Communication method and related device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a related device, which can be used in the technical field of communication. In the technical scheme provided by the invention, a first network element can send a first message to a first network data analysis function NWDAF network element, the first message is used for requesting the first network data analysis function network element to recommend service quality parameters, and the first message comprises at least one group of service quality parameters. In the method, a first NWDAF network element may determine a first QoS parameter based on a first message, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of the at least one group of QoS parameters, and the first QoS parameter may meet requirements of a consumer. The condition that the service requirement cannot be met or the service cannot be executed due to the fact that the QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element does not meet the requirement of the first network element is avoided.

Description

[0001] This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application with the application number 202311865567.0 and the application title "Communication Method and Related Devices" filed with the Chinese Patent Office on December 29, 2023. The entire content thereof is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and related devices. Background Art

[0003] In the fifth generation (5G) network, a network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element can provide recommended quality of service (QoS) parameters to a consumer, and then the consumer can perform services based on the recommended QoS parameters.

[0004] The method by which the NWDAF network element provides recommended QoS parameters to the consumer may include: The consumer can subscribe to / request recommended QoS parameters from the NWDAF network element through a recommended subscription service operation / a recommended request service operation, and then the NWDAF network element generates recommended QoS parameters based on local policies and sends the recommended QoS parameters to the consumer through a recommended notification service operation / a recommended response service operation.

[0005] However, when the consumer performs services based on the recommended QoS parameters, it often fails to meet the service requirements, and even fails to perform the service. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and related devices, which are used to solve the problem that when a consumer performs services based on recommended QoS parameters in the prior art, it often fails to meet the service requirements, and even fails to perform the service.

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first network element. The method includes: sending a first message to a first network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, where the first message is used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters; receiving a second message from the first NWDAF network element, where the second message includes a first QoS parameter, and the first QoS parameter is the QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element, and the first QoS parameter includes one or more sets of QoS parameters in the at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0008] In this method, the first network element can be a consumer, and the consumer can be, for example, Figure 1 a network function network element (such as a PCF network element, an NSSF network element, an AMF network element, an SMF network element, a NEF network element, an AF network element, an NWDAF network element, a DCCF network element, etc.) or an OAM network element in the system architecture shown.

[0009] As an example, when the PCF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first network element can be the PCF network element.

[0010] As another example, when the AF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first network element can be the AF network element.

[0011] As yet another example, when a third-party AF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, a first message can be sent through the NEF network element. In this case, the first network element can be the NEF network element.

[0012] In this method, at least one set of QoS parameters is the QoS parameters supported by the first network element. The QoS parameters supported by the first network element can be understood as the QoS parameters that meet the requirements of the first network element, and the first network element can ensure the service quality of the service based on the supported QoS parameters. As an example, the QoS parameters supported by the first network element can include the QoS parameters generated by the first network element.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first message can be an analysis subscription / request message. In this implementation, the first network element can send the analysis subscription / request message to the first NWDAF network element through an analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the first message can be a recommendation subscription / request message. In this implementation, the first network element can send the recommendation subscription / request message to the first NWDAF network element through a recommendation subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0015] In this method, after receiving the first message, the first NWDAF network element can determine the first QoS parameters based on the first message, and then send the first QoS parameters to the first network element.

[0016] In this method, the first QoS parameters can include one or more groups of QoS parameters in at least one set of QoS parameters in the first message. The first QoS parameters can meet the requirements of the first network element, avoiding the situation where the recommended QoS parameters generated by the NWDAF network element based on local policies do not meet the requirements of the first network element, resulting in the inability to meet service requirements or execute services.

[0017] In some possible implementation manners, when multiple sets of QoS parameters are included in the first QoS parameter, the second message further includes the priorities of the multiple sets of QoS parameters.

[0018] In this method, the priorities of multiple sets of QoS parameters can be determined based on the service experiences corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the multiple sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the higher the priority corresponding to the QoS parameter with a better service experience in the multiple sets of QoS parameters.

[0019] Optionally, the quality of the service experience can be characterized by the mean opinion score (MOS) of the service experience. The higher the MOS of the service experience, the better the service experience.

[0020] In this method, the first network element can select the QoS parameter with the highest preferred level from among these multiple sets of QoS parameters based on the priorities corresponding to each set of QoS parameters to establish a session, which is beneficial to improving the service quality and thus improving the user experience.

[0021] In some possible implementation manners, the second message further includes the terminal device UE corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter and / or the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters.

[0022] In this method, the UE corresponding to the QoS parameter can be understood as the UE supported by the QoS parameter, that is, the UE can perform services based on this QoS parameter, or in other words, the PDU session established based on this QoS parameter is applicable to this UE.

[0023] In this method, the first network element can determine the UE corresponding to the first QoS parameter based on this second message, avoiding the situation where the UE cannot perform services when the session established based on the first QoS parameter is not applicable to the UE subsequently.

[0024] In some possible implementation manners, the first message may further include an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter meets the optimization target.

[0025] In this method, if the first QoS parameter meets the optimization target, the service experience corresponding to the first QoS parameter is better, which is beneficial to improving the service quality and thus improving the user experience.

[0026] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes: receiving a third message from the first NWDAF network element, where the third message indicates a second QoS parameter, and the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter in the at least one set of QoS parameters that does not meet the optimization target.

[0027] In this method, the first network element determines based on the third message that the first NWDAF network element does not recommend the second QoS parameter, and the second QoS parameter includes the QoS parameter that does not meet the optimization objective, avoiding the problem of poor service experience when the first network element establishes a session based on the second QoS parameter.

[0028] In some possible implementation manners, the third message further indicates the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization objective.

[0029] In this method, the first network element can also determine the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization objective based on the third message, enabling the first network element to optimize the generation of the QoS parameter and avoiding generating some unavailable QoS parameters subsequently.

[0030] In some possible implementation manners, the first message further includes a third QoS parameter and the constraint condition of the third QoS parameter.

[0031] In this implementation manner, the third QoS parameter can be the QoS parameter specified by the first network element, that is, the third QoS parameter can be the QoS parameter specified by the first network element or the QoS parameter that the first network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend.

[0032] In this implementation manner, each QoS parameter in at least one group of QoS parameters among the third QoS parameter and the QoS parameters in the first message can be a different QoS parameter.

[0033] As an example, assume that the third QoS parameter is the packet delay budget PDB, and each QoS parameter in at least one group of QoS parameters can include the bit rate and the packet loss rate PLR.

[0034] As an example, the constraint condition can be the parameter value or the parameter value range that the third QoS parameter needs to meet. For example, the constraint condition can be: PDB is equal to 50 ms, or PDB is less than or equal to 50 ms, or PDB is equal to 50 ms and the bit rate is greater than or equal to 200 Mbps, etc.

[0035] In this method, the value or the value range of the third QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element needs to meet the constraint condition, so that when the first network element establishes a session based on the recommended QoS parameter, it can meet specific service experience requirements, such as meeting the low-latency requirements of latency-sensitive services.

[0036] In some possible implementation manners, each QoS parameter in one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter further includes the third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0037] That is to say, each set of QoS parameters in one or more sets of QoS parameters of the first QoS parameter further includes the value or value range of the third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0038] That is to say, each set of QoS parameters in one or more sets of QoS parameters of the first QoS parameter further includes the third QoS parameter and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter meets the constraint condition.

[0039] As an example, assume that the third QoS parameter is PDB, and the constraint condition of the third QoS parameter is that PDB is less than or equal to 50 ms. And assume that the first message includes two sets of QoS parameters, where the parameters and values of the first set of QoS parameters are: bit rate is equal to 200 Mbps, and packet loss rate is equal to 10- 4 ; the parameters and values of the second set of QoS parameters are: bit rate is equal to 300 Mbps, and packet loss rate is equal to 10- 3 .

[0040] If the service experiences of the two sets of QoS parameters in the first message both meet the optimization target, the first QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element to the first network element includes two sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the parameters and values of the first set of QoS parameters can be: PDB is equal to 50 ms, bit rate is equal to 200 Mbps, and packet loss rate is equal to 10- 4 ; the parameters and values of the second set of QoS parameters can be: PDB is equal to 30 ms, bit rate is equal to 300 Mbps, and packet loss rate is equal to 10- 3 .

[0041] In this method, the QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element also meet the constraint condition, so that when the first network element establishes a session based on the recommended QoS parameters, it can meet specific service experience requirements, such as meeting the low-latency requirements of latency-sensitive services.

[0042] In some possible implementation manners, the first NWDAF network element is an NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0043] In this method, the ability to provide recommendation information may include the ability to provide recommended QoS parameters.

[0044] In this method, it is possible to avoid some unnecessary resource waste when the first network element sends the first message to an NWDAF network element without the ability to provide recommendation information, which is beneficial to improving resource utilization.

[0045] In some possible implementation manners, before sending the first message to the first NWDAF network element, the method further includes: sending a first request message to a network repository function (NRF) network element, where the first request message includes first information for requesting a NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information; receiving a first response message from the NRF network element, where the first response message includes at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information, and the at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information includes the first NWDAF network element.

[0046] Each NWDAF network element in the at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information may register network element related information in the NRF network element, and the network element related information may include information such as network element type, network element address, supported service operations, and whether it supports the recommendation ability.

[0047] In this method, the first network element may select one from at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information as the first NWDAF network element based on the first response message, which can avoid some unnecessary resource waste when the first network element sends the first message to a NWDAF network element without the ability to provide recommendation information, and is beneficial to improving resource utilization.

[0048] In some possible implementation manners, the first network element is a policy control function (PCF) network element or an application function (AF) network element.

[0049] In some possible implementation manners, when the first network element is the AF network element, the method further includes: sending the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element.

[0050] In this method, the PCF network element may establish a session based on the first QoS parameter, which is beneficial to ensuring service quality.

[0051] Optionally, when the first QoS parameter includes multiple groups of QoS parameters, the AF network element may send one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element.

[0052] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) network element. The method includes: receiving a first message from a first network element, where the first message is used to request the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters; determining first QoS parameters based on the first message, where the first QoS parameters are the QoS parameters recommended by the NWDAF network element, and the first QoS parameters include one or more sets of QoS parameters from the at least one set of QoS parameters; sending a second message to the first network element, where the second message includes the first QoS parameters.

[0053] In some possible implementation manners, when the first quality of service parameter includes multiple sets of QoS parameters, the second message further includes the priorities of the multiple sets of QoS parameters.

[0054] In some possible implementation manners, the second message further includes the terminal device corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters.

[0055] In some possible implementation manners, the first message further includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters meets the optimization target.

[0056] In some possible implementation manners, the method further includes: sending a third message to the first network element, where the third message indicates second QoS parameters, and the second QoS parameters are the QoS parameters in the at least one set of QoS parameters that do not meet the optimization target.

[0057] In some possible implementation manners, the third message further indicates the reason why the second QoS parameters do not meet the optimization target.

[0058] In some possible implementation manners, the first message further includes third QoS parameters and the constraint conditions of the third QoS parameters.

[0059] In some possible implementation manners, each set of QoS parameters in one or more sets of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes third QoS parameters that meet the constraint conditions.

[0060] Or rather, each set of QoS parameters in one or more sets of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes the value or value range of the third QoS parameters that meet the constraint conditions.

[0061] That is to say, each set of QoS parameters in one or more sets of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes a third QoS parameter and a value or value range of the third QoS parameter, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter satisfies the constraint condition.

[0062] In some possible implementation manners, the NWDAF network element is an NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0063] In some possible implementation manners, the first network element is a policy control function (PCF) network element or an application function (AF) network element.

[0064] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network repository function (NRF) network element. The method includes: receiving a first request message from a first network element, where the first request message includes first information for requesting an NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information; and sending a first response message to the first network element, where the first response message includes at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0065] In some possible implementation manners, the method includes: receiving a second request message from a second NWDAF network element, where the second request message includes second information indicating that the second NWDAF network element has the ability to provide recommendation information, and the second request message is used to request registration of the second NWDAF network element; and sending a second response message to the second NWDAF network element, where the second response message includes a result indication for indicating the result of registering the second NWDAF network element.

[0066] Optionally, the NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information may include at least one NWDAF network element, and the second NWDAF network element may be any one of the at least one NWDAF network element.

[0067] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including modules or units for implementing the methods in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding functions by executing a computer program.

[0068] As an example, the communication device may include a sending module and a receiving module.

[0069] The sending module may be used to send a first message to a first network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, where the first message is used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend quality of service (QoS) parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0070] The receiving module is configured to receive a second message from the first NWDAF network element, where the second message includes first QoS parameters, the first QoS parameters are QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element, and the first QoS parameters include one or more groups of QoS parameters among the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0071] In some possible implementation manners, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message further includes the priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0072] In some possible implementation manners, the second message further includes the terminal devices corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experiences corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0073] In some possible implementation manners, the first message further includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters meets the optimization target.

[0074] In some possible implementation manners, the receiving module may further be configured to receive a third message from the first NWDAF network element, where the third message indicates second QoS parameters, and the second QoS parameters are QoS parameters among the at least one group of QoS parameters that do not meet the optimization target.

[0075] In some possible implementation manners, the third message further indicates the reason why the second QoS parameters do not meet the optimization target.

[0076] In some possible implementation manners, the first message further includes third QoS parameters and the constraint conditions of the third QoS parameters.

[0077] In some possible implementation manners, each group of QoS parameters among one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes third QoS parameters that meet the constraint conditions.

[0078] Or rather, each group of QoS parameters among one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes the values or value ranges of the third QoS parameters that meet the constraint conditions.

[0079] Or rather, each group of QoS parameters among one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes the third QoS parameters and the values or value ranges of the third QoS parameters, and the values or value ranges of the third QoS parameters meet the constraint conditions.

[0080] In some possible implementation manners, the first NWDAF network element is a NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0081] In some possible implementations, the sending module may also be used to send a first request message to a Network Repository Function (NRF) network element. The first request message includes first information, and the first information is used to request a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0082] The receiving module may also be used to receive a first response message from the NRF network element. The first response message includes at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information, and the at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information includes the first NWDAF network element.

[0083] In some possible implementations, the first network element is a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element or an Application Function (AF) network element.

[0084] In some possible implementations, the sending module may also be used to send the first QoS parameter to a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element.

[0085] This communication device may be applied to the first network element or to a chip in the first network element.

[0086] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including modules or units for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner of the second aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit may implement corresponding functions by executing a computer program.

[0087] As an example, the communication device may include a receiving module, a determining module, and a sending module.

[0088] The receiving module may be used to receive a first message from a first network element. The first message is used to request the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0089] The determining module is used to determine a first QoS parameter based on the first message. The first QoS parameter is the QoS parameter recommended by the NWDAF network element, and the first QoS parameter includes one or more sets of QoS parameters from the at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0090] The sending module is used to send a second message to the first network element. The second message includes the first QoS parameter.

[0091] In some possible implementations, when the first QoS parameter includes multiple sets of QoS parameters, the second message further includes the priorities of the multiple sets of QoS parameters.

[0092] In some possible implementation manners, the second message further includes the terminal device corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0093] In some possible implementation manners, the first message further includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters meets the optimization target.

[0094] In some possible implementation manners, the sending module may further be configured to send a third message to the first network element, where the third message indicates second QoS parameters, and the second QoS parameters are the QoS parameters that do not meet the optimization target in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0095] In some possible implementation manners, the third message further indicates the reason why the second QoS parameters do not meet the optimization target.

[0096] In some possible implementation manners, the first message further includes third QoS parameters and constraint conditions of the third QoS parameters.

[0097] In some possible implementation manners, each group of QoS parameters in one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes third QoS parameters that meet the constraint conditions.

[0098] Or rather, each group of QoS parameters in one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes the value or value range of the third QoS parameters that meet the constraint conditions.

[0099] Or rather, each group of QoS parameters in one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes the third QoS parameters and the value or value range of the third QoS parameters, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameters meets the constraint conditions.

[0100] In some possible implementation manners, the NWDAF network element is an NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0101] In some possible implementation manners, the first network element is a policy control function PCF network element or an application function AF network element.

[0102] This communication device may be applied to an NWDAF network element or a chip in the NWDAF network element.

[0103] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including modules or units for implementing the method in the third aspect and any possible implementation manner of the third aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit may implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0104] As an example, the communication device may include a receiving module and a sending module. Among them, the receiving module may be used to receive a first request message from a first network element, where the first request message includes first information, and the first information is used to request a network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0105] The sending module may be used to send a first response message to the first network element, where the first response message includes at least one network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0106] In some possible implementation manners, the receiving module is further used to receive a second request message from a second network data analysis function network element, where the second request message includes second information, and the second information is used to indicate that the second network data analysis function network element has the ability to provide recommendation information, and the second request message is used to request registration of the second network data analysis function network element.

[0107] The sending module is further used to send a second response message to the second network data analysis function network element, where the second response message includes a result indication, and the result indication is used to indicate the result of registering the second network data analysis function network element.

[0108] This communication device may be applied to an NRF network element or a chip in an NRF network element.

[0109] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, including a processor, where the processor is used to execute the method described in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners therein.

[0110] The device may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the methods described in the above aspects can be implemented. The device may further include a communication interface, and the communication interface is used for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces.

[0111] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, and the computer-readable medium stores program code for a device to execute. The program code includes instructions for implementing the method described in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners therein.

[0112] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when the computer program product runs on a device, enables the device to implement the method described in any one of the first aspect to the third aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0113] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a first network element, a network data analysis function network element, and a network storage function network element. The first network element is configured to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof. The network data analysis function network element is configured to implement the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof. The network storage function network element is configured to implement the method described in the third aspect and any possible implementation manner thereof.

[0114] It can be understood that the effects achievable in the second aspect to the tenth aspect can be referred to the description in the first aspect and will not be elaborated herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0115] Figure 1 Schematic structural diagram of a 5G communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] Figure 2 Schematic flowchart of a method for a NWDAF network element to provide an analysis result to a consumer;

[0117] Figure 3 Schematic flowchart of a method for a NWDAF network element to provide a recommendation result to a consumer;

[0118] Figure 4 Schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] Figure 5 Schematic flowchart of another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] Figure 6 Schematic flowchart of yet another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0123] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0124] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by yet another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0125] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0126] In order to clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with basically the same functions and roles. For example, the first information and the second information are only used to distinguish different information, and do not limit their sequence. Those skilled in the art can understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0127] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally means that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or its similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural item(s). For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a, b, and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0128] The communication method in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a fifth-generation (5G) communication system or a future communication system, such as a sixth-generation (6G) communication system, etc. The present invention does not limit this. Subsequently, the present application will be described by taking the 5G communication system as an example.

[0129] Next, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0130] To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of the present application, first, in combination with Figure 1 describe the schematic structural diagram of a 5G communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 1 shown, the 5G communication system includes a network device and a terminal device.

[0131] The technical solution provided by the embodiments of this application can be applied to wireless communication between communication devices. The wireless communication between communication devices can include: wireless communication between a network device and a terminal device, wireless communication between network devices, and wireless communication between terminal devices. Among them, in the embodiments of this application, the term "wireless communication" can also be abbreviated as "communication", and the term "communication" can also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission", or "transmission", etc. In the embodiments of this application, a communication device can also be referred to as a network element.

[0132] In the embodiments of this application, a network device is an entity used to transmit or receive signals. The network device can include a wireless access network (RAN) device and a core network device.

[0133] The terminal device can be connected to the wireless access network device in a wireless manner, and the wireless access network device can be connected to the core network device in a wireless or wired manner. The core network device and the wireless access network device can be independent different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the wireless access network device can be integrated on the same physical device, or the functions of part of the core network device and part of the wireless access network device can be integrated on a physical device. The terminal devices can be connected to each other, and the wireless access network devices can be connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner.

[0134] A terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. It can be an entity on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals, such as a mobile phone. The terminal device includes handheld devices, in-vehicle devices, wearable devices, or computing devices with wireless communication capabilities. Exemplarily, the UE can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a computer with wireless transceiver functions. The terminal device can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, and so on. The terminal can be widely applied in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal can be the terminal; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal to implement such functions, such as a chip system, a communication module, or a modem, etc. The device can be installed in the terminal. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or can also include chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, taking the device for implementing the functions of the terminal as the terminal and the terminal being the UE as an example, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal device.

[0135] Among them, the radio access network device can be a device that provides wireless communication function services, usually located on the network side, including but not limited to: the next-generation base station (gNodeB, gNB) in the 5G communication system, the next-generation base station in the sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, the base station in the future mobile communication system, or the access node in the WiFi system, etc. The evolved Node B (eNB) in the long term evolution (LTE) system, the radio network controller (RNC), the Node B (NB), the base station controller (BSC), the home base station (for example, home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), the base band unit (BBU), the transmission reception point (TRP), the transmitting point (TP), the base transceiver station (BTS), etc. In a network structure, the access network device can include at least one of a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), and a radio unit (RU). The access network device provides services for a cell, and the user equipment communicates with the base station through the transmission resources (for example, frequency domain resources, or in other words, spectrum resources) used by the cell. The cell can be the cell corresponding to the base station (such as the base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. Here, the small cell can include: metro cell, micro cell, pico cell, femto cell, etc. These small cells have the characteristics of small coverage range and low transmission power and are suitable for providing high-rate data transmission services. The radio access network device can be a satellite, a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, or a relay node or a donor node, a device that provides wireless communication services for user equipment, a wireless controller in the cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, a relay station, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and network devices in future evolved networks, etc.The access network device in this embodiment may also be an open-radio access network (O-RAN) device, which may include at least one of an open-distributed unit (O-DU), an open-central unit (O-CU), and an open-radio unit (O-RU).

[0136] Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the wireless access network device. For ease of description, a base station is used as an example of the wireless access network device in the following description.

[0137] In the present application, the number of wireless access network devices and terminal devices may not be limited. For example, the number of wireless access network devices may be at least one, and each wireless access network device in the at least one wireless access network device may be connected to at least one terminal device.

[0138] In the present application, the wireless access network device and the terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; may also be deployed on the water surface; may also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and satellites in the air. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the wireless access network device and the terminal device.

[0139] The core network equipment may include network data analytics function (NWDAF) network elements, application function (AF) network elements, policy control function (PCF) network elements, network exposure function (NEF) network elements, network slice selection function (NSSF) network elements, access and mobility management function (AMF) network elements, session management function (SMF) network elements, network repository function (NRF) network elements, user plane function (UPF) network elements, operations, administration and management (OAM) network elements, unified data management (UDM) network elements, unified data repository (UDR) network elements, binding support function (BSF) network elements, data network (DN), etc.

[0140] Among them, the NWDAF network element has data collection, training, analysis, and inference functions. It can be used to collect relevant data from network network elements, third-party service servers, terminal devices, or network management systems, perform analysis and training based on the relevant data, and provide data analysis results to network network elements, third-party service servers, terminal devices, or network management systems. The analysis results can assist the network in selecting quality of service (QoS) parameters for services, or assist the network in performing traffic routing, or assist the network in selecting background data transmission strategies, etc.

[0141] The AF network element is mainly used to transfer the requirements of the application side for the network side. For example, QoS requirements or user status event subscriptions, etc. The AF network element can be a third-party functional entity or a functional entity deployed by the operator.

[0142] The PCF network element is mainly responsible for generating UE access policies and QoS flow control policies.

[0143] The NRF network element can be used to provide the registration and discovery capabilities of network elements in the 5G network, enabling network function (NF) network elements to discover each other and communicate through interfaces.

[0144] The NEF network element is located between the 5G core network and external third-party application functions (and may also have some internal AFs), and is responsible for managing the externally accessible network data. When all external applications want to access the internal data of the 5G core network, they must go through the NEF network element. The NEF network element provides corresponding security guarantees to ensure the security of external applications accessing the network, and provides functions such as external application QoS customization capability opening, mobility status event subscription, and AF request distribution.

[0145] The NSSF network element can be used to determine the network slice instances allowed for a UE to access based on the UE's slice selection assistance information, subscription information, etc.

[0146] The AMF network element is mainly used to perform registration, connection, reachability, and mobility management, provide a session management message transmission channel for the UE and the SMF network element, provide authentication and authorization functions when the user accesses, and serve as the access point for the control plane of the terminal and the radio core network.

[0147] The SMF network element is mainly responsible for tunnel maintenance, internet protocol (IP) address allocation and management, UP function selection, policy implementation and control in QoS parameters, charging control collection, roaming, etc.

[0148] The DCCF network element is mainly used to cooperate with the NWDAF to achieve the coordination function of data collection, reduce duplicate data collection, and achieve the formatted processing of data, etc.

[0149] The UPF network element is mainly responsible for the routing and forwarding related functions of user plane data packets in the 5G core network.

[0150] The OAM network element is mainly used to complete the analysis, prediction, planning, and configuration work of the daily network and services, and maintain the daily operation activities such as the testing and fault management of the network and its services.

[0151] The UDM network element is mainly used for subscriber management, access authorization, authentication information generation, etc.

[0152] The UDR network element is mainly used to provide subscription data, policy data, and data related to capability opening, etc.

[0153] The BSF network element is used to implement session binding. Specifically, it is used by the AF network element to address the PCF network element. As an example, when the SMF network element requests policy control from the PCF network element for a session established for a UE, it provides information such as the UE's identifier and user IP address to the PCF network element. The PCF network element registers the binding information (including but not limited to the UE's identifier, user IP address, and the identifier of the selected PCF network element) with the BSF network element. Subsequently, when the UE accesses services on the AF network element through this session, the AF network element may need to request policy authorization from the PCF network element for the services accessed by the UE. The PCF network element selected by the AF network element for this policy authorization should be the same as the PCF network element selected by the SMF network element for this session, because this policy authorization generally triggers the PCF network element to adjust the policy control for the associated session of the SMF network element. The AF network element can query the corresponding PCF network element from the BSF network element based on the user IP address or the UE's identifier, and then directly request policy authorization from the AF network element through the interface.

[0154] The data network is a network used to provide data transmission.

[0155] It can be understood that Figure 1 The shown system architecture is a 5G network structure based on service-based interfaces. This system structure is only an example and does not limit the scope of the communication system of this application.

[0156] Optionally, the communication system may also include a data collection coordination function (DCCF) network element ( Figure 1 not shown in the figure). The DCCF network element is used to cooperate with the NWDAF network element to implement the coordination function of data collection, reduce duplicate data collection, and implement data formatting processing, etc.

[0157] In this communication system, the NWDAF network element can provide data analysis results to a consumer. The NWDAF network element can provide different types of data analysis results to the consumer, such as service experience data analysis results, network performance analysis results, UE mobility analysis results, etc. These different types of data analysis results can be distinguished by an analytics ID.

[0158] As an example, when the analytics ID is service experience, it represents service experience data analysis results. When the analytics ID is network performance, it represents network performance analysis results. When the analytics ID is UE mobility, it represents UE mobility analysis results.

[0159] Figure 2Schematic diagram of a method for a NWDAF network element to provide analysis results to a consumer party.

[0160] S201. The consumer party sends an analysis subscription / request message to the NWDAF network element. This analysis subscription / request message is used to request data analysis results. Correspondingly, the NWDAF network element receives this analysis subscription / request message.

[0161] Among them, the consumer party can be a network function network element in the 5G core network (such as a PCF network element, an NSSF network element, an AMF network element, an SMF network element, a NEF network element, an AF network element, a NWDAF network element, a DCCF network element, etc.) or an OAM network element, etc.

[0162] In this method, the consumer party can send an analysis subscription / request message to the NWDAF network element through the analysis subscription (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe) service operation / analysis request (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request) service operation.

[0163] The analysis subscription / request message sent by the consumer party to the NWDAF network element can include the following parameters:

[0164] List of analytics ID(s): Used to identify the type of analysis results requested.

[0165] Analytics filter information: Represents the usage conditions of the analysis results, such as area of interest (AOI), single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), etc.

[0166] Target of analytics reporting: Can be a specific UE, a group of UEs, or any UE.

[0167] Analytics target period: Represents the time periods for which the consumer party wants to obtain the analysis results.

[0168] S202. The NWDAF network element collects data based on the analysis subscription / request message and generates analysis results.

[0169] In this method, the NWDAF network element can determine the type of analysis results requested by the consumer based on the analysis identifier list in the subscription / request message, and then generate the corresponding analysis results.

[0170] S203. The NWDAF network element sends an analysis notification / response message to the consumer, and this analysis notification / response message is used to indicate the data analysis results. Correspondingly, the consumer receives this analysis notification / response message.

[0171] In this method, the NWDAF network element can send an analysis notification / response message to the consumer through the analysis notification (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify) service operation / analysis response (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request Response) service operation.

[0172] Optionally, the analysis notification / response message sent by the NWDAF network element to the consumer may include the following parameters: data analysis results (i.e., the data analysis results generated within the analysis target period provided for each analysis identifier), the timestamp of analytics generation, the validity period of the data analysis results, and the confidence in the predicted data analysis results.

[0173] In addition, the NWDAF network element can also provide recommendation results to the consumer. For example, the NWDAF network element can provide a back-off timer to the AMF network element, or the NWDAF network element can provide QoS parameters to the PCF network element or AF network element, etc.

[0174] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the method flow for the NWDAF network element to provide recommendation results to the consumer.

[0175] S301. The consumer sends a recommendation subscription / request message to the NWDAF network element, and this recommendation subscription / request message is used to request recommendation results. Correspondingly, the NWDAF network element receives this recommendation subscription / request message.

[0176] Among them, the consumer can be a network function network element in the 5G core network (such as PCF network element, NSSF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NEF network element, AF network element, NWDAF network element, DCCF network element, etc.) or an OAM network element, etc.

[0177] In this method, the consumer can send a recommendation subscription / request message to the NWDAF network element through the Recommendation Subscription (Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Subscribe) service operation / Recommendation Request (Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Request) service operation.

[0178] The recommendation subscription / request message sent by the consumer to the NWDAF network element may include the following parameters: the desired recommendation on a given domain, the observation period [start..end] in the future on which recommendations are requested, the maximum tolerable delay for the provision of the recommendations, the target of event reporting, and event filtering information, etc.

[0179] Among them, the desired recommendation may include the recommendation registered ID in the given domain. The recommendation ID is used to identify which type of recommendation result to obtain. For example, it can be used to identify the QoS parameters of the recommendation or to identify the UPF network element for which the recommendation is obtained.

[0180] Optionally, the desired recommendation may also include optimization goals and constraints per requested parameter, etc.

[0181] As an example, when the consumer wants to obtain the recommended QoS parameters, the optimization goal can be the mean opinion score (MOS) condition of the service experience. For example, the optimization goal can be: MOS > 4.

[0182] The constraints per requested parameter can be expressed as a parameter range. For example, when the consumer wants to obtain the recommended QoS, the parameter range can be: 50 megabits per second (Mbps) < bitrate < 100 Mbps, or 20 milliseconds (ms) < delay < 50 ms.

[0183] The time period indication for providing recommendation results requests the NWDAF network element to provide recommendation results applicable to a specific time period.

[0184] The target for the recommendation results can be a specific UE, a group of UEs, or any UE. For example, when the consumer wants to obtain the recommended QoS parameters and specifies the target as the subscription permanent identifier (SUPI) 1, it means that the consumer wants to obtain the recommended QoS parameters for SUPI 1.

[0185] The recommendation result filtering information represents the applicable conditions for the recommendation results. The recommendation result filtering information can be AOI, S-NSSAI, etc. For example, when the recommendation result filtering information is cell 1, it means that the consumer wants to obtain the recommendation results within cell 1.

[0186] S302, the NWDAF network element generates recommendation results.

[0187] In this method, the NWDAF network element can generate recommendation results based on local policies. The local policies here can be pre-configured locally.

[0188] S303, the NWDAF network element sends a recommendation notification / response message to the consumer, and this recommendation notification / response message is used to indicate the recommendation results. Correspondingly, the consumer receives this recommendation notification / response message.

[0189] In this method, the NWDAF network element can send a recommendation notification / response message to the consumer through the recommendation notification (Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Notify) service operation / recommendation response (Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Request Response) service operation.

[0190] Optionally, the recommendation notification / response message sent by the NWDAF network element to the consumer can include one or more groups of candidate recommendation results. Each group of recommendation results in one or more groups of candidate recommendation results can include a recommendation identifier, a recommended parameter value, or a range of recommended parameters (the vector of tagged parameter recommended values or value ranges).

[0191] Optionally, each set of recommended results may also include the associated impacts (a set of predicted analytics) if such parameters are chosen and a preference order in order to suggest a preference.

[0192] Taking the recommended QoS parameters as an example, when the consumer receives the recommended QoS parameters, it can perform operations based on the recommended QoS parameters.

[0193] However, in this method, when the consumer performs operations based on the recommended QoS parameters, it often fails to meet the business requirements, and may even be unable to perform the operations.

[0194] In the prior art, the QoS parameters recommended by the NWDAF network element to the consumer do not consider the generation logic of the consumer's QoS parameters, but only generate recommended results based on local policies, resulting in the recommended QoS parameters may not meet the requirements of the consumer, causing the consumer to be unable to use the recommended QoS parameters, and thus may fail to meet the business requirements, and may even be unable to perform the operations.

[0195] Therefore, this application provides a communication method to solve the problem that the consumer in the prior art is unable to use the recommended QoS parameters.

[0196] In the technical solution of this application, the consumer can send a first message to the NWDAF network element, and this first message is used to request the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0197] In this method, at least one set of QoS parameters can be the QoS parameters supported by the consumer. The QoS parameters supported by the consumer can be understood as the QoS parameters that meet the requirements of the consumer, and the consumer can ensure the service quality of the operation based on the supported QoS parameters.

[0198] As an example, when the PCF network element requests the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the consumer can be the PCF network element.

[0199] As another example, when the AF network element requests the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the consumer can be the AF network element.

[0200] As another example, when a third-party AF network element requests the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first message can be sent through the NEF network element. In this case, the consumer can be the NEF network element.

[0201] Optionally, the first message may further include an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to the first QoS parameter can meet the optimization target.

[0202] In this method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first message. The first QoS parameter can meet the requirements of the consumer, avoiding the situation where the QoS parameters recommended by the NWDAF network element do not meet the requirements of the consumer and the service requirements cannot be met or the service cannot be executed.

[0203] Next, this application will be combined with Figures 4 to 10 to introduce the solution of this application in detail.

[0204] Figure 4 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of this application.

[0205] S401, the first network element sends a first message to the first NWDAF network element. The first message is used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters. The first message includes at least one group of QoS parameters. Correspondingly, the first NWDAF network element receives the first message.

[0206] In this method, the first network element can be the consumer, and the consumer can be a network function network element (such as a PCF network element, an NSSF network element, an AMF network element, an SMF network element, a NEF network element, an AF network element, a NWDAF network element, a DCCF network element, etc.) or an OAM network element in the system architecture as Figure 1 shown, etc.

[0207] As an example, when the PCF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first network element can be the PCF network element.

[0208] As another example, when the AF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first network element can be the AF network element.

[0209] As yet another example, when a third-party AF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first message can be sent through the NEF network element. In this case, the first network element can be the NEF network element.

[0210] In this method, the at least one set of QoS parameters are QoS parameters supported by a first network element. The QoS parameters supported by the first network element can be understood as QoS parameters that meet the requirements of the first network element. The first network element can guarantee the service quality of services based on the supported QoS parameters. In this embodiment, the QoS parameters supported by the first network element may include QoS parameters generated by the first network element.

[0211] Optionally, the first message may further include an optimization target, which may be a preset condition that the QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element need to meet. As an example, the optimization target may be the MOS condition of the service experience. For example, the optimization target may be: MOS > 4.

[0212] In this method, each set of QoS parameters in the at least one set of QoS parameters may include any one or more of the following parameters: 5G QoS identifier (5QI), allocation and retention priority (ARP), uplink (UL) maximum bitrate, downlink (DL) maximum bitrate, uplink guaranteed bitrate, downlink guaranteed bitrate, uplink maximum packet loss rate, downlink maximum packet loss rate, resource type, scheduling resource priority, packet delay budget (PDB), packet error rate (PER), averaging window, maximum data burst volume (MDBV), etc.

[0213] Among them, 5QI can be a scalar value used to identify the characteristics of 5G QoS. ARP can contain information about priority, preemption capability, and preempted capability. The resource type can include guaranteed bit rate (GBR) and non-GBR. PDB defines the upper limit of the time that a data packet may be delayed between the UE and the N6 endpoint of the UPF network element. PER defines the upper limit of the ratio of packet data units (PDUs) that have been processed by the sender of the link layer protocol but not successfully delivered to the upper layer by the corresponding receiver. Among them, the link layer protocol can include radio link control (RLC) in the RAN of 3GPP access, and the upper layer can include packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) in the RAN of 3GPP access. The PDU can include internet protocol (IP) data packets. The average window represents the duration (in the RAN, UPF network element, or UE) for calculating the guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR) and the maximum flow bit rate (MFBR). MDBV represents the maximum amount of data that needs to be served within the 5G access network (5G-AN) PDB period.

[0214] In this method, the first message can further include the parameter values of each group of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0215] As an example, assume that the at least one group of QoS parameters can include three groups of QoS parameters. Among them, the first group of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: the uplink maximum bit rate is 100 Mbps, PDB is 50 ms, and PER is 10^-4. The second group of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: the downlink maximum bit rate is 80 Mbps, and the resource type is GBR. The third group of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: the uplink guaranteed bit rate is 50 Mbps, and the downlink maximum packet loss rate is 10^-3.

[0216] In this method, the first message can further include the parameter value ranges of each group of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0217] As an example, assume that the at least one set of QoS parameters can include three sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the first set of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: uplink maximum bit rate, whose value range is 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps; PDB, whose value range is 20 ms to 50 ms; PER, whose value range is 10^-4 to 10^-3. The second set of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: downlink maximum bit rate, whose value range is 50 Mbps to 80 Mbps; resource type, whose value is GBR or Non-GBR. The third set of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: uplink guaranteed bit rate, whose value range is 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps; downlink maximum packet loss rate, whose value range is 10^-4 to 10^-3.

[0218] In this method, the first message can also include the combination of the parameter values and value ranges of each set of QoS parameters in the at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0219] As an example, assume that the at least one set of QoS parameters can include three sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the first set of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: uplink maximum bit rate, whose value range is 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps; PDB, whose value is 50 ms; PER, whose value range is 10^-4 to 10^-3. The second set of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: downlink maximum bit rate, whose value range is 50 Mbps to 80 Mbps; resource type, whose value is GBR. The third set of QoS parameters can include the following parameters: uplink guaranteed bit rate, whose value range is 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps; downlink maximum packet loss rate, whose value is 10^-3.

[0220] Optionally, the first message can also include the third QoS parameter and the constraint condition of the third QoS parameter.

[0221] In this method, the third QoS parameter can be the QoS parameter specified by the first network element, that is, the third QoS parameter can be the QoS parameter specified by the first network element or the QoS parameter required to be recommended by the first NWDAF network element.

[0222] In this method, the third QoS parameter and each set of QoS parameters in the at least one set of QoS parameters in the first message can be different QoS parameters.

[0223] As an example, assume that the third QoS parameter is PDB, and each set of QoS parameters in the at least one set of QoS parameters can include bit rate and PLR.

[0224] As an example, the constraint condition can be the parameter value or parameter value range that the third QoS parameter needs to meet.

[0225] For example, the constraint condition may be: PDB is equal to 50 ms, or PDB is less than or equal to 50 ms, or PDB is equal to 50 ms and the bit rate is greater than or equal to 200 Mbps, etc.

[0226] In this method, the at least one group of QoS parameters may also be referred to as candidate QoS parameters.

[0227] In a possible implementation manner, the first message may be an analysis subscription / request message.

[0228] In this implementation manner, the first network element may send the analysis subscription / request message to the first NWDAF network element through an analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation.

[0229] In this implementation manner, the first message may further include an analysis identifier, and the analysis identifier is used to identify the requested recommendation result. As an example, when the first network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the analysis identifier may be a QoS recommendation result.

[0230] Optionally, the first message may further include indication information, and the indication information is used to instruct the first NWDAF network element to generate recommended QoS parameters.

[0231] In this method, the first network element may determine the QoS parameters for which recommendations need to be generated based on the indication information, then generate the recommended QoS parameters, and send the recommended QoS parameters to the first network element, which is beneficial for the first network element to ensure the service quality of the service based on the recommended QoS parameters subsequently.

[0232] In another possible implementation manner, the first message may be a recommendation subscription / request message.

[0233] In this implementation manner, the first network element may send the recommendation subscription / request message to the first NWDAF network element through a recommendation subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0234] The recommendation subscription / request message may include a recommendation result requirement (recRequirement) object, and the object may include a recommendation registered ID.

[0235] Optionally, information such as the QoS parameters supported by the first network element and the optimization target may also be included in the recommendation result requirement object.

[0236] In this method, the first NWDAF network element is a NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information. In this application, the recommendation information ability here includes the ability to recommend QoS parameters.

[0237] In this method, when the first network element sends a first message to a NWDAF network element that does not have the ability to provide recommendation information, some unnecessary resource waste can be avoided, which is beneficial to improving resource utilization.

[0238] Optionally, in some possible implementation manners, a communication system may include multiple NWDAF network elements. In this way, before sending the first message, the first network element may also send a first request message to the NRF network element. The first request message may include first information, and the first information may be used to request a NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information. After receiving the first request message, the NRF network element may send a first response message to the first network element. The first response message includes at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information, and the at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information includes the first NWDAF network element.

[0239] In this method, the first request message may further include any one or more of the following information: service name, target network element type, target network element address, and network element type of the first network element.

[0240] Among them, the service name may include the service name of the first network element sending information to the target network element. As an example, the service name may include an analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation. As another example, the service name may further include a recommendation subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0241] The target network element may be a network element with the ability to provide recommendation information. In this application, the target network element is a NWDAF network element.

[0242] In this method, the first network element may send the first request message to the NRF network element through a network function discovery request (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request) service operation.

[0243] Optionally, the first information in the first request message may be indicated by a parameter.

[0244] Optionally, the second NWDAF network element may pre-send a second request message to the NRF network element. The second request message may include second information, and the second information is used to indicate that the second NWDAF network element has the ability to provide recommendation information. The second request message is used to request registration of the second NWDAF network element. Correspondingly, after receiving the second request message, the NRF network element may send a second response message to the second NWDAF network element. The second response message includes a result indication, and the result indication is used to indicate the result of registering the second NWDAF network element.

[0245] In this method, among multiple NWDAF network elements in a communication system, there may be at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information, and the second NWDAF network element may be any one of the at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0246] Optionally, the second request message may further include information such as network element type, network element address, and supported service operations.

[0247] Optionally, the second information in the second request message may be indicated by a parameter.

[0248] Optionally, the second NWDAF network element may send the second request message to the NRF network element through a network function registration (Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister) service operation.

[0249] In this method, the result indication is used to indicate whether the registration of the second NWDAF network element is successful or failed.

[0250] Optionally, after the NRF network element successfully registers the second NWDAF network element, it may store the registration information of the second NWDAF network element, and the registration information may include information such as network element type, network element address, supported service operations, and whether it has the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0251] It can be understood that the registration information stored by the NRF network element may include at least one registration information, and the at least one registration information corresponds one-to-one with at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0252] In this method, after the NRF network element receives the first request message, it may determine at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information based on at least one registration information. Then, it sends a first response message to the first network element.

[0253] In this method, the NRF network element may send the first response message to the first network element through a network function discovery response (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_RequestResponse) service operation.

[0254] In this method, the first network element may select one from at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information as the first NWDAF network element based on the first response message, which can avoid some unnecessary resource waste when the first network element sends the first message to a NWDAF network element without the ability to provide recommendation information, and is beneficial to improving resource utilization.

[0255] Optionally, in some other embodiments, after the NRF network element determines at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information based on at least one registration information, it may select one NWDAF network element from the at least one NWDAF network element as the first NWDAF network element, and then send a first response message to the first network element, where the first response message includes the first NWDAF network element.

[0256] In this embodiment, the first NWDAF network element may be any one of the one or more NWDAF network elements.

[0257] In this embodiment, the NRF network element may transmit only one NWDAF network element, which is beneficial to reducing the transmission overhead.

[0258] In this method, the NRF network element may send the first response message to the first network element through the network function discovery response (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_RequestResponse) service operation.

[0259] Optionally, the third-party AF network element may also send a first request message to the NRF network element. When the third-party AF network element sends the first request message to the NRF network element, it may send the first request message through the NEF network element. Correspondingly, when the NRF network element sends a first response message to the third-party AF network element, it may send the first response message through the NEF network element.

[0260] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first network element is locally configured with NWDAF network element instance information, and the NWDAF network element instance information may be used to indicate the NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information. In this way, the first network element may not need to send a first request message to the NRF network element, and may determine the first NWDAF network element according to the NWDAF network element instance information.

[0261] S402. The first NWDAF network element determines a first QoS parameter based on the first message, where the first QoS parameter is the QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element.

[0262] In this method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters in at least one group of QoS parameters included in the first message.

[0263] As an example, assume that at least one set of QoS parameters can include three sets of QoS parameters: the first set of QoS parameters, the second set of QoS parameters, and the third set of QoS parameters. Then the first QoS parameter can be the first set of QoS parameters, or the second set of QoS parameters, or the third set of QoS parameters, or the first set of QoS parameters and the second set of QoS parameters, or the first set of QoS parameters and the third set of QoS parameters, or the second set of QoS parameters and the third set of QoS parameters, or the first set of QoS parameters, the second set of QoS parameters, and the third set of QoS parameters. Optionally, the first QoS parameter can also be empty.

[0264] In this method, the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter can meet the optimization goal.

[0265] In a possible implementation method, the method for the first NWDAF network element to determine the first QoS parameter can include: inputting each set of QoS parameters in at least one set of QoS parameters into the local model respectively to obtain the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters, and then determining the QoS parameters whose service experience meets the optimization goal as the first QoS parameter.

[0266] As an example, the local model can be a pre-configured model, and the local model can be used to predict the service experience corresponding to the QoS parameters.

[0267] Optionally, the local model can be trained based on historical data.

[0268] In some examples, the first NWDAF network element can obtain historical information from some network function network elements (such as AF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, UPF network element, OAM network element, etc.), and the historical information can include historical data and the service experience corresponding to the historical data, and then obtain the local model based on the historical information.

[0269] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element can obtain one or more of the following information from the AF network element: application ID, IP filter information, locations of application, service experience MOS, UE ID, and timestamp, etc.

[0270] Among them, the IP filtering information can be used to identify the traffic flow of the UE corresponding to the application. The application location is used to indicate the location of the application and can be represented by one or more data network access identifiers (DNAIs). The UE identifier can be used to identify the UE associated with the MOS of the service experience provided by the AF network element. The timestamp is used to indicate the timestamp associated with the service experience provided by the AF network element.

[0271] In this method, when the first network element is an AF network element, the first network element and the AF network element for obtaining historical information can be the same AF network element or different AF network elements.

[0272] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element can obtain one or more of the following information from the SMF network element: timestamp, data network name (DNN), S-NSSAI, application identifier, DNAI, PDU session type, session and service continuity (SSC) mode, access type, IP filtering information, and QoS flow identifier (QFI), etc.

[0273] Among them, the timestamp is used to indicate the timestamp associated with the information provided by the SMF network element. The DNN contains the DNN of the PDU session of the QoS flow. The S-NSSAI contains the S-NSSAI of the PDU session of the QoS flow. The application identifier is used by the NWDAF network element to identify the application service provider and application of the QoS flow. The DNAI is used to identify the access to the data network (DN) connected by the PDU session. The access type is used to identify the access type of the PDU session. The IP filtering information is used by the NWDAF network element to identify the service data flow and perform policy control and / or differential charging on the QoS flow.

[0274] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may obtain one or more of the following information from the OAM network element: timestamp, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SNIR), uplink / downlink RAN throughput, uplink / downlink RAN packet delay, and uplink / downlink RAN packet loss rate, etc.

[0275] As an example, when the optimization target is the MOS condition of service experience, the output of the local model may be the MOS of service experience. In this example, the MOS of the service experience corresponding to the first QoS parameter meets this MOS condition.

[0276] Optionally, assuming that the QoS parameters that meet the optimization target in at least one set of QoS parameters may include one or more sets, the first NWDAF network element may determine the first QoS parameter from this one or more sets of QoS parameters that meet the optimization target, and the first QoS parameter may be included in this one or more sets of QoS parameters.

[0277] As an example, when there are multiple sets of QoS parameters among the QoS parameters supported by the first network element that meet the optimization target, the first NWDAF network element may determine all these multiple sets of QoS parameters as the first QoS parameter.

[0278] As another example, when there are multiple sets of QoS parameters among the QoS parameters supported by the first network element that meet the optimization target, the first NWDAF network element may select one set of QoS parameters from these multiple sets of QoS parameters and determine it as the first QoS parameter. Optionally, the first QoS parameter may be the set of QoS parameters with the best service experience among these multiple sets of QoS parameters.

[0279] Optionally, the first QoS parameter may also be any one of these multiple sets of QoS parameters.

[0280] As yet another example, when there is one set of QoS parameters among the QoS parameters supported by the first network element that meets the optimization target, the first NWDAF network element may determine the QoS parameter that meets the optimization target as the first QoS parameter.

[0281] Optionally, the number of QoS parameters that meet the optimization objective among the QoS parameters supported by the first network element can be zero, and in this case, the first QoS parameter is empty.

[0282] Optionally, in some implementation manners, when the first message includes a third QoS parameter and the constraint condition of the third QoS parameter, each of one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter further includes the third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0283] Or rather, each of one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter further includes the value or value range of the third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0284] Or rather, each of one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter further includes the third QoS parameter and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter meets the constraint condition.

[0285] In this implementation manner, the method for the first NWDAF network element to determine the first QoS parameter may include: training or updating the local model based on the constraint condition of the third QoS parameter to obtain a first model, and then inputting each of the QoS parameters in at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message into the first model respectively to determine whether each group of QoS parameters meets the optimization objective, and screening out the QoS parameters that can meet the optimization objective from them to obtain the first QoS parameter.

[0286] Wherein, the first QoS parameter includes one or more groups of QoS parameters, and each of the one or more groups of QoS parameters includes the third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0287] In this method, the first model can be used to predict whether the service experience of each of the QoS parameters in at least one group of QoS parameters can meet the optimization objective on the premise that the third QoS parameter meets the constraint condition.

[0288] As an example, assume that the third QoS parameter is PDB, and the constraint condition of the third QoS parameter is that PDB is less than or equal to 50 ms. And assume that the first message includes two groups of QoS parameters, where the parameters and values of the first group of QoS parameters are: bit rate is equal to 200 Mbps, packet loss rate is equal to 10- 4 ; the parameters and values of the second group of QoS parameters are: bit rate is equal to 300 Mbps, packet loss rate is equal to 10- 3 .

[0289] If the service experiences of the two sets of QoS parameters in the first message both meet the optimization objectives, the first QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element to the first network element include two sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the parameters and values of the first set of QoS parameters can be: PDB equals 50 ms, bit rate equals 200 Mbps, packet loss rate equals 10- 4 ; the parameters and values of the second set of QoS parameters can be: PDB equals 30 ms, bit rate equals 300 Mbps, packet loss rate equals 10- 3 .

[0290] In this method, the QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element also meet the constraint conditions, so that when the first network element establishes a session based on the recommended QoS parameters, it can meet specific service experience requirements, such as meeting the low-latency requirements of latency-sensitive services.

[0291] Optionally, assuming that the first QoS parameters include multiple sets of QoS parameters, the first NWDAF network element can determine the priorities of the multiple sets of QoS parameters. The priorities can be represented by serial numbers. For example, serial number 1 represents the highest priority, serial number 2 represents the second highest priority, etc.; or, the priorities can also be indicated by information such as High / Medium / Low. The present invention does not limit the representation method of the priorities. For example, the first QoS parameters include three sets of QoS parameters, namely QoS parameter combination 1, QoS parameter combination 2, and QoS parameter combination 3. The priorities of the three sets of QoS parameters are QoS parameter combination 2: 1, QoS parameter combination 1: 2, QoS parameter combination 3: 3, indicating that QoS parameter combination 2 has the highest priority, QoS parameter combination 1 has the second highest priority, and QoS parameter combination 3 has the lowest priority. Another example, the first QoS parameters include three sets of QoS parameters, namely QoS parameter combination 1, QoS parameter combination 2, and QoS parameter combination 3. The priorities of the three sets of QoS parameters are QoS parameter combination 2: High, QoS parameter combination 1: Medium, QoS parameter combination 3: Low, indicating that QoS parameter combination 2 has the highest priority, QoS parameter combination 1 has the second highest priority, and QoS parameter combination 3 has the lowest priority.

[0292] In this method, the priorities of multiple sets of QoS parameters can be determined based on the service experiences corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the multiple sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the QoS parameters with better service experiences in the multiple sets of QoS parameters have higher corresponding priorities.

[0293] In this method, the first QoS parameters can also be referred to as recommended QoS parameters or recommendation results.

[0294] S403, the first NWDAF network element sends a second message to the first network element, and the second message includes the first QoS parameters.

[0295] In this method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0296] In this method, the first network element may determine the first QoS parameter based on the second message. Since the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters among at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message, the first QoS parameter can meet the requirements of the first network element, avoiding the situation where the service requirements cannot be met or the service cannot be executed due to the first QoS parameter recommended by the NWDAF network element not meeting the requirements of the first network element.

[0297] Optionally, when the first QoS parameter includes multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message may be used to indicate the priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0298] In this method, the priorities of multiple groups of QoS parameters may be determined based on the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters among the multiple groups of QoS parameters. Among them, the higher the priority corresponding to the QoS parameter with better service experience among the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0299] Optionally, the quality of the service experience may be characterized by the MOS of the service experience. The higher the MOS of the service experience, the better the service experience.

[0300] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may also sort the multiple groups of QoS parameters based on the priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters, and then send the sorted multiple groups of QoS parameters to the first network element.

[0301] For example, the first NWDAF network element may sort the multiple groups of QoS parameters in the order from high to low priority or from low to high priority.

[0302] In this method, the first network element may select the QoS parameter with the highest priority from among each group of QoS parameters in the multiple groups of QoS parameters to establish a session, which is beneficial to improving the service quality and thus enhancing the user experience.

[0303] Optionally, the second message may further include the UE corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter and / or the service experience of each group of QoS parameters.

[0304] The UE corresponding to the first QoS parameter can be understood as the UE supported by the first QoS parameter, that is, the UE can execute services based on the first QoS parameter, or the session established based on the first QoS parameter is applicable to the UE.

[0305] Based on the second message, the first network element can also determine the UE corresponding to the first QoS parameter, avoiding the situation where the UE cannot perform services when the session established based on the first QoS parameter is not applicable to the UE subsequently.

[0306] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element can send the second message to a third-party AF network element. When the first NWDAF network element sends the second message to the third-party AF network element, it can send the second message to the third-party AF network element through the NEF network element.

[0307] Optionally, the first QoS parameter, the UE corresponding to the first QoS parameter, the priorities of multiple groups of QoS parameters, and the priorities corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the multiple groups of QoS parameters can also be sent through different messages.

[0308] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element can also send a third message to the first network element, and the third message is used to indicate the second QoS parameter.

[0309] Among them, the second QoS parameter can be the QoS parameter that does not meet the optimization target among at least one QoS parameter in the first message.

[0310] In this method, the first network element determines based on the third message that the first NWDAF network element does not recommend the second QoS parameter, avoiding the problem of poor service experience when the first network element establishes a session based on the second QoS parameter.

[0311] Optionally, the third message can also indicate the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target.

[0312] In this method, the first network element can also determine the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target based on the third message, enabling the first network element to optimize the generation of QoS parameters and avoiding the generation of some unavailable QoS parameters subsequently.

[0313] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element can send the third message to a third-party AF network element. When the first NWDAF network element sends the third message to the third-party AF network element, it can send the third message to the third-party AF network element through the NEF network element.

[0314] Optionally, the third message and the second message can be the same message or different messages.

[0315] In this method, the first message, the second message, and the third message are only names of information / messages and do not limit the scope of this application. In some embodiments, the names of the second message and the third message can be the same. For example, the second message and the third message can be named notification / response message.

[0316] In a possible implementation, when the first message is an analysis subscription / request message, the second and third messages can be analysis notification / response messages.

[0317] In this implementation, the first NWDAF network element can send an analysis notification / response message to the first network element through an analysis notification service operation / analysis response service operation.

[0318] In another possible implementation, when the first message is a recommendation subscription / request message, the second and third messages can be recommendation notification / response messages.

[0319] In this implementation, the first NWDAF network element can send a recommendation notification / response message to the first network element through a recommendation notification service operation / recommendation response service operation.

[0320] In this implementation, the recommendation notification / response message can include a recommendation result (recResult) object, and the recommendation result object can include a recommendation identifier and a first QoS parameter.

[0321] Optionally, the second QoS parameter and the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target can also be included in the recommendation result object.

[0322] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element can also send other parameters to the first network element, such as a UE identifier, a list of time slots (Time slot entry) in a target time period, a time slot start time (Time slot start), a time slot duration (duration), a DNN, an S-NSSAI, a validity period of the recommendation result, a spatial validity of the recommendation result, a confidence level of the recommendation result, etc.

[0323] Optionally, when the first network element is an AF network element or a NEF network element, after receiving the second message, the first network element can also send the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, after receiving the first QoS parameter, the PCF network element can send response information to the first network element, and the response information is used to indicate that the PCF network element has received the first QoS parameter.

[0324] In addition, the PCF network element can establish a session based on the first QoS parameter, which is beneficial to ensuring the service quality of the service.

[0325] In this method, the first QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element to the first network element can be one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first message, and the one or more groups of QoS parameters meet the requirements of the first network element, avoiding the situation that the recommended QoS parameters generated by the first NWDAF network element based on local policies do not meet the requirements of the first network element, resulting in the inability to meet service requirements or execute services.

[0326] Optionally, when the first QoS parameter contains multiple groups of QoS parameters, the AF network element or the NEF network element can send one or more groups of parameters in the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element.

[0327] Next, this application will further introduce the method of this application by taking the first network element as the PCF network element as an example.

[0328] When the first network element is the PCF network element, the communication method can be as Figure 5 shown.

[0329] S501, the PCF network element sends a first request message to the NRF network element. The first request message includes first information, and the first information is used to request a NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information. Correspondingly, the NRF network element receives the first request message.

[0330] In this method, the information included in the first request message can refer to the relevant content in S401, which will not be elaborated here.

[0331] In this method, the PCF network element can send the first request message to the NRF network element through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request service operation.

[0332] S502, the NRF network element sends a first response message to the PCF network element. The first response message includes at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information, and the at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information includes the first NWDAF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the first response message.

[0333] In this method, the method for the NRF network element to determine at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information and the information included in the first response message can refer to the relevant content in S401, which will not be elaborated here.

[0334] In this method, the first NWDAF network element can be any one of the at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0335] In this method, the NRF network element can send a first response message to the PCF network element through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response service operation.

[0336] S503. The PCF network element sends a first message to the first NWDAF network element. This first message is used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and this first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters. Correspondingly, the first NWDAF network element receives the first message.

[0337] In this method, the parameters included in the first message can refer to the relevant content in S401, which will not be elaborated here.

[0338] In some implementation manners, the first message can be an analysis subscription / request message. The PCF network element can send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through the analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation.

[0339] Optionally, the PCF network element can also send indication information to the first NWDAF network element. This indication information is used to indicate the first NWDAF network element to generate recommended QoS parameters.

[0340] In some other implementation manners, the first message can be a recommendation subscription / request message. The PCF network element can send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through the recommendation subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0341] In this implementation manner, the first message can include a recommendation result requirement object, and the parameters included in the first message can be included in this recommendation requirement result object.

[0342] S504. The first NWDAF network element determines first QoS parameters based on the first message. These first QoS parameters are the QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element, and these first QoS parameters include one or more groups of QoS parameters among the at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0343] The method for the first NWDAF network element to determine the first QoS parameters can refer to the relevant content in S402, which will not be elaborated here.

[0344] S505. The first NWDAF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element. This second message includes the first QoS parameters. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives this second message.

[0345] In this method, the first QoS parameters can include one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0346] Optionally, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message can also include the priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0347] Optionally, the second message may further include the UE corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0348] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may further send a third message to the PCF network element, where the third message is used to indicate the second QoS parameters. The second QoS parameters may be the QoS parameters that do not meet the optimization objective in at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message.

[0349] Optionally, the third message may further indicate the reason why the second QoS parameters do not meet the optimization objective.

[0350] In a possible implementation manner, when the first message is an analysis subscription / request message, the second message and the third message may be analysis notification / response messages.

[0351] In this implementation manner, the first NWDAF network element may send an analysis notification / response message to the PCF network element through an analysis notification service operation / analysis response service operation.

[0352] In another possible implementation manner, when the first message is a recommendation subscription / request message, the second message and the third message may be recommendation notification / response messages.

[0353] In this implementation manner, the first NWDAF network element may send a recommendation notification / response message to the PCF network element through a recommendation notification service operation / recommendation response service operation.

[0354] In this implementation manner, the recommendation notification / response message may include a recommendation result object, and the parameters included in the second message and the third message may be included in the recommendation result object.

[0355] In some embodiments, the communication method may not include S501 and S502. For example, when the PCF network element is locally configured with NWDAF network element instance information, the NWDAF network element instance information may be used to indicate the NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information. In this way, the PCF network element may not need to send a first request message to the NRF network element, and the first NWDAF network element can be determined according to the NWDAF network element instance information.

[0356] When the first network element is an AF network element, the communication method may be as Figure 6 shown.

[0357] S601, the AF network element sends a first request message to the NRF network element, where the first request message includes first information, and the first information is used to request the NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information. Correspondingly, the NRF network element receives the first request message.

[0358] In this method, the information included in the first request message can refer to the relevant content in S401, which will not be elaborated here.

[0359] In this method, the AF network element can send a first request message to the NRF network element through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request service operation.

[0360] S602. The NRF network element sends a first response message to the AF network element. The first response message includes at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information. The at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information includes a first NWDAF network element. Correspondingly, the AF network element receives the first response message.

[0361] In this method, the method by which the NRF network element determines at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information and the information included in the first response message can refer to the relevant content in S401, which will not be elaborated here.

[0362] In this method, the first NWDAF network element can be any one of the at least one NWDAF network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

[0363] In this method, the NRF network element can send the first response message to the AF network element through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response service operation.

[0364] S603. The AF network element sends a first message to the first NWDAF network element. The first message is used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters. The first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters. Correspondingly, the first NWDAF network element receives the first message.

[0365] In this method, the parameters included in the first message can refer to the relevant content in S401, which will not be elaborated here.

[0366] In some implementation manners, the first message can be an analysis subscription / request message. The AF network element can send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through the analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation.

[0367] Optionally, the AF network element can also send indication information to the first NWDAF network element. The indication information is used to indicate the first NWDAF network element to generate recommended QoS parameters.

[0368] In other implementation manners, the first message can be a recommendation subscription / request message. The AF network element can send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through the recommendation subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0369] In this implementation manner, the first message may include a recommended result requirement object, and the parameters included in the first message may be included in the recommended requirement result object.

[0370] S604. The first NWDAF network element determines first QoS parameters based on the first message. The first QoS parameters are the QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element, and the first QoS parameters include one or more groups of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0371] The method for the first NWDAF network element to determine the first QoS parameters may refer to the relevant content in S402 and will not be elaborated here.

[0372] S605. The first NWDAF network element sends a second message to the AF network element. The second message includes the first QoS parameters. Correspondingly, the AF network element receives the second message.

[0373] In this method, the first QoS parameters may include one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0374] Optionally, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message may further include the priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0375] Optionally, the second message may further include the UE corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0376] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may further send a third message to the AF network element. The third message is used to indicate second QoS parameters. Among them, the second QoS parameters may be the QoS parameters in at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message that do not meet the optimization target.

[0377] Optionally, the third message may further indicate the reason why the second QoS parameters do not meet the optimization target.

[0378] In a possible implementation manner, when the first message is an analysis subscription / request message, the second message and the third message may be analysis notification / response messages.

[0379] In this implementation manner, the first NWDAF network element may send an analysis notification / response message to the AF network element through an analysis notification service operation / analysis response service operation.

[0380] In another possible implementation manner, when the first message is a recommendation subscription / request message, the second message and the third message information may be recommendation notification / response messages.

[0381] In this implementation mode, the first NWDAF network element can send a recommendation notification / response message to the AF network element through a recommendation notification service operation / a recommendation response service operation.

[0382] In this implementation mode, the recommendation notification / response message may include a recommendation result object, and the parameters included in the second message and the third message may be included in the recommendation result object.

[0383] S606, the AF network element sends the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element can receive the first QoS parameter.

[0384] In this method, when the AF network element sends the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element, it can send the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element through the NEF network element. For example, the AF network element sends the first QoS parameter to the NEF network element through an AF session QoS setting create request (Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create Request) service operation, and the NEF network element then sends the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element through a PCF policy authorization create request (Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create Request) service operation.

[0385] Optionally, when the first QoS parameter includes multiple groups of QoS parameters, the AF network element can send one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element can receive the one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0386] S607, the PCF network element sends response information to the AF network element, and the response information is used to indicate that the PCF network element has received the first QoS parameter.

[0387] In this method, when the PCF network element sends response information to the AF network element, it can send the response information to the AF network element through the NEF network element. For example, the PCF network element sends the response information to the NEF network element through a PCF policy authorization create response (Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_CreateResponse) service operation, and the NEF network element then sends the response information to the AF network element through an AF session QoS setting create response (Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create Response) service operation.

[0388] Optionally, if the AF network element sends one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element, the response message can be used to indicate that the PCF network element has received the one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0389] In some embodiments, the communication method may not include S601 and S602. For example, when the AF network element is locally configured with recommendation information, the recommendation information can be used to indicate the NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information. In this way, the AF network element can determine the first NWDAF network element according to the recommendation information without sending a first request message to the NRF network element.

[0390] Optionally, in some scenarios, when a third-party AF requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, it can interact with other network function network elements through the NEF network element. For example, the third-party AF network element can interact with the NRF network element, the NWDAF network element, and the PCF network element respectively through the NEF network element. In this method, the first network element can be the NEF network element.

[0391] Optionally, the third-party AF network element can send a first message to the NEF network element, and the first message is used to request the recommended QoS parameters. After receiving the first message, the NEF network element can discover the first NWDAF network element from the NRF network element, then send the first message to the first NWDAF network element, and obtain the recommended QoS parameters from the first NWDAF network element. After receiving the recommended QoS parameters, the NEF network element can send the recommended QoS parameters to the third-party AF network element.

[0392] For example, the third-party AF network element can send a first message to the NEF network element through the NEF Analyze Open Subscription (Nnef_AnalyticsExposure_Subscribe) service operation.

[0393] The process by which the NEF network element discovers the first NWDAF network element from the NRF network element can refer to the process by which the AF network element discovers the first NWDAF network element in S601 and S602, which will not be elaborated here.

[0394] The NEF network element can send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through the NWDAF Analyze Subscription (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe) service operation.

[0395] The first NWDAF network element can send the recommended QoS parameters to the NEF network element through the NWDAF Analyze Subscription Notification (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify) service operation.

[0396] The NEF network element can send the recommended QoS parameters to the third-party AF network element through the NEF Analyze Open Notification (Nnef_AnalyticsExposure_Notify) service operation.

[0397] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 7 shown, the communication device 700 may include a sending module 701 and a receiving module 702.

[0398] The communication device 700 may be applied to a first network element or a chip in the first network element.

[0399] As an example, the communication device 700 may be used to implement Figure 4 the method of the embodiment shown. Among them, the sending module 701 may be used to execute S401, and the receiving module 702 may be used to execute S403.

[0400] In one example, the first network element may be a PCF network element. In this example, the communication device 700 may be used to implement Figure 5 the method of the embodiment shown. Among them, the sending module 701 may be used to execute S501 and S503, and the receiving module 702 may be used to execute S502 and S505.

[0401] In another example, the first network element may be an AF network element. In this example, the communication device 700 may be used to implement Figure 6 the method of the embodiment shown. Among them, the sending module 701 may be used to execute S601, S603, and S606, and the receiving module 702 may be used to execute S602, S605, and S607.

[0402] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application. As Figure 8 shown, the communication device 800 may include a receiving module 801, a determining module 802, and a sending module 803.

[0403] The communication device 800 may be applied to a first NWDAF network element or a chip in the first NWDAF network element.

[0404] As an example, the communication device 800 may be used to implement Figure 4 the method of the embodiment shown. Among them, the receiving module 801 may be used to execute S401, the determining module 802 may be used to execute S402, and the sending module 803 may be used to execute S403.

[0405] As another example, the communication device 800 may be used to implement Figure 5 the method of the embodiment shown. Among them, the receiving module 801 may be used to execute S503, the determining module 802 may be used to execute S504, and the sending module 803 may be used to execute S505.

[0406] As yet another example, the communication device 800 may be used to implementFigure 6 The method of the illustrated embodiment. Among them, the receiving module 801 can be used to execute S603, the determining module 802 can be used to execute S604, and the sending module 803 can be used to execute S605.

[0407] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application. As Figure 9 shown, the communication device 900 can include a receiving module 901 and a sending module 903.

[0408] The communication device 900 can be applied to the NRF network element or to the chip in the NRF network element.

[0409] As an example, the communication device 900 can be used to implement Figure 5 the method of the illustrated embodiment. Among them, the receiving module 901 can be used to execute S501, and the sending module 902 can be used to execute S502.

[0410] As another example, the communication device 900 can be used to implement Figure 6 the method of the illustrated embodiment. Among them, the receiving module 901 can be used to execute S601, and the sending module 903 can be used to execute S602.

[0411] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application. As Figure 10 shown, the communication device 1000 includes a processor 1001 and an interface circuit 1002. The processor 1001 and the interface circuit 1002 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1002 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1000 can further include a memory 1003 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1001 or storing input data required for the processor 1001 to run instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1001 runs instructions.

[0412] As an example, the interface circuit 1002 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned sending module 701 and receiving module 702.

[0413] In this example, the communication device 1000 can be the first network element or a chip applied to the first network element.

[0414] As another example, the processor 1001 can be used to implement the function of the above-mentioned determining module 802, and the interface circuit 1002 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned receiving module 801 and sending module 803.

[0415] In this example, the communication device 1000 can be the first NWDAF network element or a chip applied to the first NWDAF network element.

[0416] As yet another example, the interface circuit 1002 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned receiving module 9801 and transmitting module 902.

[0417] In this example, the communication device 1000 can be an NRF network element or a chip applied to an NRF network element.

[0418] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in a hardware manner or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well-known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a network device or a terminal device.

[0419] 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 programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that the computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrating one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive.

[0420] In various embodiments of the present application, without special instructions and logical conflicts, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be cross-referenced. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0421] It can be understood that the various numerical numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The magnitudes of the serial numbers of the above processes do not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a first network element, the method includes: Sending a first message to a first network data analysis function network element, wherein the first message is used to request the first network data analysis function network element to recommend a quality of service parameter, and the first message includes at least one set of quality of service parameters; Receive a second message from the first network data analysis function network element, the second message includes a first service quality parameter, the first service quality parameter is a service quality parameter recommended by the first network data analysis function network element, and the first service quality parameter includes one or more groups of service quality parameters in the at least one group of service quality parameters.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the first quality of service parameters include multiple groups of quality of service parameters, the second message further includes priorities of the multiple groups of quality of service parameters.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The second message also includes the terminal device corresponding to each group of service quality parameters in the first service quality parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of service quality parameters.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first message also includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of service quality parameters in the first service quality parameters meets the optimization target.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The method further comprises: A third message is received from the first network data analysis function network element, wherein the third message indicates a second quality of service parameter, and the second quality of service parameter is a quality of service parameter in the at least one group of quality of service parameters that does not meet the optimization target.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The third message also indicates the reason why the second quality of service parameter does not meet the optimization target.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that The first message also includes a third quality of service parameter and a constraint condition of the third quality of service parameter.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that Each set of quality of service parameters in one or more sets of quality of service parameters in the first quality of service parameters further includes a third quality of service parameter that satisfies the constraint condition.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The first network data analysis function network element is a network data analysis function network element capable of providing recommendation information.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that Before sending the first message to the first network data analysis function network element, the method further includes: Sending a first request message to a network storage function network element, wherein the first request message includes first information, and the first information is used to request a network data analysis function network element having a capability of providing recommended information; A first response message is received from the network storage function network element, wherein the first response message includes at least one network data analysis function network element having the capability of providing recommendation information, and the at least one network data analysis function network element having the capability of providing recommendation information includes the first network data analysis function network element.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The first network element is a policy control function network element or an application function network element.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that When the first network element is the application function network element, the method further includes: Sending the first quality of service parameter to a policy control function network element.

13. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network data analysis function network element, the method comprises: receiving a first message from a first network element, the first message being used to request the network data analysis function network element to recommend a quality of service parameter, the first message comprising at least one set of quality of service parameters; Determine a first quality of service parameter based on the first message, where the first quality of service parameter is a quality of service parameter recommended by the network data analysis function network element, and the first quality of service parameter includes one or more groups of quality of service parameters in the at least one group of quality of service parameters; A second message is sent to the first network element, where the second message includes the first quality of service parameter.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that When the first quality of service parameters include multiple groups of quality of service parameters, the second message further includes priorities of the multiple groups of quality of service parameters.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that The second message also includes the terminal device corresponding to each group of service quality parameters in the first service quality parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of service quality parameters.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that The first message also includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of service quality parameters in the first service quality parameters meets the optimization target.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The method further comprises: A third message is sent to the first network element, where the third message indicates a second quality of service parameter, where the second quality of service parameter is a quality of service parameter in the at least one group of quality of service parameters that does not meet the optimization target.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The third message also indicates the reason why the second quality of service parameter does not meet the optimization target.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that The first message also includes a third quality of service parameter and a constraint condition of the third quality of service parameter.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that Each set of quality of service parameters in one or more sets of quality of service parameters in the first quality of service parameters further includes a third quality of service parameter that satisfies the constraint condition.

21. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 20, characterized in that The network data analysis function network element is a network data analysis function network element that has the capability of providing recommendation information.

22. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 21, characterized in that The first network element is a policy control function network element or an application function network element.

23. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network storage function network element, the method comprises: Receiving a first request message from a first network element, the first request message including first information, the first information being used to request a network data analysis function network element having a capability of providing recommended information; A first response message is sent to the first network element, wherein the first response message includes at least one network data analysis function network element capable of providing recommendation information.

24. The method according to claim 23, characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving a second request message from a second network data analysis function network element, the second request message including second information, the second information being used to indicate that the second network data analysis function network element has the ability to provide recommendation information, the second request message being used to request registration of the second network data analysis function network element; A second response message is sent to the second network data analysis function network element, wherein the second response message includes a result indication, and the result indication is used to indicate the result of registering the second network data analysis function network element.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises functional modules for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Memory and processor; The memory is used to store program instructions; The processor is configured to execute program instructions in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a program code for computer execution, wherein the program code includes instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

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