Network resource configuration method and device, network equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a network resource configuration method and device, network equipment and a storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: a network opening function receives a first request sent by an edge computing platform, wherein the first request is used for requesting to open the network capability of a first application; the first request comprises first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application; when it is determined that the first information meets a condition, a second request is sent to a policy control function, and the second request comprises second information related to policy control and charging control of the first application, the second information is used by the policy control function to formulate and issue a first policy for monitoring the flow condition of the first application to a session management function, and the monitored flow condition is used for screening the accessed terminals so as to formulate policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a network resource configuration method, device, network equipment and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), as one of the key technologies for 5G evolution, is a general Internet technology (IT) platform with the ability to interact with wireless network information application programming interface (API), as well as computing, storage, and analysis functions. Relying on MEC, traditional external applications can be brought into the mobile internal, closer to users, and localized services can be provided, thereby improving user experience and bringing more value into the edge network.

[0003] In the architecture combining 5G core network (5GC, 5GCore) and MEC, in order to enable low-latency, high-bandwidth, and high-reliability edge applications in vertical industries, the user plane function (UPF) in 5GC is sunk to the park close to MEC, and the application function (AF) is sunk to the edge computing platform (MEP, Mobile Edgecomputing Platform) and connected with the network exposure function (NEF, Network Exposure Function) of the core network, providing better data control strategies for applications (App) deployed on MEP.

[0004] In addition, based on the Policy Control and Charging (PCC) in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Quality of Service (QoS) policy control and charging control can be implemented for specific apps. However, the current QoS policy control and charging control methods require pre-configuration for specific apps, and dynamic QoS policy control and charging control cannot be performed on specific apps without pre-configuration. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the existing technical problems, the embodiments of the present invention provide a network resource configuration method, apparatus, network equipment and storage medium.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is implemented as follows:

[0007] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network resource configuration method, the method being applied to a network open function; the method comprising:

[0008] Receive a first request sent by an edge computing platform, where the first request is used to request network capability opening for a first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application;

[0009] When it is determined that the first application meets the conditions, a second request is sent to the policy control function, wherein the second request includes second information related to the policy control and billing control of the first application, and the second information is used by the policy control function to formulate and send to the session management function a first policy for monitoring the traffic conditions of the first application, and the monitored traffic conditions are used to screen the access terminals so as to formulate policy control and billing rules for the screened terminals.

[0010] In the above scheme, the first information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application.

[0011] In the above solution, the first information also includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment.

[0012] In the above solution, the second information is also used by the policy control function to formulate and send a second policy to the network data analysis function, and the second policy is used to monitor the network status.

[0013] In the above solution, the determining that the first application meets the condition includes: when determining that the application represented by the third identifier in the first information is a designated application or the type of the corresponding application is a designated application type, determining that the first application meets the condition.

[0014] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to a policy control function; the method includes:

[0015] receiving a second request sent by the network open function, wherein the second request includes second information related to policy control and charging control of the first application;

[0016] Sending first indication information to the session management function based on the second information, wherein the first indication information includes a first strategy for monitoring the traffic situation of the first application; the monitored traffic situation is used to screen the accessed terminals;

[0017] Receiving third indication information sent by the network data analysis function, wherein the third indication information includes the filtered terminal information;

[0018] Formulate policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals, and send fourth indication information to the session management function, wherein the fourth indication information includes the policy control and charging rules.

[0019] In the above scheme, the method also includes: sending second indication information to the network data analysis function based on the second information, and the second indication information includes a second strategy for monitoring the network status.

[0020] In the above scheme, the second information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application.

[0021] In the above solution, the second information also includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment.

[0022] In the above scheme, the first indication information and the second indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0023] In the above solution, the policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information:

[0024] Associated quality of service templates, billing control policies, usage monitoring policies, and conditional policies.

[0025] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to a session management function; the method comprises:

[0026] Receiving first indication information sent by a policy control function, wherein the first indication information includes a first policy for monitoring a traffic situation of a first application;

[0027] Sending fifth indication information to the selected user plane function, the fifth indication information including the first policy, the fifth indication information being used to instruct the user plane function to perform traffic monitoring on the traffic situation of the first application;

[0028] Receiving traffic monitoring information sent by the user plane function, and sending the traffic monitoring information to the network data analysis function, wherein the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals;

[0029] receiving fourth indication information sent by the policy control function, wherein the fourth indication information includes policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal;

[0030] Sending sixth indication information including the policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal to the user plane function, wherein the sixth indication information is used to instruct the user plane function to perform processing according to the policy control and charging rules.

[0031] In the above scheme, the first indication information and the fifth indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0032] In the above solution, the traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform: application usage time information and traffic information generated by the application.

[0033] In the above solution, the policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information:

[0034] Associated quality of service templates, billing control policies, usage monitoring policies, and conditional policies.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to a network data analysis function; the method comprises:

[0036] Receiving traffic monitoring information from a user plane function, the traffic monitoring information being obtained by monitoring the traffic status of a first application based on a first policy sent to the user plane function;

[0037] Based on the traffic monitoring information, terminal information that meets the conditions is obtained, and third indication information is sent to the policy control function, wherein the third indication information includes the filtered terminal information, and the filtered terminal information is used by the policy control function to formulate policy control and charging rules for the filtered terminals.

[0038] In the above solution, the method further includes: receiving second indication information sent by the policy control function, wherein the second indication information includes a second policy for monitoring the network status.

[0039] In the above scheme, the second indication information also includes at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0040] In the above solution, the traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform: application usage time information, and traffic information generated by the application;

[0041] The obtaining terminal information that meets the conditions based on the traffic monitoring information includes:

[0042] When it is determined based on the usage time information of the application that the usage time of the first application by the terminal is greater than a first threshold, and / or when it is determined based on the traffic information generated by the application that the usage traffic of the first application by the terminal is greater than a second threshold, it is determined that the terminal meets the condition and the terminal information that meets the condition is obtained.

[0043] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to an edge computing platform; the method includes:

[0044] A first request is sent to a network opening function, where the first request is used to request network capability opening for a first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to a user plane function; the method includes:

[0046] receiving fifth indication information sent by the session management function, the fifth indication information including the first policy, the fifth indication information being used to instruct the user plane function to perform traffic monitoring on the traffic situation of the first application;

[0047] Monitoring the traffic situation of the first application based on the fifth indication information, obtaining traffic monitoring information, and sending the traffic monitoring information to the session management function, wherein the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals, so as to formulate and issue policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals;

[0048] Receive sixth indication information sent by the session management function, wherein the sixth indication information includes policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal.

[0049] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, the device comprising: a first communication unit and a first processing unit; wherein,

[0050] The first communication unit is used to receive a first request sent by the edge computing platform, where the first request is used to request network capability opening for a first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application;

[0051] The first processing unit is used to determine whether the first information meets a condition;

[0052] The first communication unit is also used to send a second request to the policy control function when the first processing unit determines that the first information meets the conditions, wherein the second request includes second information related to the network capability exposure of the first application, and the second information is used by the policy control function to formulate and send to the session management function a first policy for monitoring the traffic situation of the first application, and the monitored traffic situation is used to screen the accessed terminals so as to formulate policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals.

[0053] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, the device comprising: a second communication unit and a second processing unit; wherein,

[0054] The second communication unit is used to receive a second request sent by the network open function, wherein the second request includes second information related to the policy control and charging control of the first application; and is also used to send first indication information to the session management function based on the second information, wherein the first indication information includes a first policy for monitoring the traffic situation of the first application; the monitored traffic situation is used to screen the accessed terminals; and is also used to receive third indication information sent by the network data analysis function, wherein the third indication information includes the screened terminal information;

[0055] The second processing unit is used to formulate policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals;

[0056] The second communication unit is further used to send fourth indication information to the session management function, and the fourth indication information includes the policy control and charging rules.

[0057] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a network resource configuration device, which includes: a third communication unit, used to receive first indication information sent by a policy control function, the first indication information including a first policy for monitoring the traffic situation of a first application; and also used to send fifth indication information to a selected user plane function, the fifth indication information including the first policy, the fifth indication information being used to instruct the user plane function to perform traffic monitoring on the traffic situation of the first application; and also used to receive traffic monitoring information sent by the user plane function, and send the traffic monitoring information to a network data analysis function, the traffic monitoring information being used to screen accessed terminals; and also used to receive fourth indication information sent by the policy control function, the fourth indication information including policy control and billing rules related to the screened terminals; and also used to send sixth indication information including the policy control and billing rules related to the screened terminals to the user plane function, the sixth indication information being used to instruct the user plane function to process according to the policy control and billing rules.

[0058] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, the device comprising: a fourth communication unit and a third processing unit; wherein,

[0059] The fourth communication unit is used to receive traffic monitoring information from the user plane function, where the traffic monitoring information is obtained by monitoring the traffic situation of the first application based on the first policy sent to the user plane function;

[0060] The third processing unit is used to obtain terminal information that meets the conditions based on the traffic monitoring information;

[0061] The fourth communication unit is further used to send third indication information to the policy control function, wherein the third indication information includes the filtered terminal information, and the filtered terminal information is used by the policy control function to formulate policy control and charging rules for the filtered terminals.

[0062] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a network resource configuration device, which includes: a fifth communication unit, used to send a first request to a network open function, wherein the first request is used to request network capability opening; the first request includes first information related to policy control and billing control of a first application.

[0063] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, the device comprising: a sixth communication unit and a fourth processing unit; wherein,

[0064] The sixth communication unit is used to receive fifth indication information sent by the session management function, the fifth indication information includes the first policy, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the user plane function to monitor the traffic situation of the first application;

[0065] The fourth processing unit is used to monitor the flow status of the first application based on the fifth indication information to obtain flow monitoring information;

[0066] The sixth communication unit is also used to send the traffic monitoring information to the session management function, the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals, and the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals so as to formulate and issue policy control and billing rules for the screened terminals; and is also used to receive the sixth indication information sent by the session management function, the sixth indication information including the policy control and billing rules related to the screened terminals.

[0067] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0068] In the fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the program, the steps of the method described in any one of the first to sixth aspects of the embodiment of the present invention are implemented.

[0069] The network resource configuration method, apparatus, network device and storage medium provided in the embodiments of the present invention enable MEP (specifically, it can be a first App deployed in MEP) to open the network capability of the first application by requesting NEF, so that when the terminal accesses the first App deployed on MEP, QoS policy control and billing control for the first App are implemented through traffic monitoring. When a personal terminal uses the first App, the first App can be quickly, flexibly and accurately exempted from or discounted for the traffic used, and the network resources and billing policies of the personal terminal can be adjusted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0070] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of PCC;

[0071] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the system architecture combining 5GC and MEC;

[0072] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the overall architecture of a network resource configuration method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0073] Figure 4 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 1 ;

[0074] Figure 5 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 2 ;

[0075] Figure 6 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 3 ;

[0076] Figure 7 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 4 ;

[0077] Figure 8 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 5 ;

[0078] Fig. 9 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 6 ;

[0079] Fig.10 The interactive process diagram of the network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows Figure 1 ;

[0080] Fig.11 The interactive process diagram of the network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows Figure 2 ;

[0081] Fig.12 The interactive process diagram of the network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows Figure 3 ;

[0082] Fig.13 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 1 ;

[0083] Fig.14 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 2 ;

[0084] Fig.15 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 3 ;

[0085] Fig.16 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 4 ;

[0086] Fig.17The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 5 ;

[0087] Fig.18 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 6 ;

[0088] Fig.19 The figure is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the network device according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0089] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0090] The technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system or a 5G system, etc. Optionally, the 5G system or 5G network may also be referred to as a new radio (NR) system or NR network.

[0091] Exemplarily, the communication system applied in the embodiment of the present invention may include a network device and a terminal device (also referred to as a terminal, a communication terminal, etc.); the network device may be a device that communicates with the terminal device. Among them, the network device can provide communication coverage within a certain area, and can communicate with terminals located in the area. Optionally, the network device may be a base station in each communication system, such as an evolved base station (eNB, Evolutional Node B) in an LTE system, and a base station (gNB) in a 5G system or an NR system.

[0092] It should be understood that the device with communication function in the network / system in the embodiment of the present application can be referred to as a communication device. The communication device may include a network device and a terminal with communication function, and the network device and the terminal device may be the specific devices described above, which will not be repeated here; the communication device may also include other devices in the communication system, such as a network controller, a mobile management entity and other network entities, which are not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0093] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this article. The term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0094] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, and need not be used to describe a specific order or sequential order. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable in appropriate circumstances, so that the embodiments of the present application described herein can be implemented in a sequence other than those illustrated or described herein, for example. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any of their variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions, for example, the process, method, system, product or equipment comprising a series of steps or units need not be limited to those steps or units clearly listed, but may include other steps or units that are not clearly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or equipment.

[0095] Before describing the embodiments of the present invention in detail, conventional related information is briefly described first.

[0096] Operators can provide network resources and billing benefits to specific users. Currently, QoS policy control and billing control can be implemented based on PCC in 3GPP. For example, QoS policy and billing control can be performed on specified apps, so that operators can monitor and reasonably allocate network resources and effectively control the service capabilities of the network, which is convenient for improving user service experience and developing new pricing strategies.

[0097] The PCC can dynamically formulate QoS policies and charging rules based on at least one of the person, time, location, and service type, for example:

[0098] 1. Develop strategies based on different users:

[0099] User level, whether it is a VIP user;

[0100] Whether the user is in arrears, whether he is a prepaid or postpaid user;

[0101] The packages ordered by the user, such as the 58 yuan package and the 598 yuan package;

[0102] The user's International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) and other information.

[0103] 2. Develop strategies based on different time periods:

[0104] Idle-time strategy and busy-time strategy; for example, during busy hours, the QoS can be adjusted appropriately; during idle hours, it automatically switches to the idle-time strategy.

[0105] 3. Develop strategies based on different locations:

[0106] Busy cell and idle cell strategies (or key area protection strategies); for example: when arriving in a busy cell, the QoS can be adjusted appropriately; when arriving in an idle cell, the QoS can be automatically restored or improved.

[0107] 4. Formulate strategies based on the different services accessed by user equipment (UE):

[0108] Different policies can be formulated for different services (or apps) detected, and overload control can be performed for different services (or apps). For example, a dedicated QoS flow guarantee is built for Voice over New Radio (VoNR), while the WeChat phone book is a non-guaranteed bit rate (Non-GBR) default QoS flow.

[0109] The Policy Control Function (PCF) can subscribe to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and Session Management Function (SMF) for UE real-time location information, real-time access network type information, real-time Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), whether there are App start and stop events, whether the UE's IP address changes, whether it leaves or enters a specific area, whether the UE's time zone changes, whether the core network elements of the service change, and other events to understand the real-time status of the network and users, and dynamically formulate and adjust strategies.

[0110] At present, the PCC architecture of 5G is as follows: Figure 1 As shown,

[0111] With PCF as the center, the main functions of each interface are as follows:

[0112] N5: PCF interacts with the application layer server, receives the application layer's requirements and dynamically formulates policies;

[0113] N23: PCF receives the network status report from NWDAF and dynamically formulates strategies;

[0114] N36: User data is stored in the back-end unified data repository (UDR).

[0115] N30: used for capability exposure, receiving requests from external AF through NEF;

[0116] N40: Dynamically formulate policies based on user charging information from the CHF (Charging Function)

[0117] N15: PCF sends access management and UE policy to AMF (UE policy is transparently transmitted to UE);

[0118] N7: PCF sends the session management policy to SMF;

[0119] N29: used for network capability exposure. SMF can receive external AF requests and event subscriptions through NEF.

[0120] N4: SMF sends the policy received from PCF to UPF, which executes it.

[0121] On the other hand, the system architecture combining 5GC and MEC can refer to Figure 2 As shown, it mainly includes two parts:

[0122] 1) To enable low-latency, high-bandwidth, and high-reliability edge applications in vertical industries, UPF is deployed in the industry customer park, close to the MEC edge server (also known as the MEC platform (MEP)), and forwards data to the MEP through the local traffic diversion technology of UPF (i.e., uplink filter / IPv6 branching point (UL-CL / IPv6 BP)).

[0123] 2) The AF in the core network is moved down to the MEP to provide better data flow control strategies (such as coding strategies, QoS strategies, routing strategies, etc.) for applications deployed on the MEP.

[0124] The network capabilities that NEF currently defined in 3GPP can provide are summarized as follows:

[0125] Monitoring capability: The 5G system monitors specified events of the UE and generates event notifications to send to third parties. This capability can be used to open up UE mobility management, such as UE location, reachability, and connection loss events.

[0126] Pre-configuration capability: A third party can provide some information to the 5G system through capability exposure, such as the expected route of the UE and the requirements of the UE for the network, so that the system can be optimized in a targeted manner;

[0127] Policy / charging capabilities: A third party can issue charging policies, QoS policies, etc. to the 5G system through capability exposure;

[0128] Analysis report capability: Third parties can obtain network analysis reports through capability exposure (provided that the 5G system supports NWDAF).

[0129] In addition to the service capabilities of NEF defined by 3GPP, with the application and development of technologies such as network slicing, edge computing, big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) in 5G networks, 5G networks can abstract more capabilities and provide them to the business application layer, including network slicing services, edge computing services, location services, 5G voice and messaging, data analysis services, etc.

[0130] The above methods can be used by operators to implement policy control and billing control for specific users, but there is room for improvement in some scenarios. For example, it is currently impossible to implement billing reductions / discounts and Qos policy guarantees for specific apps when they are used in certain scenarios without pre-configuration (such as: the traffic package of a specific app is not listed in the operator mall in advance, and the UE is not pre-configured to trigger QoS policy control and billing control when using certain specific apps), and the relevant technical solutions for QoS policy control and billing control for specific apps in the "5GC+MEC" architecture are not considered.

[0131] For example, in a local hotspot with high traffic, the following problems may occur:

[0132] 1. Users need to use their own mobile phones to scan the code through the App or mini program. Multiple rounds of scanning will consume a lot of personal data of users;

[0133] 2. People are relatively concentrated, and the queuers will use a large number of mobile apps. There is no network resource guarantee for UEs using designated apps.

[0134] 3. In local hotspot high-traffic usage scenarios, it is difficult to allocate network resources to local areas.

[0135] In response to the above scenarios, all operators have launched data traffic and call fee free services for designated users. The general business process is as follows:

[0136] 1. Account managers in each district and county manually collect the mobile phone numbers of designated users;

[0137] 2. Submit it to the management department of the superior unit (provincial or municipal company of the operator) through business contact forms or other means;

[0138] 3. After approval, you can place an order in the Business Operating Support System (BOSS) to provide unified data traffic and call charges for the counted mobile phone numbers.

[0139] In the above scenario, there are the following aspects that need to be improved:

[0140] 1. If the operator directly gives away data or phone charges to specific people's mobile phone numbers, it will not be able to accurately count and reduce the data usage of specific people for designated applications;

[0141] 2. If the current technical methods are used to reduce or exempt traffic for specific personnel or to tilt network resources, operators need to manually configure specific mobile phone numbers on the BOSS system. This manual configuration method is prone to errors, such as missing statistics, over-stating, and incorrectly counting numbers. In order to list acceleration packages or traffic packages for designated apps on the BOSS mall for specific personnel to order, the App needs to be connected and listed with the BOSS system in advance, and the process is long and inflexible. In addition, a specific ordering module needs to be set up in the ToC user interface, but most ToC users are not the target users of the acceleration packages or traffic packages, so it is necessary to avoid mis-ordering, malicious ordering, etc.

[0142] Therefore, there is a need for a method for individual users to conveniently, quickly and flexibly implement network resource policy and billing for a specific App on the UE when the individual user uses the UE for public services. However, there is currently no relevant technical solution for QoS policy control and billing control for specific Apps in the 5GC+MEC architecture.

[0143] Based on this, the following embodiments of the present invention are proposed. Based on the 5GC+MEC system architecture, the service deployed on the MEP (such as a specific App background) actively initiates a network resource configuration request through network capability exposure, so as to ultimately dynamically implement policy control and billing control for terminals using such specific services in some scenarios.

[0144] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall architecture of the network resource configuration method according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 As shown, MEP has NEF Proxy function, and MEP and NEF can interact through NEF Proxy function. App can be deployed on MEP platform. The network resource configuration method of this embodiment can generally include three parts: the configuration process of network capability opening, the flow statistics process of App, and the automatic QoS configuration and automatic flow reduction process. Specifically:

[0145] Configuration process of network capability exposure: MEP (specifically AF or App deployed on MEP) initiates a request for network capability exposure to NEF and sends the relevant parameters required for 5G core network to perform QoS and charging control;

[0146] App traffic statistics process: For requests that meet the requirements (such as apps that meet the requirements), after NEF verification, network capabilities are opened and the traffic statistics process is started. In this process, PCF uniformly coordinates and controls the relevant configurations, and core network elements such as NWDAF, SMF, and UPF execute relevant configuration requirements to implement traffic statistics according to the requests of MEP (mainly AF or App on MEP);

[0147] Automatic QoS configuration and automatic traffic reduction process: Based on the above traffic statistics, UEs are screened, mainly those that meet the requirements; NWDAF screens out UEs that meet the requirements and makes QoS and billing adjustments to the specific App on the UE during use; PCF then formulates specific QoS and billing adjustment strategies and sends them to SMF and other related network elements for execution.

[0148] Based on the above process, QoS policy assurance and billing policy adjustment can be implemented for specific apps used by the terminal.

[0149] Based on this, an embodiment of the present invention provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied in a network open function (NEF). Figure 4 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 1 ;like Figure 4 As shown, the method includes:

[0150] Step 101: receiving a first request sent by an edge computing platform, where the first request is used to request network capability opening for a first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application;

[0151] Step 102: When it is determined that the first information meets the conditions, a second request is sent to the policy control function, where the second request includes second information related to the policy control and billing control of the first application, and the second information is used by the policy control function to formulate and send to the session management function a first policy for monitoring the traffic conditions of the first application, and the monitored traffic conditions are used to screen the access terminals so as to formulate policy control and billing rules for the screened terminals.

[0152] In this embodiment, a specific App or AF that needs to perform QoS policy control or adjustment and billing policy control or adjustment is deployed on the MEP, and the MEP initiates a first request for network capability opening to the NEF. In this embodiment, the first request also includes first information related to the policy control and billing control of the first application; the NEF determines whether the conditions are met (such as whether the first application meets the conditions) based on the parameters in the first information, and if the conditions are met, sends the second request to the PCF so that the PCF can uniformly perform coordinated control of related configurations.

[0153] In some optional embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions of network capability exposure, a third identifier indicating the identity of a first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting to monitor the usage of the first application. It is understandable that the first information must include at least one of the above information.

[0154] The first identifier is used to identify the region to which the MEP belongs, so that the NEF can easily find the PCF corresponding to the region. For example, for a specified App, the backend server is deployed on the MEP in the Chengdu region. When the network capability is opened, the MEP reports that its region is Chengdu. The subsequent network capability opening is performed by the relevant network functions (NFs) that control the Chengdu region.

[0155] The second identifier is used to identify the network capability opening of a specified App on the MEP within a fixed area, so as to facilitate limiting the area scope of subsequent network capability opening. For example, for a specified App, the MEP reports the scope of the "network capability opening restricted area" as Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone or a street under Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone through the second identifier, then the subsequent network capability opening is only configured for the area scope, reducing unnecessary network overhead.

[0156] The third identifier, namely the identifier (ID) of the App, is used to indicate the identity of the App deployed on the MEP, and is verified by the NEF to determine whether to open the network capability of the App on the MEP.

[0157] The time information of the request to monitor the usage of the first application is used to specify a time range, and 5GC monitors the usage of the App within this time range, including monitoring the continuous usage time after the App is started at any time within the time range, and statistics on the traffic usage of the App, so that 5GC can adjust the tariff policy and QoS policy for the specified App used by the UE during this period. For example, there is a large-scale use of a specified App; as an implementation method, it is necessary to count the traffic of the staff's UE using the specified App on a monthly basis, for example, and provide billing exemptions. For another example, this field can be combined with the "second identifier indicating regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities" to jointly implement a request to tilt network resources to the "specified area + specified time". That is, it can be considered in large-scale usage scenarios, such as the need for large-scale use at a specified time point within a specified date period (such as 08-10 am every morning from 10.15 to 20 for static management) for XX Street in the high-tech zone. For this scenario, the two fields of "the second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities" and "the time information for requesting the first application usage monitoring" can be used to request the UE to use the specified App, and the billing strategy and QoS resource adjustment can be performed in this "specified area + specified time". If the time of large-scale use is, for example, one to two weeks, it is necessary to count the traffic of the staff's UE using the specified App within this time range, and perform QoS resource guarantee for the specified App during this period.

[0158] In some other optional embodiments, the first information further includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment. It is understandable that the first information may also optionally include the fourth identifier and / or the fifth identifier.

[0159] The fourth identifier is used to initiate traffic statistics for a specific App on the UE that meets the set conditions within the time range of the "time range for requesting App usage monitoring", and to reduce or exempt the charges generated by this part of the traffic.

[0160] The fifth identifier is used to initiate QoS policy adjustment for a specific App on the UE that meets the set conditions within the time range of the "time range for requesting App usage monitoring" to ensure efficient operation of the service.

[0161] In some optional embodiments, the first identifier supports indicating an accurate administrative region, including at least one of the following: province, city, district or county. The first identifier is a unique identifier of the region on the MEP, and can be implemented in a variety of ways, such as a bitmap, a number, or a string. For example, assuming that the regional identifier of the MEP can be accurate to the two dimensions of province and city, when the bitmap method is used, assuming that a 12-bit bitmap is used, the first 6 bits of the bit represent the province, and the last 6 bits of the bit represent the city, for example, "000008100000" represents the entire province of Sichuan, and "000008000001" represents Chengdu, Sichuan Province; when the numbering method is used, assuming that a 4-bit numbering method is used, "0800" represents the entire province of Sichuan, and "0801" represents Chengdu, Sichuan. Using a string method, for example: "SiChuan", "Chengdu".

[0162] In some optional embodiments, the second identifier supports indicating the precise administrative region including at least one of the following: province, city, district or county. The specific implementation can be a bitmap, a string, etc. For example, suppose that the MEP applies for the network capability opening restriction area in Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone. Chengdu has 12 districts, 5 county-level cities, and 3 counties. When the bitmap method is used, assuming that a 20-bit bitmap is used, each bit represents an area. If the first bit represents "Qingyang District", the sixth bit represents "Gaoxin Zone", and the sixteenth bit represents "Dayi County", then when only the above three areas are restricted, it can be expressed as "10000100000000010000"; using a string method, for example: "QingYang", "GaoXin", "DaYi".

[0163] In some optional embodiments, the third identifier is a unique identifier of the App on the MEP, and includes at least one of the following expressions: "App category + App name", "App name". The specific implementation can be a bitmap, a number, a string, etc. For example, the identifier is embodied by "App category + App name". Assuming that there are three categories of apps deployed on the MEP: public entertainment, public services, and government management, there are three types of public service apps on the MEP, one of which is a designated app. When bitmap is used for representation, a 4-bit bitmap can be used, and "00", "01", and "10" can be used to represent the three App categories respectively. Then the final identity of the designated App on the MEP can be "0101"; when the numbering method is used, assuming that a total of 2 bits of numbering are used, the first 2 bits of the bit number can be used to represent the App category, and "0", "1", and "2" can be used to represent the three App categories respectively. Then the final identity of the designated App on the MEP can be "11"; when the string method is used, the three App categories are represented by their fixed names, such as "Entertainment", "PublicService", and "GovApp". Then the final identity of the designated App on the MEP can be "PubliceService-NucleicAcidTesting".

[0164] In some optional embodiments, the time information of the request to monitor the usage of the first application is used to specify a time range, and should at least support indicating the accurate duration including at least one of the following: month, week, day, hour period. The specific implementation can be a combination of a string, a number + string, a bitmap + string, etc. For example, it is necessary to monitor the usage of the UE for a specified App in the next three weeks. The string method can be used, such as: "ThreeWeeks"; the number + string method can be used, such as "3weeks"; the bitmap + string method can be used, such as using a 4-bit bitmap to represent the duration, then three weeks is represented as "0011weeks".

[0165] In some optional embodiments, the fourth identifier is used to indicate whether to apply for traffic reduction, and the specific implementation may be a bitmap, a number, a string, etc. For example, whether to apply for traffic reduction. It can be represented by a 1-bit bitmap, "1" for yes, "0" for no; a 1-bit number, "1" for yes, "0" for no; a string, "yes" for yes, "no" for no.

[0166] In some optional embodiments, the fifth identifier is used to indicate whether to apply for policy adjustment (QoS adjustment), and the specific implementation may be a bitmap, a number, a string, etc. For example, whether to apply for policy adjustment (QoS adjustment). It can be represented by a 1-bit bitmap, "1" for yes, "0" for no; represented by a 1-bit number, "1" for yes, "0" for no; represented by a string, "yes" for yes, "no" for no.

[0167] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, determining that the first application satisfies a condition includes: determining that the first information satisfies a condition when a third identifier representing an identity of an application in the first information indicates that the application is a designated application or the type of the application is a designated application type.

[0168] In this embodiment, the NEF determines that the first App applying for network capability opening is a designated App, or determines that the type of the first App applying for network capability opening is a designated App type, based on the first request received from the MEP, and determines that the first App meets the conditions. For example, when the App is a "public service type" App, it is allowed to apply for network capability opening.

[0169] In some optional embodiments, the second information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the network capability exposure, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting to monitor the usage of the first application.

[0170] Among them, the specific description and embodiments of the first identifier, the second identifier, the third identifier and the time information for requesting the application usage monitoring included in the above-mentioned second information can refer to the description of the embodiment corresponding to the above-mentioned first information, and will not be repeated here.

[0171] Optionally, the second information also includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment.

[0172] Among them, the specific description and embodiments of the fourth identifier and / or the fifth identifier also included in the above-mentioned second information can refer to the description of the embodiments corresponding to the above-mentioned first information, and will not be repeated here.

[0173] In some optional embodiments, when the NEF determines that the first information meets the condition, or determines that the App meets the condition, it sends confirmation information to the MEP, where the confirmation information is used to notify the MEP to confirm the network capability opening request.

[0174] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the second information is also used by the policy control function to formulate and send a second policy to the network data analysis function, and the second policy is used to monitor the network status.

[0175] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to a policy control function (PCF). Figure 5 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 2 ;like Figure 5 As shown, the method includes:

[0176] Step 201: receiving a second request sent by a network open function, wherein the second request includes second information related to policy control and charging control of a first application;

[0177] Step 202: Sending first indication information to the session management function based on the second information, wherein the first indication information includes a first policy for monitoring the traffic situation of the first application; the monitored traffic situation is used to screen the accessed terminals;

[0178] Step 203: receiving third indication information sent by the network data analysis function, wherein the third indication information includes the filtered terminal information;

[0179] Step 204: formulate policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals, and send fourth indication information to the session management function, wherein the fourth indication information includes the policy control and charging rules.

[0180] In this embodiment, NEF determines whether the first information in the first request meets the conditions, or determines whether the first App (i.e., the first application) that applies for network capability opening meets the conditions based on the first request received from the MEP; when it is determined that the first information meets the conditions, or when it is determined that the first App (i.e., the first application) that applies for network capability opening meets the conditions, a second request is sent to the PCF. For example, when this App is a "public service type" App, it is allowed to apply for network capability opening. The PCF defines an area range and time range based on the second information sent by the NEF, and sends an indication message to the SMF in the defined area based on the second request to perform subsequent operations. For example, a designated App initiates a request for network capability opening through the NEF, and the PCF parses it to determine that the use of the designated App by UEs in the entire Chengdu area must be monitored within the next two weeks.

[0181] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the second information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions of network capability opening, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting to monitor the usage of the first application. It can be understood that the second information must include at least one of the above information.

[0182] In some other optional embodiments, the second information further includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment. It can be understood that the second information optionally includes the fourth identifier and / or the fifth identifier.

[0183] In this embodiment, the specific implementation of each identifier or information included in the second information can refer to the above-mentioned embodiment for NEF, and will not be repeated here. Through the content of the second information, an area range and a time range can be limited, and through the second request, it is possible to support the subsequent issuance of instructions to the NWDAF and SMF in the limited area, requiring them to execute subsequent instructions within the limited time range.

[0184] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the method further includes: sending second indication information to the network data analysis function based on the second information, wherein the second indication information includes a second strategy for monitoring the network status.

[0185] In some optional embodiments, the first indication information and the second indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating regional restrictions on network capability exposure, time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0186] In this embodiment, the second indication information is used to instruct NWDAF to start monitoring the network status of UE using the specified App in the restricted area within the limited time. NWDAF parses the second indication information to start monitoring the network status of UE using the specified App in the restricted area within the limited time, and the monitored network status includes at least one of the following: network performance, abnormal behavior, UE mobility, UE communication status, user data congestion, and QoS sustainability.

[0187] In this embodiment, the PCF sends a first indication message to each SMF in the restricted area that accesses the PCF, so as to support the SMF in finding the UE in the restricted area, and to request the UPF to monitor the use of specific apps by these UEs within the restricted time in the subsequent process. The SMF parses the first indication message to find the UE in the restricted area, and requests the UPF to monitor the use of specific apps by these UEs within the restricted time.

[0188] In this embodiment, NWDAF receives traffic monitoring information from UPF, screens out UEs for which QoS policy configuration and charging policy configuration are required based on the traffic monitoring information, and reports the screened out terminal information that meets the requirements to PCF through third indication information.

[0189] In some optional embodiments, the terminal information included in the third indication information includes at least the terminal identification; in other optional embodiments, the terminal information may also include at least one of the following: the current network status of the terminal, user information, access network type, etc. Among them, the terminal identification is used to identify the identity of the 5G UE, and the implementation methods include but are not limited to: mobile subscriber number (MSISDN), international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI, International Mobile Subscriber Identity), user permanent identifier (SUPI, SUbscription Permanent Identifier), user hidden identifier (SUCI, Subscription Concealed Identifier), IP address, media access control (MAC, Media Access Control) address, permanent equipment identifier (PEI, Permanent Equipment Identifier), etc.

[0190] In this embodiment, the PCF formulates dynamic policy control and charging rules (PCC rules) for terminals that meet the requirements (ie, the screened terminals), and issues the policy control and charging rules through the fourth indication information.

[0191] In some optional embodiments, the policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information:

[0192] Associated Quality of Service (QoS) templates, charging control policies, usage monitoring policies, and conditional policies.

[0193] Among them, the associated quality of service (QoS) template: the requirements of the new QoS template associated with the first App (i.e., the first application) on the UE are higher than the requirements of the existing QoS template of the UE. The content of the associated quality of service (QoS) template includes at least one of the following: 5G QoS identifier (5QI, 5G QoS Identifier), uplink and downlink maximum bit rate (MBR, Maximum Bit Rate) / guaranteed bit rate (GBR, Guaranteed Bit Rate), flow classification rules (specific description information of the flow (source / destination IP, etc.), flow direction (uplink / downlink).

[0194] Billing control strategy: ① At least the service ID (ID of this App in 5GC) of the first App should be associated; ② The subsequent billing standards for the first App should at least include: free, cumulative discounts based on traffic usage, etc.; ③ The SMF should be required to notify the Converged Charging System (CCS) to implement the same billing standards as specified in this PCC rule for the traffic counted during the process from the UPF starting to count the traffic of the first App to the issuance of this PCC rule to the UE that meets the requirements.

[0195] The usage monitoring strategy should at least include the threshold value and monitoring time reported by traffic monitoring, so as to continue to monitor the continuous usage time of the UE using the first App and to count the traffic usage.

[0196] The conditional policy shall at least include the deactivation condition of the PCC rule. According to the continuous usage time monitoring of the UE using the first App, based on this parameter, after the QoS and charging policies have been activated, the pseudo code of the algorithm implementation of the deactivation condition of the PCC rule is:

[0197] Begin (algorithm starts)

[0198] If: The continuous usage time of a specific APP by the UE <K;

[0199] Then: restore the QoS template associated with the specific APP of this UE to the QoS template state specified in the package subscribed by the UE;

[0200] End (algorithm ends)

[0201] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to a session management function (SMF). Figure 6 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 3 ;like Figure 6 As shown, the method includes:

[0202] Step 301: receiving first indication information sent by a policy control function, wherein the first indication information includes a first policy for monitoring traffic conditions of a first application;

[0203] Step 302: Send fifth indication information to the selected user plane function, where the fifth indication information includes the first policy, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the user plane function to monitor the traffic of the first application;

[0204] Step 303: receiving the traffic monitoring information sent by the user plane function, and sending the traffic monitoring information to the network data analysis function, wherein the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals;

[0205] Step 304: receiving fourth indication information sent by the policy control function, wherein the fourth indication information includes policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal;

[0206] Step 305: Send sixth indication information including the policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal to the user plane function, wherein the sixth indication information is used to instruct the user plane function to process according to the policy control and charging rules.

[0207] In this embodiment, the SMF is an SMF that is connected to the PCF and is within the restricted area; the SMF finds the UE within the restricted area based on the first indication information to require the UPF to monitor the traffic situation of the UE using the first App (or specified App) within the restricted time in the subsequent process.

[0208] In this embodiment, the SMF sends a fifth indication message to the selected UPF based on the first indication message, requesting the UPF to monitor the traffic status of the first App (or designated App) used by the UE in the restricted area within the restricted time.

[0209] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first indication information and the fifth indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating regional restrictions on network capability exposure, time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0210] Among them, the specific implementation method of the above information and identification can be referred to the description in the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0211] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform: application usage time information, and traffic information generated by the application.

[0212] In this embodiment, the UPF parses the fifth indication information to monitor the traffic of the first App (or designated App) used in the restricted area within the restricted time to obtain traffic monitoring information. The traffic monitoring information at least includes App usage time or continuous usage time information, and / or statistical information on the traffic generated by the App since the monitoring was started.

[0213] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information: an associated quality of service template, a charging control policy, a usage monitoring policy, and a conditional policy. The specific implementation of the information included in the policy control and charging policy can refer to the above-mentioned embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0214] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to a network data analysis function (NWDAF). Figure 7 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 4 ;like Figure 7 As shown, the method includes:

[0215] Step 401: receiving traffic monitoring information from a user plane function, wherein the traffic monitoring information is obtained by monitoring the traffic situation of a first application based on a first policy sent to the user plane function;

[0216] Step 402: Based on the traffic monitoring information, terminal information that meets the conditions is obtained, and a third indication information is sent to the policy control function, wherein the third indication information includes the filtered terminal information, and the third indication information is used by the policy control function to formulate policy control and charging rules for the filtered terminals.

[0217] In this embodiment, the traffic monitoring information of the user plane function may be first sent to the session management function, and then sent to the NWDAF by the session management function.

[0218] In some optional embodiments, the traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform: application usage time information, and traffic information generated by the application;

[0219] In some optional embodiments, obtaining terminal information that meets the conditions based on the traffic monitoring information includes: determining that the terminal meets the conditions when the usage time of the first application by the terminal is greater than a first threshold based on the usage time information of the application, and / or determining that the terminal's usage traffic of the first application is greater than a second threshold based on the traffic information generated by the application, and obtaining the terminal information that meets the conditions.

[0220] In this embodiment, NWDAF filters terminals that meet the requirements based on the traffic monitoring information, and the filtered terminals can also be considered as terminals that need to be configured with QoS policies and billing policies, that is, terminals that need to be adjusted with policies and billing. For example, taking the first application as a designated App, the UE of the staff who uses the App to provide services to the public is the real UE using the App; based on at least the continuous usage time of the UE using the designated App and / or the traffic statistics of the UE using the designated App, a suitable threshold can be set to filter out the real UE, and the traffic of these UEs for the designated App can be reduced or exempted, and QoS policy protection can be performed when using the designated App. For other personnel who use the designated App by mistake or maliciously, the QoS policy and billing policy protection of the designated App of these UEs will not be performed.

[0221] Specifically, NWDAF should screen the terminals based on at least the usage time information of the application and / or the traffic information generated by the application since the UPF starts traffic monitoring. Taking the above two information as an example, the pseudo code of the algorithm implementation is:

[0222] {

[0223] Begin (algorithm starts)

[0224] If: Since the UPF starts monitoring, the continuous usage time of the UE for the specific App is greater than M;

[0225] And: From the time when UPF starts monitoring, the traffic statistics of UE for a specific App > N;

[0226] Then: NWDAF determines that the UE is a UE that meets the requirements and records the identity of the UE;

[0227] End (algorithm ends)

[0228] }

[0229] Wherein: M is a set time threshold, which should at least support indicating an accurate duration including one of the following: minutes, seconds. The specific implementation is determined according to the actual programming code. N is a set traffic threshold, which should at least support indicating an accurate traffic including one of the following: GB, MB, KB. The specific implementation is determined according to the actual programming code. The UE identifier is used to instruct the PCF to send configuration updates to the UE according to the existing standard process and the QoS and billing policy update method of the embodiment of the present invention. The above-mentioned specific App may also be referred to as a designated App, that is, the first App that meets the conditions in this embodiment.

[0230] In this embodiment, the terminal information included in the third indication information includes at least the terminal identifier; in other optional embodiments, the terminal information may also include at least one of the following: the current network status of the terminal, user information, access network type, etc. Among them, the terminal identifier is used to identify the identity of the 5G UE, and the implementation method includes but is not limited to: MSISDN, IMSI, SUPI, SUCI, IP address, MAC address, PEI, etc.

[0231] In some optional embodiments, the method further includes: receiving second indication information sent by the policy control function, wherein the second indication information includes a second policy for monitoring the network status.

[0232] In some optional embodiments, the second indication information also includes at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating regional restrictions on network capability exposure, time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0233] In this embodiment, NWDAF monitors the network status based on the second indication information, and specifically monitors the network status of the first App (or a specified App, a specific App). Specifically, NWDAF can monitor the network status of the first App (or a specified App, a specific App) within a restricted area and a restricted time according to the content included in the second indication information. In other embodiments, if the reported terminal information includes the current network status of the terminal, the network status can be obtained by monitoring the network status based on the second indication information.

[0234] In other optional embodiments, the NWDAF may also obtain network status monitoring information and send the network status monitoring information to the PCF. Optionally, the network status monitoring information includes at least one of the following: network performance, abnormal behavior, UE mobility, UE communication status, user data congestion, and QoS sustainability.

[0235] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied in an edge computing platform (MEP). Figure 8 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 5 ;like Figure 8 As shown, the method includes:

[0236] Step 501: Send a first request to a network opening function, where the first request is used to request network capability opening for a first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application.

[0237] In this embodiment, a specific App or AF that needs to perform QoS policy control or adjustment and billing policy control or adjustment is deployed on the MEP, and the MEP initiates a first request for network capability opening to the NEF. In this embodiment, the first request also includes first information related to the policy control and billing control of the first application; the NEF determines whether the conditions are met (such as whether the first application meets the conditions) based on the parameters in the first information, and if the conditions are met, sends the second request to the PCF so that the PCF can uniformly perform coordinated control of related configurations.

[0238] In some optional embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions of network capability exposure, a third identifier indicating the identity of a first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting to monitor the usage of the first application. It is understandable that the first information must include at least one of the above information.

[0239] In some other optional embodiments, the first information further includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment. It is understandable that the first information may also optionally include the fourth identifier and / or the fifth identifier.

[0240] In some optional embodiments, when the NEF determines that the first information meets the condition, or determines that the App (such as the first application) meets the condition, it sends a confirmation message to the MEP, that is, the MEP receives the confirmation message sent by the NEF, and the confirmation message is used to notify the MEP network capability opening request for confirmation.

[0241] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration method, which is applied to a user plane function (UPF). Fig. 9 The network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. Figure 6 ;like Fig. 9 As shown, the method includes:

[0242] Step 601: receiving fifth indication information sent by a session management function, wherein the fifth indication information includes the first policy, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the user plane function to monitor the traffic of the first application;

[0243] Step 602: Monitor the traffic situation of the first application based on the fifth indication information, obtain traffic monitoring information, and send the traffic monitoring information to the session management function, where the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals, so as to formulate and issue policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals;

[0244] Step 603: Receive sixth indication information sent by the session management function, wherein the sixth indication information includes policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal.

[0245] In this embodiment, the SMF sends a fifth indication message to the selected UPF based on the first indication message, requesting the UPF to monitor the traffic status of the first App (or designated App) used by the UE in the restricted area within the restricted time.

[0246] In some optional embodiments, the fifth indication information further includes at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restriction of network capability opening, time information for requesting the monitoring of the usage of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform. The specific implementation of the above information and identifiers can be referred to the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0247] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform: application usage time information, and traffic information generated by the application.

[0248] In this embodiment, the UPF parses the fifth indication information to monitor the traffic of the first App (or designated App) used in the restricted area within the restricted time to obtain traffic monitoring information. The traffic monitoring information at least includes App usage time or continuous usage time information, and / or statistical information on the traffic generated by the App since the monitoring was started.

[0249] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information: an associated quality of service template, a charging control policy, a usage monitoring policy, and a conditional policy. The specific implementation of the information included in the policy control and charging policy can refer to the above-mentioned embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0250] In combination with the above embodiments, the network resource configuration method of the embodiment of the present invention may include three parts: a configuration process for network capability opening, a traffic statistics process for APP, and an automatic QoS configuration and automatic traffic reduction process. Based on the above three processes, when a UE uses a specific APP, after the continuous use time or traffic of the APP exceeds a certain threshold, the QoS policy guarantee and billing policy adjustment can be performed on the specific APP used by the UE.

[0251] The above three processes are described in detail below with reference to specific examples.

[0252] Example 1

[0253] This example is about the configuration process of network capability exposure, in which the AF (such as a specified App) deployed on the MEP initiates a request for network capability exposure to the NEF, and the request carries the information required for the 5GC to perform policy control and charging control. Fig.10 The interactive process diagram of the network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows Figure 1 ;like Fig.10 As shown, the method includes:

[0254] Step 701: The MEP sends a first request to the NEF, where the first request carries first information.

[0255] Step 702: NEF determines whether the App meets the requirements;

[0256] Step 703: When the NEF determines that the App meets the requirements, it returns a confirmation result to the MEP.

[0257] In this embodiment, the first request is used to request the opening of network capabilities for the App; the first request includes first information or parameters related to the policy control and billing control of the App. Specifically, the first information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting the usage monitoring of the first application. Optionally, the first information also includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment. Among them, the above-mentioned first application is also the App.

[0258] In this embodiment, NEF determines that the App applying for network capability opening is a designated App or the type of the App applying for network capability opening is a designated App type based on the first request received from MEP, and determines that the first application meets the conditions. For example, when the App is a "public service type" App, it is allowed to apply for network capability opening.

[0259] Example 2

[0260] This example is for the traffic statistics process of the App. After the NEF verification is passed, the network capability is opened and the traffic statistics process is started. In this process, the PCF performs unified overall control of the relevant configurations, and the NWDAF, SMF, and UPF execute the relevant configuration requirements to implement traffic statistics according to the request of the MEP (mainly referring to the external AF on the MEP, that is, a specific App). Fig.11 The interactive process diagram of the network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows Figure 2 ;like Fig.11 As shown, the method includes:

[0261] Step 801: NEF sends a second request to PCF, where the second request carries second information;

[0262] Step 802: The PCF sends a first indication message to the SMF, carrying a first strategy for monitoring the traffic situation of the first application;

[0263] Step 803: The PCF sends a second indication message to the NWDAF, carrying a second strategy for monitoring the network status;

[0264] Step 804: After receiving the first indication information, the SMF sends a fifth indication information to the UPF, carrying the first policy;

[0265] Step 805: UPF obtains traffic monitoring information, sends the traffic monitoring information to SMF, and SMF sends the traffic monitoring information to NWDAF.

[0266] In this embodiment, when NEF determines that the App meets the requirements, it sends a second request to PCF, or it can be considered that the request of MEP is forwarded, and PCF performs unified planning and management, issues relevant policies, and NWDAF, SMF, and UPF execute relevant requirements to achieve traffic statistics for specific APPs. Among them, the second information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the network capability opening, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting to monitor the usage of the first application. Optionally, the second information also includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment. Among them, the above-mentioned first application is also the App.

[0267] In this embodiment, the first indication information and the second indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0268] The PCF sends the first indication information to the SMF according to the second request to support the SMF in finding the UEs in the restricted area, so as to request the UPF to monitor the use of specific apps by these UEs within the restricted time in the subsequent process. The SMF parses the first indication information to find the UEs in the restricted area, and requests the UPF to monitor the use of apps by these UEs within the restricted time.

[0269] NWDAF parses the second indication information to start monitoring the network status of UE using the specified App in the restricted area within the limited time. The monitored network status includes at least one of the following: network performance, abnormal behavior, UE mobility, UE communication status, user data congestion, and QoS sustainability.

[0270] In this embodiment, the fifth indication information also includes at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0271] The UPF parses the fifth indication information and monitors the traffic of the App used in the restricted area within the restricted time to obtain traffic monitoring information. The traffic monitoring information includes at least the App usage time or continuous usage time information, and / or the statistical information of the traffic generated by the App since the monitoring was started.

[0272] Example 3

[0273] This example focuses on the automatic QoS configuration and automatic traffic reduction process. NWDAF mainly selects UEs that meet the requirements and performs policy control and billing control on the specific APP on the UE during use. PCF formulates specific policies and billing adjustment policies and sends them to SMF and other related network elements and UE for execution. Fig.12 The interactive process diagram of the network resource configuration method according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows Figure 3 ;like Fig.12 As shown, the method includes:

[0274] Step 901: NWDAF screens terminals according to traffic monitoring information, determines terminals that meet the conditions, and sends third indication information to PCF, where the third indication information carries the screened terminal information.

[0275] Step 902: The PCF sends a fourth indication message to the SMF, carrying policy control and charging rules.

[0276] Step 903: SMF sends the sixth indication information to UPF, carrying policy control and charging rules.

[0277] In this embodiment, NWDAF receives traffic monitoring information from UPF, screens out UEs for which QoS policy configuration and charging policy configuration are required based on the traffic monitoring information, and reports the screened out terminal information that meets the requirements to PCF through a third indication information. The terminal information included in the third indication information includes at least the terminal identifier; in other optional embodiments, the terminal information may also include at least one of the following: the current network status of the terminal, user information, access network type, etc. Among them, the terminal identifier is used to identify the identity of the 5G UE, and the implementation methods include but are not limited to: MSISDN, IMSI, SUPI, SUCI, IP address, MAC address, PEI, etc.

[0278] In some optional embodiments, NWDAF may determine that the terminal meets the conditions and obtain terminal information that meets the conditions when it determines that the terminal's usage time of the application is greater than a first threshold based on the usage time information of the application in the traffic monitoring information, and / or when it determines that the terminal's usage traffic of the application is greater than a second threshold based on the traffic information generated by the application in the traffic monitoring information.

[0279] In this embodiment, the PCF formulates dynamic policy control and charging rules (PCC rules) for terminals that meet the requirements (i.e., the screened terminals), and issues the policy control and charging rules through the fourth indication information. The policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information:

[0280] Associated Quality of Service (QoS) templates, charging control policies, usage monitoring policies, and conditional policies.

[0281] In this embodiment, the SMF sends the policy control and charging rules issued by the PCF to the UPF through the sixth indication information, and performs subsequent operations according to the policy requirements issued as required and the relevant standards.

[0282] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, which is applied to a network opening function. Fig.13 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 1 ;like Fig.13 As shown, the device includes: a first communication unit 11 and a first processing unit 12; wherein,

[0283] The first communication unit 11 is used to receive a first request sent by the edge computing platform, where the first request is used to request network capability opening for a first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application;

[0284] The first processing unit 12 is used to determine whether the first application meets a condition;

[0285] The first communication unit 11 is also used to send a second request to the policy control function when the first processing unit 12 determines that the first application meets the conditions. The second request includes second information related to the policy control and billing control of the first application. The second information is used by the policy control function to formulate and send to the session management function a first policy for monitoring the traffic situation of the first application. The monitored traffic situation is used to screen the accessed terminals so as to formulate policy control and billing rules for the screened terminals.

[0286] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the network capability exposure, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application.

[0287] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first information further includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment.

[0288] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the second information is also used by the policy control function to formulate and send a second policy to the network data analysis function, and the second policy is used to monitor the network status.

[0289] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first processing unit 12 is configured to determine that the first application meets a condition when the application represented by the third identifier in the first information is a specified application or the type of the application is a specified application type.

[0290] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first processing unit 12 in the device can be implemented by a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a programmable gate array (FPGA) in actual applications; the first communication unit 11 in the device can be implemented by a communication module (including: basic communication kit, operating system, communication module, standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna in actual applications.

[0291] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, which is applied in a policy control function. Fig.14 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 2 ;like Fig.14 As shown, the device includes: a second communication unit 21 and a second processing unit 22; wherein,

[0292] The second communication unit 21 is used to receive a second request sent by the network open function, wherein the second request includes second information related to the policy control and charging control of the first application; further used to send first indication information to the session management function based on the second information, wherein the first indication information includes a first policy for monitoring the traffic situation of the first application; the monitored traffic situation is used to screen the accessed terminals; further used to receive third indication information sent by the network data analysis function, wherein the third indication information includes the screened terminal information;

[0293] The second processing unit 22 is used to formulate policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals;

[0294] The second communication unit 21 is further configured to send fourth indication information to the session management function, wherein the fourth indication information includes the policy control and charging rules.

[0295] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the second communication unit 21 is further used to send second indication information to the network data analysis function based on the second information, and the second indication information includes a second strategy for monitoring the network status.

[0296] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the second information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the network capability opening, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application.

[0297] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the second information further includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment.

[0298] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first indication information and the second indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating regional restrictions on network capability exposure, time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0299] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information: an associated quality of service template, a charging control policy, a usage monitoring policy, and a conditional policy.

[0300] In an embodiment of the present invention, the second processing unit 22 in the device can be implemented by a CPU, a DSP, an MCU or an FPGA in actual applications; the second communication unit 21 in the device can be implemented by a communication module (including: a basic communication kit, an operating system, a communication module, a standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna in actual applications.

[0301] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, which is applied to the session management function. Fig.15 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 3 ;like Fig.15As shown, the device includes: a third communication unit 31, used to receive a first indication message sent by a policy control function, the first indication message including a first policy for monitoring the traffic situation of a first application; and also used to send a fifth indication message to a selected user plane function, the fifth indication message including the first policy, the fifth indication message being used to instruct the user plane function to monitor the traffic situation of the first application; and also used to receive traffic monitoring information sent by the user plane function, and send the traffic monitoring information to a network data analysis function, the traffic monitoring information being used to screen accessed terminals; and also used to receive a fourth indication message sent by a policy control function, the fourth indication message including policy control and billing rules related to the screened terminals; and also used to send a sixth indication message including the policy control and billing rules related to the screened terminals to the user plane function, the sixth indication message being used to instruct the user plane function to process according to the policy control and billing rules.

[0302] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first indication information and the fifth indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating regional restrictions on network capability exposure, time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0303] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform: application usage time information, and traffic information generated by the application.

[0304] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information: an associated quality of service template, a charging control policy, a usage monitoring policy, and a conditional policy.

[0305] In the embodiment of the present invention, the third communication unit 31 in the device can be implemented in actual application through a communication module (including: basic communication kit, operating system, communication module, standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna.

[0306] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, which is applied to the network data analysis function. Fig.16 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 4 ;like Fig.16 As shown, the device includes: a fourth communication unit 41 and a third processing unit 42; wherein,

[0307] The fourth communication unit 41 is used to receive traffic monitoring information from a user plane function, where the traffic monitoring information is obtained by monitoring the traffic situation of the first application based on the first policy sent to the user plane function;

[0308] The third processing unit 42 is used to obtain terminal information that meets the conditions based on the traffic monitoring information;

[0309] The fourth communication unit 41 is further used to send third indication information to the policy control function, wherein the third indication information includes the filtered terminal information, and the filtered terminal information is used by the policy control function to formulate policy control and charging rules for the filtered terminals.

[0310] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the fourth communication unit 41 is further used to receive second indication information sent by the policy control function, where the second indication information includes a second policy for monitoring the network status.

[0311] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the second indication information also includes at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating regional restrictions on network capability exposure, time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0312] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform:

[0313] Application usage time information and application traffic information;

[0314] The third processing unit 42 is used to determine that the terminal meets the condition and obtain terminal information that meets the condition when, based on the usage time information of the application, the usage time of the first application by the terminal is greater than a first threshold, and / or, based on the traffic information generated by the application, when the usage traffic of the first application by the terminal is greater than a second threshold.

[0315] In an embodiment of the present invention, the third processing unit 42 in the device can be implemented by a CPU, a DSP, an MCU or an FPGA in actual applications; the fourth communication unit 41 in the device can be implemented by a communication module (including: a basic communication kit, an operating system, a communication module, a standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna in actual applications.

[0316] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a network resource configuration device, which is applied in an edge computing platform. Fig.17 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 5 ;like Fig.17 As shown, the device includes: a fifth communication unit 51, used to send a first request to the network opening function, wherein the first request is used to request network capability opening for the first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and billing control of the first application.

[0317] In some optional embodiments of the invention, the first information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, a third identifier indicating the identity of a first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application.

[0318] In some optional embodiments of the present invention, the first information further includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment.

[0319] In the embodiment of the present invention, the fifth communication unit 51 in the device can be implemented in actual application through a communication module (including: basic communication kit, operating system, communication module, standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna.

[0320] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a network resource configuration device, which is applied to user plane functions. Fig.18 The structure diagram of the network resource configuration device according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows: Figure 6 ;like Fig.18 As shown, the device includes: a sixth communication unit 61 and a fourth processing unit 62; wherein,

[0321] The sixth communication unit 61 is used to receive fifth indication information sent by the session management function, the fifth indication information includes the first policy, and the fifth indication information is used to instruct the user plane function to monitor the traffic situation of the first application;

[0322] The fourth processing unit 62 is used to monitor the flow of the first application based on the fifth indication information to obtain flow monitoring information;

[0323] The sixth communication unit 61 is also used to send the traffic monitoring information to the session management function, the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals, and the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals so as to formulate and issue policy control and billing rules for the screened terminals; it is also used to receive the sixth indication information sent by the session management function, and the sixth indication information includes the policy control and billing rules related to the screened terminals.

[0324] In some optional embodiments of the invention, the fifth indication information includes at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating regional restrictions on network capability exposure, time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

[0325] In some optional embodiments of the invention, the traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform:

[0326] Application usage time information and application traffic information.

[0327] In some optional embodiments of the invention, the policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information:

[0328] Associated quality of service templates, billing control policies, usage monitoring policies, and conditional policies.

[0329] In an embodiment of the present invention, the fourth processing unit 62 in the device can be implemented by a CPU, a DSP, an MCU or an FPGA in actual applications; the sixth communication unit 61 in the device can be implemented by a communication module (including: a basic communication kit, an operating system, a communication module, a standardized interface and protocol, etc.) and a transceiver antenna in actual applications.

[0330] It should be noted that: the network resource configuration device provided in the above embodiment only uses the division of the above program modules as an example when performing network resource configuration. In actual applications, the above processing can be assigned to different program modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device is divided into different program modules to complete all or part of the processing described above. In addition, the network resource configuration device provided in the above embodiment and the network resource configuration method embodiment belong to the same concept, and the specific implementation process is detailed in the method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0331] The embodiment of the present invention further provides a network device, which may specifically have a network opening function, a policy control function, a session management function or a network data analysis function. Fig.19 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the network device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.19 As shown, the network device includes a memory 72, a processor 71, and a computer program stored in the memory 72 and executable on the processor 71. When the processor 71 executes the program, it implements the steps of a network resource configuration method applied to a network opening function, a policy control function, a session management function, a network data analysis function, an edge computing platform, or a user plane function.

[0332] Optionally, the network device further includes at least one network interface 73. The various components in the network device are coupled together via a bus system 74. It is understood that the bus system 74 is used to achieve connection and communication between these components. In addition to the data bus, the bus system 74 also includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clarity, Fig.19 Various buses are labeled as bus system 74 .

[0333] It can be understood that the memory 72 can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, and can also include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic random access memory (FRAM), a flash memory, a magnetic surface memory, an optical disk, or a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM); the magnetic surface memory can be a disk memory or a tape memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), synchronous static random access memory (SSRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM, SyncLink Dynamic Random Access Memory), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DRRAM, Direct Rambus Random Access Memory).The memory 72 described in the embodiments of the present invention is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0334] The method disclosed in the above embodiment of the present invention can be applied to the processor 71, or implemented by the processor 71. The processor 71 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by the hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor 71 or the instruction in the form of software. The above processor 71 can be a general-purpose processor, DSP, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The processor 71 can implement or execute the methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. In combination with the steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present invention, it can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor to execute, or it can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium, which is located in the memory 72. The processor 71 reads the information in the memory 72 and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0335] In an exemplary embodiment, the network device may be implemented by one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), DSP, programmable logic device (PLD), complex programmable logic device (CPLD), FPGA, general purpose processor, controller, MCU, microprocessor, or other electronic components to execute the aforementioned method.

[0336] In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory 72 including a computer program, and the computer program can be executed by a processor 71 of a network device to complete the steps of the aforementioned method. The computer-readable storage medium can be a memory such as FRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, magnetic surface memory, optical disk, or CD-ROM; or it can be various devices including one or any combination of the above memories.

[0337] The computer-readable storage medium provided by an embodiment of the present invention stores a computer program thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the network resource configuration method applied by the embodiment of the present invention to a network opening function, a policy control function, a session management function, a network data analysis function, an edge computing platform or a user plane function.

[0338] The methods disclosed in several method embodiments provided in this application can be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new method embodiments.

[0339] The features disclosed in several product embodiments provided in this application can be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new product embodiments.

[0340] The features disclosed in several method or device embodiments provided in this application can be arbitrarily combined without conflict to obtain new method embodiments or device embodiments.

[0341] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. The device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as: multiple units or components can be combined, or can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling, direct coupling, or communication connection between the components shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of the devices or units can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0342] The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units; some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment.

[0343] In addition, all functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be separately used as a unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit; the above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units.

[0344] A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand that: all or part of the steps of implementing the above-mentioned method embodiment can be completed by hardware related to program instructions, and the aforementioned program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, which, when executed, executes the steps of the above-mentioned method embodiment; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as mobile storage devices, ROM, RAM, disks or optical disks.

[0345] Alternatively, if the above-mentioned integrated unit of the present invention is implemented in the form of a software function module and sold or used as an independent product, it can also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention can be essentially or partly reflected in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the methods described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as mobile storage devices, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0346] The above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, which should be included in the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A network resource configuration method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a network open function; the method comprises: Receive a first request sent by an edge computing platform, where the first request is used to request network capability opening for a first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application; When it is determined that the first application meets the conditions, a second request is sent to the policy control function, wherein the second request includes second information related to the policy control and billing control of the first application, and the second information is used by the policy control function to formulate and send to the session management function a first policy for monitoring the traffic conditions of the first application, and the monitored traffic conditions are used to screen the access terminals so as to formulate policy control and billing rules for the screened terminals.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the network capability exposure, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first information also includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second information is also used by the policy control function to formulate and send a second policy to the network data analysis function, and the second policy is used to monitor the network status.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The determining that the first application satisfies a condition includes: When it is determined that the application represented by the third identifier in the first information is a designated application or the type of the corresponding application is a designated application type, it is determined that the first application meets the condition.

6. A network resource configuration method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a policy control function; the method comprises: receiving a second request sent by the network open function, wherein the second request includes second information related to policy control and charging control of the first application; Sending first indication information to the session management function based on the second information, wherein the first indication information includes a first strategy for monitoring the traffic situation of the first application; the monitored traffic situation is used to screen the accessed terminals; Receiving third indication information sent by the network data analysis function, wherein the third indication information includes the filtered terminal information; Formulate policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals, and send fourth indication information to the session management function, wherein the fourth indication information includes the policy control and charging rules.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Based on the second information, second indication information is sent to the network data analysis function, where the second indication information includes a second strategy for monitoring the network status.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The second information includes at least one of the following: a first identifier indicating the region to which the edge computing platform belongs, a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the network capability exposure, a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform, and time information for requesting usage monitoring of the first application.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The second information also includes: a fourth identifier indicating a request for traffic reduction and / or a fifth identifier indicating a request for service quality adjustment.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that Both the first indication information and the second indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, time information for requesting monitoring of the usage of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

11. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information: Associated quality of service templates, billing control policies, usage monitoring policies, and conditional policies.

12. A network resource configuration method, characterized in that: The method is applied to the session management function; the method comprises: Receiving first indication information sent by a policy control function, wherein the first indication information includes a first policy for monitoring a traffic situation of a first application; Sending fifth indication information to the selected user plane function, the fifth indication information including the first policy, the fifth indication information being used to instruct the user plane function to perform traffic monitoring on the traffic situation of the first application; Receiving traffic monitoring information sent by the user plane function, and sending the traffic monitoring information to the network data analysis function, wherein the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals; receiving fourth indication information sent by the policy control function, wherein the fourth indication information includes policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal; Sending sixth indication information including the policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal to the user plane function, wherein the sixth indication information is used to instruct the user plane function to perform processing according to the policy control and charging rules.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The first indication information and the fifth indication information also include at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, time information for requesting the usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform: Application usage time information and application traffic information.

15. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The policy control and charging rules include at least one of the following information: Associated quality of service templates, billing control policies, usage monitoring policies, and conditional policies.

16. A network resource configuration method, characterized in that: The method is applied to network data analysis function; the method comprises: Receiving traffic monitoring information from a user plane function, the traffic monitoring information being obtained by monitoring the traffic status of a first application based on a first policy sent to the user plane function; Based on the traffic monitoring information, terminal information that meets the conditions is obtained, and third indication information is sent to the policy control function, wherein the third indication information includes the filtered terminal information, and the filtered terminal information is used by the policy control function to formulate policy control and charging rules for the filtered terminals.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second indication information sent by the policy control function, where the second indication information includes a second policy for monitoring the network status.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The second indication information also includes at least one of the following: a second identifier indicating the regional restrictions on the opening of network capabilities, time information for requesting the usage monitoring of the first application, and a third identifier indicating the identity of the first application deployed on the edge computing platform.

19. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The traffic monitoring information includes at least one of the following information related to the first application deployed on the edge computing platform: Application usage time information and application traffic information; The obtaining terminal information that meets the conditions based on the traffic monitoring information includes: When it is determined based on the usage time information of the application that the usage time of the first application by the terminal is greater than a first threshold, and / or when it is determined based on the traffic information generated by the application that the usage traffic of the first application by the terminal is greater than a second threshold, it is determined that the terminal meets the condition and the terminal information that meets the condition is obtained.

20. A network resource configuration method, characterized in that: The method is applied to an edge computing platform; the method comprises: A first request is sent to a network opening function, where the first request is used to request network capability opening for a first application; the first request includes first information related to policy control and charging control of the first application.

21. A network resource configuration method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a user plane function; the method comprises: receiving fifth indication information sent by the session management function, the fifth indication information including the first policy, the fifth indication information being used to instruct the user plane function to perform traffic monitoring on the traffic situation of the first application; Monitoring the traffic situation of the first application based on the fifth indication information, obtaining traffic monitoring information, and sending the traffic monitoring information to the session management function, wherein the traffic monitoring information is used to screen the accessed terminals, so as to formulate and issue policy control and charging rules for the screened terminals; Receive sixth indication information sent by the session management function, wherein the sixth indication information includes policy control and charging rules related to the screened terminal.

22. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 are implemented; or When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 6 to 11 are implemented; or, When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15 are implemented; or, When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 16 to 19 are implemented; or, When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to claim 20 are implemented; or, When the program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to claim 21 are implemented.

23. A network device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that: When the processor executes the program, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 are implemented; or, When the processor executes the program, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 6 to 11 are implemented; or, When the processor executes the program, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 12 to 15 are implemented; or, When the processor executes the program, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 16 to 19 are implemented; or, When the processor executes the program, the steps of the method according to claim 20 are implemented; or, When the processor executes the program, the steps of the method according to claim 21 are implemented.

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