to enable / disable the indication of the maximum number of quotas for UEs, whether to enable / disable the indication of the maximum number of sessions, or whether to enable / disable the indication of the quota for the maximum data rate included in the slice policy information stored in the PCF 123 can be set to enabled or disabled. In addition, the first NF 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be configured to enable / disable the indication of the maximum number of quotas for UEs, whether to enable / disable the indication of the quota for the maximum number of sessions, or whether to enable / disable the indication of the quota for the maximum data rate. Figure 3A The process obtains the slice policy information associated with S-NSSAI from PCF 123, and correspondingly stores and uses (applies or executes) the slice policy information in operation 322.

[0146] The AF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may transmit an AF request message to the PCF 123 in operation 412 to update the slice policy information stored in the PCF 123. For example, the AF may add an AF ID indicating the AF, an S-NSSAI indicating the slice, a maximum number of UEs associated with the S-NSSAI, a maximum number of sessions, an indication of whether to enable / disable a quota for the maximum number of UEs, an indication of whether to enable / disable a quota for the maximum number of sessions, an indication of whether to enable / disable a quota for the maximum data rate, and at least one value among usage monitoring control conditions to the AF request message. The AF may directly or through Figure 1 The NEF 129 transmits the AF request message to the PCF 123 .

[0147] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF 123 may update the slice policy information stored in the PCF 123 based on the received AF request message in operation 422. The PCF 123 may compare the slice policy information received in operation 412 with the slice policy information that matches the S-NSSAI included in the AF request message received in operation 412 among the slice policy information stored in operation 220. When the slice policy information stored in operation 220 and the slice policy information received in operation 412 are different from each other, the PCF 123 may update the slice policy information to the slice policy information received in operation 412 (i.e., the latest slice policy information). For example, the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs associated with the S-NSSAI stored in the PCF 123 in operation 220 is set to enabled, but the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs in the slice policy information received in operation 412 may be set to disabled. In this case, PCF 123 may change the indication to disabled as the latest information received in operation 142 .

[0148] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, PCF 123 may determine the NF to which the slice strategy information is being applied in operation 423, and Figure 3A The NF with which the slice policy association is established is determined in operations 318 to 320. When the slice policy information provided to the first NF 300 in operation 320 and the slice policy information updated in operation 422 are different from each other, the PCF 123 may provide the updated slice policy information to the NF with which the slice policy association is established or the NF that is applying the slice policy information in operation 424.

[0149] In operation 426, the first NF 300 may update the stored or applied slice policy information based on the received updated slice policy information and apply the updated slice policy information.

[0150] For example, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota of the maximum number of UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A stored in the PCF 123 in operation 220 is set to enabled, the PCF 123 may set the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota of the maximum number of UEs to enabled and transmit the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota of the maximum number of UEs to the first NF 300 in operation 320. In this case, the first NF 300 may be Figure 1AMF 121 of the first NF 300. The first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121) may apply UE quantity control during the UE registration procedure based on the indication received from PCF 123. Then, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A stored in PCF 123 is changed to disabled in operation 442, PCF 123 may set the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs to disabled and transmit the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs to the first NF 300 (e.g., AMF 121) in operation 424. Based on the indication received from PCF 123, the first NF 300 may not apply UE quantity control during the UE registration procedure.

[0151] For example, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A stored in the PCF 123 in operation 220 is set to enabled, the PCF 123 may set the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions to enabled and transmit the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions to the first NF 300 in operation 320. In this case, the first NF 300 may be Figure 1 The first NF 300 (e.g., SMF 122) may apply session quantity control during the session establishment process based on the indication received from the PCF 123. Then, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A stored in the PCF 123 is changed to disabled in operation 442, the PCF 123 may set the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of conversations to disabled and transmit the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions to the first NF 300 (e.g., SMF 122) in operation 424. Based on the indication received from the PCF 123, the first NF 300 may not apply session quantity control during the session establishment process.

[0152] Figure 5 It is a flowchart of the process by which a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure updates managed slice policy information.

[0153] refer to Figure 5 , the PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may in operation 220 via OAM and Figure 2The process shown in stores slice policy information associated with S-NSSAI. In operation 220, information about slice-related quotas may be set to be applied or not applied. For example, the value of whether to enable / disable an indication of a quota for the maximum number of UEs, whether to enable / disable an indication of a quota for the maximum number of sessions, or whether to enable / disable an indication of a quota for the maximum data rate included in the slice policy information stored in PCF 123 may be set to enabled or disabled.

[0154] The AF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may transmit an AF request message to the PCF 123 in operation 512 to update the slice policy information stored in the PCF 123. In addition, the AF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may generate new slice policy information for the S-NSSAI and transmit the AF request message to the PCF 123 in operation 512. The AF request message of operation 512 may be in the same format as Figure 4 The AF request message of operation 412 is configured in the same manner. The AF may send the AF request message directly or via Figure 1 The NEF 129 is transferred to the PCF 123.

[0155] In operation 514, the PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may update the slice strategy information based on the received AF request message. Figure 4 The slice policy information is updated in the same manner as operation 422 of . Alternatively, when there is no S-NSSAI matching the slice policy information received in operation 514 among the slice policy information stored in operation 220, PCF 123 may regenerate and store the slice policy information for the received S-NSSAI in operation 514.

[0156] In operation 515, the PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine whether slice policy association establishment is required for the slice policy information stored / updated in operation 514. For example, when the slice policy information of the S-NSSAI is newly generated in operation 514, the PCF 123 may determine that slice policy association establishment is required. Alternatively, for example, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs associated with the S-NSSAI stored in the PCF 123 in operation 220 is set to disabled, but the indication for the slice policy information received in operation 512 is set to enabled, the PCF 123 may determine that slice policy association establishment for the S-NSSAI is required.

[0157] In operation 516, the PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine the NF to which the slicing policy information will be applied. For example, the PCF 123 may determine the NF to which the slicing policy information will be applied via an NF discovery process. In addition, the PCF 123 may provide the slicing policy information to the NF in operations 518 and 520. The method by which the PCF 123 discovers the NF in operation 516 may use any of the following various methods.

[0158] For example, the PCF 123 may transmit a message including the slice strategy information of operations 518 and 520 to the third NF 501. In this case, the third NF 501 may be Figure 1 The third NF 501 (eg, SCP 128) may transmit the messages of operations 518 and 520 to the second NF 500, which is a NF supporting (serving) S-NSSAI, based on the S-NSSAI included in the received message.

[0159] Alternatively, the PCF 123 may determine the NF based on information obtained from the third NF 501. In this case, the third NF 501 may be Figure 1 The third NF 501 (e.g., UDM 124) may store information about the NF (e.g., the second NF 500, the serving AMF, or the serving SMF) supporting (serving) S-NSSAI, and provide the information to the PCF 123. In order to obtain information about the NF from the third NF 501 (UDM 124), the PCF 123 may obtain the information from the third NF 501 (UDM 124) in operation 516, or use the information obtained from the third NF 501 (UDM 124) and stored in the PCF 123 before operation 516.

[0160] Alternatively, the PCF 123 may determine the NF by transmitting an NF discovery request message to the third NF 501. In this case, the third NF 501 may be Figure 1NRF 127. The NF discovery request message transmitted by PCF 123 to the third NF 501 (e.g., NRF 127) may include S-NSSAI and information indicating a search for a NF supporting (serving) S-NSSAI (and information for NF search). The third NF 501 (e.g., NRF 127) may find a NF supporting S-NSSAI based on the registered NF profile information, and then add information about the NF (e.g., the second NF 500) to the NF discovery response message transmitted to PCF 123. PCF 123 may transmit messages of operations 518 and 520 to the second NF 500, i.e., a NF supporting (serving) S-NSSAI, based on the information about the NF received from the third NF 501 (e.g., NRF 127). For example, PCF 123 may perform a slice policy association process with the second NF 500 and transmit a slice policy update notification to the second NF 500.

[0161] The PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may provide the updated slice policy information to the second NF 500 by using any of the above-described various methods in operation 520. In operation 522, the second NF 500 may apply the received updated slice policy information.

[0162] For example, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A stored in the PCF 123 in operation 220 is set to disabled, the PCF 123 may not apply the maximum UE number control for the network slice indicated by the S-NSSAI A. Then, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A stored in the PCF 123 is changed to enabled in operation 514, the PCF 123 may set the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of UEs to enabled in operations 518 and 520 and transmit the indication and the slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI A to the second NF 500. In this case, the second NF 500 may be the AMF 121. The second NF 500 (AMF 121) may apply the UE number control based on the indication received from the PCF 123 during the UE registration process.

[0163] For example, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A stored in the PCF 123 in operation 220 is set to disabled, the PCF 123 may not apply the maximum session number control for the network slice indicated by the S-NSSAI A. Then, when the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A stored in the PCF 123 is changed to enabled in operation 514, the PCF 123 may set the indication of whether to enable / disable the quota for the maximum number of sessions to enabled in operations 518 and 520 and transmit the indication and the slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI A to the second NF 500. In this case, the second NF 500 may be the SMF 122. The second NF 500 (SMF 122) may apply the session number control based on the indication received from the PCF 123 during the session establishment process.

[0164] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the slice strategy information changes, the 5G system can transmit a notification message to the AF.

[0165] Figure 6 It is a flowchart of the process of a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, through which a monitoring report of slice policy information managed by the 5G system is transmitted to the AF.

[0166] refer to Figure 6 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF 123 may monitor the use of the S-NSSAI by communicating with the first NF 300 that supports (serves) the S-NSSAI associated with the slice policy information.

[0167] For example, the service request message transmitted by the first NF 300 to the PCF 123 in operation 610 may include information about the current number of registered UEs or the current number of established sessions supported by the first NF 300 in association with the S-NSSAI. The message (service request message) of operation 610 may be Figure 3A In operation 612, PCF 123 may transmit a service response message to NF 300, and may manage slice information associated with S-NSSAI based on the information received in operation 610 in operation 614. As described above, referring to Figures 1 to 3B The descriptions made herein can be applied throughout the disclosure and thus can also be applied to references Figure 6 For example, operation 610 may be performed at Figure 2 3 (operations 314 and 316 are optional). For example, before operation 610, as in Figure 2 In operations 212 to 218, AF 140 or 150 may transmit an AF request message to PCF 123 through NEF 129 or directly to PCF 123, and the AF request message may include slice policy information, which includes slice-related quota information.

[0168] In operation 616, the PCF 123 may transmit an event subscription message (eg, EventSubscribe) to the first NF 300, which is related to information about the current number of registered UEs supported for association with the S-NSSAI or the current number of established sessions. The message of operation 616 may include Figure 3A The event notification message may include information about the current number of registered UEs supported by the first NF 300 or the current number of established sessions associated with the S-NSSAI. The PCF 123 may manage the slice information associated with the S-NSSAI in operation 620 based on the information received in operation 618.

[0169] For example, when the maximum number of UEs associated with S-NSSAI A (e.g., network slice A) is 1 million and the information included in the message received from the first NF 300 in operation 610 or 618 indicates that 800,000 UEs are currently registered in the first NF 300, the PCF 123 may store 800,000 for the number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A in operation 614 or 620. When one or more NFs support S-NSSAI A, the PCF 123 may store the sum of the number of registered UEs obtained from all NFs supporting S-NSSAI A as the number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A. The PCF 123 may store the total number of registered UEs obtained from all NFs supporting S-NSSAI A as the number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A. The PCF 123 may store the total number of registered UEs obtained from all NFs supporting S-NSSAI A as the number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A. Figure 1 UDR130 stores information about the number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A, which is the slice information associated with S-NSSAI.

[0170] For example, when the maximum number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A is 3 million and the information included in the message received from the first NF 300 in operation 610 or 618 indicates that 2.3 million sessions are currently established in the first NF 300, the PCF 123 may store 2.3 million as the number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A in operation 614 or 620. When one or more NFs support S-NSSAI A, the PCF 123 may store the sum of the number of sessions obtained from all NFs supporting S-NSSAI A as the number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A. The PCF 123 may store information about the number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A in the UDR 130.

[0171] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF 123 may determine whether the usage monitoring control condition is satisfied based on the slice policy information and the current number of registered UEs stored in the PCF 123 or the UDR 130 in operation 622. For example, when the maximum number of registered UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A is 1 million and the usage monitoring control condition is 800,000, based on the current number of registered UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A managed in operation 614 or 620, when the current number of registered UEs satisfies the usage monitoring control condition (ie, when the current number of registered UEs is equal to or greater than 800,000) and / or when the current number of registered UEs satisfies the maximum number of registered UEs (ie, when the current number of registered UEs is equal to or greater than 1 million), the PCF 123 may determine that the trigger condition is satisfied in operation 622, and transmit a monitoring notification message to the AF in operation 624. The monitoring notification message of operation 624 may include at least one of S-NSSAI, event ID, or slice usage information (e.g., the current number of registered UEs, the current number of established sessions, etc.). The AF may identify the number of registered UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A based on the received information.

[0172] The PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine whether the usage monitoring control condition is satisfied based on the slice policy information and the current number of sessions stored in the PCF 123 or the UDR 130 in operation 622. For example, when the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A is 3 million and the usage monitoring control condition is 2.5 million, based on the current number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A managed in operation 614 or 620, when the current number of sessions satisfies the usage monitoring control condition (i.e., when the current number of sessions is equal to or greater than 2.5 million) and / or when the current number of sessions satisfies the maximum number of sessions (i.e., when the current number of sessions is equal to or greater than 3 million), the PCF 123 may determine that the trigger condition is satisfied in operation 622, and transmit a monitoring notification message to the AF in operation 624. The monitoring notification message of operation 624 may include at least one of the S-NSSAI, the event ID, or the slice usage information (e.g., the current number of registered UEs, the current number of established sessions, etc.). The AF may identify the number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A based on the received information.

[0173] Figure 7 It is a flowchart of the process of a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, through which a monitoring report of slice policy information managed by the 5G system is transmitted to the AF.

[0174] refer to Figure 7 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth NF 700 (e.g., NSSF 126, NRF 127, or SCP 128) can monitor the use of S-NSSAI by communicating with the first NF 300 that supports (serves) S-NSSAI associated with slice policy information.

[0175] For example, the service request message transmitted by the first NF 300 to the fourth NF 700 in operation 710 may include information about the current number of registered UEs or the current number of established sessions associated with the S-NSSAI and supported by the first NF 300. In operation 712, the fourth NF 700 may transmit a service response message to the NF 300 and may manage slice information associated with the S-NSSAI based on the information received in operation 710 in operation 714.

[0176] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth NF 700 may transmit an event subscription message related to the current number of registered UEs associated with the S-NSSAI or the current number of established sessions to the first NF 300 in operation 716. When the information about the current number of registered UEs associated with the S-NSSAI or the current number of established sessions changes, the first NF 300 may transmit an event notification message to the fourth NF 700 in operation 718. The event notification message may include information about the current number of registered UEs associated with the S-NSSAI or the current number of established sessions supported by the first NF 300. The fourth NF 700 may manage slice information associated with the S-NSSAI in operation 720 based on the information received in operation 718.

[0177] For example, when the maximum number of UEs associated with S-NSSAI A is 1 million and the information included in the message received from the first NF 300 in operation 710 or 718 indicates that 800,000 UEs are currently registered in the first NF 300, the fourth NF 700 may store 800,000 as the number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A in operation 714 or 720. When one or more NFs support S-NSSAI A, the fourth NF 700 may store the sum of the number of registered UEs obtained from all NFs supporting S-NSSAI A as the number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A. The fourth NF 700 may store information about the number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A in the UDR 130.

[0178] For example, when the maximum number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A is 3 million and the information included in the message received from the first NF 300 in operation 710 or 718 indicates that 2.3 million sessions are currently established in the first NF 300, the fourth NF 700 may store 2.3 million as the number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A in operation 714 or 720. When one or more NFs support S-NSSAI A, the fourth NF 700 may store the sum of the number of sessions obtained from all NFs supporting S-NSSAI A as the number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A. The fourth NF 700 may store information about the number of sessions associated with S-NSSAI A in the UDR 130.

[0179] The fourth NF 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine whether the usage monitoring control condition is satisfied based on the slice policy information stored in the fourth NF 700 or the UDR 130 and the current number of registered UEs or sessions in operation 722. The method by which the fourth NF 700 determines whether the usage monitoring control condition is satisfied may be the same as Figure 6 The method performed by PCF 123 is the same as described in operation 622.

[0180] The fourth NF 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine that the trigger condition is satisfied in operation 722 and transmit a monitoring notification message to the AF through the PCF 123 in operation 724a. The monitoring notification message of operation 724 may include at least one of S-NSSAI, event ID, or slice usage information (e.g., the current number of registered UEs, the current number of established sessions, etc.). The message of operation 724a may be transmitted to the AF through the PCF 123 in operation 724b, transmitted to the AF through the NEF, or directly transmitted to the AF in operation 724c. The AF may identify the number of registered UEs or sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A based on the received information.

[0181] In a 5G system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, two or more NFs may support S-NSSAI.

[0182] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a process by which a 5G system applies a managed slicing policy to multiple NFs according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0183] refer to Figure 8 , the first NF 300 and the fifth NF 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be NFs supporting (serving) the same S-NSSAI. For example, the first NF 300 may apply the slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI in operation 322 by performing operations 318 and 320. In addition, the fifth NF 800 may apply the slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI in operation 814 by performing operations 810 and 812.

[0184] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF 123 may be configured via Figure 6 The process shown obtains information about the number of registered UEs and the number of sessions supported by the NF from the first NF 300 and the fifth NF 800. In an embodiment, the PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may obtain information about the number of registered UEs and the number of sessions supported by the NF from the first NF 300 and the fifth NF 800. Figure 7 The illustrated process obtains information from the first NF 300 and the fifth NF 800 about the number of registered UEs and the number of sessions supported by the NF.

[0185] According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the PCF 123 can determine whether the notification trigger condition is met based on the information received from the first NF 300 and the fifth NF 800 in operation 816. For example, when the maximum number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A is 1 million, the current number of registered UEs supported by the first NF 300 that are allowed to use S-NSSAI A is 490,000, and the current number of registered UEs supported by the fifth NF 800 that are allowed to use S-NSSAI A is 510,000, the PCF 123 can determine that the maximum number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A has exceeded. Therefore, the PCF 123 can transmit a notification message to the first NF 300 and / or the fifth NF 800 in operation 818a or 818b. The notification message may include information indicating that the maximum number of registered UEs associated with S-NSSAI A has exceeded. For example, the notification message may include at least one of the current number of S-NSSAI and registered UEs. Upon receiving the notification message, the first NF 300 and / or the fifth NF 800 may update the slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI A in operation 820a or 820b based on the received information. For example, the first NF 300 and / or the fifth NF 800 may determine that the maximum number of registered UEs associated with the S-NSSAI A has been exceeded and thereafter reject the S-NSSAI A request (requested NSSAI).

[0186] The PCF 123 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may determine whether a notification trigger condition is satisfied based on information received from the first NF 300 and the fifth NF 800 at operation 816. For example, when the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A is 3 million, the number of sessions using the S-NSSAI A supported by the first NF 300 is 1.49 million, and the number of sessions using the S-NSSAI A supported by the fifth NF 800 is 1.51 million, the PCF 123 may determine that the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A has been exceeded. Therefore, the PCF 123 may transmit a notification message to the first NF 300 and / or the fifth NF 800 at operation 818a or 818b. The notification message may include information indicating that the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A has been exceeded. For example, the notification message may include at least one of the S-NSSAI and the current number of established sessions. Upon receiving the notification message, the first NF 300 and / or the fifth NF 800 may update the slice policy information associated with the S-NSSAI A in operation 820a or 820b based on the received information. For example, the first NF 300 and / or the fifth NF 800 may determine that the maximum number of sessions associated with the S-NSSAI A has been exceeded and thereafter reject the S-NSSAI A request (PDU session establishment request or PDN connection establishment request).

[0187] Fig. 9 It is a flowchart for describing the method by which the network function (NF) in 5GC manages network slices in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0188] refer to Fig. 9 , at operation 910, the NF receives an event subscription request message from an application function (AF), the event subscription request message including network slice related quota information of the network slice. In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the NF is a policy control function (PCF).

[0189] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the network slice-related quota information of the network slice may include at least one of the maximum number of user equipments (UEs) registered for the network slice or the maximum number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions established for the network slice.

[0190] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, NF may store network slice related quota information.

[0191] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the NF may update the quota of the network slice based on the quota information related to the network slice.

[0192] At operation 920, the NF may determine whether an event notification trigger condition of the network slice is met based on the network slice related quota information and data received from at least one NF in the 5GC.

[0193] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the NF may monitor the current number of UEs being registered for the network slice. The NF may determine whether the event notification triggering condition of the network slice is met based on the quota information related to the network slice and the monitoring result.

[0194] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the NF may update the current number of PDU sessions successfully established for the network slice based on the maximum number of PDU sessions to be established for the network slice.

[0195] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the event notification trigger condition may include at least one of a first condition or a second condition, the first condition being: the current number of UEs registered for the network slice is equal to or greater than the maximum number of UEs registered for the network slice, and the second condition being: the current number of PDU sessions successfully established for the network slice is equal to or greater than the maximum number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions established for the network slice.

[0196] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the network slice-related quota information of the network slice may also include the maximum data rate of the network slice.

[0197] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the data received from at least one NF in the 5GC may include at least one of the following: each of the current numbers of UEs registered for the network slice and supported by each of the at least one NF, respectively, or each of the current numbers of PDU sessions successfully established for the network slice and supported by each of the at least one NF, respectively.

[0198] At operation 930, the NF transmits an event notification message of the network slice to the AF based on the determined result.

[0199] Fig.10 is a block diagram of a configuration of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0200] The UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a processor 1020 that controls the overall operation of the UE, a transceiver 1000 including a transmitter and a receiver, and a memory 1010. However, the UE is not limited thereto and may include more Fig.10 More or fewer components than shown in the .

[0201] refer to Fig.10, the transceiver 1000 can transmit a signal to the NE or another UE or receive a signal from the NE or another UE. The signal transmitted to the NE or received from the NE may include control information and data. In addition, the transceiver 1000 can receive a signal through a wireless channel and output a signal to the processor 1020, and transmit a signal output from the processor 1020 through a wireless channel.

[0202] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor 1020 may control the UE to perform any operation according to the above-mentioned embodiment of the present disclosure. The processor 1020, the memory 1010, and the transceiver 1000 are not necessarily implemented in separate modules, but may obviously be implemented in one component in the form of a single chip. In addition, the processor 1020 and the transceiver 1000 may be electrically connected to each other. In addition, the processor 1020 may be an application processor (AP), a communication processor (CP), a circuit, a dedicated circuit, or at least one processor.

[0203] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 1010 may store basic programs, applications, and data for the operation of the UE, such as configuration information. More specifically, the memory 1010 may provide stored data according to a request of the processor 1020. The memory 1010 may be a storage medium, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, a compact disk-ROM (CD-ROM), and a digital versatile disk (DVD) or a combination of storage media. In addition, there may be multiple memories 1010. The processor 1020 may execute the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure based on the program for executing the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure stored in the memory 1010.

[0204] Fig.11 is a block diagram of a configuration of a NE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0205] refer to Fig.11 , the NE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a processor 1120 that controls the overall operation of the NE, a transceiver 1100 including a transmitter and a receiver, and a memory 1110. However, the NE is not limited thereto and may include more Fig.11 More or fewer components than shown in the .

[0206] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the transceiver 1100 may transmit a signal to or receive a signal from at least one of another NE or UE. The signal transmitted to or received from another NE or UE may include control information and data.

[0207] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor 1120 may control the NE to perform any operation according to the above-mentioned embodiment of the present disclosure. The processor 1120, the memory 1110, and the transceiver 1100 are not necessarily implemented in separate modules, but may obviously be implemented in one component in the form of a single chip. In addition, the processor 1120 and the transceiver 1100 may be electrically connected to each other. In addition, the processor 1120 may be an AP, a CP, a circuit, a dedicated circuit, or at least one processor.

[0208] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 1110 may store basic programs, applications, and data such as configuration information for the operation of the NE. More specifically, the memory 1110 may provide the stored data according to a request of the processor 1120. The memory 1110 may be a storage medium such as a ROM, RAM, hard disk, CD-ROM, and DVD, or a combination of storage media. In addition, there may be a plurality of memories 1110. The processor 1120 may execute the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure based on the program for executing the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure stored in the memory 1110.

[0209] It should be noted that the above configuration diagrams, control / data signal transmission method diagrams, and operation process diagrams are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For example, all configurations, entities, or operations described in the embodiments of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being necessary components for implementing the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure can even be implemented by including only some components without compromising the essence of the present disclosure. In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be combined with each other when necessary. For example, some methods proposed in the present disclosure can be combined with each other to operate network entities and UEs.

[0210] The operation of the above-mentioned base station or UE can be a registration implemented by including a memory device storing corresponding program codes in any configuration in the base station or UE. In other words, the controller of the base station or UE can perform the above-mentioned operation by reading and executing the program code stored in the memory device by a processor or a central processing unit (CPU).

[0211] The various components and modules of the entity, base station or UE described herein may be operated by using hardware circuits (e.g., a combination of at least one of complementary metal oxide semiconductor-based logic circuits, firmware, software firmware, hardware firmware, or software inserted into a machine-readable medium). For example, various electrical structures and methods may be implemented by using transistors, logic gates, and circuits such as application specific integrated circuits.

[0212] When the electrical structure and method are implemented in software, a computer-readable recording medium having one or more programs (software modules) recorded thereon may be provided. One or more programs recorded on the computer-readable recording medium are configured to be executable by one or more processors in the device. One or more programs include instructions for executing the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure described in the claims or detailed description.

[0213] The program (e.g., software module or software) may be stored in a random access memory (RAM), a non-volatile memory including flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage device, a CD-ROM, a DVD, other types of optical storage devices, or a magnetic tape cartridge. Alternatively, the program may be stored in a memory system that includes a combination of some or all of the above memory devices. In addition, each memory device may include multiple.

[0214] The program may also be stored in an attachable storage device that can be accessed via a communication network (such as the Internet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), or a storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof). The storage device may be connected to an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure via an external port. Other storage devices on the communication network may also be connected to the apparatus for executing an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0215] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus and method for efficiently providing services in a wireless communication system.

[0216] In the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure, the elements included in the present disclosure are expressed in singular or plural form according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, for ease of explanation, singular or plural form is appropriately selected and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Therefore, the elements expressed in plural form may also be configured as a single element, and the elements expressed in singular form may also be configured as multiple elements.

[0217] At the same time, specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in the detailed description of the present disclosure, but various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-mentioned embodiments of the present disclosure, but should be determined not only by the scope of the attached claims, but also by the equivalents of the claims. In other words, it is obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art that other modifications based on the technical ideas of the present disclosure will also be feasible. In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be combined with each other as needed. For example, the base station and the UE can combine some embodiments of the present disclosure together for operation. In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure are proposed based on 5G or NR systems, but other modifications based on the technical ideas of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented on other systems, such as LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-A-Pro systems.

[0218] Meanwhile, the specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in the detailed description of the present disclosure, but various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above, but should be determined not only by the scope of the attached claims, but also by the equivalents of the claims.

[0219] Hereinafter, the operating principle of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. When describing the present disclosure, when it is considered that the relevant well-known functions or configurations may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the present disclosure, the detailed description of the relevant well-known functions or configurations may be omitted. In addition, the terms used below are defined based on the functions in the disclosure, and may have different meanings according to the intentions, habits, etc. of the user or operator. Therefore, these terms should be defined based on the description of the entire specification.

[0220] For the same reason, for the sake of clarity, components may be exaggerated, omitted or schematically shown in the drawings. In addition, the size of each component does not fully reflect the actual size. In the drawings, the same reference numerals represent the same elements.

[0221] By referring to the following detailed description and drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the advantages and features of the present disclosure and their implementation methods can be more easily understood. In this regard, the embodiments of the present disclosure may have different forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the descriptions set forth herein. Instead, these embodiments of the present disclosure are provided to make the present disclosure thorough and complete, and to fully convey the concept of the present disclosure to those of ordinary skill in the art, and the present disclosure will only be limited by the appended claims. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals represent the same elements.

[0222] Here, it will be understood that the combination of blocks in a flowchart or process flow chart can be performed by computer program instructions. Because these computer program instructions can be loaded into a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device create units for performing the functions described in (one or more) flowchart blocks. Computer program instructions can be stored in a computer executable or computer readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing device to implement functions in a specific manner, so the instructions stored in the computer executable or computer readable memory can also produce an article containing instruction units for performing the functions described in (one or more) flowchart blocks. Computer program instructions can also be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device, so the instructions for operating a computer or other programmable data processing device by generating a computer-executed process when a series of operations are performed in the computer or other programmable data processing device can provide operations for performing the functions described in (one or more) flowchart blocks.

[0223] In addition, each frame can represent a module, segment or a part of code including one or more executable instructions for performing (one or more) specified logical functions. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions mentioned in the frame can occur out of order. For example, two frames shown in succession can actually be performed substantially at the same time, or frames can sometimes be performed in reverse order according to corresponding functions.

[0224] Here, the term "unit" in the embodiments of the present disclosure refers to a software component or a hardware component, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and performs a specific function. However, the term "unit" is not limited to software or hardware. A "unit" can be formed in an addressable storage medium, or can be formed to operate one or more processors. Therefore, for example, the term "unit" can refer to various components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, and can include processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcodes, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, or variables. The functions provided by components and "units" can be associated with a smaller number of components and "units", or can be divided into additional components and "units". In addition, components and "units" can be embodied as reproducing one or more central processing units (CPUs) in a device or a secure multimedia card. In addition, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a "unit" can include at least one processor.

[0225] Throughout the disclosure, the expression "at least one of a, b, or c" means only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, all of a, b, and c, or variations thereof.

[0226] Examples of the terminal may include a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a computer, a multimedia system capable of performing a communication function, and the like.

[0227] In this disclosure, a controller may also be referred to as a processor.

[0228] Throughout the specification, a layer (or a layer arrangement) may also be referred to as an entity.

[0229] In addition, the terms used in this document for identifying access nodes, terms representing network entities or network functions (NFs), terms representing messages, terms representing interfaces between network entities, terms representing various types of identification information, etc. are exemplified for the convenience of description. Therefore, the terms used in the present disclosure are not limited, and other terms representing objects with the same technical meaning may be used.

[0230] In the following, a base station is an entity that allocates terminal resources and may be at least one of a next-generation Node B (gNB), an evolved Node B (eNB), a Node B (NB), a wireless access unit, a base station controller, or a node on a network. In addition, the term "terminal" may refer not only to mobile phones, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) devices, and sensors, but also to other wireless communication devices. Obviously, base stations and terminals are not limited to the above examples.

[0231] In the following, for the convenience of description, the present disclosure uses the terms and names defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) standard and the 3GPP New Radio (NR) standard. However, the present disclosure is not limited to such terms and names, and can also be applied to systems conforming to other standards.

[0232] As the future communication system after the LTE system, the fifth generation (5G) communication system must be able to freely reflect the various needs of users and service providers, so it is necessary to support services that meet various needs at the same time. The services considered for the 5G communication system include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), ultra-reliable low latency communication (hereinafter referred to as URLLC), etc.

[0233] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, eMBB is intended to provide a higher data rate than the data rate supported by LTE, LTE-A or LTE-Pro systems. For example, in a 5G communication system, from the perspective of a base station, eMBB should be able to provide a peak data rate of 20Gbps in the downlink and a peak data rate of 10Gbps in the uplink. In addition, the 5G communication system should provide an increased end-user perceived data rate while providing the peak data rate. In order to meet such requirements, it may be necessary to improve various transmission / reception technologies, including further improving multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission technology. In addition, in the 2GHz band used by the current LTE system, a transmission bandwidth of up to 20MHz is used to transmit signals, but the 5G communication system uses a wider bandwidth than 20MHz in a band of 3 to 6GHz or above 6GHz, thereby meeting the data rate required by the 5G communication system.

[0234] Meanwhile, mMTC is being considered to support application services such as IoT in 5G communication systems. mMTC is required for access support of large-scale terminals within a cell, enhanced coverage of terminals, increased battery life, and reduced terminal costs to efficiently provide IoT. IoT needs to be able to support a large number of terminals in a cell (e.g., 1,000,000 terminals / km 2 ), because it includes various sensors and various devices to provide communication functions. In addition, due to the nature of the service, terminals supporting mMTC are more likely to be located in shadow areas not covered by the cell, such as underground buildings, and therefore, the terminals require wider coverage than other services provided by the 5G communication system. Terminals supporting mMTC should be configured as inexpensive terminals and require a very long battery life, such as 10 to 15 years, because the battery of the terminal is difficult to replace frequently.

[0235] Finally, URLL, as a cellular-based wireless communication service for mission-critical purposes, can be used, for example, for remote control of robots or machinery, industrial automation, unmanned aircraft, remote medical care, or emergency alerts. Therefore, the communication provided by URLLC should provide very low latency (ultra-low latency) and very high reliability (ultra-high reliability). For example, a service supporting URLLC should meet an air interface latency of less than 0.5 milliseconds and can have a 10 -5 Or a smaller packet error rate. Therefore, for services supporting URLLC, the 5G communication system may be required to provide a shorter transmission time interval (TTI) than other services while ensuring a reliable communication link by allocating wide resources in the frequency band.

[0236] The three services of eMBB, URLLC, and mMTC considered in the above 5G communication system can be multiplexed in one system and can be transmitted. In this case, these services can use different transmission and reception methods and transmission and reception parameters to meet their different requirements. However, mMTC, URLLC, and eMBB are examples of different service types, and the service types to which the present disclosure is applied are not limited thereto.

[0237] In addition, although the embodiments of the present disclosure are described by using LTE, LTE-A, LTE Pro or 5G (or NR) systems, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to other communication systems with similar technical backgrounds or channel types. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to other communication systems with some modifications without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0238] The terms used in this disclosure are only used to describe specific embodiments of the present disclosure, and may not be intended to limit the scope of other embodiments of the present disclosure. Expressions used in the singular may cover expressions in the plural form unless they have significantly different meanings in the context. The terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meanings as those generally understood by those of ordinary skill in the art described in this disclosure. Among the terms used in this disclosure, the terms defined in the general dictionary may be interpreted as having the same or similar meanings as in the context of the relevant technology, and unless clearly defined in this disclosure, these terms are not ideally interpreted or are not overly formal meanings. In some cases, even the terms defined in this disclosure cannot be interpreted as excluding embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0239] In various embodiments of the present disclosure described below, a hardware method is described as an example. However, since various embodiments of the present disclosure include techniques using hardware and software, various embodiments of the present disclosure do not exclude a software-based method.

[0240] The disclosure hereinafter relates to a method and apparatus for supporting various services in a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present disclosure describes a technology for supporting various services by supporting mobility of a terminal in a wireless communication system.

[0241] For convenience of description, the name of a network function (NF) (e.g., access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), or network slice selection function (NSSF)) is used as a target for exchanging information for access control and state management. However, even when the NF is implemented as an instance (e.g., an AMF instance, an SMF instance, or an NSSF instance), the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied in the same manner.

[0242] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0243] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0244] refer to Fig.12 , the 5G system (5GS) may include a new radio (NR) base station, AMF, SMF, a user plane function (UPF), a policy control function (PCF) and a unified data management (UDM).

[0245] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, AMF may be an NF that manages UE's access to a wireless network and the mobility of the UE. SMF may be an NF for managing a packet data network connection provided to the UE. UPF may perform the function of a gateway that transmits packets transmitted / received by the UE and may be an NF controlled by the SMF. PCF may be an NF for applying a mobile communication operator's service policy, charging policy, and protocol data unit (PDU) session policy to the UE. UDM may be an NF for storing and managing information about subscribers. Obviously, the configuration of 5GS is not limited to the above. For example, the configuration of 5GS may include more or less of the above-mentioned NFs, and the functions of the NFs may vary without limitation.

[0246] refer to Fig.12 , a base station (or (radio) access network ((R)AN)) and a UE are shown as some nodes using a wireless channel in a wireless communication system. Fig.12 In the figure, only one base station ((R)AN) is shown, but the wireless communication system may further include another base station that is the same as or similar to the base station ((R)AN).

[0247] A base station ((R)AN) is a network infrastructure that provides wireless access to UEs. The coverage of a base station ((R)AN) is defined as a certain geographical area based on the distance over which a signal can be transmitted. In addition to base stations, base stations ((R)AN) may also refer to access points (APs), evolved node Bs (eNBs), 5G nodes, radio points, transmission / reception points (TRPs), or other terms with equivalent technical meanings.

[0248] UE is a device used by a user and performs communication with a base station ((R)AN) via a wireless channel. In some cases, the UE may be operated without user participation. For example, the UE may be a device that performs machine type communication (MTC) and may not be carried by a user. The UE may be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a remote terminal, a wireless terminal, a user equipment, or other terms with equivalent technical meanings.

[0249] In the following, for the convenience of description, the target for exchanging information for access control and state management is collectively referred to as NF. NF can be, for example, at least one of an AMF device, an SMF device, or a network slice selection function (NSSF) device. However, even when the NF is implemented as an instance (e.g., an AMF instance, an SMF instance, or an NSSF instance), the embodiments of the present disclosure can also be applied in the same manner.

[0250] In the present disclosure, an instance may refer to a specific NF in the form of software code. For example, an instance may represent a state in which physical and / or logical resources for performing the functions of the NF are allocated from a physical computing system (such as a specific computing system present on a core network) and are executable. Therefore, an AMF instance, an SMF instance, and an NSSF instance may represent an instance in which physical / logical resources are allocated from a specific computing system present on a core network and used for the operations of AMF, SMF, or NSSF, respectively. Therefore, physical AMF, SMF, and NSSF devices may perform the same operations as AMF instances, SMF instances, and NSSF instances, which are allocated with and use physical / logical resources from a specific computing system present on the network, respectively for the operations of AMF, SMF, or NSSF. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, what is described as an NF (AMF, SMF, UPF, NSSF, network repository function (NRF), or service communication agent (SCP)) may be replaced by an NF instance, and vice versa. Similarly, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, what is described as a network (NW) slice may be replaced by an NW slice instance, and vice versa.

[0251] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in a 5G system defined by 3GPP, a network slice may be referred to as a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). A network slice may be referred to as a slice for short. S-NSSAI may include a slice / service type (SST) value and a slice differentiator (SD) value. The SST value may indicate the characteristics of a service supported by the slice (e.g., enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), etc.). The SD value may be a value used as an additional indicator of a specific service indicated by the SST value.

[0252] NSSAI may include one or more S-NSSAI (i.e., S-NSSAI(s)). For example, NSSAI may include at least one of a configured NSSAI stored in the UE, a requested NSSAI requested by the UE, an allowed NSSAI allowed to be used by the UE and determined by the NF (e.g., AMF, NSSF, etc.) of the 5G core network, or a subscription NSSAI subscribed by the UE. However, the type of NSSAI is not limited thereto and may be different.

[0253] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the data rate may be applied to the downlink or uplink (eg, NW slice aggregation maximum bit rate for downlink or NW slice aggregation maximum bit rate for uplink). When separate values ​​are applied to uplink and downlink, signaling may also be transmitted separately.

[0254] Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0255] First embodiment

[0256] A first embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a method by which a mobile operator (public land mobile network (PLMN) or operator) defines a data rate supportable in a network slice (S-NSSAI) or an SST and configures or provides the defined supportable data rate to an NF configuring a base station or a 5G core network (5GC).

[0257] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a mobile operator may define the maximum number of PDU sessions established in a network slice (S-NSSAI) or an SST, the average data rate or maximum data rate used by a PDU session, the average data rate or maximum data rate used by all PDU sessions, and the total amount of data generated in a network slice within a specific time period.

[0258] For example, a mobile operator may define the maximum number of PDU sessions established in one network slice (S-NSSAI) or one SST as 1 million PDU sessions, define the average data rate or maximum data rate used by one PDU session as 100 Mbps, define the average data rate or maximum data rate used by all PDU sessions as 100 million Mbps (e.g., a value equal to or less than a value obtained by multiplying 1 million PDU sessions (i.e., the maximum number of PDU sessions) and 100 Mbps (i.e., the average / maximum data rate)), and define the total amount of data generated in the network slice in a specific time period as 1000 terabytes per month. The mobile operator may determine the data rate that can be supported in the network slice based on local policies or based on a service level agreement (SLA) with a third-party service provider that uses the network slice.

[0259] Fig.13 It is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station is configured with a data rate of a network slice from a slice manager (operation, administration and maintenance (OAM)) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0260] refer to Fig.13, the slice manager (OAM) may manage the data rate of the network slice. At operation 1301, the slice manager (OAM) may transmit a message including new generation (NG)-RAN (NG-RAN) configuration information to a base station (NG-RAN). The NG-RAN configuration information may include information about a slice ID (S-NSSAI or SST) and a data rate of the network slice. The data rate of the network slice may include an average data rate or a maximum data rate (e.g., 100 Mbps) used by one PDU session supported in the network slice indicated by the slice ID.

[0261] In addition, the data rate of the network slice may include a maximum data rate that can be implemented by the base station. OAM can determine the maximum data rate that can be implemented by the base station based on the base station deployment status. For example, when 10,000 base stations that support the network slice indicated by the slice ID are deployed, and the average data rate or maximum data rate used by all PDU sessions using the network slice indicated by the slice ID is 100 million Mbps, OAM can determine the maximum data rate that can be implemented by one base station to be 10,000 Mbps (for example, the value obtained by dividing 100 million Mbps (i.e., the total data rate) by 10,000 base stations (i.e., the total number of base stations)). OAM can add the determined maximum data rate to the NG-RAN configuration information and transmit the NG-RAN configuration information to the base station through the message of operation 1301.

[0262] In operation 1302, the base station may store a slice ID and a data rate configured by OAM.

[0263] Fig.14 It is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station is configured with a data rate of a network slice from an AMF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0264] refer to Fig.14 , AMF can manage the data rate of the network slice. In operation 1401, AMF can be configured with the data rate of the network slice from OAM. AMF can add information about the slice ID (S-NSSAI or SST) and the data rate of the network slice indicated by the slice ID to the N2 message transmitted to the base station (NG-RAN), and transmit the N2 message to the base station. The data rate of the network slice may include the average data rate or the maximum data rate (e.g., 100Mbps) used by one PDU session supported in the network slice indicated by the slice ID. The N2 message may be a UE-specific message or a non-UE-specific message generated during a UE-related process (e.g., registration, PDU session establishment, service request, or UE configuration update).

[0265] In addition, the data rate of the network slice may include the maximum data rate that can be implemented by the base station. The AMF may determine the maximum data rate that can be implemented by the base station based on the base station deployment status. For example, when 10,000 base stations that support the network slice indicated by the slice ID are deployed, and the average data rate or maximum data rate used by all PDU sessions using the network slice indicated by the slice ID is 100 million Mbps, the AMF may determine the maximum data rate that can be implemented by a base station to be 10,000 Mbps (for example, the value obtained by dividing 100 million Mbps (i.e., the total data rate) by 10,000 base stations (i.e., the total number of base stations)). The AMF may add the determined maximum data rate to the N2 message of operation 1401 and transmit the N2 message to the base station.

[0266] In operation 1402, the base station may store the slice ID and the data rate received from the AMF.

[0267] Fig.15 It is a flowchart for describing a method for determining the data rate of a base station (NG-RAN) by which a network slice is configured from an NF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0268] refer to Fig.15 , NF (e.g., SMF, PCF, NSSF, NRF, or UDM) may manage the data rate of the network slice. In operation 1501, the NF may be configured with the data rate of the network slice from OAM. The NF AMF may add information about the slice ID (S-NSSAI or SST) and the data rate of the network slice indicated by the slice ID to the N2 message transmitted to the base station (NG-RAN) through the AMF, and transmit the N2 message to the base station. The data rate of the network slice may include an average data rate or a maximum data rate (e.g., 100 Mbps) used by one PDU session supported in the network slice indicated by the slice ID.

[0269] In addition, the data rate of the network slice may include the maximum data rate that can be implemented by the base station. The NF can determine the maximum data rate that can be implemented by the base station based on the base station deployment status. For example, when 10,000 base stations that support the network slice indicated by the slice ID are deployed, and the average data rate or maximum data rate used by all PDU sessions using the network slice indicated by the slice ID is 100 million Mbps, the NF can determine the maximum data rate that can be implemented by one base station to be 10,000 Mbps (for example, the value obtained by dividing 100 million Mbps (i.e., the total data rate) by 10,000 base stations (i.e., the total number of base stations)). The NF can add the determined maximum data rate to the N2 message of operation 1501 and transmit the N2 message to the base station.

[0270] In other words, the NF may transmit the slice ID and information about the data rate of the network slice to the AMF, and the AMF may add the information received from the NF to the N2 message and transmit the N2 message to the base station. The N2 message may be a UE-specific message generated during a UE-related process (e.g., registration, PDU session establishment, service request, or UE configuration update) or a non-UE-specific message.

[0271] In operation 1502, the base station may store the slice ID and the data rate received from the NF.

[0272] Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0273] Second embodiment

[0274] A second embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a method by which a base station controls the data rate of each network slice.

[0275] Fig.16 It is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station (NG-RAN) receives information about network slices from an AMF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0276] refer to Fig.16 In operation 1601, the first AMF may add at least one of a slice ID (S-NSSAI or SST) or the number of PDU sessions established in the network slice indicated by the slice ID to the N2 message, and transmit the N2 message to the base station. The number of PDU sessions may be the total number of PDU sessions established for UEs supported (served) by the first AMF in the network slice indicated by the slice ID. For example, when the first AMF currently supports 100 UEs and the number of PDU sessions including active user planes established in the network slice indicated by the slice ID for the 100 UEs is 20, the first AMF may add 20 as the number of PDU sessions to the message of operation 1601.

[0277] In addition, the first AMF may add the data rate of the network slice to the message of operation 1601. For example, the data rate may be a value indicating an average data rate or a maximum data rate available for one PDU session (e.g., 100 Mbps). Alternatively, the data rate may be a value indicating a total average data rate or a total maximum data rate available for all PDU sessions supported by the first AMF (e.g., 2000 Mbps obtained by multiplying 20 sessions by 100 Mbps).

[0278] In operation 1602, the base station may determine a total slice data rate by using the received value.

[0279] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may determine, as the total slice data rate, a value obtained by multiplying the data rate of one PDU session stored via the method described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure by the number of PDU sessions received in operation 1601. For example, when the base station receives 20 as the number of PDU sessions in operation 1601, the base station may determine the total slice data rate to be 2000 Mbps based on the data rate of one PDU session stored via the method described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, 100 Mbps.

[0280] Alternatively, the base station may determine, as the total slice data rate, a value obtained by multiplying the data rate of one PDU session received in operation 1601 by the number of PDU sessions received in operation 1601. For example, when the base station receives 20 as the number of PDU sessions and receives 100 Mbps as the data rate of one PDU session in operation 1601, the base station may determine 2000 Mbps as the total slice data rate.

[0281] Alternatively, the base station may determine the data rate of all PDU sessions received in operation 1601 as the total slice data rate. For example, when the base station receives 2000 Mbps as the data rate of all PDU sessions in operation 1601, the base station may determine the total slice data rate as 2000 Mbps.

[0282] The base station may compare the total slice data rate determined in operation 1602 with the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station and stored via the method of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. When the total slice data rate determined in operation 1601 does not exceed the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station, the base station may control the uplink and / or downlink data rate by using the total slice data rate determined in operation 1601. Alternatively, when the total slice data rate determined in operation 1601 exceeds the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station, the base station may control the uplink and / or downlink data rate by configuring the total slice data rate to the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station. In this case, the base station may transmit information to the first AMF indicating that the base station cannot support the data rate of the network slice received from the first AMF in operation 1601.

[0283] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station may be connected to one or more AMFs. In operation 1603, a second AMF may transmit an N2 message to the base station. The N2 message may include at least one of a slice ID (S-NSSAI or SST) or the number of PDU sessions established in a network slice indicated by the slice ID. Hereinafter, when describing operation 1604, for ease of description, it is assumed that the number of PDU sessions supported by the second AMF included in the N2 message of operation 1603 is 30.

[0284] In operation 1604, the base station may update the total slice data rate determined in operation 1602 based on the information received from the second AMF. First, the base station may identify the slice ID received in operation 1603 and determine whether the data rate is currently controlled via the corresponding slice ID. When the base station is currently controlling the data rate via the corresponding slice ID (for example, when the slice ID of operation 1601 and the slice ID of operation 1603 are the same), the base station may determine the total slice data rate by using the information received from the first AMF in operation 1601 and the information received from the second AMF in operation 1603.

[0285] In operation 1604, the method by which the base station determines the data rate (e.g., 3000 Mbps) based on the number of PDU sessions supported by the second AMF (e.g., 30 PDU sessions) may use the method described in reference operation 1602.

[0286] For example, when the base station determines the total slice data rate (e.g., 2000 Mbps) of the network slice indicated by the slice ID in operation 1602 and is implementing data transmission / reception, because a second AMF-supported PDU session (e.g., 30 PDU sessions) is added in operation 1603, the base station can update the total slice data rate (e.g., 5000 Mbps) by adding the data rate (e.g., 30 PDU sessions) corresponding to the second AMF-supported PDU session (e.g., 30 PDU sessions).

[0287] The base station may compare the total slice data rate determined in operation 1604 with the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station and stored via the method of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. When the total slice data rate determined in operation 1604 does not exceed the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station, the base station may control the uplink and / or downlink data rate by using the total slice data rate. When the total slice data rate determined in operation 1604 exceeds the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station, the base station may control the uplink and / or downlink data rate by configuring the total slice data rate to the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station. In this case, the base station may transmit information indicating that the base station cannot support the data rate of the network slice received from the first AMF and the second AMF in operations 1601 and 1603 to at least one of the first AMF or the second AMF.

[0288] Fig.17 It is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station (NG-RAN) receives information about network slices from a NF according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0289] refer to Fig.17 , at operation 1701, the first NF (e.g., SMF, PCF, NSSF, URF, or UDM) may add at least one of a slice ID (S-NSSAI or SST) or the number of PDU sessions established in the network slice indicated by the slice ID to an N2 message transmitted to the base station via the AMF, and transmit the N2 message to the base station. The number of PDU sessions may be the total number of PDU sessions established in the network slice indicated by the slice ID for the UEs supported (served) by the first NF. For example, when the first NF currently supports 100 UEs, and the number of PDU sessions including active user planes established in the network slice indicated by the slice ID for the 100 UEs is 20, the first NF may add 20 as the number of PDU sessions to the message of operation 1701.

[0290] In addition, the first NF may add the data rate of the network slice to the message of operation 1701. For example, the data rate may be a value indicating an average data rate or a maximum data rate available for one PDU session (e.g., 100 Mbps). Alternatively, the data rate may be a value indicating a total average data rate or a total maximum data rate available for all PDU sessions supported by the first NF (e.g., 2000 Mbps obtained by multiplying 20 sessions by 100 Mbps).

[0291] The AMF may add the information received from the first NF to the N2 message and transmit the N2 message to the base station. The N2 message may be a UE-specific message or a non-UE-specific message generated during a UE-related process (e.g., registration, PDU session establishment, service request, or UE configuration update).

[0292] In operation 1702, the base station may determine a total slice data rate by using the received value.

[0293] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the base station may determine, as the total slice data rate, a value obtained by multiplying the data rate of one PDU session stored via the method described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure by the number of PDU sessions received in operation 1701. For example, when the base station receives 20 as the number of PDU sessions in operation 1701, the base station may determine the total slice data rate to be 2000 Mbps based on the data rate of one PDU session stored via the method described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, 100 Mbps.

[0294] Alternatively, the base station may determine, as the total slice data rate, a value obtained by multiplying the data rate of one PDU session received in operation 1701 by the number of PDU sessions received in operation 1701. For example, when the base station receives 20 as the number of PDU sessions and receives 100 Mbps as the data rate of one PDU session in operation 1701, the base station may determine 2000 Mbps as the total slice data rate.

[0295] Alternatively, the base station may determine the data rate of all PDU sessions received in operation 1701 as the total slice data rate. For example, when the base station receives 2000 Mbps as the data rate of all PDU sessions in operation 1701, the base station may determine the total slice data rate as 2000 Mbps.

[0296] The base station may compare the total slice data rate determined in operation 1702 with the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station and stored via the method of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. When the total slice data rate determined in operation 1701 does not exceed the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station, the base station may control the uplink and / or downlink data rate by using the total slice data rate determined in operation 1701. Alternatively, when the total slice data rate determined in operation 1701 exceeds the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station, the base station may control the uplink and / or downlink data rate by configuring the total slice data rate to the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station. In this case, the base station may transmit information to the first NF indicating that the base station cannot support the data rate of the network slice received from the first NF in operation 1701.

[0297] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more NFs may support the same network slice (the same S-NSSAI or the same SST). In operation 1703, the second NF may transmit an N2 message to the base station through the AMF. The N2 message may include at least one of a slice ID (S-NSSAI or SST) or the number of PDU sessions established in the network slice indicated by the slice ID. Hereinafter, when describing operation 1704, for ease of description, it is assumed that the number of PDU sessions supported by the second NF is 30.

[0298] In operation 1704, the base station may update the total slice data rate determined in operation 1702 based on the information received from the second NF. First, the base station may identify the slice ID received in operation 1703 and determine whether the data rate is currently controlled via the corresponding slice ID. When the base station is currently controlling the data rate via the corresponding slice ID (for example, when the slice ID of operation 1701 and the slice ID of operation 1703 are the same), the base station may determine the total slice data rate by using the information received from the first NF in operation 1701 and the information received from the second NF in operation 1703.

[0299] The method by which the base station determines the data rate (e.g., 3000 Mbps) based on the number of PDU sessions supported by the second NF (e.g., 30 PDU sessions) in operation 1704 may use the method described in reference operation 1702.

[0300] For example, when the base station determines the total slice data rate (e.g., 2000 Mbps) of the network slice indicated by the slice ID in operation 1702 and is implementing data transmission / reception, because the PDU sessions supported by the second NF (e.g., 30 PDU sessions) are added in operation 1703, the base station can update the total slice data rate (e.g., 5000 Mbps) by adding the data rate (e.g., 3000 Mbps) corresponding to the PDU sessions supported by the second AMF (e.g., 30 PDU sessions).

[0301] The base station may compare the total slice data rate determined in operation 1704 with the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station and stored via the method of the first embodiment of the present disclosure. When the total slice data rate determined in operation 1704 does not exceed the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station, the base station may control the uplink and / or downlink data rate by using the total slice data rate. When the total slice data rate determined in operation 1704 exceeds the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station, the base station may control the uplink and / or downlink data rate by configuring the total slice data rate to the maximum data rate (e.g., 10000 Mbps) that can be implemented by the base station. In this case, the base station may transmit information indicating that the base station cannot support the data rate of the network slice received from the first NF and the second NF in operations 1701 and 1703 to at least one of the first NF or the second NF.

[0302] The data rate configured by the base station in the second embodiment of the present disclosure can be used by the base station to control the uplink and downlink data rates. Alternatively, the data rate of the uplink data and the data rate of the downlink data can also be calculated separately as described in the second embodiment of the present disclosure to control the uplink data rate and the downlink data rate respectively.

[0303] Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0304] Third embodiment

[0305] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the above-mentioned first embodiment of the present disclosure, the average data rate or maximum data rate used by one PDU supported by a network slice (S-NSSAI or SST) (e.g., 100 Mbps), the maximum number of PDU sessions that can be established in association with the network slice (e.g., 1 million PDU sessions), the average data rate or maximum data rate used by all PDU sessions (e.g., 100 million Mbps, which is equal to or less than the value obtained by multiplying 1 million PDU sessions (i.e., the maximum number of PDU sessions) and 100 Mbps (i.e., the average / maximum data rate)) and the total amount of data generated by the network slice in a specific time period (e.g., 1000 terabytes per month) can be defined. The data rate described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to uplink data transmission and downlink data transmission in the same manner. Alternatively, the data rate of uplink data transmission and the data rate of downlink data transmission can be defined separately according to the details described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0306] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the above-mentioned second embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for calculating the total slice data rate (e.g., 5000 Mbps) implemented by the base station may be defined. The data rate described in the second embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to uplink data transmission and downlink data transmission in the same manner. Alternatively, the data rate of uplink data transmission and the data rate of downlink data transmission may be defined separately according to the details described in the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0307] In the third embodiment of the present disclosure, the method for configuring the data rate described in the first or second embodiment of the present disclosure is described. Hereinafter, the data rate described below can be applied to uplink data transmission and downlink data transmission in the same manner. Alternatively, the data rate of uplink data transmission and the data rate of downlink data transmission can also be defined separately according to the following method.

[0308] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the data rate used by a PDU session received by the base station from OAM, AMF or NF according to the method described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the data rate used by all PDU sessions, or the maximum data rate that the base station can implement may include the data rate of data transmitted on a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) quality of service (QoS) flow and the data rate of data transmitted on a non-GBR QoS flow.

[0309] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the data rate used by a PDU session received by the base station from OAM, AMF or NF according to the method described in the first embodiment of the present disclosure, the data rate used by all PDU sessions, or the maximum data rate that the base station can implement may only include the data rate of data transmitted on non-GBR QoS flows, and does not include the data rate of data transmitted on GBR QoS flows.

[0310] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the data rate of the network slice received by the base station from the AMF or NF according to the method described in the second embodiment of the present disclosure may include both the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow and the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow. The base station may determine the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow and the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow based on at least one of the information stored in the base station or the information received from the AMF or NF.

[0311] For example, for a GBR QoS flow, the data rate of the network slice may include at least one of a GBR, a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR), a maximum bit rate (MBR), or a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR). In addition, the data rate of the network slice may include an aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR) of (one or more) non-GBR QoS flows. At least one data rate among the GBR, GFBR, MBR, MFBR, or AMBR may be a value defined for a session or a value defined for a slice.

[0312] Alternatively, for example, the data rate of the network slice may include a total maximum bit rate (TMBR) that includes the data rate of (one or more) GBR QoS flows and the data rate of (one or more) non-GBR QoS flows, without distinguishing the data rate of (one or more) GBR QoS flows and the data rate of (one or more) non-GBR QoS flows. Therefore, the total slice data rate determined by the base station in the second embodiment of the present disclosure may include both the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow and the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow. The base station may use the value obtained by excluding the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow from the total slice data rate as the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow. For example, when the total slice data rate is 5000Mbps and the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow is 3500Mbps, the base station may configure the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow to 1500Mbps. The base station can implement each of the data rate limit of the GBR QoS flow and the data rate limit of the non-GBR QoS flow by using the received / determined data rate of the network slice. For example, the base station may implement 3500 Mbps from 5000 Mbps (i.e., the received / determined data rate of the network slice) as the data rate limit for GBR QoS flows, and the remaining 1500 Mbps as the data rate limit for non-GBR QoS flows.

[0313] When the total slice data rate is to be adjusted (e.g., reduced), the base station may first adjust or reduce the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow. For example, when the total slice data rate is to be reduced from 5000Mbps to 4000Mbps, the base station may not change the data rate of 3500Mbps of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow, but may change the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow from 1500Mbps to 500Mbps. The base station may implement 3500Mbps from 4000Mbps (i.e., the received / determined data rate of the network slice) as the data rate limit for the GBR QoS flow, and the remaining 500Mbps as the data rate limit for the non-GBR QoS flow.

[0314] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the data rate of the network slice received by the base station from the AMF or NF according to the method described in the second embodiment of the present disclosure may not include the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow, but may only include the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow. The base station may determine the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow and the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow based on at least one of the information stored in the base station or the information received from the AMF or NF.

[0315] For example, the data rate of the network slice managed by the AMF or NF may include at least one of GBR, GFBR, MBR or MFBR for (one or more) GBR QoS flows. In addition, the data rate of the network slice may include the AMBR of the non-GBR QoS flow. At least one data rate among GBR, GFBR, MBR, MFBR or AMBR may be a value defined for a session or a value defined for a slice.

[0316] Alternatively, for example, the data rate of the network slice managed by the AMF or NF may include a total maximum bit rate (TMBR) that includes the data rate of (one or more) GBR QoS flows and the data rate of (one or more) non-GBR QoS flows, without distinguishing between the data rate of (one or more) GBR QoS flows and the data rate of (one or more) non-GBR QoS flows.

[0317] Therefore, the AMF or NF may transmit to the base station only the data rate of the network slice including the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow and the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow, which takes into account the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow and excludes the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow. For example, when the total slice data rate is 5000Mbps and the data rate of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow is 3500Mbps, the AMF or NF may configure the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow to 1500Mbps. In this case, the data rate of the network slice received by the base station from the AMF or NF according to the method described in the second embodiment of the present disclosure may be 1500Mbps. For the data rate limit of the non-GBR QoS flow, the base station may implement the received / determined 1500Mbps.

[0318] When the total slice data rate is to be adjusted (e.g., reduced), the AMF or NF may first adjust or reduce the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow. For example, when the total slice data rate is to be reduced from 5000Mbps to 4000Mbps, the AMF or NF may not change the data rate of 3500Mbps of the data transmitted on the GBR QoS flow, but may change the data rate of the data transmitted on the non-GBR QoS flow from 1500Mbps to 500Mbps. The AMF or NF may transmit the changed data rate, i.e., 500Mbps, to the base station. For the data rate limit of the non-GBR QoS flow, the base station may implement the received / determined 500Mbps.

[0319] Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.

[0320] Fourth embodiment

[0321] A fourth embodiment of the present disclosure relates to a method by which a base station monitors and reports the status of the data rate and data usage of each network slice.

[0322] Fig.18 It is a flowchart for describing a method by which a base station (NG-RAN) monitors and reports the status of the data rate and data usage of each network slice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0323] refer to Fig.18 , NF (e.g., SMF, PCF, NSSF, NRF, or UDM) can manage the data rate of the network slice. NF can manage the information of the base station that supports the network slice indicated by the slice ID (S-NSSAI or SST) (e.g., RAN node ID, cell ID, etc.). In operation 1801, NF can request a monitoring report of the data rate of the network slice from the first base station via AMF. For example, NF is an NF that manages the data rate of eMBB slices (eMBB S-NSSAI or eMBB SST), and knows that the first base station and the second base station support eMBB slices. In operation 1801, NF can transmit a monitoring report request message to the first base station. In addition, in operation 1805, NF can transmit a monitoring report request message to the second base station.

[0324] The monitoring report request message of operations 1801 and 1805 may include a slice ID and monitoring conditions related to the network slice. For example, the monitoring conditions may include time (period) information for transmitting the monitoring report message, data usage information for transmitting the monitoring report message, and event information for transmitting the monitoring report message.

[0325] In operation 1802, the first base station may store the slice ID and the monitoring condition received in operation 1801, and determine whether the monitoring condition is met.

[0326] For example, when the monitoring condition includes time (periodic) information (eg, once every 2 hours, once a day, or at 4 a.m.), the first base station may transmit a message of operation 1803 at the time or according to the period of the monitoring condition.

[0327] For example, when the monitoring condition includes data usage information (e.g., cumulative data usage of 1 terabyte), the first base station may transmit a message of operation 1803 when the cumulative data usage in the network slice indicated by the slice ID reaches the data usage specified in the monitoring condition.

[0328] For example, when the monitoring condition includes event information (for example, when the requested slice data rate is not met or the maximum data rate that the base station can implement is reached), the first base station can transmit a message of operation 1803 when the corresponding event occurs.

[0329] In operation 1803, the first base station may transmit a monitoring report to the NF. The monitoring report may include at least one of a slice ID, cumulative data usage, current data rate, error status, or event information that occurred.

[0330] In operation 1804, the NF may store and manage data usage information about the slice ID received from the first base station.

[0331] In operations 1805 to 1808, when one or more base stations support network slicing, the NF may perform operations 1801 to 1804 together with the base stations supporting network slicing. Here, for the convenience of description, the transmission / reception of messages between the NF and the first base station is first described in operations 1801 to 1804, and then the transmission / reception of messages between the NF and the second base station is described in operations 1805 to 1808. However, the transmission / reception of messages between the NF and the first base station and the transmission / reception of messages between the NF and the second base station may be performed independently. In other words, the order of performing operations 1801 to 1808 is not limited to Fig.18 The order shown in and may vary.

[0332] In operation 1809, the NF may jointly manage and monitor data usage of the network slice based on information collected from base stations supporting the network slice.

[0333] For example, the accumulated data usage of the network slice managed by the NF may be the sum of the accumulated data usage received from the first base station in operation 1803 and the accumulated data usage received from the second base station in operation 1807.

[0334] The NF may determine whether the monitoring condition is met based on information collected from the first and second base stations.

[0335] For example, when the monitoring condition includes time (periodic) information (e.g., once every 2 hours, once a day, or at 4 a.m.), the NF can transmit a message (monitoring report) of operation 1810 to another NF or AF when the time is reached or according to the period of the monitoring condition.

[0336] For example, when the monitoring condition includes data usage information (e.g., cumulative data usage of 1 terabyte), the NF may transmit a message of operation 1810 (monitoring report) to other NFs or AFs when the cumulative data usage in the network slice indicated by the slice ID reaches the data usage specified in the monitoring condition.

[0337] For example, when the monitoring condition includes event information (e.g., when the requested slice data rate is not met, when the average data rate or maximum data rate used by all PDU sessions using the corresponding network slice is reached (e.g., 100 million Mbps), when the data usage reaches the total amount of data generated in the network slice within a specific time period (e.g., 100 terabytes per month)), the NF can transmit a message (monitoring report) of operation 1810 to other NFs or AF when the corresponding event occurs.

[0338] In operation 1810, the NF may transmit a data usage monitoring report to other NFs or AFs. The data usage monitoring report may include at least one of a slice ID, cumulative data usage, current data rate, error status, occurred event information, or the number of rejected PDU sessions.

[0339] Fig.19 is a block diagram of a configuration of a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The above UE may be used with Fig.19 UE corresponding.

[0340] refer to Fig.19 , the UE may include a transceiver 1910, a memory 1920, and a processor 1930. The transceiver 1910, the memory 1920, and the processor 1930 of the UE may operate according to the communication method of the UE described above. However, the components of the UE are not limited thereto. For example, the UE may include more or fewer components than the above components. In addition, the transceiver 1910, the processor 1930, and the memory 1920 may be implemented as a single chip. In addition, the processor 1930 may include one or more processors.

[0341] The transceiver 1910 is a general term for the receiver and transmitter of the UE, and can transmit / receive signals to / from a network entity, a base station, or another UE. The signals transmitted / received to / from a network entity, a base station, or another UE may include control information and data. In this regard, the transceiver 1910 may include an RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying the frequency of the transmitted signal, and an RF receiver for amplifying the frequency of the low noise and down-converting the received signal. However, this is only an example of the transceiver 1910 and the components of the transceiver 1910 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver.

[0342] In addition, the transceiver 1910 may receive a signal through a wireless channel and output a signal to the processor 1930 , and transmit a signal output from the processor 1930 through a wireless channel.

[0343] The memory 1920 may store programs and data required for the operation of the UE. In addition, the memory 1920 may store control information or data included in a signal obtained by the UE. The memory 1920 may be a storage medium such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD, or a combination of storage media. In addition, the memory 1920 may not exist alone, but may be included in the processor 1930.

[0344] The processor 1930 may control a series of processes so that the UE operates as described above. For example, the processor 1930 may receive a control signal and a data signal via the transceiver 1910 and process the received control signal and data signal. In addition, the processor 1930 may transmit the processed control signal and data signal via the transceiver 1910. In addition, the processor 1930 may control the components of the UE to simultaneously receive multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCH) by receiving downlink control information (DCI) including two layers.

[0345] Fig. 20 is a block diagram of a configuration of a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0346] refer to Fig. 20 , the base station may include a transceiver 2010, a memory 2020, and a processor 2030. The transceiver 2010, the memory 2020, and the processor 2030 of the base station may operate according to the communication method of the above-mentioned base station. However, the components of the base station are not limited thereto. For example, the base station may include more or fewer components than the above-mentioned components. In addition, the transceiver 2010, the processor 2030, and the memory 2020 may be implemented as a single chip. In addition, the processor 2030 may include one or more processors.

[0347] The transceiver 2010 refers to the receiver and transmitter of the base station, and can transmit / receive signals to / from the UE or the network entity. The signals transmitted / received to / from the UE or the network entity may include control information and data. In this regard, the transceiver 2010 may include an RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying the frequency of the transmitted signal, and an RF receiver for amplifying the low noise and down-converting the frequency of the received signal. However, this is only an example of the transceiver 2010 and the components of the transceiver 2010 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver.

[0348] In addition, the transceiver 2010 may receive a signal through a wireless channel and output a signal to the processor 2030 , and transmit a signal output from the processor 2030 through a wireless channel.

[0349] The memory 2020 may store programs and data required for the base station operation. In addition, the memory 2020 may store control information or data included in the signal obtained by the base station. The memory 2020 may be a storage medium such as a ROM, RAM, hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD, or a combination of storage media. In addition, the memory 2020 may not exist alone, but may be included in the processor 2030.

[0350] The processor 2030 may control a series of processes so that the base station operates as described above. For example, the processor 2030 may receive a control signal and a data signal via the transceiver 2010 and process the received control signal and data signal. In addition, the processor 2030 may transmit the processed control signal and data signal via the transceiver 2010. In addition, the processor 2030 may control each component of the base station to configure a DCI including allocation information about the PDSCH and transmit the DCI.

[0351] Fig.21 is a block diagram of a configuration of a network entity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0352] The above network entities or NFs can be connected with Fig.21 For example, the structure of OAM, AM or NF can be the same as Fig.21 The structure of the network entity described in corresponds to.

[0353] refer to Fig.21, the network entity may include a transceiver 2110, a memory 2120, and a processor 2130. The transceiver 2110, the processor 2130, and the memory 2120 of the network entity may operate according to the communication method of the above-mentioned network entity. However, the components of the network entity are not limited thereto. For example, the network entity may include more or fewer components than the above-mentioned components. In addition, the transceiver 2110, the processor 2130, and the memory 2120 may be implemented as a single chip. In addition, the processor 2130 may include one or more processors.

[0354] The transceiver 2110 refers to the receiver and transmitter of the network entity, and can transmit / receive signals to / from a base station, UE or other network entity. The signal transmitted / received to / from the base station, UE or network entity may include control information and data. In this regard, the transceiver 2110 may include an RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying the frequency of the transmitted signal, and an RF receiver for amplifying the frequency of the low noise and down-converting the received signal. However, this is only an example of the transceiver 2110 and the components of the transceiver 2110 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver.

[0355] In addition, the transceiver 2110 may receive a signal and output a signal to the processor 2130 through a wireless channel, and transmit a signal output from the processor 2130 through a wireless channel.

[0356] The memory 2120 may store programs and data required for the operation of the network entity. In addition, the memory 2120 may store control information or data included in a signal obtained by the network entity. The memory 2120 may be a storage medium such as a ROM, RAM, hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD, or a combination of storage media. In addition, the memory 2120 may not exist alone, but may be included in the processor 2130.

[0357] The processor 2130 may control a series of processes so that the network entity operates as described above. For example, the processor 2130 may receive control signals and data signals via the transceiver 2110 and process the received control signals and data signals. In addition, the processor 2130 may transmit the processed control signals and data signals via the transceiver 2110.

[0358] The methods of the embodiments of the present disclosure described in the claims or the detailed description of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0359] When the electrical structure and method are implemented in software, a computer-readable recording medium having one or more programs (software modules) recorded thereon may be provided. One or more programs recorded on the computer-readable recording medium are configured to be executable by one or more processors in the device. One or more programs include instructions for executing the method of the embodiment of the present disclosure described in the claims or detailed description.

[0360] The program (e.g., software module or software) may be stored in a random access memory (RAM), a non-volatile memory including flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk storage device, a CD-ROM, a DVD, other types of optical storage devices, or a magnetic tape cartridge. Alternatively, the program may be stored in a memory system that includes a combination of some or all of the above memory devices. In addition, each memory device may include multiple.

[0361] The program may also be stored in an attachable storage device that can be accessed via a communication network (such as the Internet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), or a storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof). The storage device may be connected to an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure via an external port. Other storage devices on the communication network may also be connected to the apparatus for executing an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0362] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station can effectively manage the data rate of a network slice by using configuration information received from at least one network entity among OAM, NF or AMF.

[0363] In the foregoing embodiments of the present disclosure, the elements included in the present disclosure are expressed in singular or plural form according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, for ease of explanation, singular or plural form is appropriately selected and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In this way, the elements expressed in plural form may also be configured as a single element, and those expressed in singular form may also be configured as multiple elements.

[0364] While the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method performed by a network function (NF) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: receiving, from a network exposure function (NEF), a request message including network slice related quota information of the network slice; Identify whether a notification condition of the network slice is met based on the quota information related to the network slice; as well as When the notification condition is met, transmitting an event notification message of the network slice to the NEF; The network slice-related quota information includes at least one of a value associated with the number of user equipment (UE) or a value associated with the number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The value associated with the number of UEs includes the maximum number of UEs used for the network slice, and the value associated with the number of PDU sessions includes the maximum number of PDU sessions used for the network slice.

3. The method according to claim 1 also includes storing at least one of the maximum number of UEs used for the network slice or the maximum number of PDU sessions used for the network slice.

4. The method according to claim 1 also includes updating the quota of the network slice based on the quota information related to the network slice.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Monitoring a current number of UEs registered for the network slice; and Among them, identifying whether the notification conditions of the network slice are met includes identifying whether the notification conditions of the network slice are met based on the quota information related to the network slice and the current number of the UE.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring a current number of PDU sessions established for the network slice; and in, Identifying whether the notification condition of the network slice is met includes identifying whether the notification condition of the network slice is met based on the quota information related to the network slice and the current number of the PDU sessions.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The notification condition includes at least one of a first condition or a second condition, the first condition being that a current number of UEs registered for the network slice reaches a value associated with the number of UEs, and the second condition being that a current number of PDU sessions established for the network slice reaches a value associated with the number of PDU sessions.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The network slice-related quota information of the network slice also includes the maximum data rate of the network slice.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The NF is a Policy Control Function (PCF).

10. A network function (NF) in a wireless communication system, the NF comprising: Transceiver; and at least one processor operably coupled to the transceiver and configured to: controlling the transceiver to receive a request message including network slice related quota information of the network slice from a network exposure function (NEF), identifying whether a notification condition for the network slice is met based on the quota information related to the network slice, and When the notification condition is met, controlling the transceiver to transmit an event notification message of the network slice to the NEF, The network slice-related quota information includes at least one of a value associated with the number of user equipment (UE) or a value associated with the number of protocol data unit (PDU) sessions.

11. The NF according to claim 10, wherein: The value associated with the number of UEs includes the maximum number of UEs used for the network slice, and the value associated with the number of PDU sessions includes the maximum number of PDU sessions used for the network slice.

12. The NF according to claim 10, wherein: The at least one processor is also configured to store at least one of a maximum number of UEs for the network slice or a maximum number of PDU sessions for the network slice.

13. The NF according to claim 10, wherein: The at least one processor is also configured to update the quota of the network slice based on the network slice related quota information.

14. The NF according to claim 10, wherein: The at least one processor is further configured to: Monitoring a current number of UEs registered for the network slice; as well as Based on the quota information related to the network slice and the current number of the UE, identify whether the notification condition of the network slice is met.

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