Processing data change notifications from the unified data repository

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to processing data change notifications from a unified data repository. Examples are described for analyzing usage of virtualized network instances within a communications network. In one example, a usage monitoring service may receive data change notifications from the unified data repository. The data change notifications are generated by the unified data repository in response to data modifications in subscriber data of the virtualized network instance. In one example, usage information indicating the virtualized network instance is obtained using the data modifications retrieved from the generated data change notifications.

Description

Background Art

[0001] Modern mobile communication systems can cater to a variety of service considerations, including different application scenarios or service-level agreements (SLAs). Examples of different application scenarios include high-definition video (e.g., ultra-high-definition or 8K video), massive machine-to-machine communication, and mobile device communication with high or ultra-reliability and ultra-low latency (for vehicle-to-vehicle communication or remote surgery). To enable these diverse service considerations (which may arise from different applications), fifth-generation (5G) communication networks can be divided into multiple network slices. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Systems and / or methods according to examples of the present subject matter will now be described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0003] Figure 1 A system for analyzing usage of virtualized network instances within a communication network according to one example is shown;

[0004] Figure 2 A computing environment including a system for analyzing usage of virtualized network instances within a communication network is shown according to one example;

[0005] Figure 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating various examples according to which the use of virtualized network instances within a communications network may be analyzed;

[0006] Figure 4 A method for analyzing usage of virtualized network instances within a communications network according to one example is shown;

[0007] Figure 5 A method for analyzing usage of virtualized network instances within a communication network according to another example is shown; and

[0008] Figure 6 A system environment implementing a non-transitory computer-readable medium for analyzing usage of a virtualized network instance within a communication network is shown according to one example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] Modern mobile communication systems can serve different application scenarios with different service level agreements (SLAs) through network slicing. A network slice can be considered as an independent and isolated virtualized network instance that can be deployed on a physical network infrastructure. Each network slice can be allocated to a consumer based on service considerations, customer needs and applications, segmentation, and a combination of these (or other) factors. A consumer can be considered an entity (e.g., an enterprise) that may be consuming or utilizing a network slice. Such a consumer may be providing services to other customers. In this case, the operator can allocate resources to different network slices for specific speed, throughput, or latency. In certain other cases, the operator can also apply different policies or rules to different network slices to achieve consumer service considerations. Network slices can be provided to enterprises requesting specific connections without using charging functions based on data volume or time.

[0010] Network slicing enables network operators to create virtual networks that can be customized to provide configurable solutions for different network scenarios and based on different demand requirements, such as in terms of functionality, performance, and isolation. Wireless communication networks, such as fifth-generation or "5G" networks, support different network slices. To support several 5G applications, multiple user equipment ("UE") can be connected to multiple network slices. A UE can be any communication device used by an end user that can connect to a communication network, such as a 5G network. Such a UE can be registered with a single network slice or multiple network slices.

[0011] Within the 5G network architecture, a standardized repository called the Unified Data Repository (UDR) stores data grouped into different sets of information that can be accessed by various network services. These network services (called network functions) define functions such as authentication, policy control, and session management. The different types of information stored in the UDR can correspond to such functions and can include subscription data, authentication data, application data, and policy data. Such information can be used to implement network operations and services that can be implemented through network slicing.

[0012] Different network slices may be provided for different types of services involving different use case scenarios. For example, an operator may provide a first slice that may be configured for high bandwidth applications (e.g. video streaming) while a second slice may be provided for low latency applications (e.g. multi-player online gaming, industrial automation, etc.). Another network slice may be provided for serving multiple IoT devices. Depending on the nature of the services enabled, appropriate resources may be provided for the respective network slices. Any changes in the use case scenarios (e.g. the number of subscribers or the type of applications hosted by the network slice) may have to be evaluated through network planning for continued performance operation of the communication network and for improving the services provided. Such network planning may involve managing the resources that may be allocated to the network slices.

[0013] Network planning may be based on analyzing the use of network slices within a communications network. Information related to the use of network slices may include information related to subscribers, network slices, applications, and services enabled by network slices. In addition, certain service-related functions, such as charging for the use of network slices, metering the use of network slices, or a combination thereof, may involve obtaining and processing subscriber-related information. Although such information is available within the UDR, the UDR may be adapted and configured to operate in frequently accessed and low-latency workloads within the communications network. Querying the UDR may affect the performance of the UDR, which in turn may affect the efficiency of the communications network operation.

[0014] Furthermore, to minimize any overhead, the UDR can refresh or purge subscriber information after a predefined period of time. In this case, subscriber information prior to the predefined period may be lost and may not be available from a simple query of the UDR. Consequently, using this information for network planning or further service improvements is impossible, and can pose challenges when designing optimization solutions as part of network planning.

[0015] Methods for analyzing subscriber data of virtualized network instances within a communication network are described. Examples of virtualized network instances may include, but are not limited to, network slices. In the context of a 5G communication network, subscriber data may be stored in a unified data repository (UDR) and may refer to different categories of data relating to subscribers, network slices with which these subscribers may register, services or applications implemented on network slices, or a combination thereof. Examples of categories of subscriber data include, but are not limited to: subscription data, authentication data, application data, and policy data relating to network slices with which a UDR may be associated. As will be further explained, portions of the subscriber data are obtained without significantly impacting the performance of the UDR.

[0016] Once the subscriber data is obtained, it can be processed and analyzed to provide usage indication information for the network slice. The usage indication information can be used to optimize the operation of the network slice through network planning or to perform service-related functions. For example, network planning may require scaling the computing resources that can be allocated to the network slice based on the usage indication information. On the other hand, service-related functions may include functions such as billing, metering usage, or a combination thereof.

[0017] In operation, a usage monitoring service may be deployed within a communication environment. The usage monitoring service may be remote to the UDR and may communicate with the UDR via a predefined or standardized interface. In one example, the usage monitoring service may subscribe to data change notifications from the UDR. A data change notification is a notification generated by the UDR when subscriber data stored therein changes. When a subscriber interacts with a network slice, subscriber data within the UDR may change. Changes or data modifications in the UDR result in the generation of data change notifications. For example, when a new subscriber subscribes to or registers for a network slice, subscription data stored in the UDR may change. In this case, the data modification in the form of the new subscriber's subscription data results in the generation of a data change notification by the UDR.

[0018] In one example, the generated data change notification may include data modifications made to subscriber data. For example, the data change notification may include registration data associated with a registered customer. In a similar manner, the usage monitoring service may be notified of changes to other subscriber data, such as information related to usage of a particular service, access times, access locations, access types, and the like.

[0019] Upon receiving a data change notification, the usage monitoring service can process it to obtain the data modifications included therein. The data modifications thus obtained can be stored as network slice data in a service repository coupled to the usage monitoring service. The above steps can be performed continuously over a period of time to obtain various data modification sets. Over a period of time, the collection of various data modifications or network slice data will be similar to the subscriber data available within the UDR. Since no query to the UDR is involved, the obtained network slice data will not substantially affect the performance of the UDR.

[0020] Different types of information can be retrieved and analyzed to assess network slice usage. For example, subscriber-related data can be retrieved from a service repository to determine the number of active subscribers of a given network slice, the frequency of access, the duration of access, the time of access, or the location of access. Based on the retrieved subscriber-related data, the usage of any given subscriber can be analyzed. It should be noted that this analysis is not limited to subscriber-related data. Different types of data related to the network slice can also be retrieved and analyzed to obtain usage indication information. The usage indication information can be used to assess the usage of the network slice by a given subscriber.

[0021] For example, location information of a network slice may be retrieved and analyzed to assess which types of services are being accessed within a geographic area. Another example may include retrieving information about the type of access that access to certain services depends on. The access type may include a 3GPP access technology (e.g., via 5G or LTE) or a non-3GPP access technology (e.g., WiFi, WiMAX, or a fixed network). Although described with reference to the above examples, different combinations of information may be retrieved and analyzed to provide usage indication information for a particular network slice. The usage indication information may then be used for network planning. The usage indication information may be used to manage operational attributes of the network slice, such as allocated computing resources or policies. For example, operational attributes may be managed based on the number of active subscribers for certain specific services, changes in latency or bandwidth requirements, or based on other aspects that may be relevant to the operation of the network slice. In one example, data may be retrieved from a service repository via a query. Queries may be scheduled or triggered based on given policies or events.

[0022] The data retrieved from the service repository can also be processed for service-related functions, such as billing or metering usage. For example, an operator can charge for the use of a network slice based on the number of active subscribers to a given network slice, the duration of access, or the type of service accessed. Thus, the use of network slices within a communication network can be monitored, metered, and billed. Although the above methods and examples have been described in the context of 5G networks, they should not be considered limiting. These methods can also be used in other types of communication networks without departing from the scope of the present subject matter. These and other examples are further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0023] Figure 1A system 102 for analyzing the use of virtualized network instances within a communication network based on data change notifications is shown according to an example. The system 102 includes (multiple) processors 104. The system 102 may also include a machine-readable storage medium 106 coupled to the (multiple) processors 104 and accessible by the (multiple) processors 104. The machine-readable storage medium 106 stores (multiple) instructions 108 accessible by the (multiple) processors 104. In one example, the system 102 can be implemented as a standalone computing device within a 5G core network. The (multiple) processors 104 can be implemented as dedicated processors, shared processors, or multiple separate processors, some of which can be shared. In one example, the (multiple) processors 104 can be implemented locally within the system 102, or can be implemented remotely in another computing system. When implemented remotely, the (multiple) instructions 108 can be transmitted to such a computing system for execution.

[0024] The machine-readable storage medium 106 can be communicatively connected to the processor(s) 104. Among other capabilities, the processor(s) 104 can retrieve and execute the computer-readable instructions 108 stored in the machine-readable storage medium 106. The processor(s) 104 can execute the instructions 108 to implement the usage monitoring service ( Figure 1 In one example, the processor(s) 104 may execute the instructions 110. The instructions 110, when executed, may cause the use of the monitoring service to be directed to the unified data repository ( Figure 1 A unified data repository (referred to as UDR) can store and maintain subscriber data related to subscribers and network slices, and subscribers can register for network slices. A subscriber can be any communication device that can access a network slice to utilize services. Data change notifications are generated in response to changes in subscriber data in the UDR.

[0025] Thereafter, instruction 112 may be executed to cause the usage monitoring service to receive the generated data change notification. A data change notification is received from the UDR in response to a data modification in the subscriber data. The data change notification includes the data modification in the subscriber data. For example, a subscriber may register with a given network slice to use a particular service. Upon registration, subscriber information is added to the subscriber data as a data modification, thereby modifying it. Since the subscriber data has been changed, a data change notification is generated. In one example, the data change notification includes the data modification. Thereafter, instruction 114 may be executed to process the data modification retrieved from the generated data change notification. In one example, the data modification may be stored as network slice data in a service repository and processed to obtain usage indication information for the network slice in question. The usage indication information may be used to analyze the usage of the network slice.

[0026] Figure 2 A communication environment 200 is shown. Communication environment 200 (hereinafter referred to as environment 200) may include one or more functional network entities or blocks within a core communication network. In one example, environment 200 may include system 202. System 202 may be implemented as a server device or a standalone computing system and may be a network entity within a 5G core network. In one example, access to the core network may be achieved through telecommunication-based access or may be based on any other type of access (e.g., via a WiFi network).

[0027] System 202 can communicate with multiple clients 204 through network 206 and provisioning gateway 208. Provisioning gateway 208 can be any network entity that directs requests or queries from client(s) 204 to other network entities within environment 200. Network 206 can be a private network or a public network and can be implemented as a wired network, a wireless network, or a combination of wired and wireless networks. Network 206 can also include a collection of individual networks that are interconnected and serve as a single large network such as the Internet. Examples of such individual networks include, but are not limited to, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network, a Personal Communications Service (PCS) network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Next Generation Network (NGN), a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Long Term Evolution (LTE), and an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).

[0028] The system 202 can receive and process service requests or queries from client(s) 204. The client(s) 204 can be any software-enabled client that can be a consumer of virtualized network resources. In one example, the system 202 is also coupled to a UDR 210 that stores subscriber data 212. The subscriber data 212 stored within the UDR 210 is associated with network slice(s) 214 and subscribers that can register with the network slice(s) 214. As described above, the network slice(s) 214 can be considered as independent and isolated virtualized network instances that can be deployed on a physical network infrastructure.

[0029] Subscriber data 212 may include data grouped into different sets of information. Subscriber data 212 may be provided by a network function (NF) Figure 2214). In the context of the 5G core network, examples of such network entities (also referred to as network functions) include, but are not limited to, access and mobility management function (AMF), network exposure function (NEF), policy control function (PCF), session management function (SMF), and unified data management (UDM). These and other network entities are further defined in the 3GPP TS 23.501 standard, which defines the system architecture of the 5G system. These network functions are to perform defined functions for subscribers registered with (multiple) network slices 214. Examples of such functions include, but are not limited to, data management, authentication, policy control, secure exposure of network services, and session management. Subscriber data 212 will store data under different categories corresponding to these functions. For example, subscriber data 212 may include different categories of information, such as subscription data, authentication data, application data, and policy data. In one example, subscriber data 212 and UDR 210 may be implemented as described under one or more 3GPP standards, such as 3GPP 29.503, 3GPP 29.504, 3GPP 29.505, 3GPP 23.501, 3GPP 23.502, and other related standards.

[0030] System 202 may also include instruction(s) 216 and interface 218. Instruction(s) 216 may be similar to instruction(s) 108 (e.g., Figure 1 ). Interfaces 218 may include software-implemented interfaces as well as hardware-implemented interfaces that enable system 202 to be communicatively coupled with other entities within environment 200. For example, interface 218 may also enable system 202 to communicate with client(s) 204 over network 206. In another example, interface 218 may enable system 202 to communicate with other network entities within environment 200.

[0031] The system 202 may also include a usage monitoring service 220. The usage monitoring service 220 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (e.g., programmable instructions that implement various functions). In the examples described herein, the combination of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the usage monitoring service 220 may be executable instructions. In another example, the usage monitoring service 220 may include processing resources, such as a single processor or a combination of multiple processors, to execute instructions. In this example, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium may store instructions, such as (multiple) instructions 216, which, when executed by the processing resources, implement the usage monitoring service 220. In other examples, the usage monitoring service 220 may be implemented as an electronic circuit device. It will be understood that the system 202 may include other network functions related to the operation of the communication network. Such functional entities may be adapted to function as the usage monitoring service 220 via (multiple) instructions 216. In another example, the usage monitoring service 220 may be implemented in addition to such network functions. Such implementations are different examples of the claimed subject matter. The system 202 may also include other services or engines ( Figure 2 not shown).

[0032] In operation, the usage monitoring service 220 can subscribe to data change notifications from the UDR 210. Data change notifications can be generated by the UDR 210 in the event of any change in the subscriber data 212. As previously described, the subscriber data 212 stores different categories of data, such as subscription data, authentication data, application data, and policy data. Changes to any of these data categories or modifications to the data can cause the UDR 210 to generate a data change notification. For example, the subscription data can include registration information for a subscriber that may have subscribed to, registered with, or otherwise associated with a network slice(s) 214. Such information can include an identifier for the subscriber, an identifier for the network slice(s) 214 with which the subscriber may be registered, the service being utilized by the subscriber, and the time of registration. At the time of registration, the subscriber can be understood to be served by any of the network slice(s) 214 in question.

[0033] As subscribers interact and seek access to network slice(s) 214, subscriber data 212 may change. Interactions between additional subscribers may result in changes to subscriber data 212. This aspect is explained with respect to subscriber data included within subscriber data 212. As may be noted, registration with network slice(s) 214 may add registration information of such subscribers to subscription data within subscriber data 212. Due to this data modification, i.e., the subscriber's registration data, subscriber data 212 changes, which in turn results in the generation of a data change notification.

[0034] As existing subscribers interact with network slice(s) 214, data changes in subscriber data 212 may also occur. For example, a subscriber may seek access to a particular service at different times. In this case, the subscriber information within subscriber data 212 may record the time at which the subscriber sought access to a given service. Subsequent times when the subscriber attempts to access a given service constitute data modifications to subscriber data 212 within UDR 210. In this way, any interaction between one or more subscribers and network slice(s) 214 may be communicated to usage monitoring service 220 via data change notifications generated by UDR 210. Since usage monitoring service 220 has subscribed to data change notifications, data change notifications generated by UDR 210 are communicated to usage monitoring service 220.

[0035] The generation of data change notifications is a feature of UDR 210 as defined in technical standards such as 3GPP 29.504. Although explained with respect to subscription data, changes to any other categories of data can be determined and, accordingly, communicated in a similar manner via data change notifications. In this case, usage monitoring service 220 can subscribe to data changes in these categories and determine data modifications implemented on any of these data categories within subscriber data 212.

[0036] To generate a data change notification, the UDR 210 can determine data modifications that may have been made to the subscriber data 212. Once the data modification is identified, it can thereafter be included in the data change notification. The data change notification is generated and can be sent to the usage monitoring service 220. The usage monitoring service 220 can receive and store the same data change notification as the data change notification(s) 222 within the system 202.

[0037] Thereafter, the data change notification(s) 222 can be processed by the usage monitoring service 220 to obtain network slice data 224. In one example, the usage monitoring service 220 can parse the data change notification(s) 222 to obtain the data modifications. Once obtained, the data modifications are stored as network slice data 224. Similar to the subscriber data 212, the network slice data 224 can include different categories of information related to subscribers registered with the network slice(s) 214. Examples of these different categories include, but are not limited to, subscriber identifiers, identifiers of the network slice(s) 214, types of services for which the subscriber can register, access types, location information of the subscriber, registration time, access time, and other such information related to the subscriber and the network slice(s) 214 for which the subscriber can register. The network slice data 224 thus obtained can be stored within the system 202 or can be stored in a service repository 226, which can be coupled to the usage monitoring service 220. The service repository 226 can be implemented via a single computer-readable medium or a combination of multiple computer-readable media.

[0038] In the manner described above, as the subscriber interacts with the network slice(s) 214, the usage monitoring service 220 may continuously obtain data change notification(s) 222 from the UDR 210 and determine network slice data 224. The network slice data 224 may then be used to derive usage indication information 228, which may describe information about the subscriber or other information related to the network slice(s) 214 with which the subscriber may have registered.

[0039] The network slice data 224 (stored within the system 202 or within the service repository 226) can be further analyzed to evaluate the usage of the network slice(s) 214 within the environment 200. The analysis can be for any one of the network slice(s) 214, or for multiple network slices 214. In one example, the analysis of the network slice data 224 can be performed by an automated mechanism such as programming code, or by other computer-implemented methods such as statistical modeling, regression analysis, or by artificial intelligence-based methods. Any of these methods can be employed without limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0040] As an example, analysis of the network slice data 224 can be performed using predefined rules. Based on the predefined rules, the usage monitoring service 220 can process the data to provide usage indication information 228. For example, to determine the number of active subscribers, the usage monitoring service 220 can analyze the network slice data 224, including the number of subscribers that may have registered with a particular network slice(s) 214. Furthermore, the registration times within the network slice data 224 can be analyzed to determine the number of registrations that may have occurred during a given time interval. In a similar manner, other information included in the network slice data 224, such as the name or type of service sought to be accessed, the location of the subscriber requesting access to the service, or the type of access used to access the network slice data 224 (i.e., access based on 3GPP or non-3GPP technology), can be analyzed to assess the usage of the network slice(s) 214. The examples listed are merely indicative—the analysis of the network slice data 224 can be based on other parameters, which can be considered alone, in combination with each other, or in combination with any other examples described above.

[0041] In another example, analysis can be performed using predefined executable queries. As described above, queries can be defined based on any one or more parameters. Once a query is defined, it can be executed by the usage monitoring service 220 against the network slice data 224. Once executed on the network slice data 224, the query can return results to the usage monitoring service 220, which can store the results as usage indication information 228. The query can be scheduled to execute at a specified time or can be initiated based on a command from an administrator. In one example, the predefined rules and the query can be stored in other data 230. In this case, the usage monitoring service 220 can retrieve any one of the predefined rules or the query from the other data 230 for use in analyzing the network slice data 224 and obtaining the usage indication information 228.

[0042] The usage indication information 228 obtained as a result of analyzing the network slice data 224 can provide an indication of the usage of the network slice(s) 214 within the communication network. The usage of the network slice(s) 214 can be described from various perspectives. For example, the usage indication information 228 can describe the number of subscribers that can be registered with the network slice(s) 214. In this case, the usage indication information 228 can directly represent the active customers that can be registered with the network slice(s) 214. In another example, the usage indication information 228 can describe the distribution of active subscribers for any one of the network slice(s) 214 across different time intervals, access time, access location, accessed service type, etc.

[0043] The usage indication information 228 may be used to manage operational attributes of the communication network for performing operations thereof. The operational attributes may refer to computing resources or similar infrastructure components deployed for the network slice(s) 214. In one example, the usage indication information 228 describing the number of active subscribers registered with the network slice(s) 214 may be used to manage computing resources that may be allocated to the network slice(s) 214. If the number of subscribers is high (or greater than a certain threshold), a decision may be made to further allocate computing resources (e.g., processors, memory, etc.) for any one or more of the network slice(s) 214.

[0044] The operational attributes may also include policies that may have been implemented on the (multiple) network slices 214 within the communication network. These methods can be used for different types of usage scenarios as described by the usage indication information 228. For example, the usage indication information 228 may indicate that a set of network slices from among the (multiple) network slices 214 is used for IoT services (or any other service that relies on low latency), but not for voice communications. In this case, certain policies can be implemented that allow the (multiple) network slices 214 in question to be used for low-latency services and not for communication services.

[0045] Managing the operational attributes of the network slice(s) 214 based on the usage indication information 228 can be performed manually by an administrator or by automated instructions. For example, the provisioning of computing resources can be physically managed by installing or deploying additional hardware for use by the network slice(s) 214. In another example, the provisioning of such computing resources can be performed by executable instructions or policies that can manage (i.e., scale up or down) the allocation of installed computing resources. If the management of the operational attributes is performed by instructions, the usage monitoring service 220 can process the usage indication information 228 and execute predefined instructions for managing the operational attributes of the network slice(s) 214 accordingly.

[0046] Usage indication information 228 can be used to perform certain service-related functions, such as metering usage or billing. In this case, usage monitoring service 220 can determine the number of active subscribers that may have registered with network slice(s) 214. In another example, active subscriber information 218 can be used to determine historical information for a particular subscriber or network slice(s) 214. In this way, any other basis for performing service-related functions can be determined (e.g., the time a subscriber may have used a given service). It will be appreciated that certain network slices may be specified for certain specialized services. For example, a first set of network slices may be dedicated to low-latency applications, while another, second set of network slices may be dedicated to high-bandwidth applications. The first set and the second set may be associated with different billing rates (e.g., the first set is associated with a higher billing rate than the second set). In this example, the time a subscriber may have registered with the first set of network slices and the second set of network slices can be determined separately, and thus usage of the first set of network slices and the second set of network slices can be accurately billed. Any combination of other information included in usage indication information 228 can be used to perform other service-related functions without departing from the scope of the present subject matter.

[0047] Figure 3 300 。 is an example sequence diagram showing a series of steps for analyzing the use of virtualized network instances (i.e., network slices) within a communication network. These steps are described with respect to the interactions between client(s) 204, usage monitoring service 220, and UDR 210 within environment 300. Environment 300 may also include provisioning gateway 302 (which may be similar to provisioning gateway 208). Provisioning gateway 302 may be a network entity that can direct requests or queries from client(s) 204 to entities within environment 300.

[0048] The provisioning gateway 302, (multiple) client 204, usage monitoring service 220, and UDR 210 can communicate with each other through various interfaces. For example, (multiple) client 204 and provisioning gateway 302 can interact with each other through a representational state transfer (REST) ​​interface. In a similar manner, the provisioning gateway 302 and usage monitoring service 220 can also communicate with each other through a REST interface. On the other hand, usage monitoring service 220 can communicate with UDR 210 through a NUDR service (i.e., Nudr_DataRepository service) interface. The Nudr_DataRepository service interface can be implemented as described in various 3GPP standards (e.g., 3GPP 29.503, 3GPP 29.504, 3GPP 29.505, 3GPP 23.501, and 3GPP 23.502). It can be noted that the current list of standards is indicative and not all applicable standards are listed for the sake of brevity.

[0049] The usage monitoring service 220 may be initially deployed within the computing environment 200. In operation, the usage monitoring service 220 may subscribe to data change notifications from the UDR 210. For example, the usage monitoring service 220 may send a POST request to subscribe the UDR 210 to obtain data change notifications (at step 304). In this example, the POST request (represented as request 306) may specify a data category within the subscriber data 212 to which the data change notifications are to be subscribed. For example, the POST request may specify subscription data to which the data notifications are to be subscribed. In one example, the UDR 210 may respond with an acknowledgment indicating that a subscription to the data change notifications has been created. The POST request is locally defined for the UDR 210 and is specified as a standardized function under one or more 3GPP standards (e.g., 3GPP 29.504).

[0050] In the event that the UDR 210 is subscribed to the usage monitoring service 220, the UDR 210 may determine whether any changes have occurred to the subscriber data 212 (at step 308). As previously described, in the event of any changes to the subscriber data 212 in the UDR 210, a data change notification may be generated. For example, when a new subscriber subscribes to or registers for a network slice, the subscription data stored within the UDR may change. In this case, the subscription data in the UDR 210 will include detailed information of such registered subscribers. In response to this data modification to the subscriber data 212, a data change notification may be generated by the UDR 210. The generated data change notification may include the data modification caused to the subscriber data 212. For example, the data change notification may include registration data related to a registered customer. In a similar manner, the usage monitoring service 220 may be notified of any changes to subscriber information, such as information such as usage of a particular service, access time, access location, access type, and the like.

[0051] If one or more subscribers register with any of the network slices 214, the subscriber data 212 may change. The UDR 210 sends the generated data change notification(s) 222 to the usage monitoring service 220 (at step 310). Once received, the data change notification(s) 222 may be processed by the usage monitoring service 220 to obtain the data modifications included in the data change notification(s) 222 (at step 312). In one example, the usage monitoring service 220 may parse the data change notification(s) 222 received from the UDR 210 to obtain the data modifications (which results in the generation of the data change notification(s) 222). The data modifications obtained from the data change notification(s) 222 may be stored as network slice data 224.

[0052] The above series of steps may be performed continuously to collect data modifications that may have been implemented to the subscriber data 212. Over a period of time, the collection of various data modifications will be similar to the subscriber data available within the UDR 210. Similar to the subscriber data 212, the network slice data 224 may include different categories of information related to subscribers registered with the network slice(s) 214. Examples of these categories include, but are not limited to, subscriber identifiers, identifiers of the network slice(s) 214, types of services that the subscriber may register for, access types, location information of the subscriber, registration time, access time, and such other information related to the subscriber and the network slice(s) 214 that the subscriber may register for.

[0053] The network slice data 224 may be further analyzed to assess usage of the network slice(s) 214 within the environment 200 (at step 314). In one example, the usage monitoring service 220 may process the data to provide usage indication information 228. The usage indication information 228 provides an indication of usage of the network slice(s) 214 under consideration. For example, to determine the number of active subscribers, the network slice data 224 may be analyzed to determine the number of subscribers that may have registered with any one or more of the network slice(s) 214. In a similar manner, the network slice data 224 may be analyzed to determine the number of registrations that may have occurred during a given time interval, the name, or type of service sought to be accessed, the location of the subscriber requesting access to the service, or the type of access used to access the network slice data 224 (i.e., access based on 3GPP or non-3GPP technology).

[0054] In one example, the usage monitoring service 220 may receive a query from a consumer via one of the client(s) 204 to retrieve usage indication information 228. Figure 2 As described, subscriber data 212 may thereafter be used to manage operational properties of network slice(s) 214 (e.g., managing resource allocation for network slice(s) 214) or to perform certain service-related functions (e.g., for metering usage or billing). This query (depicted as query 316) may be received by usage monitoring service 220 via provisioning gateway 302 (at step 318). In one example, query 316 may be received via a REST interface. Query 316 may thereafter be executed to retrieve usage indication information 228. Usage indication information 228 may thereafter be provided by usage monitoring service 220 to provisioning gateway 302, which in turn may provide usage indication information 228 to client(s) 204 (at step 320). Usage indication information 228 may be used by the consumer to determine whether any computing resources allocated to network slice(s) 214 need to be scaled up, scaled down, or whether additional resources should be installed to achieve high-performance operation of the communications network or for service improvements. In another example, the usage indication information 228 thus retrieved (which includes the number of active subscribers) may be used by the client(s) 204 to meter usage or for billing.

[0055] In some cases, the client(s) 204 may query the provisioning gateway 302 at a different frequency than the provisioning gateway 302 queries the network slice data 224. For example, the provisioning gateway 302 may query the network slice data 224 more frequently than the client(s) 204 query the provisioning gateway 302. In this way, the provisioning gateway 302 may check the active subscriber information 218 at certain specific time intervals before the client(s) 204 may query the active subscriber information 218. Although Figure 3 The client(s) 204 are depicted as a single entity, but the provisioning gateway 302 may be queried by multiple other consumer clients, which may query the provisioning gateway 302 to obtain the usage indication information 228 .

[0056] Figure 4 A method 400 for analyzing the use of virtualized network instances within a communication network based on data change notifications generated by a unified data repository is shown according to one example. The order in which the methods are described is not intended to be construed as limiting, and some of the described method blocks may be combined in a different order to implement the methods or alternative methods. Furthermore, the methods may be implemented in any suitable hardware, computer-readable instructions, or a combination thereof. The steps of the methods may be performed by a system under the instruction of machine-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, or by a dedicated hardware circuit, microcontroller, or logic circuit. For example, the method 400 may be performed by the system 202 within the environment 200. Some examples herein are also intended to cover non-transitory computer-readable media, such as digital data storage media, that are computer-readable and encode computer-executable instructions, wherein the instructions perform some or all of the steps of the above-described methods.

[0057] At block 402, a data change notification may be received from a unified data repository. A data change notification is generated by the unified data repository (or UDR) in response to a data modification to subscriber data stored therein. For example, a usage monitoring service 220 deployed within the environment 200 may receive a data change notification from the UDR 210 in response to a change in subscriber data 212 corresponding to the network slice(s) 214. Changes in the subscriber data 212 may occur whenever a subscriber interacts with the network slice(s) 214. For example, changes in the subscriber data 212 may occur when any subscriber registers with any of the network slice(s) 214. The data change notification may include data modifications that may have resulted in changes in the subscriber data 212. In the context of registration by a subscriber, the data modifications may include registration data.

[0058] At block 404, the data modifications may be extracted from the received data change notifications and stored as network slice data. For example, the usage monitoring service 220 may parse the data change notification(s) 222 for the data modifications that may have resulted in the generation of the data change notification(s) 222. Once the data modifications are determined, they may be stored as network slice data 224. The network slice data 224 may include, among other things, different categories of information related to subscribers registered with the network slice(s) 214, examples of which include, but are not limited to, subscriber identifiers, identifiers of the network slice(s) 214, types of services for which the subscriber may register, access types, location information of the subscriber, registration time, access time, and other information related to the subscriber and the network slice(s) 214 for which the subscriber may register. The network slice data 224 may be continuously obtained by receiving and processing the data change notification(s) 222. In one example, the network slice data 224 may be stored in the service repository 226.

[0059] At block 406, the network slice data in the service repository may be processed to obtain usage indication information for the network slice. For example, the usage monitoring service 220 may analyze the network slice data 224 to provide usage indication information 228. The usage indication information 228 may indicate, among other things, the usage of the network slice(s) 214 within the environment 200. For example, to determine the number of active subscribers, the network slice data 224 may be analyzed to determine the number of subscribers that may have registered with a particular network slice(s) 214. In a similar manner, other information included in the network slice data 224, such as the name or type of service being accessed, the location of the subscriber requesting access to the service, or the type of access being used to access the network slice data 224 (i.e., access based on 3GPP or non-3GPP technology), may also be analyzed to assess the usage of the network slice(s) 214. Depending on the type of analysis desired, the analysis of the network slice data 224 may be based on predefined rules or queries. In one example, usage indication information 228 may be used to manage operational attributes of the communication network for its operations, or may be used to perform certain service-related functions, such as metering usage or billing.

[0060] Figure 5A method 500 for analyzing the use of virtualized network instances within a communication network according to another example is shown. Similar to method 400, method 500 can also be implemented by system 202 within environment 200 or within environment 300. As described above, system 202 can include a usage monitoring service 220 that can determine the number of subscribers that may have registered with (multiple) network slices 214. The steps of these methods described above can involve different phases. Some steps of these methods can also be performed without performing other steps for implementing any particular phase. Regardless, such examples will still fall within the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0061] At block 502, a usage monitoring service may subscribe to data change notifications from a unified data repository. For example, usage monitoring service 220 may subscribe to data change notifications from UDR 210. Subscriber data 212 stores different categories of data, such as subscription data, authentication data, application data, and policy data. A data change notification may be generated by UDR 210 when any of the different categories within subscriber data 212 undergo a change.

[0062] At block 504, the UDR generates a data change notification in response to any change in the subscriber data. In one example, the UDR 210 may determine whether the subscriber data 212 has changed. As additional subscribers interact and seek access to the network slice(s) 214, the subscriber data 212 may change. For example, the subscription data may include registration information for subscribers that may have subscribed to, registered with, or otherwise associated with the network slice(s) 214. For example, when additional subscribers register with any of the network slice(s) 214, data modifications in the form of their respective registration information are added to the UDR 210. In one example, to generate the data change notification, the usage monitoring service 220 may retrieve the data modifications made to the subscriber data 212. Thereafter, the data modifications may be included in the data change notification. The data change notification thus generated may be sent to the usage monitoring service 220.

[0063] At block 506, the usage monitoring service receives a data change modification from the unified data repository. For example, the usage monitoring service 220 may receive a data change notification generated by the UDR 210. In one example, the data change notification received by the usage monitoring service 220 is stored as data change notification(s) 222.

[0064] At block 508, the received data change notifications may be processed to obtain network slice data. For example, the usage monitoring service 220 may parse the data change notification(s) 222 to retrieve the data modifications included therein. In one example, the data modifications are retrieved from the data change notification(s) 222 and stored by the usage monitoring service 220 as network slice data 224. As previously described, similar to the subscriber data 212, the network slice data 224 may include different categories of information related to subscribers registered with the network slice(s) 214. Examples of such information include, but are not limited to, a subscriber identifier, an identifier of the network slice(s) 214, the type of service for which the subscriber may register, the access type, the location information of the subscriber, the registration time, the access time, and other such information related to the subscriber and the network slice(s) 214 for which the subscriber may register. The network slice data 224 thus obtained may be stored within the system 202 or may be stored in a service repository 226 in communication with the system 202. In the manner described above, as and when any changes to subscriber data 212 occur in UDR 210, the usage monitoring service 220 can continuously obtain (multiple) data change notifications 222 from UDR 210 and determine network slice data 224.

[0065] At block 510, the network slice data can be analyzed to assess network slice usage. For example, the usage monitoring service 220 can analyze the network slice data 224 to provide usage indication information 228. The usage indication information 228 can be used to assess the usage of the network slice(s) 214 within the environment 200. In one example, the analysis of the network slice data 224 can be performed based on predefined rules, queries, automated programming code, or a combination thereof. Once the network slice data 224 is analyzed, the usage indication information 228 is provided. In one example, the usage indication information 228 can indicate how the network slice(s) 214 are being utilized. For example, the usage indication information 228 can describe the number of active subscribers based on the number of subscribers that may have registered with a particular network slice(s) 214. In a similar manner, the network slice data 224 can be analyzed to determine the number of subscribers that may have registered during a given time interval, the name or type of service sought to be accessed, the location of the subscriber requesting access to the service, or the type of access used to access the network slice data 224 (i.e., access based on 3GPP or non-3GPP technology).

[0066] At block 512, the usage indication information may be used to manage operational attributes of the network slice or to perform certain service-related functions. For example, usage indication information 228 may be used to manage operational attributes of network slice(s) 214 within the communications network. Operational attributes may refer to computing resources or similar infrastructure components deployed for network slice(s) 214, or may refer to policies or rules that may be deployed within the communications network. In the former case, usage indication information 228 may be used to assess how computing resources or components deployed for network slice(s) 214 must be managed. In one example, usage indication information 228 describing the number of active subscribers registered with network slice(s) 214 may be used to manage the allocation of computing resources (e.g., processors, memory, etc.) for any one or more of the network slice(s) 214. Similar approaches may be employed for other types of usage scenarios. For example, usage indication information 228 may indicate that a set of network slices from among network slice(s) 214 are used for IoT services (or any other service that relies on low latency), but not for voice communications. In this case, certain policies may be implemented that allow the network slice(s) 214 under consideration to be used for low-latency services rather than for communication services.

[0067] Figure 6 A computing environment 600 is shown that implements a non-transitory computer-readable medium for analyzing usage of virtualized network instances (i.e., network slices) within a communication network based on data change notifications. In an example implementation, computing environment 600 may be environment 200. In one example, computing environment 600 includes processor(s) 602 communicatively coupled to non-transitory computer-readable medium 604 via communication link 606. Processor(s) 602 may have one or more processing resources for retrieving and executing computer-readable instructions from non-transitory computer-readable medium 604. Processor(s) 602 and non-transitory computer-readable medium 604 may be implemented, for example, in environment 200.

[0068] The non-transitory computer-readable medium 604 can be, for example, an internal storage device or an external storage device. In one example, the communication link 606 can be a direct communication link, such as any memory read / write interface. In another example, the communication link 606 can be an indirect communication link, such as a network interface. The communication link 606 can be a single network or a combination of multiple networks and can use a variety of different communication protocols.

[0069] The processor(s) 602 and the non-transitory computer-readable medium 604 may also be communicatively coupled to a storage element 608. The storage element 608 enables the device hosting the processor(s) 602 and the non-transitory computer-readable medium 604 to determine the number of subscribers that may be registered with the virtualized network instance (i.e., the network slice) based on the data change notification.

[0070] Reference Figure 6 In one example, the non-transitory computer-readable medium 604 includes (multiple) instructions 610 that cause the processor(s) 602 to cause a usage monitoring service deployed within a fifth generation (5G) core network to subscribe to data change notifications from a unified data repository. Data change notifications are used to indicate changes to subscriber data stored and maintained in the unified data repository (i.e., UDR). For example, the instruction(s) 610 may be executed to cause the usage monitoring service 220 to subscribe to data change notifications from the UDR 210. As previously described, a data change notification may be generated by the UDR 210 whenever subscriber data 212 regarding a (multiple) network slice 214 changes. Such changes may occur as a result of a subscriber accessing or otherwise interacting with the (multiple) network slice 214 within the computing environment 200.

[0071] Instructions 610 may also be executed to process data change notifications to determine data modifications that may have been made to subscriber data within the UDR. For example, when executed, the instructions 610 may result in processing data change notifications 222 stored within the system 202. To this end, the instructions 610 may cause the monitoring service 220 to parse the data change notifications 222 to obtain data modifications to the subscriber data 212. The data modifications thus obtained may be stored as network slice data 224. The network slice data 224 may be similar to the subscriber data 212 and may include different categories of information related to a given subscriber registered with the network slice(s) 214. Examples of such categories of information include, but are not limited to, a subscriber identifier, an identifier of the network slice(s) 214, a type of service to which the subscriber may register, an access type, location information of the subscriber, a registration time, an access time, and other such information related to the subscriber and the network slice(s) 214 to which the subscriber may register.

[0072] Thereafter, the instruction(s) 610 may be executed to analyze the network slice data to provide usage indication information. The usage indication information thus obtained may indicate the subscriber's usage of the network slice. In one example, the instruction(s) 610 may cause the usage monitoring service 220 to analyze the network slice data 224 to provide usage indication information 228. The usage indication information 228 obtained as a result of the analysis of the network slice data 224 may provide an indication of the usage of the network slice(s) 214 within the communication network. The usage of the network slice(s) 214 may be described from various perspectives. For example, the usage indication information 228 may describe the number of subscribers that may be registered with the network slice(s) 214. In this case, the usage indication information 228 may directly represent the active subscribers that may be registered with the network slice(s) 214. In another example, the usage indication information 228 may describe the distribution of active subscribers, access times, access locations, accessed service types, etc., for any of the network slice(s) 214 over different time intervals. Once obtained, the usage indication information 228 may be used to manage the operational properties of the network slice(s) 214. In another example, the usage indication information 228 can be used to perform certain service-related operations, such as billing or for metering the usage of (multiple) network slices 214.

[0073] Although examples of the present disclosure have been described in language specific to structural features and / or methods, it should be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed and interpreted as examples of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A system comprising: processor; as well as A machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions executable by the processor to cause a monitoring service to: subscribing to a unified data repository for data change notifications, wherein the unified data repository is to generate data change notifications in response to changes in subscriber data stored within the unified data repository, and wherein the subscriber data corresponds to a virtualized network instance; receiving, in response to a data modification in the subscriber data, a generated data change notification from the unified data repository, wherein the generated data change notification includes the data modification, and wherein the data modification indicates at least one of: number of active subscribers for a given network slice, frequency of visits, duration of visits, time of visits, location of visits, and type of visits; and The data modification retrieved from the generated data change notification is processed to obtain usage indication information for the virtualized network instance, wherein the usage indication information is used to indicate usage of the virtualized network instance by a subscriber. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the subscriber data corresponding to the virtualized network instance comprises subscription data, authentication data, application data, policy data, or a combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein to receive the generated data change notification, the instructions are executable by the processor to further: parsing the generated data change notification received from the unified data repository to obtain the data modification; and The data modification obtained from the generated data change notification is stored as network slice data in a service repository. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the usage monitoring service is to process the data modification retrieved from the generated data change notification based on predefined rules to obtain the usage indication information.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the usage indication information is to be used to perform network planning, wherein the network planning comprises one of the following: Expanding the computing resources allocated to the virtualized network instance; or The computing resources allocated to the virtualized network instance are reduced. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the usage indication information is utilized to determine whether additional computing resources are to be allocated for the virtualized network instance.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the virtualized network instance is a network slice within a fifth generation (5G) core network.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is to communicate with the unified data repository through an interface based on Nudr_DataRepository service.

9. A method comprising: receiving a data change notification from a unified data repository, wherein the received data change notification is generated by the unified data repository in response to a data modification in subscriber data corresponding to the network slice stored within the unified data repository, and wherein the data modification indicates at least one of: number of active subscribers for a given network slice, frequency of access, duration of access, time of access, location of access, and type of access; storing the data modification obtained from the received data change notification as network slice data, wherein the data modification is included in the received data change notification; as well as Process the network slice data to obtain usage indication information for the network slice, wherein the usage indication information is used to indicate the subscriber's usage of the network slice.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving comprises: subscribing, by a usage monitoring service, to the unified data repository to receive a plurality of data change notifications from the unified data repository; as well as The received data change notification is received by the usage monitoring service subscribed to the unified data repository.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the data modification in the subscriber data occurs as a result of a subscriber registering with the network slice.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein storing the data modification comprises: parsing the received data change notification to obtain the data modification; as well as The data modification is stored as the network slice data in a service repository.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the processing of the network slice data to obtain usage indication information is based on predefined rules, predefined queries, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising utilizing the usage indication information for one of the following: Managing operational attributes of the network slice; and Performing functions related to services associated with the network slice.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the service-related functions related to the network slice include: Billing for use of the network slice, metering for use of the network slice, or a combination thereof.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instructions executable by a processing resource to: causing a usage monitoring service deployed within a fifth generation 5G core network to subscribe to a unified data repository for data change notifications, wherein the data change notifications are to indicate changes in subscriber data present in the unified data repository for network slices within the core network; processing the received data change notification based on the data modification in the subscriber data to determine network slice data corresponding to the network slice, and wherein the data modification indicates at least one of: number of active subscribers for a given network slice, frequency of access, duration of access, time of access, location of access, and type of access; as well as The network slice data is analyzed to provide usage indication information, wherein the usage indication information is used to indicate the subscriber's usage of the network slice. 17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the access type is one of access based on 3GPP technology and access based on non-3GPP technology.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the usage monitoring service is to subscribe to data change notification instances from the unified data repository via a nudr-dr interface.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the subscriber data corresponding to the network slice comprises subscription data, authentication data, application data, policy data, or a combination thereof.

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