Communication method and device
Through the network digital twin function network elements, the status information of the physical network is obtained and monitoring, and the guarantee strategy is dynamically adjusted, which solves the problem of insufficient perception of the entire physical network state in the existing technology, and achieves better service experience guarantee.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202311840335.X
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-28
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-01
AI Technical Summary
The existing communication systems lack perception of the entire physical network state when ensuring user service experience, resulting in the inability to effectively coordinate the experience of all users and services, and the pre-set guarantee strategy is not effective when the network status is poor.
The network digital twin function network element sends subscription messages to the target network element, obtains the status information of the physical network, generates the status information of the twin network, monitors the physical network and business experience, and determines the dynamic guarantee strategy based on the real-time status.
It realizes the coordinated management of real-time state perception and business experience of the entire physical network, and can dynamically adjust the guarantee strategy when the network state changes, significantly improving the user's business experience.
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Figure CN120238879A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art
[0002] Currently, based on the network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element defined in Technical Specification (TS) 23.288 of the current 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, data subscription collection, data analysis, and analysis result subscription and notification mechanisms can be carried out, so that key service experience perception and guarantee solutions can be realized. However, in the existing solutions, NWDAF only considers the service experience of certain services and certain users and guarantees it. However, this solution lacks the perception of the entire physical network state, or in other words, lacks the overall planning of all users and all services in the entire network. For example, the following situations may occur: (1) When the service experience of certain users is poor, dedicated bearer guarantee bandwidth can be established for specific users, but it may weaken the service experience of ordinary users; (2) In the existing solutions, the guarantee policies are pre-configured in advance. If it is found that the experience of a certain service is poor, it may be that the current state of the network is indeed poor and cannot support the pre-configured guarantee bandwidth. At this time, the guarantee effect of the service experience is not significant. Summary of the Invention
[0003] This application provides a communication method, which can determine a guarantee policy based on the real state of the current network to better guarantee the service experience of users.
[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a first network element, or can also be executed by a component (such as a chip or a circuit) of the first network element, and this is not limited. For example, the first network element can be called a "network digital twin function network element".
[0005] The method includes: The first network element sends a first subscription message to a target network element. The first subscription message is used to request to obtain target information, and the target information is used to characterize the state of the physical network; The first network element receives a first notification message from the target network element. The first notification message carries the target information, where the target information includes the state information of physical objects in the physical network, and the physical objects include at least one of the following: network elements, network topologies, users, applications; The first network element generates the state information of the twin network according to the target information, where the state information of the twin network includes the state information of twin objects, and the twin objects are in one-to-one mapping with the physical objects. The state information of the twin network is used to monitor the state of the physical network and the service experience.
[0006] In this application, the target information includes information about physical objects in a physical network, where the physical objects include at least one of the following: network elements, network topologies, users, applications. Exemplarily, the physical objects may include network elements, network topologies, users, and applications.
[0007] In this application, in one possible implementation, the "target network element" may be, for example, an NWDAF network element; in another possible implementation, the "target network element" may be a core network element such as AMF, UPF, OAM, etc. It can also be understood that in this application, the first network element can directly send a subscription message to each core network element to subscribe to the target information on each network element. The first network element can also send a subscription request message to the NWDAF to subscribe to the target information on each network element from the NWDAF, and then the NWDAF sends a subscription request message to each specific core network element, that is, the NWDAF uniformly collects the subscribed target information on each core network element.
[0008] Exemplarily, the first subscription request message may carry the identifier of the network element, the request for the network topology, the identifier of the user, and the identifier of the application.
[0009] Exemplarily, the "status information of the network element" includes at least one of the following: the type of the network element, the resource specification of the network element, the number of users carried on the network element, the distribution of users carried on the network element, the congestion status of users carried on the network element, and the distribution of network traffic carried on the network element.
[0010] For example, the network element may include UPF, SMF, PCF, UDM, RAN, Cell, etc.
[0011] Among them, the "resource specification of the network element" may include, for example, hardware specifications and / or service specifications. For example, the hardware specifications may include at least one of the following: the specification of the central processing unit (CPU), the specification of the memory, and the specification of the storage; for example, the service specifications may include the throughput supported by the network element and / or the number of users supported by the network element. The "distribution of users carried on the network element" may include, for example, the level of the users and / or the packages used by the users. The "distribution of network traffic carried on the network element" may include, for example, different types of services, such as: video, live broadcast, telephone, web page, etc. services, or may include services of different levels of users, such as: global communication, live broadcast service, game service.
[0012] Exemplarily, the "status information of the network topology" includes at least one of the following: the paths between network elements, the interfaces between network elements, the specifications of the interfaces between network elements, the traffic carried on the interfaces between network elements, and the distribution of the traffic carried on the interfaces between network elements. Optionally, it also includes the status information of the network element.
[0013] Exemplarily, the "user information" includes at least one of the following: user attributes, user subscription information, and quality of service (QoS) parameters corresponding to the user. Among them, the "user attributes" include the user's inherent attributes and dynamically changing attributes. For example, the "user's inherent attributes" may include the user's gender, age, etc., and the "user's dynamically changing attributes" may include, for example, the package subscribed by the user. The "user subscription information" may include, for example, the package information subscribed by the user. The "QoS parameters" may include, for example, bandwidth.
[0014] Exemplarily, the "application information" includes at least one of the following: the type of the application, the start time of the service corresponding to the application, the duration of the service corresponding to the application, the throughput of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the rate of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the service experience of the application, and the QoS parameters of the service quality corresponding to the application.
[0015] Based on the above technical solution, in this application, the network digital twin functional network element generates the state information of the twin network by obtaining the state information of one or more physical objects in the physical network. Therefore, the state information of one or more dimensions of the current entire network can be reflected in the state information of the twin network. Based on the state information of the twin network, the state and service experience of the entire physical network can be monitored. In this application, the twin network can be synchronized with the physical network in real time, improving the efficiency of perceiving the true state of the physical network. In addition, when a poor service experience is monitored, other network elements (such as an artificial intelligence assistant) are notified in a timely manner, and other network elements can be assisted to determine a target guarantee strategy based on the actual state of the current physical network, facilitating subsequent simulation (such as a network simulation network element), and better guaranteeing the service experience.
[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the first network element receives a second subscription message from the second network element, where the second subscription message is used to subscribe to a monitoring target event for the first network element, and the second subscription message carries the identifier of the target event and the identifier of the target twin object corresponding to the target event; the first network element determines the state information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event in the state information of the twin network according to the second subscription message, and monitors the target twin object.
[0017] In this application, for example, the second network element may be referred to as an "artificial intelligence assistant".
[0018] For example, the identifier of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, and the identifier of the target cell.
[0019] For example, the target event in this application may include at least one of the following: the service experience of the target service of the target user, the congestion status of the target cell where the target user is located, the congestion status of the target cell, and the service experience of the service in the target cell.
[0020] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: when the first network element determines that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target twin object is poor, the first network element sends a second notification message to the second network element, and the second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor.
[0021] For example, the second notification message carries at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, the identifier of the target cell, the experience information of the target user accessing the target service, and the metrics of the target user accessing the target service. For example, the metrics of the target user accessing the target service may include the delay, bandwidth, rate, etc. corresponding to the service
[0022] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the first network element receives a first request message from the third network element, and the first request message is used to request to obtain the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event; the first network element sends a first response message to the third network element, and the first response message carries the status information of the target twin object.
[0023] In this application, for example, the third network element may be referred to as a "network simulation function network element".
[0024] For example, the first request message carries the identifier of the target cell, and the status information of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the physical resource block (PRB) utilization rate of the target cell, the number of target users included in the target cell, the number of packets or bytes transmitted in the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the dedicated bearer allocated for the target cell, and the guaranteed bandwidth of the quality of service flow identifier (QFI) of the target cell.
[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the first network element obtains the updated target information of the target network element, and the updated target information is generated after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy; the first network element updates the status information of the twin network according to the updated target information; when the first network element determines that the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event has changed, the first network element sends a first indication message to the second network element, and the first indication message is used to indicate that the status information of the target twin object has changed.
[0026] Second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a third network element, or can also be executed by a component (such as a chip or a circuit) of the third network element, and this is not limited. For example, the third network element can be called a network emulation function network element.
[0027] The method includes: In a possible implementation manner in combination with the second aspect, the third network element receives a second request message from the second network element. The second request message carries the identifier of the target event and the target guarantee policy, and the second request message is used to request emulation of the effect generated after the target guarantee policy is executed on the physical network; the third network element obtains the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event from the first network element according to the second request message. Among them, the twin object is mapped one-to-one with the physical object, and the physical object includes at least one of the following: network element, network topology, user, service. The status information of each twin object is used to monitor the status of the physical network and the service experience; the third network element performs emulation according to the status information of the target twin object and the target guarantee policy emulation model, and generates an emulation result; the third network element sends a second response message to the second network element, and the second response message carries the emulation result.
[0028] Specifically, the status information of each physical object can refer to the introduction in the first aspect above, and will not be elaborated here.
[0029] In this application, the information of the target guarantee policy may include at least one of the following: updating or adding a dedicated bearer for guaranteed bit rate (GBR), updating or adding a quality of service flow identifier (QFI), deleting or updating the dedicated bearers established in the target cell, deleting or updating the quality of service flow identifiers (QFI) established in the target cell, restricting the bandwidth of some non-real-time services in the target cell, restricting the bandwidth of services based on different user levels in the target cell.
[0030] For example, the emulation result includes: the service experience information of the target user after the target guarantee policy is executed, and the status information of the target cell after the target guarantee policy is executed. Optionally, the emulation result further includes: the service experience information of the remaining users in the target cell except the target user after the target guarantee policy is executed.
[0031] Based on the above technical solution, the network emulation function network element can perform emulation based on the request message of the artificial intelligence assistant. Before the emulation, it can obtain the status information of the required target twin object from the network data word twin function network element, and send the emulation result to the artificial intelligence assistant. The artificial intelligence assistant finally determines the guarantee policy. Through the emulation of the network emulation function network element, it can be predicted in advance whether the target guarantee policy is suitable for the current network state and whether it can improve the service experience of users.
[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, a third network element obtains the status information of a target twin object corresponding to a target event from a first network element according to a second request message, including: the third network element sends a first request message to the first network element according to the second request message, where the first request message is used to request to obtain the status information of the target twin object; the third network element receives a first response message from the first network element, and the first response message carries the status information of the target twin object.
[0033] Wherein, the first request message carries the identifier of the target cell, and the status information of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the physical resource block (PRB) utilization rate of the target cell, the number of target users included in the target cell, the number and byte count of packets transmitted in the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the dedicated bearer allocated for the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the quality of service flow identifier (QFI) of the target cell.
[0034] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a second network element, or can also be executed by a component (such as a chip or a circuit) of the second network element, and this is not limited. For example, the second network element can be called an artificial intelligence assistant.
[0035] The method includes: the second network element obtains first information, where the first information is used to indicate the type of a task issued by a user, and wherein the type of the task includes at least one of the following: a task of monitoring a target event, a task of determining a target guarantee policy, a task of requesting simulation, a task of evaluating the effect of the service experience after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy. The second network element determines the type of the task according to the first information.
[0036] Based on the above technical solutions, the functions of the artificial intelligence assistant are extended in this application. For example, the artificial intelligence assistant can support understanding and decomposing the intentions of customers through an intention framework, and through the network digital twin body functional network element and the network simulation functional network element, realize the dynamic issuance, perception, and presentation of the service experience of target users. The artificial intelligence assistant can combine the network simulation functional network element to realize intelligent decision-making on service experience optimization strategies and execution of optimization strategies, and the artificial intelligence assistant is based on a complete closed-loop solution of effect evaluation and reinforcement learning after policy execution.
[0037] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible scenario, the method further includes: The second network element sends a second subscription message to the first network element. The second subscription message is used to subscribe to the monitoring target event from the first network element. The second subscription message carries the identifier of the target event and the identifier of the target twin object corresponding to the target event. Among them, the twin object is mapped one-to-one with the physical object, and the physical object includes at least one of the following: network element, network topology, user, service. The status information of each twin object is used to monitor the status of the physical network and the service experience; The second network element receives a second notification message from the first network element. The second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor.
[0038] In combination with the third aspect, in another possible scenario, the method further includes: The second network element sends a second subscription message to the first network element. The second subscription message is used to request monitoring of the target event; The second network element receives a second notification message from the first network element. The second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor; The second network element determines the target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the second notification message.
[0039] In combination with the third aspect, in yet another possible scenario, the method further includes: The second network element sends a second request message to the third network element. The second request message carries the identifier of the target event and the target guarantee policy. The second request message is used to request simulation of the effect generated after the target guarantee policy is executed on the physical network; The second network element receives a second response message from the third network element. The second response message carries the simulation result; The second network element determines the target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the simulation result.
[0040] In combination with the third aspect, in a possible scenario, the method further includes: The second network element receives first indication information from the first network element. The first indication information is used to indicate that the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event has changed; The second network element evaluates the service experience effect after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy according to the first indication information.
[0041] For the explanations of the same technical terms in the third aspect, the first aspect, and the second aspect, reference can be made to the descriptions of the above first aspect and second aspect, and no repeated elaboration will be made.
[0042] Fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a network data analysis function network element, or it can also be executed by components (such as chips or circuits) of the network data analysis function network element. There is no limitation in this regard.
[0043] The method includes: a network data analysis functional network element receives a first subscription message from a first network element, where the first subscription message is used to request to obtain target information, and the target information is used to characterize the state of a physical object in a physical network; the network data analysis functional network element obtains the target information according to the first subscription request message; the network data analysis functional network element generates state information of the physical object according to the first subscription message and the target information, and the target information includes the state information of the physical object, where the physical object includes at least one of the following: a network element, a network topology, a user, a service; the network data analysis functional network element sends a first notification message to the first network element, and the first notification message carries the state information of the physical object, where the physical object is mapped one-to-one with a twin object, and the state information of the physical object is used to generate the state information of the twin object, and the state information of the twin object is used to monitor the state of the physical network and the service experience.
[0044] Similarly, for the explanations of the same technical terms in the fourth aspect as those in the first aspect and the second aspect, reference can be made to the descriptions in the first aspect and the second aspect above, and no repeated elaboration will be made.
[0045] Based on the above technical solution, in the present application, a network digital twin functional network element can subscribe to the target information of each core network element from a network data analysis functional network element. The network data analysis functional network element collects the target information of each core network element and preprocesses it to generate the state information of the physical object. Subsequently, the state information of the physical object can be directly sent to the network digital twin functional network element, so that the network digital twin functional network element can generate the state information of the twin object based on the state information of the physical object and further generate the state information of the twin network. In the present application, the twin network can achieve real-time synchronization with the physical network, improving the efficiency of perceiving the true state of the physical network. In addition, by mirroring the state information of the physical object to generate the state information of the twin object, it can assist other network elements in making better decision-making on target guarantee strategies, thereby guaranteeing the service experience of users.
[0046] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, and the device is used to execute the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fourth aspect. Specifically, the device may include units and / or modules for executing the method in any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the fourth aspect, such as a transceiver unit and / or a processing unit.
[0047] In one implementation manner, the device is a communication device (for example: a network digital twin body functional network element, or a network simulation functional network element, or an artificial intelligence assistant, or a network data analysis functional network element). When the device is a communication device, the communication unit may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface; the processing unit may be at least one processor. Optionally, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface may be an input / output circuit.
[0048] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system or circuit for a communication device (such as: a network digital twin function network element, or a network simulation function network element, or an artificial intelligence assistant, or a network data analysis function network element). When the device is a chip, chip system or circuit for a communication device, the communication unit can be an input / output interface, interface circuit, output circuit, input circuit, pin or related circuit on the chip, chip system or circuit, etc.; the processing unit can be at least one processor, processing circuit or logic circuit, etc.
[0049] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device includes: at least one processor, configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory to execute the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect above. Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instruction. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface, and the processor reads the computer program or instruction stored in the memory through the communication interface.
[0050] In one implementation, the device is a network digital twin function network element.
[0051] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system or circuit for an access and mobility management function network element.
[0052] In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, the device includes: at least one processor, configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory to execute the method in any possible implementation manner of the second aspect above. Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instruction. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface, and the processor reads the computer program or instruction stored in the memory through the communication interface.
[0053] In one implementation, the device is a network simulation function network element.
[0054] In another implementation, the device is a chip, chip system or circuit for a network simulation function network element.
[0055] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, the device includes: at least one processor, configured to execute a computer program or instruction stored in a memory to execute the method in any possible implementation manner of the third aspect above. Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instruction. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface, and the processor reads the computer program or instruction stored in the memory through the communication interface.
[0056] In one implementation, the device is an artificial intelligence assistant.
[0057] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system or a circuit for an artificial intelligence assistant.
[0058] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes at least one processor configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to perform the method in any possible implementation of the fourth aspect above. Optionally, the device further includes a memory for storing the computer program or instructions. Optionally, the device further includes a communication interface through which the processor reads the computer program or instructions stored in the memory.
[0059] In one implementation, the device is a network data analysis function network element.
[0060] In another implementation, the device is a chip, a chip system or a circuit for a network data analysis function network element.
[0061] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a processor, including: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor performs the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.
[0062] In a specific implementation process, the above-mentioned processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a transceiver. The signal output by the output circuit may be output to, for example, but not limited to, a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter. Moreover, the input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which serves as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times respectively. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation manners of the processor and various circuits.
[0063] For operations such as sending and obtaining / receiving involved by the processor, if there is no special description, or if it does not conflict with its actual function or internal logic in the relevant description, it may be understood as the output and reception, input, etc. operations of the processor, or it may also be understood as the sending and receiving operations performed by the radio frequency circuit and the antenna. The present application does not limit this.
[0064] In an eleventh aspect, a processing device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory, and can receive signals through a transceiver and transmit signals through a transmitter to perform the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect.
[0065] Optionally, the processor is one or more, and the memory is one or more.
[0066] Optionally, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor are separately arranged.
[0067] In a specific implementation process, the memory may be a non-transitory memory, such as a read only memory (ROM), which may be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or may be separately arranged on different chips. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the type of the memory and the setting manner of the memory and the processor.
[0068] It should be understood that the related data interaction process, such as sending an indication message, may be a process of outputting an indication message from the processor, and receiving the capability information may be a process of the processor receiving the input capability information. Specifically, the data output by the processor may be output to the transmitter, and the input data received by the processor may come from the transceiver. Among them, the transmitter and the transceiver may be collectively referred to as the transceiver.
[0069] The processing device in the above eleventh aspect may be one or more chips. The processor in the processing device may be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented by software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. The memory may be integrated in the processor or may be located outside the processor and exist independently.
[0070] In a twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable medium stores program code for a device to execute, and the program code includes methods for executing any one of the possible implementation manners in the above first aspect to the fourth aspect.
[0071] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program product including instructions is provided. When the computer program product runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the methods in any one of the possible implementation manners in the above first aspect to the fourth aspect.
[0072] In a fourteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes: a network digital twin functional network element, a network simulation functional network element, an artificial intelligence assistant, and a network data analysis functional network element. Among them, the network digital twin functional network element is used to execute the method in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect above, the network simulation functional network element is used to execute the method in any possible implementation manner of the second aspect above, the artificial intelligence assistant module is used to execute the method in any possible implementation manner of the third aspect above, and the network data analysis functional network element is used to execute the method in any possible implementation manner of the fourth aspect above. Description of the Drawings
[0073] Figure 1 is a system architecture applicable to this application.
[0074] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 200 provided by this application.
[0075] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 300 provided by this application.
[0076] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided by this application.
[0077] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the relationship among the network digital twin functional network element, the network simulation functional network element, and the artificial intelligence assistant provided by this application.
[0078] Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 600 provided by this application.
[0079] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 100 proposed by this application.
[0080] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 200 proposed by this application. Detailed Embodiments
[0081] Next, the technical solutions in this application will be described in conjunction with the drawings.
[0082] The technical solution provided by this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: the 5th generation (5G) or new radio (NR) system, the long term evolution (LTE) system, the LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, the LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, etc. The technical solution provided by this application can also be applied to future communication systems, such as the sixth generation mobile communication system. The technical solution provided by this application can also be applied to device to device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine to machine (M2M) communication, machine type communication (MTC), and the internet of things (IoT) communication system or other communication systems.
[0083] Next, the technical solution in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in this application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of this application.
[0084] Figure 1 is a system architecture diagram used in this application. Figure 1 It includes network elements in multiple core networks. First, the Figure 1 in each network element will be briefly introduced.
[0085] 1. User equipment (UE): It can also be called terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile platform, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device.
[0086] The terminal device can be a device that provides voice / data to users. For example, it can be a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. with wireless connection capabilities. Currently, some examples of terminals are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, palm computers, mobile internet devices (MIDs), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grid, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart city, wireless terminals in smart home, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, terminal devices in a 5G network, or terminal devices in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. The embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.
[0087] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. A wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable intelligent device, which is a general term for devices developed by applying wearable technology to the intelligent design of daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is either directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. A wearable device is not just a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable intelligent devices include those with complete functions and large sizes that can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to cooperate with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for physical sign monitoring.
[0088] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, so as to realize an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object interconnection.
[0089] It should be noted that the terminal device and the access network device may communicate with each other using a certain air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology, etc.). The terminal device and the terminal device may also communicate with each other using a certain air interface technology (such as NR or LTE technology, etc.).
[0090] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device may be the terminal device, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system or a chip. This device may be installed in the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.
[0091] 2. (Wireless) Access Network ((R)AN): It is used to provide access functions for authorized users in a specific area, and can use transmission tunnels of different qualities according to the user level, service requirements, etc. The (R)AN network element can manage radio resources, provide access services for terminal devices, and then complete the forwarding of control signals and user data between the terminal device and the core network. The (R)AN can also be understood as a base station in a traditional network.
[0092] 3. Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) Network Element: It is mainly used for mobility management and access management, etc. Specifically, the AMF can be used to implement other functions of the Mobility Management Entity (MME) function except session management, such as lawful interception, or access authorization (or authentication) and other functions.
[0093] For example, RAN devices can adopt different radio access technologies. There are currently two types of radio access technologies: 3GPP access technologies (e.g., the radio access technologies adopted in the third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), or 5G systems) and non-3GPP access technologies. 3GPP access technologies refer to the access technologies that comply with 3GPP standard specifications. For example, the access network devices in the 5G system are called next-generation Node Base stations (gNBs) or RAN devices. Non-3GPP access technologies can include air interface technologies represented by access points (APs) in wireless fidelity (WiFi), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), code division multiple access (CDMA), etc. AN devices can allow interconnection and interoperability between terminal devices and the 3GPP core network using non-3GPP technologies.
[0094] RAN devices are capable of responsible for functions such as radio resource management, quality of service (QoS) management, data compression, and encryption on the air interface side. AN devices provide access services for terminal devices and then complete the forwarding of control signals and user data between terminal devices and the core network.
[0095] RAN devices may include, for example, but are not limited to: macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small cells), radio network controllers (RNCs), Node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNBs), baseband units (BBUs), APs in WiFi systems, wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, transmission points (TPs), or transmission and reception points (TRPs), etc. It may also be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G (e.g., NR) system, one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or, it may also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a distributed unit (DU), or a base station in a next-generation communication 6G system, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by RAN devices.
[0096] 4. Session Management Function (SMF) network element: mainly used for session management, allocation and management of the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the terminal device, selection of manageable user plane functions, policy control, or termination of the charging function interface, and downlink data notification, etc.
[0097] 5. User plane function (UPF) network element: used for packet routing and forwarding, or quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data, etc. UPF is specifically divided into intermediate-UPF (I-UPF) and anchor-UPF (A-UPF). Among them, I-UPF is connected to the radio access network RAN, and A-UPF is the UPF of the session anchor point. A-UPF can also be called the PDU session anchor (PSA).
[0098] 6. Data network (DN): used to provide a network for transmitting data, for example, the Internet network, etc. In the architecture of the embodiments of the present application, PSA accesses the remote DN, and L-PSA can access the local DN.
[0099] 7. Authentication Server Function (AUSF): mainly used for user authentication, etc.
[0100] 8. Policy Control Function (PCF) network element: a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information for control plane function network elements (such as AMF, SMF network elements, etc.).
[0101] 9. Unified Data Management (UDM): used to handle user identification, access authentication, registration, or mobility management, etc.
[0102] 10. Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) refers to, according to the actual needs of the operator's network operation, usually dividing the network management work into three major categories: Operation, Administration, and Maintenance. Operation mainly completes the analysis, prediction, planning, and configuration work for the daily network and services; Maintenance is mainly the daily operation activities for the testing and fault management of the network and its services. Usually, one or more of the following functions are supported: OAM discovery, link monitoring, remote fault indication, remote loopback test, scalability
[0103] 11. Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) network element: used for network slice selection.
[0104] 12. Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) network element: NWDAF has at least one of the following functions: data collection function, data analysis function. Among them, the data collection function refers to collecting relevant data from network elements, third-party service servers, terminal devices, or network management systems; the data analysis function refers to obtaining a model through analysis and training based on relevant input data, and making inferences based on the model to determine the data analysis result, and then providing the data analysis result to network elements, third-party service servers, terminal devices, or network management systems. The analysis result can assist the network in selecting service quality parameters for services, or assist the network in performing traffic routing, or assist the network in selecting background traffic transmission strategies, etc.
[0105] It should be noted that the specific introduction to NWDAF can be found in the description in Technical Specification (TS) 23.501, and this application will not introduce it in detail.
[0106] In the embodiments of this application, NWDAF can be a separate network element or co-located with other core network elements. For example, the NWDAF network element can be co-located with the access and mobility management function (AMF) network element or the session management function (SMF) network element.
[0107] The technical solution of this application introduces a network data twins function (NDTF) network element, an artificial intelligence agent (AI Agent), and a network simulation function (NSF) network element. To facilitate the understanding of the solution provided by this application, the following will first introduce these three network elements.
[0108] 13. NDTF Network Element
[0109] Before introducing the functions of NDTF, the following will first give a brief introduction to data twins (DT).
[0110] Data Twins: It refers to the ability to construct a virtual entity and subsystem in the virtual (information) space that represents a physical device through the data of the physical device, and this connection is not one-way and static, but rather is linked throughout the entire product life cycle. Data twins is a virtual model designed to accurately reflect physical objects. The object of study (such as a wind turbine) is equipped with various sensors related to important functional areas. These sensors generate data on different aspects of the physical object's performance (such as energy output, temperature, weather conditions, etc.), and then this data is forwarded to the processing system and applied to the digital copy.
[0111] The NDTF can have the following functions: receiving tasks issued by the AI Agent, converting the operation language and parsing model NDTQL of the digital twin network function into a processing task chain for the digital network twin body, and performing optimized task scheduling. Additionally, the NDTF can also perform digital twin body modeling. For example, it can quickly instantiate the core network of the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5th generation core network, 5GC), the 5GC network and network elements using data, map the changes of the physical network, network elements, and services to the digital twin body in real time, model based on object twins and relationship networks, and intuitively present the status of the entire network. Exemplarily, the NDTF mentioned in this application has at least the following four functions: (1) performing digital twin modeling based on data collected from each network element (such as UPF, AMF, OAM, etc.) to generate the status information of the twin network; (2) based on the subscription messages of the AI Agent and the established twin network, focusing on monitoring a certain event; (3) sending a notification message to the AI Agent when the business experience of the monitored event is poor; (4) sending the status information of certain twin objects to the network simulation function network element based on the request message of the network simulation function network element.
[0112] 14. AI Agent
[0113] The "AI Agent" in this application is an intelligent entity that can perceive the environment, make decisions, and execute actions. The AI Agent usually realizes the understanding of user intentions based on a large language model (LLM) or a multi-modal large model. For example, it can realize the intelligent perception and autonomous decision-making of graphical, text, and voice inputs, realize the operation task chain scheduling and distribution of the network digital twin system, and support the intelligent presentation of the customer interface. Exemplarily, the AI Agent mentioned in this application has at least the following four functions: (1) sending subscription messages to the NDTF to request monitoring of target events; (2) determining the target guarantee strategy; (3) sending request messages to the network simulation function network element to request simulation; (4) evaluating the effect of the physical network after executing the target guarantee strategy.
[0114] 15. Network Simulation Function Network Element
[0115] The "network simulation functional network element" in this application can also be referred to as the "network simulation framework" or "intelligent simulation module". Usually, the intelligent simulation module has the following functions: (1) Low-cost trial and error: It can perform real-time simulation based on the status information of the twin object obtained from the NDTF, and then send it to the physical entity network after verification. It can also be understood that the intelligent simulation module can, based on the trigger of the AI Agent and the safeguard strategy provided by the AI Agent, prepare to simulate the effects that will occur after executing the safeguard strategy on the physical network. Before the simulation, it is also necessary to request the NDTF to obtain the status information of the twin object required for the simulation. During the simulation, the input of the simulation model is the status information of the twin object and the target safeguard strategy, and the output of the simulation is the simulation result (for example, the service experience information of the user after executing the safeguard strategy, the status information of the target cell after executing the target safeguard strategy). (2) Intelligent decision-making: Utilize network twins to monitor the network status and combine AI / ML capabilities to generate the best decision. (3) Predictive adjustment: Utilize the NDTF and historical trajectories to predict future trends and generate an adjusted safeguard strategy. (4) Network autonomous evolution: The network's self-learning, self-verification, and self-evolution capabilities.
[0116] In the embodiments of this application, the deployment forms of the NDTF, AI Agent, and intelligent simulation module can each be a separate network element, or they can be co-located with each other, or co-located with other core network elements. For example, it is possible to deploy relevant partial functions to the NWDAF network element, or it is also possible to directly deploy the network twin to its twin physical network element object (for example: the UPF twin is deployed in the UPF network element, and the PCF twin is deployed in the PCF network element), and its deployment form is relatively flexible.
[0117] In this system architecture, the N1 interface is the reference point between the terminal device and the AMF; the N2 interface is the reference point between the (R)AN and the AMF, which is used for the transmission of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, etc.; the N3 interface is the reference point between the (R)AN and the I-UPF, which is used for the transmission of user plane data, etc.; the N4 interface is the reference point between the SMF and the PSA-UPF, which is used for the transmission of information such as tunnel identification information of the N3 connection, data caching indication information, and downlink data notification messages, etc.; the N6 interface is the reference point between the UPF and the DN, which is used for the transmission of user plane data, etc.; the N7 interface is the reference point between the SMF and the PCF; the N8 interface is the reference point between the AMF and the UDM; the N10 interface is the reference point between the SMF and the UDM; the N11 interface is the reference point between the AMF and the SMF; the N12 interface is the reference point between the AMF and the AUSF; the N13 interface is the reference point between the AUSF and the UDM; the N14 interface is the reference point between the AMFs; the N15 interface is the reference point between the AMF and the PCF; the N22 interface is the reference point between the AMF and the NSSF; the N23 interface is the reference point between the PCF and the SMF.
[0118] It should be understood that the Figure 1 system architecture applied to the embodiments of this application is only an example of the network architecture described from the perspective of the reference point architecture, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of this application is not limited thereto. Any network architecture that can implement the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiments of this application.
[0119] It should be noted that Figure 1 the interface names between the network elements in [[ ]] are only examples, and the names of the interfaces may be other names in specific implementations. The embodiments of this application do not make specific limitations in this regard. Moreover, this application does not exclude that with the evolution of technology, the various core network elements may be integrated.
[0120] It should be noted that Figure 1 the names of the various network elements included in [[ ]] (such as SMF, AF, UPF, NDTF, NSF, etc.) are also only examples, which do not limit the functions of the network elements themselves. In the 5G network and other future networks, the above-mentioned network elements may also have other names. The embodiments of this application do not make specific limitations in this regard. For example, in the 6G network, some or all of the above-mentioned network elements may use the terms in 5G, or may adopt other names, etc. A unified description is made here and will not be elaborated below. In addition, it should be understood that the names of the messages (or signaling) transmitted between the above-mentioned network elements are also only examples, which do not limit the functions of the messages themselves.
[0121] Based on the NWDAF data subscription collection, data analysis, and analysis result subscription and notification mechanisms defined by the current 3GPP, the "Key Service Experience Perception and Assurance Solution" can be implemented. However, in the existing solutions, NWDAF only considers the service experiences of certain services and certain users and provides assurance for them. However, this solution lacks the perception of the entire network state and the overall planning of the service experiences of the remaining users in the network. For example, the following situations may occur: (1) When the service experience of certain users is poor, dedicated bearer bandwidth can be established for these users, but this may weaken the service experience of ordinary users; (2) In the existing solutions, the assurance policies are pre-configured in advance. If it is found that the experience of a certain service is poor, it may be that the current state of the network is indeed poor and cannot support the pre-configured assurance bandwidth. At this time, the assurance effect is not significant. In view of this, this application proposes a communication method that can determine the assurance policy based on the real state of the current network, thereby better ensuring the service experience of users.
[0122] Figure 2 FIG. 200 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 200 provided by this application. The method 200 includes:
[0123] 201. A first network element sends a first subscription message to a target network element. The first subscription message is used to request to obtain target information, and the target information is used to characterize the state of the physical network.
[0124] In this application, the first network element can be understood, for example, as the NDTF network element introduced above.
[0125] In a possible implementation manner, if the target network element is an NWDAF network element, the first subscription message can be, for example, an Nnwdaf_DataManagement_Subscribe operation request. For example, this subscription message is used to request the NWADF to obtain information about the twin object, and the twin object is mapped one-to-one with the physical object. Or, it can also be understood that this subscription message is a request for the data required for digital twin modeling of the network elements that the user service needs to access, the network topology, the VIP users with subscribed assurance, and the key services whose service experiences need to be guaranteed. Subsequently, NWDAF can send subscription requests to specific core network elements according to the first subscription request message to obtain the target information required for digital twin modeling. Further, NWDAF can generate the state information of the physical object used to map the twin object based on the first subscription message and the target information. For example, NWDAF can preprocess the target information collected from each core network element according to the dimensions of the twin object (such as dimensions of network elements, network topology, users, services, etc.) to generate the state information of the physical object.
[0126] 202, the first network element receives a first notification message from the target network element, and the target information is carried in the first notification message.
[0127] In this application, the target information includes information of physical objects in the physical network, where the physical objects include at least one of the following: network elements, network topologies, users, applications. Exemplarily, the physical objects may include network elements, network topologies, users, and applications.
[0128] In this application, in a possible implementation manner, the "target network element" may be, for example, an NWDAF network element; in another possible implementation manner, the "target network element" may be a core network element such as AMF, UPF, OAM, etc. It can also be understood that in this application, the first network element can directly send a subscription message to each core network element to subscribe to the target information on each network element. The first network element can also send a subscription request message to the NWDAF to subscribe to the target information on each network element from the NWDAF, and then the NWDAF sends a subscription request message to each specific core network element, that is, the NWDAF uniformly collects the subscribed target information on each core network element.
[0129] Exemplarily, the first subscription request message may carry the identifier of the network element, the identifier of the user, and the identifier of the application. Among them, the first subscription request message can also subscribe to the interfaces of the peripheral network elements docked to each network element, traffic statistics data, etc. For example, it is possible to subscribe to the list of RAN radio base stations interacting with the UPF, the traffic data exchanged between each base station, and the SMF network element identifier interacting with the UPF, so as to obtain the status information of the network topology.
[0130] Exemplarily, the "status information of the network element" includes at least one of the following: the type of the network element, the resource specification of the network element, the number of users carried on the network element, the distribution of users carried on the network element, the congestion status of users carried on the network element, and the distribution of network traffic carried on the network element.
[0131] Among them, the types of network elements can include, for example, the network element names defined in the standard or the network elements customized by the operator or equipment manufacturer. For example, UPF, SMF, PCF, UDM, RAN, Cell, etc. The "resource specifications of the network element" can include, for example, hardware specifications and / or service specifications. For example, the hardware specifications can include at least one of the following: the specifications of the central processing unit (CPU), the specifications of the memory, and the specifications of the storage. For example, the service specifications can include the throughput supported by the network element and / or the number of users supported by the network element. The "distribution of users carried on the network element" can include, for example, the levels of users and / or the packages used by the users. The "distribution of network traffic carried on the network element" can include, for example, different types of services, such as: video, live broadcast, telephone, web page, etc. services, and can also include services of different levels of users, such as: global communication, live broadcast service, game service.
[0132] Exemplarily, the "status information of the network topology" includes at least one of the following: the paths between network elements, the interfaces between network elements, the specifications of the interfaces between network elements, the traffic carried on the interfaces between network elements, and the distribution of the traffic carried on the interfaces between network elements. Optionally, it also includes the status information of the network element.
[0133] Exemplarily, the "information of the user" includes at least one of the following: the attributes of the user, the subscription information of the user, and the quality of service (QoS) parameters corresponding to the user. Among them, the "attributes of the user" include the inherent attributes and dynamically changing attributes of the user. For example, the "inherent attributes of the user" can include the gender, age, etc. of the user, and the "dynamically changing attributes of the user" can include, for example, the packages subscribed by the user. The "subscription information of the user" can include, for example, the package information subscribed by the user. The "QoS parameters" can include, for example, bandwidth.
[0134] Exemplarily, the "information of the application" includes at least one of the following: the type of the application, the start time of the service corresponding to the application, the duration of the service corresponding to the application, the throughput of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the rate of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the service experience of the application, and the QoS parameters of the service quality corresponding to the application.
[0135] In one possible implementation, the NWDAF sends a first notification message to the first network element. The first notification message carries the status information of the physical object. Among them, the status information of the physical object is used to generate the status information of the twin object. The twin object is mapped one-to-one with the physical object, and the status information of the twin object is used to monitor the status of the physical network and the service experience. Exemplarily, the first notification message can be Nnwdaf_DataManagement_Notify.
[0136] 203. The first network element generates the status information of the twin network according to the target information.
[0137] In this application, the status information of the twin network includes the status information of the twin objects.
[0138] Based on the above technical solution, the NDTF network element generates the status information of the twin network by obtaining the status information of one or more physical objects in the physical network. Therefore, the status information of one or more dimensions of the current entire network can be reflected in the status information of the twin network. Based on the status information of the twin network, the status of the entire physical network and the service experience can be monitored. The twin network can achieve real-time synchronization with the physical network, improving the efficiency of perceiving the real status of the physical network. In addition, when the service experience is monitored to be poor, other network elements are notified in a timely manner, assisting other network elements to determine the target guarantee strategy based on the actual status of the current physical network, which can better guarantee the service experience.
[0139] Figure 3 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 300 provided by this application. The method 300 includes:
[0140] 301. The second network element obtains the first information, and the first information is used to indicate the type of the task issued by the user.
[0141] In this application, the second network element can be understood, for example, as the AI Agent introduced above.
[0142] In a possible implementation manner, the second network element can receive the first information from the user. In another possible implementation manner, the second network element can receive the first information from the operator. For example, the operator issues the user's intention to the second network element through voice or text description. For example, the user's intention is: to request the network to analyze and present the service access information, the change trend of the service experience of a certain VIP user or user group, and to improve the experience of a certain APP application. In yet another possible implementation manner, the first information is pre-loaded in the second network element, and the first information can indicate the user's intention.
[0143] 302. The second network element determines the type of the task according to the first information.
[0144] The types of tasks in this application include at least one of the following: the task of monitoring the target event, the task of determining the target guarantee strategy, the task of requesting simulation, and the task of evaluating the effect of the service experience after the physical network executes the target guarantee strategy.
[0145] Exemplarily, the second network element can determine the task type by understanding the first information issued by the operator according to the multi-modal large model.
[0146] For each different task below, the corresponding application scenarios will be introduced respectively.
[0147] Scenario 1: Task of monitoring target events
[0148] In a possible implementation, the second network element may send a second subscription message to the first network element, and the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the monitoring of target events from the first network element. The second network element receives a second notification message from the first network element, and the second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor.
[0149] For example, the second subscription message carries the identifier of the target event and the identifier of the target twin object corresponding to the target event, where the twin object is mapped one-to-one with the physical object, and the physical object includes at least one of the following: network element, network topology, user, service, and the status information of each twin object is used to monitor the status of the physical network and service experience. For example, the identifier of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, the identifier of the target cell. Specifically, the status information of each physical object can be understood with reference to the description in Method 200 and will not be elaborated here.
[0150] For example, the second notification message carries at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, the identifier of the target cell, the experience information of the target user accessing the target service, and the metrics of the target user accessing the target service.
[0151] For example, the target event includes at least one of the following: the service experience of the target service of the target user, the congestion status of the target cell where the target user is located, the congestion status of the target cell, and the service experience of the service in the target cell.
[0152] Scenario 2: Task of determining target guarantee policies
[0153] In a possible implementation, the second network element may send a second subscription message to the first network element, and the second subscription message is used to request the monitoring of target events; the second network element receives a second notification message from the first network element, and the second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor; the second network element determines the target guarantee bandwidth and target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the second notification message.
[0154] Exemplarily, the target guarantee policy includes at least one of the following: updating or adding a dedicated bearer for guaranteed bit rate (GBR), updating or adding a Quality of Service flow identifier (QFI), deleting or updating an established dedicated bearer in the target cell, deleting or updating an established Quality of Service flow identifier QFI in the target cell, restricting the bandwidth of some non-real-time services in the target cell, and restricting the bandwidth of services based on different user levels in the target cell.
[0155] Scenario Three: Task of Requesting Simulation
[0156] In a possible implementation, the second network element sends a second request message to the third network element. The second request message carries the identifier of the target event and the target guarantee policy, and is used to request simulation of the effects generated after the target guarantee policy is executed on the physical network; the second network element receives a second response message from the third network element, and the second response message carries the simulation result; the second network element determines the target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the simulation result.
[0157] In this application, for example, the third network element can be understood as the network simulation function network element introduced above.
[0158] In this scenario, "the second network element determines the target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the simulation result" can also be understood as that the second network element can determine the target guarantee policy again according to the simulation result. For example, the second network element may also continue to use the policy initially determined; or for another example, the second network element can also adjust the target guarantee policy again based on the simulation result.
[0159] Scenario Four: Task of Evaluation
[0160] In a possible implementation, the second network element receives first indication information from the first network element. The first indication information is used to indicate that the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event has changed; the second network element evaluates the effect of the service experience after the target guarantee policy is executed on the physical network according to the first indication information.
[0161] For example, the second network element can evaluate the effect of the target guarantee policy executed on the physical network by sending information about the change in the status information of the target twin object reported by the first network element, continuously learn and record, and enhance the ability of intelligent and refined policy adjustment.
[0162] Based on the above technical solutions, the functions of the AI Agent are extended in this application. For example, the AI Agent can support understanding and decomposing the intentions of customers through an intention framework, and through the NDTF and network simulation functional network elements, it can implement the dynamic distribution, perception, and presentation of the service experience of target users. The AI Agent can combine with the network simulation functional network element to achieve intelligent decision-making and execution of service experience optimization strategies, and the AI Agent intelligent body completes a complete closed-loop solution for effect evaluation and reinforcement learning based on the execution of the strategies.
[0163] Figure 4 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 400 provided by this application. The method 400 includes:
[0164] 401. The third network element receives a second request message from the second network element. The second request message carries the identifier of the target event and the target guarantee policy, and the second request message is used to request simulation of the effect generated after the target guarantee policy is executed on the physical network.
[0165] In this application, for example, the third network element can be understood as the network simulation functional network element introduced above.
[0166] Exemplarily, the information of the target guarantee policy includes at least one of the following: updating or adding a dedicated bearer for guaranteed bit rate (GBR), updating or adding a quality of service flow identifier (QFI), deleting or updating an established dedicated bearer in the target cell, deleting or updating an established quality of service flow identifier (QFI) in the target cell, restricting the bandwidth of some non-real-time services in the target cell, and restricting the bandwidth of services based on different user levels in the target cell.
[0167] In this application, the target event includes at least one of the following: the service experience of the target service of the target user, the congestion status of the target cell where the target user is located, the congestion status of the target cell, and the service experience of the services in the target cell.
[0168] 402. The third network element obtains the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event from the first network element according to the second request message.
[0169] Among them, the twin object is in one-to-one mapping with the physical object. The physical object includes at least one of the following: network element, network topology, user, service. The status information of each twin object is used to monitor the status of the physical network and the service experience. Specifically, the status information of each physical object can refer to the description of the above method 200 and will not be elaborated.
[0170] In a possible implementation, the third network element sends a first request message to the first network element according to the second request message. The first request message is used to request to obtain the status information of the target twin object. The third network element receives a first response message from the first network element, and the first response message carries the status information of the target twin object. Exemplarily, the first request message carries the identifier of the target cell. The status information of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the physical resource block (PRB) utilization rate of the target cell, the number of target users included in the target cell, the number and byte count of packets transmitted in the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the dedicated bearer allocated for the target cell, and the guaranteed bandwidth of the quality of service flow identifier (QFI) of the target cell.
[0171] 403. The third network element performs simulation according to the status information of the target twin object, the target guarantee policy, and the simulation model, and generates a simulation result.
[0172] Specifically, the input of the simulation model includes the status information of the target twin object, the target guarantee policy, and the simulation model for performing simulation.
[0173] Exemplarily, the simulation result may include: the service experience information of the target user after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy, and the status information of the target cell after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy.
[0174] Based on the above technical solution, the network simulation function network element can perform simulation based on the request message of the AI Agent. Before the simulation, it can obtain the status information of the required target twin object from the NDTF, and send the simulation result to the AI Agent. The AI Agent finally determines the guarantee policy. Through the simulation of the network simulation function network element, it can be predicted in advance whether the target guarantee policy is suitable for the current network state and whether it can improve the service experience of users.
[0175] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the relationship among the AI Agent, NDTF, and the network simulation function network element provided by this application, as Figure 5As shown, the AI Agent in this application is an AI intelligent agent integrating functions such as perception, decision-making, evaluation, and learning. The AI Agent can achieve multi-dimensional intelligent perception such as understanding customer intentions, data access, and visual presentation. In this application, the AI Agent can drive network simulation function network elements to perform simulation of guarantee policies and make intelligent decisions. The "network simulation function network element" in this application can perform network simulation prediction based on intelligent simulation sandbox technology and information of mirror-mapped twin objects, and continuously optimize the decisions of the AI Agent, thereby achieving simulation optimization. The NDTF in this application can realize the mapping from real physical objects to twin objects, which can also be understood as mapping network data to the corresponding data of twin objects, thus realizing the combination of virtual and real. For example, the mapping can be performed based on the expert experience of network twin object modeling. In addition, the NDTF in this application can, for example, adopt a multi-dimensional network service large model to realize the modeling of digital twins in multiple dimensions of "network element - network topology - user - service", thereby realizing the governance of digital twin models and data.
[0176] Next, in combination with specific embodiments and the interactions between specific core network elements in the core network, the technical solution provided by this application will be introduced in detail.
[0177] Figure 6 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 600 provided by this application. As Figure 6 shown, the method includes:
[0178] 601. The NDTF sends a first subscription message to the NWDAF. The first subscription message is used to request to obtain target information.
[0179] Correspondingly, the NWDAF receives the first subscription message from the NDTF.
[0180] In this application, the target information is used to represent the information of physical objects in the physical network. The physical objects include at least one of the following: network element, network topology, user, service.
[0181] Exemplarily, the NDTF can initiate a data subscription instruction to the NWDAF through the "Network Data Analytics Function_Data Management Service_Subscribe Operation" Nnwdaf_DataManagement_Subscribe (an example of the first subscription message) service. The parameters carried in the subscription message include at least one of the following: a list of twin network elements of the service-related network topology (for example, UE, RAN, UPF), a list of subscribed VIP users (for example, including user identifiers), a list of key services that need experience guarantee (for example, service identifiers), and so on.
[0182] 602. The NWDAF obtains the target information according to the first subscription message.
[0183] Optionally, the NWDAF may initiate event subscription requests to the UPF, AMF, and OAM respectively.
[0184] Exemplarily, the NWDAF may subscribe to the services accessed by the subscribed VIP users and their experience information through Nupf_EventExposure_Subscribe. Based on the received subscription request message, the UPF starts to collect and report the services accessed by the VIP users and their experience information according to the list of VIP user identifiers guaranteed by subscription and the list of key services for which the experience needs to be guaranteed carried in the message. For example, the UPF may report the target information to the NWDAF through the Nupf_EventExposure_Notify message. For example, the notification message may carry one or more of the following: user identifier, service type, quality of experience (QoE) data, key performance indicator (KPI). For example, the KPI may include the latency, bandwidth, rate, etc. corresponding to the service.
[0185] Exemplarily, the NWDAF may subscribe to the real-time location information of the subscribed VIP users from the AMF through Namf_EventExposure_Subscribe. Based on the received subscription request message, the AMF collects the real-time location information of the specified users according to the list of VIP user identifiers guaranteed by subscription carried in the message. For example, the AMF may report the target information to the NWDAF through Namf_EventExposure_Notify.
[0186] Exemplarily, the NWDAF may subscribe to the device information and KPI metrics of the RAN from the OAM through OAM_Subscribe. The OAM may regularly collect the KPI metrics of the specified cell based on the received subscription request message. For example, it may collect information such as physical resource block (PRB) utilization, number of users, traffic, etc., and report the target information to the NWDAF.
[0187] It should be noted that in this application, for the specific introduction of the subscription messages and notification messages of each network element, reference can be made to the descriptions in the protocol, and this application will not introduce the messages in detail.
[0188] 603. The NWDAF generates the status information of the physical object according to the first subscription message and the target information.
[0189] Exemplarily, the NWDAF can preprocess the target information reported by the UPF, AMF, and OAM according to the twin object dimension (i.e., service-related network topology twin network elements (terminal device UE, radio RAN, UPF user plane function entity), subscribed VIP users, key services that require experience guarantee), so as to generate the status information of the physical object used to map the twin object.
[0190] 604. The NWDAF sends a first notification message to the NDTF, and the first notification message carries the status information of the physical object.
[0191] Correspondingly, the NDTF receives the first notification message from the NWDAF.
[0192] Exemplarily, the first notification message can be Nnwdaf_DataManagement_Notify.
[0193] In this application, the physical object maps to the twin object one by one. The status information of the physical object is used to generate the status information of the twin object, and the status information of the twin object is used to monitor the status of the physical network and service experience.
[0194] 605. The NDTF generates the status information of the twin network according to the status information of the physical object.
[0195] It should be noted that in another possible implementation, if the NDTF directly collects information from each core network element, the NDTF can directly generate the status information of the twin network based on the collected target information. In this embodiment, since the NDTF sends a subscription message to the NWDAF to collect information, after the NWDAF collects the target information, it can first preprocess the target information to generate the status information of the physical object, so that the NDTF can use it more conveniently, thereby generating the status information of the twin object and further generating the status information of the twin network.
[0196] In this application, the status information of the twin network includes the status information of the twin object.
[0197] Exemplarily, the NDTF performs digital twin modeling on the network elements, network topology, subscribed VIP users with guaranteed contracts, and key services that require experience guarantee involved in user service access according to the target information. As mentioned above, in another possible implementation in this application, the NDTF can also directly call the EventExposure_Subscribe event open subscription service of devices such as the UPF, AMF, and OAM to obtain their respective target information.
[0198] In this application, after the NDTF completes the modeling, it can provide external interfaces for subscribing to and notifying the status information of twin objects through Nndtf_TwinsStatus_Subscribe or Nndtf_TwinsStatus_Notify.
[0199] The following introduces the subscription messages and notification messages of NDTF in this application. Exemplarily, the following methods can be used for definition:
[0200] Service operation name: Nndtf_TwinsStatus_Subscribe
[0201] Service description: An event where an AIAgent or other core network element subscribes to the status of a twin from the NDTF network twin.
[0202] Input parameters, mandatory: Network twin ID (e.g., user twin object and cell twin object), notification correlation ID, event ID (user key service experience monitoring event, user affiliated cell status monitoring event, congested cell user service access experience monitoring event, specified cell status monitoring event).
[0203] Input parameters, optional: UE ID, event-specific parameters, policy timestamp, application ID, and flow filtering conditions, etc.
[0204] Output parameters, mandatory: Network twin data and status.
[0205] Output parameters, optional: None.
[0206] Service operation name: Nndtf_TwinsStatus_Notify
[0207] Service description: When an event occurs where an AIAgent or other core network element subscribes to the status of a twin from the NDTF network twin, NDTF notifies an AIAgent or other core network element of relevant event information of one or more network twin data and status through this service.
[0208] Input parameters, mandatory: Network twin ID (e.g., user twin object and cell twin object), notification correlation ID, event ID (user key service experience monitoring event, user affiliated cell status monitoring event, congested cell user service access experience monitoring event, specified cell status monitoring event).
[0209] Input parameters, optional: UE ID, event-specific parameters, policy timestamp, application ID, and flow filtering conditions, etc.
[0210] Output parameters, mandatory: Network twin data and status.
[0211] Output parameter, optional: None.
[0212] On the other hand, as described above, in the present application, the AI Agent is an intelligent functional entity capable of perceiving the environment, making decisions, and performing actions. In the present application, the AI Agent receives a task from the operator in the form of voice, text, or a configuration file, which requires ensuring the overall experience of customers subscribing to the VIP service experience within the community is controllable and, on this basis, ensuring the key service experience of VIP users.
[0213] It should be noted that there is no order of precedence for the actions in the following steps 606 and 607 compared to the previous steps 601 - 605. In other words, steps 606 and 607 can be executed in parallel with 601 - 605, or executed before steps 601 - 605, without limitation.
[0214] 606. The AI Agent obtains first information, which is used to indicate the type of the task issued by the user.
[0215] Exemplarily, the AI Agent receives first information from the user, and the first information can indicate the type of the task issued by the user (which can also be understood as the intention of the user). Exemplarily, the type of the task in the present application can be at least one of the following: a task of monitoring a target event, a task of determining a target guarantee policy, a task of requesting simulation, and a task of evaluating the effect of the service experience after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy.
[0216] 607. The AI Agent determines the type of the task according to the first information.
[0217] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the type of the task issued by the user is a task of monitoring a target event. Therefore, the AI Agent determines that the type of the task is a task of monitoring a target event according to the first information.
[0218] Further, in a possible scenario, the task of monitoring a target event can specifically be: the service experience of the target service of the target user, the congestion status of the target cell where the target user is located. Exemplarily, the target user can be, for example, a VIP user. In another possible scenario, the task of monitoring a target event can specifically be the congestion status of the target cell and the service experience of the services within the target cell. Exemplarily, the target user is, for example, some designated cells or some congested cells.
[0219] Exemplarily, the task received by the AI Agent is: a task of intelligently guaranteeing the differentiated service experience control of different - level users in congested cells.
[0220] Exemplarily, the AI Agent receives the first information from the user and decomposes it into the following tasks: obtaining the status of the specified user twin object, perceiving the experience of the specified APP application, and improving the APP application experience.
[0221] At 608, the AI Agent sends a second subscription message to the NDTF, and the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the monitored target event.
[0222] Correspondingly, the NDTF receives the second subscription message from the AI Agent.
[0223] In this application, the second subscription message carries the identifier of the target event and the identifier of the target twin object corresponding to the target event. For example, the identifier of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, and the identifier of the target cell.
[0224] Exemplarily, the AI Agent can send an Nndtf_TwinsStatus_Subscribe message (an example of the second subscription message) to the NDTF. For example, this message carries at least one of the following: a list of VIP user identifiers, VIP user subscription attributes (i.e., used to define which user corresponding twin objects need to be monitored), the identifier of the user key service experience monitoring event, the identifier of the user's cell status monitoring event, and so on.
[0225] Exemplarily, the AI Agent can send an Nndtf_TwinsStatus_Subscribe message to the NDTF. For example, this message carries at least one of the following: a list of identifiers of the specified cell, cell congestion attributes, the identifier of the congestion cell user service access experience monitoring event, the identifier of the specified cell status monitoring event, and so on.
[0226] At 609, the NDTF determines the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event in the status information of the twin network according to the second subscription message, and monitors the target twin object.
[0227] Exemplarily, after the NDTF receives the tasks of monitoring the service experience of the target service of the target user and the congestion status of the target cell where the target user is located, it can filter out the user twin objects corresponding to the VIP users to be monitored based on the list of VIP user identifiers and VIP user subscription attributes carried in the second subscription message, start the access experience monitoring of the application twin objects corresponding to the key services accessed by the user twin objects corresponding to these users, then scan the cell information to which these user twin objects belong, and monitor the cell twin objects. Correspondingly, the user twin object and the cell twin object can realize the real-time refresh of the twin object data through the data collection method in the previous steps.
[0228] Exemplarily, based on the tasks of receiving the congestion status monitoring of the target cell and the service experience of the services in the target cell, the NDTF can monitor the congestion status of the cell twin objects that meet the conditions based on the list of specified cell IDs and the cell congestion attributes carried in the second subscription message, and when perceiving a change in the congestion cell status, collect the service access and experience information of the user twin objects in the cell in real time. Correspondingly, the user twin objects and the cell twin objects achieve real-time refresh of the twin object data through the data collection method in the previous steps.
[0229] Exemplarily, based on the received tasks, the NDTF obtains two event subscription tasks of querying the status of the specified user twin object and perceiving the application experience situation, and queries the status of the user twin object based on the list of specified user IDs sent down. Exemplarily, the NDTF can send at least one of the following to the AI Agent through the second notification message: the specified user ID, the change in the user's cell location, the list of accessed services and their service access KPIs and experience information, etc. At this time, the AI Agent generates visual service distribution maps, service trend maps, experience change trend maps, location change trend maps, etc. based on the received second notification message and feeds them back to the user, so as to present visual charts to the user.
[0230] 610. In the case where the NDTF determines that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target twin object is poor, the NDTF sends a second notification message to the AI Agent, and the second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor.
[0231] Correspondingly, the AI Agent receives the second notification message from the NDTF.
[0232] For example, the second notification message carries at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, the identifier of the target cell, the experience information of the target user accessing the target service, and the metrics of the target user accessing the target service. Exemplarily, the metric can be a KPI metric.
[0233] Exemplarily, when the NDTF perceives that the service experience of the application twin object corresponding to the VIP user deteriorates, it can send an Nndtf_TwinsStatus_Notify message to the AI Agent to notify the AI Agent.
[0234] 611. The AI Agent determines the target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the second notification message.
[0235] Exemplarily, the AI Agent second notification message, combined with the status information of the cell where the user is located, obtains from the memory the guaranteed bandwidth required for the key service accessed by the VIP user at a specific resolution required to ensure the experience (for example, the specific resolution is 1080P) (for example, the guaranteed bandwidth requirement: GBR > 10 Mbps), and determines the target guarantee strategy. For example, the target guarantee strategy is: based on the status of the twin object of the cell where the user is located, it is determined that a dedicated bearer or QFI of a GBR needs to be added for simulation, and the impact of the predicted user experience change and the experience of other users in the cell on the key service experience is focused on.
[0236] Exemplarily, the AI Agent second notification message and the user service access information in the cell are used to obtain from the memory the list of non-real-time experience-insensitive services of the user, and the guaranteed bandwidth required for the adaptive bitrate (ABR) services of different levels of users at a specific resolution required to ensure the experience (for example, the specific resolution is 1080P) (for example, the guaranteed bandwidth requirement: GBR > 10 Mbps), and the target guarantee strategy is determined. For example, the target guarantee strategy is: delete or update the dedicated bearers or QFIs established for some users, limit the bandwidth of some non-real-time services (for example, limit the bandwidth of peer-to-peer (P2P), file transfer protocol (FTP) file download services), limit the ABR video services of different user levels to different resolution-level bandwidths (for example: VIP user video bitrate guarantee 720P, maximum bandwidth 5 Mbps, ordinary user video bitrate guarantee 360P, maximum bandwidth 2 Mbps)), and so on.
[0237] 612. The AI Agent sends a second request message to the network simulation function network element. The second request message carries the identifier of the target event and the target guarantee strategy, and the second request message is used to request the simulation of the effect generated after the target guarantee strategy is executed on the physical network.
[0238] Correspondingly, the network simulation model receives the second request message from the AI Agent.
[0239] Exemplarily, the AI Agent sends a Twin_Function_Simulation_Request message (an example of the second request message) to the network simulation function network element. The request message carries at least one of the following: information about the cell where the VIP user is located, the type of service that the user needs to guarantee, the dedicated bearer or QFI information policy of the newly added or updated GBR, etc. Or, the request message carries at least one of the following: deleting or updating the dedicated bearers and QFIs that have been established for some users, restricting the bandwidth of some non-real-time services, bandwidth adjustment strategies for restricting ABR video services to different resolution levels based on different user levels, etc. Additionally, the request message also carries the identifier of the target event, and the identifier of the target event corresponds to the corresponding monitoring task.
[0240] The Twin_Function_Simulation_Request message is briefly introduced below. Exemplarily, the Twin_Function_Simulation_Request message can be defined in the following manner.
[0241] Service operation name: Twin_Function_Simulation_Request
[0242] Service description: The simulation function service and interface provided by the network simulation function network element.
[0243] Input parameter, mandatory: Simulation function ID (e.g., simulation instruction for adding a GBR dedicated bearer or QFI to the target cell)
[0244] Input parameter, optional: Twin object ID (e.g., user twin and cell twin involved in experience guarantee), policy to be executed (e.g., newly added GBR dedicated bearer or QFI).
[0245] Output parameter, mandatory: Simulation result (cell status prediction result, user experience change data).
[0246] Output parameter, optional: None.
[0247] 613. The network simulation function network element obtains the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event from the NDTF according to the second request message.
[0248] In a possible implementation, the network simulation function network element sends a first request message to the NDTF according to the second request message. The first request message is used to request the status information of the target twin object. The NDTF sends a first response message to the network simulation function network element based on the first request message, and the first response message carries the status information of the target twin object.
[0249] For example, the status information of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the Physical Resource Block (PRB) utilization rate of the target cell, the number of target users included in the target cell, the number of packets or bytes transmitted in the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the dedicated bearer allocated for the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the Quality of Service Flow Identifier (QFI) of the target cell
[0250] Exemplarily, the network simulation function network element sends an Nndtf_TwinsMapping_Request message (an example of the first request message) to the NDTF to request a mapping request for the twin object. This message carries at least one of the following: the cell identifier where the VIP user is located. The NDTF sends an Nndtf_TwinsMapping_Response message (an example of the first response message) to the network simulation function network element. This message carries the current status information of the cell twin object (for example, it may include information such as the PRB utilization rate of the cell, the number of users, the uplink and downlink traffic, the guaranteed bandwidth scale of the dedicated bearer that has been allocated, or the QFI).
[0251] 614. The network simulation function network element performs simulation according to the simulation model and generates simulation results.
[0252] Among them, the input of the simulation model includes the status information of the target twin object and the target guarantee policy.
[0253] Exemplarily, the network simulation function network element can predict the change in user experience and the impact on the experience of other users in the cell based on the simulation model for the functional simulation of key services. In one possible implementation, the network simulation function network element can load the twin object instance and the function model, delete or update the established dedicated bearer or QFI in the simulation sandbox, limit the bandwidth of some non-real-time services, and perform functional simulation of bandwidth adjustment that limits the ABR-class video service to different resolution levels based on different user levels.
[0254] 615. The network simulation function network element sends a second response message to the AI Agent. The second response message carries the simulation results.
[0255] For example, the simulation results include at least one of the following: the service experience information of the target user after executing the target guarantee policy, the status information of the target cell after executing the target guarantee policy. Optionally, the simulation results also include the service experience information of the remaining users in the target cell except the target user.
[0256] Exemplarily, the network simulation function network element may send a Twin_Function_Simulation_Response message (an example of the second response message) to the AI Agent, and the simulation results are carried in this message. For example, the simulation results include: changes in the key service experience of VIP users after GBR guarantee is executed, changes in cell status, whether the experience of other users in the cell can be accepted above a specified threshold, etc. For another example, the simulation results include: changes in cell status after a policy is executed, changes in the differentiated service experience of users, etc.
[0257] 616. The AI Agent determines the target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the simulation results.
[0258] Exemplarily, the AI Agent may perform intelligent adjustment on the target guarantee policy according to the simulation results. For example, if the service experience is still not high after simulation, the guarantee bandwidth can be increased, or if the experience of other users in the cell is seriously affected after simulation, the guarantee bandwidth needs to be reduced, or the QoS policy of some low-priority users can be adjusted to save bandwidth for VIP users.
[0259] Exemplarily, the AI Agent performs intelligent adjustment on the target guarantee policy according to the simulation results. For example, if the cell congestion status still cannot be relieved after simulation, the GBR guarantee bandwidth can be reduced, the bandwidth of non-real-time services can be further reduced, and the clarity and required bandwidth of ABR video services can be reduced.
[0260] In this application, multiple simulation validations can be supported. If the key user experience can be improved on the basis of ensuring the experience of other users in the cell, the NWDAF can be notified of the relevant analysis results and the relevant policy information executed through the extended Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_ContextTransfer, and the NWDAF can notify the PCF through Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify to establish a dedicated bearer or QFI to guarantee the service experience of key users.
[0261] In a possible implementation manner, the NWDAF supports subscribing to and querying functions for the analysis results based on the service quality optimization policy by extending ServiceExperienceOptimization_Analysis. Exemplarily, the description of this key field is as follows:
[0262] (1) Subscribe to the event, using event = IntelligentCellCongestionControl_Analysis.
[0263] (2) The subscribed cell identifier.
[0264] (3) Subscribed session identifier (notifying the PCF to adjust policies for cell users that require congestion control), using the supi and pduS eId fields. The supi and pduSeId uniquely identify a PDU session; GPSI is optionally carried.
[0265] (4) Subscribed user identifier, using the ueIpv4 / ueIpv6 and ipDomain fields. The ueIpv4 / ueIpv6 and ipdomain uniquely identify a user.
[0266] (5) Service identifier, carried by appIds in eventSubscriptions, and the experience of multiple service ids can be monitored simultaneously.
[0267] (6) NWDAF analysis notification target, carried by the notificationURI field.
[0268] Exemplarily, the following one or more items can be carried in the subscription message and the notification message: App ID, QoE, 5QI, ARP, uplink guaranteed bitrate (UL guaranteed bitrate), downlink guaranteed bitrate (DLguaranteed bitrate). Among them, the App ID is the identifier of the application, the QoE is the application service experience score returned by the NWDAF, the 5QI is the recommended 5QI obtained by the AIAgent analysis, the ARP is the recommended ARP obtained by the AIAgent analysis, the uplink guaranteed bitrate is the recommended uplink guaranteed bandwidth obtained by the AIAgent analysis, and the downlink guaranteed bitrate is the recommended downlink guaranteed bandwidth obtained by the AI Agent analysis. Specifically, the meanings represented by each field can be referred to the description in Table 1 below.
[0269] Table 1
[0270]
[0271]
[0272] 617. The PCF triggers the physical network to execute the target guarantee policy through the standard process.
[0273] Exemplarily, the PCF triggers the SMF, UPF, RAN, and UE to establish a dedicated bearer or QFI with GBR guarantee for the VIP user through the standard process, and the services of the VIP user will be carried on the corresponding QFI or dedicated bearer.
[0274] Exemplarily, the PCF triggers policy execution through a standard process to delete or update an established dedicated bearer or QFI, limit the bandwidth of some non-real-time services, and adjust the bandwidth of ABR-class video services to different resolution levels based on different user levels.
[0275] At 618, the NDTF continuously collects data from each core network element through the NWDAF and updates the status information of the user twin object and the cell twin object based on the real-time data.
[0276] Exemplarily, the NDTF obtains the updated target information of the target network element, and the updated target information is generated after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy. The NDTF updates the status information of the twin network according to the updated target information.
[0277] At 619, when the NDTF determines that the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event has changed, the NDTF sends a first indication message to the AI Agent, and the first indication message is used to indicate that the status information of the target twin object has changed.
[0278] Correspondingly, the AI Agent receives the first indication message from the NDTF.
[0279] At 620, the AI Agent evaluates the effect of the service experience after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy according to the first indication message.
[0280] For example, the AI Agent evaluates the effect after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy based on the second indication message reported by the NDTF, continuously learns and records, so as to enhance the intelligent and refined policy adjustment ability.
[0281] The AI Agent evaluates the execution result of the task of improving the service experience of the specified user based on the first indication message reported by the NDTF. If the expected effect is achieved, it notifies the user that the task has been completed. Otherwise, it continues to adjust the policy to perform the experience optimization task, and the number of iterations of the optimization measures can be configured.
[0282] From the above technical solution, it can be seen that this application provides a new mechanism for guaranteeing the service experience of users. First, NDTF constructs a twin network and monitors specific twin objects; when it perceives that a specific service experience is poor, it sends a notification to the AI Agent, and the AI Agent initially generates a target guarantee strategy based on the real state of the current physical network; then, the network simulation network element can simulate the target guarantee strategy. The purpose of the simulation is to determine whether the service experience will be improved and the impact on the entire physical network after the target guarantee strategy is executed according to the current real physical network state. If the effect is acceptable after the simulation, NWDAF can send the target guarantee strategy to the real physical network. If the simulation effect is not good, the AI Agent needs to adjust the guarantee strategy and simulate again until a relatively good target guarantee strategy is adjusted and optimized, and finally let the real physical network execute the target guarantee strategy. Further, the AI Agent can also evaluate the effect after the physical network executes the target guarantee strategy, so as to continuously learn and improve the decision-making.
[0283] In other words, in this application, a twin network can be generated based on the real state of the current physical network. The AI Agent triggers and generates a target guarantee strategy or other control strategies based on the perception of the twin network, and then determines the implementation effect of the target strategy by simulating the functions of guaranteeing or other control strategies for the corresponding twin objects, so as to select the optimal strategy to better guarantee the service experience of users.
[0284] Based on the above technical solution, in this application, three functional entities, namely the AI Agent, NDTF, and network simulation functional network element, combined with the original NWDAF data collection, data analysis, analysis result subscription, and notification mechanism in the intelligent plane, expand the subscription and notification mechanism of the AI Agent intelligent body for the network twin body to realize the network twin body modeling, virtual-real mapping, and state perception of twin objects such as wireless cells, users, and services, and can combine with the network simulation functional network element to realize a complete closed-loop solution for intelligent decision-making of service experience optimization strategies, execution of optimization strategies, evaluation of the effect completed by the AI Agent intelligent body based on the strategy execution, and reinforcement learning. Based on this solution, the service experience of users can be better guaranteed.
[0285] It can be understood that in this application, "in... case", "if", and "when" all refer to the device will make corresponding processing under a certain objective situation, which does not limit the time, and it is not required that the device must have a judgment action when implemented, nor does it mean there are other limitations.
[0286] It can be understood that the term "and / or" in this text 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 three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this text generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.
[0287] The above mainly introduced the solution provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of interactions between various nodes. It can be understood that each node, such as a network digital twin function network element, a network simulation function network element, an artificial intelligence assistant, and a network data analysis function network element, includes corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for implementing the above functions. Those skilled in the art should be able to realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this text, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described function for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.
[0288] The embodiments of this application can divide the functional modules of each core network element involved according to the above method examples. For example, each functional module can be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of this application is illustrative, merely a logical functional division, and there can be other division methods in actual implementation. The following takes the example of dividing each functional module corresponding to each function for illustration.
[0289] Figure 7 It is a schematic block diagram of the communication device 100 provided by the embodiments of this application. As shown in the figure, the device 100 can include: a transceiver unit 110 and a processing unit 120.
[0290] In a possible design, the device 100 can be the network digital twin function network element in the above method embodiments, or a chip for implementing the function of the network digital twin function network element in the above method embodiments. It should be understood that the device 100 can correspond to the first network element (or network digital twin function network element) in the method 200, method 300, method 400, method 600 according to the embodiments of this application, and the device 100 can execute the steps corresponding to the first network element (or the network digital twin function network element) in the method 200, method 300, method 400, method 600 of the embodiments of this application.
[0291] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is used to send a first subscription message, and the transceiver unit is also used to receive a first notification message. The processing unit is used to generate the status information of the twin network according to the target message.
[0292] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is also used to receive a second subscription message. The processing unit is used to determine the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event in the status information of the twin network and monitor the target twin object.
[0293] In a possible implementation, when the processing unit determines that the business experience of the application corresponding to the target twin object is poor, the transceiver unit is controlled to send a second notification message.
[0294] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is used to receive a first request message, and the transceiver unit is also used to send a first response message.
[0295] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is used to obtain the updated target information, and the processing unit is used to update the status information of the twin network according to the updated target information. When the processing unit determines that the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event has changed, the transceiver unit is controlled to send a first indication message.
[0296] In a possible design, the device 100 may be the network simulation function network element in the above method embodiment, or a chip for implementing the function of the network simulation function network element in the above method embodiment. It should be understood that the device 100 may correspond to the second network element (or network simulation function network element) in the method 200, method 300, method 400, method 600 according to the embodiments of the present application, and the device 100 may execute the steps corresponding to the second network element (or network simulation function network element) in the method 200, method 300, method 400, method 600 according to the embodiments of the present application.
[0297] In a possible implementation, the transceiver unit is used to receive a second request message. The processing unit is used to obtain the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event according to the second request message, and the processing unit is used to perform simulation according to the simulation model and generate a simulation result. The transceiver unit is used to send a second response message.
[0298] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is used to obtain the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event according to the second request message, including: the processing unit is used to control the transceiver unit to send a first request message according to the second request message, and the transceiver unit is also used to receive a first response message.
[0299] In a possible design, the device 100 may be the artificial intelligence assistant in the foregoing method embodiments, or a chip for implementing the functions of the artificial intelligence assistant in the foregoing method embodiments. It should be understood that the device 100 may correspond to the third network element (or artificial intelligence assistant) in the method 200, method 300, method 400, and method 600 according to the embodiments of the present application, and the device 100 may execute the steps corresponding to the third network element (or artificial intelligence assistant) in the method 200, method 300, method 400, and method 600 of the embodiments of the present application.
[0300] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is used to obtain first information, and the processing unit is used to determine the type of task according to the first information.
[0301] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is used to send a second subscription message, and the transceiver unit is used to receive a second notification message.
[0302] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is used to determine a target guarantee policy corresponding to a target event according to the second notification message.
[0303] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is used to send a second request message, the transceiver unit is further used to receive a second response message, and the processing unit is used to determine a target guarantee policy corresponding to a target event according to the simulation result.
[0304] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is used to receive first indication information, and the processing unit is used to evaluate the effect of the service experience after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy according to the first indication information.
[0305] In a possible design, the device 100 may be the network data analysis function network element in the foregoing method embodiments, or a chip for implementing the functions of the network data analysis function network element in the foregoing method embodiments. It should be understood that the device 100 may correspond to the network data analysis function network element in the method 600 according to the embodiments of the present application, and the device 100 may execute the steps corresponding to the network data analysis function network element in the method 600 of the embodiments of the present application.
[0306] In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver unit is used to receive a first subscription message of a first network element, the processing unit is used to obtain target information according to the first subscription message, the processing unit is used to generate status information of a physical object according to the first subscription message and the target information, and the transceiver unit is used to send a first notification message, and the first notification message carries the status information of the physical object.
[0307] It should also be understood that the device 100 herein is embodied in the form of functional units. The term "unit" herein may refer to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (such as a shared processor, a proprietary processor or a group of processors, etc.) for executing one or more software or firmware programs, and a memory, a combined logic circuit and / or other suitable components that support the described functions.
[0308] The device 100 of each of the above solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the radio access network device in the above method, or, the device 100 of each of the above solutions has the function of implementing the corresponding steps performed by the network digital twin functional element, the network simulation functional element, the artificial intelligence assistant, and the network data analysis functional element in the above method. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions; for example, the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transceiver (for example, the sending unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a transmitter, and the receiving unit in the transceiver unit can be replaced by a receiver), and other units, such as the processing unit, can be replaced by a processor to respectively perform the transceiver operations and related processing operations in each method embodiment.
[0309] In addition, the above transceiver unit 110 can also be a transceiver circuit (for example, it can include a receiving circuit and a sending circuit), and the processing unit can be a processing circuit.
[0310] It should be noted that Figure 7 the device in can be the network element or device in the foregoing embodiments, or can be a chip or a chip system, for example: a system on chip (SoC). Among them, the transceiver unit can be an input-output circuit, a communication interface; the processing unit is a processor or a microprocessor or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. No limitation is made herein.
[0311] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 200 provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the device 200 includes: at least one processor 220. The processor 220 is coupled to a memory and is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to send signals and / or receive signals. Optionally, the device 200 further includes a memory 230 for storing instructions. Optionally, the device 200 further includes a transceiver 210, and the processor 220 controls the transceiver 210 to send signals and / or receive signals.
[0312] It should be understood that the above-mentioned processor 220 and memory 230 can be integrated into a processing device. The processor 220 is used to execute the program code stored in the memory 230 to implement the above functions. Specifically, in implementation, the memory 230 can also be integrated in the processor 220 or be independent of the processor 220.
[0313] It should also be understood that the transceiver 210 can include a transceiver (or, receiver) and a transmitter (or, transmitter). The transceiver can further include an antenna, and the number of antennas can be one or more. The transceiver 210 can be a communication interface or an interface circuit.
[0314] Specifically, the transceiver 210 in the device 200 can correspond to the transceiver unit 110 in the device 100, and the processor 220 in the device 200 can correspond to the processing unit 120 in the device 200.
[0315] As a solution, the device 200 is used to implement the operations performed by the network digital twin functional network element in the above method embodiments.
[0316] For example, the processor 220 is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory 230 to implement the related operations of the network digital twin functional network element in the above method embodiments. For example, Figures 2 to 7 、 Figure 6 the method performed by the network digital twin functional network element in any one of the embodiments shown in
[0317] For example, the processor 220 is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory 230 to implement the related operations of the network simulation functional network element in the above method embodiments. For example, Figures 2 to 7 、 Figure 6 the method performed by the network simulation functional network element in any one of the embodiments shown in
[0318] For example, the processor 220 is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory 230 to implement the related operations of the artificial intelligence assistant in the above method embodiments. For example, Figures 2 to 7 、 Figure 6 the method performed by the artificial intelligence assistant in any one of the embodiments shown in
[0319] For example, the processor 220 is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory 230 to implement the related operations of the network data analysis functional network element in the above method embodiments. For example, Figure 6 the method performed by the network data analysis functional network element in the embodiment shown in
[0320] It should be understood that the specific processes of each transceiver and processor executing the above corresponding steps have been described in detail in the above method embodiments. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.
[0321] In the implementation process, each step of the above method can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or the instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by the hardware processor, or completed by a combination of the hardware and software modules in the processor. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, register, etc. This storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines its hardware to complete the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.
[0322] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with the ability to process signals. In the implementation process, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by the integrated logic circuit of the hardware in the processor or the instructions in the form of software. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by the hardware decoding processor, or completed by a combination of the hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a mature storage medium in the art such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable memory, register, etc. This storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and combines its hardware to complete the steps of the above method.
[0323] It can be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synch-link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct ram-bus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include but not be limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.
[0324] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a computer program product, on which computer program code is stored. When the computer program code runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method executed by the network digital twin functional network element in any one of the embodiments of Method 200 to Method 400 and Method 600.
[0325] For example, when the computer program code is executed by the computer, the computer can implement the method executed by the network simulation functional network element in the embodiments of the above Method 200 to Method 400 and Method 600.
[0326] For another example, when the computer program code is executed by the computer, the computer can implement the method executed by the artificial intelligence assistant in the embodiments of the above Method 200 to Method 400 and Method 600.
[0327] For another example, when the computer program code is executed by the computer, the computer can implement the method executed by the network data analysis functional network element in the embodiments of the above Method 600.
[0328] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a computer-readable medium storing program codes, which when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute the methods performed by the network digital twin function network element, the network simulation function network element, the artificial intelligence assistant, and the network data analysis function network element in the above embodiments.
[0329] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application further provides a communication system, including: a network digital twin function network element, a network simulation function network element, an artificial intelligence assistant, and a network data analysis function network element, configured to execute the respective corresponding steps in any one of the embodiments of methods 200-400 and method 600.
[0330] For the explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant content in any of the above-mentioned devices, reference can be made to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and details are not described herein again.
[0331] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it 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. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center by wire (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wirelessly (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrating one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a high-definition digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (such as a solid state disc (SSD)), etc.
[0332] In the above-described device embodiments, the corresponding steps are performed by the corresponding modules or units. For example, the transceiver unit (transceiver) performs the steps of receiving or transmitting in the method embodiments, and the other steps except for transmitting and receiving can be performed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific units can be referred to the corresponding method embodiments. Among them, the processor can be one or more.
[0333] The terms "component", "module", "system", etc. used in this specification are used to represent computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be components. One or more components can reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and the components can be located on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can be executed from various computer-readable media storing various data structures. The components can communicate, for example, through local and / or remote processes according to signals having one or more data packets (such as data from two components interacting with another component among a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network, such as the Internet interacting with other systems through signals).
[0334] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or 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 to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.
[0335] 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 be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.
[0336] In several embodiments provided in this application, 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 coupling or direct coupling or communication connection to each other can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units can be in an electrical, mechanical, or other form.
[0337] The unit described as a separation component may or may not be physically separated. The component displayed as a unit may or may not be a physical unit, that is, it may be located in one place or 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.
[0338] In addition, each functional unit in various embodiments of the present application may be integrated in a processing unit, may exist separately as individual physical units, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.
[0339] If the above-mentioned function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, 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 various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs that can store program codes.
[0340] The above is only the specific implementation manner of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claimed rights.
Claims
1. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: A first network element sends a first subscription message to a target network element, where the first subscription message is used to request to obtain target information, and the target information is used to characterize the state of a physical network; The first network element receives a first notification message from the target network element, where the first notification message carries the target information, and the target information includes state information of physical objects in the physical network. Among them, the physical objects include at least one of the following: network elements, network topologies, users, and applications; The first network element generates state information of a digital twin network according to the target information, where the state information of the digital twin network includes state information of digital twin objects, and the digital twin objects are in one-to-one mapping with the physical objects. The state information of the digital twin network is used to monitor the state of the physical network and service experience.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The state information of the network element includes at least one of the following: the type of the network element, the resource specification of the network element, the number of users carried on the network element, the distribution of users carried on the network element, the congestion state of users carried on the network element, and the distribution of network traffic carried on the network element; The state information of the network topology includes at least one of the following: paths between network elements, interfaces between network elements, specifications of interfaces between network elements, traffic carried on interfaces between network elements, distribution of traffic carried on interfaces between network elements, and state information of network elements; The state information of the user includes at least one of the following: the attributes of the user, the subscription information of the user, and the quality of service (QoS) parameters corresponding to the service of the user; The state information of the application includes at least one of the following: the type of the application, the start time of the service corresponding to the application, the duration of the service corresponding to the application, the throughput of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the rate of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the service experience of the application, and the QoS parameters of the service quality corresponding to the application.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first network element receives a second subscription message from a second network element, where the second subscription message is used to subscribe to a monitoring target event from the first network element, and the second subscription message carries an identifier of the target event and an identifier of a target digital twin object corresponding to the target event; The first network element determines the state information of the target digital twin object corresponding to the target event in the state information of the digital twin network according to the second subscription message, and monitors the target digital twin object.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein The identifier of the target digital twin object includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, and the identifier of the target cell.
5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The method further includes: When the first network element determines that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target digital twin object is poor, the first network element sends a second notification message to the second network element, where the second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor.
6. The method according to claim 5, wherein The second notification message carries at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, the identifier of the target cell, the experience information of the target user accessing the target service, and the metrics of the target user accessing the target service.
7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further includes: The first network element receives a first request message from a third network element, where the first request message is used to request the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event; The first network element sends a first response message to the third network element, and the first response message carries the status information of the target twin object.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The first request message carries the identifier of the target cell, The status information of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the physical resource block (PRB) utilization rate of the target cell, the number of target users included in the target cell, the number of packets or bytes transmitted in the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the dedicated bearer allocated for the target cell, and the guaranteed bandwidth of the quality of service flow identifier (QFI) of the target cell.
9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: The first network element obtains the updated target information of the target network element, where the updated target information is generated after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy; The first network element updates the status information of the twin network according to the updated target information; When the first network element determines that the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event has changed, the first network element sends a first indication information to the second network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the status information of the target twin object has changed.
10. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 9, characterized in that, The target event includes at least one of the following: the service experience of the target service of the target user, the congestion status of the target cell where the target user is located, the congestion status of the target cell, and the service experience of the service in the target cell.
11. A communication method, characterized in that, including: The third network element receives a second request message from the second network element, where the second request message carries the identifier of the target event and the target guarantee policy, and the second request message is used to request to simulate the effect generated after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy; The third network element obtains the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event from the first network element according to the second request message, where the twin object is mapped one-to-one with the physical object, and the physical object includes at least one of the following: network element, network topology, user, and service, and the status information of the twin object is used to monitor the status and service experience of the physical network; The third network element performs a simulation according to the status information of the target twin object, the target guarantee policy, and the simulation model, and generates a simulation result; The third network element sends a second response message to the second network element, and the second response message carries the simulation result.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The status information of the network element includes at least one of the following: the type of the network element, the resource specification of the network element, the number of users carried on the network element, the distribution of the users carried on the network element, the congestion status of the users carried on the network element, and the distribution of the network traffic carried on the network element; The status information of the network topology includes at least one of the following: the path between network elements, the interface between network elements, the specification of the interface between network elements, the traffic carried on the interface between network elements, the distribution of the traffic carried on the interface between network elements, the status information of network elements; The status information of the user includes at least one of the following: the attributes of the user, the subscription information of the user, the quality of service (QoS) parameters corresponding to the user's service The status information of the application includes at least one of the following: the type of the application, the start time of the service corresponding to the application, the duration of the service corresponding to the application, the throughput of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the rate of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the service experience of the application, the QoS parameters carried by the service corresponding to the application.
13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the third network element obtains the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event from the first network element according to the second request message, including: The third network element sends a first request message to the first network element according to the second request message, where the first request message is used to request to obtain the status information of the target twin object; The third network element receives a first response message from the first network element, and the first response message carries the status information of the target twin object.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first request message carries the identifier of the target cell, The status information of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the physical resource block (PRB) utilization rate of the target cell, the number of target users included in the target cell, the number of packets and bytes transmitted in the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the dedicated bearer allocated for the target cell, the guaranteed bandwidth of the quality of service flow identifier (QFI) of the target cell.
15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that The information of the target guarantee policy includes at least one of the following: Updating or adding a dedicated bearer with a guaranteed bit rate (GBR), updating or adding a quality of service flow identifier (QFI), deleting or updating the dedicated bearers established in the target cell, deleting or updating the quality of service flow identifiers (QFI) established in the target cell, restricting the bandwidth of some non-real-time services in the target cell, restricting the bandwidth of services based on different user levels in the target cell.
16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that, The simulation results include: the service experience information of the target user after executing the target guarantee policy, the status information of the target cell after executing the target guarantee policy.
17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, characterized in that, The target event includes at least one of the following: the service experience of the target service of the target user, the congestion status of the target cell where the target user is located, the congestion status of the target cell, the service experience of the services in the target cell.
18. A communication method, characterized in that, including: The second network element obtains first information, where the first information is used to indicate the type of the task issued by the user, and the type of the task includes at least one of the following: a task of monitoring a target event, a task of determining a target guarantee policy, a task of requesting a simulation, a task of evaluating the effect of the service experience after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy; The second network element determines the type of the task according to the first information.
19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The method further includes: The second network element sends a second subscription message to the first network element. The second subscription message is used to subscribe to a monitored target event on the first network element. The second subscription message carries the identifier of the target event and the identifier of the target twin object corresponding to the target event. Among them, the twin object is mapped one-to-one with the physical object, and the physical object includes at least one of the following: network element, network topology, user, service. The status information of the twin object is used to monitor the status of the physical network and service experience; The second network element receives a second notification message from the first network element. The second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor.
20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The status information of the network element includes at least one of the following: the type of the network element, the resource specification of the network element, the number of users carried on the network element, the distribution of users carried on the network element, the congestion status of users carried on the network element, the distribution of network traffic carried on the network element; The status information of the network topology includes at least one of the following: the path between network elements, the interface between network elements, the specification of the interface between network elements, the traffic carried on the interface between network elements, the distribution of traffic carried on the interface between network elements, the status information of network elements; The status information of the user includes at least one of the following: the attribute of the user, the subscription information of the user, the quality of service (QoS) parameters corresponding to the user; The status information of the application includes at least one of the following: the type of the application, the start time of the service corresponding to the application, the duration of the service corresponding to the application, the throughput of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the rate of the traffic used by the service corresponding to the application, the service experience of the application, the QoS parameters of the service quality corresponding to the application.
21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The identifier of the target twin object includes at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, the identifier of the target cell.
22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, characterized in that, The second notification message carries at least one of the following: the identifier of the target user, the identifier of the target service, the identifier of the target cell, the experience information of the target user accessing the target service, the metrics of the target user accessing the target service.
23. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that, The target event includes at least one of the following: the service experience of the target service of the target user, the congestion status of the target cell where the target user is located, the congestion status of the target cell, the service experience of the service in the target cell.
24. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second network element sends a second subscription message to the first network element. The second subscription message is used to request monitoring of the target event; The second network element receives a second notification message from the first network element. The second notification message is used to indicate that the service experience of the application corresponding to the target event is poor; The second network element determines a target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the second notification message.
25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The target guarantee policy includes at least one of the following: updating or adding a dedicated bearer with guaranteed bit rate (GBR), updating or adding a quality of service flow identifier (QFI), deleting or updating an established dedicated bearer in the target cell, deleting or updating an established quality of service flow identifier (QFI) in the target cell, restricting the bandwidth of some non-real-time services in the target cell, and restricting the bandwidth of services based on different user levels in the target cell.
26. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 25, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second network element sends a second request message to the third network element, where the second request message carries an identifier of a target event and a target guarantee policy, and the second request message is used to request simulation of the effects generated after the target guarantee policy is executed on the physical network; The second network element receives a second response message from the third network element, where the second response message carries a simulation result; The second network element determines the target guarantee policy corresponding to the target event according to the simulation result.
27. The method according to claim 26, wherein The simulation result includes: service experience information of the target user after the target guarantee policy is executed, and status information of the target cell after the target guarantee policy is executed.
28. The method according to any one of claims 18 to 27, characterized in that, The method further includes: The second network element receives first indication information from the first network element, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the status information of the target twin object corresponding to the target event has changed; The second network element evaluates the service experience effect after the physical network executes the target guarantee policy according to the first indication information.
29. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, or includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 18 to 28.
30. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes: at least one processor and a communication interface, where the communication interface is used for the communication device to interact with other communication devices. When program instructions are executed in the at least one processor, the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, or the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 11 to 17, or the communication device executes the method according to any one of claims 18 to 28.
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Communication method and communication apparatus
WO2025139213A1