First node, second node and methods performed thereby for handling resources in a communications system

Abstract

A computer-implemented method, performed by a first node (111). The method is for handling resources in a communications system (100). The first node (111) operates in a communications system (100). The first node (111) obtains (205) a request to allocate a first capacity required for usage of a slice for usage in the communications system (100). The first capacity corresponds to a set of resources. The request comprises one or more first indications indicating a set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications comprise one or more second indications explicitly indicating at least one period of time in the future for the usage. The first node (111) also reserves (207) a set of resources in the communications system (100) required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time. The first node (111) additionally initiates (208) providing another indication of the reserved set of resources.

Description

[0001] FIRST NODE, SECOND NODE AND METHODS PERFORMED THEREBY FOR HANDLING RESOURCES IN A COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to a first node and methods performed thereby for handling resources in a communications system. The present disclosure also relates generally to a second node, and methods performed thereby for handling the resources in the communications system. The present disclosure also relates generally to computer programs and computer-readable storage mediums, having stored thereon the computer programs to carry out these methods.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] Computer systems in a communications network or communications system may comprise one or more nodes. A node may comprise a processing circuitry which, together with computer program code may perform different functions and actions, a memory, a receiving port, and a sending port. A node may be, for example, a server. Nodes may perform their functions entirely on the cloud.

[0006] The communications system may cover a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, each cell area being served by a type of node, a network node in the Radio Access Network (RAN), radio network node or Transmission Point (TP), for example, an access node such as a Base Station (BS), e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g., gNB, evolved Node B (“eNB”), “eNodeB”, “NodeB”, “B node”, or Base Transceiver Station (BTS), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as e.g., Wide Area Base Stations, Medium Range Base Stations, Local Area Base Stations and Home Base Stations, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell may be understood to be the geographical area where radio coverage may be provided by the base station at a base station site. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The telecommunications network may also comprise network nodes which may serve receiving nodes, such as user equipments, with serving beams.

[0007] The standardization organization Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently in the process of specifying a New Radio Interface called Next Generation Radio or New Radio (NR) or 5G-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), as well as a Fifth Generation (5G) Packet Core Network, which may be referred to as 5G Core Network (5GC), abbreviated as 5GC. A network slice may be understood to be a logical network that may serve a defined purpose. Network slices may be understood to comprise multiple slice subnets which in turn may comprise all the network resources that may be required to perform the defined purpose, configured together. The slice subnets may represent the subnetworks in the RAN, Core and Transport domains. It may be possible to have one or more slice subnets in each of the domains. A network slice may be created, changed, and removed by management functions.

[0008] A RAN slice subnet may provide the slicing capability in a Radio Access Network (RAN). The RAN slice subnet may use different mechanisms such as Radio Resource Management (RRM) policies and Quality of Service (QoS). The RRM policies may be applied on the radio resources to provide the dedicated share to the slice subnet. The radio resources may be required only when the data from user traffic may need to be transmitted and received. Management functions may drive some of the capacity management for network slices by allocation and deallocation of resources.

[0009] 3GPP provides a definition of the Radio Resource Management policy concept and modelling in 3GPP TS 28.541 , v. 18.3.1. TS 28.541 , v. 18.3.1 also provides a definition of the profiles as requirements. Profiles may be understood to be the requirements that may be provided to the Management Functions to be fulfilled. For Network Slices, service profiles may be defined, and for Slice subnets, slice profiles may be used. Profile parameters may be derived from Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) Generic Network Slice Template (GST) / NEtwork Slice Type (NEST) Profiles.

[0010] 3GPP in TS 28.531 , v. 18.1.0 has provided a definition of use cases and procedures related to network slices. It has provided a definition of the allocation, deallocation, feasibility checks with or without reservations and few more procedures. 3GPP in TS 28.531 , v. 18.1.0 has pointed to the need for ensuring that the Operations Support Systems (OSS) Management System may need to have the capability to provide the required assurance to the consumers wanting to know the availability of capacity for their respective business cases in the future.

[0011] Management Functions may need to determine the radio resources that may need to be configured for a particular slice that may be requested. In case of core Slice Subnets or Network Slice Subnet Instances (NSSIs), the availability of resources may need to be determined by the management functions to respond back to the consumer about the capacity availability. Management Functions or Management Systems may be understood to manage the Network Functions and the connectivity between them. RRM functionality may be understood as the management by radio network nodes, e.g., gNBs, to manage the resources that may be needed for the traffic movement. It may be based on the present need for handling the traffic. Network Slice provisioning may be understood as the procedure to Life Cycle Manage the Network slices. Network Slice provisioning may create, activate, modify, deactivate and delete network slices. Network Slice provisioning may be based on 3GPP specification and may be driven, for example, by 3GPP TS 28.531 , v. 18.1.0 / 28.532, v. 17.3.0 interfaces and the Network Resource Model as e.g., defined in 3GPP TS 28.541 , v. 18.3.1. In these specifications, the network slice provisioning may be performed by a provisioning Management Service (MnS) that may exist in the Network Slice Instance (NSI) and Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) management layers. The Network Slice requirements that may have been defined by a consumer may be provided by the service profile to the NSI Provisioning MnS and slice profile to NSSI Provisioning MnS.

[0012] Resources are scarce and may need to be efficiently used, particularly RAN resources. The management of allocation of resources to slices according to existing methods may, however, result in inefficiency in the spectrum usage in the radio network.

[0013] SUMMARY

[0014] According to the foregoing, it is an object of embodiments herein to improve the handling of resources in a communications system.

[0015] According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a computer- implemented method, performed by a first node. The method is handling resources in a communications system. The first node operates in the communications system. The first node obtains a request to allocate a first capacity required for usage of a slice in the communications system. The first capacity corresponds to a set of resources in the communications system. The request comprises one or more first indications indicating a set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications comprise one or more second indications explicitly indicating at least one period of time in the future for the usage. The first node then reserves a set of resources in the communications system required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time. The first node then initiates providing another indication of the reserved set of resources.

[0016] According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a computer-implemented method, performed by the second node. The method is for handling the resources in the communications system. The second node operates in the communications system. The second node sends, to the first node operating in the communications system, the request to allocate the first capacity required for usage of the slice in the communications system. The first capacity corresponds to the set of resources in the communications system. The request comprises the one or more first indications indicating the set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications comprise the one or more second indications explicitly indicating the at least one period of time in the future for the usage. The second node also receives, from the first node, the another indication indicating the reserved set of resources in the communications system, required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time.

[0017] According to a third aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a computer-implemented method, performed by the first node. The first node is for handling the resources the communications system. The first node is configured to operate in the communications system. The first node is further configured to obtain the request to allocate the first capacity required for usage of the slice in the communications system. The first capacity corresponds to the set of resources in the communications system. The request is configured to comprise the one or more first indications configured to indicate the set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications are configured to comprise the one or more second indications configured to explicitly indicate at least one period of time in the future for the usage. The first node is also configured to reserve the set of resources in the communications system configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time. The first node is also configured to initiate providing the another indication of the reserved set of resources.

[0018] According to a fourth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by the second node, for handling the resources the communications system. The second node is configured to operate in the communications system. The second node is configured to send, to the first node configured to operate in the communications system, the request to allocate the first capacity required for usage of the slice in the communications system. The first capacity corresponds to the set of resources in the communications system. The request is configured to comprise the one or more first indications configured to indicate the set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications are configured to comprise the one or more second indications explicitly configured to indicate the at least one period of time in the future for the usage. The second node is also configured to receive, from the first node, the another indication configured to indicate the reserved set of resources in the communications system, configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time.

[0019] According to a fifth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method performed by the first node.

[0020] According to a sixth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon the computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method performed by the first node. According to a seventh aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method performed by the second node.

[0021] According to an eighth aspect of embodiments herein, the object is achieved by a computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon the computer program, comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the method performed by the second node.

[0022] By obtaining the request, the first node may be enabled to reserve the set of resources requested in the at least one period of time in the future for the usage.

[0023] By reserving the set of resources, the first node may enable to block usage of the set of resources for another use than for the slice, and refrain from blocking the usage of the set of resources during other periods of time when their use may not be planned or necessary. This may therefore enable that the set of resources may be available for use during the other periods of time, and hence, that the usage of resources, e.g., the spectrum in the communications system may be more efficient.

[0024] By initiating providing the first indication of the determined availability, e.g., to the second node, the first node may enable the second node to then create or configure the network slice, according to the requirements that may have been indicated by the third node. The second node may, for example, create any necessary Network Functions (NFs) or allocate the spectrum for radio resources of the communications network 100.

[0025] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, according to the following description.

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of a communications system, according to embodiments herein.

[0028] Figure 2 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a first node, according to embodiments herein.

[0029] Figure 3 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method in a second node, according to embodiments herein.

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a particular non-limiting example of a communications system, according to embodiments herein

[0031] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a particular non-limiting example of a first node, according to embodiments herein

[0032] Figure 6 is a flowchart depicting a non-limiting example of a method in a communications system, according to embodiments herein. Figure 7 is a flowchart depicting another non-limiting example of a method in a communications system, according to embodiments herein.

[0033] Figure 8 is a flowchart depicting yet another non-limiting example of a method in a communications system, according to embodiments herein.

[0034] Figure 9 is a flowchart depicting another non-limiting example of a method in a communications system, according to embodiments herein.

[0035] Figure 10 is a flowchart depicting a further non-limiting example of a method in a communications system, according to embodiments herein.

[0036] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram depicting aspects of a method in a communications system, according to embodiments herein.

[0037] Figure 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating two non-limiting examples, a) and b), of a first node, according to embodiments herein.

[0038] Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating two non-limiting examples, a) and b), of a second node, according to embodiments herein.

[0039] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] As part of the development of embodiments herein, one or more challenges with the existing technology will first be identified and discussed.

[0041] The requirements for resources in a communications network, in relation to a given capacity for a slice, may be, in some cases, limited to a certain period of time and may need to be reserved.

[0042] There may be use cases where, for example, the request for a slice may be to provide services ad hoc when required to the consumers for a one time use, at some point of time and only for some duration of time, such as, for example, sports events, e.g., on a particular day, and only in the evening. There may be other use cases, such as periodic massive Internet of Things (mloT), where traffic may be generated periodically, in bursts. Such use cases may require slices to transmit and / or receive data periodically and not always, e.g., only during the data bursts. There may be many other use case patterns.

[0043] In such scenarios, the slice profiles may not provide provisions to let the Management Functions know the usage pattern. The resources may therefore be allocated and blocked for the traffic disregarding that the resources may not be needed during periods of time. This induces inefficiency in the spectrum usage in the radio network.

[0044] Embodiments herein may be understood to provide a mechanism which may address the above problems. Since the traffic pattern in use cases such as those just described may be known, embodiments herein may be understood to provide methods that may enable that the number of resources may be reserved only during the time the traffic may be supposed to be generated. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments address one or more of the challenges identified with the existing methods and provide solutions to the challenges discussed.

[0045] According to embodiments herein, in both of the use cases highlighted above, the capacity may be allocated only when needed, so that the radio resources may be available for other use cases when not reserved. To accomplish this, a communications network, via one or more nodes e.g., a Management Function may, according to embodiments herein, provide a service which may hold the responsibility to maintain the resource usage in terms of capacity by reserving the resources, and to also interact with the provisioning system to apply the configurations for allocating and deallocating the resources for the slices. Allocation may be understood as a procedure which may configure and assign resources for the traffic may be sent and received. Reserving may be understood as blocking the resources for one time or periodic future use.

[0046] According to embodiments herein, for use cases where traffic may be generated only periodically, a node, e.g., a Management Function, may keep track of the resource usage, e.g., spectrum and allocate it only when it may be needed for the slices. Nodes, such as e.g., Management Functions, may store and keep track of the information on the spectrum percentage required and when the spectrum may be required. When it may be time for devices in the communications network to generate the traffic, nodes such as e.g., Management Functions, may allocate the required resources using the provisioning interfaces. After the data transmission may be completed, then the resources may be released. These blocks of time and capacity may be tracked by the nodes of embodiments herein, e.g., Management Functions. Thus, these nodes, e.g., Management Functions, may provide the capacity management and allocation functions for network slices. Capacity Management (CM) may be understood to deal with the capacity required in the networks for the traffic to flow without congestion. Capacity management may be involved in allocating the resources for the slices, reserving for future needs, allocating and / or deallocating based on the use cases. For allocation of the resources, capacity management may use the RRM policies in the radio network. Capacity management may be understood to differ from RRM as CM may also include planning and reserving the resources for future requested slices.

[0047] Any new slice request which may be also periodic in data transmission may reuse the resources. This way, spectrum may be reused across different slices.

[0048] Particular embodiments herein may relate to a method to manage the resource capacity in OSS Management Functions for Network Slices.

[0049] The embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples are shown. In this section, embodiments herein are illustrated by exemplary embodiments. It should be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment or example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment or example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description.

[0050] Figure 1 depicts two non-limiting examples, in panels “a” and “b”, respectively, of a communications system 100, in which embodiments herein may be implemented. In some example implementations, such as that depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 1a, the communications system 100 may be a computer network. In other example implementations, such as that depicted in the non-limiting example of Figure 1b, the communications system 100 may be implemented in a telecommunications system, sometimes also referred to as a telecommunications network, cellular radio system, cellular network, or wireless communications system. In some examples, the telecommunications system may comprise network nodes which may serve receiving nodes, such as wireless devices. The communications system 100 may for example be a network such as a 5G system, or a newer system supporting similar functionality, or a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network, e.g., LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), LTE Half-Duplex Frequency Division Duplex (HD-FDD), or LTE operating in an unlicensed band. The communications system 100 may additionally support other technologies, such as Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) TDD, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network, GSM / Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN) network, Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB), EDGE network, network comprising any combination of Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as e.g. Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) base stations, multi-RAT base stations etc., any 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) cellular network, Wireless Local Area Network / s (WLAN) or WiFi network / s, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), IEEE 802.15.4-based low-power short-range networks such as IPv6 over Low-Power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LowPAN), Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), or any cellular network or system. The telecommunications system may for example support a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). LPWAN technologies may comprise Long Range physical layer protocol (LoRa), Haystack, SigFox, LTE-M, and Narrow-Band loT (NB-loT).

[0051] The communications system 100 may comprise a plurality of nodes, and / or operate in communication with other nodes, whereof a first node 111, a second node 112 and a third node 113 are depicted in Figure 1. It may be understood that the communications system 100 may comprise more nodes than those represented on Figure 1.

[0052] Any of the first node 111 , the second node 112 and the third node 113 may be understood, respectively, as a first computer system, a second computer system and a third computer system. In some examples, any of the first node 111 , the second node 112 and the third node 113 may be implemented as a standalone server in e.g., a host computer in the cloud 120, as depicted in the non-limiting example depicted in panel b) of Figure 1. Any of the first node 111, the second node 112 and the third node 113 may in some examples be a distributed node or distributed server, with some of their respective functions being implemented locally, e.g., by a client manager, and some of their functions implemented in the cloud 120, by e.g., a server manager. Yet in other examples, any of the first node 111 , the second node 112 and the third node 113 may also be implemented as processing resources in a server farm.

[0053] Any of the first node 111 and the second node 112 may be co-localized or be the same node.

[0054] Any of the first node 111 and the second node 112 may be network nodes, e.g., running Management Functions.

[0055] The first node 111 be understood as a node that may have a capability to calculate the resources that may be required for a slice, to reserve them and to allocate and / or deallocate the resources during the data transmissions in the network slices. The first node 111 may manage a capacity management service in the communications system 100. As depicted in Figure 1 , a non-limiting example of the first node 111, wherein the communications system 100 may be a 5G network, may be referred to herein as managing a capacity Management MnS. In particular embodiments herein, the first node 111 may have a capability to collaborate with the Provisioning MnS in the Network Slice Subnet Management Function (NSSMF). Since the capacity may be determined by the NSSMF for either the Core or RAN networks, in such particular embodiments, the Capacity Management MnS may be part of the NSSMF.

[0056] The second node 112 may be a node having a capability to provisioning of slices in the communications system 100. The second node 112 may manage a provisioning management service in the communications system 100. In particular embodiments herein, the second node 112 may manage a Provisioning MnS.

[0057] The third node 113 may be a node having a capability to request an availability of resources in the communications system 100 for usage of a slice. The third node 113 may, for example, manage a consumer application.

[0058] The communications system 100 may also comprise a device 130. The device 130 may be also known as e.g., user equipment (UE), a wireless device, mobile terminal, wireless terminal and / or mobile station, mobile telephone, cellular telephone, or laptop with wireless capability, an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), just to mention some further examples. The device 130 in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or a vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and / or data, via a RAN, with another entity, such as a server, a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), or a tablet, a Machine-to- Machine (M2M) device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, e.g., a sensor or a camera, a device equipped with a wireless interface, such as a headset, goggles, a printer or a file storage device, modem, Laptop Embedded Equipped (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), USB dongles, CPE or any other radio network unit capable of communicating over a radio link in the communications system 100. The device 130 may be wireless, i.e., it may be enabled to communicate wirelessly in the communications system 100 and, in some particular examples, may be able to support beamforming transmission. The communication may be performed e.g., between two devices, between a device and a radio network node, and / or between a device and a server. The communication may be performed e.g., via a RAN and possibly one or more core networks, comprised, respectively, within the communications system 100.

[0059] The communications system 100 may comprise one or more radio network nodes, whereof a radio network node 140 is depicted in Figure 1b. The radio network node 140 may typically be a base station or Transmission Point (TP), or any other network unit capable to serve a wireless device or a machine type node in the communications system 100. The radio network node 140 may be e.g., a 5G gNB, a 4G eNB, or a radio network node in an alternative 5G radio access technology, e.g., fixed or WiFi. The radio network node 140 may be e.g., a Wide Area Base Station, Medium Range Base Station, Local Area Base Station and Home Base Station, based on transmission power and thereby also coverage size. The radio network node 140 may be a stationary relay node or a mobile relay node. The radio network node 140 may support one or several communication technologies, and its name may depend on the technology and terminology used. The radio network node 140 may be directly connected to one or more networks and / or one or more core networks.

[0060] The communications system 100 covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, wherein each cell area may be served by a radio network node, although, one radio network node may serve one or several cells. In the non-limiting example depicted in panel b) of Figure 1, the first node 111 may serve a cell 150.

[0061] The first node 111 may communicate with the second node 112 over a first link 151, e.g., a radio link or a wired link. The first node 111 may communicate with the third node 113 over a second link 152, e.g., a radio link or a wired link. The second node 112 may communicate, e.g., indirectly, with the radio network node 140 over a third link 153, e.g., a radio link or a wired link. The radio network node 140 may communicate with the device 130 114 over a fourth link 154, e.g., a radio link or a wired link.

[0062] Any of the first link 151, the second link 152, the third link 153 and / or the fourth link 154 may be a direct link or it may go via one or more computer systems or one or more core networks in the communications system 100, or it may go via an optional intermediate network. The intermediate network may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network; the intermediate network, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet, which is not shown in Figure 1.

[0063] Although terminology from Long Term Evolution (LTE) / 5G has been used in this disclosure to exemplify the embodiments herein, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems supporting similar or equivalent functionality may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

[0064] In future telecommunication networks, e.g., in the sixth generation (6G), the terms used herein may need to be reinterpreted in view of possible terminology changes in future technologies. In general, the usage of “first”, “second”, “third”, “fourth”, “fifth” and / or “sixth” herein may be understood to be an arbitrary way to denote different elements or entities and may be understood to not confer a cumulative or chronological character to the nouns they modify.

[0065] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0066] Embodiments of a computer-implemented method, performed by the first node 111 , will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 2. The method may be understood to be for handling resources in a communications system 100. The first node 111 operates in the communications system 100.

[0067] The communications system 100 may be a Fifth Generation (5G) network.

[0068] Several embodiments are comprised herein. In some embodiments, all the actions may be performed. In some embodiments, two or more actions may be performed. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. A non-limiting example of the method performed by the first node 111 is depicted in Figure 2.

[0069] In Figure 2, optional actions are represented with dashed lines. Action 201

[0070] There may be some use cases that may require a capacity of the communications system 100 for allocation of resources for usage by slices to be known for future needs. A first use case may be where there may be a requirement that may be to allocate a slice, e.g., a network slice, in the communications system 100. A second use case may be where a slice may be required one time at some future period, e.g., the celebration of a sports event concentrating a large group of devices in the communications system 100. A third use case may be that which may require periodic capacity in the network for its traffic, for example, for network slices, where the traffic may be sent and / or received in bursts on fixed intervals and for fixed duration, such as in massive loT. Yet a fourth use case may be that of feasibility checks for future requirements.

[0071] In order to handle the need for network resources in future occasions, such as in the four use cases just described the first node 111 , e.g., the Capacity Management MnS, may need to know the resources that may be available in the communications system 100, to allocate them during an allocation process.

[0072] In this Action 201 , the first node 111 may monitor the capacity of the communications system 100 for allocation of resources for usage by slices.

[0073] The allocation of resources may be understood as a procedure to create and configure the resources that may carry traffic for a specific service.

[0074] The resources may comprise at least one of time-frequency / resources, e.g., radio resources, and computing resources. The resources may comprise any of RAN resources and core network resources.

[0075] The first node 111 may, in this Action 201 , keep track of the capacity available in the data centers or in the radio network per cell, as well as and the usage of it. The first node 111 may also be aware of the services and their capacity needs in its databases.

[0076] The first node 111 may keep track of the capacity used by tracking the resources as they may be being reserved and freed. The first node 111 may perform the monitoring in this Action 201 by using appropriate units which may be referred to as “Capacity Units”. The capacity units may correspond to the smallest unit that an operator may like the system to manage. For example, for radio, it may be, e.g., resource blocks, bandwidth, and for core it may be, e.g., CPUs. These capacity units may be calculated from the resources available in, for example, the radio network node 140, e.g., a gNodeB, for the cell 150. The resource to capacity conversion may be done by a Capacity Management Business Logic function managed by the first node 111.

[0077] In some examples, the first node 111 may have to query other nodes in the communications system 100, or the respective applications for the required information. That is, different data sources which may provide the resource data. This may be performed via a discovery process of the resources in the communications system 100. As a non-limiting example, the first node 111 may initiate, by a scheduler managed by the first node 111, and via an interface gateway and a business logic software module managed by the first node 111, sending discovery scheduling information to a database of service information comprised in the first node 111. The scheduler may be understood as a first functional block managed by the first node 111 that may have a capability to keep track of capacity requirements and trigger capacity allocation procedures for the services that may need the resources to send and receive data. It may also be responsible to trigger the discovery procedures. The capacity requirements may be understood to be the resource requirements that may be then provided to the second node 112, e.g., a provisioning MnS, for allocating the resources for that particular slice. The scheduling information may comprise, but not be limited to, the service details, network details and the resources that may be blocked for a service. In case of discovery, the scheduler may provide the data that may need to be fetched from the data sources. The scheduler may also be used for initiating the configuration of the resources when needed by the communication system 100 to send and receive the traffic, as for example, in the case of periodic bursts of data in mloT cases.

[0078] The Capacity Management business logic software module may be understood as a second functional block managed by the first node 111 that may have a capability to convert the resources to the capacity that it may provide. Based on the capacity type, e.g., Throughput or CPUs, this software module may convert the required capacity into the capacity units considering the resource type. The service Information database may be understood as a third functional block managed by the first node 111 that may have a capability to store all the services that may require scheduling of the allocation and deallocation of capacity, along with the timings during which the scheduler may drive capacity allocation and deallocation procedures.

[0079] The first node 111 may also initiate, by the scheduler, building a request to be sent to the different applications e.g., Element Management Systems (EMS) and Cloud Resource Management applications. The business logic software module managed by the first node 111 may send a request to the interface gateway to fetch the information about the resources and resource types, and may, in return, receive the information from e.g., inventory, cell planning tools, etc. The interface gateway may be understood as a fourth functional block managed by the first node 111 that may have a capability to discover the network information. These interfaces may be used to fetch the network topology and the resource information. The resource data may then be converted to capacity and stored in two dimensional array objects to mark their usage. The interface gateway may fetch the resource information from an Element Management System (EMS), other network nodes, and / or other sources. The resource information may comprise hardware resources such as the CPUs, Random Access Memory (RAM), storage etc., and for radio such as the spectrum that may be available. The business logic software module may then process the data. Processing the data may comprise conversion of the resource capacity to capacity units as defined by the operator. The business logic software module may then store the processed data in a capacity and resource Information database comprised in the first node 111. The capacity and resource Information database may be understood as a fifth functional block managed by the first node 111 that may have a capability to hold and track the capacity allocated. For a radio network, this may be at the cell level.

[0080] The stored information, the list of resources that may be blocked for a service, may then be returned to the scheduler. The scheduler for allocation and deallocation of capacity may then be enabled to interact with the second node 112 via a sixth functional block managed by the first node 111, e.g., interfaces, which may be referenced to herein as interfaces towards the Provisioning MnS, or provisioning MnS interfaces.

[0081] By monitoring the capacity of the communications system 100 for allocation of resources for usage by slices in this Action 201 , the first node 111 may then be enabled to know if there may be resources available to reserve in response to a request for resources in the communications system 100, in a way that the response to that request may be provided with updated knowledge and may therefore be more accurate. The first node 111 may then also be enabled to manage the allocation and deallocation of capacity based on the availability and priority.

[0082] Action 202

[0083] In this Action 202, the first node 111 may receive, from the second node 112 operating in the communications system 100, a first request. The first request may request an availability of a set of resources required for usage of a slice, during at least the one period of time. In other words, the second node 112 may, in this Action 202 ask the first node 111 to check the capacity availability of the communications system 100 for a capacity requirement of the usage of the slice. The second node 112 may have in turn received such request from the third node 113, e.g., a consumer.

[0084] The set of resources may have not been determined at this point yet, that is, not calculated or identified. In this Action 202 the set of resources may refer to those resources which may correspond to the capacity requirement of the slice.

[0085] The first request may be made based on one or more service requirements.

[0086] By the first node 111 receiving the first request in this Action 202, the first node 111 may then be able to determine the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100, and then inform the second node 112 about the capacity availability. Action 203

[0087] In some embodiments, in this Action 203, the first node 111 may determine, responsive to at least the received first request, the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100.

[0088] Determining may be understood as calculating, deriving, checking or similar.

[0089] The set of resources may comprise at least one of radio resources and core network resources.

[0090] The determining in this Action 203 may be performed, for example, by the scheduler managed by the first node 111. The scheduler may get the resources, for e.g., spectrum share, details from the capacity and resource information database managed by the first node 111. The determining in this Action 203 may therefore be based on a result of the monitoring performed by the first node 111 in Action 201.

[0091] By determining the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100 in this Action 203, the first node 111 may then be enabled to inform the second node 112 about the capacity availability and reserve it, if configured to do so.

[0092] Action 204

[0093] In some embodiments, in this Action 204, the first node 111 may initiate providing to the second node 112 a first indication of the determined availability in Action 203.

[0094] Initiating may be understood as triggering, starting, facilitating or enabling. The providing may be performed via the first link 151.

[0095] The first indication may be, for example, a resource list.

[0096] By initiating providing the first indication of the determined availability to the second node 112 in this Action 204, the first node 111 may be enable the second node 112 to then create or configure the network slice, according to the requirements that may have been indicated by the third node 113.

[0097] Action 205

[0098] In this Action 205, the first node 111 obtains a request, which may be referred to herein as a second request, to allocate a first capacity required for usage of a slice in the communications system 100. The slice may be understood to be a network slice. The first capacity corresponds to the set of resources in the communications system 100. The request comprises one or more first indications indicating a set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications comprise one or more second indications explicitly indicating at least one period of time in the future for the usage. The second request may comprise a request to reserve the capacity, that is the set of resources. The second request may contain the date and time on which the slice may use the resources to carry the traffic. This may be the case, for example, in embodiments corresponding to the use case 2, for allocation of the network slice with one-time future resource requirements, the second request may be to allocate the network slice for some period, e.g., a sports event on a particular day.

[0099] Obtaining may comprise receiving, e.g., via the first link 151.

[0100] The one or more first indications may be, for example, comprised in a slice profile.

[0101] Any of the one or more first indications and the one or more second indications may be, for example, attributes in the profiles, e.g., both Service profile and Slice profile. The attributes in the profiles may be understood to provide requirements to create the slices. The profile attribute may need to be extended according to embodiments herein to support one-time or periodic traffic pattern requirements. The attributes that may need to be added may be as defined in the next paragraphs. In some examples, the attributes may need to be added in profile updates for the periodic resource allocation use cases.

[0102] In some embodiments, the one or more second indications from Action 209 may explicitly indicate a plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage. This may be in embodiments which may require periodic capacity in the network for its traffic. For example, for network slices, where the traffic may be sent and / or received in bursts on fixed intervals and for fixed duration.

[0103] The one or more second indications may indicate at least one of the following. According to a first option, the one or more second indications may indicate: a type of one or more traffic flows for which the first capacity may be requested to be allocated. The type may be, for example, always or one-time, for certain duration or periodic. In examples wherein the one or more second indications may be profile attributes, a first second indication may be a traff icFiowType attribute. According to a second option, the one or more second indications may indicate a periodicity of the traffic flows. In examples wherein the one or more second indications may be profile attributes, a second second indication may be a trafficperiodicity attribute. According to a third option, the one or more second indications may indicate a start time of the traffic flows. In examples wherein the one or more second indications may be profile attributes, a third second indication may be a startTime attribute. According to a fourth option, the one or more second indications may indicate a duration of the traffic flows. In examples wherein the one or more second indications may be profile attributes, a fourth second indication may be a Duration attribute. According to a fifth option, the one or more second indications may indicate a recurrence of the traffic flows. In examples wherein the one or more second indications may be profile attributes, a fifth second indication may be a Recurrence attribute. Table 1 provides a non-limiting example of how the profile attributes may be updated with the traf f icFiowType attribute and the trafficPeriodicity attribute.

[0104] Table 1.

[0105] Table 2 provides a non-limiting example of attribute constraints that may be defined for the trafficPeriodicity attribute in the update to the profile attributes.

[0106] Attribute Constraints Table 2.

[0107] Table 3 provides a non-limiting example of additional attributes that may be defined for the trafficperiodicity attribute as «dataType» in the update to the profile attributes. trafficPeriodicity <<dataType>>

[0108] Table 3. Table 4 provides a non-limiting example of attribute properties that may be defined for each of the attributes described so far in the update to the profile attributes.

[0109] Attribute Properties

[0110] Table 4. The second request may be based on the provided first indication in Action 204.

[0111] The first node 111 may then be enabled to block the set of resources for the period that may have been required by the third node 113, that is, the consumer. The first node 111 may refrain from reserving the set of resources for periods of time other than the explicitly indicated at least one period of time in the future. By obtaining the request, that is, the second request, in this Action 205, the first node 111 may then be enabled to reserve the set of resources requested in the at least one period of time in the future for the usage, and therefore refrain from blocking usage of the set of resources during other periods of time when their use may not be planned or necessary. This may therefore enable that the set of resources may be available for use during the other periods of time, and hence, that the usage of resources, e.g., the spectrum in the communications system 100 may be more efficient. Action 206

[0112] In this Action 206, the first node 111 may determine, based on the monitored capacity in Action 201 and the obtained request, that is, the second request, in Action 205, a) the first capacity required for usage of the slice, and b) the set of resources. Capacity may differ from resource in that the resource may be understood to be used to provide the capacity. For example, a frequency of 3Ghz with 10khz slot may be available. This may provide a capacity of 100Mbps bandwidth to the UEs.

[0113] Determining the first capacity may be understood as calculating the first capacity.

[0114] Determining the set of resources may be understood as calculating, and / or identifying the set of resources.

[0115] To determine the first capacity that may be required for usage of the slice may be performed as a function of the number of units that may be defined and the capacity each unit may support. The resources may contain one or more such units. In such cases where the resources may contain more than 1 unit, the usage may be at the resource level.

[0116] The set of resources may be determined in this Action 206 from the capacity needed. For examples, if the slice needs 1Gpbs bandwidth, and 1 frequency with 10khz bandwidth provides 100Mbps, then 10 such slots may be required.

[0117] By determining the first capacity that may be required for usage of the slice and the set of resources in this Action 206, the first node 111 may then be enabled to reserve the determined set of resources requested in the at least one period of time in the future for the usage, and therefore refrain from blocking usage of the set of resources during other periods of time when their use may not be planned or necessary. This may therefore enable that the set of resources may be available for use during the other periods of time, and hence, that the usage of resources, e.g., the spectrum in the communications system 100 may be more efficient.

[0118] Action 207

[0119] In this Action 207, the first node 111 reserves the set of resources in the communications system 100 required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time. In some embodiments, the reserving in this Action 207 may be based on the determined first capacity and the determined set of resources in Action 206.

[0120] To reserve the resources may be understood as blocking the resources for the slice.

[0121] The reservation of the resources may be performed per cell for radio resources, and per hardware resource for core network resources.

[0122] In some embodiments wherein Action 201 may be performed, the reserving in this Action 207 may be based on the monitored capacity from Action 201. In some embodiments wherein Action 203 may be performed, the reserving in this Action 207 may be based on the determined availability from Action 203.

[0123] By reserving the set of resources in this Action 207, the first node 111 may enable to block usage of the set of resources for another use than for the slice, and refrain from blocking the usage of the set of resources during other periods of time when their use may not be planned or necessary. This may therefore enable that the set of resources may be available for use during the other periods of time, and hence, that the usage of resources, e.g., the spectrum in the communications system 100 may be more efficient.

[0124] Action 208

[0125] In this Action 208, the first node 111 initiates providing another indication of the reserved set of resources.

[0126] Initiating may be understood as triggering, starting, facilitating or enabling.

[0127] Another indication may be understood to mean different than e.g., the first indication.

[0128] The providing may be, e.g., to the second node 112, and may be performed via the first link 151.

[0129] By initiating providing the first indication of the determined availability to the second node 112 in this Action 208, the first node 111 may be enable the second node 112 to then create or configure the network slice, according to the requirements that may have been indicated by the third node 113. The second node 112 may, for example, create any necessary Network Functions (NFs) or allocate the spectrum for radio resources of the communications network 100 .

[0130] Action 209

[0131] As stated earlier, the obtained request in Action 205 may be a second request.

[0132] In some of the embodiments wherein the one or more indications from Action 209 may explicitly indicate a plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage, in this Action 209, the first node 111 may schedule, responsive to the obtained second request and based on the reserved set of resources, a provision of the set of resources for the plurality of periods of time. The first node 111 may perform this Action 209 by sending a third request to the second node 112. The third request may request to provision a respective subset of the set of resources for every period of time in the plurality.

[0133] The third request may be a capacity allocation request.

[0134] The scheduling in this Action 209 may be performed by the scheduler of the first node 111. Services may be provided over the slices. For example, a video streaming provider may use a slice to deliver the video content to its subscribers. The service in such an example may therefore be video service. This may be identified by an identifier (ID). This ID may be used to be stored in service information database. The service information and the need for the first capacity may be available to the first node 111, e.g., to the scheduler of the first node 111, in the service information database. The first node 111 may have determined the first capacity according to Action 206 and stored it in the service information database. The NSSI on which the service may be being delivered may also be available in this database. When it may be time for the first capacity to be allocated, that is, when at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, may be to start, the scheduler get at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources, for e.g., spectrum share, details from the capacity and resource information database. The first node 111 may then, according to this Action 209, trigger the second node 112 to allocate the respective subset of the reserved set of resources so that the service may have the capacity the service may need for its operation.

[0135] By scheduling providing the provision of the set of resources for the plurality of periods of time in this Action 209, the first node 111 may be enable the first node 111 to then reserve the set of resources periodically from the available resources for the given capacity, inform the scheduler to trigger allocation of the set of resources during the indicated plurality of periods of time in the future and / or to trigger deallocation of the set of resources during any other periods of time. Hence, the first node 111 may be enabled to block usage of the set of resources for another use than for the slice, and refrain from blocking the usage of the set of resources during other periods of time when their use may not be planned or necessary. This may therefore enable that the set of resources may be available for use during the other periods of time, and hence, that the usage of resources, e.g., the spectrum, in the communications system 100 may be more efficient. The scheduler may periodically in these embodiments own the responsibility to allocate and deallocate the capacity needed by the slice to deliver the service. The scheduler may determine the resources that may provide the capacity.

[0136] Action 210

[0137] During the allocation process of the set of resources, the second node 112 may interact with the first node 111 to allocate and reserve the set of resources that may be required for the at least one period of time. A respective subset of the reserved set of resources may be allocated to each of the at least one period of time. When each period of time may be over, the respective subset of the reserved set of resources may be released.

[0138] In this Action 210, the first node 111 may release at least a respective subset of the reserved set of resources once at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, may have concluded.

[0139] By releasing at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources once at least the respective period of time may have concluded, the first node 111 may enable that the respective subset of the reserved set of resources may be available for use again, and hence, that the usage of resources, e.g., the spectrum, in the communications system 100 may be more efficient.

[0140] Action 211

[0141] In this Action 211 , the first node 111 may send a further indication to the second node 112. The further indication may indicate that at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources has been released, or is to be released once at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded. This may be after the duration required by the service.

[0142] The sending may be performed via the first link 151.

[0143] The further indication may indicate, for example, that the second node 112 may deallocate the requested capacity corresponding to at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources.

[0144] By sending the further indication to the second node 112 in this Action 211 , the first node 111 may enable the second node 112 to then deallocate the requested capacity corresponding to at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources. This may in turn enable that the respective subset of the reserved set of resources may be available for use again, and hence, that the usage of resources, e.g., the spectrum in the communications system 100 may be more efficient.

[0145] Embodiments of a computer-implemented method performed by the second node 112, will now be described with reference to the flowchart depicted in Figure 3. The method may be understood to be for handling the resources in the communications system 100. The second node 112 operates in the communications system 100.

[0146] The method may comprise the following actions. Several embodiments are comprised herein. In some embodiments, the method may comprise all the actions. In other embodiments, the method may comprise two or more actions. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. Components from one example may be tacitly assumed to be present in another example and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other examples. In Figure 3, optional actions are depicted with dashed lines.

[0147] The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first node 111 and will thus not be repeated here to simplify the description. For example, in some embodiments, the second node 112 may be a Provisioning MnS. The first node 111 may be a Capacity Management MnS. Action 301

[0148] In this Action 301, the second node 112 may receive, from the third node 113 operating in the communications system 100, the prior indication. The prior indication may request the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100 required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time.

[0149] Action 302

[0150] In this Action 302, the second node 112 may send, to the first node 111 , the first request. The first request may request the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100 required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time.

[0151] Action 303

[0152] In this Action 303, the second node 112 may receive, from the first node 111 , the first indication of the availability.

[0153] Action 304

[0154] In this Action 304, the second node 112 sends, to the first node 111 operating in the communications system 100, the request to allocate the first capacity required for usage of the slice in the communications system 100. The first capacity corresponds to the set of resources in the communications system 100. The request, that is, the second request, comprises the one or more first indications indicating the set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications comprise the one or more second indications explicitly indicating the at least one period of time in the future for the usage.

[0155] In some embodiments, the one or more second indications may indicate at least one of: the type of one or more traffic flows for which the first capacity is requested to be allocated, the periodicity of the traffic flows, the start time of the traffic flows, the duration of the traffic flows, and the recurrence of the traffic flows.

[0156] In some embodiments, the sent second request may be responsive to the received prior indication.

[0157] In some embodiments, the second request may be responsive to the received first indication.

[0158] Action 305

[0159] In this Action 305, the second node 112 receives, from the first node 111 , the another. The another indication indicates the reserved set of resources in the communications system 100, required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time. In any of the embodiments herein, at least one of the following may apply: a) the resources may comprise at least one of time-frequency resources and computing resources, b) the set of resources may comprise at least one of radio resources and core network resources, c) the reservation of the resources may be performed per cell for radio resources, and per hardware resource for core network resources, d) the first node 111 may manage the capacity management service in the communications system 100, e) the second node 112 may manage the provisioning management service in the communications system 100, and f) the communications system 100 may be a 5G network.

[0160] Action 306

[0161] In some embodiments, the sent request may be the second request and the one or more second indications may explicitly indicate the plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage. In some of this embodiments, in this Action 306, the second node 112 may receive, responsive to the sent request and based on the reserved set of resources, the third request from the first node 111. The third request may request to provision the respective subset, of the set of resources, for every period of time in the plurality.

[0162] Action 307

[0163] In some of the embodiments wherein the sent request may be the second request and the one or more indications may explicitly indicate the plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage, in this Action 307, the second node 112 may provision, responsive to the received third request, the respective subset, of the set of resources, for every period of time in the plurality.

[0164] Action 308

[0165] In this Action 308, the second node 112 may receive, from the first node 111 , the further indication indicating that at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources may have been released or may be to be released once at least the respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, may have concluded.

[0166] Action 309

[0167] In this Action 309, the second node 112may release, responsive to the received further indication, at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources.

[0168] The following Figures 4-10 illustrate different aspects of the embodiments herein with non-limiting examples. In these figures, the first node 111 may be depicted as a Capacity Management MnS and the second node 112 may be depicted as a Provisioning MnS. It may be understood that any of the details described in Figures 4-10 equally apply to other examples of the first node 111 and the second node 112, wherein the first node 111 may be other than a Capacity Management MnS and the second node 112 may be other than a Provisioning MnS.

[0169] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of the first node 111 and the second node 112, according to embodiments herein. In this non-limiting example, the second node 112 is a Provisioning MnS. According to 3GPP TS 28.531 , v. 18.1.0 / 28.532, v. 17.3.0 , the network slice provisioning may be performed by the provisioning MnS that may exist in the Network Slice Instance (NSI) and Network Slice Subnet Instance (NSSI) management layers. The requirements may be provided by the service profile to the NSI Provisioning MnS comprised in a Network Slice Management Function (NSMF) 401 and slice profile to NSSI Provisioning MnS comprised in a Network Slice Subnet Management Function (NSSMF) 402. The service profile may indicate the requirements from the consumer that the slice may need to fulfill. The slice profile may be understood as a requirement set derived from a service profile and may be enriched with domain specific requirements such as for RAN and Core. The first node 111 , in this non-limiting example, may be a Capacity Management MnS comprised in the NSSMF. For RAN NSSI management, the RAN NSSMF 402 may comprise a group of MnS services that may comprise functionality to monitor the service needs for capacity and configure the resources when needed through the second node 112, here, the Provisioning MnS, and functionality for managing the resources for every cell in the communications system 100 through the first node 111. For the first use case described earlier, where the requirement may be to allocate the slice, the provisioning MnS may collaborate with the capacity management MnS to reserve the resources until the end of life of the Network slice. For the second use case, where there may be a one time requirement at some particular period wherein the slice may be required, the second node 112 may receive a request to allocate a slice for a particular period of time. During the allocation process, the Provisioning MnS may interact with the Capacity Management MnS to allocate and reserve the resources required for that particular period of time. When that period is over, the resources may be released and the network slice may be terminated. For the third use case, which may require periodic capacity in the communications system 100 for its traffic, such as for network slices, where the traffic may be sent and / or received in bursts on fixed intervals and for fixed duration, the Provisioning MnS may inform the Capacity Management MnS, 1) to reserve the resources periodically from the available resources for the given capacity according to Action 207, 2) to inform the scheduler to trigger allocation and / or deallocation of resources and 3) the scheduler may periodically own the responsibility to initiate the resource allocation procedure. For the fourth use case concerning feasibility checks for the given requirements and reservation, the third node 113, that is, the consumer of the slice, may only request for a feasibility check with / without resource reservation to the Network Slice Management Function (NSMF) according to Action 301. The Provisioning MnS responsible for the feasibility check may collaborate with the Capacity Management MnS to check, according to Action 202 and Action 302, the availability of the resources for the capacity requirement and reserve it according to Action 207.

[0170] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of the first node 111 as a Network Slice Subnet Capacity Management Service. The first node 111 as a Network Slice Subnet capacity management service may be understood to provide the management of the capacity for resources. The first node 111 may keep track of the capacity at the resource level or the cell level that may be required for slice subnets which may be periodic in nature. The first node 111 may also be able to check and reserve the capacity for future S-NSSAIs blocked during the feasibility check or for provisioned NSSIs. This MnS may be responsible for allocation and deallocation of resources for NSSI. Based on the allocation needs, the first node 111 may trigger the provisioning APIs for allocating and deallocating the resources. Figure 5 particularly illustrates the main functional blocks that may be managed by the first node 111 according to some examples of embodiments herein: the scheduler 501 , the Capacity Management Business logic 502, the Service Information Database 503, the Capacity and resource Information database 504, the Interfaces towards the second node 112 505, e.g., Interfaces towards Provisioning MnS, and the Interfaces to discover Network Information 506. These components were described earlier in Action 201.

[0171] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of embodiments herein, for the use case of allocation of a network slice. Figure 6 illustrates how the first node 111 may be able to interact with the second node 112 to perform actions according to embodiments herein wherein the context of an NSSI allocation procedure according to standardized actions. The details of the signalling depicted within the dashed rectangles, other than the bold arrows going to the first node 111, may be found in 3GPP TS 28.531 Chapter 7 v18.1.0, Figure 7.3-1 for the diagram on the left 501 , and in 3GPP TS 28.531 Chapter 7 v18.1.0, Figure 7.14-2 for the diagram on the right 502, and are only schematically depicted in Figure 6. The second node 112 in the non-limiting example of Figure 6 is a Provisioning MnS, and the first node 111 is a Capacity Management MnS. The request for a network slice may be received by the Provisioning MnS in the NSMF. The request may then be then decomposed into NSSMF allocation requests for the Network Slice Subnets. These procedures may be performed as defined in the 3GPP TS 28.531 Chapter 7 v18.1.0. The feasibility check in the allocation procedure, Step 4 on the diagram on the right 502, with optional resource reservation, Step 5 on the diagram on the right 502, may request, according to Action 302 and Action 202, the first node 111, here the capacity management MnS, to allocate the capacity and return the another indication, e.g., a resource list, to the second node 112, that is, the provisioning MnS. The provisioning MnS may use the resource list to create the NFs or allocate the spectrum for Radio Networks.

[0172] Figure 7 is a signalling diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of embodiments herein according to the third use case 3 described earlier, namely of allocation of a network slice with periodic future resource requirements. That is, a capacity allocation use case. According to such a use case, the first node 111 , a Capacity Management MnS in this example, may, according to Action 209 and Action 207, send the third request to the second node 112, a provisioning MnS in this example, to allocate the resources by configuring them. The third request may be a capacity allocation request. The service information and the need for the first capacity may be available to the first node 111, e.g., to the scheduler 501 of the first node 111, in the service information database 503. The first node 111 may have determined the first capacity according to Action 206 and stored it in the service information database 503. A service may be requested to be delivered over the slice. Hence, the slice may be allocated for the service.- The second request to the first node 111 in Action 205 may be understood to be received by the first node 111 when the second node 112 may request for the first capacity to be allocated for provisioning the MnS. Here, the capacity in hand may be understood to be required. If the request may be for the service to use a slice for periodic traffic flow type, then this information may be stored in the database of the first node 111. The scheduler may monitor this and when the time may arrive for the resources to be allocated, it may initiate towards the second node 112 the third request for capacity. The NSSI on which the service may be being delivered may also be available in this database. When, at 701 , it may be time for a respective part of the first capacity to be allocated, that is, when at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, may be to start, the scheduler 501 may get at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources, for e.g., spectrum share, details from the capacity and resource information database 504. The first node 111 may then trigger the Provisioning MnS to allocate, according to Action 307, the respective subset of the reserved set of resources so that the service may have the capacity it may need for its operation. This may be performed by configuring the reserved set of resources, e.g., the respective subset of the reserved set of resources, accordingly, that is, e.g., the resources may be assigned / allocated to the slice to carry the service traffic. At 702, the second node 112 may return an acknowledgement of successful provisioning. When at least the respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, may have concluded, after the duration required by the service, the first node 111 may, according to Action 210, deallocate the requested capacity, by sending the further indication to the second node 112, which may be received according to Action 308. Responsive to the received further indication, the second node 112 may then, according to Action 309, release at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources. At 703, the second node 112 may then return an acknowledgement of successful release.

[0173] Figure 8 is a signalling diagram illustrating another non-limiting example of embodiments herein according to the third use case 4 described earlier, namely of feasibility checks for the given requirements and optionally, indicated reservation. That is, a feasibility check use case. According to such a use case, the second node 112, a Provisioning MnS in this example, may, according to Action 302 and 202, send the first request to the first node 111 , a Capacity Management MnS, to check the capacity availability for a particular point of time or periodic requirement. The first node 111 may, according to Action 207, reserve the resources if requested by the second node 112. Feasibility checks may be requested for nonperiodic or for periodic network slice traffic patterns. In any case, the feasibility check procedure may interact with the second node 112 for resource availability and securing the resources if reservation is requested. This procedure may be triggered during the allocation of the network slices or by the third network node 113, e.g., the consumer, directly. The third node 113 may send the prior indication requesting the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100 required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time to the second node 112 according to Action 301. Responsive to the receipt of the prior indication, the second node 112 may trigger the design of a NSSI at 801. Based on the slice profile, which may be understood as a set of requirements for a slice subnet, NSSI, the NSSMF may design the network blueprint, which may then orchestrate to create the network slice subnets. Eventually, when all the slice subnets may have been created, the network slice may be created. The second node 112 may, according to Action 302 and Action 202, send the first request requesting the availability of the set of resources required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time to the first node 111. The first node 111 may then calculate the capacity that may be required for the designed NSSI in accordance with Action 203. Next, according to Action 204 and Action 303, the first node 111 may provide the first indication of the determined availability to the second node 112. The second node 112 may then, according to Action 304 and Action 205, send the second request to allocate the first capacity required for the for the usage of the slice to the first node 111. The second request is here a request to reserve the capacity. Responsive to the received second request, the first node 111 may then reserve the set of resources, according to Action 207. The first node 111 may then in return, according to Action 208 and Action 305, send the another indication to the second node 112 indicating the reserved set of resources. Figure 9 is a signalling diagram illustrating a non-limiting example of a provisioning workflow according to embodiments herein. An NSMF Provisioning MnS 901 comprised in the second node 112 may, at 902, send a request to allocate an NSSI and / or create a MOI to a Provisioning MnS 903 comprised in the second node 112. This request may provide the slice profiles as input. The Provisioning MnS 903 comprised in the second node 112 may then process the request to allocate the NSSI at 904. During the provisioning of the network slice, the second node 112 may interact with the first node 111 during the feasibility check. The second node 112 may, according to Action 304 and Action 205, send the second request to allocate resources to the interface gateway 505 of the first node 111 , providing as input the slice profile. The interface gateway 505 may dispatch the second request to the business logic software module 502 of the first node 111, which may then, according to Action 206, calculate the capacity required and identify the set of resources. At 905, the business logic software module 502 of the first node 111 may update the service information accordingly in the service information database 503 of the first node 111. When the feasibility check may be successful, the first node 111 , via the business logic software module 502 of the first node 111 , may go on to reserve the set of resources according to Action 207 in the capacity and resource information database 504. The another indication may then, according to Action 208 and Action 305, be passed as a resource list to the second node 112 to create or configure the network slices, particularly to the Provisioning MnS 903. At 906, the Provisioning MnS 903 may, in case of unsuccessful feasibility check, return an indication to the NSMF Provisioning MnS 901 of the unavailability of the capacity. At 907, the Provisioning MnS 903 may then, with the resource information, continue with the processing of allocating NSSI. When the feasibility check may be successful, the Provisioning MnS 903 may, at 908, return an indication indicating successful completion to the NSMF Provisioning MnS 901

[0174] Figure 10 depicts a flowchart of a non-limiting example of a discovery procedure that may be performed by the first node 111 according to Action 201. As explained earlier, at 1001 the first node 111 may initiate, by the scheduler 501 , and via the interface gateway 505 and the business logic software module 502, sending the discovery scheduling information to the database of service information 503. At 1002, the first node 111 may also initiate, by the scheduler 501 , building the request to be sent to the different applications. At 1003, the business logic software module 502 may send a request to the interface gateway 505 to fetch the data, and may, in return, receive the data at 1004. The interface gateway 505 may be understood as a fourth functional block managed by the first node 111 that may have a capability to discover the network information. These interfaces 805 may be used to fetch the network topology and the resource information. The resource data may then be converted to capacity and stored in two dimensional array objects to mark their usage. At 1005, the interface gateway may fetch the resource information from the Element Management System (EMS) 1006, other network nodes, and / or other sources. The business logic software module 502 may then at 1007 process the data and store the processed data in the capacity and resource Information database 504. The stored information may then be returned to the scheduler 501 at 1008.

[0175] Figure 11 is a two-dimensional graph schematically depicting a non-limiting example of where the capacity units that may be available for usage, in striped rectangles, may be stored for every cell, against the time axis organized in time slots. Such a representation may be managed by the first node 111 to perform the monitoring of Action 201, e.g., by the Capacity Management Business Logic function.

[0176] As a summarized overview of the foregoing, embodiments herein may be understood to relate to Management Functions which may provide capacity management capability for the resources. This may be accomplished by introducing the first node 111 , as e.g., a Capacity Management service (MnS) in the OSS domain. The first node 111 may keep track of the capacity, e.g., spectrum capacity, and the time allocation. The second node 112, e.g., a Provisioning MnS, may drive spectrum allocation and deallocation during the specified time intervals.

[0177] Figure 12 depicts an example of the arrangement that the first node 111 may comprise to perform the method described in Figure 2 and / or Figures 4-11. The first node 111 may be understood to be for handling the resources in the communications system 100. The first node 111 is configured to operate in the communications system 100.

[0178] Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the first node 111 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, in some embodiments, the first node 111 may be configured to be a Capacity Management MnS. The second node 112 may be configured to be a Provisioning MnS.

[0179] The first node 111 is configured to obtain the request to allocate the first capacity required for usage of the slice in the communications system 100. That is, the second request. The first capacity corresponds to the set of resources in the communications system 100. The request is configured to comprise the one or more first indications configured to indicate the set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications are configured to comprise the one or more second indications configured to explicitly indicate at least the one period of time in the future for the usage.

[0180] The first node 111 is also configured to reserve the set of resources in the communications system 100 configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time.

[0181] The first node 111 is further configured to initiate providing the another indication of the reserved set of resources.

[0182] In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the resources may be configured to comprise at least the one of time-frequency / resources and computing resources, b) the set of resources may be configured to comprise at least the one of the radio resources and the core network resources, c) the reservation of the resources may be configured to be performed per cell for radio resources, and per hardware resource for core network resources, d) the first node 111 may be configured to manage the capacity management service in the communications system 100, e) the second node 112 may be configured to manage the provisioning management service in the communications system 100, and f) the communications system 100 may be a 5G network.

[0183] In some embodiments, the first node 111 may be further configured to monitor the capacity of the communications system 100 for allocation of the resources for usage by slices. In some of such embodiments, the reserving may be configured to be based on the capacity configured to be monitored.

[0184] In some embodiments, the first node 111 may be further configured to determine, based on the capacity configured to be monitored and the request configured to be obtained, a) the first capacity configured to be required for usage of the slice and b) the set of resources. In some of such embodiments, the reserving may be configured to be based on the first capacity configured to be determined and the set of resources configured to be determined.

[0185] In some embodiments, the request configured to be obtained may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the first node 111 may be also configured to receive, from the second node 112 configured to operate in the communications system 100, the first request configured to request the availability of the set of resources configured to be required for usage of the slice, during at least the one period of time.

[0186] In some embodiments, the request configured to be obtained may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the first node 111 may be also configured to determine, responsive to at least the first request configured to be received, the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100. The reserving may be configured to be based on the availability configured to be determined. In some embodiments, the request configured to be obtained may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the first node 111 may be also configured to initiate providing to the second node 112 the first indication of the availability configured to be determined. The second request may be configured to be based on the first indication configured to be provided.

[0187] In some embodiments, the request configured to be obtained may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the first node 111 may be also configured to release at least the respective subset of the set of resources configured to be reserved once at least the respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded.

[0188] In some embodiments, the request configured to be obtained may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the first node 111 may be also configured to send the further indication to the second node 112. The further indication may be configured to indicate that at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources has been released or is to be released once at least the respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded.

[0189] In some embodiments, the one or more second indications may be configured to indicate at least one of: a) the type of one or more traffic flows for which the first capacity may be configured to be requested to be allocated, b) the periodicity of the traffic flows, c) the start time of the traffic flows, d) the duration of the traffic flows, and e) the recurrence of the traffic flows.

[0190] In some embodiments, the request configured to be obtained may be configured to be the second request and the one or more indications may be configured to explicitly indicate the plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage. In some of such embodiments, the first node 111 may be also configured to schedule, responsive to the second request configured to be obtained and based on the set of resources configured to be reserved, the provision of the set of resources for the plurality of periods of time by sending the third request to the second node 112. The third request may be configured to request to provision the respective subset of the set of resources for every period of time in the plurality.

[0191] The embodiments herein in the first node 111 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1201 in the first node 111 depicted in Figure 12, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the first node 111. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the first node 111.

[0192] The first node 111 may further comprise a memory 1202 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1202 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the first node 111.

[0193] In some embodiments, the first node 111 may receive information from, e.g., the second node 112, another node, and / or another structure in the communications system 100, through a receiving port 1203. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1203 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in first node 111. In other embodiments, the first node 111 may receive information from another structure in the communications system 100 through the receiving port 1203. Since the receiving port 1203 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1201 , the receiving port 1203 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 1201. The receiving port 1203 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0194] The processing circuitry 1201 in the first node 111 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the second node 112, another node, and / or another structure in the communications system 100, through a sending port 1204, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1201 , and the memory 1202.

[0195] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the units comprised within the first node 111 described above as being configured to perform different actions, may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1201, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0196] Also, in some embodiments, the different units comprised within the first node 111 described above as being configured to perform different actions described above may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1201.

[0197] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the first node 111 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1205 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1201 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1201 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first node 111. The computer program 1205 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1206. The computer- readable storage medium 1206, having stored thereon the computer program 1205, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1201, cause the at least one processing circuitry 1201 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the first node 111. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1206 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1205 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1205 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1206, as described above.

[0198] The first node 111 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate, or an interface unit to facilitate, communications between the first node 111 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the second node 112, another node, and / or another structure in the communications system 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0199] In other embodiments, the first node 111 may comprise a radio circuitry 1207, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1203 and the sending port 1204.

[0200] The radio circuitry 1207 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the second node 112, another node, and / or another structure in the communications system 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0201] Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the first node 111 operative to operate in the communications system 100. The first node 111 may comprise the processing circuitry 1201 and the memory 1202, said memory 1202 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1201 , whereby the first node 111 is further operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the first node 111 , e.g., in Figure 2 and / or Figures 4-11.

[0202] Figure 13 depicts an example of the arrangement that the second node 112 may comprise to perform the method described in Figure 3, Figure 4 and / or Figure 6-Figure 9. The second node 112 may be understood to be for handling the resources in the communications system 100. The second node 112 may be configured to operate in the communications system 100.

[0203] Several embodiments are comprised herein. It should be noted that the examples herein are not mutually exclusive. One or more embodiments may be combined, where applicable. All possible combinations are not described to simplify the description. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art how those components may be used in the other exemplary embodiments. The detailed description of some of the following corresponds to the same references provided above, in relation to the actions described for the second node 111 and will thus not be repeated here. For example, in some embodiments, the first node 111 may be configured to be a Capacity Management MnS. The second node 112 may be configured to be a Provisioning MnS.

[0204] The second node 112 is configured to send, to the first node 111 configured to operate in the communications system 100, the request to allocate the first capacity required for usage of the slice for usage in the communications system 100. The first capacity corresponds to th set of resources in the communications system 100. The request is configured to comprise the one or more first indications configured to indicate the set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice. The one or more first indications are configured to comprise the one or more second indications explicitly configured to indicate the at least one period of time in the future for the usage.

[0205] The second node 112 is also configured to receive, from the first node 111 , the another indication configured to indicate the reserved set of resources in the communications system 100, configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time.

[0206] In some embodiments, at least one of the following may apply: a) the resources may be configured to comprise at least the one of time-frequency / resources and computing resources, b) the set of resources may be configured to comprise at least the one of the radio resources and the core network resources, c) the reservation of the resources may be configured to be performed per cell for radio resources, and per hardware resource for core network resources, d) the first node 111 may be configured to manage the capacity management service in the communications system 100, e) the second node 112 may be configured to manage the provisioning management service in the communications system 100, and f) the communications system 100 may be a 5G network.

[0207] In some embodiments, the request may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the second node 112 may be further configured to receive, from the third node 113 configured to operate in the communications system 100, the prior indication configured to request the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100 configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time. The second request configured to be sent may be configured to be responsive to the prior indication configured to be received.

[0208] In some embodiments, the request may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the second node 112 may be further configured to send, to the first node 111 , the first request configured to request the availability of the set of resources in the communications system 100 configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time. In some embodiments, the request may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the second node 112 may be further configured to receive, from the first node 111 , the first indication of the availability. The second request may be configured to be responsive to the first indication configured to be received.

[0209] In some embodiments, the request may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the second node 112 may be further configured to receive, from the first node 111 , the further indication configured to indicate that at least the respective subset of the set of resources configured to be reserved has been released or is to be released once at least the respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded.

[0210] In some embodiments, the request may be configured to be the second request. In some of such embodiments, the second node 112 may be further configured to release, responsive to the further indication configured to be received, at least the respective subset of the set of resources configured to be reserved.

[0211] In some embodiments, the request configured to be sent may be configured to be the second request and the one or more second indications may be configured to explicitly indicate the plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage. In some of such embodiments, the second node 112 may be further configured to receive, responsive to the request configured to be sent and based on the set of resources configured to be reserved, the third request from the first node 111. The third request may be configured to request to provision the respective subset, of the set of resources, for every period of time in the plurality.

[0212] In some embodiments, the request configured to be sent may be configured to be the second request and the one or more second indications may be configured to explicitly indicate the plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage. In some of such embodiments, the second node 112 may be further configured to provision, responsive to the third request configured to be received, the respective subset, of the set of resources, for every period of time in the plurality.

[0213] In some embodiments, the one or more second indications may be configured to indicate at least one of: a) the type of one or more traffic flows for which the first capacity may be configured to be requested to be allocated, b) the periodicity of the traffic flows, c) the start time of the traffic flows, d) the duration of the traffic flows, and e) the recurrence of the traffic flows.

[0214] The embodiments herein in the second node 112 may be implemented through one or more processors, such as a processing circuitry 1301 in the second node 112 depicted in Figure 13, together with computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. A processor, as used herein, may be understood to be a hardware component. The program code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing the embodiments herein when being loaded into the second node 112. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the second node 112.

[0215] The second node 112 may further comprise a memory 1302 comprising one or more memory units. The memory 1302 is arranged to be used to store obtained information, store data, configurations, schedulings, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein when being executed in the second node 112.

[0216] In some embodiments, the second node 112 may receive information from, e.g., the first node 111 , another node, and / or another structure in the communications system 100, through a receiving port 1303. In some embodiments, the receiving port 1303 may be, for example, connected to one or more antennas in second node 112. In other embodiments, the second node 112 may receive information from another structure in the communications system 100 through the receiving port 1303. Since the receiving port 1303 may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1301 , the receiving port 1303 may then send the received information to the processing circuitry 1301. The receiving port 1303 may also be configured to receive other information.

[0217] The processing circuitry 1301 in the second node 112 may be further configured to transmit or send information to e.g., the first node 111, another node, and / or another structure in the communications system 100, through a sending port 1304, which may be in communication with the processing circuitry 1301 , and the memory 1302.

[0218] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the units comprised within the second node 112 described above as being configured to perform different actions, may refer to a combination of analog and digital circuits, and / or one or more processors configured with software and / or firmware, e.g., stored in memory, that, when executed by the one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1301, perform as described above. One or more of these processors, as well as the other digital hardware, may be included in a single Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or several processors and various digital hardware may be distributed among several separate components, whether individually packaged or assembled into a System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

[0219] Also, in some embodiments, the different units comprised within the second node 112 described above as being configured to perform different actions described above may be implemented as one or more applications running on one or more processors such as the processing circuitry 1301.

[0220] Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for the second node 112 may be respectively implemented by means of a computer program 1305 product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1301 , cause the at least one processing circuitry 1301 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second node 112. The computer program 1305 product may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium 1306. The computer- readable storage medium 1306, having stored thereon the computer program 1305, may comprise instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuitry 1301, cause the at least one processing circuitry 1301 to carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the second node 112. In some embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1306 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a CD ROM disc, or a memory stick. In other embodiments, the computer program 1305 product may be stored on a carrier containing the computer program 1305 just described, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or the computer-readable storage medium 1306, as described above.

[0221] The second node 112 may comprise a communication interface configured to facilitate, or an interface unit to facilitate, communications between the second node 112 and other nodes or devices, e.g., the first node 111 , another node, and / or another structure in the communications system 100. The interface may, for example, include a transceiver configured to transmit and receive radio signals over an air interface in accordance with a suitable standard.

[0222] In other embodiments, the second node 112 may comprise a radio circuitry 1307, which may comprise e.g., the receiving port 1303 and the sending port 1304.

[0223] The radio circuitry 1307 may be configured to set up and maintain at least a wireless connection with the first node 111, another node, and / or another structure in the communications system 100. Circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0224] Hence, embodiments herein also relate to the second node 112, operative to operate in the communications system 100. The second node 112 may comprise the processing circuitry 1301 and the memory 1302, said memory 1302 containing instructions executable by said processing circuitry 1301, whereby the second node 112 is further operative to perform the actions described herein in relation to the second node 112, e.g., in Figure 3, Figure 4 and / or Figure 6-Figure 9.

[0225] When using the word "comprise" or “comprising”, it shall be interpreted as non- limiting, i.e., meaning "consist at least of".

[0226] The embodiments herein are not limited to the above-described preferred embodiments. Various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the above embodiments should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention. Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and / or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0227] As used herein, the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “and” term, may be understood to mean that only one of the list of alternatives may apply, more than one of the list of alternatives may apply or all of the list of alternatives may apply. This expression may be understood to be equivalent to the expression “at least one of:” followed by a list of alternatives separated by commas, and wherein the last alternative is preceded by the “or” term.

[0228] Any of the terms processor and circuitry may be understood herein as a hardware component.

[0229] As used herein, the expression “in some embodiments” has been used to indicate that the features of the embodiment described may be combined with any other embodiment or example disclosed herein.

[0230] As used herein, the expression “in some examples” has been used to indicate that the features of the example described may be combined with any other embodiment or example disclosed herein.

[0231] REFERENCES

[0232] 1. 5G Network Resource Model (NRM): 3GPP TS 28.541 V18.2.1

[0233] 2. Management and orchestration; Provisioning: 3GPP TS 28.531 V18.1.0

[0234] 3. System architecture for the 5G System (5GS): 3GPP TS 23.501 V18.0.0

[0235] 4. Management and orchestration; Concepts, use cases and requirements: 28.530 V17.3.0

[0236] 5. Management and orchestration; Architecture framework: 28.533 V17.2.0

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A computer-implemented method performed by a first node (111), the method being for handling resources in a communications system (100), the first node (111) operating in the communications system (100), and the method comprising:- obtaining (205) a request to allocate a first capacity required for usage of a slice in the communications system (100), the first capacity corresponding to a set of resources in the communications system (100), the request comprising one or more first indications indicating a set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice, and the one or more first indications comprising one or more second indications explicitly indicating at least one period of time in the future for the usage, and- reserving (207) a set of resources in the communications system (100) required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time, and- initiating (208) providing another indication of the reserved set of resources.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:- monitoring (201) a capacity of the communications system (100) for allocation of the resources for usage by slices, and wherein the reserving (207) is based on the monitored capacity.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:- determining (206), based on the monitored capacity and the obtained request, a) the first capacity required for usage of the slice and b) the set of resources, and wherein the reserving (207) is based on the determined first capacity and the determined set of resources.

4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the obtained request is a second request and wherein the method further comprises at least one of:- receiving (202), from a second node (112) operating in the communications system (100), a first request requesting an availability of the set of resources required for usage of the slice, during at least the one period of time,- determining (203), responsive to at least the received first request, the availability of the set of resources in the communications system (100), and wherein the reserving (207) is based on the determined availability,- initiating (204) providing to the second node (112) a first indication of the determined availability, and wherein the second request is based on the provided first indication,- releasing (210) at least a respective subset of the reserved set of resources once at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded, and- sending (211) a further indication to the second node (112), the further indication indicating that at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources has been released or is to be released once at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded.

5. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein the one or more second indications indicate at least one of:- a type of one or more traffic flows for which the first capacity is requested to be allocated,- a periodicity of the traffic flows,- a start time of the traffic flows,- a duration of the traffic flows, and- a recurrence of the traffic flows.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the obtained request is a second request and wherein the one or more second indications explicitly indicate a plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage, and wherein the method further comprises:- scheduling (209), responsive to the obtained second request and based on the reserved set of resources, a provision of the set of resources for the plurality of periods of time by sending a third request to the second node (112), the third request requesting to provision a respective subset of the set of resources for every period of time in the plurality.

7. The method according any of claims 4 or 6, wherein at least one of: a. the resources comprise at least one of time-frequency / resources and computing resources, b. the set of resources comprises at least one of radio resources and core network resources, c. the reservation of the resources is performed per cell for radio resources, and per hardware resource for core network resources,d. the first node (111) manages a capacity management service in the communications system (100), e. the second node (112) manages a provisioning management service in the communications system (100), and f. the communications system (100) is a Fifth Generation, 5G, network.

8. A computer-implemented method performed by a second node (112), the method being for handling resources in a communications system (100), the second node (112) operating in the communications system (100), and the method comprising:- sending (304), to a first node (111) operating in the communications system (100), a request to allocate a first capacity required for usage of a slice in the communications system (100), the first capacity corresponding to a set of resources in the communications system (100), the request comprising one or more first indications indicating a set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice, and the one or more first indications comprising one or more second indications explicitly indicating at least one period of time in the future for the usage, and- receiving (305), from the first node (111), another indication indicating a reserved set of resources in the communications system (100), required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the request is a second request and wherein the method further comprises at least one of:- receiving (301), from a third node (113) operating in the communications system (100), a prior indication requesting an availability of the set of resources in the communications system (100) required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time, and wherein the sent second request is responsive to the received prior indication,- sending (302), to the first node (111), a first request requesting the availability of the set of resources in the communications system (100) required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time,- receiving (303), from the first node (111), a first indication of the availability, and wherein the second request is responsive to the received first indication,- receiving (308), from the first node (111), a further indication indicating that at least a respective subset of the reserved set of resources has been released or is to be released once at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded, andreleasing (309), responsive to the received further indication, at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources.

10. The method according to any of claims 8-9, wherein the sent request is a second request and wherein the one or more second indications explicitly indicate a plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage, and wherein the method further comprises:- receiving (306), responsive to the sent request and based on the reserved set of resources, a third request from the first node (111), the third request requesting to provision a respective subset, of the set of resources, for every period of time in the plurality, and- provisioning (307), responsive to the received third request, the respective subset, of the set of resources, for every period of time in the plurality.

11. The method according to any of claims 8-10, wherein the one or more second indications indicate at least one of:- a type of one or more traffic flows for which the first capacity is requested to be allocated,- a periodicity of the traffic flows,- a start time of the traffic flows,- a duration of the traffic flows, and- a recurrence of the traffic flows.

12. The method according any of claims 8-11, wherein at least one of: a. the resources comprise at least one of time-frequency resources and computing resources, b. the set of resources comprises at least one of radio resources and core network resources, c. the reservation of the resources is performed per cell for radio resources, and per hardware resource for core network resources, d. the first node (111) manages a capacity management service in the communications system (100), e. the second node (112) manages a provisioning management service in the communications system (100), and f. the communications system (100) is a Fifth Generation, 5G, network.

13. A first node (111), for handling resources in a communications system (100), the first node (111) being configured to operate in the communications system (100), and the first node (111) being further configured to:- obtain a request to allocate a first capacity required for usage of a slice in the communications system (100), the first capacity corresponding to a set of resources in the communications system (100), the request being configured to comprise one or more first indications configured to indicate a set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice, and the one or more first indications being configured to comprise one or more second indications configured to explicitly indicate at least one period of time in the future for the usage, and- reserve a set of resources in the communications system (100) configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time, and- initiate providing another indication of the reserved set of resources.

14. The first node (111) according to claim 13, being further configured to:- monitor a capacity of the communications system (100) for allocation of the resources for usage by slices, and wherein the reserving is configured to be based on the capacity configured to be monitored.

15. The first node (111) according to claim 14, being further configured to:- determine, based on the capacity configured to be monitored and the request configured to be obtained, a) the first capacity configured to be required for usage of the slice and b) the set of resources, and wherein the reserving is configured to be based on the first capacity configured to be determined and the set of resources configured to be determined.

16. The first node (111) according to any of claims 13-15, wherein the request configured to be obtained is configured to be a second request and wherein the first node (111) is further configured to at least one of:- receive, from a second node (112) configured to operate in the communications system (100), a first request configured to request an availability of the set of resources configured to be required for usage of the slice, during at least the one period of time,- determine, responsive to at least the first request configured to be received, the availability of the set of resources in the communications system (100), and wherein the reserving is configured to be based on the availability configured to be determined,- initiate providing to the second node (112) a first indication of the availability configured to be determined, and wherein the second request is configured to be based on the first indication configured to be provided,- release at least a respective subset of the set of resources configured to be reserved once at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded, and- send a further indication to the second node (112), the further indication being configured to indicate that at least the respective subset of the reserved set of resources has been released or is to be released once at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded.

17. The first node (111) according to any of claims 13-16, wherein the one or more second indications are configured to indicate at least one of:- a type of one or more traffic flows for which the first capacity is configured to be requested to be allocated,- a periodicity of the traffic flows,- a start time of the traffic flows,- a duration of the traffic flows, and- a recurrence of the traffic flows.

18. The first node (111) according to any of claims 13-17, wherein the request configured to be obtained is configured to be a second request and wherein the one or more indications are configured to explicitly indicate a plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage, and wherein the first node (111) is further configured to:- schedule, responsive to the second request configured to be obtained and based on the set of resources configured to be reserved, a provision of the set of resources for the plurality of periods of time by sending a third request to the second node (112), the third request being configured to request to provision a respective subset of the set of resources for every period of time in the plurality.

19. The first node (111) according any of claims 16 or 18, wherein at least one of: a. the resources are configured to comprise at least one of time-frequency / resources and computing resources, b. the set of resources are configured to comprise at least one of radio resources and core network resources, c. the reservation of the resources is configured to be performed per cell for radio resources, and per hardware resource for core network resources,d. the first node (111) is configured to manage a capacity management service in the communications system (100), e. the second node (112) is configured to manage a provisioning management service in the communications system (100), and f. the communications system (100) is a Fifth Generation, 5G, network.

20. A second node (112), for handling resources in a communications system (100), the second node (112) being configured to operate in the communications system (100), and the second node (112) being further configured to:- send, to a first node (111) configured to operate in the communications system (100), a request to allocate a first capacity required for usage of a slice in the communications system (100), the first capacity corresponding to a set of resources in the communications system (100), the request being configured to comprise one or more first indications configured to indicate a set of requirements to be fulfilled by the slice, and the one or more first indications being configured to comprise one or more second indications explicitly configured to indicate at least one period of time in the future for the usage, and- receive, from the first node (111), another indication configured to indicate a reserved set of resources in the communications system (100), configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time.

21. The second node (112) according to claim 20, wherein the request is configured to be a second request and wherein the second node (112) is further configured to at least one of:- receive, from a third node (113) configured to operate in the communications system (100), a prior indication configured to request an availability of the set of resources in the communications system (100) configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time, and wherein the second request configured to be sent is configured to be responsive to the prior indication configured to be received,- send, to the first node (111), a first request configured to request the availability of the set of resources in the communications system (100) configured to be required for usage of the slice during at least the one period of time,- receive, from the first node (111), a first indication of the availability, and wherein the second request is configured to be responsive to the first indication configured to be received,- receive, from the first node (111), a further indication configured to indicate that at least a respective subset of the set of resources configured to be reserved has been released or is to be released once at least a respective period of time, of the at least one period of time, has concluded, and- release, responsive to the further indication configured to be received, at least the respective subset of the set of resources configured to be reserved.

22. The second node (112) according to any of claims 20-21, wherein the request configured to be sent is configured to be a second request and wherein the one or more second indications are configured to explicitly indicate a plurality of periods of time in the future for the usage, and wherein the second node (112) is further configured to:- receive, responsive to the request configured to be sent and based on the set of resources configured to be reserved, a third request from the first node (111), the third request being configured to request to provision a respective subset, of the set of resources, for every period of time in the plurality, and- provision, responsive to the third request configured to be received, the respective subset, of the set of resources, for every period of time in the plurality.

23. The second node (112) according to any of claims 20-22, wherein the one or more second indications are configured to indicate at least one of:- a type of one or more traffic flows for which the first capacity is configured to be requested to be allocated,- a periodicity of the traffic flows,- a start time of the traffic flows,- a duration of the traffic flows, and- a recurrence of the traffic flows.

24. The second node (112) according any of claims 20-23, wherein at least one of: a. the resources are configured to comprise at least one of time-frequency resources and computing resources, b. the set of resources are configured to comprise at least one of radio resources and core network resources, c. the reservation of the resources is configured to be performed per cell for radio resources, and per hardware resource for core network resources,d. the first node (111) is configured to manage a capacity management service in the communications system (100), e. the second node (112) is configured to manage a provisioning management service in the communications system (100), and f. the communications system (100) is configured to be a Fifth Generation, 5G, network.

25. A computer program (1205), comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (1201), cause the at least one processor (1201) to carry out the method according to any of claims 1-7.

26. A computer-readable storage medium (1206), having stored thereon a computer program (1205), comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (1201), cause the at least one processor (1201) to carry out the method according to any of claims 1-7.

27. A computer program (1305), comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (1301), cause the at least one processor (1301) to carry out the method according to any of claims 8-12.

28. A computer-readable storage medium (1306), having stored thereon a computer program (1305), comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor (1301), cause the at least one processor (1301) to carry out the method according to any of claims 8-12.

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