Industrial Internet service configuration methods, devices, equipment and network systems

Abstract

This disclosure proposes an industrial internet service configuration method, apparatus, device, and network system, relating to the field of communication technology. The industrial internet service configuration method disclosed herein includes: a core network discovering terminals and identifying their topology and communication model; detecting service flow information of the terminals on their forwarding paths; determining quality of service (QoS) configuration information and scheduling configuration information based on the service flow information, topology, and communication model; and sending the QoS configuration information and scheduling configuration information to relevant network devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an industrial internet service configuration method, apparatus, equipment, and network system. Background Technology

[0002] URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications), as one of the typical applications of 5G, is highly adaptable to industrial internet scenarios with deterministic requirements such as low latency and high reliability.

[0003] To support URLLC application scenarios, 3GPP 5G NR (New Radio) introduced TWG (Transmission without grant) to further reduce scheduling latency. UE (User Equipment) can continuously use specified uplink transmission resources within a single gNB activation and deactivation period without requiring multiple DCI (Downlink Control Information) indications. This effectively reduces the latency of UE sending SR (Scheduling Request), BSR (Buffer Status Report), and gNB uplink grant during traditional scheduling processes. Summary of the Invention

[0004] One objective of this disclosure is to improve the efficiency and reliability of industrial internet configuration.

[0005] According to one aspect of some embodiments of this disclosure, an industrial internet service configuration method is proposed, comprising: core network discovering terminals and discovering the topology and communication model of the terminals; detecting service flow information of the terminals on the forwarding path; determining quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information based on the service flow information, topology and communication model; and sending the quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information to relevant network devices.

[0006] In some embodiments, the core network discovers terminals by identifying terminals through network characteristics.

[0007] In some embodiments, the enhanced PCF (Policy Control Function) unit or IISF (Industrial Internet Service Function) unit in the core network discovers the terminal.

[0008] In some embodiments, discovering terminals by identifying network features includes: discovering terminals in the network by identifying at least one of industrial flow features or features collected by sensors deployed in the network.

[0009] In some embodiments, discovering the topology and communication model of a terminal includes: obtaining the topology and communication model of the terminal by identifying features collected by sensors deployed in the network, analyzing the features of collected network performance data, or interacting with the platform in at least one of the following ways.

[0010] In some embodiments, the topology relationship includes the topology of the industrial network in which the terminal is located, and the communication model includes at least one of average latency, jitter, packet loss rate, and burst rate on the transmission path associated with the terminal.

[0011] In some embodiments, detecting service flow information of the terminal on the forwarding path includes: acquiring user plane data information detected and reported by the user plane functional unit; and acquiring service flow information based on the user plane data information, wherein the service flow information includes at least one of service flow identifier, service flow priority, service flow type, and service flow deterministic requirements.

[0012] In some embodiments, service flow priority is positively correlated with the real-time requirements of the service.

[0013] In some embodiments, the service flow type includes at least one of periodic and non-periodic types, wherein when the service flow type includes periodic, the service flow information includes the service flow period.

[0014] In some embodiments, the deterministic requirements of the service flow include at least one of the following: upper bound of latency, upper bound of jitter, lower bound of bandwidth, lower bound of reliability, and upper bound of packet loss rate.

[0015] In some embodiments, determining the quality of service (QoS) configuration information includes: determining QoS requirements based on service flow information, topology relationships, and communication models; and determining QoS configuration information based on the policy control function unit according to the QoS requirements.

[0016] In some embodiments, the scheduling configuration information includes scheduling period configuration information and time-frequency resource configuration information of the service flow carried by the user equipment connected to the terminal, wherein the radio access network determines the time interval for initiating a scheduling-free process to the user equipment based on the scheduling period configuration information.

[0017] In some embodiments, determining the scheduling configuration information includes: determining the service flow type of the service flow carried by the user equipment connected to the terminal; determining the time length of the scheduling period based on the service flow type as the scheduling period configuration information, wherein the scheduling configuration information includes the scheduling period configuration information.

[0018] In some embodiments, determining the duration of the scheduling period based on the service flow type includes: when the service flow type includes periodic types and the number of types of periodic service flow durations is 1, determining the duration of the scheduling period to be the duration of the periodic service carried by the user equipment or a predetermined clock unit length.

[0019] In some embodiments, determining the duration of the scheduling period based on the service flow type includes: when the service flow type includes periodic types and the number of types of periodic service flow durations is greater than 1, determining the duration of the scheduling period as the least common multiple of the duration of each periodic service flow carried by the user equipment.

[0020] In some embodiments, determining the length of the scheduling period based on the service flow type includes: when the service flow type is aperiodic, determining the length of the scheduling period to be a predetermined clock unit length.

[0021] In some embodiments, determining the scheduling configuration information further includes: when the service flow type includes aperiodicity, generating radio resource network scheduling control information, wherein the radio resource network, based on the radio resource network scheduling control information, adjusts the resource allocation for the target aperiodic service as needed after receiving the buffer status report reported by the user equipment at the start of the target aperiodic service in the first period, until the service end report is received, and then allocates the remaining resources reserved for the aperiodic service in the current scheduling period to other service flows that need them.

[0022] In some embodiments, sending quality of service (QoS) configuration information to relevant network devices includes: sending QoS rules to user equipment connected to the terminal; sending QoS profiles to the radio access network; and sending user plane rules for performing at least one of classification, bandwidth policy enforcement, or user plane traffic marking to the user plane function unit.

[0023] In some embodiments, sending scheduling configuration information to relevant network devices includes: sending the scheduling configuration information to the user plane function unit through the session management function unit, and sending it to the radio access network through the session management function unit and the access and mobility management function unit.

[0024] According to one aspect of some embodiments of this disclosure, an industrial internet service device is proposed, comprising: a discovery unit configured to discover terminals and discover the topology and communication model of the terminals; a detection unit configured to detect service flow information of the terminals on the forwarding path; a configuration information determination unit configured to determine quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information based on the service flow information, topology and communication model; and an information sending unit configured to send the quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information to relevant network devices.

[0025] According to one aspect of some embodiments of this disclosure, an industrial internet service device is proposed, comprising: a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to execute any of the industrial internet service configuration methods described above based on instructions stored in the memory.

[0026] According to one aspect of some embodiments of this disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores computer program instructions thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of any of the industrial internet service configuration methods described above.

[0027] According to one aspect of some embodiments of this disclosure, a core network device is proposed, including any of the industrial internet service devices described above.

[0028] According to one aspect of some embodiments of this disclosure, a network system is proposed, including: the core network device mentioned above; and a radio access network configured to receive quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information from the core network device, and to determine, based on the scheduling configuration information, a time interval for initiating a scheduling-free process to a user equipment connected to a terminal. Attached Figure Description

[0029] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this disclosure and form part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and are used to explain the disclosure, but do not constitute an undue limitation of the disclosure. In the drawings:

[0030] Figure 1 Flowcharts of some embodiments of the industrial internet service configuration method disclosed herein.

[0031] Figure 2 These are schematic diagrams illustrating some embodiments of the industrial internet service configuration method disclosed herein.

[0032] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the network architecture related to the industrial internet service configuration method disclosed herein.

[0033] Figure 4A -D is a schematic diagram of the service flow scheduling process for some embodiments of the industrial internet service configuration method disclosed herein.

[0034] Figure 5 These are schematic diagrams of some embodiments of the industrial internet service device disclosed herein.

[0035] Figure 6 These are schematic diagrams of other embodiments of the industrial internet service device disclosed herein.

[0036] Figure 7These are schematic diagrams of some further embodiments of the industrial internet service device disclosed herein.

[0037] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the core network equipment disclosed herein.

[0038] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of some embodiments of the network system disclosed herein. Detailed Implementation

[0039] The technical solutions of this disclosure will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0040] In related technologies, when configuring policies for service flows of terminals in the Industrial Internet, the core network needs to obtain and manually configure service flow policy information offline from the OT (Operational Technology) system. With the surge in service types and volumes in the industrial network, the service flow cycles, task priorities, and service quality requirements of different UEs and different industrial terminals are heterogeneous and diverse, making manual configuration of service flows complex, inefficient, and prone to errors.

[0041] To address the aforementioned issues, this disclosure proposes an industrial internet service configuration method, apparatus, equipment, and network system to automate the configuration of service flow scheduling rules and control strategies.

[0042] Flowcharts of some embodiments of the industrial internet service configuration method disclosed herein are as follows: Figure 1 As shown.

[0043] In step S11, the core network discovers the terminal and its topology and communication model.

[0044] In some embodiments, the core network can proactively discover terminals, topologies, and communication models used in the industrial internet through the industrial internet service capabilities of the enhanced PCF, or by adding the network element IISF to the core network. In some embodiments, terminals used in the industrial internet (hereinafter referred to as industrial terminals) may include computer equipment, handheld terminals, sensor devices, and mechanical equipment capable of interacting with the internet in industrial scenarios. In some embodiments, industrial terminals access the network by connecting to the UE.

[0045] In some embodiments, the core network can discover industrial terminals in the network through network feature recognition. In some embodiments, terminals in the network are discovered by identifying at least one of the following methods: identifying industrial flow characteristics and identifying characteristics collected by sensors deployed in the network. Industrial flow characteristics may include the traffic and frequency of business flows in the Industrial Internet, and may also include information features included in the business flows, such as business identifiers and production line identifiers. In some embodiments, industrial flow data can be collected as samples to train a machine learning model, and the trained model can be used to identify industrial flows appearing in the network. Characteristics collected by sensors deployed in the network may include image features, audio features, etc. In some embodiments, industrial terminals (such as production line equipment) appearing in the network are identified by acquiring environmental changes detected by sensor devices deployed in the network. In some embodiments, the network's integrated sensing capabilities can be used to identify industrial terminals. Based on the method in this embodiment, the network data collection and analysis capabilities can be improved, and the timeliness and automation of discovering industrial terminals appearing in the network can be enhanced.

[0046] In some embodiments, the topology and communication model of the terminal are obtained by identifying features collected by sensors deployed in the network, analyzing the features of the collected network performance data, or interacting with the platform in at least one of the following ways:

[0047] In some embodiments, the topology relationship includes the topology of the industrial network in which the terminal is located, and the communication model includes at least one of average latency, jitter, packet loss rate, and burst rate on the transmission path associated with the terminal. This method enables further understanding of the network status in which the industrial terminal is located, based on the discovery of the industrial terminal, providing data support for the subsequent generation of configuration information.

[0048] In step S12, the service flow information of the terminal on the forwarding path is detected.

[0049] In some embodiments, user plane data information detected and reported by UPF (User Plane Function) can be obtained first, and then business flow information can be obtained based on the user plane data information. The business flow information includes at least one of business flow identifier, business flow priority, business flow type, and business flow deterministic requirements.

[0050] In some embodiments, the priority of a service flow is positively correlated with the real-time requirements of the service; that is, the higher the real-time requirements of the service, the higher the priority of the service flow.

[0051] In some embodiments, the service flow type includes at least one of periodic and aperiodic types. When the service flow type is periodic, the service flow information includes the service flow cycle. In some embodiments, when the service flow type is aperiodic, the terminal needs to send a BSR (Buffer Status Report) and a BFR (Business Finished Report) to the RAN at the start and end of the service, respectively. In some embodiments, the service cycle of a periodic service flow is generally fixed, such as material processing or metal part quality inspection. The duration of an aperiodic service flow is generally uncertain. For example, continuously fine-tuning the parameter configuration of a device until it operates ideally within a certain period of time generally requires an uncertain adjustment time. In some embodiments, the service flow type can be determined based on the pre-stored correspondence between service flow identifiers and service flow types, or based on periodic analysis of service flow characteristics.

[0052] In some embodiments, the deterministic requirements of the service flow include at least one of the following: upper bound of latency, upper bound of jitter, lower bound of bandwidth, lower bound of reliability, and upper bound of packet loss rate.

[0053] In step S13, service quality configuration information and scheduling configuration information are determined based on service flow information, topology relationship and communication model.

[0054] In some embodiments, determining QoS configuration information includes: determining QoS requirements based on service flow information, topology relationships, and communication models; and then, based on the QoS requirements, sending the QoS requirements and communication models as input information to the PCF (Process Control Function), and obtaining feedback from the PCF as QoS configuration information. This method leverages the current functionalities in the core network to determine QoS configuration information, reducing implementation complexity.

[0055] In some embodiments, steps S11 and S12 can be implemented within the PCF. In this case, the enhanced PCF with industrial internet service capabilities can determine the quality of service configuration information within the PCF, thereby further reducing information interaction operations and improving processing efficiency.

[0056] In some embodiments, the scheduling configuration information includes scheduling period configuration information and time-frequency resource configuration information for the service flow carried by the UE. The scheduling period configuration information includes the time interval for controlling the radio access network to initiate a non-scheduling process to the UE. In this time interval, the UE can continuously use the specified uplink transmission resources without needing multiple DCI indications.

[0057] In some embodiments, the determined scheduling period configuration information can be related to the service flow type. The service flow type carried by the UE can be determined first, and then the time length of the scheduling period can be determined based on the service flow type as the scheduling period configuration information. This method can improve the precision of the scheduling period configuration information determination and improve the matching degree with the service flow.

[0058] In some embodiments, determining the scheduling configuration information further includes: when the service flow type includes aperiodicity, generating radio resource network scheduling control information, wherein the radio resource network, based on the radio resource network scheduling control information, adjusts the resource allocation for the target aperiodic service as needed after receiving the BSR reported by the UE at the start of the target aperiodic service in the first cycle, until a BFR is received, and then allocates the remaining resources reserved for the aperiodic service in the current scheduling cycle to other service flows that need them. This method enables the allocation of reserved but unused remaining resources to other service flows that need them, thereby improving resource utilization while also enhancing the transmission capacity and efficiency of the service flows.

[0059] In step S14, the quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information are sent to the relevant network devices.

[0060] In some embodiments, the core network distributes quality of service configuration information to the UPF, RAN, and UE, and distributes scheduling rules to the UPF and RAN.

[0061] In some embodiments, Quality of Service (QoS) configuration information generally refers to QoS policies related to QoS mechanisms, such as QoS rules(s) issued by the core network to the UE, QoS profile(s) issued by the core network to the RAN, and user plane rules issued by the core network to the UPF for performing classification, bandwidth policy enforcement, user plane traffic marking, etc., but does not specifically refer to QoS rules(s) issued by the core network to the UE. In some embodiments, the core network sends the generated QoS rules(s) to the UE, the QoS profile(s) to the RAN, and the user plane rules for performing at least one of classification, bandwidth policy enforcement, or user plane traffic marking to the UPF, thereby completing the configuration of QoS information.

[0062] In some embodiments, the core network sends scheduling configuration information to the UPF through the SMF (Session Management Function) unit, and to the RAN through the SMF and AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) units.

[0063] Based on the method in the embodiments shown above, by automatically identifying industrial terminals and automatically configuring scheduling rules, the efficiency of service flow scheduling is improved, the reliability and automation of industrial control are enhanced, the resource scheduling process of UE service flow is simplified, the overhead of uplink and downlink signaling interaction is reduced, and the flexibility in adapting to diverse service flows is improved, thereby more efficiently meeting the deterministic requirements of low latency and high reliability in industrial automation scenarios.

[0064] Schematic diagrams of some embodiments of the industrial internet service configuration method disclosed herein are shown below. Figure 2 As shown, the implementation steps of the Industrial Internet business configuration method can be summarized as discovery, parsing, mapping, and distribution.

[0065] In step 1 (discovery), 5GC discovers industrial terminals based on external feature recognition (static recognition, dynamic capture, etc.) and industrial flow feature recognition, or by leveraging the network's integrated sensing capabilities; and discovers the topological relationships and communication models of industrial terminals based on external feature information, historical information collected within the network, or information interacted with external platforms.

[0066] In step 2 (parsing), the IISF in 5GC, or the Enhanced-PCF with built-in industrial internet service capabilities, receives user plane data information reported by each UPF and parses the industrial terminal service flow information, such as service flow identifier, service flow priority, service flow type, and service flow deterministic requirements.

[0067] In step 3 (mapping), the IISF, or the Enhanced-PCF with built-in Industrial Internet service capabilities, performs a comprehensive calculation of the scheduling cycle for all service flows belonging to the same UE based on the topology of the industrial terminals and the service flow type in the service flow information. It also maps the service flow requirements in the service flow information to QoS requirements, which are used as input for PCF policy decisions (the Enhanced-PCF with Industrial Internet service capabilities can be implemented directly within the PCF).

[0068] In step 4 (distribution), the scheduling configuration information, including the scheduling period, is sent to the UPF via the SMF, and then to the RAN via the SMF and AMF; the QoS configuration information is sent to the UPF, RAN, and UE.

[0069] Through this method, the core network can proactively detect relevant information such as industrial terminal service characteristics and network topology, and automatically generate service flow scheduling rules based on this information. This effectively realizes closed-loop automated configuration of industrial terminal service flow scheduling rules in the industrial internet scenario, improves the efficiency of configuration and resource scheduling, and enhances the reliability and automation of industrial control. Based on a comprehensive consideration of different types of service flows, the signaling interaction process is simplified and signaling overhead is reduced based on the scheduling-free method. The accuracy and efficiency of service flow scheduling are improved through automatic detection of service characteristics and automatic configuration of scheduling rules, which can effectively meet the low latency requirements of the industrial internet scenario.

[0070] In some embodiments, taking the separate configuration of an IISF unit in the core network as an example, the network architecture example involving the newly added IISF network element in the core network is as follows: Figure 3 As shown. The IISF unit can discover industrial terminals based on feature data analysis and can acquire data reported by the user plane. In some embodiments, the industrial terminal is signal-connected to the UE, or acts as part of the UE, or the industrial terminal itself acts as the UE to access the Internet. The IISF unit sends the data used to decide QoS to the PCF, and the PCF sends the generated QoS configuration information to the SMF; the IISF sends the generated scheduling configuration information to the SMF. The SMF sends the configuration information to the UPF, or via the AMF to the UE and RAN.

[0071] This approach allows for the full utilization of network resources to discover industrial terminals and automate QoS and scheduling configurations by adding functional units to the core network and combining them with the functions of existing functional units in the core network. This improves the automation level, configuration efficiency, and reliability of industrial internet services.

[0072] In some embodiments, determining the duration of the scheduling period based on the service flow type includes: when the service flow type includes periodic services and the number of different types of periodic service flow durations is 1, determining the duration of the scheduling period as the duration of the periodic service carried by the UE. Cases that can be categorized as service flow types including periodic services and the number of different types of periodic service flow durations being 1 include: the UE carrying only one service flow, and that service flow is a periodic service; or the service flows carried by the UE including both periodic and aperiodic services, wherein there is only one periodic service flow (or multiple periodic service flows with the same duration). This method allows for continuous use of uplink resources within a single service cycle without rescheduling, improving service continuity and ensuring timely rescheduling. In some embodiments, the duration of the scheduling period can also be determined by a predetermined clock unit length. In some embodiments, the predetermined clock unit length is less than or equal to the duration of any periodic service. In some embodiments, the predetermined clock unit length can be a preset basic unit clock length. This method improves the timeliness of rescheduling while ensuring a certain level of industrial flow scheduling-free performance. In some embodiments, such as... Figure 4A As shown, the service flows carried by the UE are periodic and have the same period (the same period is T1). The scheduling period is configured as the service flow period or the basic unit clock.

[0073] In some embodiments, determining the length of the scheduling period based on the service flow type includes: when the service flow type includes periodic services, and the number of different types of periodic service flow period lengths is greater than 1, determining the length of the scheduling period as the least common multiple of the period lengths of each periodic service carried by the UE. Cases that can be categorized as service flow types including periodic services, and the number of different types of periodic service flow period lengths being greater than 1, include: the UE carrying multiple service flows, all of which are periodic services with different service periods; or the UE carrying service flows including both periodic and non-periodic services, where there are multiple periodic services with different service periods. This method allows for continuous use of uplink resources within a single service period of each service flow without rescheduling, improving service continuity.

[0074] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4B As shown, the service flow carried by the UE consists of multiple periodic services (with periods of T1, T2, ..., T...). x Where x is the number of service flows, in some embodiments, at least two service flows have different periods. In such cases, the scheduling period is configured as the least common multiple T of the service flow periods. C =Gcd(T1, T2, ..., T) x ).

[0075] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4D As shown, the service flow carried by the UE is periodic (with periods of T1, T2, ..., T...). x (where x is the number of service flows) and is non-periodic. The scheduling period is configured as the least common multiple T of the periodic service flow periods. C =Gcd(T1, T2, ..., T) x For non-periodic business flows, the same applies to T. C The system continuously schedules resources for it periodically (at least enough for it to send BSRs), and adjusts its resource allocation as needed in the first period after receiving a BSR, until it receives a BFR, and then allocates the remaining resources reserved for it in the current scheduling period to other service flows that need them.

[0076] In some embodiments, determining the scheduling period length based on the service flow type includes: when the service flow type is aperiodic (i.e., it only contains aperiodic services and does not have periodic services), determining the scheduling period length as a predetermined clock unit length. This method allows the use of a preset clock unit length as the scheduling period for aperiodic services, improving the timeliness of rescheduling while ensuring a certain level of industrial flow scheduling-free performance. In some embodiments, such as... Figure 4C As shown, the service flow carried by the UE is an aperiodic service. The scheduling cycle is configured as a basic clock unit, and resources are continuously scheduled for it in each clock cycle (at least enough for it to send BSRs). In the first cycle after receiving a BSR, its resource allocation is adjusted as needed until a BFR is received. Then, the remaining resources reserved for it in the current scheduling cycle are allocated to other service flows that need them.

[0077] The following examples illustrate the process of configuring industrial internet services according to this disclosure. The parameters in the examples are merely examples of feasible solutions and do not constitute an undue limitation on this disclosure.

[0078] Assuming the service flow cycles (in milliseconds) of periodic industrial terminals 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 are 2, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, and 2 respectively, and the basic unit clock is 1ms, then the QoS automatic configuration and scheduling-free process for each service flow is as follows:

[0079]

Example 1

[0080] UE0 carries the service flows of industrial terminal 0 and industrial terminal 1.

[0081] Step 1: The IISF actively discovers Industrial Terminal 0, Industrial Terminal 1 and UE0 that provides services to them, and discovers the communication model on the UE0-RAN0-UPF0 path.

[0082] Step 2: The IISF parses the service flow information reported by UPF0 regarding Industrial Terminal 0 and Industrial Terminal 1, including the detection that their service flow cycles are both 2ms.

[0083] Step 3: The IISF calculates the scheduling period of UE0 as the service flow period of 2ms (or a predetermined unit clock period of 1ms), and sends the mapped QoS requirements of industrial terminal 0 and industrial terminal 1 and the discovered communication model to the PCF for QoS rule decision-making.

[0084] Step 4: PCF distributes the QoS rules generated in Step 3 to UPF0, RAN0 and UE0. IISF distributes the no-scheduling rules to UPF0 and RAN0. RAN0 configures the relevant parameters and initiates a no-scheduling process to UE0 every 2ms (or 1ms).

[0085] [Example 2] A scenario where the UE carries multiple periodic service flows.

[0086] UE1 carries the service flows of industrial terminal 2 and industrial terminal 3

[0087] Step 1: The IISF actively discovers Industrial Terminal 2, Industrial Terminal 3 and UE1 that provides services to them, and discovers the communication model on the UE1-RAN0-UPF0 path.

[0088] Step 2: The IISF parses the service flow information reported by UPF0 regarding industrial terminal 2 and industrial terminal 3, including the detected service flow periods of industrial terminal 2 and industrial terminal 3, which are 2ms and 3ms respectively.

[0089] Step 3: The IISF calculates the scheduling period of UE1 as 6ms, and sends the mapped QoS requirements of industrial terminal 2 and industrial terminal 3 and the discovered communication model to the PCF for QoS rule decision-making.

[0090] Step 4: PCF distributes the QoS rules generated in Step 3 to UPF0, RAN0 and UE1. IISF distributes the no-scheduling rules to UPF0 and RAN0. RAN0 configures the relevant parameters and initiates a no-scheduling process to UE1 every 6ms.

[0091]

Example 3

[0092] UE2 carries the service flows of industrial terminal 4 and industrial terminal 5.

[0093] Step 1: The IISF actively discovers Industrial Terminal 4, Industrial Terminal 5 and UE2 that provides services to them, and discovers the communication model on the UE2-RAN0-UPF1 path.

[0094] Step 2: The IISF parses the service flow information reported by UPF1 regarding industrial terminal 4 and industrial terminal 5, including the detection that their service flow type is non-periodic.

[0095] Step 3: The IISF calculates the scheduling period of UE2 as 1ms, and sends the mapped QoS requirements of industrial terminal 4 and industrial terminal 5 and the discovered communication model to the PCF for QoS rule decision-making.

[0096] Step 4: The PCF distributes the QoS rules generated in Step 3 to UPF1, RAN0, and UE2. The IISF distributes the no-scheduling rules to UPF1 and RAN0. RAN0 configures the relevant parameters and initiates a no-scheduling process to UE2 every 1ms. UE2 needs to send a BSR and a BFR to RAN0 at the start and end of the service, respectively. Resources are continuously scheduled for UE2 in each clock cycle (at least enough for it to send a BSR), and its resource allocation is adjusted as needed in the first cycle after receiving a BSR, until a BFR is received. The remaining resources reserved for UE2 in the current scheduling cycle are then allocated to other service flows that need them.

[0097]

Example 4

[0098] UE3 carries the service flows of industrial terminal 6 and industrial terminal 7.

[0099] Step 1: The IISF actively discovers Industrial Terminal 6, Industrial Terminal 7 and UE3 that provides services to them, and discovers the communication model on the UE3-RAN1-UPF2 path.

[0100] Step 2: The IISF parses the service flow information reported by UPF2 regarding industrial terminal 6 and industrial terminal 7, including the detection that the service flow period of industrial terminal 6 is 2ms and the service flow type of industrial terminal 7 is non-periodic.

[0101] Step 3: The IISF calculates the scheduling period of UE3 as 2ms, and sends the mapped QoS requirements of industrial terminal 6 and industrial terminal 7 and the discovered communication model to the PCF for QoS rule decision-making.

[0102] Step 4: The PCF distributes the QoS rules generated in Step 3 to UPF2, RAN1, and UE3. The IISF distributes the no-scheduling rules to UPF2 and RAN1. RAN1 configures the relevant parameters and initiates a no-scheduling process to UE3 every 2ms. UE3 needs to send a BSR and a BFR to the RAN at the start and end of the service of industrial terminal 7, respectively. Resources are continuously scheduled for it within each 2ms period (at least enough for it to send the BSR), and its resource allocation is adjusted as needed in the first cycle after receiving the BSR, until the BFR is received. The remaining resources reserved for non-periodic services in the current scheduling cycle are then allocated to other service flows that need them.

[0103]

Example 5

Example 1

[0104]

Example 6

Example 3

[0105] Schematic diagrams of some embodiments of the industrial internet service device disclosed herein are shown below. Figure 5 As shown.

[0106] The discovery unit 501 is capable of discovering terminals and their topology and communication models. In some embodiments, the discovery unit 501 can be implemented through enhanced functions in the PCF or through a newly added IISF unit in the core network. In some embodiments, the discovery unit 501 can discover terminals in the network by identifying industrial flow characteristics or characteristics collected by sensors deployed in the network. In some embodiments, the discovery unit 501 can obtain the terminal's topology and communication model by identifying characteristics collected by sensors deployed in the network, analyzing collected network performance data characteristics, or interacting with the platform.

[0107] The detection unit 502 is capable of detecting service flow information of the terminal on the forwarding path. In some embodiments, the detection unit 502 obtains user plane data information detected and reported by UPF, and then obtains service flow information based on the user plane data information, wherein the service flow information includes at least one of service flow identifier, service flow priority, service flow type, and service flow deterministic requirements.

[0108] The configuration information determination unit 503 can determine service quality configuration information and scheduling configuration information based on service flow information, topology relationships, and communication models. In some embodiments, the configuration information determination unit 503 determines service quality requirements based on service flow information, topology relationships, and communication models, and then, based on the service quality requirements and the PCF (Policy Control Function), sends the service quality requirements and communication models as input information to the PCF, and obtains feedback from the PCF as service quality configuration information.

[0109] The information sending unit 504 can send quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information to relevant network devices. In some embodiments, the information sending unit 504 distributes the quality of service configuration information to the UPF, RAN, and UE, and distributes the scheduling rules to the UPF and RAN.

[0110] Such devices improve the efficiency of service flow scheduling, enhance the reliability and automation of industrial control by automatically identifying, detecting and discovering features, and automatically configuring scheduling rules. They also reduce the latency of UE periodic waiting and resource request in traditional dynamic scheduling schemes, simplify the resource scheduling process of UE service flows, reduce the overhead of uplink and downlink signaling interaction, and improve the flexibility in adapting to diverse service flows. As a result, they can more efficiently meet the deterministic requirements of low latency and high reliability in industrial automation scenarios.

[0111] A schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the industrial internet service device disclosed herein is shown below. Figure 6 As shown, the Industrial Internet service device includes a memory 601 and a processor 602. The memory 601 can be a disk, flash memory, or any other non-volatile storage medium. The memory stores instructions from the corresponding embodiments of the Industrial Internet service configuration method described above. The processor 602 is coupled to the memory 601 and can be implemented as one or more integrated circuits, such as a microprocessor or microcontroller. The processor 602 executes the instructions stored in the memory, improving the efficiency and reliability of Industrial Internet configuration.

[0112] In one embodiment, it can also be as follows: Figure 7 As shown, the Industrial Internet service device 700 includes a memory 701 and a processor 702. The processor 702 is coupled to the memory 701 via a BUS bus 703. The Industrial Internet service device 700 can also be connected to an external storage device 705 via a storage interface 704 to access external data, and can also be connected to a network or another computer system (not shown) via a network interface 706. Further details are omitted here.

[0113] In this embodiment, storing data instructions in a memory and then processing those instructions with a processor can improve the efficiency and reliability of industrial internet configuration.

[0114] In another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the method in the corresponding embodiment of the Industrial Internet service configuration method. Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, apparatus, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable non-transitory storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0115] Schematic diagrams of some embodiments of the core network device 81 disclosed herein are shown below. Figure 8 As shown.

[0116] The core network device 81 includes an Industrial Internet Service Device 810, which can be any of the types mentioned above. In some embodiments, the core network device can be a device newly added to the current core network, such as the IISF mentioned above; in some embodiments, the core network device can also be an improved implementation based on an existing core network device, such as the enhanced PCF mentioned above.

[0117] Such core network equipment improves the efficiency of service flow scheduling, enhances the reliability and automation of industrial control, simplifies the resource scheduling process of UE service flow, reduces the overhead of uplink and downlink signaling interaction, and improves the flexibility in adapting to diverse service flows through automatic feature identification, detection and discovery, and automatic configuration of scheduling rules. As a result, it can more efficiently meet the deterministic requirements of low latency and high reliability in industrial automation scenarios.

[0118] Schematic diagrams of some embodiments of the network system disclosed herein are shown below. Figure 9 As shown.

[0119] The core network device 91 can be any of the types mentioned above.

[0120] The radio access network 92 can receive quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information from the core network equipment, and determine the time interval for initiating a scheduling-free process to the UE based on the scheduling configuration information.

[0121] Such a network system improves the efficiency of service flow scheduling, enhances the reliability and automation of industrial control, simplifies the resource scheduling process of UE service flow, reduces the overhead of uplink and downlink signaling interaction, and improves the flexibility in adapting to diverse service flows through automatic feature identification, detection and discovery, and automatic configuration of scheduling rules. As a result, it can more efficiently meet the deterministic requirements of low latency and high reliability in industrial automation scenarios.

[0122] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create a machine for implementing the flowchart illustrations. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0123] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0124] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0125] This concludes the detailed description of the present disclosure. To avoid obscuring the concept of the disclosure, some details known in the art have not been described. Those skilled in the art will fully understand how to implement the technical solutions disclosed herein based on the above description.

[0126] The methods and apparatus of this disclosure may be implemented in many ways. For example, they may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination of software, hardware, and firmware. The above-described order of steps for the methods is for illustrative purposes only, and the steps of the methods of this disclosure are not limited to the order specifically described above unless otherwise specifically stated. Furthermore, in some embodiments, this disclosure may also be implemented as a program recorded on a recording medium, the program including machine-readable instructions for implementing the methods according to this disclosure. Thus, this disclosure also covers recording media storing programs for performing the methods according to this disclosure.

[0127] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., used in the specification, claims, and drawings of this disclosure are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments of this disclosure described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0128] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this disclosure and not to limit them; although this disclosure has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the specific implementation of this disclosure or equivalent substitutions can be made to some technical features without departing from the spirit of the technical solutions of this disclosure, and all such modifications and substitutions should be covered within the scope of the technical solutions claimed in this disclosure.

Claims

1. An industrial internet service configuration method, comprising: The core network discovers terminals in the network by identifying at least one of the following methods: identifying industrial flow characteristics and identifying characteristics collected by sensors deployed in the network; Discover the topology and communication model of the terminal, wherein the communication model includes at least one of average latency, jitter, packet loss rate, and burst rate on the transmission path associated with the terminal; Detect the service flow information of the terminal on the forwarding path; Based on the service flow information, the topology, and the communication model, service quality configuration information and scheduling configuration information are determined. The scheduling configuration information includes scheduling cycle configuration information for the service flow carried by the user equipment connected to the terminal, which is determined based on the service flow type, so that the wireless access network can determine the time interval for initiating a scheduling-free process to the user equipment based on the scheduling cycle configuration information. The quality of service configuration information and the scheduling configuration information are sent to the relevant network devices.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The enhanced policy control function (PCF) unit or industrial internet service function (IISF) unit in the core network discovers terminals.

3. The configuration method according to claim 1, wherein, The discovery of the terminal's topology and communication model includes: The terminal's topology and communication model are obtained by identifying features collected by sensors deployed in the network, analyzing the characteristics of the collected network performance data, or interacting with the platform in at least one of the following ways:

4. The configuration method according to claim 3, wherein, The topology includes the topology of the industrial network in which the terminal is located.

5. The configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The detection of the service flow information of the terminal on the forwarding path includes: Obtain user plane data information detected and reported by user plane functional units; The service flow information is obtained based on the user plane data information, wherein the service flow information includes at least one of the following: service flow identifier, service flow priority, service flow type, and service flow deterministic requirements.

6. The configuration method according to claim 5, wherein, The priority of the service flow is positively correlated with the real-time requirements of the service.

7. The configuration method according to claim 5, wherein, The service flow type includes at least one of periodic and non-periodic types, wherein when the service flow type includes periodic type, the service flow information includes the service flow period.

8. The configuration method according to claim 5, wherein, The deterministic requirements of the service flow include at least one of the following: upper bound of latency, upper bound of jitter, lower bound of bandwidth, lower bound of reliability, and upper bound of packet loss rate.

9. The configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The information used to determine the quality of service configuration includes: Service quality requirements are determined based on the service flow information, the topology, and the communication model; Based on the service quality requirements, the service quality configuration information is determined using the policy control function unit.

10. The configuration method according to claim 1, wherein, The scheduling configuration information also includes time-frequency resource configuration information for the service flows carried by the user equipment connected to the terminal.

11. The configuration method according to claim 1, wherein, The determined scheduling configuration information includes: Determine the service flow type of the service flow carried by the user equipment connected to the terminal; The time length of the scheduling period is determined based on the service flow type and used as the scheduling period configuration information, wherein the scheduling configuration information includes the scheduling period configuration information.

12. The configuration method according to claim 11, wherein, Determining the duration of the scheduling period based on the service flow type includes: If the service flow type includes periodic type, and the number of types of periodic service flow period lengths is 1, the time length of the scheduling period is determined to be the period length of the periodic service carried by the user equipment or the predetermined clock unit length.

13. The configuration method according to claim 11, wherein, Determining the duration of the scheduling period based on the service flow type includes: If the service flow type includes periodic types, and the number of types of periodic service flow period lengths is greater than 1, the time length of the scheduling period is determined to be the least common multiple of the period lengths of each periodic service flow carried by the user equipment.

14. The configuration method according to claim 11, wherein, Determining the duration of the scheduling period based on the service flow type includes: When the service flow type is non-periodic, the length of the scheduling period is determined to be a predetermined clock unit length.

15. The configuration method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein, The determination of scheduling configuration information also includes: When the service flow type includes aperiodic type, radio resource network scheduling control information is generated. The radio resource network, based on the radio resource network scheduling control information, adjusts the resource allocation for the target aperiodic service as needed after receiving the buffer status report reported by the user equipment at the start of the target aperiodic service in the first cycle. After receiving the service end report, the remaining resources reserved for the aperiodic service in the current scheduling cycle are allocated to other service flows that need them.

16. The configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, Sending the quality of service configuration information to the relevant network devices includes: Send the quality of service rules to the user equipment connected to the terminal; Send the Quality of Service (QoS) profile to the wireless access network; and Send user plane rules, which are used to perform at least one of classification, bandwidth policy enforcement, or user plane traffic marking, to the user plane function unit.

17. The configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, Sending the scheduling configuration information to the relevant network devices includes: The scheduling configuration information is sent to the user plane function unit through the session management function unit, and then to the radio access network through the session management function unit and the access and mobility management function unit.

18. An industrial internet service device, comprising: The discovery unit is configured to discover terminals in the network by identifying at least one of industrial flow characteristics and characteristics collected by sensors deployed in the network, and to discover the topology and communication model of the terminals, the communication model including at least one of average latency, jitter, packet loss rate, and burst rate on the transmission path associated with the terminal; The detection unit is configured to detect the service flow information of the terminal on the forwarding path; The configuration information determining unit is configured to determine service quality configuration information and scheduling configuration information based on the service flow information, the topology relationship and the communication model. The scheduling configuration information includes scheduling period configuration information of the service flow carried by the user equipment connected to the terminal, which is determined based on the service flow type, so that the wireless access network can determine the time interval for initiating a scheduling-free process to the user equipment based on the scheduling period configuration information. The information sending unit is configured to send the quality of service configuration information and the scheduling configuration information to the relevant network devices.

19. An industrial internet service device, comprising: Memory; as well as A processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 17 based on instructions stored in the memory.

20. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer program instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

21. A core network device, comprising the industrial internet service device as described in claim 18 or 19.

22. A network system, comprising: The core network equipment as described in claim 21; and The wireless access network is configured to receive quality of service configuration information and scheduling configuration information from the core network equipment, and determine the time interval for initiating a scheduling-free process to the user equipment connected to the terminal based on the scheduling configuration information.

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