Digital twinning processing method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a digital twin processing method and device, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: a second network function entity receives a twinning request message of a first network function entity; wherein the twinning request message is used for requesting to construct a twinning body of target equipment, and the target equipment comprises one or more pieces of equipment; and the second network function entity constructs a target twin on a third network function entity through a network function instance generation mode according to the twin request message. According to the scheme, the problem that existing data twinning depends on construction of a digital twinning network corresponding to a whole set of physical network is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a digital twin processing method and device. Background Art

[0002] Digital twins refer to modeling entities in the physical world in digital form, simulating their operating states, and providing feedback, such as optimizing parameters, to improve their performance.

[0003] However, the current digital twin network is independent of the physical network itself. The digital twin network built corresponding to a complete set of physical networks is large in scale, highly complex, and has high construction costs. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a digital twin processing method and device to solve the problem that existing data twins rely on building a digital twin network corresponding to a complete set of physical networks.

[0005] In order to achieve the above objectives, the present application provides a digital twin processing method, including:

[0006] The second network function entity receives a twin request message from the first network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request construction of a twin of a target device, wherein the target device includes one or more devices;

[0007] The second network function entity constructs a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

[0008] Optionally, the second network function entity constructs a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message, including:

[0009] In the case where the target device is a device, the second network function entity constructs an independent twin of the target device on the third network function entity as a target twin;

[0010] In the case where the target device is a plurality of devices, the second network function entity determines whether a fusion twin of the target device can be constructed based on device parameters of the plurality of devices; if it is determined that the fusion twin can be constructed, the fusion twin is constructed on the third network function entity as the target twin;

[0011] The device parameters include at least one of the following:

[0012] Location information;

[0013] Device information;

[0014] Contract data.

[0015] Optionally, the parameters of the network function instance include at least one of the following:

[0016] Network function type;

[0017] Network function instance identifier;

[0018] Network function instance address;

[0019] Network function service name;

[0020] Network function service operation.

[0021] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0022] The second network function entity sends a twin response message to the first network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

[0023] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0024] In a case where the target twin is a fusion twin of the multiple devices and a session establishment request message of the multiple devices is received, the second network function entity determines session establishment configuration information;

[0025] The second network function entity sends the session establishment configuration information to the first network function entity, where the session establishment configuration information is used to establish the sessions requested by the multiple devices.

[0026] Optionally, the second network function entity determines the session establishment configuration information, including: the second network function entity sends session establishment auxiliary information and a joint session request message to the first network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of a session management function SMF and a user plane management function UPF;

[0027] The second network function entity receives a session establishment result and a session state fed back by the first network function entity based on the joint session request message;

[0028] The second network function entity determines the session establishment configuration information based on the session establishment result and the session state.

[0029] Optionally, before the second network function entity sends the session establishment auxiliary information to the first network function entity, the method further includes:

[0030] The second network function entity determines the session establishment auxiliary information by jointly evaluating the sessions of the multiple devices; or,

[0031] The second network function entity receives the session establishment auxiliary information sent by the third network function entity.

[0032] In order to achieve the above objectives, the present application also provides a digital twin processing method, including:

[0033] The first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to request the second network function entity to build a twin for a target device; wherein the target device includes one or more devices;

[0034] When it is determined that a twin needs to be built, the first network function entity sends a twin request message to the second network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request the construction of a twin of the target device.

[0035] Optionally, the first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to request the second network function entity to build a twin for the target device, including:

[0036] The first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device based on the indication information; wherein the indication information is used to indicate whether to request the second network function entity to build a twin for the target device.

[0037] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0038] The first network function entity obtains the indication information and the device information of the target device carried in the registration request message by receiving the registration request message of the target device.

[0039] Optionally, the indication information is also used to indicate whether multiple devices are allowed to be fused into twins.

[0040] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0041] The first network function entity receives a twin response message sent by the second network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

[0042] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0043] The first network function entity receives session establishment configuration information sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment configuration information is used to establish sessions requested by the multiple devices, and the third network function entity is a network function entity that constructs a twin of the target device by generating a network function instance;

[0044] The first network function entity establishes the session requested by the target device according to the session establishment configuration information and the session establishment request of the target device.

[0045] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0046] The first network function entity receives the session establishment auxiliary information and the joint session request message sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of the SMF and the UPF;

[0047] The first network function entity feeds back a session establishment result and a session status to the second network function entity or the third network function entity based on the joint session request message, where the session establishment result and the session status are used to determine the session establishment configuration information.

[0048] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the embodiment of the present application further provides a digital twin processing device, including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor: the memory is used to store program instructions; the transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; the processor is used to read the program instructions in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0049] Determine whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device in the second network function entity; wherein the target device includes one or more devices;

[0050] The transceiver is also used to: when it is determined that a twin needs to be built, send a twin request message to the second network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request the construction of a twin of the target device.

[0051] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the embodiment of the present application further provides a digital twin processing device, including:

[0052] A first processing module, configured to determine whether it is necessary to construct a twin for a target device in a second network function entity; wherein the target device includes one or more devices;

[0053] The first sending module is used to send a twin request message to the second network function entity when it is determined that a twin needs to be built; wherein the twin request message is used to request to build a twin of the target device.

[0054] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the embodiment of the present application further provides a digital twin processing device, including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor: the memory is used to store program instructions; the transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; the processor is used to read the program instructions in the memory, and the transceiver is used to perform the following operations:

[0055] Receive a twin request message from a first network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request construction of a twin of a target device, wherein the target device includes one or more devices;

[0056] The processor is also used to: build a target twin on a third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

[0057] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the embodiment of the present application further provides a digital twin processing device, including:

[0058] A first receiving module is used to receive a twin request message from a first network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request to build a twin of a target device, and the target device includes one or more devices;

[0059] The second processing module is used to build a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

[0060] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, an embodiment of the present application also provides a processor-readable storage medium, which stores program instructions, and the program instructions are used to enable the processor to execute the digital twin processing method as described above.

[0061] The above technical solution of the present application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0062] In the above-mentioned technical scheme of the embodiment of the present application, the second network function entity will understand the need to build a twin of the target device by receiving the twin request message of the first network function entity. Thus, in response to the twin request message, the target twin is constructed on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance, thereby realizing the twin demand for one or more devices and constructing the corresponding twin in the form of network functions. There is no need to build a digital twin network including a complete set of physical networks of the target device, thereby reducing the cost of digital twins and simplifying the construction process of digital twins. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] Figure 1 This is one of the flowcharts of the method of the embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 2This is a second flow chart of the method of the embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 3 This is one of the application schematic diagrams of the method of the embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 4 This is the second application schematic diagram of the method of the embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 5 This is the third application diagram of the method of the embodiment of the present application;

[0068] Figure 6 This is a fourth flow chart of the method of an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] Figure 7 A structural block diagram of a device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] Figure 8 This is one of the module schematic diagrams of the device according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0071] Fig. 9 This is the second module schematic diagram of the device according to the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "plurality" refers to two or more than two, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0074] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0075] It is worth noting that the technologies involved in the embodiments of the present application include the following:

[0076] 1. 5G architecture

[0077] The control plane of the 5G core network adopts a service-oriented architecture based on software defined network (SDN) / network function virtualization (NFV) technology. Network functions (NF) interact with each other through service-based interfaces (SBI), and the entire 5G core network control plane can be implemented in full software.

[0078] 2. Digital Twin Network

[0079] The digital twin network is a network system with physical network entities and virtual twins, and the two can be mapped interactively in real time. In this system, various network management and applications can use the network virtual twins built by digital twin technology to efficiently analyze, diagnose, simulate and control the physical network based on data and models. The digital twin network platform can help realize a safer, smarter, more efficient and more visual smart 6G network by exchanging data and influencing each other in real time between the physical network and the twin network.

[0080] The digital twin network proposed by the industry can be designed as a three-layer architecture:

[0081] The first layer is the physical network layer. Various network elements in the 6G physical network need to interact with the network twin through a simple and open southbound interface to exchange end-to-end network status and network control information.

[0082] The second layer is the twin network layer, which builds a virtual image of the physical network on the network control plane.

[0083] The third layer is the network application layer. With the digital twin network, conventional network operation and optimization, network intelligent applications, intent-driven network intelligent autonomy, and future-oriented new network technology innovations and new business innovations based on extreme network performance can all be input into the network twin through the northbound interface, and the business can be deployed in the twin layer through the modeled instance of the network twin. After sufficient verification, the twin layer sends the control update to the physical entity network through the southbound interface.

[0084] The embodiment of the present application provides a digital twin processing method and device. The method and device are based on the same application concept. Since the method and device solve the problem in a similar way, the implementation of the device and the method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0085] like Figure 1 As shown, a digital twin processing method provided in an embodiment of the present application includes:

[0086] Step 101: The second network function entity receives a twin request message from the first network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request construction of a twin of a target device, and the target device includes one or more devices.

[0087] Here, when determining that a twin needs to be built for the target device, the first network function entity sends a twin request message to the second network function entity requesting to build a twin of the target device. After receiving the twin request message, the second network function entity further executes the next step.

[0088] Step 102: The second network function entity constructs a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

[0089] In this step, the second network function entity will build a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message received in step 101.

[0090] In this way, according to the above steps 101 and 102, the second network function entity will understand the need to build a twin of the target device by receiving the twin request message of the first network function entity, and thus, in response to the twin request message, build the target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance, thereby realizing the twin demand for one or more devices and building the corresponding twin in the form of NF. There is no need to build a digital twin network including the entire physical network of the target device, thereby reducing the cost of digital twins and simplifying the digital twin construction process.

[0091] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the target device can be a user equipment (User Equipment, UE) or a network device, such as an access network (Access Network, AN) device or a core network (Core Network, CN) device. Correspondingly, the constructed twins can be twin UEs (Twin User Equipment, T-UE), twin access networks (Twin Access Network, T-AN), and twin core networks (Twin Core Network, T-CN). Twins can also be understood as twin devices.

[0092] In addition, in this embodiment, the first network function entity, the second network function entity and the third network function entity can all be specific NFs of the core network, such as pre-deploying multiple specific NFs in the core network as the first network function entity, the second network function entity and the third network function entity. Specifically, the deployment of the multiple specific NFs is based on the user service requirements to be served by the network.

[0093] As an optional implementation method, the first network function entity is an access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), the second network function entity is a twin management function, and the third network function entity is a twin UE.

[0094] If the network function entity is implemented by a physical device, the first network function entity, the second network function entity and the third network function entity can all be network functions implemented by specific physical devices. For example, the first network function entity can be considered to have a data plane function (DPF) AN, that is, an AN that supports data in-path processing.

[0095] Optionally, in this embodiment, the first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device based on the indication information. The indication information is used to indicate whether to request the second network function entity to build a twin of the target device, so that when the indication requests the second network function entity to build a twin of the target device, a twin request message is triggered. The indication information can be sent by the target device or preconfigured.

[0096] As an optional implementation method, the terminal, as the target device, sends a registration request message to the first network function entity (such as AMF), and the preferred network behavior (Preferred Network Behaviour) parameter of the registration request message carries the indication information. If the AMF determines that a twin of the terminal needs to be built based on the indication information, the AMF forwards the registration request message as a twin request message to the second network function entity.

[0097] As an optional implementation method, the first network function entity (such as AMF) dynamically determines whether it is necessary to build a twin of the target device through pre-configured indication information.

[0098] Optionally, the second network function entity constructs a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message, including:

[0099] In the case where the target device is a device, the second network function entity constructs an independent twin of the target device on the third network function entity as a target twin;

[0100] In the case where the target device is a plurality of devices, the second network function entity determines whether a fusion twin of the target device can be constructed based on device parameters of the plurality of devices; if it is determined that the fusion twin can be constructed, the fusion twin is constructed on the third network function entity as the target twin;

[0101] The device parameters include at least one of the following:

[0102] Location information;

[0103] Device information;

[0104] Contract data.

[0105] That is, if the target device is a single device, the second network function entity will construct an independent twin of the device on the third network function entity; if the target device is multiple devices, the second network function entity will construct a fused twin of the multiple devices on the third network function entity.

[0106] In this embodiment, the indication information is also used to indicate whether multiple devices are allowed to perform fusion twinning.

[0107] Among them, if the indication information indicates that multiple devices are allowed to perform fusion twinning, the target twin constructed can be the fusion twin of multiple devices included in the target device, and the twin request message can be understood as a request to construct a fusion twin of the multiple devices; if the indication information indicates that multiple devices are not allowed to perform fusion twinning, the target twin constructed can be an independent twin of one or more devices included in the target device, and the twin request message can be understood as a request to construct an independent twin of each device. Therefore, when the indication information indicates that multiple devices are not allowed to perform fusion twinning, the second network function entity can also construct an independent twin of each of the multiple devices if the target device is multiple devices; when the indication information indicates that multiple devices are allowed to perform fusion twinning, the second network function entity will only construct a fusion twin of the multiple devices if the target device is multiple devices.

[0108] It can be seen from the above content that in this embodiment, before the second network function entity constructs the fusion twin of multiple devices, it will further determine whether it can construct the fusion twin of the target device (that is, the multiple devices) based on the device parameters. Among them, the location information included in the device parameters can be the physical location, the absolute location based on the reference location, etc.; the device information included in the device parameters can be the device type, device function, etc.; the contract data included in the device parameters can be the basic identification, routing information, and service contract information, etc. Of course, for the terminal, the contract data can also include information on whether the terminal supports fusion twins.

[0109] As an optional implementation method, the target devices are UE1 and UE2. If UE1 and UE2 are in two nearby locations (such as the distance between the two locations is less than a preset distance threshold), and are camera devices of the same type, and UE1 and UE2 respectively collect images or video information from different angles at the same location, then the twins can be fused, that is, it can be determined that a fused twin of UE1 and UE2 can be constructed; if UE1 and UE2 are in the same location and are humidity acquisition devices and temperature acquisition devices of different types, then the twins can be fused to obtain the temperature and humidity environmental information of the location, that is, it can be determined that a fused twin of UE1 and UE2 can be constructed; if UE1 and UE2 are both human health information acquisition devices and are located on the same human body, such as a heart rate detection device and a blood pressure monitoring device respectively, then the twins can be fused to obtain the health information of the human body, that is, it can be determined that a fused twin of UE1 and UE2 can be constructed.

[0110] Optionally, in this embodiment, the second network function entity constructs a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance. It is necessary to first determine the parameters of the network function instance, and then generate the network function instance based on the parameters to complete the construction of the target twin. Among them, the second network function entity determines the parameters of the network function instance based on the twin requirements (such as the device information of the twin, the user's twin accuracy requirements for the twin network), so that the parameters of the generated network function instance meet the twin requirements. For example, if the network is only used for 2C scenarios such as ordinary UE access, the twin requirement is a coarse-grained implementation of the twin of the network element topology and the network topology; if the network is used in 2B scenarios such as industrial factories or telemedicine that have higher requirements for accuracy, the twin requirement is a fine-grained implementation of the twin including the network element status and the network status.

[0111] Among them, during or before building the twin of the target device, the second network function entity or the third network function entity interacts with the target device to obtain physical information, twin requirements and other information of the target device.

[0112] Optionally, the parameters of the network function instance include at least one of the following:

[0113] Network function type;

[0114] Network function instance identifier;

[0115] Network function instance address;

[0116] Network function service name;

[0117] Network function service operation.

[0118] The network function instance address may be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or an Internet Protocol (IP) address. The network function service operation is the operation performed by the corresponding network function service, and the network function service operation of the deployed network function instance may be only part of the service operation of the third network function entity.

[0119] Of course, the parameters of the network function instance are not limited to the above content, and may also include information such as network function instance resources (CPU, memory, storage), etc.

[0120] In addition, in this embodiment, the target twin is constructed on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance, which is accomplished by the second network function entity through the management or control of the third network function entity.

[0121] Optionally, in this embodiment, the method further includes:

[0122] The second network function entity sends a twin response message to the first network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

[0123] That is, after the second network function entity completes the construction of the twin of the target device, it can feedback a twin response message, in which the twin result carried indicates that the twin of the target device is successfully constructed; if the second network function entity fails to successfully construct the twin of the target device, the twin result carried in the feedback twin response message indicates that the twin construction of the target device has failed. The twin response message can also carry the reason for the failure, such as indication information indicating that fusion of twins is not allowed, device parameters of multiple devices do not support fusion of twins, etc.

[0124] Optionally, in this embodiment, the method further includes:

[0125] In a case where the target twin is a fusion twin of the multiple devices and a session establishment request message of the multiple devices is received, the second network function entity determines session establishment configuration information;

[0126] The second network function entity sends the session establishment configuration information to the first network function entity, where the session establishment configuration information is used to establish the sessions requested by the multiple devices.

[0127] That is to say, after building the fusion twins of multiple devices, when receiving session establishment request messages from the multiple devices, the second network function entity will determine the session establishment configuration information for establishing the sessions requested by the multiple devices, and send it to the first network function entity, so as to achieve efficient and high-quality session establishment for the multiple devices.

[0128] In this embodiment, the session establishment configuration information is obtained by the second network function entity or the third network function entity through pre-verification. Therefore, the second network function entity determines the session establishment configuration information by receiving the session establishment configuration information sent by the third network function entity.

[0129] The session establishment configuration information includes: a target session management function SMF, a target user plane management function UPF and at least one of the parameters for user plane path construction. Of course, the content of the session establishment configuration information is not limited to the above content, and will not be listed here one by one.

[0130] Optionally, in this embodiment, the second network function entity determines the session establishment configuration information, including:

[0131] The second network function entity sends session establishment auxiliary information and a joint session request message to the first network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of a session management function SMF and a user plane management function UPF;

[0132] The second network function entity receives a session establishment result and a session state fed back by the first network function entity based on the joint session request message;

[0133] The second network function entity determines the session establishment configuration information based on the session establishment result and the session state.

[0134] That is to say, during the pre-verification process, the second network function entity will send session establishment auxiliary information and a joint session request message to the first network function entity, so that the first network function entity can establish a session and feedback the session establishment result and session status, and the second network function entity can determine the session establishment configuration information based on the session establishment result and session status.

[0135] The second network function entity determines the session establishment configuration information in combination with the session establishment result and the session status, and can judge whether it is necessary to adjust the pre-verification session configuration for re-verification based on the session establishment result, the session status, the locally maintained information or the information obtained from other places; if necessary, the session modification is completed according to the new configuration until the configuration does not need to be adjusted, at which time the final pre-verification session configuration is the session establishment configuration information sent to the first network function entity. The pre-verification session configuration is determined based on the session establishment auxiliary information.

[0136] The session establishment auxiliary information may also include parameters for user plane path construction.

[0137] Optionally, before the second network function entity sends the session establishment auxiliary information to the first network function entity, the method further includes:

[0138] The second network function entity determines the session establishment auxiliary information by jointly evaluating the sessions of the multiple devices; or,

[0139] The second network function entity receives the session establishment auxiliary information sent by the third network function entity.

[0140] That is, on the one hand, after the second network function entity receives the session establishment auxiliary information sent by the third network function entity, it forwards the session establishment auxiliary information to the first network function entity; on the other hand, the second network function entity determines the session establishment auxiliary information by itself by jointly evaluating the sessions of multiple devices.

[0141] The purpose of joint evaluation is to avoid sessions of multiple devices. After a session is established, the previously established session needs to be modified.

[0142] Of course, the session establishment auxiliary information and the joint session request message may also be sent directly by the third network function entity to the first network function entity.

[0143] In addition, in this embodiment, the process of the third network function entity determining the session establishment configuration information is similar to that of the second network function entity, which will not be described in detail herein.

[0144] Of course, in the case where the target device is multiple devices and an independent twin is built for each device, similar steps as above can also be used to determine applicable session establishment configuration information when the multiple devices request to establish a session.

[0145] Optionally, in this embodiment, before the second network function entity or the third network function entity performs pre-verification, it will determine whether pre-verification is required based on the UE type, UE twin information, UE context, UE subscription data, etc.

[0146] It should be known that after the target twin is successfully built, not only can the network configuration pre-verification be completed based on the target twin, but also network fault handling, network automatic optimization and other processing can be performed, which will not be elaborated here.

[0147] like Figure 2 As shown, a digital twin processing method of an embodiment of the present application includes:

[0148] Step 201: A first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to request a second network function entity to build a twin for a target device; wherein the target device includes one or more devices.

[0149] Step 202: When it is determined that a twin needs to be built, the first network function entity sends a twin request message to the second network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request the construction of a twin of the target device.

[0150] That is, according to step 201 and step 202, the first network function entity will send a twin request message to the second network function entity requesting the construction of a twin of the target device when it is determined that a twin needs to be built for the target device, so that the second network function entity can understand the need to build a twin of the target device by receiving the twin request message. Thus, in response to the twin request message, the target twin is constructed on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance, thereby realizing the twin requirements for one or more devices and constructing corresponding twins in the form of NFs. There is no need to build a digital twin network that includes a complete physical network of the target device, thereby reducing the cost of digital twins and simplifying the process of building digital twins.

[0151] Optionally, the first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to request the second network function entity to build a twin for the target device, including:

[0152] The first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device based on the indication information; wherein the indication information is used to indicate whether to request the second network function entity to build a twin for the target device.

[0153] The indication information may be sent by the target device or may be pre-configured.

[0154] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0155] The first network function entity obtains the indication information and the device information of the target device carried in the registration request message by receiving the registration request message of the target device.

[0156] At this time, the terminal acts as a target device and sends a registration request message to the first network function entity (such as AMF), and the Preferred Network Behaviour parameter of the registration request message carries the indication information.

[0157] The registration request message also includes the device information of the target device, that is, the terminal. Of course, the registration request message may also include the registration type, the network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) of the requested slice, etc.

[0158] Optionally, the indication information is also used to indicate whether multiple devices are allowed to be fused into twins.

[0159] Among them, if the indication information indicates that multiple devices are allowed to perform fusion twinning, the target twin constructed can be a fusion twin of multiple devices included in the target device, and the twin request message can be understood as a request to build a fusion twin of the multiple devices; if the indication information indicates that multiple devices are not allowed to perform fusion twinning, the target twin constructed can be an independent twin of one or more devices included in the target device, and the twin request message can be understood as a request to build an independent twin of each device.

[0160] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0161] The first network function entity receives a twin response message sent by the second network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

[0162] In this way, after receiving the twin response message, the first network function entity can understand whether the twin construction of the target device is successful. If the twin construction of the target device fails, the reason for the failure can also be known through the twin response message, such as the indication information indicating that fusion twins are not allowed, the device parameters of multiple devices do not support fusion twins, etc.

[0163] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0164] The first network function entity receives session establishment configuration information sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment configuration information is used to establish sessions requested by the multiple devices, and the third network function entity is a network function entity that constructs a twin of the target device by generating a network function instance;

[0165] The first network function entity establishes the session requested by the target device according to the session establishment configuration information and the session establishment request of the target device.

[0166] That is, after the second network function entity or the third network function entity obtains the session establishment configuration information through pre-verification, the first network function entity can receive the session establishment configuration information and efficiently and high-quality establish the session requested by the target device in response to the session establishment request.

[0167] Optionally, the method further comprises:

[0168] The first network function entity receives the session establishment auxiliary information and the joint session request message sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of the SMF and the UPF;

[0169] The first network function entity feeds back a session establishment result and a session status to the second network function entity or the third network function entity based on the joint session request message, where the session establishment result and the session status are used to determine the session establishment configuration information.

[0170] Here, the first network function entity will try to establish a session by receiving session establishment auxiliary information and a joint session request message in pre-verification, and feedback the session establishment result and session status to the second network function entity or the third network function entity, so that the second network function entity or the third network function entity can determine the session establishment configuration information in combination with the session establishment result and session status. The session establishment auxiliary information may also include parameters for user plane path construction.

[0171] The following describes the application of the method in the embodiment of the present application in conjunction with specific scenarios.

[0172] Scenario 1: Figure 3 As shown, the target devices are UE1 and UE2, and the twins of the target devices are constructed.

[0173] Step 0: The network administrator deploys the mobile communication network according to the operation strategy. Here, the access network and the core network are mainly considered, and the bearer network is not described.

[0174] Step 1: The network administrator deploys one or more second network function entities based on the user business needs that the network intends to serve, and implements twin management NFs, including at least one of twin management UE, twin management AN, and twin management CN, to implement twin management of UE, AN, and CN respectively; or, use a unified twin management network function to implement twin management of the above-mentioned UE, AN, and CN.

[0175] Of course, in order to achieve the integrity of the twin, so that the twin control information can interact end-to-end between the twins, it can go beyond the real business and not affect the physical network. Considering that UE, AN and CN can be twinned and isolated from the physical network. At the same time, if the user's business needs include the need for accurate twinning of the network, the twin CN can also be subdivided into the granularity of specific network functions such as twin AMF and twin SMF.

[0176] On the other hand, considering that the core network is software-based, the impact of the twin network on the physical network can be avoided by simply allocating independent resources for the twin services through resource isolation. At this time, it is not necessary to build the twin CN separately.

[0177] In addition, when the core network is a joint distributed and centralized networking mode, the twin management NF and the specific twin NFs can be deployed in centralized nodes or distributed nodes, and the specific deployment location needs to be determined based on the user service. For example, for user services that expect low latency, the actual twin NFs are deployed as much as possible in distributed nodes located at the edge of the network to reduce the interaction delay between the physical body and the twin body. For example, for user services that expect higher reliability, the actual twin NFs can be deployed as much as possible in centralized nodes located in the center of the network, because centralized nodes are generally believed to have more global data information and more network resources.

[0178] Step 1a (optional): Through information interaction between AN and CN (i.e., collecting information of the AN physical body), that is, AN interacts with the twin AN management function T-AN-M (second network function entity) in CN, and generates the AN's twin T-AN (not shown in the figure) at the T-AN network function entity (third network function entity); at the same time, after the AN twin is generated, it continues to exchange information with AN in real time to accurately twin the AN status.

[0179] Step 2: UE1 registers to the network. The registration request message includes information such as registration type, requested slice NSSAI, Preferred Network Behaviour parameters, and adds device information.

[0180] Among them, the Preferred Network Behaviour parameter adds indication information, indicating whether to request the second network function entity to build a twin of the UE. If so, the further optional indication information also indicates whether multiple devices are allowed to perform fusion twinning, that is, fusion twinning with other UEs; (after step 2, perform steps 2a-2c)

[0181] Step 2a: AMF (first network function entity) determines whether to forward the registration request message of UE1 as a twin request message to the second network function entity T-UE-M according to the PreferredNetwork Behaviour parameter in the pre-configuration or registration request message.

[0182] If the indication information in the Preferred Network Behaviour parameter of UE1 indicates requesting the second network function entity to build a twin of the UE, the AMF forwards the registration request message of UE1 as a twin request message to T-UE-M (the second network function entity);

[0183] Alternatively, it is also possible to dynamically determine whether to request the second network function entity to build a twin of a specific UE (target device) through pre-configured indication information.

[0184] Step 2b (including 2b1 and 2b2): T-UE-M interacts with UE1 based on the twin request message, obtains the physical information of UE1, and generates the twin T-UE1 of UE1 on the third network function entity by generating the network function instance. T-UE1 can also be understood as the generated network function instance;

[0185] Among them, the data information required to generate the twin of UE1 comes from the device information carried in the registration request message of UE1, the UE context information maintained in the network, the physical information obtained by the information interaction in step 2b, etc.

[0186] Step 2c: T-UE-M responds to the twin request message in step 2a and sends a twin response message to AMF, carrying the twin result indicating that the twin of UE1 has been generated;

[0187] Steps 3, 3a, 3b, and 3c are basically the same as steps 2, 2a, 2b, and 2c. The difference is that step 3b will determine whether a fusion twin of UE1 and UE2 can be generated based on the messages in steps 2a and 3a; when determining to build a fusion twin of UE1 and UE2, step 3c generates (or upgrades) the fusion twin T-UE1 of UE1 and UE2.

[0188] Among them, the judgment method is first based on the indication information of the UE in the Preferred Network Behaviour parameter, or based on the contract data of UE1 and UE2. If the indication information or contract data of UE1 and UE2 both allow fusion twins, then the relationship between multiple UEs is further intelligently analyzed based on the similarity of UE device parameters (such as device information and location information) and it is judged whether to build a fusion twin of the target device (UE1 and UE2), that is, whether it is suitable for fusion twins of multiple UEs;

[0189] Steps 4a and 4b: After receiving the twin response messages of 2c and 3c, AMF sends the twin results to UE1 and UE2 respectively. This information can be sent through a separate twin result notification message, or the twin result can be carried in the registration acceptance message in the registration process in steps 2 and 3. After steps 4a and 4b, execute step 4.

[0190] Step 4: Complete pre-verification (such as network configuration pre-verification), network fault handling, network automatic optimization and other scenarios based on the constructed twin.

[0191] It should be noted that: only two physical UEs are used as examples in this scenario, but the method of the embodiment of the present application can realize the fusion twinning of N UEs into one T-UE, where N can be any positive integer. For example, three UEs of a user can be fused into twins, or hundreds or thousands of UEs of a factory can be fused into twins.

[0192] Scenario 2: Figure 4 As shown (with Figure 3 Similarly, the corresponding twin T-UE1 third network function entity is omitted. There is a data management function (DMF) on the core network side. DMF uniformly manages the data in the network, including UE context, contract data, etc. The target devices are UE1 and UE2, and the twins of the target devices are constructed.

[0193] The implementation steps of this scenario are similar to those of scenario 1, except that:

[0194] (1) Due to the existence of DMF, step 4 is added to synchronize the data in real time, and the data maintained at DMF is synchronously transmitted;

[0195] (2) Steps 2a-2c and 3a-3c in scenario 1 are adjusted to steps 5 to 7 here. Steps 2a and 3a can be combined into step 5. The information originally carried in the twin request message of steps 2a and 3a is obtained from the DMF together through step 6.

[0196] (3) Since the DMF maintains the global data information of the network node, the information obtained in step 6 includes not only the registration request message but also the subscription data on demand. Therefore, when the second network function entity or the third network function entity corresponding to T-UE1 determines whether fusion twins are needed, in addition to first determining whether fusion twins are allowed based on the indication information of the UE in the Preferred Network Behaviour parameter, and further intelligently analyzing the relationship between multiple UEs based on the similarity of the device parameters of the target device (such as device information, location information, etc.) and determining whether it is suitable to perform fusion twins of multiple UEs, it also adds the analysis of the relationship between multiple UEs based on the UE's subscription data and determines whether it is suitable to perform fusion twins of multiple UEs.

[0197] Scenario 3: Figure 5 As shown, the target devices are UE1 and UE2. The mobile communication end-to-end network supports DPF, i.e., data on-path processing. Then, the AN (first network function entity) of DPF completes the fusion twin.

[0198] The implementation steps of this scenario are similar to those of scenario 3.

[0199] In the UE registration process of steps 2 and 3, when AN is processing the registration request message forwarding process from UE to AMF, the local DPF of AN supports in-path processing of data, that is, AN executes step 4a, and parses the data through the data processing function, including parsing and fusion analysis of the registration request messages of multiple UEs, and determines whether UE twinning needs to be executed based on the information in the UE registration request message (the same as above). If necessary, execute step 5 to send the twin request message.

[0200] Scenario 4: Figure 6 As shown, the third network function entity constructs a fusion twin T-UE1 of UE1 and UE2, and establishes a session requested by UE1 and UE2

[0201] In steps 1 and 2, the UE sends a session establishment request to the third network function entity corresponding to the fusion twin T-UE1 (represented by T-UE1 in this scenario);

[0202] Step 3, T-UE1 determines whether pre-verification is required based on UE type, UE twin information, UE context, UE subscription data, etc.; if pre-verification is required, execute steps 4-6.

[0203] Step 4: When pre-verification is required, T-UE1 uses the UE's twin information (not the UE physical body's information) based on the local twin results of UE1 and UE2 to send a multi-UE joint session request message to AMF. The request message contains 2 session establishment request messages and session establishment auxiliary information (indication information for auxiliary selection of SMF and UPF). Specifically, the session establishment auxiliary information may include the SMF selection candidate list and UPF selection candidate list for the two sessions, and may also include the SMF and UPF selection results, as well as parameters for user plane path construction.

[0204] Among them, T-UE1 completes the SMF and UPF selection of the session through joint evaluation of the two sessions, so as to avoid the situation where after one session is established, when another session is established, the previous session needs to be modified due to the independence of the two sessions.

[0205] Step 5: AMF initiates a session management request to SMF based on the joint session request message of T-UE1, and SMF further completes the user plane path establishment;

[0206] Step 6: AMF returns the session establishment response to T-UE1, which includes the session establishment result and session status;

[0207] Step 6a: T-UE1 determines whether the configuration needs to be adjusted for re-authentication based on the session establishment response and the locally maintained information or the information obtained from other places; if necessary, the session modification is completed according to the new configuration;

[0208] Among them, if the DMF mentioned above exists, T-UE1 can obtain the session context for establishing a session for the twin UE and the status information of the user plane corresponding to the session from the DMF to determine whether the configuration needs to be adjusted;

[0209] Step 6b: If the configuration is confirmed, T-UE1 requests to release the session context established for the twin UE;

[0210] Steps 7 and 8: After T-UE1 determines the configuration, it forwards the session establishment request of UE1 and UE2 to AMF;

[0211] If pre-authentication is performed, the message will contain session establishment configuration information that indicates successful pre-authentication, including the selected SMF, selected UPF, and parameters for user plane path construction.

[0212] Step 9: AMF completes the subsequent session establishment process based on the received request.

[0213] It should be known that the above scenario is the application of the method of the embodiment of the present application described with the terminal as the target device. Of course, the target device can also be an access network device or a core network device, and its application can also adopt a similar method as mentioned above to build a twin in the form of NF and perform fusion twinning of multiple devices. For example, multiple physical ANs can be fused into a fused twin AN based on location information, spectrum resources, etc.

[0214] It should also be noted that the method of the embodiment of the present application only describes the basic ideas and processes for building a digital twin based on NF. The construction of the twin can be achieved by modeling, but the modeling method involved will not be repeated here.

[0215] In addition, if the RAN is not service-oriented, the twin may also be located in the access network rather than the core network; if the RAN is service-oriented, there may be no distinction between the access network and the core network, so the twin can also be collectively referred to as being deployed on the network side.

[0216] like Figure 7 As shown, the embodiment of the present application further provides a digital twin processing device, including: a memory 720, a transceiver 710, and a processor 700: the memory 720 is used to store program instructions; the transceiver 710 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor 700; the processor 700 is used to read the program instructions in the memory 720;

[0217] The transceiver is used to perform the following operations:

[0218] Receive a twin request message from a first network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request construction of a twin of a target device, wherein the target device includes one or more devices;

[0219] The processor is also used to: build a target twin on a third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

[0220] Among them, Figure 7 In the embodiment, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking together various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 700 and memory represented by memory 720. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and are therefore not further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 710 may be a plurality of components, namely, a transmitter and a receiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium, which may include a wireless channel, a wired channel, an optical cable, and other transmission media. The processor 700 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 720 may store data used by the processor 700 when performing operations.

[0221] The processor 700 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0222] Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

[0223] In the case where the target device is a device, constructing an independent twin of the target device on the third network function entity as a target twin;

[0224] In the case where the target device is a plurality of devices, determining whether a fusion twin of the target device can be constructed based on device parameters of the plurality of devices; and in the case where it is determined that the fusion twin can be constructed, constructing the fusion twin as the target twin on the third network function entity;

[0225] The device parameters include at least one of the following:

[0226] Location information;

[0227] Device information;

[0228] Contract data.

[0229] Optionally, the parameter of the network function instance includes at least one of the following:

[0230] Network function type;

[0231] Network function instance identifier;

[0232] Network function instance address;

[0233] Network function service name;

[0234] Network function service operation.

[0235] Optionally, the transceiver is further used for:

[0236] Send a twin response message to the first network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

[0237] Optionally, the processor is further configured to: determine session establishment configuration information when the target twin is a fusion twin of the multiple devices and a session establishment request message of the multiple devices is received;

[0238] The transceiver is further used to: send the session establishment configuration information to the first network function entity, where the session establishment configuration information is used to establish the sessions requested by the multiple devices.

[0239] Optionally, the transceiver is further used to: send session establishment auxiliary information and a joint session request message to the first network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of a session management function SMF and a user plane management function UPF;

[0240] The transceiver is further used to: receive a session establishment result and a session state fed back by the first network function entity based on the joint session request message;

[0241] The processor is further configured to determine the session establishment configuration information based on the session establishment result and the session state.

[0242] Optionally, the transceiver is further configured to: determine the session establishment auxiliary information by jointly evaluating the sessions of the multiple devices; or,

[0243] The transceiver is further used to: receive the session establishment auxiliary information sent by the third network function entity.

[0244] The device in the embodiment of the present application, by receiving the twin request message of the first network function entity, will understand the need to build a twin of the target device, and thus, in response to the twin request message, build the target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance, thereby realizing the twin demand for one or more devices and building corresponding twins in the form of network functions. There is no need to build a digital twin network including a complete set of physical networks of the target device, thereby reducing the cost of digital twins and simplifying the digital twin construction process.

[0245] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented by the method embodiment of the above-mentioned second network function entity, and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be specifically described here.

[0246] like Figure 8 As shown, the present application also provides a digital twin processing device, including:

[0247] A first receiving module 810 is used to receive a twin request message from a first network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request to build a twin of a target device, and the target device includes one or more devices;

[0248] The second processing module 820 is used to build a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

[0249] Optionally, the second processing module is further used for:

[0250] In the case where the target device is a device, constructing an independent twin of the target device on the third network function entity as a target twin;

[0251] In the case where the target device is a plurality of devices, determining whether a fusion twin of the target device can be constructed based on device parameters of the plurality of devices; and in the case where it is determined that the fusion twin can be constructed, constructing the fusion twin as the target twin on the third network function entity;

[0252] The device parameters include at least one of the following:

[0253] Location information;

[0254] Device information;

[0255] Contract data.

[0256] Optionally, the parameters of the network function instance include at least one of the following:

[0257] Network function type;

[0258] Network function instance identifier;

[0259] Network function instance address;

[0260] Network function service name;

[0261] Network function service operation.

[0262] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0263] A twin response message sending module is used to send a twin response message to the first network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

[0264] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0265] A third processing module is used to determine session establishment configuration information when the target twin is a fusion twin of the multiple devices and a session establishment request message of the multiple devices is received;

[0266] The session establishment configuration information sending module is used to send the session establishment configuration information to the first network function entity, where the session establishment configuration information is used to establish the sessions requested by the multiple devices.

[0267] Optionally, the third processing module is further used for:

[0268] Sending session establishment auxiliary information and a joint session request message to the first network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of a session management function SMF and a user plane management function UPF;

[0269] receiving a session establishment result and a session status fed back by the first network function entity based on the joint session request message;

[0270] The session establishment configuration information is determined based on the session establishment result and the session state.

[0271] Optionally, the third processing module is further used for:

[0272] Determine the session establishment auxiliary information by jointly evaluating the sessions of the multiple devices; or,

[0273] The session establishment auxiliary information sent by the third network function entity is received.

[0274] The device of the embodiment of the present application, by receiving the twin request message of the first network function entity, will understand the need to build a twin of the target device, and then, in response to the twin request message, build the target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance, thereby realizing the twin demand for one or more devices and building corresponding twins in the form of network functions. There is no need to build a digital twin network including a complete set of physical networks of the target device, thereby reducing the cost of digital twins and simplifying the digital twin construction process.

[0275] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0276] In some embodiments of the present application, a processor-readable storage medium is also provided, wherein the processor-readable storage medium stores program instructions, and the program instructions are used to enable the processor to execute the steps of the digital twin processing method implemented by the above-mentioned second network function entity.

[0277] When the program instructions are executed by the processor, the above application can be realized. Figure 1 To avoid repetition, all implementation methods in the method embodiment on the second network function entity side are not described again here.

[0278] The present application also provides a digital twin processing device, including: a memory, a transceiver, and a processor: the memory is used to store program instructions; the transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; the processor is used to read the program instructions in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0279] Determine whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device in the second network function entity; wherein the target device includes one or more devices;

[0280] The transceiver is also used to: when it is determined that a twin needs to be built, send a twin request message to the second network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request the construction of a twin of the target device.

[0281] Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

[0282] Based on the indication information, determine whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device; wherein the indication information is used to indicate whether to request the second network function entity to build a twin of the target device.

[0283] Optionally, the transceiver is further used for:

[0284] The indication information and the device information of the target device carried in the registration request message are obtained by receiving the registration request message of the target device.

[0285] Optionally, the indication information is also used to indicate whether multiple devices are allowed to be fused into twins.

[0286] Optionally, the transceiver is further used for:

[0287] Receive a twin response message sent by the second network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

[0288] Optionally, the transceiver is further used for:

[0289] receiving session establishment configuration information sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment configuration information is used to establish sessions requested by the multiple devices, and the third network function entity is a network function entity that constructs a twin of the target device by generating a network function instance;

[0290] The processor is further configured to establish a session requested by the target device according to the session establishment configuration information and a session establishment request of the target device.

[0291] Optionally, the transceiver is further used for:

[0292] Receiving session establishment assistance information and a joint session request message sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment assistance information is used to assist in selecting at least one of the SMF and the UPF;

[0293] Feedback a session establishment result and a session status to the second network function entity or the third network function entity based on the joint session request message, wherein the session establishment result and the session status are used to determine the session establishment configuration information.

[0294] The device of the embodiment of the present application will, when it is determined that a twin needs to be built for the target device, send a twin request message to the second network function entity requesting the construction of a twin of the target device, so that the second network function entity can understand the need to build a twin of the target device by receiving the twin request message. Thus, in response to the twin request message, the target twin is constructed on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance, thereby realizing the twin requirements for one or more devices and constructing corresponding twins in the form of NFs. There is no need to build a digital twin network that includes a complete set of physical networks for the target device, thereby reducing the cost of digital twins and simplifying the process of building digital twins.

[0295] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0296] The device of this embodiment may also be as follows Figure 7 The structure shown.

[0297] like Fig. 9 As shown, the present application also provides a digital twin processing device, including:

[0298] A first processing module 910 is used to determine whether it is necessary to build a twin for a target device in a second network function entity; wherein the target device includes one or more devices;

[0299] The first sending module 920 is used to send a twin request message to the second network function entity when it is determined that a twin needs to be built; wherein the twin request message is used to request the construction of a twin of the target device.

[0300] The device of the embodiment of the present application will, when it is determined that a twin needs to be built for the target device, send a twin request message to the second network function entity requesting the construction of a twin of the target device, so that the second network function entity can understand the need to build a twin of the target device by receiving the twin request message. Thus, in response to the twin request message, the target twin is constructed on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance, thereby realizing the twin requirements for one or more devices and constructing corresponding twins in the form of NFs. There is no need to build a digital twin network that includes a complete set of physical networks for the target device, thereby reducing the cost of digital twins and simplifying the process of building digital twins.

[0301] Optionally, the first processing module is further used for:

[0302] Based on the indication information, determine whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device; wherein the indication information is used to indicate whether to request the second network function entity to build a twin of the target device.

[0303] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0304] The registration request message receiving module is used to obtain the indication information and the device information of the target device carried in the registration request message by receiving the registration request message of the target device.

[0305] Optionally, the indication information is also used to indicate whether multiple devices are allowed to be fused into twins.

[0306] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0307] A twin response message receiving module is used to receive a twin response message sent by the second network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

[0308] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0309] a session establishment configuration information receiving module, configured to receive session establishment configuration information sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment configuration information is used to establish sessions requested by the multiple devices, and the third network function entity is a network function entity that constructs a twin of the target device by generating a network function instance;

[0310] The fourth processing module is used to establish the session requested by the target device according to the session establishment configuration information and the session establishment request of the target device.

[0311] Optionally, the device further comprises:

[0312] A second receiving module is used to receive the session establishment auxiliary information and the joint session request message sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of the SMF and the UPF;

[0313] The second sending module is used to feed back a session establishment result and a session status to the second network function entity or the third network function entity based on the joint session request message, wherein the session establishment result and the session status are used to determine the session establishment configuration information.

[0314] It should be noted here that the above-mentioned device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-mentioned method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. The parts and beneficial effects of this embodiment that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0315] In some embodiments of the present application, a processor-readable storage medium is also provided, wherein the processor-readable storage medium stores program instructions, and the program instructions are used to enable the processor to execute steps of a digital twin processing method implemented by a first network function entity.

[0316] When the program instructions are executed by the processor, the above application can be realized. Figure 2 To avoid repetition, all implementation methods in the method embodiment on the first network function entity side are not described again here.

[0317] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applicable to a variety of systems, especially 5G systems. For example, applicable systems can be global system of mobile communication (Global System of Mobile communication, GSM) system, code division multiple access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access, WCDMA) general packet radio service (General Packet Radio Service, GPRS) system, long-term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (Frequency Division Duplex, FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (Time Division Duplex, TDD) system, advanced long-term evolution (Long Term Evolution Advanced, LTE-A) system, universal mobile system (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, UMTS), global interconnection microwave access (Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access, WiMAX) system, 5G new air interface (New Radio, NR) system, etc. These various systems include terminal equipment and network equipment. The system may also include core network parts, such as the Evolved Packet System (EPS), 5G System (5GS), etc.

[0318] The terminal device involved in the embodiment of the present application may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with a wireless connection function, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. In different systems, the name of the terminal device may also be different. For example, in a 5G system, the terminal device may be called a user equipment (UE). A wireless terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks (CN) via a radio access network (RAN). The wireless terminal device may be a mobile terminal device, such as a mobile phone (or a "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal device. For example, it may be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges language and / or data with a wireless access network. For example, personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other devices. The wireless terminal device may also be referred to as a system, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, an access point, a remote terminal device, an access terminal device, a user terminal device, a user agent, and a user device, but is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0319] The network device involved in the embodiment of the present application may be a base station, which may include multiple cells providing services for the terminal. Depending on the specific application scenario, the base station may also be called an access point, or may be a device in the access network that communicates with the wireless terminal device through one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The network device may be used to interchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, and serve as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, wherein the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device may also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device involved in the embodiments of the present application may be a network device (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in the Global System for Mobile communications (Global System for Mobile communications, GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), or a network device (NodeB) in Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), or an evolutionary network device (evolutional Node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in the Long Term Evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in the 5G network architecture (next generation system), or a home evolved Node B (Home evolved Node B, HeNB), a relay node, a home base station (femto), a pico base station (pico), etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In some network structures, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU) node and a distributed unit (DU) node, and the centralized unit and the distributed unit may also be arranged geographically separately.

[0320] Network devices and terminal devices can each use one or more antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission. MIMO transmission can be single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) or multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). Depending on the form and number of antenna combinations, MIMO transmission can be 2D-MIMO, 3D-MIMO, FD-MIMO or massive-MIMO, or it can be diversity transmission, precoded transmission or beamforming transmission, etc.

[0321] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation. In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0322] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

[0323] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage and optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0324] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer executable instructions. These computer executable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0325] These processor executable instructions may also be stored in a processor readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the processor readable memory produce an article of manufacture including an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0326] These processor-executable instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions for executing on the computer or other programmable device to implement the process. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps for the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0327] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A digital twin processing method, characterized in that: include: The second network function entity receives a twin request message from the first network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request construction of a twin of a target device, wherein the target device includes one or more devices; The second network function entity constructs a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The second network function entity constructs a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message, including: In the case where the target device is a device, the second network function entity constructs an independent twin of the target device on the third network function entity as a target twin; In the case where the target device is a plurality of devices, the second network function entity determines whether a fusion twin of the target device can be constructed based on device parameters of the plurality of devices; if it is determined that the fusion twin can be constructed, the fusion twin is constructed on the third network function entity as the target twin; The device parameters include at least one of the following: Location information; Device information; Contract data.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The parameters of the network function instance include at least one of the following: Network function type; Network function instance identifier; Network function instance address; Network function service name; Network function service operation.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The second network function entity sends a twin response message to the first network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

5. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: In a case where the target twin is a fusion twin of the multiple devices and a session establishment request message of the multiple devices is received, the second network function entity determines session establishment configuration information; The second network function entity sends the session establishment configuration information to the first network function entity, where the session establishment configuration information is used to establish the sessions requested by the multiple devices.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The second network function entity determines the session establishment configuration information, including: The second network function entity sends session establishment auxiliary information and a joint session request message to the first network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of a session management function SMF and a user plane management function UPF; The second network function entity receives a session establishment result and a session state fed back by the first network function entity based on the joint session request message; The second network function entity determines the session establishment configuration information based on the session establishment result and the session state.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that Before the second network function entity sends the session establishment auxiliary information to the first network function entity, the method further includes: The second network function entity determines the session establishment auxiliary information by jointly evaluating the sessions of the multiple devices; or, The second network function entity receives the session establishment auxiliary information sent by the third network function entity.

8. A digital twin processing method, characterized in that: include: The first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to request the second network function entity to build a twin for a target device; wherein the target device includes one or more devices; When it is determined that a twin needs to be built, the first network function entity sends a twin request message to the second network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request the construction of a twin of the target device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to request the second network function entity to build a twin for the target device, including: The first network function entity determines whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device based on the indication information; wherein the indication information is used to indicate whether to request the second network function entity to build a twin for the target device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network function entity obtains the indication information and the device information of the target device carried in the registration request message by receiving the registration request message of the target device.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The indication information is also used to indicate whether multiple devices are allowed to perform fusion twinning.

12. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network function entity receives a twin response message sent by the second network function entity; wherein the twin response message carries the twin result of the target device.

13. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network function entity receives session establishment configuration information sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment configuration information is used to establish sessions requested by the multiple devices, and the third network function entity is a network function entity that constructs a twin of the target device by generating a network function instance; The first network function entity establishes the session requested by the target device according to the session establishment configuration information and the session establishment request of the target device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first network function entity receives the session establishment auxiliary information and the joint session request message sent by the second network function entity or the third network function entity; wherein the session establishment auxiliary information is used to assist in selecting at least one of the SMF and the UPF; The first network function entity feeds back a session establishment result and a session status to the second network function entity or the third network function entity based on the joint session request message, where the session establishment result and the session status are used to determine the session establishment configuration information.

15. A digital twin processing device, characterized in that: include: Memory, transceiver, processor; A memory for storing program instructions; a transceiver, for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; A processor is configured to read the program instructions in the memory and perform the following operations: Determine whether it is necessary to build a twin for the target device in the second network function entity; wherein the target device includes one or more devices; The transceiver is also used to: when it is determined that a twin needs to be built, send a twin request message to the second network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request the construction of a twin of the target device.

16. A digital twin processing device, characterized in that: include: A first processing module, configured to determine whether it is necessary to construct a twin for a target device in a second network function entity; wherein the target device includes one or more devices; The first sending module is used to send a twin request message to the second network function entity when it is determined that a twin needs to be built; wherein the twin request message is used to request to build a twin of the target device.

17. A digital twin processing device, characterized in that: include: Memory, transceiver, processor; A memory for storing program instructions; a transceiver, for transmitting and receiving data under the control of the processor; The processor is used to read the program instructions in the memory, and the transceiver is used to perform the following operations: Receive a twin request message from a first network function entity; wherein the twin request message is used to request construction of a twin of a target device, wherein the target device includes one or more devices; The processor is also used to: build a target twin on a third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

18. A digital twin processing device, characterized in that: include: A first receiving module, configured to receive a twin request message from a first network function entity; In, the twin request message is used to request to build a twin of a target device, and the target device includes one or more devices; The second processing module is used to build a target twin on the third network function entity by generating a network function instance according to the twin request message.

19. A processor-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to enable the processor to execute the digital twin processing method described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or the digital twin processing method described in any one of claims 8 to 14.

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