Method, apparatus and computer program

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a management system, information indicating one or more priority values associated with respective one or more cells; and performing one or more network optimization procedures based on the received information indicating the one or more priority values associated with the respective one or more cells.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a method, apparatus and computer program for performing a network optimization process based on priority values ​​associated with one or more cells, in particular but not limited to. Background Art

[0002] A communication system may be considered as a facility that enables communication sessions between two or more entities (such as user terminals, base stations and / or other nodes) by providing carrier waves between the various entities involved in the communication path. For example, a communication system may be provided with the aid of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. A communication session may include, for example, data communications for carrying communications such as voice, video, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia and / or content data, etc. Non-limiting examples of the services provided include two-way or multi-way calls, data communications or multimedia services, and access to data network systems such as the Internet.

[0003] In a wireless communication system, at least a portion of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless systems include public land mobile networks (PLMNs), satellite-based communication systems, and different wireless local area networks, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs). Some wireless systems can be divided into cells and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] A user may access a communication system by means of an appropriate communication device or terminal. The user's communication device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE) or user device. The communication device is provided with appropriate signal receiving and sending means to enable communication, for example, to enable access to a communication network or to communicate directly with other users. The communication device may access a carrier provided by a station such as a base station of a cell, and transmit and / or receive communications on the carrier.

[0005] Communication systems and associated devices typically operate according to a given standard or specification that specifies what the various entities associated with the system are allowed to do and how it should be achieved. Communication protocols and / or parameters to be used for the connection are also typically defined. An example of a communication system is UTRAN (3G radio). Other examples of communication systems are the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology and the so-called 5G or New Radio (NR) networks. NR is being standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Summary of the invention

[0006] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising a means for: receiving information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from a management system; and performing one or more network optimization processes based on the received information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

[0007] The one or more network optimization processes may include at least one of: determining a workflow sequence optimization; determining an opportunity window for maintenance activities associated with the one or more cells; determining a self-optimizing network exclusion list; and determining a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements.

[0008] The execution may include: receiving a request for a workflow sequence from the management system based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; determining the workflow sequence based on the request and information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending the determined workflow sequence to the management system.

[0009] The execution may include: determining at least one cell to be included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending the self-optimizing network exclusion list to the management system, wherein the exclusion list includes the determined at least one cell.

[0010] The determining may include: determining a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; comparing the determined priority value to a threshold; and including the cell in the self-optimizing network exclusion list if the comparison indicates that the priority value associated with the cell is above the threshold.

[0011] The performing may include: determining a cell list for energy-saving scheduling based on the information indicating one or more priority values; and sending the determined cell list for energy-saving scheduling to the management system.

[0012] The determination may include: determining a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; comparing the determined priority value with a threshold; and if the comparison indicates that the priority value is lower than the threshold, including the cell in the list of cells for energy-saving scheduling.

[0013] The execution may include: receiving a request for an opportunity window for a maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells from the management system; determining the opportunity window for the maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells based on information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending a notification to the management system at the beginning of the determined opportunity window for the maintenance activity to be performed.

[0014] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising a means for: receiving information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from an automation function; and sending the information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells to a network optimization function.

[0015] The device can be used to: send a request for the workflow sequence to the network optimization function based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; receive the workflow sequence from the network optimization function; and cause one or more operations to be performed based on the received workflow sequence.

[0016] The apparatus may be configured to: receive a self-optimizing network exclusion list from the network optimization function, wherein the exclusion list includes at least one of the one or more cells; and cause one or more self-optimizing network operations to be performed on cells other than the cells included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list.

[0017] The apparatus may be configured to: receive from the network optimization function a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements; and cause cells included in the list of cells to operate with reduced energy requirements.

[0018] The device can be used to: receive information indicating that the one or more cells require maintenance activities; in response to receiving the information indicating that the one or more cells require the maintenance activities, send a request to the network optimization function for an opportunity window for performing the maintenance activities associated with the one or more cells; when the opportunity window starts, receive a notification from the network optimization function for causing the maintenance activities to be performed; and in response to receiving the notification, cause the maintenance activities to be performed.

[0019] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising means for: receiving input comprising information indicating a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells; determining a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined strategy; and sending information indicating the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells to a management system.

[0020] The apparatus may be configured to: periodically perform the determining and the sending, wherein the received input further comprises information indicating a period for performing the determining and the sending; and / or perform the determining and the sending in response to detecting a triggering event.

[0021] The apparatus may be configured to obtain analysis information associated with one or more cells from an analysis function and based on information indicative of a cell prioritization strategy.

[0022] The analysis information associated with one or more cells may include one or more of: predicted traffic information for the one or more cells; and predicted revenue information associated with the one or more cells.

[0023] The information indicative of one or more priority values ​​may define a relative priority of the one or more cells.

[0024] The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​may include a cell operation priority index.

[0025] The cell operation priority index may include a first set of bits indicating a cell prioritization policy and a second set of bits indicating a priority value; or the cell operation priority index may be a tuple of two values, wherein the first value indicates the cell prioritization policy and the second value indicates the priority value.

[0026] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to utilize the at least one processor to cause the device to at least: receive information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from a management system; and perform one or more network optimization processes based on the received information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

[0027] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to enable the apparatus to: determine a workflow sequence optimization; determine an opportunity window for maintenance activities associated with the one or more cells; determine a self-optimizing network exclusion list; and determine a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements.

[0028] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to enable the device to: receive a request for a workflow sequence from the management system based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; determine the workflow sequence based on the request and the information indicating the one or more priority values; and send the determined workflow sequence to the management system.

[0029] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to enable the apparatus to: determine, based on the information indicating the one or more priority values, at least one cell to be included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list; and send the self-optimizing network exclusion list to the management system, wherein the exclusion list includes the determined at least one cell.

[0030] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: determine a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; compare the determined priority value with a threshold; and include the cell in the self-optimizing network exclusion list if the comparison indicates that the priority value associated with the cell is higher than the threshold.

[0031] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: determine a cell list for energy-saving scheduling based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and send the determined cell list for energy-saving scheduling to the management system.

[0032] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to enable the device to: determine a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; compare the determined priority value with a threshold; and if the comparison indicates that the priority value is lower than the threshold, include the cell in the cell list for energy-saving scheduling.

[0033] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to enable the device to: receive a request for an opportunity window for a maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells from the management system; determine the opportunity window for the maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells based on information indicating the one or more priority values; and send a notification to the management system for causing the maintenance activity to be performed when the determined opportunity window begins.

[0034] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to utilize the at least one processor to cause the device to at least: receive information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from an automaton function; and send information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells to a network optimization function.

[0035] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to enable the device to: send a request for a workflow sequence to the network optimization function based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; receive the workflow sequence from the network optimization function; and cause one or more operations to be performed based on the received workflow sequence.

[0036] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to cause the device to: receive a self-optimizing network exclusion list from the network optimization function, wherein the exclusion list includes at least one of the one or more cells; and cause one or more self-optimizing network operations to be performed on cells other than the cells included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list.

[0037] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: receive a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements from the network optimization function; and cause cells included in the list of cells to operate with reduced energy requirements.

[0038] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to enable the device to: receive information indicating that the one or more cells require maintenance activities; in response to receiving the information indicating that the one or more cells require the maintenance activities, send a request to the network optimization function for an opportunity window for performing the maintenance activities associated with the one or more cells; at the beginning of the opportunity window, receive a notification from the network optimization function for causing the maintenance activities to be performed; and in response to receiving the notification, cause the maintenance activities to be performed.

[0039] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to utilize the at least one processor to cause the device to at least: receive input comprising information indicating a cell priority ranking strategy for one or more cells; determine a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined strategy; and send information indicating the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells to a management system.

[0040] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to enable the device to: periodically determine the priority value and send the information, wherein the received input also includes information indicating a period for performing the determination and the sending; and / or determine the priority value and send the information in response to detecting a trigger event.

[0041] The at least one memory and the at least one processor may be configured to cause the apparatus to: obtain, from an analysis function and based on the information indicative of a cell prioritization strategy, analysis information associated with one or more cells.

[0042] The analysis information associated with the one or more cells may include one or more of: predicted traffic information for the one or more cells; and predicted revenue information associated with the one or more cells.

[0043] The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​may define a relative priority of the one or more cells.

[0044] The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​may include a cell operation priority index.

[0045] The cell operation priority index may include a first set of bits indicating a cell prioritization policy and a second set of bits indicating a priority value; or the cell operation priority index may be a tuple of two values, wherein the first value indicates the cell prioritization policy and the second value indicates the priority value.

[0046] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from a management system; and performing one or more network optimization processes based on the received information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

[0047] The one or more network optimization processes may include at least one of: determining a workflow sequence optimization; determining an opportunity window for maintenance activities associated with the one or more cells; determining a self-optimizing network exclusion list; and determining a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements.

[0048] The execution may include: receiving a request for a workflow sequence from the management system based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; determining the workflow sequence based on the request and information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending the determined workflow sequence to the management system.

[0049] The execution may include: determining at least one cell to be included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending the self-optimizing network exclusion list to the management system, wherein the exclusion list includes the determined at least one cell.

[0050] The determining may include: determining a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; comparing the determined priority value to a threshold; and including the cell in the self-optimizing network exclusion list if the comparison indicates that the priority value associated with the cell is above the threshold.

[0051] The performing may include: determining the cell list for energy-saving scheduling based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending the determined cell list for energy-saving scheduling to the management system.

[0052] The determination may include: determining a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; comparing the determined priority value with a threshold; and if the comparison indicates that the priority value is lower than the threshold, including the cell in the cell list for energy-saving scheduling.

[0053] The execution may include: receiving a request for an opportunity window for a maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells from the management system; determining the opportunity window for the maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending a notification to the management system at the beginning of the determined opportunity window for causing the maintenance activity to be performed.

[0054] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from an automaton function; and sending information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells to a network optimization function.

[0055] The method may include: sending a request for a workflow sequence to the network optimization function based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; receiving the workflow sequence from the network optimization function; and causing the one or more operations to be performed based on the received workflow sequence.

[0056] The method may include: receiving a self-optimizing network exclusion list from the network optimization function, wherein the exclusion list includes at least one of the one or more cells; and causing one or more self-optimizing network operations to be performed on cells other than cells included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list.

[0057] The method may include receiving, from the network optimization function, a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with a reduced energy requirement; and causing the cells included in the list of cells to operate with the reduced energy requirement.

[0058] The method may include: receiving information indicating that the one or more cells require maintenance activities; in response to receiving the information indicating that the one or more cells require the maintenance activities, sending a request for the opportunity window for performing the maintenance activities associated with the one or more cells to the network optimization function; at the beginning of the opportunity window, receiving a notification from the network optimization function for causing the maintenance activities to be performed; and causing the maintenance activities to be performed in response to receiving the notification.

[0059] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: receiving input including information indicating a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells; determining a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined strategy; and sending information indicating the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells to a management system.

[0060] The method may include: performing the determining and the sending periodically, wherein the received input further includes information indicating a period for performing the determining and the sending; and / or performing the determining and the sending in response to detecting a triggering event.

[0061] The method may include obtaining, from an analysis function and based on information indicative of the cell prioritization strategy, analysis information associated with the one or more cells.

[0062] The analysis information associated with the one or more cells may include one or more of: predicted traffic information for the one or more cells; and predicted revenue information associated with the one or more cells.

[0063] The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​may define a relative priority of the one or more cells.

[0064] The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​may include a cell operation priority index.

[0065] The cell operation priority index may include a first set of bits indicating a cell prioritization policy and a second set of bits indicating a priority value; or the cell operation priority index may be a tuple of two values, wherein the first value indicates the cell prioritization policy and the second value indicates the priority value.

[0066] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receiving information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from a management system; and performing one or more network optimization processes based on the received information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

[0067] The one or more network optimization processes may include at least one of: determining a workflow sequence optimization; determining an opportunity window for maintenance activities associated with the one or more cells; determining a self-optimizing network exclusion list; and determining a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements.

[0068] The execution may include: receiving a request for a workflow sequence from the management system based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; determining the workflow sequence based on the request and information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending the determined workflow sequence to the management system.

[0069] The executing may include: determining at least one cell to be included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending the self-optimizing network exclusion list to the management system, wherein the exclusion list includes the determined at least one cell.

[0070] The determination may include: determining a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; comparing the determined priority value with a threshold; and if the comparison indicates that the priority value associated with the cell is higher than the threshold, including the cell in the self-optimizing network exclusion list.

[0071] The performing may include: determining the cell list for energy-saving scheduling based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending the determined cell list for energy-saving scheduling to the management system.

[0072] The determination may include: determining a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; comparing the determined priority value with a threshold; and if the comparison indicates that the priority value is lower than the threshold, including the cell in the cell list for energy-saving scheduling.

[0073] The execution may include: receiving a request for an opportunity window for a maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells from the management system; determining the opportunity window for the maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and sending a notification to the management system at the beginning of the determined opportunity window for causing the maintenance activity to be performed.

[0074] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receiving information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from an automaton function; and sending the information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells to a network optimization function.

[0075] The instructions can be used to cause the device to perform: sending a request for a workflow sequence to the network optimization function based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; receiving the workflow sequence from the network optimization function; and causing one or more operations to be performed based on the received workflow sequence.

[0076] The instructions may be used to cause the device to execute: receiving a self-optimizing network exclusion list from the network optimization function, wherein the exclusion list includes at least one of the one or more cells; and causing one or more self-optimizing network operations to be performed on cells other than the cells included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list.

[0077] The instructions may be used to cause the apparatus to perform: receiving from the network optimization function a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements; and causing cells included in the list of cells to operate with reduced energy requirements.

[0078] The instructions may be used to cause the apparatus to: receive the information indicating that the one or more cells require the maintenance activity; in response to receiving the information indicating that the one or more cells require the maintenance activity, send a request to the network optimization function for an opportunity window for performing the maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells; at the start of the opportunity window, receive a notification from the network optimization function for causing the maintenance activity to be performed; and in response to receiving the notification, cause the maintenance activity to be performed.

[0079] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following operations: receiving input comprising information indicating a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells; determining a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined strategy; and sending information indicating the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells to a management system.

[0080] The instructions may be used to cause the apparatus to: periodically perform the determining and the sending, wherein the received input further comprises information indicating a period for performing the determining and the sending; and / or perform the determining and the sending in response to detecting a triggering event.

[0081] The instructions may be used to cause the apparatus to perform: obtaining, from an analysis function and based on the information indicative of a strategy for prioritizing the cells, analysis information associated with the one or more cells.

[0082] The analysis information associated with the one or more cells may include one or more of: predicted traffic information for the one or more cells; and predicted revenue information associated with the one or more cells.

[0083] The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​may define a relative priority of the one or more cells.

[0084] The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​may include a cell operation priority index.

[0085] The cell operation priority index may include a first set of bits indicating a cell prioritization policy and a second set of bits indicating a priority value; or the cell operation priority index may be a tuple of two values, wherein the first value indicates the cell prioritization policy and the second value indicates the priority value.

[0086] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to execute a method according to at least any one of the aforementioned aspects.

[0087] In the above, many different embodiments have been described. It should be understood that further embodiments can be provided by combining any two or more of the above embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0088] Various embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0089] Figure 1 shows a representation of a network system according to some example embodiments;

[0090] Figure 2 shows a representation of a control device according to some example embodiments;

[0091] Figure 3 shows representations of devices according to some example embodiments;

[0092] Figure 4 Methods according to some examples are shown;

[0093] Figure 5 A diagram of a system including NOWOA is shown;

[0094] Figure 6 A diagram showing a system including NAAP;

[0095] Figure 7 An example of an end-to-end message sequence for NOWOA-assisted operation workflow optimization is shown;

[0096] Figure 8 shows an example of COPI being used for network optimization;

[0097] Fig. 9 shows an example of prioritizing on-site actions using COPI values; and

[0098] Fig.10 Shows an example scenario when multiple sites simultaneously report alerts that impact performance. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0099] In the following, certain embodiments are explained with reference to a mobile communication device capable of communicating via a wireless cellular system and a mobile communication system serving such a mobile communication device. Figure 1 , 2 and 3 briefly explain certain general principles of wireless communication systems, their access systems and mobile communication devices to assist in understanding the technology behind the described examples.

[0100] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a 5G system (5GS) is shown. The 5GS may include a terminal or user equipment (UE), a 5G radio access network (5GRAN) or next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), a 5G core network (5GC), one or more application functions (AFs), and one or more data networks (DNs).

[0101] 5G-RAN may include one or more gNodeBs (GNBs) connected to one or more gNodeB (GNB) centralized unit functions or distributed unit functions of one or more gNodeBs. 5GC may include the following entities: Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF); Network Exposure Function; Network Repository Function (NRF); Policy Control Function (PCF); Unified Data Management (UDM); Application Function (AF); Authentication Server Function (AUSF); Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF); and Session Management Function (SMF).

[0102] Figure 2 shows the control method for Figure 1 200 for the functions of a 5GRAN or 5GC. The control device may include at least one random access memory (RAM) 211a, at least one read-only memory (ROM) 211b, at least one processor 212, 213, and an input / output interface 214. At least one processor 212, 213 may be coupled to the RAM 211a and the ROM 211b. At least one processor 212, 213 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 215. The software code 215 may, for example, allow one or more steps to be executed to perform one or more aspects of the present invention. The software code 215 may be stored in the ROM 211b. The control device 200 may be interconnected with another control device 200 that controls another function of a 5GRAN or 5GC. In some embodiments, each function of a 5GRAN or 5GC includes a control device 200. In an alternative embodiment, two or more functions of a 5GRAN or 5GC may share a control device.

[0103] Figure 3 A terminal 300 is shown, such as Figure 1The terminal shown is an example of a terminal 300. The terminal 300 may be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include user equipment, a mobile station (MS) or a mobile device such as a mobile phone or a so-called "smartphone", a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facilities (e.g., a USB dongle), a personal data assistant (PDA) or tablet computer provided with wireless communication capabilities, a machine type communication (MTC) device, an Internet of Things (IoT) type communication device, or any combination of these devices, etc. The terminal 300 may provide, for example, data communications for bearer communications. The communication may be one or more of voice, electronic mail (email), text messaging, multimedia, data, machine data, etc.

[0104] The terminal 300 may receive signals over the air or radio interface 307 via suitable means for receiving, and may transmit signals via suitable means for transmitting radio signals. Figure 3 In the mobile device, the transceiver arrangement is schematically represented by a block 306. The transceiver arrangement 306 may be provided, for example, by means of a radio component and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

[0105] The terminal 300 may be provided with at least one processor 301, at least one memory ROM 302a, at least one RAM 302b and other possible components 303 for software and hardware assisted execution of the tasks it is designed to perform, including controlling access and communication to access systems and other communication devices. At least one processor 301 is coupled to RAM 302b and ROM 302a. At least one processor 301 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 308. Software code 308 may, for example, allow execution of one or more aspects of the present invention. Software code 308 may be stored in ROM 302a.

[0106] The processor, memory and other related control means may be provided on an appropriate circuit board and / or in a chipset. This feature is indicated by reference numeral 304. The device may optionally have a user interface, such as a keyboard 305, a touch sensitive screen or touch pad, a combination thereof, etc. Depending on the type of device, one or more of a display, a speaker and a microphone may optionally be provided.

[0107] In many wireless network operation scenarios, it may be necessary or beneficial to prioritize one site / cell over others. For example, in the case where multiple sites / cells report alarms that affect performance at the same time, prioritization can help decide the urgency of restoring each site; or during a natural disaster, when all sites / cells in an area are down, the sites can be replaced with wandering nodes based on the priority of the downed sites / cells. Another example may be for performing centralized self-optimizing network (C-SON) optimization, for example, MLB, which may have multiple neighbors to which it will offload. Any increase in traffic can affect the performance of the entire cell. C-SON can take into account the priorities of neighbors in order to offload additional traffic to lower priority sites.

[0108] Some mechanisms for identifying site / cell priorities can be manual, with classification criteria based on the operator's understanding of the network. For example, the operator may consider the traffic generated by each site / cell as the criteria for prioritization and may consider the average daily traffic, ignoring the fact that the traffic distribution may not be the same throughout the day. Due to excessive manual analysis / calculation, the priority ranking calculated by these service-oriented architecture (SOA) solutions may not be updated as frequently as needed.

[0109] During the maintenance window, some methods for triggering software upgrades (or any planned outages) on multiple sites / cells may be performed. The triggering of any such operation may be manual, and in 5G and beyond, automation may be required to meet the volume and additional complexity of network elements.

[0110] For example, in 5G, multiple network slices may be defined, including customer-specific slices with different availability requirements. In such scenarios, some methods for planned outages may not take into account network slice-related requirements. Radio network slices may be shared between multiple customer-specific slices. Some operating mechanisms may not take into account any prioritization associated with such shared network slices.

[0111] Some mechanisms may be semi-automatic and thus still not able to frequently and dynamically adapt to network conditions at runtime.Static priorities may be degenerate and may not use available dynamic information, therefore, they may not always be correct for all scenarios.

[0112] Some SON optimization algorithms may not take into account the operational priority of each cell and therefore may not minimize known / unknown and expected / unexpected negative actions on high priority traffic, may not be able to perform coordination actions based on priority to maximize positive results (e.g., cell availability), and may not be able to determine the best opportunity window for planned maintenance activities that require downtime.

[0113] Another related challenge is that existing standard specifications do not provide for configuration of the operational priority levels of sites / cells. Solutions that allow automatic determination of site / cell prioritization should also support means for configuring sites / cells according to the calculated priority rankings.

[0114] Some embodiments may address one or more of the above challenges.

[0115] refer to Figure 4 , where a method according to some examples is shown.

[0116] At step 400, a method includes receiving, from a management system, information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with respective one or more cells.

[0117] At step 402, the method includes performing one or more network optimization procedures based on the received information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

[0118] In some examples, steps 400 and 402 may be performed by a network optimization function such as NOWOA or NAPP.

[0119] At step 404, a method includes receiving information from an automaton function indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with respective one or more cells.

[0120] At step 406, the method includes sending information indicative of one or more priority values ​​associated with the respective one or more cells to a network optimization function.

[0121] In some examples, steps 404 and 406 may be performed by a network management system and / or a SON.

[0122] At step 408, a method includes receiving input including information indicative of a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells.

[0123] At step 410, the method includes determining a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined policy.

[0124] At step 412, the method includes sending information indicative of the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells to a management system.

[0125] In some examples, steps 408 to 412 may be performed by an automaton function.

[0126] Some examples may provide solutions for coordinating network operations and automata based on cell / site prioritization parameters, which may be updated during operation based on current or predicted network characteristics. Some examples provide a cell / site operational priority index (COPI) as a parameter that defines the relative priority of cells and sites and the use of the COPI for optimizing operational workflows. In some examples, C-SON may use the COPI to fine-tune network optimization actions, such as to include critical sites in a SON exclusion list (a list of cells that are excluded from SON optimization but considered for analysis).

[0127] In some examples, the 3GPP management system may enable authorized customers to:

[0128] Requests to calculate the operational priority level of a cell based on different operational strategies, such as traffic volume, area, number and type of customers served by the cell or its resource usage;

[0129] · Understand the operational priority level of the cell; and

[0130] • Request prioritization of operational actions for a group of cells, the prioritization taking into account the priority levels of the cells involved.

[0131] Thus, in some examples, COPI may be introduced as a configurable attribute of a cell management object. The index may be configurable and / or used by different automaton functions. Thus, in some examples, COPI may be introduced for one or more objects GNBDU, NRCellCU, NRCellDU functions or other related functions.

[0132] In some examples, the analysis function / service may calculate and configure a COPI for one or more cells based on a particular policy; and / or the analysis function / service may calculate and configure an operational workflow for one or more cells that is selected according to a given policy.

[0133] In some examples, COPI is a configurable parameter for each cell or site. COPI may describe the relative priority of cells / sites within a network. Priority may be based on a gradient of importance of the network operator.

[0134] COPI can be calculated and set by the operator or by an automaton function based on some operator-defined policies. Example policies include, but are not limited to:

[0135] Prioritize cells / sites based on the traffic served by different cells;

[0136] Prioritize cells / sites based on the number of roaming customers;

[0137] Prioritize cells / sites based on the areas they serve, such as hospitals, schools, etc.; and

[0138] Prioritize cells / sites based on resource utilization for a specific network slice.

[0139] In some examples, network optimization functions may be provided. In some examples, the network optimization functions may include a network operations workflow optimization application (NOWOA). NOWOA may use COPI to manage and optimize workflow actions based on the priorities of cells and sites requiring operation actions.

[0140] refer to Figure 5 , which shows a schematic diagram of a system including NOWOA. Figure 5 As shown, NOWOA may receive relative priorities of cells / sites as input, for example as a COPI update notification. NOWOA may use the input relative priorities to calculate decisions for different network operation use cases.

[0141] In some examples, NOWOA may derive recommendations for subsequent operational actions and provide outputs, such as a recommended sequence of operations, to field engineers for each applicable network operations scenario.

[0142] For example:

[0143] Based on the higher COPI associated with cell a, NOWOA may suggest that the field engineer consider cell A before cell B to take corrective action;

[0144] During natural disasters, when all sites in a region are down, NOWOA can use COPI to recommend priority areas for temporary nomadic node deployment;

[0145] NOWOA can schedule software upgrades for multiple sites based on COPI.

[0146] In some examples, the network operator may define policies to prioritize cells / sites based on traffic. In these examples, COPI values ​​may vary based on measured / predicted traffic conditions in different sites. Thus, in some examples, when traffic in certain cells is low, the COPI for these cells will also be lower values. This may provide opportunities for planned site outages.

[0147] NOWOA may monitor the changing COPI values ​​and may determine an opportunity window for performing maintenance activities associated with one or more cells. The opportunity may be a time period during which maintenance activities may be performed. For example, when NOWOA determines that the COPI values ​​of one or more sites / cells are low, NOWOA may trigger maintenance activities based on the COPI values, such as performing a software upgrade or shutting down, which results in a change in parameters at one or more sites / cells.

[0148] In some examples, the network optimization function may include a network automation action priority (NAAP). NAAP may use COPI to manage and optimize activities derived by the network automation function based on the priority of cells and sites on which the network automation function wishes to take action.

[0149] refer to Figure 6 , which shows a diagram of a system including NAAP.

[0150] If Figure 6 As shown, in some examples, NAAP may receive relative priorities of cells / sites, such as COPI update notifications, as input. NAAP may also receive characteristics of a network automation function (NAF). NAAP may then use the received priorities and characteristics to calculate decisions for different NAF or network automation use cases.

[0151] For example, if the load balancing optimization requires increasing the coverage of 3 neighboring cells, the NAAP may provide an output to restrict one of the 3 cells from increasing the coverage. As another example, the NAAP may provide an output to change the SON exclusion list based on the current or predicted value of the COPI. In some examples, the NAAP may use the COPI to evaluate whether a cell / site may be shut down for energy conservation, or to recommend the deployment of a nomadic node at a higher priority site for additional capacity requirements.

[0152] In some examples, the NAAP may be implemented by each NAF, for example, the NAAP may be implemented within a NAF. In some examples, there may be one NAAP for a group of NAFs, or one NAA for each NAF.

[0153] In some examples, COPI may associate a specific operational priority for each site / cell based on operator defined policies. An example structure of COPI is defined in Table 1 below. Table 2 shows an example definition of COPI attributes.

[0154] Table 1: COPI parameters added to GNBDUFunction IOC

[0155]

[0156] Table 2: COPI parameter description

[0157]

[0158] In some examples, the COPI value may be dynamically updated by the operator or through an automaton function. The COPI value may be configurable in the gNB.

[0159] In some examples, a cell level priority index is defined. The index may be a single value indicating the priority for the current operating strategy defined by the operator.

[0160] Some example embodiments may combine both policy and context into the COPI value. For example, there may be a COPI value where different bits indicate the two aspects, such as using a 32-bit 1 / 0 string to represent the COPI, where the first 16 bits indicate a different policy (or context id) and the remaining bits indicate the current COPI value. Alternatively, the COPI may be a tuple of two values, where the first value indicates a different policy (or context id) and the second value indicates the current COPI value.

[0161] refer to Figure 7 , which shows an example end-to-end message sequence for NOWOA-assisted operation workflow optimization.

[0162] At step 700, the network operator defines a cell / site prioritization strategy and provides an indication of the strategy to the automaton function. In some examples, the strategy may be a rule-based formula. The strategy may be input by methods such as, but not limited to, selection via a menu, a json file, etc. The strategy may be defined for a given range of cells / sites. As previously described, examples of strategies include, but are not limited to:

[0163] Prioritize cells / sites based on the traffic served by different cells;

[0164] Prioritize cells / sites based on the number of roaming customers;

[0165] Prioritize cells / sites based on the areas served by the cells, such as hospitals, schools, etc.; and

[0166] Prioritize cells / sites based on resource utilization for a specific network slice.

[0167] At step 702 , the automaton function determines a COPI value based on the indication received at 700 .

[0168] At step 704, the automaton function sends the determined COPI value to the management system. The COPI value may be sent based on the scope of the defined policy. For example, the COPI value may be sent to a management system that manages access nodes within the defined policy scope. The management system may be, for example, a network management system or a self-organizing network.

[0169] At step 706, the management system sends the COPI value received at step 706 to one or more access nodes. The COPI value may be sent based on the scope of the defined policy. For example, the COPI value may be sent to access nodes within the scope of the defined policy.

[0170] At step 708 , the management system sends information about the COPI value received at step 704 to NOWOA.

[0171] Steps 702 to 708 may be repeated periodically. The period may be controlled by the network operator. Additionally or alternatively, steps 702 to 708 may be triggered by an event, such as but not limited to the occurrence of an alarm, a relative change in the traffic pattern of the network (e.g., if the change is above a certain threshold), a relative change in priority users in a cell, or a manual trigger by the network operator.

[0172] At step 710, the management system sends a request for workflow optimization to NOWOA. In some examples, the request may be sent in response to the management system determining that a new software package is available for deployment, a request from a user or C-SON for a parameter change involving an outage of one or more cells / sites, or when multiple cells or sites are detected to be outages.

[0173] At step 712 , NOWOA determines a sequence of actions based on the COPI value received at 708 in response to the request.

[0174] At step 714, NOWOA sends the determined action sequence to the management system.

[0175] The management system may then cause a series of actions to be performed. For example, the management system may instruct one or more other network entities to perform one or more actions, such as, but not limited to, restarting a cell / site, providing a parameter change, or performing a software upgrade.

[0176] refer to Figure 8 , which shows an example of COPI being used for network optimization.

[0177] At step 800, the network operator defines a cell / site prioritization strategy and provides an indication of the strategy to the automaton function. The strategy may be defined for a given range of cells / sites. As previously mentioned, examples of strategies include, but are not limited to:

[0178] Prioritize cells / sites based on the traffic served by different cells;

[0179] Prioritize cells / sites based on the number of roaming customers;

[0180] Prioritize cells / sites based on the areas served by the cells, such as hospitals, schools, etc.; and

[0181] Prioritize cells / sites based on resource utilization for a specific network slice.

[0182] At step 802 , the automaton function determines a COPI value based on the indication received at 800 .

[0183] At step 804, the automaton function sends the determined COPI value to a management system. The COPI value may be sent based on the scope of the defined policy. For example, the COPI value may be sent to a management system that manages access nodes within the scope of the defined policy. The management system may be, for example, a network management system or a self-organizing network.

[0184] At step 806, the management system sends the COPI value received at step 806 to one or more access nodes. The COPI value may be sent based on the scope of the defined policy. For example, the COPI value may be sent to access nodes within the scope of the defined policy.

[0185] At step 808 , the management system sends the COPI value received at step 804 to NAAP.

[0186] Steps 802 to 808 may be repeated periodically. The period may be controlled by the network operator. Additionally or alternatively, steps 802 to 808 may be triggered by an event such as, but not limited to, the occurrence of an alarm, a relative change in network traffic patterns (e.g., if the change is above a certain threshold), a relative change in priority users in a cell, or a manual trigger by a network operator.

[0187] NAAP may then utilize the COPI value to perform one or more actions, some of which are shown in steps 810 to 816. Steps 810 to 812 relate to the creation of a SON exclusion list, and steps 814 to 816 relate to energy saving operations. It should be appreciated that in some examples, steps 810 and 812 may be performed separately from steps 814 and 816.

[0188] At step 810, the NAAP creates a SON exclusion list based on the received COPI values. For example, the NAAP may include cells / sites in the SON exclusion list whose COPI values ​​are above or below a threshold.

[0189] At step 812, NAAP sends the SON exclusion list to the management system.

[0190] The management system may then cause one or more self-optimizing network operations to be performed on cells other than the cells included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list. Examples of self-optimizing network operations include, but are not limited to, performing load balancing operations, mobility robustness optimization (MRO), and cell outage compensation.

[0191] As an example, in the case of a load balancing operation, it may be necessary to offload traffic from a congested cell to a neighboring cell. However, this may result in a loss of quality and thus a trade-off may be made between network capacity and quality. Figure 8 Based on the dynamic COPI values ​​shown in steps 810 and 812, NAAP can restrict certain cell sets from performing certain load balancing related optimizations, thereby ensuring that certain quality requirements are not affected.

[0192] At step 814, the NAAP determines a candidate list of cells / sites for energy-saving operation based on the COPI values. For example, the NAAP may include cells / sites in the candidate list whose COPI values ​​are above or below a threshold.

[0193] At step 816, NAAP sends the candidate list to the SON.

[0194] As an example, in the case of energy-saving operation, certain cells / sites may be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements (e.g., shut down during certain periods, or operate at lower transmit power). However, this may result in a trade-off in cell / site availability or coverage. By utilizing e.g. Figure 8 If the dynamic COPI value shown in steps 814 and 816 is used, the NAAP can provide input to the SON to consider only low priority cells / sites for energy-saving scheduling, thereby ensuring that high priority cells / sites are not interfered.

[0195] As previously mentioned, in some examples, the network operator may define different policies to assign priorities to different cells. NOWOA / NAPP may periodically re-evaluate the operational priority for each cell.

[0196] For example, a policy may be defined to "use predicted traffic as criteria for defining dynamic priorities."

[0197] This strategy may cause the analysis function to predict the traffic of all cells and provide the predicted traffic to the automation function. Based on the predicted traffic, the automation function may determine a relative priority index and send the relative priority index to NOWOA / NAPP for use as described above, such as for operational workflow optimization.

[0198] Another example policy could be "Use total revenue as criteria for defining dynamic priorities."

[0199] This policy may result in the analysis function predicting the total revenue for all cells within a given range defined by the policy. For example, the revenue prediction may be based on historical data of cost per bit, which may be calculated taking into account many parameters such as traffic patterns, priority users camped on the cell, active user patterns, etc. The revenue prediction may be sent to the automaton function.

[0200] Based on the revenue forecast, the automation function can determine a relative priority index and send the relative priority index to NOWOA / NAPP for subsequent use, as described above.

[0201] Another example policy may be based on a prioritization policy for network slice traffic.

[0202] For example, dynamic priority calculation can be performed through automaton functions based on the sites that meet the network slice requirements for high availability and the traffic patterns on these sites.

[0203] For example, both cells A and B can satisfy both network slice X, which requires 99.9999% availability, and slice Y, which has relatively lower availability requirements. If between 6AM–9AM, the traffic of cell A in slice X is relatively lower than the traffic of cell B in slice X, then during this period, cell B has a higher priority than cell A even if the total traffic in cell A is greater than that in cell B.

[0204] If this changes after 9AM, the cell priority allocation may also change. That is, the priority allocation may change dynamically based on the traffic pattern in slice X.

[0205] Thus, in some examples, NOWOA / NAPP may make decisions based on current priority assignments, which may change over time depending on defined policies.

[0206] refer to Fig. 9 , which shows an example of prioritizing site actions using COPI values. In some scenarios, it may be necessary to plan a site outage for some radio parameter changes or SW upgrades, etc. In such cases, it may be important to determine the best opportunity window for the planned outage.

[0207] exist Fig. 9 In the example of FIG. 5 , a network operator or SON may need to plan a radio parameter change or software upgrade for a group of cells.

[0208] The operator / SON sends information indicating one or more requirements to the management service at 900. For example, these requirements may be planned outage requirements, such as indicating a group of cells that require a software upgrade.

[0209] At 902, the management service sends a request to NOWOA. The request may be for a window of opportunity to implement an upgrade.

[0210] At 904, NOWOA monitors COPI values ​​of one or more sites based on the received request and determines a window of opportunity in which maintenance activities may be performed.

[0211] At 906, NOWOA sends a trigger to the management service to perform the maintenance activity.

[0212] At 910, the management service sends information to the group of cells for enabling maintenance activities, such as information for performing a software upgrade.

[0213] Fig.10 Shows an example scenario when multiple sites simultaneously report alerts that impact performance.

[0214] At 1000, the management service sends a notification to NOWOA / NAPP including a list of cells with alerts.

[0215] At 1002, NOWOA / NAPP sends a request for cell priority information of a cell list to C-SON / SMO.

[0216] At 1004, based on the request, the C-SON / SMO sends a response to NOWOA / NAPP, which includes COPI values ​​for the cells included in the cell list.

[0217] NOWOA / NAPP evaluates a strategy for resolving the alarm based on these COPI values ​​at 1006. For example, NOWOA / NAPP may determine a sequence of cells / sites to be repaired by a field engineer based on the COPI values.

[0218] At 1008, NOWOA / NAPP provides an output to the field engineer based on the evaluated strategy. The output may include information indicating a sequence of actions taken to resolve the alarm. For example, the output may include actions in a sequence that prioritizes the highest priority cell.

[0219] The field engineer can then work according to the sequence provided by NOWOA / NAPP.

[0220] Another possible scenario for using dynamic COPI to plan operational workflows is, for example, during a natural disaster when all sites in a region are down. In such a scenario, NOWOA / NAPP can provide output to a network automaton function that can identify locations and schedule temporary nomadic node deployments.

[0221] Although NOWOA and / or NAPP have been mentioned above, it should be understood that the functions of NOWOA or NAPP can be implemented by any suitable network optimization function, not limited to NOWOA or NAPP. That is, in some examples, the previously described functions performed by NOWOA / NAPP can be performed by the network optimization function.

[0222] The management system may have the capability to enable authorized customers to request calculation of operational priority levels for cells based on different operational policies, such as traffic volume, region, number and type of customers served by the cell, or its resource usage.

[0223] The management system may have the capability to enable authorized customers to be informed of the operational priorities of the cells.

[0224] The management system may have the capability to enable an authorized client to request prioritization of operational actions on a group of cells, the prioritization taking into account the priority of the cells involved.

[0225] To support these requirements, the cell operation priority index may be a configurable attribute of the cell management object, which may be configured and / or used by different functions. Therefore, a cell operation priority index may be introduced for GNBDU, NRCellCU, NRCellDU functions or other related functions.

[0226] Relatedly, the analysis function / service may calculate and configure a COPI for one or more cells based on a particular policy; and / or calculate and configure an operational workflow for one or more cells that is prioritized according to a given policy.

[0227] In some examples, a device is provided, comprising means for: receiving information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from a management system; and performing one or more network optimization processes based on the received information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

[0228] In some examples, the device may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to utilize the at least one processor to cause the device to at least: receive information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with a corresponding one or more cells from a management system; and perform one or more network optimization processes based on the received information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

[0229] In some examples, a device is provided, comprising means for: receiving information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with corresponding one or more cells from an automaton function; and sending the information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells to a network optimization function.

[0230] In some examples, the device may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one storage device and computer program code are configured to utilize the at least one processor to cause the device to at least: receive information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells from an automaton function; and send the information indicating the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells to a network optimization function.

[0231] In some examples, a device is provided, comprising means for: receiving input comprising information indicating a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells; determining a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined strategy; and sending information indicating the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells to a management system.

[0232] In some examples, the device may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the memory and computer program code being configured to, using the processor, cause the device to at least: receive input including information indicating a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells; determine a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined strategy; and send information indicating the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells to a management system.

[0233] It should be understood that the device may include or be coupled to other units or modules, etc., such as a radio component or radio head for transmission and / or reception. Although the device is described as one entity, different modules and memories may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

[0234] It should be noted that although some embodiments have been described with respect to 5G networks, similar principles may also be applied to other networks and communication systems. Thus, although certain embodiments are described above by way of example with reference to certain example architectures for wireless networks, technologies and standards, the embodiments may be applied to any other suitable form of communication system other than that shown and described herein.

[0235] It is also noted herein that while the above describes exemplifying embodiments, there are numerous variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0236] In general, various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. Although various aspects of the disclosure may be shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representation, it is well understood that, as non-limiting examples, these blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0237] The term "circuitry" as used in this application may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0238] (a) hardware circuit implementations only (such as implementations in analog and / or digital circuits only) and

[0239] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable):

[0240] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and

[0241] (ii) any part of a hardware processor together with software (including a digital signal processor), software and memory, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions), and

[0242] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processors, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that require software (eg, firmware) to operate, but in which the software may not be present when it is not required to operate.

[0243] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers implementations of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also includes (e.g., if applicable to a particular claim element) a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0244] The various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer software that can be executed by a data processor of a mobile device (such as in a processor entity), or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or programs including software routines, applets and / or macros, also referred to as program products, may be stored in any device-readable data storage medium, and they include program instructions for performing specific tasks. A computer program product may include one or more computer executable components that are configured to execute the various embodiments when the program is running. One or more computer executable components may be at least one software code or a portion thereof.

[0245] Also in this regard, it should be noted that any blocks of the logic flow as shown in the various figures may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on physical media such as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within a processor, magnetic media such as hard disks or floppy disks, and optical media such as, for example, DVDs and their data variants, CDs. Physical media are non-transitory media.

[0246] The memory may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. As non-limiting examples, the data processor may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and may include one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA, a gate level circuit, and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0247] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is generally a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available to convert logic level designs into semiconductor circuit designs for etching and formation on semiconductor substrates.

[0248] The independent claims define the scope of protection sought by various embodiments of the present disclosure. Various embodiments and features described in this specification that do not belong to the scope of the independent claims (if any) are to be interpreted as examples that help understand the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0249] The above description has provided a complete and informative description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure by way of non-limiting examples. However, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims, various modifications and adaptations may be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art in view of the above description. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of the present disclosure will still fall within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. In fact, there are further embodiments including combinations of one or more embodiments with any other embodiments discussed previously.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a management system, information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with the respective one or more cells; and One or more network optimization procedures are performed based on the received information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The one or more network optimization processes include at least one of the following: Determine workflow sequence optimization; determining a window of opportunity for a maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells; determining a self-optimizing network exclusion list; and A list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements is determined.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein: The execution includes: receiving a request for a workflow sequence from the management system based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; determining the workflow sequence based on the request and information indicative of the one or more priority values; and The determined workflow sequence is sent to the management system.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein: The execution includes: determining, based on the information indicative of the one or more priority values, at least one cell to be included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list; and The self-optimizing network exclusion list is sent to the management system, wherein the exclusion list includes the determined at least one cell.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein: The determination includes: Determining a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; comparing the determined priority value to a threshold; and If the comparison indicates that the priority value associated with the cell is above the threshold, the cell is included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list.

6. The device of claim 2, wherein: The execution includes: determining the cell list for energy-saving scheduling based on the information indicating the one or more priority values; and The determined cell list for energy-saving scheduling is sent to the management system.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein: The determination includes: Determining a corresponding priority value for each of the one or more cells; comparing the determined priority value to a threshold; and If the comparison indicates that the priority value is below the threshold, the cell is included in the list of cells for energy saving scheduling.

8. The device of claim 2, wherein: The execution includes: receiving, from the management system, a request for an opportunity window for a maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells; determining the window of opportunity for the maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells based on the information indicative of the one or more priority values; and At the start of the determined opportunity window, a notification is sent to the management system for causing the maintenance activity to be performed.

9. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from the automaton function, information indicative of one or more priority values ​​associated with the respective one or more cells; and The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells is sent to a network optimization function.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein: The device is used for: sending a request for a workflow sequence to the network optimization function based on the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells; receiving the workflow sequence from the network optimization function; as well as One or more operations are caused to be performed based on the received workflow sequence.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein: The device is used for: receiving from the network optimization function a self-optimized network exclusion list, wherein the exclusion list includes at least one of the one or more cells; and One or more self-optimizing network operations are caused to be performed on cells other than the cells included in the self-optimizing network exclusion list.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: The device is used for: receiving from the network optimization function a list of cells to be scheduled to operate with reduced energy requirements; and The cells included in the cell list are caused to operate with reduced energy requirements.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein: The device is used for: receiving information indicating that maintenance activity is required for the one or more cells; in response to receiving information indicating that the one or more cells require the maintenance activity, sending a request to the network optimization function for an opportunity window for performing the maintenance activity associated with the one or more cells; receiving, at the start of the window of opportunity, a notification from the network optimization function for causing the maintenance activity to be performed; as well as The maintenance activity is caused to be performed in response to receiving the notification.

14. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving input including information indicating a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells; determining a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined policy; and Information indicative of the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells is sent to a management system.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein: The device is used for: performing said determining and said sending periodically, wherein said received input further comprises information indicating a period for performing said determining and said sending; and / or The determining and the sending are performed in response to detecting a triggering event.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 or 15, wherein: The device is used for: Analysis information associated with the one or more cells is obtained from an analysis function and based on the information indicative of the strategy for prioritizing cells.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein: The analysis information associated with the one or more cells includes one or more of the following: predicted traffic information for the one or more cells; and Predicted revenue information associated with the one or more cells.

18. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein: The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​defines a relative priority of the one or more cells.

19. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein: The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​comprises a cell operation priority index.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein: The cell operation priority index comprises a first group of bits indicating a cell priority sorting strategy and a second group of bits indicating a priority value; or The cell operation priority index is a tuple of two values, wherein a first value indicates the cell prioritization policy and a second value indicates a priority value.

21. According to one aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving, from a management system, information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with the respective one or more cells; and One or more network optimization procedures are performed based on the received information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

22. According to one aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving, from the automaton function, information indicative of one or more priority values ​​associated with the respective one or more cells; and The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells is sent to a network optimization function.

23. According to one aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving input including information indicating a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells; determining a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined policy; as well as Information indicative of the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells is sent to a management system.

24. A method comprising: receiving, from a management system, information indicating one or more priority values ​​associated with the respective one or more cells; as well as One or more network optimization procedures are performed based on the received information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells.

25. A method comprising: receiving, from the automaton function, information indicative of one or more priority values ​​associated with the respective one or more cells; as well as The information indicative of the one or more priority values ​​associated with the corresponding one or more cells is sent to a network optimization function.

26. A method comprising: receiving input including information indicating a cell prioritization strategy for one or more cells; determining a priority value for each of the one or more cells based on the defined policy; as well as Information indicative of the determined priority values ​​associated with the one or more cells is sent to a management system.

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