Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, belongs to the technical field of communication, and is used for improving intention execution efficiency and reducing resource overhead. According to the method, a first device can send a first request message, sending first information and a plurality of identifiers in one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of intention schemes to a second device, wherein the first information contains whether pre-estimated intention expectations meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation or not when the plurality of intention schemes used for realizing the first intention instance are executed respectively, and the plurality of identifiers are in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of intention schemes; the second device can determine the intention scheme needing to be executed in the intention schemes according to the first information and the identifiers and feed back the corresponding first identifier, so that the first device can directly determine the intention scheme needing to be executed according to the first identifier; and each intention expectation in the at least one intention expectation does not need to be achieved by adjusting the intention execution scheme for multiple times, so that the intention execution efficiency can be improved, and the resource overhead is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] Currently, a management service consumer (MnS Consumer) can send an intent to a management service producer (MnS Producer) by invoking an intent-driven management service interface. The MnS Producer can translate the intent into a specific execution policy or intent execution plan, which is used to implement the above intent. The MnS Producer sends the execution plan to the network infrastructure and continuously monitors the network status during the intent execution process to ensure the achievement of the intent. When there are multiple intent expectations in the intent sent by the MnS Consumer, the MnS Producer may need to adjust the intent execution plan multiple times to meet these multiple intent expectations.

[0003] However, when the MnS Producer adjusts the intent execution plan multiple times to meet multiple intent expectations of the intent, it may reduce the intent execution efficiency and increase the resource overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and apparatus, which are used to improve the intent execution efficiency and reduce the resource overhead.

[0005] To achieve the above object, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a first device, or can be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the first device, or can also be executed by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the first device. The method includes: The first device receives a first request message from a second device, sends first information and a plurality of identifiers to the second device, and receives a first identifier from the second device. The first request message is used to request the creation of a first intent instance, and the first intent instance includes at least one intent expectation; the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the plurality of intent plans is executed meet each intent expectation in the at least one intent expectation. The plurality of intent plans are used to implement the first intent instance, and the plurality of identifiers correspond to the plurality of intent plans one by one; the first identifier is used to indicate the intent plan that needs to be executed, and the first identifier is one of the plurality of identifiers.

[0007] Based on the methods described in the first aspect and the following second aspect, the first device can, according to the first request message, send to the second device the first information indicating whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention scenarios for implementing the first intention instance is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, and multiple identifiers corresponding one-to-one to the multiple intention scenarios. The second device can, according to the first information and the multiple identifiers, determine the intention scenario to be executed among the multiple intention scenarios and feedback the corresponding first identifier. In this way, the first device can directly determine the intention scenario to be executed according to the first identifier, without having to adjust the intention execution scenario multiple times to meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, thereby improving the intention execution efficiency and reducing resource consumption.

[0008] In a possible design, the first information includes first indication information and / or an expected value list. The first indication information is used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention scenarios is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation; the expected value list is used to indicate the expected target values of the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention scenarios is executed. In this way, the second device can directly determine whether the estimated intention expectations when each intention scenario is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, and the expected target values of the estimated intention expectations, for use in the subsequent selection by the second device of the intention scenario to be executed, improving the accuracy of the selected intention scenario to be executed.

[0009] Optionally, the first information further includes resource information and / or time information. The resource information is used to indicate the amount of resources used when each intention scenario in the multiple intention scenarios is completed; the time information is used to indicate the time used when each intention scenario in the multiple intention scenarios is completed. In this way, the second device can comprehensively select the intention scenario that meets its own requirements by combining the resource information and / or time information corresponding to each intention scenario, further improving the accuracy of the selected intention scenario to be executed.

[0010] In a possible design, the first request message includes a first intention expression, and the first intention expression is used to request the creation of a first intention instance. That is, the first device can create a first intention instance according to the intention expectations, expected targets, expected objects carried in the first intention expression, and the context of the intention, intention expectations, and expected targets.

[0011] In a possible design solution, before the first device sends the first information and multiple identifiers to the second device, the method described in the first aspect may further include: the first device generates multiple intent scenarios according to the first intent instance. It can be understood that the multiple intent scenarios can be used to implement the first intent instance. For example, the multiple intent scenarios can meet all the expected goals of the first intent instance, or meet some of the expected goals of the first intent instance, etc., for the second device to subsequently select the intent scenario to be executed from the pre-generated multiple intent scenarios.

[0012] In a possible design solution, the method in the first aspect further includes: the first device generates the first information according to multiple intent scenarios. That is, the first device can directly obtain the first information by invoking internal services, such as components for perception, analysis, decision-making, etc., according to the first intent instance. In this way, signaling overhead can be saved.

[0013] In a possible design solution, the method described in the first aspect may further include: the first device sends a second request message to the third device and receives the first information returned by the third device according to the second request message. The second request message includes multiple intent scenarios, and the second request message is used to request the estimated intent expectations when each of the multiple intent scenarios is executed. That is, the first device sends a second request message to the third device, a third party, to request the third device to generate the first information and receives the first information returned by the third device. The third device can be a digital twin system, a knowledge base, or an artificial intelligence AI model with a pre-evaluation function. In this way, the accuracy of the first information can be improved.

[0014] Optionally, the second request message further includes an expectation list and / or expectation object information. The expectation list is used to indicate at least one intent expectation; the expectation object information is used to indicate the object for executing the first intent instance. In this way, the third device can pre-execute each intent scenario according to the expectation object information and sequentially determine whether the estimated intent expectation when each intent scenario is executed meets each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation according to the result of the pre-execution and the expectation list to obtain the first information.

[0015] In a possible design solution, the first device is an intent producer and the second device is an intent consumer. That is, the above-mentioned first device and second device can be applicable to the 3GPP architecture. In this way, the requirements in different scenarios can be met.

[0016] In a possible design solution, the first device includes: a first functional entity, a second functional entity, and a first application. Or rather, the combination of the first functional entity, the second functional entity, and the first application can achieve the same functions or roles as the first device; the second device is the intended owner; the first device generates multiple intent solutions according to the first intent instance, including: the first application generates multiple intent solutions according to the first intent instance forwarded by the second functional entity through the first functional entity. It can be understood that the first functional entity can be a Non-RT RIC, the second functional entity can be a Near-RT RIC, and the first application can be an extended application, such as XAPP1. That is to say, the above-mentioned first device and second device can be applicable to the O-RAN architecture, so as to meet the requirements in different scenarios.

[0017] Optionally, the first device sends a second request message to a third device, including: the first application sends a second request message to the third device; the first device receives the first information returned by the third device according to the second request message, including: the first functional entity receives the first information forwarded by the third device through the second functional entity. Among them, the third device can be an extended application running on the second functional entity, such as XAPP2, so as to enable the first device to obtain the first information in the O-RAN architecture.

[0018] In a possible design solution, the method described in the first aspect may further include: the first device determines the first intent solution according to the first identifier. That is to say, the first device can directly select the first intent solution from multiple intent solutions according to the first identifier, avoiding misidentification or false identification.

[0019] In a possible design solution, when the estimated intent expectations when at least two intent solutions are executed among multiple intent solutions can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, the first intent solution is one of the at least two intent solutions. That is to say, the second device can select the first intent solution from at least two intent solutions that can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation according to its own needs or preferences, so as to improve the accuracy of selecting the intent solution to be executed.

[0020] In a possible design solution, when the estimated intent expectations when no intent solution is executed among multiple intent solutions can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, the method described in the first aspect may further include: the first device receives a second intent expression from the second device. Among them, the second intent expression is determined according to the estimated intent expectation of the first intent solution. That is to say, the second device can select the first intent solution from at least one intent solution that can partially meet at least one intent expectation according to its own needs or preferences, so as to improve the accuracy of selecting the intent solution to be executed.

[0021] Optionally, the method described in the first aspect may further include: the first device modifies the first intent instance according to the second intent expression. In this way, after the first device executes the first intent solution, it can meet the modified first intent instance, which can improve the intent execution efficiency.

[0022] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a second device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the second device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the second device. The method includes: the second device sends a first request message to the first device, receives first information and a plurality of identifiers from the first device, determines a first identifier according to the first information and the plurality of identifiers, and sends the first identifier to the first device. The first request message is used to request the creation of a first intent instance, and the first intent instance includes at least one intent expectation; the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the plurality of intent solutions is executed meet each of the at least one intent expectation, and the plurality of intent solutions are used to implement the first intent instance, and the plurality of identifiers correspond to the plurality of intent solutions one by one.

[0023] In a possible design, the first information includes first indication information and / or an expected value list. The first indication information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the plurality of intent solutions is executed meet each of the at least one intent expectation; the expected value list is used to indicate the expected target values of the estimated intent expectations when each of the plurality of intent solutions is executed.

[0024] Optionally, the first information further includes resource information and / or time information. The resource information is used to indicate the amount of resources used when each of the plurality of intent solutions is completed; the time information is used to indicate the time used when each of the plurality of intent solutions is completed.

[0025] In a possible design, the first request message includes a first intent expression, and the first intent expression is used to request the creation of a first intent instance.

[0026] In a possible design, the first identifier corresponds to the first intent solution. When the estimated intent expectations when at least two of the plurality of intent solutions are executed can meet each of the at least one intent expectation, the first intent solution is one of the at least two intent solutions.

[0027] In a possible design solution, the first identifier corresponds to the first intent solution. When the estimated intent expectation when no intent solution is executed among multiple intent solutions can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, the method described in the second aspect may further include: The second device generates a second intent expression according to the estimated intent expectation of the first intent solution, and sends the second intent expression to the first device for the first device to modify the first intent instance subsequently.

[0028] In a possible design solution, the first device is an intent producer, and the second device is an intent consumer.

[0029] In a possible design solution, the first device includes: a first functional entity, a second functional entity, and a first application; the second device is an intent owner.

[0030] In addition, the related technical effects of the method described in the second aspect can also refer to the related introduction of the method described in the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0031] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a third device, or can be executed by a chip or circuit configured in the third device, or can also be executed by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the third device. The method includes: The third device receives a second request message from the first device, generates a first piece of information according to the second request message, and sends the first piece of information to the first device. Among them, the second request message includes multiple intent solutions, and the second request message is used to request the estimated intent expectation when the intent solution is executed; the first piece of information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectation when each of the multiple intent solutions is executed meets each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, and the multiple intent solutions are used to implement the first intent instance.

[0032] In a possible design solution, the second request message further includes an expectation list and / or expectation object information. Among them, the expectation list is used to indicate at least one intent expectation; the expectation object information is used to indicate the object for executing the first intent instance.

[0033] In a possible design solution, the third device generates the first piece of information according to the second request message, including: The third device obtains the estimated intent expectation when each of the multiple intent solutions is executed according to the expectation object information, and generates the first piece of information according to the estimated intent expectation when each intent solution is executed and the expectation list.

[0034] The related technical effects of the method described in the third aspect can also refer to the related introduction of the method described in the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0035] Fourthly, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a first device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the first device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the first device. The method includes: the first device receives a first request message from a second device, obtains first information according to the first request message, and determines a first intention plan to be executed according to the policy information and the first information. The first request message is used to request the creation of a first intention instance, and the first intention instance includes at least one intention expectation; the first request message includes policy information, and the policy information is used to indicate the policy for selecting the intention plan to be executed; the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention plans is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, and the multiple intention plans are used to implement the first intention instance; the first intention plan is one of the multiple intention plans.

[0036] Based on the method described in the fourth aspect, it can be seen that the first device can directly select the first intention plan from multiple intention plans according to the policy information sent by the second device and the first information including whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention plans for implementing the first intention instance is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation. In this way, the first device does not need to adjust the intention execution plan multiple times to meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, thereby improving the intention execution efficiency and reducing resource overhead.

[0037] In a possible design, the policy information includes at least one of the following: resource policy information, time policy information, or priority policy information. The resource policy information is used to indicate selection according to the amount of occupied resources; the time policy information is used to indicate selection according to the preset execution time of the first intention instance, and the execution time is used to represent that each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation needs to be met within the execution time; the priority policy information is used to indicate selection according to the priority order of each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation. In this way, the first device can determine an intention plan that meets the requirements and preferences of the second device according to the above resource policy information, time policy information, or priority policy information, and the combination of each policy, improving the accuracy of the selected intention plan to be executed.

[0038] In a possible design solution, the first device determines a first intent solution to be executed according to the policy information and the first information, including: when the estimated intent expectations when at least two intent solutions among multiple intent solutions are executed can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, the first device determines the first intent solution to be executed according to the policy information and the first information. Wherein, the first intent solution is one of at least two intent solutions. That is, when the estimated intent expectations when at least two intent solutions are executed can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, the first device can select the intent solution to be executed according to the policy information by itself, without reporting the first information to the second device, and then the second device selects the intent solution to be executed, which is simple and can save signaling overhead.

[0039] In a possible design solution, the first device is an intent producer and the second device is an intent consumer.

[0040] In a possible design solution, the first device includes: a first functional entity, a second functional entity, and a first application; the second device is the intent owner.

[0041] In addition, the relevant technical effects of the method described in the fourth aspect can also refer to the relevant introduction of the method described in the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0042] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by the second device, or by a chip or circuit configured in the second device, or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the second device. The method includes: the second device generates policy information and sends a first request message to the first device. Wherein, the policy information is used to indicate the policy for selecting the intent solution to be executed; the first request message is used to request the creation of a first intent instance, and the first intent instance includes at least one intent expectation; the first request message includes the policy information.

[0043] In a possible design solution, the policy information includes at least one of the following: resource policy information, time policy information, or priority policy information. Wherein, the resource policy information is used to indicate selection according to the amount of occupied resources; the time policy information is used to indicate selection according to the preset execution time of the first intent instance, and the execution time is used to represent that each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation needs to be met within the execution time; the priority policy information is used to indicate selection according to the priority order of each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation.

[0044] In a possible design solution, the first device is an intent producer and the second device is an intent consumer.

[0045] In a possible design solution, the first device includes: a first functional entity, a second functional entity, and a first application; the second device is the intention owner.

[0046] In addition, for the related technical effects of the method described in the fifth aspect, reference can also be made to the relevant introductions of the methods described in the first aspect and the fourth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0047] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: the first device executes the method described in the first aspect, and the second device executes the method described in the second aspect.

[0048] In addition, for the technical effects of the method described in the sixth aspect, reference can also be made to the technical effects of the methods described in the first aspect to the second aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0049] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: the first device executes the method described in the first aspect, the second device executes the method described in the second aspect, and the third device executes the method described in the third aspect.

[0050] In addition, for the technical effects of the method described in the seventh aspect, reference can also be made to the technical effects of the methods described in the first aspect to the third aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0051] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided, which includes: the first device executes the method described in the fourth aspect, and the second device executes the method described in the fifth aspect.

[0052] In addition, for the technical effects of the method described in the eighth aspect, reference can also be made to the technical effects of the methods described in the fourth aspect to the fifth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0053] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a module for executing the method described in the first aspect, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0054] Among them, the transceiver module is used to receive a first request message from the second device, send a first piece of information and multiple identifiers to the second device, and receive a first identifier from the second device. The first request message is used to request the creation of a first intention instance, and the first intention instance includes at least one intention expectation; the first piece of information is used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention schemes is executed meet each intention expectation among the at least one intention expectation, the multiple intention schemes are used to implement the first intention instance, the multiple identifiers correspond to the multiple intention schemes one by one; the first identifier is used to indicate the intention scheme that needs to be executed, and the first identifier is one of the multiple identifiers.

[0055] In a possible design, the first information includes first indication information and / or a list of expected values. The first indication information is used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention scenarios is executed meet each intention expectation among at least one intention expectation; the list of expected values is used to indicate the expected target values of the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention scenarios is executed.

[0056] Optionally, the first information further includes resource information and / or time information. The resource information is used to indicate the amount of resources used when completing each intention scenario among the multiple intention scenarios; the time information is used to indicate the time used when completing each intention scenario among the multiple intention scenarios.

[0057] In a possible design, the first request message includes a first intention expression, and the first intention expression is used to request the creation of a first intention instance.

[0058] In a possible design, before the first device sends the first information and multiple identifiers to the second device, the processing module is used to generate multiple intention scenarios according to the first intention instance.

[0059] In a possible design, the processing module is further used to generate the first information according to the multiple intention scenarios.

[0060] In a possible design, the transceiver module is further used to send a second request message to a third device and receive the first information returned by the third device according to the second request message. The second request message includes multiple intention scenarios, and the second request message is used to request to obtain the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention scenarios is executed.

[0061] Optionally, the second request message further includes an expectation list and / or expectation object information. The expectation list is used to indicate at least one intention expectation; the expectation object information is used to indicate the object for executing the first intention instance.

[0062] In a possible design, the processing module is further used to determine a first intention scenario according to the first identifier.

[0063] In a possible design, when the estimated intention expectations when at least two intention scenarios are executed among the multiple intention scenarios can meet each intention expectation among at least one intention expectation, the first intention scenario is one of the at least two intention scenarios.

[0064] In a possible design, when there is no intention scenario among the multiple intention scenarios whose estimated intention expectation when executed can meet each intention expectation among at least one intention expectation, the transceiver module is further used to receive a second intention expression from the second device. The second intention expression is determined according to the estimated intention expectation of the first intention scenario.

[0065] Optionally, the processing module is further configured to modify the first intent instance according to the second intent expression.

[0066] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module. Among them, the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the ninth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the ninth aspect.

[0067] Optionally, the communication device described in the ninth aspect may further include a storage module that stores programs or instructions. When the processing module executes the programs or instructions, the communication device can execute the communication method described in the first aspect.

[0068] It should be noted that the communication device described in the ninth aspect may be the first device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be set in the first device, or a device including the first device. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitations in this regard.

[0069] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the ninth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0070] In the tenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes modules for executing the method described in the second aspect above, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0071] Among them, the transceiver module is used to send a first request message to the first device and receive the first information and multiple identifiers from the first device. The processing module is used to determine a first identifier according to the first information and the multiple identifiers. The transceiver module is further used to send the first identifier to the first device. Among them, the first request message is used to request the creation of a first intent instance, and the first intent instance includes at least one intent expectation; the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the multiple intent scenarios is executed meet each intent expectation in the at least one intent expectation, the multiple intent scenarios are used to implement the first intent instance, and the multiple identifiers correspond to the multiple intent scenarios one by one.

[0072] In a possible design, the first information includes first indication information, and / or a list of expected values. Among them, the first indication information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the multiple intent scenarios is executed meet each intent expectation in the at least one intent expectation; the list of expected values is used to indicate the expected target values of the estimated intent expectations when each of the multiple intent scenarios is executed.

[0073] Optionally, the first information further includes resource information and / or time information. The resource information is used to indicate the amount of resources used when completing each of the multiple intent scenarios; the time information is used to indicate the time used when completing each of the multiple intent scenarios.

[0074] In a possible design, the first request message includes a first intent expression, which is used to request the creation of a first intent instance.

[0075] In a possible design, the first identifier corresponds to the first intent scenario. When the estimated intent expectations when at least two of the multiple intent scenarios are executed can meet each of the intent expectations in at least one intent expectation, the first intent scenario is one of the at least two intent scenarios.

[0076] In a possible design, the first identifier corresponds to the first intent scenario. When the estimated intent expectations when no intent scenario in the multiple intent scenarios is executed can meet each of the intent expectations in at least one intent expectation, the processing module is further configured to generate a second intent expression according to the estimated intent expectation of the first intent scenario. The transceiver module is further configured to send the second intent expression to the first device.

[0077] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the tenth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the tenth aspect.

[0078] Optionally, the communication device described in the tenth aspect may further include a storage module, which stores programs or instructions. When the processing module executes the programs or instructions, the communication device can execute the communication method described in the second aspect.

[0079] It should be noted that the communication device described in the tenth aspect may be the second device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be set in the second device, or a device including the second device. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitations in this regard.

[0080] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the tenth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the second aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0081] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes modules for executing the method described in the third aspect above, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0082] Among them, a transceiver module is configured to receive a second request message from a first device. A processing module is configured to generate first information according to the second request message. The transceiver module is further configured to send the first information to the first device. Among them, the second request message includes a plurality of intention scenarios, and the second request message is used to request an estimated intention expectation when the intention scenario is executed; the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the plurality of intention scenarios is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, and the plurality of intention scenarios are used to implement a first intention instance.

[0083] In a possible design, the second request message further includes an expectation list and / or expectation object information. Among them, the expectation list is used to indicate at least one intention expectation; the expectation object information is used to indicate an object for executing the first intention instance.

[0084] In a possible design, the processing module is further configured to obtain the estimated intention expectations when each of the plurality of intention scenarios is executed according to the expectation object information, and generate the first information according to the estimated intention expectations when each intention scenario is executed and the expectation list.

[0085] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module. Among them, the sending module is configured to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the eleventh aspect, and the receiving module is configured to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the eleventh aspect.

[0086] Optionally, the communication device described in the eleventh aspect may further include a storage module, and the storage module stores programs or instructions. When the processing module executes the programs or instructions, the communication device can execute the communication method described in the eleventh aspect.

[0087] It should be noted that the communication device described in the eleventh aspect may be a third device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be disposed in the third device, or a device including the third device. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitations in this regard.

[0088] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the eleventh aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the third aspect, and will not be elaborated here.

[0089] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes modules for executing the method described in the fourth aspect above, for example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0090] Among them, a transceiver module is configured to receive a first request message from a second device. A processing module is configured to obtain first information according to the first request message. The transceiver module is further configured to determine a first intent solution to be executed according to the policy information and the first information. Among them, the first request message is used to request the creation of a first intent instance, and the first intent instance includes at least one intent expectation; the first request message includes policy information, and the policy information is used to indicate the policy for selecting the intent solution to be executed; the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the multiple intent solutions is executed meet each of the at least one intent expectation, and the multiple intent solutions are used to implement the first intent instance; the first intent solution is one of the multiple intent solutions.

[0091] In a possible design solution, the policy information includes at least one of the following: resource policy information, time policy information, or priority policy information. Among them, the resource policy information is used to indicate selection according to the amount of occupied resources; the time policy information is used to indicate selection according to the preset execution time of the first intent instance, and the execution time is used to represent that each of the at least one intent expectation needs to be met within the execution time; the priority policy information is used to indicate selection according to the priority order of each of the at least one intent expectation.

[0092] In a possible design solution, when the estimated intent expectations when at least two of the multiple intent solutions are executed can meet each of the at least one intent expectation, the processing module is further configured to determine a first intent solution to be executed according to the policy information and the first information. Among them, the first intent solution is one of the at least two intent solutions.

[0093] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module. Among them, the sending module is configured to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the twelfth aspect, and the receiving module is configured to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the twelfth aspect.

[0094] Optionally, the communication device described in the twelfth aspect may further include a storage module, and the storage module stores programs or instructions. When the processing module executes the programs or instructions, the communication device can execute the communication method described in the fourth aspect.

[0095] It should be noted that the communication device described in the twelfth aspect may be a first device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be set in the first device, or a device including the first device. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitations in this regard.

[0096] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the twelfth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the fourth aspect, and will not be elaborated here.

[0097] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes modules for performing the method described in the fifth aspect above. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

[0098] Among them, the processing module is used to generate policy information. The transceiver module is used to send a first request message to a first device. The policy information is used to indicate a policy for selecting an intent scheme to be executed; the first request message is used to request the creation of a first intent instance, and the first intent instance includes at least one intent expectation; the first request message includes the policy information.

[0099] In a possible design, the policy information includes at least one of the following: resource policy information, time policy information, or priority policy information. The resource policy information is used to indicate selection based on the amount of occupied resources; the time policy information is used to indicate selection based on the preset execution time of the first intent instance, and the execution time is used to represent that each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation needs to be satisfied within the execution time; the priority policy information is used to indicate selection based on the priority order of each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation.

[0100] Optionally, the transceiver module may include a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect.

[0101] Optionally, the communication device described in the seventh aspect may further include a storage module, and the storage module stores programs or instructions. When the processing module executes the programs or instructions, the communication device can execute the communication method described in the fifth aspect.

[0102] It should be noted that the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect may be a second device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be set in the second device, or a device including the second device. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitations in this regard.

[0103] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the thirteenth aspect can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the fifth aspect, and will not be elaborated here.

[0104] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor, and the processor is used to execute the method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0105] In a possible implementation, the communication device described in the fourteenth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the fourteenth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0106] In a possible implementation, the communication device described in the fourteenth aspect may further include a memory. The memory may be integrated with the processor or may be separately provided. The memory may be used to store the computer programs and / or data involved in the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0107] In this embodiment, the communication device described in the fourteenth aspect may be a first device, a second device, or a third device, or a chip (system) or other component or assembly provided in the first device, the second device, or the third device, or a device including the first device, the second device, or the third device.

[0108] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the fourteenth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0109] In a fifteenth aspect, a communication device is provided. The communication device includes: a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, and the processor is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory, so that the communication device executes the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0110] In a possible implementation, the communication device described in the fifteenth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the fifteenth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0111] In this embodiment, the communication device described in the fifteenth aspect may be a device (such as a first device, a second device, or a third device), or a chip (system) or other component or assembly provided in the device, or a device including the device.

[0112] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the fifteenth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0113] In a sixteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, the communication device is enabled to execute the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0114] In a possible implementation, the communication device described in the sixteenth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the sixteenth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0115] In this embodiment, the communication device described in the sixteenth aspect may be a device (such as a first device, a second device, or a third device), or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be disposed in the device, or a device including the device.

[0116] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the sixteenth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0117] In a seventeenth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a processor; the processor is used to be coupled with a memory, and after reading a computer program in the memory, execute the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect according to the computer program.

[0118] In a possible implementation, the communication device described in the seventeenth aspect may further include a transceiver. The transceiver may be a transceiver circuit or an interface circuit. The transceiver may be used for the communication device described in the seventeenth aspect to communicate with other communication devices.

[0119] In this embodiment, the communication device described in the seventeenth aspect may be a device (such as a first device, a second device, or a third device), or a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be disposed in the device, or a device including the device.

[0120] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device described in the seventeenth aspect may refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0121] In an eighteenth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes the first device described in the first aspect and / or the second device described in the second aspect. Optionally, the communication system further includes the third device described in the third aspect.

[0122] In a nineteenth aspect, a communication system is provided. The communication system includes the first device described in the fourth aspect and / or the second device described in the fifth aspect.

[0123] In a twentieth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, including: a computer program or instruction; when the computer program or instruction runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method described in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fifth aspect.

[0124] In a twenty-first aspect, there is provided a computer program product including a computer program or instructions, which, when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute the communication method described in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect to the fifth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0125] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0126] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the 3GPP architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the O-RAN architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0128] Figure 4 It is a flowchart of the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0129] Figure 5 It is a flowchart of the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 ;

[0130] Figure 6 It is a flowchart of the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 3 ;

[0131] Figure 7 It is a flowchart of the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 4 ;

[0132] Figure 8 It is a flowchart of the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 5 ;

[0133] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 1 ;

[0134] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application Figure 2 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0135] For ease of understanding, the technical terms involved in this embodiment will be introduced first below.

[0136] 1. Intent

[0137] Currently, the 5th working group of the Service and System Aspect of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP SA5) adopts the method of full-scale modeling of network resources and full-scale management of network objects in the definition of the traditional northbound interface (itf-N) of the Network Management System (NMS). The NMS directly performs operations such as creation, deletion, modification, and query on all southbound management objects through operations of types such as Configuration Management (CM), Performance Management (PM), and Fault Management (FM). This not only increases the management and operation and maintenance thresholds for operators but also exposes the differential implementations of equipment manufacturers, making it difficult to achieve interoperability between different manufacturers.

[0138] To reduce the management complexity of network infrastructure and improve the operation and maintenance efficiency in a multi-vendor scenario, 3GPP SA5 has launched the research on Intent Driven Management Service (IDMS). The main solution ideas can be summarized as follows: The NMS acts as an intent consumer, where only the intent model is retained, and only intent expressions are transmitted on the northbound interface, thus shielding the differential details in the implementations of equipment manufacturers. Among them, the intent is expressed declaratively. The operation and maintenance personnel only need to declare what effects are to be achieved (what) through the intent expression without having to determine how to achieve it (how), which helps to reduce the operation and maintenance threshold. When the intent producer, that is, the Equipment Management System (EMS), receives the intent expression, it needs to create an intent instance according to the intent expression. Specifically, the EMS can translate the intent expression into requirements for the network and specific execution operations based on the network status and execute them to achieve the intent.

[0139] The following introduces the related concepts of intent.

[0140] Among them, intent: The expectation for the acting system, including requirements, goals, and constraints, only describes what needs to be achieved without explaining how to achieve it.

[0141] Intent expression: An expression used to carry the intent. The expression includes intent expectations, expected goals, expected objects, and the context of the intent, intent expectations, and expected goals, and has specific syntax and semantics.

[0142] Intention instance: An object after instantiating an intention. For example, in the embodiments of the present application, an intention can be replaced by an intention instance.

[0143] Intention conflict: When two intentions cannot be satisfied simultaneously because they are mutually exclusive, there is an intention conflict between these two intentions. An intention conflict can include one or more of a syntax conflict, an operation conflict, and an effect conflict.

[0144] Among them, a syntax conflict may refer to a conflict in the intention expressions of two intentions. For example, the intention expressions of two intentions describe the same object, such as a cell, a base station, etc., with mutually exclusive goals under the same effective conditions. Exemplarily, if the goal reflected by the intention expression of one intention is to increase the downlink rate of a cell, and the goal reflected by the intention expression of another intention is to decrease the downlink rate of the cell, then there is a syntax conflict between these two intentions.

[0145] An operation conflict may refer to a conflict in the execution operations (intent operations) after translation of two intentions, that is, the operations of the two intentions cannot be executed simultaneously. For example, the solutions corresponding to the two intentions respectively include mutually exclusive operations on the same parameter and / or attribute of the same network element. Exemplarily, when the solution of intention #1 requires increasing the network configuration parameter A, and the solution of intention #2 requires decreasing the network configuration parameter A, there is an operation conflict between them. Figure 1 And Figure 2 between them.

[0146] An effect conflict may refer to the mutual exclusion of the effects of the execution operations after translation of two intentions.

[0147] Intention creation: Create a new intention instance in the intention system and create a corresponding intention context.

[0148] A1 interface: An interface between a non-real-time radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC) and a near-real-time RAN intelligent controller (Near-RT RIC), which can implement machine learning (ML) model management (such as ML model deployment, update), policy management, and rich information transmission functions.

[0149] E2 interface: The interface between the Near-RT RIC and the RAN functional network element, which enables the Near-RT RIC to control the RAN functional network element, and the RAN functional network element can report performance data through the E2 interface, such as per user equipment (Per-UE), per cell, etc.

[0150] E2 node: A logical node connected to the E2 interface. For new radio (NR) access, it is the Open RAN Central Unit Control Plane (O-CU-CP), Open RAN Central Unit User Plane (O-CU-UP), and Open RAN Distributed Unit (O-DU), etc. For E-UTRA access, it is the Open RAN Evolved NodeB (O-eNB).

[0151] A1 policy: Using a declarative policy expression form, enabling the Non-RT RIC in the service management and orchestration (SMO) framework to guide the functions in the Near-RT RIC to better achieve the RAN intent. The A1 policy can include a policy type identifier (policyTypeId), a policy identifier (policyId), and a policy object (policyObject).

[0152] Among them, the RAN intention can be a higher-level operation or business goal to be achieved by the radio access network, allowing the operator to specify the service level agreement (SLA) that the RAN should achieve for all or a class of users in a given area within a certain period. The policyTypeId can be a policy type identifier assigned by the owner who defines the policyType, including two parts: the type name (TypeName) and the version (version). For example, ORAN_QoSTarget_2.0.0. The policyId can be an identifier assigned by the Non-RT RIC when creating the A1 policy. The policyObject can be a lightweight data exchange (JavaScript object notation, JSON) format A1 policy representation used as the payload in the policy process based on the hyperText transfer protocol (HTTP), mainly including the scope to which the A1 policy applies, the target of the A1 policy, and the resources of the A1 policy.

[0153] 2. Intention consumers and intention producers.

[0154] Among them, the intention consumer is a device that manages intentions. Specifically, the intention consumer can generate an intention and send an intention expression used to carry the intention to the intention producer. Among them, the intention can be the demand of the intention consumer for the network where the device implementing the intention solution is located. For example, the intention can reflect the demand of the intention consumer for at least one key performance indicator (KPI) in the network where the device implementing the intention solution is located.

[0155] The intention producer is a device that processes intentions. Specifically, after receiving the intention expression from the intention consumer, the intention producer can generate multiple solutions that can meet the intention and select one solution for execution. Then, the intention producer can send the selected solution to the device that executes the intention so that the device that executes the intention can execute the selected solution.

[0156] The intention consumer and / or the intention producer can be, but are not limited to, computing devices, servers, or network devices, etc. For example, the intention consumer can be a business support system (BSS), an operations support system (OSS), an NMS, an IDMS Consumer, or an MnS Consumer, etc., without limitation.

[0157] The intention producer can be NMS, EMS, IDMS Producer, MnS Producer, etc., without limitation.

[0158] It should be understood that the intention consumer and the intention producer can also adopt other names as long as they have the same functions, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0159] Currently, the intention processing capabilities supported by MnS Producer in IDMS include translating the received intention into the internal logic that needs to be executed, and executing these complex internal logics to meet the intention, and finally reporting the intention execution result to the management service producer consumer MnS Consumer. MnS Consumer can send the intention to MnS Producer by calling the intention-driven management service interface. MnS Producer can translate the intention into a specific execution policy or intention execution plan, and this execution plan is used to implement the above intention. MnS Producer sends the execution plan to the network infrastructure and continuously monitors the network status during the intention execution process to ensure the achievement of the intention. When there are multiple intention expectations in the intention sent by MnS Consumer, MnS Producer may need to adjust the intention execution plan multiple times to achieve these multiple intention expectations.

[0160] In one case, MnS Producer may find different intention execution plans that can meet the intention expectations. One alternative intention execution plan may be better or more optimized in one aspect, and another alternative intention execution plan may be better in another aspect. For example, the intention includes user experience expectations and energy-saving expectations. At this time, one intention execution plan can achieve better energy-saving effects while ensuring the basic user experience; another intention execution plan can achieve basic energy-saving effects while ensuring a better user experience.

[0161] In other cases, MnS Producer may not be able to find an intention execution plan that can meet all intention expectations, but there may be some alternative intention execution plans that can obtain better results for some of the multiple intention expectations. For example, the intention includes user experience expectations and energy-saving expectations. Some plans can meet the guarantee of user experience expectations, and some other plans can meet the energy-saving expectations.

[0162] In the above two cases, the MnS Producer needs to adjust the intention execution plan multiple times to achieve multiple intention expectations as expected by the intention. However, this process requires the MnS Producer to make multiple selections and calculations, and after adjusting the intention execution plan multiple times, it may still not be able to select an intention execution plan that can meet the multiple intention expectations as expected by the intention. Or, the achievement effect of the intention execution plan selected by the MnS Producer does not match the achievement effect expected by the MnS Consumer, which may reduce the intention execution efficiency and increase the resource overhead.

[0163] To address the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application propose the following technical solutions to improve the intention execution efficiency and reduce the resource overhead.

[0164] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0165] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, 4G, such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, 5G, such as new radio (NR) systems, and future communication systems, etc.

[0166] The present application will present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In addition, combinations of these solutions can also be used.

[0167] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary", "for example", etc. are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" in the present application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a specific manner.

[0168] In the embodiments of the present application, "information", "signal", "message", "channel", and "signaling" may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the differences are not emphasized, their intended meanings are consistent. "Of", "corresponding", and "corresponding to" may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that when the differences are not emphasized, their intended meanings are consistent. In addition, " / " mentioned in the present application can be used to represent the relationship of "or". It can be understood that in the present application, "indication" may include direct indication, indirect indication, display indication, and implicit indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can be understood that the indication information carries A, directly indicates A, or indirectly indicates A.

[0169] In the present application, the information indicated by the indication information is referred to as the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, but not limited to, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated, etc., or the information to be indicated can be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to only indicate a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or pre-agreed. For example, it is also possible to use the arrangement order of each piece of information pre-agreed (such as stipulated by the protocol) to achieve the indication of specific information, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0170] The information to be indicated can be sent as a whole, or can be divided into multiple sub-information and sent separately, and the sending periods and / or sending opportunities of these sub-information can be the same or different. The specific sending method is not limited in the present application. Among them, the sending periods and / or sending opportunities of these sub-information can be predefined, such as predefined according to the protocol, or can be configured by the transmitting device by sending configuration information to the receiving device.

[0171] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly explaining the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. Those of ordinary skill in the art know that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0172] To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first, Figure 1 the communication system shown in Figure 1Schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system applicable to the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application Figure 1 。

[0173] As Figure 1 shown, the communication system mainly includes: a first device and a second device. Optionally, the communication system further includes a third device. It can be understood that the "device" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application is only an exemplary expression, and the "device" can also be replaced by any possible expression, such as "device", "module", etc., without limitation.

[0174] The communication system can be used for the architectures of different communication systems, such as the 3GPP architecture or the open-radio access network (O-RAN) architecture. Under different architectures, the above-mentioned first device and second device can be different devices, which will be introduced separately below.

[0175] The above communication system can be applied to the 3GPP architecture, Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the 3GPP architecture provided in the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 2 shown, the above-mentioned first device can be an MnS Producer, and the above-mentioned second device can be an MnS Consumer. The MnS Consumer can send the intent to the MnS Producer by calling the intent-driven Mns interface. The MnS Producer can translate the intent into specific execution policies and send them to the network infrastructure, and continuously monitor the network status during the execution of the intent to ensure the achievement of the intent.

[0176] In this architecture, the third device can be a third-party pre-evaluation system or an intent pre-evaluation system ( Figure 2 not shown in the figure), such as a digital twin system with pre-evaluation function, a knowledge base, or an artificial intelligence (AI) model, etc., without limitation. It should be understood that the third device can also call the perception, analysis, decision-making and other modules inside the second device to obtain relevant data, without limitation.

[0177] The above communication system can also be applied to the O-RAN architecture, Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the O-RAN architecture provided in the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 3As shown, the above-mentioned second device can be the intent owner, and the intent owner can be equivalent to the above-mentioned intent consumer, with the same functions or roles as the intent consumer, without limitation. The above-mentioned first device can include a first functional entity, a second functional entity, and a first application; or rather, the combination of the first functional entity, the second functional entity, and the first application can achieve the same functions or roles as the above-mentioned first device. Among them, the first functional entity can be a Non-RT RIC, the second functional entity can be a Near-RT RIC, and the first application can be an extended application (XAPP), such as XAPP1.

[0178] The Non-RT RIC is a functional module of the operator's centralized SMO framework. Its main functions are the non-real-time (the latency of the control loop > 1s) control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, AI / ML workflows (including model training and updating), and policy-based applications / functions.

[0179] The Near-RT RIC is a component in the O-RAN architecture. Its main function is to provide near-real-time (the latency of the control loop >= 10ms and < 1s) intelligent control and coordination in the RAN to support network automation and optimization. The Near-RT RIC can be deployed independently on a cloud platform, or the Near-RT RIC and the SMO can be deployed in the same device, without limitation. The XAPP is an application designed to run on the near-real-time RAN intelligent controller. It may consist of one or more microservices, independent of the near-real-time RAN intelligent controller, and can be provided by any third party. The E2 interface can support the direct association between the XAPP and the RAN function.

[0180] The intent owner can send an intent to the Non-RT RIC. The Non-RT RIC translates the received intent into an A1 policy and sends it through the A1 interface to the Near-RT RIC to select a suitable XAPP for execution. For example, XAPP1 can convert it into an execution plan and send it down to the E2 node for execution ( Figure 3 not shown in the figure). The Near-RT RIC can feedback the execution result of the A1 policy (A1 policy feedback) to the Non-RT RIC, and the Non-RT RIC can feedback the intent execution result (intent feedback) to the intent owner.

[0181] In this architecture, the third device can be other XAPPs different from XAPP1 running on the Near-RT RIC, such as XAPP2. XAPP2 can have a pre-evaluation function, such as services with functions related to network digital twins, without limitation.

[0182] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the names of nodes, modules, devices, or network elements in different scenarios, architectures, or systems are exemplarily given, as well as the names of the communication interfaces between two of the nodes, modules, devices, or network elements. There is no exclusion of the possibility of name changes in future communication systems, scenarios, or architectures.

[0183] In this communication system, the first device may send, according to the first request message, the first information indicating whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention schemes for implementing the first intention instance is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation and multiple identifiers corresponding one-to-one to the multiple intention schemes to the second device. The second device may determine, according to the first information and the multiple identifiers, the intention scheme that needs to be executed among the multiple intention schemes and feedback the corresponding first identifier. In this way, the first device may directly determine the intention scheme that needs to be executed according to the first identifier, without the need to adjust the intention execution scheme multiple times to meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, thereby improving the intention execution efficiency and reducing resource consumption.

[0184] It can be understood that the above Figures 1 - 3 For the sake of easy understanding, a simplified schematic diagram is exemplified. Other devices, network elements, or functional entities may also be included in this communication system, Figures 1 - 3 which are not drawn.

[0185] For the sake of easy understanding, the following will Figures 4 - 8 specifically elaborate on the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0186] Exemplarily, Figure 4 is a flowchart of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application Figure 1 . This method may be applicable to the above communication system and involves the interaction among the first device, the second device, and the third device.

[0187] Specifically, as Figure 4 shown, the process of this communication method is as follows:

[0188] S401, the second device sends a first request message to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first request message from the second device.

[0189] It can be understood that the above first device and second device may be applicable to the Figure 2 3GPP architecture shown above, or the Figure 3 O-RAN architecture shown above. The process of the second device sending the first request message to the first device will be introduced below by taking the following two cases as examples.

[0190] Case a: The above first device and second device may be applicable to the aboveFigure 2 The 3GPP architecture shown, that is, the first device can be an intent producer and the second device can be an intent consumer.

[0191] The intent consumer sends a first request message to the intent producer. Correspondingly, the intent producer receives the first request message from the intent consumer.

[0192] Case b: The above first device and second device can be applicable to the Figure 3 O-RAN architecture shown, that is, the first device can include a first functional entity, a second functional entity, and a first application, and the second device can be an intent owner.

[0193] That is, the intent owner can send a first request message to the first functional entity. Correspondingly, the first functional entity receives the first request message from the intent owner.

[0194] Combining the above two cases, the first request message is introduced below.

[0195] The first request message can be used to request the creation of a first intent instance, and the first intent instance includes at least one intent expectation.

[0196] In a possible design, the first request message includes a first intent expression, and the first intent expression is used to request the creation of a first intent instance.

[0197] Among them, the first intent expression may include at least one intent expectation, at least one expected target, an expected object, and the context of the intent, intent expectation, and expected target, with specific syntax and semantics. The at least one intent expectation included in the first intent expression is the at least one intent expectation included in the first intent instance.

[0198] It can be understood that an expression may include at least one intended expectation, and each intended expectation corresponds to at least one expected target. For example, assume that the intention expression #1 includes the intended expectation #1 and the intended expectation #2. The intended expectation #1 may be to ensure the user experience, and the expected target corresponding to the intended expectation #1 may be: the downlink rate of cell #1 is greater than or equal to A megabits per second (Mb / S); the intended expectation #2 may be to save energy for cell #1, and the expected targets corresponding to the intended expectation #2 may be: the energy efficiency target of cell #1 (i.e., RAN Energy Efficiency) is greater than or equal to B megabits per joule (Mb / J), and the energy consumption target of cell #1 (i.e., RAN Energy Consumption) is less than or equal to C joules per second (J / S). That is, the first intention instance includes the above-mentioned intended expectation #1 and intended expectation #2. The expected object is cell #1, and cell #1 can provide services for users.

[0199] The first device may create a first intention instance and create a corresponding intention context according to the first request message. It can be understood that the first intention instance may be an intention instance related to services or an intention instance for network construction, without limitation.

[0200] Combined with the above, the first request message includes a first intention expression. The following introduces the first request message in detail in the following two cases.

[0201] Case 1: The first request message includes policy information.

[0202] Among them, the policy information can be used to indicate the policy for selecting the intention scheme to be executed. That is, the second device generates the policy information, and the policy information can be used to indicate the policy for selecting the intention scheme to be executed. The following introduces the policy information in detail.

[0203] The policy information may include at least one of the following: resource policy information, time policy information, or priority policy information.

[0204] Resource policy information can be used to indicate selection based on the amount of resources occupied. Exemplarily, if the second device determines that other intents will be sent later or other intent instances need to be created, such as the second device determines that there are new service requirements later, the resource policy information can be configured as low (or little) available resources or low occupied resources. At this time, the first device can select an intent scheme with a low occupied resource amount that can meet the basic intent as the intent scheme to be executed. The satisfaction of the basic intent can be understood as being able to meet or reach the target value of each expected target corresponding to each intent expectation included in the intent expression. For example, it is required to simultaneously meet that the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to AMb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to BMb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is less than or equal to C J / S. Let A above be equal to 5, B be equal to 0.01, and C be equal to 1000.

[0205] If the second device determines that other intents will not be sent later or other intent instances do not need to be created, such as the second device determines that there are no new service requirements later, the resource policy information can be configured as high (or much) available resources or high occupied resources. The first device can select an intent scheme with a high occupied resource amount that can achieve a better effect as the intent scheme to be executed. The achievement of a better effect can be understood as being greater than or exceeding the target value of each intent expectation corresponding to each intent expectation included in the intent expression. For example, the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 10Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.05Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 2000J / S. Another example is to ensure that the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 5Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.02Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 1500J / S, etc., without limitation.

[0206] It can be understood that the above resources can include resource blocks (RB), transmission bandwidth, frequency band, central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), or memory, etc., without limitation.

[0207] The time strategy information can be used to indicate a selection based on the execution time (or execution tolerance time) preset according to the first intention instance. This execution time is used to characterize that each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation needs to be met within the execution time. That is, when the intention scheme is executed, all the intention expectations in the intention expression need to be simultaneously met within this execution time. Or rather, the target values of each expectation goal corresponding to all the intention expectations in the intention expression need to be simultaneously met. For example, if the execution time is 30 minutes, within 30 minutes after the second device issues the first intention expression, the intention scheme executed by the first device needs to achieve the effects of the downlink rate of cell #1 being greater than or equal to 5 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 being greater than or equal to 0.01 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 being less than or equal to 1000 J / S.

[0208] If the above first request message includes an execution time, that is, the second device issues an execution time, then the time strategy information can be configured as time-sensitive. The first device can select an intention scheme that can achieve the basic intention with a short time as the intention scheme to be executed. Achieving the basic intention with a short time can be understood as being able to simultaneously meet the target values of each expectation goal corresponding to all the intention expectations within less than or equal to the execution time. For example, the intention scheme can achieve the effects of the downlink rate of cell #1 being equal to 5 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 being equal to 0.01 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 being equal to 1000 J / S after 20 minutes of execution.

[0209] If the above first request message does not include an execution time, that is, the second device does not issue an execution time, then the time strategy information can be configured as time-insensitive. The first device can select an intention scheme that can achieve a better effect with a longer time as the intention scheme to be executed. Achieving a better effect with a longer time can be understood as selecting an intention scheme with a long execution time and being able to meet the target values of each expectation goal corresponding to all the intention expectations that are greater than or exceed. For example, when the intention scheme is executed for 45 minutes, it can achieve the effects of the downlink rate of cell #1 being equal to 25 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 being equal to 0.07 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 being equal to 500 J / S, without limitation.

[0210] The priority policy information can be used to indicate selection according to the priority order of each intention expectation among at least one intention expectation. It can be understood that each intention expectation corresponds to a priority. For example, the first device can use the order of the sent intention expectations as the priority corresponding to each intention expectation. For example, the second device first sends the intention expectation #1, and then the second device sends the intention expectation #2. Then the priority of the intention expectation #1 is higher than that of the intention expectation #2. The priority policy information can be configured to guarantee the intention expectations with high priority. Then the second device can, according to the priority order of each intention expectation, use the intention plan that achieves a better effect for the high-priority intention expectations as the intention plan to be executed.

[0211] It can be understood that the above resource policy information, time policy information, and priority policy information can be combined and used. The implementation principle is similar to the implementation process of the first device separately using the above resource policy information to select the intention plan to be executed, or the first device separately using the above time policy information to select the intention plan to be executed, or the first device separately using the above priority policy information to select the intention plan to be executed. It can be referred to and understood, and will not be elaborated. For example, if the policy information configured by the second device is: low resource occupancy, time-sensitive, and guarantee high-priority intention expectations, then the first device can select, within the execution time, the intention plan with low resource occupancy and better effect achieved for high-priority intention expectations as the intention plan to be executed.

[0212] It can be understood that in the above case a, the intention producer can store the policy information for subsequent selection of the intention plan to be executed; in the above case b, the first functional entity can send the policy information to the second functional entity, and the second functional entity stores the policy information for subsequent selection of the intention plan to be executed by the intention producer.

[0213] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "intention plan", "intention execution plan", "execution plan", etc. can be replaced with each other, and will not be elaborated later.

[0214] Case 2: The first request message does not include policy information.

[0215] That is, the second device does not send the policy information to the first device.

[0216] It can be understood that the naming of the above first request message is only an example, and the first request message can also be replaced with any other possible naming, such as the first request, request message #1, etc., without limitation.

[0217] S402, the first device obtains the first information according to the first request message.

[0218] It can be understood that, in a possible design solution before introducing the first information, before the first device sends the first information and multiple identifiers to the second device, the above-mentioned method further includes:

[0219] The first device generates multiple intent scenarios according to the first intent instance.

[0220] The following is a specific introduction.

[0221] (1) Based on the above situation a, the intent producer can translate the first intent instance into multiple intent scenarios. The intent scenarios can represent the internal logic or command sequence that needs to be executed. The multiple intent scenarios can be used to implement the first intent instance, or rather, the multiple intent scenarios are used to achieve the intent expectation corresponding to the first intent instance. For example, the intent producer can generate intent scenario #1, intent scenario #2, and intent scenario #3 according to the above intent instance #1.

[0222] (2) Based on the above situation b, the first application can generate multiple intent scenarios according to the first intent instance forwarded by the first functional entity through the second functional entity.

[0223] Exemplarily, the first functional entity can generate an A1 policy according to the first intent instance. The A1 policy is a declarative policy expression form. The A1 policy can include policyTypeId, policyId, and policyObject. PolicyObject can include the scope of application of the A1 policy, the target of the A1 policy, and the resources of the A1 policy. For specific introduction, reference can be made to the introduction in the above technical terms section, which will not be elaborated here.

[0224] The first functional entity can send the A1 policy to the second functional entity. The second functional entity can send the A1 policy to a suitable application, such as the first application, according to the content of the A1 policy. The first application can translate the A1 policy to generate multiple intent scenarios, and the multiple intent scenarios can be control messages for the E2 node.

[0225] It can be understood that the embodiments of this application are introduced in the case where the first device generates multiple intent scenarios, and will not be elaborated later.

[0226] The first device can call an internal service or an external service to obtain the first information. The following takes the following two ways as examples to specifically introduce the implementation process of the first device obtaining the first information.

[0227] Way 1: The first device generates the first information according to multiple intent scenarios.

[0228] (1)Based on the above situation a, the intention producer can generate first information according to multiple intention schemes. Exemplarily, the intention producer can pre-evaluate the estimated intention expectations of multiple intention schemes by invoking internal services, such as perception, analysis, decision-making and other components, to obtain the first information. The first information can be used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention schemes is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation. The following is a specific introduction.

[0229] In a possible design solution, the first information includes first indication information and / or a list of expected values.

[0230] Among them, the first indication information can be used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention schemes is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation. Meeting each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation can be understood as needing to simultaneously meet all intention expectations in the first intention instance, or needing to simultaneously meet each expected target corresponding to all intention expectations in the first intention instance. For example, each expected target corresponding to the multiple estimated intention expectations when the intention scheme is executed can meet each expected target in the first intention instance.

[0231] That is to say, the first indication information can indicate the intention satisfaction situation of each intention scheme. The first indication information can include multiple sub-indication information, and each sub-indication information can correspond to an intention scheme. For example, the first indication information can include sub-indication information #1, sub-indication information #2, and sub-indication information #3. Sub-indication information #1 can be used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when intention scheme #1 is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation; sub-indication information #2 can be used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when intention scheme #2 is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation; sub-indication information #3 can be used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when intention scheme #3 is executed meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation.

[0232] For example, when the estimated intention expectation #1 when the intention plan #1 is executed is that the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 10 Mb / s, and the estimated intention expectation #2 when the intention plan #1 is executed is that the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.02 Mb / J and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 1200 J / S. At this time, the intention plan #1 cannot meet the expected target of the intention expectation #2, then the sub-indication information #1 can indicate that the estimated intention expectation when the intention plan #1 is executed cannot meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation; when the estimated intention expectation #1 when the intention plan #2 is executed is that the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 3 Mb / s, and the estimated intention expectation #2 when the intention plan #2 is executed is that the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.005 Mb / J and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 900 J / S. At this time, the intention plan #2 cannot meet the expected targets of the intention expectation #1 and the intention expectation #2, then the sub-indication information #2 can indicate that the estimated intention expectation when the intention plan #2 is executed cannot meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation; when the estimated intention expectation #1 when the intention plan #3 is executed is that the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 15 Mb / s, and the estimated intention expectation #2 when the intention plan #3 is executed is that the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.05 Mb / J and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 500 J / S. At this time, the intention plan #3 can simultaneously meet the expected targets corresponding to the intention expectation #1 and the intention expectation #2 respectively, then the sub-indication information #3 can indicate that the estimated intention expectation when the intention plan #3 is executed can meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation.

[0233] It can be understood that the naming of the above first indication information is only an example, and the first indication information can also be replaced with any other possible naming, such as the intention satisfaction situation of the intention plan, etc., such as indication information #1, etc., which is not limited.

[0234] The expected value list can be used to indicate the expected target values of the estimated intention expectations when multiple intention plans are executed respectively. The expected target values of the estimated intention expectations can include the optimal expected target values corresponding to each estimated expectation. The optimal expected target value can represent the expected target value that the second device or the third device tries its best to achieve when evaluating the intention plan. It can be the value that the plan can try its best to achieve when the expected target value cannot be achieved, such as the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 9 Mb / s, or it can be the value that the plan can try its best to achieve when the expected target value can be achieved, such as the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 15 Mb / s. It can also include the minimum value that can meet the expected target. For example, the expected target value of cell #1 is greater than or equal to 10 Mb / s, and its minimum value is 10 Mb / s, which is not limited.

[0235] The expected value list may include the optimal expected target values corresponding to each estimated intention expectation when each scenario is executed. For example, the expected value list may include multiple sub-expected value lists, and each sub-expected value list may correspond to an intention scenario. It should be noted that the optimal expected target value may be greater than the expected target value corresponding to the first intention instance, such as the downlink rate of cell #1 being equal to 15 Mb / s, etc. Or, the optimal expected target value may also be less than the expected target value corresponding to the first intention instance, such as the energy efficiency target of cell #1 being equal to 0.05 Mb / J, etc., without limitation.

[0236] For example, the expected value list may include sub-expected value list #1, sub-expected value list #2, and sub-expected value list #3. Sub-expected value list #1 may indicate the expected target value of the estimated intention expectation when intention scenario #1 is executed. Sub-expected value list #2 may indicate the expected target value of the estimated intention expectation when intention scenario #2 is executed. Sub-expected value list #3 may indicate the expected target value of the estimated intention expectation when intention scenario #3 is executed. For example, sub-expected value list #1 may include a downlink rate equal to 10 Mb / s, an energy efficiency target equal to 0.02 Mb / J, and an energy consumption target equal to 1200 J / S; sub-expected value list #2 may include a downlink rate equal to 3 Mb / s, an energy efficiency target equal to 0.005 Mb / J, and an energy consumption target equal to 900 J / S; sub-expected value list #3 may include a downlink rate equal to 15 Mb / s, an energy efficiency target equal to 0.05 Mb / J, and an energy consumption target equal to 500 J / S.

[0237] It can be understood that the unachieved expected targets can be marked in the expected value list. For example, in sub-expected value list #1, the target that the energy consumption of cell #1 is less than or equal to 0.01 Mb / S can be marked as unachieved; in sub-expected value list #2, the targets that the downlink rate is greater than or equal to 3 Mb / s and the energy consumption target is greater than or equal to 0.01 Mb / S can be marked as unachieved, which is used for the second device to select the scenario to be executed subsequently.

[0238] It can be understood that the naming of the above expected value list is only an example, and the expected value list can also be replaced with any other possible naming, such as the optimal performance value list of the intention expectation target, etc., without limitation.

[0239] Optionally, the first information further includes resource information and / or time information.

[0240] Among them, the resource information can be used to indicate the amount of resources used when completing each of the multiple intent scenarios. The amount of resources used when completing each of the multiple intent scenarios can be: when each intent scenario is executed, the amount of resources used or occupied when the expected target of each intent expectation of this intent scenario reaches the optimal expected target value. The resource information can include multiple sub-resource times, and each sub-resource time can correspond to an intent scenario.

[0241] For example, the resource information can include sub-resource information #1, sub-resource information #2, and sub-resource information #3. Sub-resource information #1 can indicate the amount of resources used when completing intent scenario #1, sub-resource information #2 can indicate the amount of resources used when completing intent scenario #2, and sub-resource information #3 can indicate the amount of resources used when completing intent scenario #3. Suppose that when the above intent scenario #1 is executed, it reaches: when the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 10 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.02 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 1200 J / S, 15 RBs need to be occupied, then the sub-resource information #1 can be 15 RBs; suppose that when the above intent scenario #2 is executed, it reaches: when the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 3 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.005 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 900 J / S, 10 RBs need to be occupied, then the sub-resource information #2 can be 10 RBs; suppose that when the above intent scenario #3 is executed, it reaches: when the downlink rate of cell #1 is equal to 15 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.02 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 500 J / S, 30 RBs need to be occupied, then the sub-resource information #3 can be 30 RBs.

[0242] It can be understood that the naming of the above resource information is only an example, and the resource information can also be replaced with any other possible naming, such as resource usage, etc., without limitation.

[0243] The time information can be used to indicate the time used when completing each of the multiple intent scenarios. The time used when completing each of the multiple intent scenarios can be: when each intent scenario is executed, the time used when the expected target of each intent expectation of this intent scenario reaches the optimal expected target value. The time information can include multiple sub-time information, and each sub-time information can correspond to an intent scenario.

[0244] For example, the time information may include sub-time information #1, sub-time information #2, and sub-time information #3. The sub-time information #1 may indicate the time used to complete the intention scheme #1, the sub-time information #2 may indicate the time used to complete the intention scheme #2, and the sub-time information #3 may indicate the time used to complete the intention scheme #3. Suppose that when the above intention scheme #1 is executed, it takes 35 minutes to reach a downlink rate of 10 Mb / s in cell #1, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.02 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 1200 J / S. Then the sub-time information #1 may be 35 minutes. Suppose that when the above intention scheme #2 is executed, it takes 25 minutes to reach a downlink rate of 3 Mb / s in cell #1, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.005 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 900 J / S. Then the sub-time information #2 may be 25 minutes. Suppose that when the above intention scheme #3 is executed, it takes 55 minutes to reach: a downlink rate of 15 Mb / s in cell #1, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is equal to 0.02 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is equal to 500 J / S. Then the sub-time information #3 may be 55 minutes.

[0245] It can be understood that each intention scheme among multiple intention schemes corresponds to a sub-first information, and each sub-first information includes corresponding sub-indication information, sub-expected value list, sub-resource information, and sub-time information. For example, the above first information includes sub-first information #1, sub-first information #2, and sub-first information 3. The sub-first information #1 corresponds to the intention scheme #1, the sub-first information #2 corresponds to the intention scheme #2, and the sub-first information #3 corresponds to the intention scheme #3. That is, the sub-first information #1 may include: sub-indication information #1, sub-expected value list #1, sub-resource information #1, and sub-time information #1; the sub-first information #2 may include: sub-indication information #2, sub-expected value list #2, sub-resource information #2, and sub-time information #2; the sub-first information #3 may include: sub-indication information 3, sub-expected value list #3, sub-resource information #3, and sub-time information #3.

[0246] That is, the sub-first information #1 may include: the estimated intention expectations when the intention plan #1 is executed cannot meet each of the at least one intention expectation; the downlink rate is equal to 10 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target is equal to 0.02 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target is equal to 1200 J / S; 15 RBs; 35 minutes. The sub-first information #2 may include: the estimated intention expectations when the intention plan #2 is executed cannot meet each of the at least one intention expectation; the downlink rate is equal to 3 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target is equal to 0.005 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target is equal to 900 J / S; 10 RBs; 25 minutes. The sub-first information #3 may include: the estimated intention expectations when the intention plan #3 is executed can meet each of the at least one intention expectation; the downlink rate is equal to 15 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target is equal to 0.05 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target is equal to 500 J / S; 30 RBs; 55 minutes.

[0247] It can be understood that the naming of the above time information is only an example, and the time information can also be replaced with any other possible naming, such as intention execution time, etc., without limitation.

[0248] Method 2: The first device sends a second request message to the third device. Correspondingly, the third device receives the second request message from the first device.

[0249] The third device generates the first information according to the second request message.

[0250] The third device obtains the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention plans is executed according to the expected object information;

[0251] The third device generates the first information according to the estimated intention expectations when each of the intention plans is executed and the expectation list.

[0252] The third device sends the first information to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first information returned by the third device according to the second request message.

[0253] The following is a specific introduction.

[0254] (1) Based on the above situation a, the third device may be a pre-evaluation system of a third party or an intention pre-evaluation system, such as a digital twin system, a knowledge base, or an AI model with a pre-evaluation function, etc., without limitation. For ease of understanding, the following takes the third device as an intention pre-evaluation system as an example for subsequent introduction.

[0255] The second request message may include multiple intent scenarios, and the second request message is used to request the estimated intent expectations when each of the multiple intent scenarios is executed. For example, the third request message may include intent scenario #1, intent scenario #2, and intent scenario #3, and the second request message may be used to request the estimated intent expectations when intent scenario #1 is executed, the estimated intent expectations when intent scenario #2 is executed, and the estimated intent expectations when intent scenario #3 is executed.

[0256] Optionally, the second request message may further include an expectation list and / or expectation object information.

[0257] The expectation list may be used to indicate at least one intent expectation. Or rather, the expectation list may indicate all intent expectations of the first intent instance. Or rather, the expectation list may indicate all expected targets of the first intent instance. For example, the expectation list may include: the downlink rate of cell #1 is greater than or equal to 5 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is greater than or equal to 0.01 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is less than or equal to 1000 J / S.

[0258] The expectation object information may be used to indicate the object for executing the first intent instance, such as the above cell #1. At this time, the intent pre-evaluation system may obtain relevant network configuration information and network and service metric statistical values according to the expectation object information and the expectation list, evaluate each intent scenario to obtain the first information, and feedback the first information to the intent producer.

[0259] (2) Based on the above situation b, the first device sends a second request message to the third device, including:

[0260] The first application sends a second request message to the third device; correspondingly, the third device receives the second request message from the first application.

[0261] The first device receives the first information returned by the third device according to the second request message, including:

[0262] The first functional entity receives the first information forwarded by the third device through the second functional entity.

[0263] Among them, the third device may be a different application from the first application running on the second functional entity, such as the second application, and the second application may have a pre-evaluation function. In this case, the second request message may include an A1 policy target list and object information. The A1 policy target list corresponds to the above-mentioned expected list, or in other words, the A1 policy target list and the expected list can be converted into each other. The object information corresponds to the above-mentioned expected object information, and the object information may be the E2 node information to be executed. The second application may obtain relevant network configuration information and network and service metric statistical values according to the object information, and evaluate each intent scenario to obtain pre-evaluation information. The pre-evaluation information may include: indication information #1, A1 policy target list, resource information #1, and time information #1.

[0264] Among them, the indication information #1 can be used to indicate whether the estimated A1 policy targets when each of the multiple intent scenarios is executed meet each target of the A1 policy. Meeting each target of the A1 policy can be understood as needing to meet each target of the A1 policy simultaneously. It can be understood that the indication information #1 is similar to the above-mentioned first indication information and can be understood by reference without further elaboration.

[0265] The A1 policy target list can be used to indicate the target values of the estimated A1 policy when each of the multiple intent scenarios is executed. The expected target values of the estimated intent expectations may include the optimal expected target values corresponding to the target values of each estimated A1 policy. It can be understood that the A1 policy target list is similar to the above-mentioned expected value list and can be understood by reference without further elaboration.

[0266] It can be understood that the resource information #1 is similar to the above-mentioned resource information, and the time information #1 is similar to the above-mentioned time information, and can be understood by reference without further elaboration.

[0267] The second application may send the pre-evaluation information to the second functional entity, and the second functional entity may forward the pre-evaluation information to the first functional entity, and the first functional entity converts the pre-evaluation information into the corresponding first information.

[0268] Combined with the above method 2, optionally, the above method further includes: the third device sends multiple identifiers to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the multiple identifiers from the second device.

[0269] Among them, multiple identifiers correspond one-to-one with multiple intent scenarios, that is, one identifier is used to indicate one intent scenario, and one intent scenario corresponds to one piece of sub-first information. Therefore, multiple identifiers correspond one-to-one with multiple pieces of sub-first information. For example, the multiple identifiers are respectively: the first identifier, the second identifier, and the third identifier. Suppose the first identifier corresponds to intent scenario #1, the second identifier corresponds to intent scenario #2, and the third identifier corresponds to intent scenario #3. Then, the first identifier, intent scenario #1, and sub-first information #1 can correspond to each other; the second identifier, intent scenario #2, and sub-first information #2 can correspond to each other; the third identifier, intent scenario #3, and sub-first information #3 can correspond to each other.

[0270] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "identifier", "intent identifier", "scenario identifier", "intent scenario identifier", etc. can be replaced with each other, and will not be elaborated hereinafter. It can be understood that the naming of the above first information is only an example, and the first information can also be replaced with any other possible naming, such as intent expectation information, etc., which is not limited.

[0271] S403. The first device determines a first intent scenario that needs to be executed according to the policy information and the first information.

[0272] It should be noted that this step is implemented based on the above situation 1, that is, when the first request message includes policy information, the first device can determine a first intent scenario that needs to be executed according to the policy information and the first information.

[0273] Exemplarily, the first device can determine, according to the parameters of each sub-information in the first information, whether there is a predicted intent expectation when an intent scenario is executed among multiple intent scenarios that can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation. The following is a specific introduction.

[0274] (1) If there is only one predicted intent expectation when an intent scenario is executed among multiple intent scenarios that can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, the first device can directly select this intent scenario as the intent scenario that needs to be executed subsequently, such as the first intent scenario.

[0275] Exemplarily, based on the above situation a, if the intent producer determines, according to the first information, that there is only one predicted intent expectation when an intent scenario is executed among multiple intent scenarios that can meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, the intent producer can determine this intent scenario as the first intent scenario.

[0276] Based on the above situation b, if the second functional entity determines, according to the prediction information, that there is only one predicted target of the A1 policy when an intent scenario is executed among multiple intent scenarios that can meet each target of the A1 policy, the second functional entity can directly determine this intent scenario as the first intent scenario.

[0277] (2) If the estimated intention expectations when at least two intention solutions among multiple intention solutions are executed can meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, the first device may, according to the policy information, select one intention solution from the at least two intention solutions as the first intention solution. That is, the first intention solution is one of the at least two intention solutions.

[0278] Exemplarily, based on the above situation a, if the intention producer determines, according to the first information, that the estimated intention expectations when at least two intention solutions among multiple intention solutions are executed can meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, the intention producer may, according to the policy information, select one intention solution from the at least two intention solutions as the first intention solution.

[0279] It can be understood that for the specific implementation process of this process, reference can be made to the relevant introduction in step S507a below, and details are not elaborated here.

[0280] Based on the above situation b, if the second functional entity determines, according to the estimated information, that the goals of the estimated A1 policy when at least two intentions among multiple intention solutions are executed can meet each goal of the A1 policy, the second functional entity may, according to the policy information, select one intention solution from the at least two intention solutions as the first intention solution.

[0281] It can be understood that for the specific implementation process of this process, reference can be made to the introduction in steps S711a1 - S711a2 below, and details are not elaborated here.

[0282] (3) If the estimated intention expectations when no intention solution among multiple intention solutions is executed can meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, the first device may send the first information to the second device for the second device to determine the intention solution to be executed according to the first information later. For the specific introduction of this process, reference can be made to the relevant introduction in step S404 below, and details are not elaborated here.

[0283] S404. The first device sends the first information and multiple identifiers to the second device.

[0284] It should be noted that this step is implemented based on the above situation 1 and when the estimated intention expectations when no intention solution among multiple intention solutions is executed can meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, or this step is implemented based on the above situation 2.

[0285] Based on the above situation a, the intention producer may send the first information and multiple identifiers to the intention consumer, and the multiple identifiers may correspond to the multiple sub - first information in the first information one by one.

[0286] Based on the above situation b, the first functional entity can translate the estimated information to obtain the first information, and send the first information and multiple identifiers to the intention owner, where the multiple identifiers can correspond one-to-one to multiple sub-first information in the first information.

[0287] S405. The second device determines the first identifier according to the first information and multiple identifiers.

[0288] The following is a specific introduction with the following situation as an example.

[0289] Situation 3: Based on the above situation 1, that is, the second device configures policy information for the first device, but when the first device determines that there is no estimated intention expectation in multiple intention scenarios that can meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation when any intention scenario is executed, and at this time, there is an estimated intention expectation in multiple intention scenarios that can partially meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation when an intention scenario is executed, then the second device can, according to its own intention expectation preference, select the intention scenario to be executed from these multiple intention scenarios that can partially meet the intention expectation. For example, the second device can, according to its own intention expectation preference, determine the optimal value of each expected target in the sub-first information corresponding to the first identifier, which is more in line with its own intention expectation preference, then the second device can determine the first identifier.

[0290] It can be understood that if the second device stores policy information, the second device can also combine its own intention expectation preference and policy information to select the intention scenario to be executed. The implementation principle is similar to the following steps S507b1 - S07b5 or the following steps S711b1 - S711b8, which can be referred to and understood, and will not be elaborated here.

[0291] Situation 4: Based on the above situation 2, that is, the second device does not configure policy information for the first device. The second device can, according to the first information, determine whether there is an estimated intention expectation in multiple intention scenarios that can meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation when an intention scenario is executed.

[0292] (1) If there are at least two estimated intention expectations in multiple intention scenarios that can meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation when an intention scenario is executed, the second device can, according to its own intention expectation preference, select the intention scenario to be executed from these at least two intention scenarios. For example, the second device determines the optimal value of each expected target in the sub-first information corresponding to the first identifier, which is more in line with its own intention expectation preference, then the second device determines the first identifier. It can be understood that the first identifier corresponds to the first intention scenario, so the first intention scenario can be one of the at least two intention scenarios.

[0293] It can be understood that if the second device stores policy information, the second device can also combine its own intention expectation preference and the policy information to select the intention plan to be executed. The implementation principle is similar to the following steps S608a1 - S608a2 or the following steps S813a1 - S813a4, which can be referred to and understood, and will not be elaborated here.

[0294] (2) If there is no estimated intention expectation when any intention plan is executed among multiple intention plans that can satisfy each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation, the second device can select the intention plan to be executed from among the multiple intention plans that can partially satisfy the intention expectation according to its own intention expectation preference. For example, the second device can determine the optimal value of each expected target in the sub - first information corresponding to the first identifier according to its own intention expectation preference. If it is more in line with its own intention expectation preference, the second device can determine the first identifier.

[0295] It can be understood that if the second device stores policy information, the second device can also combine its own intention expectation preference and the policy information to select the intention plan to be executed. The implementation principle is similar to the following steps S608b1 - S608b4 or S813b1 - S813b6, which can be referred to and understood, and will not be elaborated here.

[0296] S406, the second device sends the first identifier to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the first identifier from the second device.

[0297] The first device can determine the first intention plan as the intention plan to be executed among multiple intention plans according to the first identifier. For example, if the first identifier is identifier #1, the first device can determine intention plan #3 as the intention plan to be executed according to identifier #1.

[0298] The following is a specific introduction.

[0299] (1) Based on the above - mentioned situation a, the intention consumer can send the first identifier to the intention producer for the intention producer to determine the first intention plan. After the intention producer determines the first intention plan, the intention producer can execute the first intention plan. For example, the intention producer can send a corresponding control message to the expected object according to the internal logic or command sequence corresponding to the first intention production plan. The implementation process of this process can refer to the implementation process of the intention producer executing the intention plan in the prior art and will not be elaborated here.

[0300] (2) Based on the above situation b, the intent owner can send a first identifier to the first functional entity, the first functional entity forwards the first identifier to the second functional entity, and the second functional entity then forwards the first identifier to the first application for the first application to determine the first intent solution. After the first application determines the first intent solution, the first application can execute the first intent solution. For example, the first application can send a corresponding control message to the corresponding E2 node according to the control message for the E2 node in the first intent solution. The implementation process of this process can refer to the implementation process of extending an application to execute an intent solution in the prior art and will not be elaborated here.

[0301] In summary, the first device can send, according to the first request message, the first information indicating whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the multiple intent solutions for implementing the first intent instance is executed meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation and the multiple identifiers corresponding to the multiple intent solutions one by one to the second device. The second device can determine the intent solution that needs to be executed from the multiple intent solutions according to the first information and the multiple identifiers and feedback the corresponding first identifier. In this way, the first device can directly determine the intent solution that needs to be executed according to the first identifier, without having to adjust the intent execution solution multiple times to meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, thereby improving the intent execution efficiency and reducing resource overhead.

[0302] Combined with the above embodiments, optionally, the first identifier corresponds to the first intent solution. When the estimated intent expectations when no intent solution in the multiple intent solutions is executed cannot meet each intent expectation in at least one intent expectation, the above method further includes:

[0303] The second device generates a second intent expression according to the estimated intent expectations of the first intent solution.

[0304] The second device sends the second intent expression to the first device. Correspondingly, the first device receives the second intent expression from the second device.

[0305] That is to say, the second intent expression is determined according to the estimated intent expectations of the first intent solution.

[0306] It can be understood that in (2) of the above situation 3 or situation 4, the second device can modify the first intent expression according to the list of sub-expectation values in the sub-first information corresponding to the first identifier to obtain the second intent expression.

[0307] For example, the second device may modify the target value of the desired target of the intention expectation that is not satisfied by the first intention solution in the first intention expression to be equal to or less than the value of the corresponding sub-expected value list of the desired target, so that the first intention solution can meet the intention expectation of the modified intention expression. For example, let the first intention solution be the above-mentioned intention solution #1, and the corresponding sub-first information #1 of the intention solution #1 includes: the estimated intention expectation when the intention solution #1 is executed cannot meet each intention expectation in at least one intention expectation; the downlink rate is equal to 10 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target is equal to 0.02 Mb / S, and the energy consumption target is equal to 1200 J / S; 15 RBs; 35 minutes. Then the second device may modify the energy consumption target of cell #1 in intention expectation #2 in the first intention expression to be less than or equal to 1000 J / S to: the energy consumption target of cell #1 is less than or equal to 1200 J / S, or less than or equal to 1500 J / S, etc., without limitation. For ease of understanding, taking the energy consumption target of cell #1 being less than or equal to 1200 J / S as an example, the second intention expression may include: intention expectation #1 and intention expectation #2. Intention expectation #1 may be to ensure the user experience, and the corresponding desired target of intention expectation #1 may be: the downlink rate of cell #1 is greater than or equal to 5 Mb / s; intention expectation #2 may be to save energy for cell #1, and the corresponding desired targets of intention expectation #2 may be: the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is greater than or equal to 0.01 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target of cell #1 is less than or equal to 1200 J / S. Based on the above situation a, the intention consumer may generate a second intention expression according to the estimated intention expectation of the first intention solution and send the second intention expression to the intention producer.

[0308] Based on the above situation b, the intention owner may generate a second intention expression according to the estimated intention expectation of the first intention solution and send the second intention expression to the first functional entity. The first functional entity forwards the second intention expression to the second functional entity, and the second functional entity then forwards the second intention expression to the first application.

[0309] Optionally, before the first device executes the first intention solution, the above method further includes:

[0310] The first device modifies the first intention instance according to the second intention expression.

[0311] Based on the above situation a, the intention producer may modify the first intention instance according to the second intention expression so that the intention producer can meet the requirements of the intention instance issued by the intention consumer when executing the first intention solution subsequently.

[0312] Based on the above situation b, the first application can modify the first intent instance according to the second intent expression, so that when the first application executes the first intent scheme subsequently, it can meet the requirements of the intent instance issued by the intent consumer.

[0313] Combined with the method embodiments above, the overall process of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application is introduced. For ease of understanding, the above method is introduced below by taking the following 4 scenarios as examples.

[0314] Scenario 1: Figure 5 It is a schematic flow of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application Figure 2 It mainly involves the interaction between the MnS Consumer (such as the second device above), the MnS Producer (such as the first device above), and the intent pre-evaluation system (such as the third device above).

[0315] As Figure 5 shown, the method may include:

[0316] S501, the MnS Consumer sends an intent creation request message #1 to the MnS Producer.

[0317] Among them, the intent creation request message #1 may include an intent expression #a and a scheme selection policy #a. The intent expression #a can be used to request the creation of an intent instance #a, and the intent expression #a may include an intent expectation #a, an intent expectation #b, and an expected object #a. The intent expectation #a may include an expected target #a1, and the intent expectation #b may include an expected target #b1 and an expected target #b2. Assume that the priority of the intent expectation #a is higher than the priority of the intent expectation #b.

[0318] The scheme selection policy #a can be used for the MnS Producer to select the intent scheme to be executed, and the scheme selection policy #a may include a priority policy information #a and a resource policy information #a. Among them, the priority policy information #a can ensure the high-priority intent expectation, and the resource policy information #a can have a high available resource amount.

[0319] S502, the MnS Producer generates an intent scheme.

[0320] The MnS Producer can translate the received intent expression #a to generate an intent scheme. The intent scheme can represent the internal logic or command sequence to be executed, and the intent scheme can be used to implement the first intent instance #a. For example, the MnS Producer can generate intent scheme #a, intent scheme #b, and intent scheme #c according to the intent expression #a.

[0321] S503, the MnS Producer sends intent prediction request message #1 to the intent pre-evaluation system.

[0322] Among them, the intent prediction request message #1 may include intent scenarios (i.e., intent scenario #a, intent scenario #b, and intent scenario #c), an intent expectation list (i.e., intent expectation #a and intent expectation #b; or, expected targets #a1, #b1, and #b2), and expected object information (i.e., expected object #a).

[0323] It can be understood that step S503 is triggered when there are multiple intent execution scenarios, that is, when the MnS Producer generates multiple intent scenarios in the above step S502, the MnS Producer is triggered to execute step S503.

[0324] S504, the intent pre-evaluation system obtains intent pre-evaluation information #1.

[0325] The intent pre-evaluation system can obtain relevant network configuration information and network and service metric statistical values according to the expected object #a, and pre-evaluate intent scenario #a, intent scenario #b, and intent scenario #c respectively to obtain intent pre-evaluation information #1. The intent pre-evaluation information #1 may include the intent satisfaction of each intent scenario, the optimal expected target value of the expected target of the predicted intent expectation when each intent scenario is executed, the amount of resources used when the expected targets of each intent expectation reach the optimal expected target value when each intent scenario is executed, and the time used when the expected targets of each intent expectation reach the optimal expected target value when each intent scenario is executed. The intent satisfaction of each intent scenario can be: whether the expected intent expectations when each intent scenario is executed can simultaneously satisfy the above intent expectation #a and intent expectation #b, or whether they can simultaneously satisfy the above expected targets #a1, #b1, and #b2.

[0326] For example, the intent pre-evaluation information #1 may include sub-intent pre-evaluation information #a, sub-intent pre-evaluation information #b, and sub-intent pre-evaluation information #c. The sub-intent pre-evaluation information #a may include intent scenario #a, intent satisfaction #a, list of optimal performance values of expected targets #a, amount of resources #a, and time #a; the sub-intent pre-evaluation information #b may include intent scenario #b, intent satisfaction #b, list of optimal performance values of expected targets #b, amount of resources #b, and time #b; the sub-intent pre-evaluation information #c may include intent scenario #c, intent satisfaction #c, list of optimal performance values of expected targets #c, amount of resources #c, and time #c.

[0327] S505, the intent pre-evaluation system sends the intent pre-evaluation information #1 and the scenario identifier to the MnS Producer.

[0328] The intention pre-evaluation system can send sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a, sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b, and sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c to the MnS Producer.

[0329] The number of intention identifiers corresponds one-to-one with the number of the above intention scenarios. That is, the intention pre-evaluation system can send 3 scenario identifiers to the MnS Producer, namely scenario identifier #a, scenario identifier #b, and scenario identifier #c. Among them, scenario identifier #a can correspond to intention scenario #a and sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a; scenario identifier #b can correspond to intention scenario #b and sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b; scenario identifier #c can correspond to intention scenario #c and sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c.

[0330] S506, the MnS Producer determines the expected satisfaction of each intention scenario.

[0331] If the expected intention expectation of the intention scenario can simultaneously meet the above intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, it can be characterized that the intention scenario can meet all intention expectations; otherwise, it can be characterized that the intention scenario cannot meet all intention expectations. For example, the expected intention expectation of the intention scenario can meet intention expectation #a or intention expectation #b, or the achievement effect of the expected intention expectation of the intention scenario does not meet intention expectation #a and does not meet intention expectation #b, etc.

[0332] It can be understood that if only one of the above intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, such as intention scenario #a, the MnS Producer can directly select intention scenario #a as the intention scenario to be executed.

[0333] If at least two of the above intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, the MnS Producer is triggered to execute the following step S507a.

[0334] If none of the above intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, the MnS Producer is triggered to execute the following step S507b1.

[0335] S507a, the MnS Producer selects the intention scenario to be executed according to scenario selection strategy #1.

[0336] Suppose the intended expectations of the above-mentioned intended solution #a and intended solution #c are expected to simultaneously meet the intended expectation #a and intended expectation #b. Then, the MnS Producer can select the intended solution to be executed according to the priority policy information #a and the resource policy information #a.

[0337] For example, taking the intended expectation #a as ensuring the user experience, and the expected target #a1 as ensuring that the downlink rate of cell #1 is greater than or equal to 10 Mb / s; the intended expectation #b is to save energy for cell #1, the expected target #b1 is that the energy efficiency target of cell #1 is greater than or equal to 0.01 Mb / J, and the expected target #b2 is that the energy consumption target of cell #1 is less than or equal to 1000 J / S as an example. At this time, cell #1 is the expected object #a.

[0338] Suppose the optimal performance value list #a of the expected target includes: the downlink rate is equal to 10 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target is equal to 0.02 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target is equal to 900 J / S, and the resource #a is 30 RB; the optimal performance value list #c of the expected target includes: the downlink rate is equal to 15 Mb / s, the energy efficiency target is equal to 0.01 Mb / J, and the energy consumption target is equal to 500 J / S, and the resource #c is 50 RB. In this case, the MnS Producer can select the intended solution with a higher resource occupancy and a better achievement of the high-priority intended expectation, that is, the MnS Producer can select the intended solution with a better achievement of the expected target #a1, and the resource amount occupied by the intended solution #c is greater than the resource amount occupied by the intended solution #a. That is to say, the MnS Producer can select the intended solution #c as the intended solution to be executed.

[0339] S507b1, the MnS Producer sends the pre-evaluation information #1 and the solution identifier to the MnS Consumer.

[0340] It can be understood that if there is no intended solution among the above-mentioned intended solutions #a, #b, and #c that can simultaneously meet the intended expectation #a and the intended expectation #b, then the unachieved expected targets can be marked in the above-mentioned optimal performance value list #a, optimal performance value list #b, and optimal performance value list #c of the expected target.

[0341] For example, assume that the above list #a of desired target optimal performance values includes: downlink rate equal to 5 Mb / s, energy efficiency target equal to 0.05 Mb / J, and energy consumption target equal to 1500 J / S, and the resource #a is 25 RBs. At this time, in the list #a of desired target optimal performance values, it can be marked that the desired target #a1 and the desired target #b2 are not achieved; the list #b of desired target optimal performance values includes: downlink rate equal to 20 Mb / s, energy efficiency target equal to 0.05 Mb / J, and energy consumption target equal to 1500 J / S, and the resource #b is 40 RBs. At this time, in the list #b of desired target optimal performance values, it can be marked that the desired target #b2 is not achieved; the list #c of desired target optimal performance values includes: downlink rate equal to 15 Mb / s, energy efficiency target equal to 0.009 Mb / J, and energy consumption target equal to 950 J / S, and the resource #c is 35 RBs. At this time, in the list #c of desired target optimal performance values, it can be marked that the desired target #b1 is not achieved.

[0342] S507b2, the MnS Consumer selects the intended solution to be executed.

[0343] The MnS Consumer can select the intended solution to be executed from the above-mentioned intended solution #a, intended solution #b, and intended solution #c according to the solution selection strategy #a and its own intended expectation preferences. For example, if the intended expectation preference of the MnS Consumer is a solution with better energy-saving effect, then the MnS Consumer can combine the priority strategy information #a, the resource strategy information #a, and the intended expectation preference, and select the intended solution #b as the intended solution to be executed.

[0344] S507b3, the MnS Consumer modifies the intention expression #a.

[0345] The MnS Consumer can modify the intention expression #a according to the list #b of desired target optimal performance values of the intended solution #b selected in the above step S507b2. Exemplarily, the MnS Consumer can modify the desired target #b2 in the intention expression #a to an energy consumption target less than or equal to 1500 J / S to obtain the modified intention expression #a, which can be denoted as the intention expression #b.

[0346] S507b4, the MnS Consumer sends the intention expression #b and the solution identifier #b to the MnS Producer.

[0347] Exemplarily, the MnS Consumer can feedback to the MnS Producer that the intended solution to be executed is the intended solution #b. For example, the Near-RT RIC can indicate the intended solution b by feedbacking the solution identifier #b.

[0348] S507b5, the MnS Producer modifies the intention instance #a according to the intention expression #b.

[0349] S508, the MnS Producer executes the intention plan that needs to be executed.

[0350] For the above step S506, the MnS Producer can execute the intention plan #a.

[0351] It can be understood that step S507a and steps S507b1 - S507b2 are parallel plans applicable to different situations. For the above step S507a, the MnS Producer can execute the intention plan #c; for the above steps S507b1 - S507b2, the MnS Producer can execute the intention plan #b. The specific implementation process of step S508 in the embodiments of this application is not limited.

[0352] Scenario 2: Figure 6 This is the flowchart of the communication method provided by the embodiments of this application Figure 4 It mainly involves the interaction among the MnS Consumer (such as the above-mentioned second device), the MnS Producer (such as the above-mentioned first device), and the intention pre-evaluation system (such as the above-mentioned third device).

[0353] Such as Figure 6 shown, the method may include:

[0354] S601, the MnS Consumer sends an intention creation request message #2 to the MnS Producer.

[0355] Among them, the intention creation request message #2 may include the intention expression #a.

[0356] The intention expression #a can be used to request the creation of the intention instance #a. The intention expression #a may include intention expectation #a, intention expectation #b, and expected object #a. Intention expectation #a may include expected target #a1, and intention expectation #b may include expected targets #b1 and #b2. It is assumed that the priority of intention expectation #a is higher than that of intention expectation #b.

[0357] S602, the MnS Producer generates an intention plan.

[0358] The MnS Producer generates intention plans #a, #b, and #c according to the intention expression #a.

[0359] S603, the MnS Producer sends an intention estimation request message #2 to the intention pre-evaluation system.

[0360] Among them, the intention prediction request message #2 may include intention scenarios (i.e., intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c), an intention expectation list (i.e., intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b; or, expected target #a1, expected target #b1, and expected target #b2), and expected object information (i.e., expected object #a).

[0361] S604, the intention pre-evaluation system obtains the pre-intention pre-evaluation information #2.

[0362] The intention pre-evaluation system may obtain relevant network configuration information and network and service metric statistical values according to the expected object #a, and pre-evaluate the intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c to obtain the intention pre-evaluation information #2.

[0363] For example, the intention pre-evaluation information #2 may include sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a, sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b, and sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c. The sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a may include intention scenario #a, intention satisfaction situation #a, list of optimal performance values of expected targets #a, resource quantity #a, and time #a; the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b may include intention scenario #b, intention satisfaction situation #b, list of optimal performance values of expected targets #b, resource quantity #b, and time #b; the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c may include intention scenario #c, intention satisfaction situation #c, list of optimal performance values of expected targets #c, resource quantity #c, and time #c.

[0364] S605, the intention pre-evaluation system sends the intention pre-evaluation information #2 and the scenario identifier to the MnS Producer.

[0365] The intention pre-evaluation system may send the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a, sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b, and sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c to the MnS Producer.

[0366] The number of intention identifiers corresponds one-to-one with the number of the above intention scenarios. That is, the intention pre-evaluation system sends 3 scenario identifiers to the MnS Producer, namely scenario identifier #a, scenario identifier #b, and scenario identifier #c. Among them, the scenario identifier #a may correspond to the intention scenario #a and the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a; the scenario identifier #b may correspond to the intention scenario #b and the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b; the scenario identifier #c may correspond to the intention scenario #c and the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c.

[0367] It can be understood that if only one of the above intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c can simultaneously satisfy the intention expectation #a and the intention expectation #b, such as the intention scenario #a, the MnS Producer may directly select the intention scenario #a as the intention scenario to be executed.

[0368] It should be understood that the implementation processes of steps S601 - S605 are similar to those of the above - mentioned steps S501 - S505, and can be understood by reference without further elaboration.

[0369] S606, the MnS Producer sends pre - evaluation information #2 and the scheme identifier to the MnS Consumer.

[0370] It can be understood that if none of the intention schemes among the above - mentioned intention scheme #a, intention scheme #b, and intention scheme #c can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, then the unfulfilled intention expectations can be marked in the above - mentioned expected target optimal performance value list #a, expected target optimal performance value list #b, and expected target optimal performance value list #c.

[0371] S607, the MnS Consumer determines the expected satisfaction of each intention scheme.

[0372] If the expected intention expectations of an intention scheme can simultaneously meet the above - mentioned intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, it can be characterized that this intention scheme can meet all intention expectations; conversely, it can be characterized that this intention scheme cannot meet all intention expectations. For example, the achievement effect of the expected intention expectations of this intention scheme can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a or intention expectation #b, or the achievement effect of the expected intention expectations of this intention scheme does not meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b.

[0373] If at least two of the above - mentioned intention scheme #a, intention scheme #b, and intention scheme #c can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, then the MnS Producer is triggered to execute the following step S608a1.

[0374] If none of the above - mentioned intention scheme #a, intention scheme #b, and intention scheme #c can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, then the MnS Producer is triggered to execute the following step S608b1.

[0375] S608a1, the MnS Producer selects the intention scheme to be executed.

[0376] Suppose the above - mentioned intention scheme #a and intention scheme #c can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, then the MnS Producer can select the intention scheme to be executed according to its own intention expectation preference.

[0377] For example, assume that the list #a of expected target optimal performance values includes: downlink rate equal to 10 Mb / s, energy efficiency target equal to 0.02 Mb / J, and energy consumption target equal to 900 J / S, and the resource #a is 30 RBs; the list #c of expected target optimal performance values includes: downlink rate equal to 15 Mb / s, energy efficiency target equal to 0.01 Mb / J, and energy consumption target equal to 500 J / S, and the resource #c is 50 RBs. In this case, the MnS Consumer can, according to its own intended expectation preferences, such as the preference for a better energy-saving effect, select the intended solution #c as the intended solution to be executed.

[0378] It can be understood that if the MnS Producer stores a solution selection strategy, such as the solution selection strategy #a in the above step S601, the MnS Consumer can combine its own intended expectation preferences and the solution selection strategy #a to select the intended solution to be executed. The implementation principle is similar to that of the above step S507b2, which can be referred to and understood without further elaboration.

[0379] S608a2, the MnS Producer sends the solution identifier #c to the MnS Producer.

[0380] S608b1, the MnS Producer selects the intended solution to be executed.

[0381] If none of the intended solutions #a, #b, and #c can simultaneously meet the intended expectation #a and the intended expectation #b, the unfulfilled expected targets can be marked in the above list #a of expected target optimal performance values, list #b of expected target optimal performance values, and list #c of expected target optimal performance values.

[0382] For example, assume that the above list #a of expected target optimal performance values includes: downlink rate equal to 5 Mb / s, energy efficiency target equal to 0.05 Mb / J, and energy consumption target equal to 1500 J / S, and the resource #a is 25 RBs. At this time, the expected targets #a1 and #b2 in the list #a of expected target optimal performance values can be marked as unfulfilled; the list #b of expected target optimal performance values includes: downlink rate equal to 20 Mb / s, energy efficiency target equal to 0.05 Mb / J, and energy consumption target equal to 1500 J / S, and the resource #b is 40 RBs. At this time, the expected target #b2 in the list #b of expected target optimal performance values can be marked as unfulfilled; the list #c of expected target optimal performance values includes: downlink rate equal to 15 Mb / s, energy efficiency target equal to 0.009 Mb / J, and energy consumption target equal to 950 J / S, and the resource #b is 35 RBs. At this time, the expected target #b1 in the list #c of expected target optimal performance values can be marked as unfulfilled.

[0383] The MnS Consumer can, according to its own intention, expectation, and preference, such as if the intention, expectation, and preference are for a more energy-efficient solution, then the MnS Consumer can select intention scheme #b as the intention scheme to be executed.

[0384] Similarly, if the MnS Producer stores a scheme selection strategy, such as the scheme selection strategy #a in step S601 above, the MnS Consumer can combine its own intention, expectation, and preference with the scheme selection strategy #a to select the intention scheme to be executed. The implementation principle is similar to that of step S507b2 above and can be understood by reference without further elaboration.

[0385] S608b2, the MnS Consumer modifies intention expression #a.

[0386] The MnS Consumer can modify intention expression #a according to the expected target optimal performance value list #b of intention scheme #b selected in step S08b1 above. Exemplarily, the MnS Consumer can modify the expected target #b2 in intention expression #a to an energy consumption target less than or equal to 1500 J / S to obtain the modified intention expression #a, which can be denoted as intention expression #b.

[0387] S608b3, the MnS Producer sends intention expression #b and scheme identifier #b to the MnS Producer.

[0388] S608b4, the MnS Producer modifies intention instance #a according to intention expression #b.

[0389] S609, the MnS Producer executes the intention scheme to be executed.

[0390] Regarding step S605 above, the MnS Producer can execute intention scheme #a. It can be understood that steps S608a1 - S609a2 and steps S608b1 - S609b4 are parallel schemes applicable to different situations. Regarding steps S608a1 - S609a2 above, the MnS Producer can execute intention scheme #c; regarding steps S608b1 - S609b4 above, the MnS Producer can execute intention scheme #b. The specific implementation process of step S610 in this application embodiment is not limited.

[0391] Scenario 3: Figure 7 Flow schematic of the communication method provided by the embodiment of this application Figure 3It mainly involves the interaction among the intent owner (such as the second device mentioned above), the Non-RT RIC (such as the first functional entity mentioned above), the Near-RT RIC (such as the second functional entity), XAPP1 (such as the first application mentioned above), and XAPP2 (such as the third device). It can be understood that the Non-RT RIC, the Near-RT RIC, and XAPP1 together constitute the first device mentioned above, and XAPP1 and XAPP2 are applications running on the Near-RT RIC.

[0392] As Figure 7 shown, the method may include:

[0393] S701, the intent owner sends an intent creation request message #3 to the Non-RT RIC.

[0394] Among them, the intent creation request message #3 may include an intent expression #a and a scheme selection policy #a. The intent expression #a can be used to request the creation of an intent instance #a, and the intent expression #a may include an intent expectation #a, an intent expectation #b, and an expected object #a. The intent expectation #a may include an expected target #a1, and the intent expectation #b may include an expected target #b1 and an expected target #b2. Assume that the priority of the intent expectation #a is greater than the priority of the intent expectation #b.

[0395] The scheme selection policy #a can be used by the MnS Producer to select the intent scheme to be executed. The scheme selection policy #a may include a priority policy information #a and a resource policy information #a. Among them, the priority policy information #a can be to ensure high-priority intent expectations, and the resource policy information #a can be that the available resources are high.

[0396] S702, the Non-RT RIC generates an A1 policy.

[0397] The Non-RT RIC can generate an A1 policy according to the received intent expression #a. That is, the Non-RT RIC can generate a corresponding A1 policy according to the intent expectation #a (expected target #a1), the intent expectation #b (expected target #b1 and expected target #b2), and the expected object #a.

[0398] Among them, the A1 policy is a declarative policy expression form. The A1 policy may include a policyTypeId, a policyId, and a policyObject. For specific introductions, reference can be made to the introduction in the above technical terms section, which will not be elaborated here.

[0399] S703, the Non-RT RIC sends the A1 policy and the scheme selection policy #a to the Near-RT RIC.

[0400] S704, The Near-RT RIC sends the A1 policy to XAPP1.

[0401] The Near-RT RIC can store the solution selection policy #a for subsequent selection of the solution to be executed. The Near-RT RIC can select a suitable XAPP, such as XAPP1, according to the content of the A1 policy and send the A1 policy to the XAPP1.

[0402] S705, XAPP1 generates an intention solution.

[0403] XAPP1 can translate the received A1 policy to generate an intention solution, and the intention solution can be a control message for the E2 node. For example, XAPP1 can generate intention solution #a, intention solution #b, and intention solution #c according to the A1 policy.

[0404] S706, XAPP1 sends the policy target estimation request message #1 to XAPP2.

[0405] Among them, XAPP2 can be an application of a digital twin system, a knowledge base, or an AI model with a pre-evaluation function.

[0406] The policy target estimation request message #3 can include: intention solutions (i.e., intention solution #a, intention solution #b, and intention solution #c), the A1 policy target list, and the A1 policy object information.

[0407] It can be understood that the above policyObject can include the scope of the A1 policy application, the target of the A1 policy, and the resources of the A1 policy. The A1 policy target list is determined according to the target of the A1 policy and can include all policy targets of the A1 policy; the A1 policy object information includes the scope of the A1 policy application. For example, the A1 policy object information can be the information of the executed E2 node.

[0408] S707, XAPP2 obtains the policy pre-evaluation information #1.

[0409] The intention pre-evaluation system can obtain relevant network configuration information and network and service metric statistical values according to the A1 policy object information, and pre-evaluate the intention solution #a, intention solution #b, and intention solution #c to obtain the policy pre-evaluation information #1.

[0410] The policy pre-evaluation information #1 may include the A1 policy satisfaction of each intent scenario, the optimal policy target value of the policy target estimated when each intent scenario is executed, the amount of resources used when each policy target reaches the optimal policy target value when each intent scenario is executed, and the time taken when each policy target reaches the optimal policy target value when each intent scenario is executed. The A1 policy satisfaction of each intent scenario may be: whether the expected policy target when each intent scenario is executed can simultaneously satisfy all the policy targets of the A1 policy.

[0411] For example, the policy pre-evaluation information #1 may include sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a, sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b, and sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c. The sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a may include intent scenario #a, A1 policy satisfaction #a, list of optimal performance values of policy targets #a, amount of resources #a, and time #a; the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b may include intent scenario #b, A1 policy satisfaction #b, list of optimal performance values of policy targets #b, amount of resources #b, and time #b; the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c may include intent scenario #c, A1 policy satisfaction #c, list of optimal performance values of policy targets #c, amount of resources #c, and time #c.

[0412] S708, XAPP2 sends the policy pre-evaluation information #1 and the scenario identifier to the Near-RT RIC.

[0413] XAPP2 may send the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a, the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b, and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c to the Near-RT RIC.

[0414] The number of scenario identifiers corresponds one-to-one with the number of the above intent scenarios. That is, XAPP2 sends 3 scenario identifiers to the Near-RT RIC, namely scenario identifier #a, scenario identifier #b, and scenario identifier #c. Among them, the scenario identifier #a may correspond to the intent scenario #a and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a; the scenario identifier #b may correspond to the intent scenario #b and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b; the scenario identifier #c may correspond to the intent scenario #c and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c.

[0415] S709, the Near-RT RIC processes the conflicts.

[0416] The Near-RT RIC may process the conflicts and exclude the intent scenarios that affect the achievement of other A1 policies.

[0417] S710, the Near-RT RIC determines the A1 policy satisfaction of each intent scenario.

[0418] If the expected policy objectives of the intended solution can meet all the policy objectives of Policy A1, it can be characterized that the intended solution can meet all the intention expectations; otherwise, it can be characterized that the intended solution cannot meet all the intention expectations. For example, the expected policy objectives of the intended solution can only partially meet the policy objectives of Policy A1, or do not meet any of the policy objectives of Policy A1.

[0419] If at least two of the above-mentioned intended solutions #a, #b, and #c can meet all the policy objectives of Policy A1, trigger Near-RT RIC to execute the following step S711a1.

[0420] If none of the above-mentioned intended solutions #a, #b, and #c can meet all the policy objectives of Policy A1, trigger Near-RT RIC to execute the following step S711b1.

[0421] S711a1, Near-RT RIC selects the intended solution to be executed according to solution selection policy #a.

[0422] Suppose the above-mentioned intended solutions #a and #c can simultaneously meet all the policy objectives of Policy A1, then Near-RT RIC can select the intended solution to be executed according to priority policy information #a and resource policy information #a. For example, Near-RT RIC can select intended solution #c as the intended solution to be executed. Its implementation principle is similar to the above step S507a and can be understood by reference without further elaboration.

[0423] S711a2, Near-RT RIC sends solution identifier #c to XAPP1.

[0424] Near-RT RIC can feedback to XAPP1 that the intended solution to be executed is intended solution #c. For example, Near-RT RIC can indicate intended solution #c by feedbacking solution identifier #c.

[0425] S711b1, Near-RT RIC sends policy pre-evaluation information #1 and solution identifier to Non-RT RIC.

[0426] S711b2, Non-RT RIC sends intention pre-evaluation information #1 and solution identifier to the intention owner.

[0427] The Non-RT RIC can translate the policy pre-evaluation information #1 into the corresponding intention pre-evaluation information #1. That is, the Non-RT RIC can translate the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a into the corresponding sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a, the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b into the corresponding sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b, and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c into the corresponding sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c.

[0428] Among them, the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a may include intention plan #a, intention satisfaction situation #a, list of optimal performance values of expected goals #a, resource quantity #a, and time #a; the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b may include intention plan #b, intention satisfaction situation #b, list of optimal performance values of expected goals #b, resource quantity #b, and time #b; the sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c may include intention plan #c, intention satisfaction situation #c, list of optimal performance values of expected goals #c, resource quantity #c, and time #c.

[0429] It can be understood that if there is no intention plan among the above intention plans #a, #b, and #c that can simultaneously meet intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, then the unachieved expected goals can be marked in the above list of optimal performance values #a, #b, and #c.

[0430] S711b3, the intention owner selects the intention plan to be executed.

[0431] The intention owner can select the intention plan to be executed from the above intention plans #a, #b, and #c according to plan selection policy #a and its own intention expectation preference. For example, if the intention owner's intention expectation preference is for a plan with better energy-saving effect, then the intention owner can combine priority policy information #a, resource policy information #a, and intention expectation preference, and select intention plan #b as the intention plan to be executed.

[0432] S711b4, the intention owner modifies intention expression #a.

[0433] The intention owner can modify intention expression #a according to the list of optimal performance values of expected goals #b of the intention plan #b selected in the above step S711b3 to obtain the modified intention expression #a, which can be denoted as intention expression #b.

[0434] It can be understood that the implementation principle of this process is similar to the above step S507b3 and can be understood by reference without further elaboration.

[0435] S711b5, the intention owner sends intention expression #b and scheme identifier #b to the Non-RT RIC.

[0436] The intention owner can feedback the intention plan #b that needs to be executed to the Non-RT RIC. For example, the Near-RT RIC can indicate the intention plan #b by feedbacking the plan identifier #b.

[0437] S711b6, the Non-RT RIC modifies the A1 policy according to the intention expression #b.

[0438] The Non-RT RIC can modify the A1 policy according to the intention expression #b to obtain the modified A1 policy.

[0439] S711b7, the Non-RT RIC sends the modified A1 policy and the plan identifier #b to the Near-RT RIC.

[0440] S711b8, the Near-RT RIC sends the modified A1 policy and the plan identifier #b to XAPP1.

[0441] S712, XAPP1 executes the intention plan that needs to be executed.

[0442] It can be understood that steps S711a1 - S711a2 and S711b1 - S711b7 are parallel plans to apply to different situations. For the above steps S711a1 - S711a2, XAPP1 can execute the intention plan #c. For example, XAPP1 can send the corresponding control information #c to the E2 node according to the intention plan #c; for another example, for the above steps S711b1 - S711b8, XAPP1 can execute the intention plan #b. For example, XAPP1 can send the corresponding control information #b to the E2 node according to the intention plan #b.

[0443] It can be understood that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation process of step S712.

[0444] Scenario 4: Figure 8 is a schematic flow of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application Figure 4 . It mainly involves the interaction between the intention owner (such as the above-mentioned second device), Non-RT RIC (such as the above-mentioned first functional entity), Near-RT RIC (such as the above-mentioned second functional entity), XAPP1 (such as the above-mentioned first application), and XAPP2 (such as the above-mentioned third device). It can be understood that the Non-RT RIC, Near-RT RIC, and XAPP1 together constitute the above-mentioned first device, and XAPP1 and XAPP2 are applications running on the Near-RT RIC.

[0445] Such as Figure 8 shown, the method may include:

[0446] S801, The intention owner sends an intention creation request message #4 to the Non-RT RIC.

[0447] Among them, the intention creation request message #4 may include an intention expression #a. The intention expression #a can be used to request the creation of an intention instance #a. The intention expression #a may include an intention expectation #a, an intention expectation #b, and an expected object #a. The intention expectation #a may include an expected target #a1, and the intention expectation #b may include an expected target #b1 and an expected target #b2. Assume that the priority of the intention expectation #a is greater than the priority of the intention expectation #b.

[0448] S802, The Non-RT RIC generates an A1 policy.

[0449] The Non-RT RIC can generate an A1 policy based on the received intention expression #a. That is, the Non-RT RIC can generate a corresponding A1 policy according to the intention expectation #a (expected target #a1), the intention expectation #b (expected targets #b1 and #b2), and the expected object #a.

[0450] Among them, the A1 policy is a declarative policy expression form. The A1 policy may include a policyTypeId, a policyId, and a policyObject. For specific introductions, please refer to the introduction in the above technical terms section and will not be elaborated here.

[0451] S803, The Non-RT RIC sends the A1 policy to the Near-RT RIC.

[0452] S804, The Near-RT RIC sends the A1 policy to XAPP1.

[0453] The Near-RT RIC can select a suitable XAPP, such as XAPP1, according to the content of the A1 policy and send the A1 policy to this XAPP1.

[0454] S805, XAPP1 generates an intention plan.

[0455] XAPP1 can translate the received A1 policy to generate an intention plan, and the intention plan can be a control message for the E2 node. For example, XAPP1 can generate intention plans #a, #b, and #c according to the A1 policy.

[0456] S806, XAPP1 sends a policy target estimation request message #2 to XAPP2.

[0457] Among them, XAPP2 can be an application of a digital twin system, a knowledge base, or an AI model with a pre-evaluation function.

[0458] The policy objective estimation request message #4 may include: intention scenarios (i.e., intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c), an A1 policy objective list, and A1 policy object information.

[0459] It can be understood that the above policyObject may include the scope of A1 policy application, the objectives of the A1 policy, and the resources of the A1 policy. The A1 policy objective list is determined according to the objectives of the A1 policy and may include all policy objectives of the A1 policy; the A1 policy object information includes the scope of A1 policy application. For example, the A1 policy object information may be the E2 node information to be executed.

[0460] S807, XAPP2 obtains the policy pre-evaluation information #2.

[0461] The intention pre-evaluation system may obtain relevant network configuration information and network and service metric statistical values according to the A1 policy object information, and pre-evaluate intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c to obtain the policy pre-evaluation information #2.

[0462] For example, the policy pre-evaluation information #2 may include sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a, sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b, and sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c. The sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a may include intention scenario #a, A1 policy satisfaction situation #a, policy objective optimal performance value list #a, resource quantity #a, and time #a; the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b may include intention scenario #b, A1 policy satisfaction situation #b, policy objective optimal performance value list #b, resource quantity #b, and time #b; the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c may include intention scenario #c, A1 policy satisfaction situation #c, policy objective optimal performance value list #c, resource quantity #c, and time #c.

[0463] S808, XAPP2 sends the policy pre-evaluation information #2 and the scenario identifier to the Near-RT RIC.

[0464] XAPP2 may send the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a, the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b, and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c to the Near-RT RIC.

[0465] The number of scenario identifiers corresponds one-to-one with the number of the above intention scenarios. That is, XAPP2 sends 3 scenario identifiers to the Near-RT RIC, namely scenario identifier #a, scenario identifier #b, and scenario identifier #c. Among them, the scenario identifier #a may correspond to the intention scenario #a and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a; the scenario identifier #b may correspond to the intention scenario #b and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b; the scenario identifier #c may correspond to the intention scenario #c and the sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c.

[0466] S809, Near-RT RIC processes conflicts.

[0467] Near-RT RIC can process conflicts and exclude the intention scenarios that affect the achievement of other A1 policies.

[0468] S810, Near-RT RIC sends policy pre-evaluation information #1 and scenario identifier to Non-RT RIC.

[0469] S811, Non-RT RIC sends intention pre-evaluation information #1 and scenario identifier to the intention owner.

[0470] Non-RT RIC can translate policy pre-evaluation information #1 into the corresponding intention pre-evaluation information #1. That is, Non-RT RIC can translate sub-policy pre-evaluation information #a into the corresponding sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a, sub-policy pre-evaluation information #b into the corresponding sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b, and sub-policy pre-evaluation information #c into the corresponding sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c.

[0471] Among them, sub-intention pre-evaluation information #a may include intention scenario #a, intention satisfaction #a, list of optimal performance values of expected goals #a, resource quantity #a, and time #a; sub-intention pre-evaluation information #b may include intention scenario #b, intention satisfaction #b, list of optimal performance values of expected goals #b, resource quantity #b, and time #b; sub-intention pre-evaluation information #c may include intention scenario #c, intention satisfaction #c, list of optimal performance values of expected goals #c, resource quantity #c, and time #c.

[0472] S812, the intention owner determines the expected satisfaction of each intention scenario.

[0473] If there are at least two intention scenarios among the above intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c that can simultaneously satisfy intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, the intention owner is triggered to execute the following step S813a1.

[0474] If there is no intention scenario among the above intention scenario #a, intention scenario #b, and intention scenario #c that can simultaneously satisfy intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, the intention owner is triggered to execute the following step S813b1.

[0475] S813a1, the intention owner selects the intention scenario to be executed.

[0476] Suppose the above intention scenario #a and intention scenario #c can simultaneously satisfy intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, then the intention owner can select the intention scenario to be executed according to its own intention expectation preference, such as intention scenario #c.

[0477] It can be understood that if the intention owner stores a solution selection strategy, such as the solution selection strategy #a in step S601 above, the intention owner can combine its own intention expectation preference and the solution selection strategy #a to select the intention solution to be executed. The implementation principle is similar to that of step S507b2 above, which can be referred to and understood, and will not be elaborated here.

[0478] S813a2, the intention owner sends the solution identifier #c to the Non-RT RIC.

[0479] S813a3, the Non-RT RIC sends the solution identifier #c to the Near-RT RIC.

[0480] S813a4, the Near-RT RIC sends the solution identifier #c to XAPP1.

[0481] S813b1, the intention owner selects the intention solution to be executed.

[0482] If none of the intention solutions among the above intention solution #a, intention solution #b, and intention solution #c can simultaneously meet the intention expectation #a and intention expectation #b, then the unfulfilled expectation goals can be marked in the above expectation target optimal performance value list #a, expectation target optimal performance value list #b, and expectation target optimal performance value list #c.

[0483] The intention owner can select the intention solution to be executed from the above intention solution #a, intention solution #b, and intention solution #c according to its own intention expectation preference, such as the solution identifier #b.

[0484] Similarly, if the intention owner stores a solution selection strategy, such as the solution selection strategy #a in step S601 above, the intention owner can combine its own intention expectation preference and the solution selection strategy #a to select the intention solution to be executed. The implementation principle is similar to that of step S507b2 above, which can be referred to and understood, and will not be elaborated here.

[0485] S813b2, the intention owner modifies the intention expression #a.

[0486] The intention owner can modify the intention expression #a according to the expectation target optimal performance value list #b of the intention solution #b selected in step S711b1 above to obtain the modified intention expression #a, which can be denoted as the intention expression #b.

[0487] It can be understood that the implementation principle of this process is similar to that of step S507b3 above, which can be referred to and understood, and will not be elaborated here.

[0488] In S813b3, the intent owner sends an intent expression #b and a solution identifier #b to the Non-RT RIC.

[0489] In S813b4, the Non-RT RIC modifies the A1 policy according to the intent expression #b.

[0490] In S813b5, the Non-RT RIC sends the modified A1 policy and the solution identifier #b to the Near-RT RIC.

[0491] In S813b6, the Near-RT RIC sends the modified A1 policy and the solution identifier #b to XAPP1.

[0492] In S814, XAPP1 executes the intent solution that needs to be executed.

[0493] It can be understood that steps S813a1 - S813a4 and S813b1 - S813b6 are parallel solutions to apply to different situations. For the above steps S813a1 - S813a4, XAPP1 can execute the intent solution #c. For example, XAPP1 can send the corresponding control information #c to the E2 node according to the intent solution #c; Another example is that for the above steps S813b1 - S813b6, XAPP1 can execute the intent solution #b. For example, XAPP1 can send the corresponding control information #b to the E2 node according to the intent solution #b.

[0494] It can be understood that the specific implementation process of step S814 in this application embodiment is not limited.

[0495] The above combination Figures 4 - 8 has described in detail the communication method provided in this embodiment. The following combination Figures 9 - 10 will detail the communication device for executing the communication method provided in this embodiment.

[0496] Figure 9 is the structural schematic Figure 1 of the communication device provided in this embodiment. Exemplarily, as Figure 9 shown, the communication device 900 includes: a transceiver module 901 and a processing module 902. For ease of explanation, Figure 9 only the main components of the communication device are shown.

[0497] Among them, the transceiver module 901 is used to execute the transceiver function of the method shown above Figures 4 - 8 , and the processing module 902 is used to execute other functions of the method shown above Figures 4 - 8 except for the transceiver function.

[0498] Optionally, the transceiver module 901 may include a sending module ( Figure 9not shown) and a receiving module ( Figure 9 not shown). Among them, the sending module is used to implement the sending function of the communication device 900, and the receiving module is used to implement the receiving function of the communication device 900.

[0499] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include a storage module ( Figure 9 not shown), and the storage module stores programs or instructions. When the processing module 902 executes the programs or instructions, the communication device 900 can perform the functions of the first device, the second device, or the third device in the method Figures 4 - 8 shown above.

[0500] It can be understood that the communication device 900 can be a device (such as the first device, the second device, or the third device), or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be set in the device, or a device containing the device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0501] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 900 can refer to the technical effects of the communication method shown above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0502] Figure 10 The structural schematic of the communication device provided in this embodiment Figure 2 . Exemplarily, the communication device can be a terminal or a network device, or a chip (system) or other components or assemblies that can be set in the terminal or the network device. As Figure 10 shown, the communication device 1000 may include a processor 1001. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1002 and / or a transceiver 1003. Among them, the processor 1001 is coupled to the memory 1002 and the transceiver 1003, and can be connected through a communication bus, for example.

[0503] Next, in combination with Figure 10 specific introductions will be made to the respective components of the communication device 1000:

[0504] Among them, the processor 1001 is the control center of the communication device 1000, which can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 1001 is one or more central processing units (CPUs), or can be an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement this embodiment, such as: one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0505] Optionally, the processor 1001 can execute various functions of the communication device 1000 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 1002 and calling data stored in the memory 1002, such as executing the communication method shown above Figures 4 - 8 shown in the figure.

[0506] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1001 can include one or more CPUs, such as Figure 10 CPU0 and CPU1 shown in the figure.

[0507] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1000 can also include multiple processors, such as Figure 10 the processor 1001 and the processor 1004 shown in the figure. Each of these processors can be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). Here, the processor can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (such as computer program instructions).

[0508] Among them, the storage 1002 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of this embodiment and is controlled by the processor 1001 for execution. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment and will not be elaborated here.

[0509] Optionally, the memory 1002 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or can also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1002 can be integrated with the processor 1001 or exist independently, and is coupled to the processor 1001 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1000 ( Figure 10 not shown in the figure), and this embodiment does not make specific limitations on this.

[0510] The transceiver 1003 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, when the communication device 1000 is a terminal, the transceiver 1003 can be used for communication with a network device or with another terminal device. Another example is that when the communication device 1000 is a network device, the transceiver 1003 can be used for communication with a terminal or with another network device.

[0511] Optionally, the transceiver 1003 can include a receiver and a transmitter ( Figure 10 not shown separately). Among them, the receiver is used to implement the receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement the sending function.

[0512] Optionally, the transceiver 1003 can be integrated with the processor 1001 or exist independently, and is coupled to the processor 1001 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1000 ( Figure 10 not shown in the figure), and this embodiment does not make specific limitations on this.

[0513] It can be understood that Figure 10 the structure of the communication device 1000 shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. The actual communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements.

[0514] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1000 can refer to the technical effects of the method described in the above method embodiment, and will not be elaborated here.

[0515] It should be understood that the processor in this embodiment may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0516] It should also be understood that the memory in this embodiment may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM) or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0517] The above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware (such as circuits), firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that contains one or more collections of available media. The available media can be magnetic media (such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (such as DVDs), or semiconductor media. The semiconductor media can be a solid-state drive.

[0518] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this document is merely a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Here, A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after, but it may also represent an "and / or" relationship, which can be specifically understood by referring to the context.

[0519] In this embodiment, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0520] It should be understood that in various embodiments, the magnitudes of the sequence numbers of the above processes do not imply the order of execution. The order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of this embodiment.

[0521] Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or in a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A professional technician can use different methods for each specific application to implement the described functions, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this embodiment.

[0522] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments and will not be elaborated herein.

[0523] In the several embodiments provided above, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there can be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections to each other can be through some interfaces, and the indirect couplings or communication connections of devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0524] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they can be located in one place, or can be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0525] In addition, the functional units in each embodiment can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0526] If the above-mentioned functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this embodiment, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of this technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment. The foregoing storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs.

[0527] As described above, the above is only the specific implementation manner of this embodiment, but the protection scope of this embodiment is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this embodiment can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered within the protection scope of this embodiment. Therefore, the protection scope of this embodiment shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: A first device receives a first request message from a second device; wherein, the first request message is used to request the creation of a first intent instance, and the first intent instance includes at least one intent expectation. The first device sends first information and a plurality of identifiers to the second device; wherein, the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the plurality of intent scenarios is executed meet each of the at least one intent expectation, the plurality of intent scenarios are used to implement the first intent instance, and the plurality of identifiers correspond to the plurality of intent scenarios one by one. The first device receives a first identifier from the second device; wherein, the first identifier is used to indicate the intent scenario that needs to be executed, and the first identifier is one of the plurality of identifiers.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first information includes first indication information and / or an expected value list; wherein, the first indication information is used to indicate whether the estimated intent expectations when each of the plurality of intent scenarios is executed meet each of the at least one intent expectation; the expected value list is used to indicate the expected target values of the estimated intent expectations when each of the plurality of intent scenarios is executed.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein The first information further includes resource information and / or time information; wherein, the resource information is used to indicate the amount of resources used when each of the plurality of intent scenarios is completed; the time information is used to indicate the time used when each of the plurality of intent scenarios is completed.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The first request message includes a first intent expression, and the first intent expression is used to request the creation of the first intent instance.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, Before the first device sends the first information and the plurality of identifiers to the second device, the method further includes: The first device generates the plurality of intent scenarios according to the first intent instance.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The method further includes: The first device generates the first information according to the plurality of intent scenarios.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein The method further includes: The first device sends a second request message to a third device; wherein, the second request message includes the plurality of intent scenarios, and the second request message is used to request to obtain the estimated intent expectations when each of the plurality of intent scenarios is executed. The first device receives the first information returned by the third device according to the second request message.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The second request message further includes an expectation list and / or expectation object information; wherein, the expectation list is used to indicate the at least one intent expectation; the expectation object information is used to indicate the object that executes the first intent instance.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first device determines a first intent scenario according to the first identifier.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein When there are at least two intent scenarios among the plurality of intent scenarios whose estimated intent expectations when executed can meet each of the at least one intent expectation, the first intent scenario is one of the at least two intent scenarios.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, When there is no intent scenario among the plurality of intent scenarios whose estimated intent expectations when executed can meet each of the at least one intent expectation, the method further includes: The first device receives a second intention expression from the second device; wherein, the second intention expression is determined according to the estimated intention expectation of the first intention scheme.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The method further includes: The first device modifies the first intention instance according to the second intention expression.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: The second device sends a first request message to the first device; wherein, the first request message is used to request the creation of a first intention instance, and the first intention instance includes at least one intention expectation. The second device receives first information and a plurality of identifiers from the first device; wherein, the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the plurality of intention schemes is executed meet each of the at least one intention expectation, the plurality of intention schemes are used to implement the first intention instance, and the plurality of identifiers correspond to the plurality of intention schemes one by one. The second device determines a first identifier according to the first information and the plurality of identifiers. The second device sends the first identifier to the first device.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The first information includes first indication information and / or an expected value list; wherein, the first indication information is used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the plurality of intention schemes is executed meet each of the at least one intention expectation; the expected value list is used to indicate the expected target values of the estimated intention expectations when each of the plurality of intention schemes is executed.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The first information further includes resource information and / or time information; wherein, the resource information is used to indicate the amount of resources used when each of the plurality of intention schemes is completed; the time information is used to indicate the time used when each of the plurality of intention schemes is completed.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13-15, characterized in that, The first request message includes a first intention expression, and the first intention expression is used to request the creation of the first intention instance.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The first identifier corresponds to a first intention scheme. When there are at least two intention schemes among the plurality of intention schemes whose estimated intention expectations when executed can meet each of the at least one intention expectation, the first intention scheme is one of the at least two intention schemes.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein The first identifier corresponds to a first intention scheme. When there is no intention scheme among the plurality of intention schemes whose estimated intention expectations when executed can meet each of the at least one intention expectation, the method further includes: The second device generates a second intention expression according to the estimated intention expectation of the first intention scheme. The second device sends the second intention expression to the first device.

19. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: The third device receives a second request message from the first device; wherein, the second request message includes a plurality of intention schemes, and the second request message is used to request to obtain the estimated intention expectations when the plurality of intention schemes are executed. The third device generates first information according to the second request message; wherein, the first information is used to indicate whether the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention scenarios is executed meet each intention expectation in the at least one intention expectation, and the multiple intention scenarios are used to implement the first intention instance; The third device sends the first information to the first device.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The second request message further includes an expectation list and / or expectation object information; wherein, the expectation list is used to indicate the at least one intention expectation; the expectation object information is used to indicate the object for executing the first intention instance.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The third device generates first information according to the second request message, including: The third device obtains the estimated intention expectations when each of the multiple intention scenarios is executed according to the expectation object information; The third device generates the first information according to the estimated intention expectations when each of the intention scenarios is executed and the expectation list.

22. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: The first device executes the method according to any one of claims 1-12; The second device executes the method according to any one of claims 13-18.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes: a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-21.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes: a processor; when the processor executes computer instructions, the communication device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-21.

25. A communication system, characterized in that, Including: A device for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-12 and / or a device for executing the method according to any one of claims 13-18.

26. A communication chip, characterized in that, Wherein instructions are stored, and when the chip runs on a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1-21 is implemented.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-21.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are run by a communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1-21 is executed.

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