Fault location identification method and device

Abstract

An embodiment of the present application provides a fault localization method and apparatus. The method includes a step of a first network element receiving or determining a performance indicator of a service flow of a terminal device, the performance indicator being associated with an exception event of the service flow. The first network element sends the performance indicator of the service flow to the terminal device. The terminal device measures the performance indicator of the service flow and reports the measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow to the first network element. The first network element analyzes the measurement result to obtain the cause of the exception event of the service flow. According to the fault localization method and apparatus provided in the present application, since the fault localization analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, the fault can be quickly localized and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored. Since the measurement result of the performance indicator at the service flow level is collected and analyzed, the cases where the fault demarcation cannot be performed and the fault location is inaccurate are avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and localization can be performed, so that the fault can be quickly handled and normal service provisioning can be restored.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202210016389.3, entitled “Fault Localization Method and Apparatus,” filed with the China National Intellectual Property Office on January 7, 2022, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communications, and more specifically, to a fault location method and apparatus. [Background technology]

[0003] In a mobile network, an operator acting as a network communication service provider is mainly responsible for network construction and daily operation and maintenance management. Network operation and maintenance management includes network operation and maintenance management functions such as configuration management, performance management, and fault management, and fault management is one of the important and difficult points of network management for an operator. At present, the main functions implemented through network fault management include fault information query, fault report, fault information clear, etc. However, after receiving the network fault alarm report information, the network management system cannot determine the network fault point where the fault occurs (for example, cannot determine whether the fault occurs in the network element or in the link, or cannot determine whether the fault occurs in the radio access network device or in the core network element device). In order to identify the location of the fault, the operator usually deploys an operation and maintenance management engineer to perform packet capture on-site for various network element nodes or segmented links in the network and perform fault location analysis based on the packet capture data. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a fault localization method to implement fast fault localization and restore normal service provisioning. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to a first aspect, there is provided a fault localization method, comprising: The first network element includes sending first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow.

[0006] The first network element receives second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information indicates a measurement result of a performance indicator of the service flow.

[0007] The first network element analyzes the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0008] Alternatively, according to a first aspect, there is provided a fault localization method, comprising: The first network element includes sending first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow.

[0009] The first network element receives second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information indicates a measurement result of a performance indicator of the service flow.

[0010] The first network element obtains a cause of the exception event of the service flow based on the second indication information.

[0011] Alternatively, according to a first aspect, there is provided a fault localization method, the method comprising:

[0012] The first network element sends first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator for the terminal device to measure the service flow, and the performance indicator of the service flow is associated with an exception event of the service flow.

[0013] The first network element receives second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information indicates a measurement result of a performance indicator of the service flow.

[0014] The first network element obtains a cause of the exception event of the service flow based on the second indication information.

[0015] In the above solution, measurement results of performance indicators of the service flow and associated with the exception event of the service flow of the terminal device are collected and analyzed to obtain the cause of the exception event of the service flow, so that a fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored. Since the measurement results of the performance indicators at the service flow level are collected and analyzed, the cases where fault demarcation cannot be performed and the fault location is inaccurate are avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location can be performed, so that the fault can be quickly handled and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0016] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow, a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow, etc. The present application is not limited to two exception events.

[0017] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the performance indicators of the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, an amount of packet data convergence protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, an amount of downlink packets on an N3 interface with a delay greater than a second threshold, a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface, etc. The present application is not limited to the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0018] It should be understood that in a 5th generation system (5GS) architecture, information exchange may be performed directly between network elements through a service-based interface. The N3 interface is a reference point between radio access network elements and user plane function network elements, and is used to transport user plane data, etc.

[0019] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes:

[0020] The first network element determines a performance indicator for the service flow based on the exception event for the service flow.

[0021] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation forms of the first aspect, the first network element determining a performance indicator of the service flow based on an exception event of the service flow includes:

[0022] The first network element determines a performance indicator of the service flow based on the exception events of the service flow and a correspondence between the exception events of the service flow and the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0023] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation forms of the first aspect, the correspondence between the exception event of the service flow and the performance indicator of the service flow is: The video freeze corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance metrics of the service flow: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; and downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; and The controlled delay exception corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of packet data convergence protocol packets having an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface having a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface; Includes.

[0024] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes:

[0025] The first network element receives an identifier of the terminal device and third indication information from the second network element, where the third indication information indicates an exception event of the service flow.

[0026] The first network element sending the first indication information to the terminal device includes:

[0027] The first network element sends first indication information to the terminal device based on the identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information.

[0028] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes:

[0029] The first network element receives an identifier of the terminal device and first indication information from the second network element.

[0030] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes:

[0031] The first network element sends fourth indication information to the second network element, where the fourth indication information indicates a cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0032] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes:

[0033] The first network element sends a first request message to the terminal device, where the first request message is intended to request the terminal device to measure a performance indicator of the service flow.

[0034] The first network element receives a first response message from the terminal device, where the first response message indicates whether a performance indicator of the service flow has been measured based on the request message.

[0035] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes:

[0036] The first network element receives a second request message from the second network element, the second request message intended to request to measure a performance indicator of the service flow.

[0037] The first network element sends a second response message to the second network element based on the first response message, and the second response message indicates whether the terminal device receives performance indicators for measuring the service flow.

[0038] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method includes:

[0039] If the second response message indicates that the terminal device does not receive performance indicators for measuring the service flow, the first response message includes a cause value, where the cause value indicates a reason why the terminal device does not receive performance indicators for measuring the service flow.

[0040] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation forms of the first aspect, the first network element sending the first indication information to the terminal device includes:

[0041] The first network element sends the first indication information to the terminal device directly, or the first network element sends the first indication information to the terminal device via a third network element, where the third network element includes a core network element device and a radio access network element device.

[0042] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation forms of the first aspect, the type of message conveying the first indication information indicates that the first indication information is used by the terminal device to measure performance indicators of the service flow.

[0043] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation forms of the first aspect, the first network element sends fifth indication information to the third network element, where the fifth indication information indicates that the first indication information is used by the terminal device to measure performance indicators of the service flow.

[0044] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation forms of the first aspect, the first network element receiving the second indication information from the terminal device includes:

[0045] The first network element receives the second instruction information directly from the terminal device, or the first network element receives the second instruction information from the terminal device via a third network element, where the third network element includes a core network element device and a radio access network element device.

[0046] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation forms of the first aspect, the type of message conveying the second instruction information indicates that the second instruction information is used to report measurement results of performance indicators of the service flow.

[0047] Referring to the first aspect, in some implementation forms of the first aspect, the first network element receives sixth indication information from the third network element, where the sixth indication information indicates that the second indication information is used to report measurement results of performance indicators of the service flow.

[0048] According to a second aspect, there is provided a fault localization method, the method including:

[0049] The second network element sends an identifier of the terminal device and third indication information to the first network element, where the third indication information indicates an exception event of the service flow of the terminal device.

[0050] The second network element receives fourth indication information from the first network element, the fourth indication information indicating a cause of the exception event of the service flow, the cause being determined based on a measurement result of a performance indicator of the service flow, and the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with the exception event of the service flow.

[0051] In the above solution, the cause of the service flow exception event is collected for the service flow exception event of the terminal device, and then a fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0052] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementation forms of the second aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow.

[0053] Referring to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the performance indicators for the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on the N3 interface with delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0054] According to a third aspect, there is provided a fault localization method, the method including:

[0055] The second network element determines a performance indicator for the service flow based on the exception event for the service flow.

[0056] The second network element sends first indication information to the first network element, where the first indication information indicates a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, and the performance indicator of the service flow is used to determine a cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0057] The second network element receives fourth indication information from the first network element, where the fourth indication information indicates a cause of the exception event for the service flow.

[0058] In the above solution, the relevant performance indicators used for determining the cause of the service flow exception event are determined for the service flow exception event of the terminal device, the cause of the service flow exception event is obtained, and then a fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored. The exception event and performance indicators at the service flow granularity are taken into consideration when the cause of the service flow exception event is determined, so that the cases where fault demarcation cannot be performed and the fault location is inaccurate can be avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location can be performed, so that the fault can be quickly handled and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0059] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementation forms of the third aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow.

[0060] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the performance indicators for the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on the N3 interface with delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0061] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementation forms of the third aspect, the second network element determining a performance indicator for the service flow based on an exception event for the service flow includes:

[0062] The second network element determines a performance indicator of the service flow based on the exception events of the service flow and the correspondence between the exception events of the service flow and the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0063] Referring to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the correspondence between the exception events of the service flow and the performance indicators of the service flow is: the video freeze corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance metrics of the service flow: uplink packet data protocol packet loss count, and downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; The controlled delay exception corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of packet data convergence protocol packets having an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface having a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface; Includes.

[0064] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a fault location method, the method including:

[0065] The terminal device receives first indication information from the first network element, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow.

[0066] The terminal device measures the performance indicators of the service flow based on the first indication information to obtain a measurement result of the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0067] The terminal device sends second indication information to the first network element, where the second indication information indicates a measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow.

[0068] In the above solution, the terminal device measures the performance indicators of the service flow and associated with the exception event of the service flow, and reports the measurement result to the network, so that the network analyzes the measurement result to obtain the cause of the exception event of the service flow, and the fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored. Since the performance indicators at the service flow granularity are collected and the measurement result is fed back to the network, so that the case where the fault demarcation cannot be performed and the fault location is inaccurate can be avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location are performed, so that the fault can be quickly handled and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0069] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fourth aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow.

[0070] Referring to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the performance indicators for the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on the N3 interface with a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0071] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a fault location identification device, the fault location identification device comprising: a transceiver module configured to send first indication information to a terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow; a transceiver module further configured to receive second indication information from the terminal device, the second indication information indicating a measurement result of a performance indicator of the service flow; a processing module configured to analyze the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow; Equipped with.

[0072] Alternatively, according to a fifth aspect, there is provided a fault localization apparatus, the fault localization apparatus comprising: a transceiver module configured to send first indication information to a terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow; a transceiver module further configured to receive a second indication from the terminal device, the second indication indicating a measurement of a performance indicator of the service flow; a processing module configured to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow based on the second indication information; Equipped with.

[0073] In the above solution, measurement results of performance indicators of the service flow and associated with the exception event of the service flow of the terminal device are collected and analyzed to obtain the cause of the exception event of the service flow, so that a fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored. Since the measurement results of the performance indicators at the service flow level are collected and analyzed, the cases where fault demarcation cannot be performed and the fault location is inaccurate are avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location can be performed, so that the fault can be quickly handled and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0074] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow.

[0075] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the performance indicators for the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on the N3 interface with a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0076] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the processing module is further configured to determine a performance indicator of the service flow based on an exception event of the service flow.

[0077] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the processing module is specifically configured to determine a performance indicator of the service flow based on an exception event of the service flow and a correspondence between the exception event of the service flow and the performance indicator of the service flow.

[0078] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the correspondence between the exception events of the service flow and the performance indicators of the service flow is: The video freeze corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance metrics of the service flow: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; and downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; and The controlled delay exception corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of packet data convergence protocol packets having an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface having a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface; Includes.

[0079] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to receive an identifier of the terminal device and third indication information from the second network element, where the third indication information indicates an exception event of the service flow.

[0080] The transceiver module is further configured to transmit first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information including:

[0081] The processing module is further configured to send the first indication information to the terminal device based on the identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information.

[0082] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to receive an identifier of the terminal device and the first indication information from the second network element.

[0083] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to send fourth indication information to the second network element, where the fourth indication information indicates a cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0084] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to send a first request message to the terminal device, where the first request message is intended to request the terminal device to measure a performance indicator of the service flow.

[0085] The transceiver module is further configured to receive a first response message from the terminal device, where the first response message indicates whether a performance indicator of the service flow is measured based on the request message.

[0086] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to receive a second request message from the second network element, the second request message intended to request to measure a performance indicator of the service flow.

[0087] The processing module is further configured to send a second response message to a second network element based on the first response message, where the second response message indicates whether the terminal device receives a performance indicator for measuring the service flow.

[0088] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, when the second response message indicates that the terminal device does not receive a performance indicator for measuring the service flow, the first response message includes a cause value, where the cause value indicates a reason why the terminal device does not receive a performance indicator for measuring the service flow.

[0089] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to transmit the first instruction information directly to the terminal device, or the transceiver module is further configured to transmit the first instruction information to the terminal device via a third network element, where the third network element includes a core network element device and a radio access network element device.

[0090] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the type of message conveying the first indication information indicates that the first indication information is used by the terminal device to measure performance indicators of the service flow.

[0091] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to send fifth indication information to a third network element, where the fifth indication information indicates that the first indication information is used by the terminal device to measure performance indicators of the service flow.

[0092] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to receive the second instruction information directly from the terminal device, or the transceiver module is further configured to receive the second instruction information from the terminal device via a third network element, where the third network element includes a core network element device and a radio access network element device.

[0093] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementation forms of the fifth aspect, the type of message conveying the second instruction information indicates that the second instruction information is used to report measurement results of performance indicators of the service flow.

[0094] Referring to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is further configured to receive sixth instruction information from the third network element, where the sixth instruction information indicates that the second instruction information is used to report measurement results of performance indicators of the service flow.

[0095] According to a sixth aspect, there is provided a fault location identification device, the fault location identification device comprising: a transceiver module configured to: transmit an identifier of the terminal device and third indication information to the first network element, the third indication information indicating an exception event of the service flow of the terminal device; Equipped with The transceiver module is further configured to receive fourth indication information from the first network element, the fourth indication information indicating a cause of the exception event of the service flow, the cause being determined based on a measurement result of a performance indicator of the service flow, and the performance indicator being determined based on the exception event of the service flow.

[0096] Referring to the sixth aspect, in some implementation forms of the sixth aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow.

[0097] Referring to the sixth aspect, in some implementations of the sixth aspect, the performance indicators for the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on the N3 interface with a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0098] In the above solution, the cause of the service flow exception event is collected for the service flow exception event of the terminal device, and then a fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0099] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided a fault location identification device, the fault location identification device comprising: a processing module configured to determine a performance indicator of the service flow based on an exception event of the service flow; a transceiver module configured to send first indication information to a first network element, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator being used to determine a cause of an exception event of the service flow; Equipped with The transceiver module is further configured to receive fourth indication information from the first network element, the fourth indication information indicating a cause of the exception event for the service flow.

[0100] In the above solution, the relevant performance indicators used for determining the cause of the service flow exception event are determined for the service flow exception event of the terminal device, the cause of the service flow exception event is obtained, and then a fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored. The exception event and performance indicators at the service flow granularity are taken into consideration when the cause of the service flow exception event is determined, so that the cases where fault demarcation cannot be performed and the fault location is inaccurate can be avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location can be performed, so that the fault can be quickly handled and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0101] Referring to the seventh aspect, in some implementation forms of the seventh aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow.

[0102] Referring to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the performance indicators for the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on the N3 interface with delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0103] Referring to the seventh aspect, in some implementation forms of the seventh aspect, the processing module is specifically configured to determine a performance indicator of the service flow based on an exception event of the service flow and a correspondence between the exception event of the service flow and the performance indicator of the service flow.

[0104] Referring to the seventh aspect, in some implementation forms of the seventh aspect, the correspondence between the exception event of the service flow and the performance indicator of the service flow is: the video freeze corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance metrics of the service flow: uplink packet data protocol packet loss count, and downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; The controlled delay exception corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of packet data convergence protocol packets having an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface having a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface; Includes.

[0105] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a fault location identification device, the fault location identification device comprising: a transceiver module configured to receive a first indication from a first network element, the first indication indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow; A processing module configured to measure a performance indicator of the service flow based on the first indication to obtain a measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow; Equipped with The transceiver module is further configured to send a second indication to the first network element, the second indication indicating a measurement of the performance indicator of the service flow.

[0106] In the above solution, the terminal device measures the performance indicators of the service flow and associated with the exception event of the service flow, and reports the measurement result to the network, so that the network analyzes the measurement result to obtain the cause of the exception event of the service flow, and the fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored. Since the performance indicators at the service flow granularity are collected and the measurement result is fed back to the network, so that the case where the fault demarcation cannot be performed and the fault location is inaccurate can be avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location are performed, so that the fault can be quickly handled and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0107] Referring to the eighth aspect, in some implementation forms of the eighth aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow.

[0108] Referring to the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the performance indicators for the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on the N3 interface with a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0109] According to a ninth aspect, there is provided a fault localization method, the method comprising: a first network element sending first indication information to a terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow. The terminal device measures the performance indicator of the service flow based on the first indication information to obtain a measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow. The terminal device sends second indication information to the first network element, the second indication information indicating the measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow. The first network element analyzes the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0110] Referring to the ninth aspect, in some implementations of the ninth aspect, the method further includes the first network element determining a performance indicator for the service flow based on an exception event for the service flow.

[0111] Referring to the ninth aspect, in some implementations of the ninth aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow, a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow, etc. The present application is not limited to two exception events.

[0112] Referring to the ninth aspect, in some implementations of the ninth aspect, the performance indicators of the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, an amount of packet data convergence protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, an amount of downlink packets on an N3 interface with a delay greater than a second threshold, a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface, etc. This application is not limited to the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0113] According to a tenth aspect, a fault localization method is provided, the method comprising: a second network element sending an identifier of a terminal device and third indication information to a first network element, the third indication information indicating an exception event of a service flow of the terminal device. The first network element sends the first indication information to the terminal device based on the identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information. The terminal device measures a performance indicator of the service flow based on the first indication information to obtain a measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow. The terminal device sends second indication information to the first network element, the second indication information indicating the measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow. The first network element analyzes the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow. The first network element sends fourth indication information to the second network element, the fourth indication information indicating a cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0114] Referring to the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow, a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow, etc. The present application is not limited to two exception events.

[0115] Referring to the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the performance indicators of the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, an amount of packet data convergence protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, an amount of downlink packets on an N3 interface with a delay greater than a second threshold, a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface, etc. This application is not limited to the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0116] According to an eleventh aspect, a fault localization method is provided, the method comprising: a second network element determining a performance indicator of the service flow based on an exception event of the service flow. The second network element transmits first indication information to the first network element, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of the service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator being used to determine a cause of the exception event of the service flow. The first network element transmits first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of the service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with the exception event of the service flow. The terminal device measures the performance indicator of the service flow based on the first indication information to obtain a measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow. The terminal device transmits second indication information to the first network element, the second indication information indicating a measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow. The first network element analyzes the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow. The first network element sends fourth indication information to the second network element, where the fourth indication information indicates a cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0117] Referring to the eleventh aspect, in some implementation forms of the eleventh aspect, the exception event of the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow, a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow, etc. The present application is not limited to two exception events.

[0118] Referring to the eleventh aspect, in some implementations of the eleventh aspect, the performance indicators of the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, an amount of packet data convergence protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, an amount of downlink packets on an N3 interface with a delay greater than a second threshold, a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface, etc. The present application is not limited to the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0119] According to a twelfth aspect, there is provided a fault localization system comprising a first network element and a terminal device, the first network element configured to perform the method according to the first aspect and the terminal device configured to perform the method according to the second aspect.

[0120] According to a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a fault localization system including a first network element, a second network element and a terminal device, wherein the first network element is configured to perform a method according to the first aspect, the terminal device is configured to perform a method according to the second aspect and the second network element is configured to perform a method according to the third aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0121] According to a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a communication device, the communication device comprising: Processor and memory Equipped with the memory is configured to store a computer program; The processor is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory to enable the communication device to perform the communication method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0122] According to a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when run on a computer, enable the computer to perform a method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects.

[0123] According to a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a chip, the chip comprising: a memory configured to store a computer program; A processor configured to read and execute a computer program stored in a memory, the computer program, when executed, causing the processor to perform a method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects; Includes.

[0124] According to a seventeenth aspect there is provided a computer program product comprising computer program code which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to perform a method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0125] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of an end-to-end (E2E) network for a 5G toB scenario. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of a management architecture for integrated operation and maintenance of wireless terminals, to which the solution provided in the present application is applicable; [Diagram 3] 2 is a schematic diagram of another example of a management architecture to which the solution provided in the present application can be applied; [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 100 according to the present application. [Diagram 5] 2 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 200 according to the present application. [Figure 6] 3 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 300 according to the present application. [Figure 7] 4 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 400 according to the present application. [Figure 8] 5 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 500 according to the present application. [Figure 9] 6 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 600 according to the present application. [Figure 10] 7 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 700 according to the present application. [Figure 11] 8 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 800 according to the present application. [Figure 12] 9 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 900 according to the present application. [Figure 13] 1 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 1000 according to the present application. [Figure 14] 11 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 1100 according to the present application. [Figure 15] 12 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 1200 according to the present application. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a fault location device according to an embodiment of the present application. [Figure 17] 1 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0126] Hereinafter, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0127] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, a LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a wireless fidelity (WIFI)-based communication system, a 5th generation (5G) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future 3GPP or non-3GPP system.

[0128] In a mobile network, an operator acting as a network communication service provider is mainly responsible for network construction and daily operation and maintenance management. Network operation and maintenance management includes network operation and maintenance management functions such as configuration management, performance management, and fault management, and fault management is one of the important and difficult points of network management for an operator. At present, the main functions implemented through network fault management include fault information query, fault report, fault information clear, etc. However, after receiving the network fault alarm report information, the network management system cannot determine the network fault point where the fault occurs (for example, it cannot determine whether the network element or link has a fault, and it cannot determine whether the radio access network element device or the core network element device has a fault). In order to identify the location of the fault, the operator usually deploys an operation and maintenance management engineer to perform packet capture on-site for various network element nodes or segmented links in the network and perform fault location analysis based on the packet capture data.

[0129] At present, the network fault management mechanism defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) standard is mainly used to manage the fault information of network devices. However, in 5G toB scenarios, a large number of terminal devices such as customer-premises equipment (CPE) and programmable logic controllers (PLC) are deployed in private networks within enterprise premises.

[0130] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an end-to-end (E2E) network for a 5G toB scenario.

[0131] With reference to FIG. 1, the following will use this type of CPE terminal as an example to describe the E2E network. As shown in FIG. 1, the CPE, as a common terminal role, needs to be connected to a radio access network element device (e.g., gNB) using wireless technology, and the radio access network element device needs to be connected to a service server through a core network. In addition, the CPE can also function as a wireless access point to provide wireless access functions to other terminals (such as PLC controllers and cameras). In this way, an E2E network is formed from the service server to the application terminal. For example, when a fault occurs in the CPE (e.g., an unexpected start-up of the device, an excessively high ambient temperature, insufficient terminal location coverage, or a disconnection of the CPE), the 5G toB E2E service will be affected.

[0132] Therefore, when a terminal device capable of providing wireless access services to other devices is out of order, these terminal devices, especially the fault management of these terminal devices, need to be managed uniformly in order to restore normal service provisioning as soon as possible. However, currently, the terminal devices deployed in the private network of the customer's enterprise premises have at least two characteristic aspects. It is inconvenient to manage centrally. In one aspect, the terminal devices are purchased and deployed by the customer, or purchased and deployed by the operator. Therefore, terminal devices manufactured by multiple manufacturers (such as the CPE of manufacturer A and the CPE of manufacturer B) coexist, and these terminal devices can support different terminal management protocols (e.g., TR-069, TR-369, and LWM2M, and the terminal management protocols in this specification are described below). In another aspect, the terminal devices manufactured by different manufacturers are usually managed by the corresponding terminal management system of the manufacturer of the terminal device according to the corresponding terminal management protocol of the aforementioned aspect (including terminal device parameter configuration, performance monitoring management, etc.). Therefore, the above terminal management system and network management system are independent management systems.

[0133] With reference to FIG. 2, the following describes a possible implementation of the E2E integrated and centralized operation and maintenance management architecture provided in this application.

[0134] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a management architecture for integrated operation and maintenance of wireless terminals, to which the solution provided in this application is applicable.

[0135] As shown in Figure 2, the wireless terminal device management function for managing the wireless terminal is separately integrated into the wireless access network domain management system and the cross-domain management system. Alternatively, the wireless terminal device management function may be integrated only with the wireless access network domain management system. In this way, information exchange may be performed between the wireless terminal management system and the network management system, so that the two systems cooperate to process services, thereby improving the communication efficiency of the E2E network.

[0136] The main function of the wireless terminal equipment management function (WTEMF) is to manage wireless terminals (such as CPEs), including providing functions such as online registration, parameter configuration, performance management, and fault management to wireless terminals. The "cross domain WTEMF" in this application may be understood as a WTEMF integrated with a cross domain management system or a WTEMF deployed in the cross domain management system. The "domain WTEMF" in this application may be understood as a WTEMF integrated with a radio access network domain management system or a WTEMF deployed in the radio access network domain management system.

[0137] It should be noted that each network element or entity having the function of managing a wireless terminal is within the scope of protection of the wireless terminal device management function described in this application, and the name of the wireless terminal device management function is not limited in this application.

[0138] The following describes in detail the functions of the components within the management architecture.

[0139] First, the three management systems are explained.

[0140] 1. Cross domain management system is a functional entity for operators to implement cross domain network management (i.e., to manage both radio access network and core network).

[0141] 2. Radio Access Network Domain Management System / RAN domain management system is a functional entity that manages network elements in a wireless network.

[0142] 3. The core network domain management system is a functional entity that manages network elements within the core network.

[0143] All of the above systems include multiple management functions for providing specific operation and maintenance management jobs, such as a configuration management function for providing network provisioning management services, and a performance management function for providing performance assurance management services.

[0144] The network elements in the S201 frame are described below. The S201 frame may be understood as the "core network" in Figure 1. The network elements of S201 are core network elements, including 5G core control plane network function (5GC CNF) and user plane function (UPF).

[0145] The UPF is a unique user plane function network element in the 5G core network, responsible for functions such as user data forwarding, quality of service (QoS) enforcement, and charging statistics collection. The 5GC CNF refers to all control plane function network elements in the 5G core network, including the access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF), network exposure function (NEF), and network data analysis function (NWDAF). The details are as follows:

[0146] 1.AMF is responsible for CPE authentication and mobility management.

[0147] 2. The SMF is responsible for session management of the CPE's user plane data transmission, including session creation, deletion, and modification.

[0148] 3. NEF is responsible for publishing network capability information to third-party functional entities.

[0149] 4. The NWDAF will be responsible for intelligent analysis of data such as network status.

[0150] Finally, the RAN and CPE are described.

[0151] A radio access network (RAN) is a network element having the function of a radio access network, and is mainly responsible for functions such as radio access control and radio resource allocation. The network elements in a radio network may include only a gNB, may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU), or may include a centralized unit-control plane (CU-CP) and a centralized unit-user plane (CU-UP).

[0152] Above, the CPE of Figure 2 has been described, and the details will not be described again here.

[0153] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another example of a management architecture to which the solution provided in this application can be applied.

[0154] In the management architecture, the WTEMF may be independently deployed and may be understood to be integrated with the cross-domain WTEMF and domain WTEMF in Figure 2. For a description of the network elements in the architecture, please refer to the corresponding description in Figure 2.

[0155] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, technical terms are explained below.

[0156] 1. Dial test: A measurement command and a measurement method of a specified key performance indicator (KPI) are sent to the terminal to trigger the terminal to collect performance KPI data. The dial test type includes the operation type of the dial test performed by the CPE or the KPI that needs to be measured. The operation type of the dial test performed by the CPE includes at least one of the following: internet protocol address (IP) packet internet groper (Ping) diagnosis (which can be used to measure performance indicators such as network delay, such as network transmission delay, or network packet loss rate), speed measurement (used to measure network rate), heartbeat monitoring (used to detect network link connection status), etc. It needs to be noted that all operation types having the same functions as the IP address Ping diagnosis, speed measurement, and heartbeat monitoring in this specification fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0157] 2. Maintenance and Testing: Diagnostic analysis is performed by using collected data obtained by collecting performance KPI data related to the terminal based on the terminal dial test type to identify exception faults, including the network domain in which the fault occurred (terminal, radio, transmission, or core network) and the root cause of the specific fault.

[0158] 3. Terminal Management Protocol: Terminal management protocols adopt an object-based design idea, define a set of objects that describe a device, and implement specific management functions for terminal devices using standard methods or operation methods to manipulate these objects.

[0159] For example, terminals 1, 2, and 3 may be industrial terminals, which may be understood as wireless terminal devices deployed in an enterprise premises network of a vertical industry.

[0160] Below, we will explain three terminal management protocols.

[0161] Protocol 1: TR069: TR069 is a protocol proposed by the digital subscriber's line (DSL) forum (renamed broadband forum (BBF) in 2018), i.e., the CPE wide area network management protocol (CWMP) protocol numbered TR-069, and therefore also referred to as the TR-069 protocol. The present invention provides a general framework, message specification, management method, and data model for managing and configuring home network devices in next-generation networks, which significantly reduces the operation and maintenance costs of network products. The BBF has released the TR-369 protocol, which is an enhancement of TR-069.

[0162] Remote procedure call (RPC) is an encapsulation method of the TR069 protocol specification. The RPC method may include at least one of the following: supported methods for an auto-configuration server (ACS) to discover CPEs, a method for getting device parameter names, a method for configuring device parameters, a method for adding an instance, a method for deleting an instance, a method for a device to upload logs or configurations, a method for a device to download device versions or configurations, a method for a device to reboot, a method for a device to report upload or download results to a server, a method for a device to restore a device to factory settings, and a method for a device to actively upload files to a server. The RPC method is used to manage data models.

[0163] Protocol 2: Message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) is an instant messaging protocol developed by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

[0164] Protocol 3: Lightweight M2M (LWM2M): A lightweight Internet of Things device management protocol defined according to the traditional open mobile alliance (OMA)-DM protocol (a protocol used to remotely manage mobile end devices).

[0165] The above describes the scenarios or architectures to which the fault localization methods in the present application are applicable. Hereinafter, the methods 100 to 1100 of the present application will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 15.

[0166] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 100 according to the present application.

[0167] S101: A first network element sends first indication information to a terminal device, and in response, the terminal device receives first indication information from the first network element, where the first indication information indicates a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, and the performance indicator of the service flow is associated with an exception event of the service flow.

[0168] Alternatively, the first indication information indicates a terminal that measures the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0169] For example, the terminal device in this application may be an industrial terminal.

[0170] It should be understood that the exception event of a service flow in this specification may be one or more exception events of one service flow, or one or more exception events of multiple service flows. For example, the exception event of a service flow in this specification includes an exception event of a first service flow and an exception event of a second service flow. Correspondingly, the performance indicator of a service flow includes a performance indicator of a first service flow and associated with the exception event of the first service flow, and a performance indicator of a second service flow and associated with the exception event of the second service flow.

[0171] For example, the exception events of a service flow herein include at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow, and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow.

[0172] It should be noted that the exception events of the service flow in this application include but are not limited to the above two items, and may further include other possible exception events, which are not limited in this application.

[0173] For example, the performance indicators of a service flow in this specification include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, delay in processing of downlink packets by a user plane function network element, delay in processing of downlink packets by a terminal device, delay in processing of downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on the N3 interface with delay greater than a second threshold, and transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0174] It should be understood that in a 5th generation system (5GS) architecture, information exchange may be performed directly between network elements through a service-based interface. The N3 interface is a reference point between radio access network elements and user plane function network elements, and is used to transport user plane data, etc.

[0175] It should be understood that a performance indicator of a service flow herein may be understood as a type of indicator for which performance measurements need to be performed on a service flow.

[0176] It should be noted that the performance indicators of the service flow in this application include but are not limited to the above items and may further include other possible performance indicators that need to be measured, which is not limited in this application.

[0177] For example, the first indication information in this specification may explicitly indicate the performance indicators of the service flow, or may implicitly indicate the performance indicators of the service flow by indicating the operation type of the dial test measurement that needs to be performed by the terminal. For example, the first indication information in this specification indicates an operation type 1 that needs to be performed by the terminal device, and this operation type is used to measure the performance indicators 1, 2, and 3. In this case, the terminal device can determine the performance indicators 1, 2, and 3 that need to be measured based on the operation type 1 indicated by the first indication information. For example, the performance indicators 1, 2, and 3 may be the delay of processing the downlink packet by the radio access network element device, the amount of the downlink packet on the N3 interface that has a delay greater than the second threshold, and the transmission delay of the downlink packet on the N3 interface, respectively. The name of the operation type 1 is not limited in this application.

[0178] For example, a performance indicator of a service flow is associated with an exceptional event of the service flow, and it may be understood that the performance indicator of the service flow is determined based on the exceptional event of the service flow, and that there is a correspondence between the performance indicator of the service flow and the exceptional event of the service flow.

[0179] Similarly, both the exception events of the service flows and the performance indicators of the service flows in the method 100 may be understood in the manner described above.

[0180] Before S101, the method 100 may include the first network element obtaining a performance indicator for the service flow.

[0181] For example, the performance indicators of the service flow may be configured on the first network element. Alternatively, for example, the first network element receives the performance indicators of the service flow from the second network element. Alternatively, in another example, the first network element determines the performance indicators of the service flow based on an exception event of the service flow.

[0182] The following describes an implementation in which a first network element determines a performance indicator for a service flow based on an exception event for the service flow, and an implementation in which the first network element receives a performance indicator for the service flow from a second network element.

[0183] Implementation form 1: A first network element determines a performance indicator of a service flow based on an exception event of the service flow.

[0184] Step 1: A first network element obtains an exception event of a service flow. The first network element can obtain the exception event of a service flow in multiple manners. For example, the exception event of the service flow is configured on the first network element, and the second network element sends description information of the exception event of the service flow to the first network element, and in response, the first network element receives the description information of the exception event of the service flow from the second network element; or the second network element sends an identifier index of the exception event to the first network element, and in response, the first network element receives the identifier index of the exception event from the second network element. Alternatively, the first network element can alternatively determine the exception event of the service flow of the terminal device based on the received information.

[0185] Example 1: The second network element sends an identifier of the terminal device and third indication information to the first network element, and in response, the first network element receives the identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information from the second network element, where the third indication information indicates an exception event of the service flow. The first network element determines the exception event of the service flow of the terminal device based on the identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information.

[0186] It should be understood that the first network element, the second network element, or another network element can identify the terminal device based on an identifier of the terminal device, which in this specification includes, but is not limited to, an equipment serial number (ESN) / electronic serial number, an equipment IP address, a system architecture evolution (SAE) temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI), and a globally unique temporary UE identity (5G-GUTI).

[0187] Step 2: The first network element can determine a performance indicator of the service flow based on the exception event of the service flow and the corresponding relationship between the exception event of the service flow and the performance indicator of the service flow.

[0188] The correspondence between the exception events of a service flow and the performance indicators of the service flow in this specification is as follows: The video freeze corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance metrics of the service flow: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; and downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; and The controlled delay exception corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of packet data convergence protocol packets having an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface having a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface; may include.

[0189] Referring to Example 1 and step 2, optionally, the first network element sending a performance indicator of the service flow to the terminal device may be understood as the first network element sending a performance indicator of the service flow to the terminal device based on an identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information.

[0190] Implementation 2: A first network element receives performance indicators for a service flow from a second network element.

[0191] Step 1: A second network element obtains a service flow exception event. The second network element can obtain the service flow exception event in multiple manners. For example, the service flow exception event is configured on the second network element, or another network element sends a service flow exception event to the second network element, and in response, the second network element receives the service flow exception event from the other network element.

[0192] Step 2: The second network element determines a performance indicator of the service flow based on the exception event of the service flow and the corresponding relationship between the exception event of the service flow and the performance indicator of the service flow.

[0193] For the correspondence between the exception events of service flows and the performance indicators of service flows in this specification, please refer to the corresponding description in Implementation Form 1.

[0194] Step 3: The second network element sends the performance indicators of the service flow to the first network element, and in response, the first network element receives the performance indicators of the service flow from the second network element.

[0195] S102: The terminal device measures a performance indicator of the service flow based on the first indication information, to obtain a measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow.

[0196] For example, the performance of the terminal device may be enhanced to help the terminal device measure performance indicators of the service flow.

[0197] Example 1: The first indication information may implicitly indicate to the terminal device to measure a performance indicator of the service flow.

[0198] The terminal device determines, based on the first indication information, that the performance indicators of the service flow that need to be measured are the uplink air interface transmission delay and the downlink air interface transmission delay of the first service flow. In this case, the terminal device can measure the uplink air interface transmission delay and the downlink air interface transmission delay of the first service flow to obtain a statistical result of the two performance indicators.

[0199] Example 2: The first network element may further send another information or message to explicitly indicate to the terminal device to measure the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0200] The first network element sends a first request message to the terminal device, and in response, the terminal device receives a first request message from the first network element, where the first request message is intended to request the terminal device to measure performance indicators of the service flow. The terminal device sends a first response message to the first network element, and in response, the first network element receives a first response message from the terminal device, where the first response message indicates whether the performance indicators of the service flow are measured based on the request message. It should be understood that in this specification, the first request message explicitly instructs the terminal device to measure the performance indicators of the service flow.

[0201] It should be further understood that after receiving the first request message, the terminal device judges whether to accept the request message. If the request message is accepted, the terminal device feedbacks "yes" in the first response message, and if the request message is rejected, the terminal device feedbacks "no". If the feedback is "no", a cause value may be further conveyed. The cause value indicates the reason why the terminal device does not receive performance indicators for measuring the service flow, for example, indicating that the terminal device is offline or that measuring performance indicators of the service flow is not supported. If the feedback is "yes" in the first response message, the terminal device executes S102.

[0202] In the case of Example 2, optionally, the first network element can further indicate to the terminal device to measure the performance indicators of the service flow based on the information or message received from the second network element. Correspondingly, after receiving the feedback from the terminal device, the first network element can also continue to perform the feedback to the second network element.

[0203] For example, the first network element receives a second request message from the second network element, where the second request message is for requesting to measure a performance indicator of the service flow. Correspondingly, after receiving the first response message, the first network element can send a second response message to the second network element based on the first response message, where the second response message indicates whether the terminal device receives the performance indicator for measuring the service flow.

[0204] S103: The terminal device sends second indication information to the first network element, and in response, the first network element receives second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information indicates a measurement result of a performance evaluation indicator of the service flow.

[0205] For example, a terminal device may report measurements of performance indicators of a service flow according to a terminal management protocol.

[0206] S104: The first network element analyzes the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0207] In other words, the first network element obtains the cause of the exception event of the service flow based on the second indication information.

[0208] For example, there is a correspondence between the measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow and the exception event of the service flow, and the first network element can determine the cause of the exception event of the service flow based on the correspondence.

[0209] For example, the first network element may perform diagnostic analysis based on methods such as artificial intelligence machine learning algorithms, which are not limited in this application.

[0210] Optionally, the first network element may further send the cause of the exception event of the service flow to the second network element.

[0211] For example, after obtaining the cause of the exception event of the service flow, the first network element can send fourth indication information to the second network element, where the fourth indication information indicates the cause of the exception event of the service flow, and before this, the second network element can explicitly or implicitly indicate the first network element to report the fourth indication information.

[0212] Example 1: A second network element sends an identifier of a terminal device and third indication information to a first network element, where the third indication information indicates an exception event of a service flow. The first network element determines to report fourth indication information to the second network element based on the identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information. To help the second network element determine that the cause indicated by the fourth indication information corresponds to the exception time indicated by the third indication information, the message used to convey the fourth indication information and the message used to convey the third indication information can further convey eighth indication information. For example, the eighth indication information may alternatively be a message type information element defined in the present application and configured to convey the eighth indication information.

[0213] Example 2: The second network element may send a third request message to the first network element, where the third request message is intended to request the cause of the exception event of the service flow.

[0214] Optionally, in steps S101 and S103, the first network element and the terminal device may communicate with each other using data plane signaling, or may communicate with each other using control plane signaling.

[0215] When the communication is performed using control plane signaling, the forwarding may be performed between the first network element and the terminal device via at least one third network element. For example, the third network element herein may be a core network element device and / or a radio access network element device.

[0216] In the following, examples of communication performed between the first network element and the terminal device using control plane signaling of S101 and S103 are provided separately.

[0217] In S101, in order to help the first network element indicate to the third network element that the first indication information is used by the terminal device to measure performance indicators of the service flow, the first network element can further send fifth indication information to the third network element, where the fifth indication information indicates that the first indication information is used by the terminal device to measure performance indicators of the service flow.

[0218] For example, the fifth indication information and the first indication information may be conveyed in the same message or different messages. The fifth indication information may be, for example, an indication information in a message conveying the first indication information, or the fifth indication information may be a message type information element defined in the present application and configured to convey the first indication information.

[0219] In S103, to help the terminal device indicate to the third network element that the second indication information indicates the measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow to the first network element, the terminal device can further send sixth indication information to the third network element, where the sixth indication information indicates that the second indication information indicates the measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow to the first network element.

[0220] For example, the sixth indication information and the second indication information may be conveyed in the same message or different messages. The sixth indication information may be, for example, an indication information in a message conveying the second indication information, or the sixth indication information may be a message type information element defined in the present application and configured to convey the second indication information.

[0221] Optionally, the third network element may include one or more network elements, in which case the one or more third network elements may forward the aforementioned information or message.

[0222] Optionally, to help determine that the first indication information corresponds to the second indication information, the message used to convey the first indication information and the message used to convey the second indication information can further convey seventh indication information. The first network element can determine that the measurement result indicated by the second indication information corresponds to the performance indicator indicated by the first indication information based on the seventh indication information in the transmitted / received message. For example, the seventh indication information may alternatively be a message type information element defined in the present application and configured to convey the seventh indication information.

[0223] For example, the first network element may be a domain WTEMF and the second network element may be a cross-domain WTEMF. Alternatively, the first network element may be an NWDAF and the second network element may be a domain WTEMF. The terminal device may be configured to provide a wireless access service.

[0224] In this embodiment of the present application, to obtain the cause of the exception event of the service flow, the measurement results of the related performance indicators of the service flow are collected and analyzed for the exception event of the service flow of the terminal device, so that the fault location analysis is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the fault can be quickly located and handled, and normal service provisioning can be restored. Because the measurement results of the performance indicators at the service flow level are collected and analyzed, the cases where the fault demarcation cannot be performed and the fault location is inaccurate are avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location can be performed, so that the fault can be quickly handled and normal service provisioning can be restored.

[0225] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 200 according to the present application.

[0226] In the method 200, the information exchange between the domain WTEMF and the CPE may be performed according to or without a terminal management protocol such as TR-069. It is necessary to note that in this application, for the purpose of explanation, an example in which the terminal device is a CPE is used, but this is not limited in this application.

[0227] In possible implementation form 1, information exchange is performed between the domain WTEMF and the CPE without following a terminal management protocol such as TR-069. The implementation form includes S201 to S203, S205, and S207 to S212 in FIG.

[0228] S201: The cross-domain WTEMF receives a maintenance and test request 01 from outside the cross-domain management system or receives a maintenance and test request 01 from another management function in the cross-domain management system, where the maintenance and test request 01 includes an exception event, and the maintenance and test request 01 indicates to the CPE to perform a dial test job.

[0229] For example, the maintenance and test request 01 may explicitly indicate to the CPE to perform a dial test job, or the cross-domain WTEMF may determine that a device associated with the exception event is connected to the CPE and therefore, based on the exception event, may determine that the CPE needs to be indicated to perform a dial test job.

[0230] It should be understood that the exception event in this specification may be understood as a failure, for example, a service type failure. The exception event in this specification may include a device granularity exception event and / or a service flow granularity exception event. The device granularity exception event includes at least one of the following: an unexpected restart of a terminal device, insufficient terminal point coverage, or a disconnection of a terminal device, and the service flow granularity exception event includes at least one of a video freeze corresponding to one or more service flows or a control delay exception corresponding to one or more service flows.

[0231] For example, the unexpected restart of the terminal device in this specification may be that the terminal device is automatically started by a factor other than a human factor, the insufficient terminal location coverage in this specification may be that the wireless base station signal received by the terminal device is insufficient because the location of the terminal device is blocked by a building or the like, and the disconnection of the terminal device in this specification may be that the wireless connection between the terminal device and the wireless base station is cut off. The video freeze corresponding to one or more service flows in this specification may be an artifact or freeze occurring in the video played by the video service server, and the control delay exception corresponding to one or more service flows in this specification may be that the delay of the control command sent by the control service server to the terminal device to reach the terminal device is large (e.g., larger than the average data transmission delay) or the response time after the terminal device receives the command is long (e.g., longer than the average response duration).

[0232] It should be further appreciated that the CPE may perform a dial test job to determine a particular network segment in which a failure causes an exception event. The failure may be a CPE failure, a wireless network element failure, a core network element device failure, or another network element failure.

[0233] Optionally, the maintenance and test request 01 may optionally convey a maintenance and test job identifier.

[0234] S202: The cross-domain WTEMF sends a maintenance and test request 02 to the domain WTEMF.

[0235] In this implementation described in S201, the inter-domain WTEMF can determine that the terminal that needs to perform the dial test is a CPE and send a maintenance and test request 02 to the domain WTEMF, where the maintenance and test request 02 conveys the CPE ID, the maintenance and test job identifier, and the exception event.

[0236] The CPE ID is a device identifier for identifying a terminal, such as an equipment serial number (ESN) / electronic serial number, a Device IP address, a system architecture evolution (SAE) temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI), a globally unique temporary UE identity (5G-GUTI), etc. The CPE ID may be determined by the domain WTEMF after the CPE performs a dial test.

[0237] The maintenance and test job identifier may be obtained by domain WTEMF from the maintenance and test request 01 or may be assigned by domain WTEMF to the current dial test job. The maintenance and test job identifier identifies the corresponding maintenance and test job and may be a string identifier or a number identifier.

[0238] For details about exception events, see the explanation of S201.

[0239] For example, in addition to the above-mentioned information element information, the maintenance and test request 02 may further include some basic configuration parameters for performing a dial test, such as a measurement period for performing a dial test by the CPE, a measurement start time, a measurement end time, a reporting method of the measurement result, and a reporting period of the measurement result. These results are sent to the CPE through the following steps. For details of the parameters, please refer to the description in 3GPP TS 28.554. The details will not be described again in this specification.

[0240] For example, to transmit parameter information within the maintenance and test request 02, S202 may be implemented by enhancing the Create MeasJob Operation, or by defining another message type, for example a Management Service (MnS) type message such as Diagnostics MnS, or another type, which is not limited in this application.

[0241] S203: The domain WTEMF determines the dial test type based on the exception event.

[0242] For example, the domain WTEMF determines based on the message type of the maintenance and test request 02 that the CPE needs to be indicated to perform a dial test, or based on instruction information in the maintenance and test request 02, determines that the CPE needs to be indicated to perform a dial test.

[0243] The exception event is an exception event in the maintenance and test request 02.

[0244] A dial test type in this specification includes the operation type of the dial test performed by the CPE or the KPI that needs to be measured.

[0245] The operation types of the dial test performed by the CPE include at least one of the following: IP packet internet groper (Ping) diagnosis (which can be used to measure network delay, such as network transmission delay, network packet loss rate, or another performance indicator), speed measurement (used to measure network rate), heartbeat check (used to detect network link connection status), etc. It is necessary to note that all operation types having the same function as the IP address Ping diagnosis, speed measurement, and heartbeat monitoring herein fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0246] In one example, the domain WTEMF determines the operation type of the dial test performed by the CPE based on the exception event at the device granularity. For example, the domain WTEMF can determine the operation type of the dial test performed by the CPE based on the exception event at the device granularity and the correspondence between the exception event at the device granularity and the operation type of the dial test performed by the CPE. The correspondence may be, for example, that if the control delay of the terminal device is large, the operation type of the dial test that needs to be performed may be speed measurement, or that if the terminal device is disconnected, the operation type of the dial test that needs to be performed may be heartbeat detection or IP address Ping diagnosis.

[0247] The measured KPIs may include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, amount of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, delay in processing of downlink packets by a user plane function network element, delay in processing of downlink packets by a terminal device, delay in processing of downlink packets by a radio access network element device, amount of downlink packets on the N3 interface with delay greater than a second threshold, and transmission delay of downlink packets on the N3 interface.

[0248] In another example, the domain WTEMF determines the KPIs that need to be measured by the CPE based on the exception events of device granularity, or the domain WTEMF determines the KPIs that need to be measured by the CPE based on the exception events of service flow granularity. For example, the domain WTEMF can determine the KPIs that need to be measured by the CPE based on the exception events of service flow granularity and the correspondence between the exception events of service flow granularity and the KPIs that need to be measured by the CPE. The correspondence may be, for example, that the video freeze corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count and downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count. The controlled delay exception corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, an amount of packet data convergence protocol packets having an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by a terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, an amount of downlink packets on an N3 interface having a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface. In another example, the domain WTEMF can determine the KPIs that need to be measured by the CPE based on the device granularity exception events and the correspondence between the device granularity exception events and the KPIs that need to be measured by the CPE.The correspondence may be, for example, that an unexpected restart of a terminal device corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators at device granularity: start time of the terminal device, number of restarts, etc.; insufficient coverage of a terminal device corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators at equipment granularity: reference signal received power, reference signal received quality, etc.; and disconnection of a terminal device corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators at equipment granularity: amount of uplink or downlink packet retransmissions, uplink or downlink packet loss rate, etc.

[0249] S205: The domain WTEMF sends a diagnostic measurement request message to the CPE.

[0250] The diagnostic measurement request message includes the dial test type and basic configuration parameters for performing the dial test mentioned in S202.

[0251] S207: The CPE sends a diagnostic measurement request response message to the domain WTEMF.

[0252] As an example, after receiving the diagnostic measurement request message, the CPE sends a diagnostic measurement request response message to the domain WTEMF.

[0253] As another example, the CPE determines whether to accept or reject the diagnostic measurement request based on the KPI in the diagnostic measurement request message, and sends a diagnostic measurement request response message to the domain WTEMF, where the response message carries indication information. For example, if the CPE determines to accept the diagnostic measurement request, the indication information indicates "yes."

[0254] As yet another example, the diagnostic measurement request includes this type of operation that needs to be performed by the CPE. The CPE determines the KPIs that need to be measured based on this operation type, and determines whether to accept or reject the diagnostic measurement request based on the KPIs that need to be measured, and sends a diagnostic measurement request response message to the domain WTEMF, where the response message carries indication information. For example, if the CPE determines to accept the diagnostic measurement request, the indication information indicates "yes".

[0255] It should be understood that once the domain WTEMF receives the diagnostic measurement request response message from the CPE, the creation of the maintenance and test job is essentially completed.

[0256] S208: The domain WTEMF sends a maintenance and test request 02 response message to the cross-domain WTEMF.

[0257] The maintenance and test request 02 response message indicates to the cross-domain WTEMF the result of the maintenance and test job creation, i.e., successful or failed creation. Optionally, if the result of the maintenance and test job creation is a failed creation, the maintenance and test request 02 response message should convey a cause value. The cause value in this specification may indicate that the terminal device is offline, that the dial test type is not supported, etc.

[0258] S209: The CPE performs a dial test.

[0259] It should be noted that the step numbers of S208 and S209 do not limit the order in which the steps are executed. S208 may be executed before or after S209.

[0260] For example, the CPE performs a dial test based on the dial test type received in S205, which may include, for example, performing an operation indicated by an operation type of the dial test type, or measuring a KPI of the dial test type.

[0261] S210: The CPE sends a diagnostic measurement completion notification to the domain WTEMF.

[0262] After completing the dial test, the CPE reports the measurement results to the domain WTEMF, i.e., sends a diagnostic measurement completion notification. This notification message contains the measurement results of the dial test performed by the terminal or the measurement statistics of the measured KPIs.

[0263] S211: The domain WTEMF diagnoses a fault based on the measurement results.

[0264] The domain WTEMF receives the diagnostic measurement completion notification and obtains the measurement results.

[0265] The following describes an implementation form of a method in which the domain WTEMF executes diagnosis based on the measurement results of KPIs at device granularity and KPIs at service flow granularity.

[0266] Implementation form 1: The domain WTEMF performs diagnosis based on the measurement results of KPIs at device granularity.

[0267] Based on the measurement results of KPIs at device granularity, domain WTEMF analyzes and determines which network segment has a failure (such as a CPE failure, a radio network element failure, a transport network failure, or a core network failure), that is, completes failure boundary definition.

[0268] For example, when performing a dial test, the CPE can send a Ping packet to a server having a fixed IP address. The Ping packet is sent to the wireless network through the air interface, then reaches the UPF through the N3 interface between the wireless network and the core network, and then is transmitted to the server having the fixed IP address. The domain WTEMF can receive the reported measurement results obtained by performing the dial test in the above implementation and determine the network segment where the failure occurs.

[0269] It should be appreciated that even if the CPE is out of order, the CPE can still perform measurements and report the results of the measurements in a dial test fashion.

[0270] In addition, the domain WTEMF can analyze the cause of the failure based on the measurement results.

[0271] For example, the domain WTEMF can determine the cause of the fault based on the correspondence between the measurement result and the cause of the fault. Alternatively, the domain WTEMF can perform diagnostic analysis based on methods such as artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning algorithms, which are not expressly limited in this application.

[0272] Implementation form 2: The domain WTEMF performs diagnosis based on the measurement results of KPIs at device granularity and service flow granularity.

[0273] The domain WTEMF determines, based on implementation form 1, that the CPE is faulty, or the domain WTEMF determines, based on implementation form 1, that the network segment is not faulty.

[0274] Furthermore, the domain WTEMF can perform diagnostic analysis on terminal fault types based on the measurement results at service flow granularity, and identify the root cause of the CPE fault, i.e., complete the fault location analysis.

[0275] For example, the domain WTEMF may perform fault localization, i.e., analyze the cause of the fault of the CPE, based on the measurement results of the KPIs reported by the CPE. For example, there may be two different cases: Case 1: If the CPE is faulty, the cause of the fault may be analyzed based on the measurement results of the KPIs at service flow granularity and / or device granularity. Case 2: If the CPE is not faulty, the cause of the fault may be further analyzed based on the measurement results of the KPIs at service flow granularity.

[0276] The following provides an example of Case 2. The domain WTEMF determines that a CPE is faulty. For example, the CPE provides wireless access functions to three terminals (e.g., two cameras and one PLC controller), and each of the three terminals corresponds to a different service flow. The domain WTEMF can further determine which service flows have exceptional performance indicators (e.g., above or below a threshold) based on the measurement results of the KPIs at the service flow granularity, and determine which terminal among the three terminals is faulty based on the terminals corresponding to the service flows.

[0277] For example, the domain WTEMF can determine the cause of the fault based on the correspondence between the measurement result and the cause of the fault. Alternatively, the domain WTEMF can perform diagnostic analysis based on a method such as an AI machine learning algorithm, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0278] S212: The domain WTEMF sends the diagnostic analysis result to the cross-domain WTEMF.

[0279] Domain WTEMF reports diagnostic analysis results based on the analysis of S211, where the diagnostic analysis results include maintenance and test job identifiers, fault demarcation results, fault localization results, etc.

[0280] Specifically, if fault demarcation is an issue for the CPE, the analysis result conveys fault information for the CPE, including, but not limited to, at least one of the following: fault type (e.g., terminal disconnection, excessively high device temperature, or insufficient terminal point coverage), fault onset time, possible fault cause, fault severity level (e.g., minor, major, or critical), and fault status (e.g., recovered or not recovered).

[0281] For example, a domain WTEMF can send this information to a cross-domain WTEMF using a reportStreamData message or file.

[0282] In this embodiment of the present application, the dial test type corresponding to the terminal fault and the identifier information of the terminal that performs the dial test are added to the service interface of the domain WTEMF, and the function of the domain WTEMF is extended, so that the domain WTEMF supports terminal fault diagnosis analysis based on the performance data reported by the terminal. Related performance data can be targetedly collected for the problems of various dial test types, and the fault diagnosis analysis of the terminal device can be rapidly implemented based on the data collection result. Therefore, the fault location is automatically performed on the terminal device, so that the labor cost is reduced, and the fault is quickly handled and normal service provisioning is restored.

[0283] It should be understood that a typical scenario in which a terminal transmits a fault is as follows: a terminal 1 (e.g., the aforementioned CPE) accesses a network, the terminal 1 provides wireless access services to one or more terminals 2 (e.g., the aforementioned camera or PLC controller), at least one terminal 2 is broken, and the terminal 1 is not broken. In this scenario, the following cases may occur when the network performs fault localization and demarcation. Case 1: Because the terminal 2 does not belong to a network segment (e.g., it cannot access the operator network), if the network only measures performance indicators at device granularity for exception events during fault demarcation, the network can demarcate the terminal 1 as being faulty, but cannot accurately demarcate the terminal 2 as being faulty. In addition, after the terminal 1 is demarcated, the fault localization may be inaccurate. Case 2: When the terminal 1 provides wireless access services to multiple terminals 2, at least one terminal 2 may be broken, but the measurement results of the performance indicators of the terminal 1 are normal. Specifically, the measurement results of the performance indicators of the terminal 1 include an exception part corresponding to the failed terminal 2 and a part corresponding to the other normal terminal 2. Thus, the performance indicator measurements of terminal 1 and collected by the network may not indicate an exception, in which case the network cannot detect the exception of terminal 2 and cannot localize the fault to a particular network segment.

[0284] For the scenario, considering that each terminal 2 has a corresponding service flow, in the communication method of the present application, the network measures performance indicators at the service flow granularity of exception events, so that the cases where fault demarcation cannot be performed and the cases where the fault location is inaccurate can be avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location can be performed, which facilitates faster fault handling and restores normal service provisioning.

[0285] In the above solution, the domain WTEMF determines the dial test type based on the exception event. Optionally, during a specific implementation, the inter-domain WTEMF can alternatively perform this step (S203), and then send the dial test type to the domain WTEMF in the maintenance and test request 02.

[0286] In a possible implementation 2, information exchange is performed between the domain WTEMF and the CPE according to a terminal management protocol such as TR-069.

[0287] Possible implementation form 2 includes S201 to S212 in Fig. 5. For S201 to S203, S205, and S207 to S212, please refer to the descriptions of S201 to S203, S205, and S207 to S212 in possible implementation form 1, respectively. Compared with possible implementation form 1, the following operations are added to S205, S207, and S210.

[0288] The differences between possible embodiment 2 and possible embodiment 1 are as follows.

[0289] S204: The domain WTEMF performs data modeling for the dial test type and basic configuration parameters for performing the dial test according to the TR-069 protocol to obtain TR-069 packets.

[0290] It should be noted that in this embodiment of the present application, the TR-069 protocol is used as an example for illustration. The TR-069 protocol in this specification may be alternatively replaced by any one of the terminal management protocols supported by the terminal device, such as MQTT and LWM2M, which is not limited in this application.

[0291] The diagnostic measurement request of S205 includes a TR-069 packet.

[0292] S206: The CPE performs data analysis data according to TR-069.

[0293] The CPE receives a request message from the domain WTEMF, parses the message according to the TR-069 protocol, and determines the processing operation that needs to be performed based on the RPC operation type (i.e., the terminal performs a dial test or performance KPI data collection based on the operation type), and determines the KPI type that needs to be measured based on the information element parameters of the RPC operation.

[0294] S210: The CPE can report the measurement result according to the Inform RPC command of the TR-069 protocol. Correspondingly, the domain WTEMF can alternatively analyze the TR-069 packet to obtain the measurement result.

[0295] This embodiment of the present application has the same beneficial effects as possible implementation 1. In addition, information exchange is performed between the domain WTEMF and the CPE according to the TR-069 protocol, and the core network element device does not need to process the information transferred by the core network element device. Based on quickly and accurately identifying the cause of the failure, the complexity of the core network element device is further reduced, and the power consumption of the whole system is reduced.

[0296] The above describes possible implementations 1 and 2. In the two possible implementations, the domain WTEMF exchanges information with the CPE through a data plane path, e.g., encapsulates TR-069 packet data in IP packets. The domain WTEMF can alternatively exchange information with the CPE through a control signaling path, e.g., forwards data via a core network element device. In the following, an implementation in which information exchange is performed through a control signaling path is described.

[0297] In possible implementation 3, S201, S202, S203, S208, S209, S211, and S212 are the same as those in possible implementation 1. The information exchange between the domain WTEMF and the CPE in the above possible implementation 1, that is, steps S205, S207, and S210, may be replaced by the corresponding steps in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7, respectively.

[0298] In possible implementation 4, S201 to 204, S206, S208, S209, S211, and S212 are the same as those in possible implementation 2. The information exchange between the domain WTEMF and the CPE in the above possible implementation 2, i.e., steps S205, S207, and S210, may be performed in the implementation shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9.

[0299] In possible implementation form 5, the above possible implementation forms 2 and 4 are implementation forms in which the domain WTEMF performs parsing and encapsulation according to the TR-069 protocol. During a particular implementation form, another network element may alternatively perform parsing and encapsulation according to the TR-069 protocol. With reference to FIG. 10, the following will describe in detail an implementation form in which the NEF replaces the CPE and performs parsing and encapsulation according to the TR-069 protocol.

[0300] In possible implementation 6, all of the above possible implementations 1 to 5 are implementations in which the domain WTEMF diagnoses the fault based on the measurement results reported by the CPE. During a particular implementation, another network element can alternatively diagnose the fault based on the measurement results reported by the CPE. With reference to Figure 13, the following will describe in detail an implementation in which the NWDAF replaces the domain WTEMF to diagnose the fault based on the measurement results reported by the CPE.

[0301] In the following, a possible implementation form 3 of the method 200 will be described in detail, first with reference to Figures 6 and 7. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, information transfer is performed between the domain WTEMF and the CPE via the NEF, the AMF, and the RAN. After receiving a request from the NEF, the AMF can separately send relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on an access stratum (AS) signaling-based method or a non-access stratum (NAS) signaling-based method.

[0302] It should be understood that in the NAS signaling-based method, the AMF directly encapsulates the information that needs to be sent to the CPE by using a NAS protocol data unit (PDU), and then transmits the information to the CPE by using an N2 interface signaling message between the AMF and the RAN and an air interface signaling message between the CPE and the RAN. During transmission, the RAN network element transparently transmits the NAS PDU sent by the AMF and does not recognize the specific transmission content.

[0303] It should be further understood that in the AS signaling-based method (AS based), the AMF uses an N2 interface signaling message between the AMF and the RAN to directly transmit the information that needs to be sent to the CPE to the RAN network element, and then the RAN network element transmits the information to the CPE using an air interface signaling message between the CPE and the RAN. During transmission, the information that needs to be sent to the CPE is explicitly included in the message as an information element of the associated signaling message, and the RAN network element can also recognize the specific transmitted message content.

[0304] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 300 according to the present application.

[0305] With reference to Figure 6, the following describes a case in which in possible implementation 3 of method 200, the AMF sends relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on AS signaling. S205 in possible implementation 1 is replaced by S301 to S304, S207 in possible implementation 1 is replaced by S305 to S308, and S210 in possible implementation 1 is replaced by S310 to S313.

[0306] S301: A domain WTEMF sends a capability exposure request message to a NEF.

[0307] The Capability Exposure Request message conveys the CPE ID, the maintenance and test job identifier, the action order, the dial test type, and basic configuration parameters for performing the dial test.

[0308] The action command may be understood as a CPE dial test command indication, and the function of the action command is to indicate that the function of the request message is to perform a dial test process to be performed by the CPE, so that the network element (e.g., NEF, AMF, or RAN) receiving the capability exposure request message sends information elements in the message to the CPE according to the action command. For the meanings of other parameter information elements, please refer to the relevant description of the method 200.

[0309] It should be noted that the action command may alternatively be replaced with another message type having similar function, or the action command may alternatively be replaced with instruction information having similar function. All implementations having the same function as the action command fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0310] The capability exposure request message may be an NEF interface Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request message or an NEF service request defined in this application, such as an Nnef interface CPE diagnostics job create request message. The specific message type is not limited in this application.

[0311] It should be understood that in a 5th generation system (5GS) architecture, information exchange may be performed directly between network elements through a service-based interface, and the Nnef interface is a service-based interface for interaction between a NEF and another network element. For example, currently, the message transmitted between a NEF and another network element through the Nnef interface may be a Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request message. Alternatively, in this embodiment of the present application, the message transmitted between a NEF and another network element through the Nnef interface may be a Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create request message defined in the present application.

[0312] S302: The NEF sends a UE message request message to the AMF.

[0313] The request message includes information about the capability exposure request message of S301 and an action instruction.

[0314] For example, the UE message request message may be a Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) message of the AMF, or may be a request message of an AMF defined service, such as a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation request (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation request). The specific message type is not limited in this application.

[0315] It should be understood that in the 5th generation system (5GS) architecture, information exchange may be performed directly between network elements through a service-based interface, and the Namf interface is a service-based interface for interaction between the AMF and another network element. For example, currently, the message transmitted between the AMF and another network element through the Namf interface may be a Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer message. Alternatively, in this embodiment of the present application, the message transmitted between the AMF and another network element through the Namf interface may be a Namf_Communication_CPPEDiagnosticsJobCreation request message defined in the present application. S303: The AMF sends an N2 message request message to the RAN.

[0316] The N2 message contains the information in the terminal message request message.

[0317] The N2 message request message may be a UE Information Transfer message. In order to carry the aforementioned parameter information, the information element parameters of the UE Information Transfer message need to be enhanced. Alternatively, an N2 interface signaling message may be defined. The specific message type is not limited in this application. However, if the message is defined to specifically carry information, the action command may not be conveyed in step S303, and the RAN network element can determine the function of the message based on the message type of the defined message and perform the corresponding processing operation.

[0318] S304: The RAN sends a radio resource control (RRC) message request message to the CPE.

[0319] The RAN network element performs information forwarding based on the instruction of the action command in the N2 message request message or the message type of the message defined in S303, and transmits the information in the N2 message request message received in S305 to the CPE using an RRC message request message.

[0320] The RRC message request message in this specification may be an RRC reconfiguration message or a UE information request message. Therefore, the information element parameters of the RRC reconfiguration message need to be enhanced to carry the aforementioned parameter information. Alternatively, an air interface signaling message may be defined. The specific message type is not limited in this application.

[0321] S305: The CPE sends an RRC configuration complete response message to the RAN.

[0322] The CPE receives the RRC message request message sent by the RAN network element, completes the corresponding dial test measurement job configuration, and sends the job creation process result (e.g., job creation success, job creation failure, failure cause) to the RAN network element. The completion response message of S305 corresponds to the request message of S304. The response message carries the maintenance and test job identifier and the job creation result.

[0323] S306: The RAN sends an N2 message response message to the AMF.

[0324] After receiving the job creation result feedback from the CPE, the RAN network element sends the job creation processing result to the AMF. The response message of S306 corresponds to the request message of S303. The response message carries the maintenance and test job identifier and the job creation result received by the RAN in S305.

[0325] S307: The AMF sends a terminal message response message to the NEF.

[0326] When the AMF receives feedback of the job creation result from the RAN network element, it feeds back the creation result to the NEF.

[0327] If the UE message request message in S302 is an AMF Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) message, the response message in S307 is a Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) confirmation response message. If the UE message request message in S302 is an AMF service defined in this application, for example, a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostic job creation request (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation request) request message, the response message in S307 is a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostic job creation response (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation response) confirmation response message.

[0328] S308: The NEF sends a capability exposure response message to the domain WTEMF.

[0329] When the NEF receives feedback of the job creation result from the AMF, it feeds back the creation result to the domain WTEMF. The response message is a response message to the capability exposure request message in S301. If there is an NEF Nnef interface application policy creation request (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request) message in S301, there is an Nnef interface application policy creation response (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create response) message in S308. If there is an NEF service request defined in S301, for example, an Nnef interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation request (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create request) request message, there is an Nnef interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation response (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create response) message in S308.

[0330] S309: For details herein, please refer to the description of S209.

[0331] S310: The CPE sends an RRC message to the RAN.

[0332] The CPE sends the measurement results obtained in S309 to the RAN network element using an RRC message (e.g., a Measurement Report message or another defined message). The message carries a data report (dataReport), a maintenance and test job identifier, a CPE ID, and a dial test measurement data result.

[0333] The data report may be understood as an instruction for data reporting, and the function of the data report indicates that the function of the message is to transmit CPE dial test measurement data results, and the network element (such as an AMF or a RAN) receiving the RRC message reports the measurement results in the message based on the instruction.

[0334] It should be noted that the data report may alternatively be replaced with another message type having similar functions, or the data report may alternatively be replaced with indication information having similar functions. All implementations having the same functions as the data report fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0335] S311: RAN sends an N2 message to AMF.

[0336] The RAN network element receives the measurement data results reported by the CPE and sends the data report, maintenance and test job identifier, CPE ID, and measurement results conveyed in an RRC message at S310 to the AMF using an N2 interface message (e.g., a Data Usage Report message or another defined message).

[0337] S312: The AMF performs data reporting to the NEF.

[0338] After receiving this information in the N2 message reported by the RAN network element, the AMF determines to perform data reporting via the NEF and based on the data report instruction or AS message type in the N2 message, for example, based on the AMF's Namf interface event exposure notification (Namf_EventExposure_Notify) service interface message, i.e., by extending the Namf_EventExposure_Notify message based on the data reporting requirements. The message includes the data report, the maintenance and test job identifier, the CPE ID, and the measurement result.

[0339] S313: The NEF sends a data exposure message to the domain WTEMF.

[0340] The NEF sends the information reported by the AMF to the domain WTEMF through Data exposure. In S313, data reporting can be performed using the NEF's Nnef interface event exposure notification (Nnef_EventExposure_Notify) service interface message, i.e. by extending the Nnef_EventExposure_Notify message. Parameters in the message include the measurement result, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier.

[0341] Optionally, after receiving the information reported by the RAN network element in S312 and S313, the AMF can directly report the information to a radio network element management system (EMS) in a standard manner for reporting performance data, instead of indirectly sending the reported information to the domain WTEMF via the NEF. The EMS then sends the information to the domain WTEMF.

[0342] It should be understood that in a procedure in which the AMF transmits relevant information regarding the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on AS signaling, the RAN does not process the information forwarded by the RAN, so that the complexity of RAN processing can be reduced and the power consumption of the entire system can be reduced.

[0343] In this embodiment of the present application, the control plane signaling of the core network is enhanced to support dial test job configuration and reporting of terminal dial test measurement results, so that relevant performance data can be targetedly collected for various dial test type problems, and fault location analysis of the terminal device can be rapidly implemented based on the data collection results. Thus, fault location identification is automatically performed on the terminal device, reducing labor costs, so as to quickly handle the fault and restore normal service provisioning.

[0344] Furthermore, similar to method 200, since the network measures performance indicators at service flow granularity of exception events, cases where fault demarcation cannot be performed and fault location is inaccurate can be avoided, and more accurate fault demarcation and location can be performed, which facilitates faster fault handling and restores normal service provisioning.

[0345] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 400 according to the present application.

[0346] 7, the following describes a case in which the AMF sends relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on NAS signaling in a possible embodiment 3 of the method 200. S205 in the possible implementation 1 is replaced by S401 to S405, S207 in the possible implementation 1 is replaced by S406 to S409, and S210 in the possible implementation 1 is replaced by S411 to S414.

[0347] For S401 and S402, please refer to the corresponding explanations of S301 and S302.

[0348] S403: The AMF performs NAS PDU encapsulation.

[0349] The AMF performs information transfer based on the instruction of the action command in the terminal message request message. In order to transmit the dial test type, the report period of the collected data, the report address of the collected data, the data collection period, the data collection start time, the data collection end time, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier to the UE in the terminal message request message using the NAS PDU, a NAS message type needs to be added or the message content needs to be enhanced for this current NAS message. The AMF encapsulates the information elements in the terminal message request message, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier into the NAS message.

[0350] S404: The AMF performs downlink NAS transmission to the RAN.

[0351] The AMF sends the S403 encapsulated NAS PDU to the RAN network element using the N2 interface downlink non-access stratum Transfer (DL NAS Transfer) message.

[0352] S405: The RAN performs a downlink NAS transmission to the CPE.

[0353] The RAN network element receives the DL NAS Transfer message from the AMF and sends the NAS PDU in the DL NAS Transfer message to the CPE at S404 using an air interface downlink information transfer (DL Information Transfer) message.

[0354] S406: The CPE performs an uplink NAS transmission to the RAN.

[0355] The CPE receives the request sent by the RAN network element, completes the corresponding dial test measurement job configuration, and sends the job creation process result (e.g., job creation success, job creation failure, and failure cause) to the RAN network element using an uplink information transfer (UL Information Transfer) message. The message carries the maintenance and test job identifier and the job creation result.

[0356] S407: The RAN performs uplink NAS transmission to the AMF.

[0357] After receiving the job creation result feedback from the CPE, the RAN network element sends the job creation processing result to the AMF using an uplink non-access stratum Transfer (UL NAS Transfer) message, which carries the maintenance and test job identifier and the job creation result.

[0358] S408: The AMF sends a terminal message response message to the NEF.

[0359] When the AMF receives feedback of the job creation result from the RAN network element, the AMF feeds back the creation result to the NEF. If the UE message request message of S402 is a Namf interface communication UE context transfer Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer message of the AMF, the response message of S408 is a Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) acknowledgement message. If the UE message request message of S402 is a service of the AMF defined in this application, for example, a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation request (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation request) message, the response message of S408 is a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation response (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation response) message.

[0360] S409: The NEF sends a capability exposure response to the domain WTEMF.

[0361] After receiving the feedback of the job creation result from the AMF, the NEF feeds back the job creation result to the domain WTEMF. This message is a response message to S401. If there is an Nnef interface application policy creation request (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request) message of the NEF in S401, there is an Nnef interface application policy creation response (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create response) message in S409. If S401 is a service request of the NEF defined in this application, for example, a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation request (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create request) message, there is a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation response (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create response) message in S409.

[0362] S410: For details, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S209.

[0363] S411: AMF performs NAS encapsulation.

[0364] In order to transmit information such as the measurement results of S410 to the AMF using the NAS PDU, a NAS message type needs to be added or the message content needs to be enhanced for existing NAS messages. The CPE encapsulates the measurement results, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier in the NAS message in S411.

[0365] S412: The CPE performs uplink NAS encapsulation to the RAN.

[0366] The CPE sends the S411 encapsulated NAS PDU to the RAN network element using the air interface UL information transfer message.

[0367] S413: The RAN performs data reporting to the AMF.

[0368] The RAN network element sends the NAS PDU to the AMF using the N2 interface UL NAS transfer message.

[0369] S414: For details, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S313.

[0370] This embodiment of the present application has the same beneficial effects as method 300 .

[0371] The above describes possible implementation form 3 of the method 200 in detail with reference to Figs. 6 and 7 .

[0372] Hereinafter, the possible implementation form 4 of the method 200 will be described in further detail with reference to Figures 8 and 9. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, information transfer is performed between the domain WTEMF and the CPE via the NEF, the AMF, and the RAN. After receiving a request from the NEF, the AMF can separately send relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on an AS signaling-based method or a NAS signaling-based method.

[0373] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 500 according to the present application.

[0374] With reference to Figure 8, the following describes a case in which in possible implementation form 4 of method 200, the AMF sends relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on AS signaling. S205 in possible implementation form 2 is replaced by S501 to S504, S207 in possible implementation form 2 is replaced by S506 to S508, and S210 in possible implementation form 2 is replaced by S510 to S513.

[0375] S501: The domain WTEMF sends a capability exposure request message to the NEF.

[0376] The capability exposure request message carries a CPE ID, a maintenance and test job identifier, a TR-069 protocol packet, and an action instruction. The TR-069 packet is an encapsulated packet obtained by performing modeling of a dial test type and basic configuration parameters for performing a dial test according to the terminal management protocol TR-069 protocol in S204 of possible implementation form 2, and is transmitted between network elements as a whole in the manner of information elements. The action instruction is a CPE dial test command indication, and the function of the action instruction is to indicate that the function of the request message is to perform a dial test process to be performed by the CPE, so that the network element (e.g., NEF, AMF, or RAN) receiving the message transmits the information element in the message to the CPE based on the instruction.

[0377] The capability exposure request message may be an NEF interface Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request message or an NEF service request defined in this application, such as an Nnef interface CPE diagnostics job create request message. The specific message type is not limited in this application.

[0378] S502: The NEF sends a UE message request message to the AMF.

[0379] The NEF performs information transfer based on the instruction of the S501 action command, and sends the TR-069 packet, the CPE ID, the maintenance and test job identifier, and the S501 action command to the AMF.

[0380] The UE message request message in this specification may be a Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) message of the AMF, or may be a service of the AMF defined in this application, such as a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation request (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation request) request message. The specific message type is not limited in this application.

[0381] S503: The AMF sends an N2 message request message to the RAN.

[0382] The AMF performs information transfer based on the instructions of the action command in the terminal message request message of S502, and sends the TR-069 packet, the CPE ID, the maintenance and test job identifier, and the action command in the terminal message request message to the AMF.

[0383] In this specification, the N2 message request message may be a UE information transfer message. In order to transmit the aforementioned parameter information, the information element parameters of the UE Information Transfer message need to be enhanced. The N2 interface signaling message may alternatively be defined in this application. The specific message type is not limited in this application. However, if the message is defined to specifically transmit information, the action command may not be conveyed in S503, and the RAN network element can determine the function of the message based on the defined message name and perform the corresponding processing operation.

[0384] S504: The RAN sends an RRC message request message to the CPE.

[0385] The RAN network element performs information transfer based on the instruction of the action command of S503 or the message type of the message defined in S503, and sends the TR-069 packet, the CPE ID, the maintenance and test job identifier, and the action command of S503 to the CPE.

[0386] In this specification, the RRC message request message may be an RRC reconfiguration message or a UE information request message. Therefore, the information element parameters of the RRC reconfiguration message need to be enhanced to transmit the aforementioned parameter information. The air interface signaling message may be alternatively defined in this application. The specific message type is not limited in this application.

[0387] S505: The CPE parses the TR-069 packet. For details, see the description of S206.

[0388] After receiving the message from the RAN network element, the CPE parses the TR-069 packet in the message, and performs corresponding dial test related operation processing based on the RPC type and parameters of the TR-069 protocol in the packet.

[0389] S506: The CPE sends an RRC configuration complete response message to the RAN.

[0390] The CPE receives the RRC message request message sent by the RAN network element, completes the corresponding dial test measurement job configuration, and sends the job creation process result (e.g., job creation success, job creation failure, failure cause) to the RAN network element. The completion response message of S506 corresponds to the request message of S504. The response message carries the maintenance and test job identifier and the job creation result.

[0391] S507: The RAN sends an N2 message response message to the AMF.

[0392] After receiving the feedback of the job creation result from the CPE, the RAN network element sends the job creation processing result to the AMF. The response message of S507 corresponds to the request message of S503. The response message carries the maintenance and test job identifier received by the RAN in S506 and the job creation result.

[0393] S508: The AMF sends a terminal message response message to the NEF.

[0394] When the AMF receives feedback of the job creation result from the RAN network element, it feeds back the creation result to the NEF.

[0395] If the UE message request message in S502 is an AMF Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) message, the response message in S508 is a Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) confirmation response message. If the UE message request message in S502 is an AMF service defined in this application, for example, a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostic job creation request (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation request) message, the response message in S508 is a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostic job creation response (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation response) message.

[0396] S509: The NEF sends a capability exposure response message to the domain WTEMF.

[0397] When the NEF receives feedback of the job creation result from the AMF, it feeds back the creation result to the domain WTEMF. The response message is a response message to the capability exposure request message of S501. If there is an Nnef interface application policy creation request (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request) message of the NEF in S501, there is an Nnef interface application policy creation response (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create response) message in S509. If there is a service request of the NEF defined in this application in S501, for example, an Nnef interface CPE diagnostics job creation request (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create request) message, there is an Nnef interface CPE diagnostics job creation response (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create response) message in S509.

[0398] S510: For details of this specification, please refer to the explanation of S209.

[0399] S511: The CPE sends an RRC message to the RAN.

[0400] The CPE uses an RRC message (e.g., a Measurement Report message or another defined message) to send data encapsulated according to the TR-069 protocol (i.e., data encapsulated in a TR-069 packet) to the RAN network element at S510, where the message carries a data report, a maintenance and test job identifier, a CPE ID, and a dial test measurement data result. The data report is a data report instruction, and the function of the data report is to indicate that the function of the message is to transmit the CPE dial test measurement data result, so that the network element (such as an AMF or a gNB) receiving the message reports the TR-069 packet in the message based on the instruction. The TR-069 packet is a protocol packet that includes the CPE measurement result.

[0401] It should be noted that the data report may alternatively be replaced with another message type having similar functions, or the data report may alternatively be replaced with indication information having similar functions. All implementations having the same functions as the data report fall within the protection scope of this application.

[0402] S512: The RAN sends an N2 message to the AMF.

[0403] The RAN network element receives the measurement data results reported by the CPE and sends the data report, the maintenance and test job identifier, the CPE ID, and the TR-069 packet conveyed in the RRC message at S511 to the AMF using an N2 interface message (e.g., a Data Usage Report message or another defined message).

[0404] S513: The AMF executes data reporting to the NEF.

[0405] After receiving this information in the N2 message reported by the RAN network element, the AMF, via the NEF, determines to perform data reporting (data report transmission) based on the data report instruction or the AS message type in the N2 message, for example, based on the AMF's Namf interface event exposure notification (Namf_EventExposure_Notify) service interface message, i.e., by extending the Namf_EventExposure_Notify message. The message includes a data report, a maintenance and test job identifier, a CPE ID, and a TR-069 packet.

[0406] S514: The NEF sends a data exposure message to the domain WTEMF.

[0407] The NEF sends the information reported by the AMF to the domain WTEMF through data exposure. In S514, the data reporting can be performed using the NEF's Nnef interface event exposure notification (Nnef_EventExposure_Notify) service interface message, i.e., by extending the Nnef_EventExposure_Notify message. Parameters in the message include the TR-069 packet, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier.

[0408] Optionally, after receiving the information reported by the RAN network element in S513 and S514, the AMF can directly report the information to the EMS in a standard manner for reporting performance data, instead of indirectly sending the reported information to the domain WTEMF via the NEF. The EMS then sends the information to the domain WTEMF.

[0409] It should be understood that in a procedure in which the AMF transmits relevant information regarding the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on AS signaling, the RAN does not process the information forwarded by the RAN, so that the complexity of RAN processing can be reduced and the power consumption of the entire system can be reduced.

[0410] This embodiment of the present application has the same beneficial effects as the method 300. In addition, information exchange is performed between the domain WTEMF and the CPE according to the TR-069 protocol, and the core network element device does not need to process the information transferred by the core network element device. Based on quickly and accurately identifying the cause of the failure, the complexity of the core network element device is further reduced, and the power consumption of the entire system is reduced.

[0411] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 600 according to the present application.

[0412] 9, the following describes a case in which in possible implementation form 4 of method 200, the AMF sends relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on NAS signaling. S205 in possible implementation form 2 is replaced by S601 to S605, S207 in possible implementation form 2 is replaced by S607 to S610, and S210 in possible implementation form 2 is replaced by S612 to S615.

[0413] For details about S601 and S602, please refer to the explanations of S501 and S502.

[0414] S603: The AMF performs NAS PDU encapsulation.

[0415] The AMF performs information transfer based on the instruction of the action command in the terminal message request message. In order to transmit the TR-069 packet, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier in the terminal message request message to the UE using the NAS PDU, a NAS message type needs to be added or the message content needs to be enhanced for this current NAS message. The AMF encapsulates the TR-069 packet, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier in the terminal message request message into the NAS message.

[0416] S604: The AMF performs downlink NAS transmission to the RAN.

[0417] The AMF sends the NAS PDU encapsulated in S603 to the RAN network element using the N2 interface DL NAS transfer message.

[0418] S605: The RAN performs a downlink NAS transmission to the CPE.

[0419] The RAN network element receives a DL NAS transfer message from the AMF and sends the NAS PDU in the DL NAS transfer message to the CPE at S604 using an air interface DL information transfer message.

[0420] S606: The CPE performs the analysis according to the TR-069 protocol.

[0421] After receiving the message from the RAN network element, the CPE parses the NAS PDU in the message to obtain the TR-069 packet in the message, performs parsing, and performs corresponding dial test related operation processing based on the RPC type and parameters of the TR-069 protocol in the packet.

[0422] S607: The CPE performs an uplink NAS transmission to the RAN.

[0423] The CPE receives the request sent by the RAN network element, completes the corresponding dial test measurement job configuration, and sends the job creation process result (e.g., job creation success, job creation failure, and failure cause) to the RAN network element using UL information transfer. The message carries the maintenance and test job identifier and the job creation result.

[0424] S608: The RAN performs uplink NAS transmission to the AMF.

[0425] After receiving the job creation result feedback from the CPE, the RAN network element sends the job creation process result to the AMF using a UL NAS transfer message, where the message includes the maintenance and test job identifier and the job creation result.

[0426] S609: The AMF sends a terminal message response message to the NEF.

[0427] When the AMF receives feedback of the job creation result from the RAN network element, the AMF feeds back the creation result to the NEF. If the UE message request message of S602 is a Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) message of the AMF, the response message of S609 is a Namf interface communication UE context transfer (Namf_Communication_UEContextTransfer) confirmation response message. If the UE message request message of S602 is a service of the AMF defined in this application, for example, a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostic job creation request (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation request) message, the response message of S609 is a Namf interface communication CPE diagnostic job creation response (Namf_Communication_CPEDiagnosticsJobCreation response) confirmation response message.

[0428] S610: The NEF sends a capability exposure response to the domain WTEMF.

[0429] After receiving the feedback of the job creation result from the AMF, the NEF feeds back the job creation result to the domain WTEMF. This message is a response message to S601. If there is an Nnef interface application policy creation request (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request) message of the NEF in S601, there is an Nnef interface application policy creation response (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create response) message in S610. If there is a service request of the NEF defined in this application in S601, for example, an Nnef interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation request (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create request) request message, there is an Nnef interface communication CPE diagnostics job creation request (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create response) message in S610.

[0430] S611: For details, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S209.

[0431] S612: AMF performs NAS encapsulation.

[0432] In order to transmit information such as the measurement results of S611 to the AMF using the NAS PDU, a NAS message type needs to be added or the message content needs to be enhanced for the existing NAS message. In S612, the CPE encapsulates the TR-069 packet, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier in the NAS message.

[0433] S613: The CPE performs uplink NAS encapsulation to the RAN.

[0434] The CPE sends the NAS PDU encapsulated in S612 to the RAN network element using an air interface UL information transfer message.

[0435] S614: The RAN performs data reporting to the AMF.

[0436] The RAN network element sends the NAS PDU to the AMF using the N2 interface UL NAS transfer message.

[0437] S615: For details, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S513.

[0438] This embodiment of the present application has the same beneficial effects as method 500 .

[0439] In addition, the above possible implementations 2 and 4 are implementations in which the domain WTEMF performs parsing and encapsulation according to the TR-069 protocol. During a particular implementation, another network element may alternatively perform parsing and encapsulation according to the TR-069 protocol. With reference to FIG. 10, the following will describe in detail an implementation in which the NEF performs parsing and encapsulation according to the TR-069 protocol on behalf of the CPE.

[0440] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 700 according to the present application.

[0441] For S701 to S704, please refer to the corresponding descriptions of S201 to S204 in possible implementation form 2.

[0442] For S705, please refer to the corresponding description of S501 in possible implementation form 2.

[0443] S706: NEF performs data analysis according to TR-069.

[0444] The NEF receives a capability exposure request message from the domain WTEMF, parses the TR-069 packet, and determines the processing operation that needs to be performed based on the RPC operation type (i.e., the terminal performs a dial test or collects performance KPI data based on the operation type), and determines the required dial test type based on the information element parameters in the RPC operation.

[0445] S707: The NEF sends a diagnostic measurement request to the CPE.

[0446] There may be two possible implementation forms for S707. Specifically, in the procedure in which the NEF forwards the dial test type to the CPE via the AMF and the RAN, after receiving a request from the NEF, the AMF may separately send relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on an AS signaling-based method or a NAS signaling-based method.

[0447] Implementation 1: AS-based signaling.

[0448] S707 may be replaced with S801 to S803 in FIG.

[0449] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 800 according to the present application.

[0450] For S801 to S803, please refer to the explanation of S302 to S304.

[0451] Implementation 2: NAS-based signaling.

[0452] S707 may be replaced with S901 to S904 in FIG.

[0453] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 900 according to the present application.

[0454] For S901 to S904, please refer to the explanation of S402 to S405.

[0455] S708: The CPE sends a diagnostic measurement request response to the NEF.

[0456] S708 has two possible implementation forms and corresponds to S707. Specifically, in the procedure in which the CPE transfers the maintenance and test job creation result to the NEF via the AMF and the RAN, the CPE can separately send the maintenance and test job creation result to the NEF based on an AS signaling-based method or a NAS signaling-based method.

[0457] Implementation form 1: This is AS-based signaling and corresponds to implementation form 1 of S707.

[0458] S708 may be replaced with S804 to S806 in FIG.

[0459] For S804 to S806, please refer to the corresponding explanations of S305 to S307.

[0460] Implementation form 2: NAS-based signaling, corresponding to implementation form 2 of S707.

[0461] S708 may be replaced with S904 to S906 in FIG.

[0462] For S904 to S906, please refer to the corresponding explanations of S406 to S408.

[0463] For S709, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S409.

[0464] For S710, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S208.

[0465] For S711, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S209.

[0466] There are two possible implementations of S712, corresponding to S707 and S708. Specifically, in the procedure in which the CPE forwards the measurement result to the NEF via the AMF and the RAN, the CPE can separately transmit the measurement result to the NEF based on an AS signaling-based method or a NAS signaling-based method.

[0467] Implementation form 1: AS-based signaling, corresponding to implementation form 1 of S707 and S708.

[0468] S712 may be replaced by S808 to S810 in FIG.

[0469] For S808 to S810, please refer to the corresponding explanations of S310 to S312.

[0470] Implementation form 2: NAS-based signaling, corresponding to implementation form 2 of S707 and S708.

[0471] S712 may be replaced with S909 to S911 in FIG.

[0472] For S909 to S911, please refer to the corresponding explanations of S411 to S413.

[0473] S713: NEF performs modeling and encapsulation on the measurement results according to the TR-069 protocol.

[0474] The NEF can encapsulate the measurement results received in S712 and report a TR-069 packet based on the Inform RPC of the TR-069 protocol.

[0475] For S714, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S414.

[0476] For S715 and S716, please refer to the corresponding explanations of S211 and S212.

[0477] The function of the NEF is enhanced so that the NEF can encapsulate or parse relevant packets according to the TR-069 protocol, which can reduce the improvement of another core network element device and reduce the power consumption of the entire system. The function of processing the terminal management protocol is extended, and the related interface services between the NEF and the AMF, the N2 interface signaling message, and the air interface signaling message are enhanced to carry information such as the terminal fault dial test type and the identifier of the terminal performing the dial test.

[0478] This embodiment of the present application has the same beneficial effects as method 300 .

[0479] In the above possible implementations 1 to 5 of the method 200, the domain WTEMF diagnoses the fault based on the measurement results reported by the CPE. With reference to Figure 13, the following describes possible implementation 6, i.e., an implementation in which the NWDAF replaces the domain WTEMF to diagnose the fault based on the measurement results reported by the CPE.

[0480] It should be understood that the domain WTEMF triggers the maintenance and testing process of the CPE based on the maintenance and testing request from the cross-domain WTEMF, but the domain WTEMF does not perform the dial test job configuration of the terminal, does not perform the fault boundary definition and location identification analysis based on the measurement result of the dial test performed by the CPE, but requests the NWDAF in the core network to perform the terminal fault location analysis, that is, the core network is responsible for performing the terminal fault location analysis. After receiving the maintenance and testing request from the cross-domain WTEMF, the domain WTEMF requests the terminal fault analysis result to the core network through the capability exposure of the NEF. Based on this analysis request, the NWDAF collects the measurement result of the dial test performed by the CPE, performs the terminal fault analysis, and reports the analysis result to the domain WTEMF through the NEF.

[0481] FIG. 13 is a diagram of a fault location method 1000 according to the present application.

[0482] For S1101 to S1102, please refer to the corresponding explanations of S201 and S202.

[0483] S1003: The domain WTEMF sends a capability exposure request message to the NEF.

[0484] The Capability Exposure Request message conveys a CPE ID, a maintenance and test job identifier, and a maintenance and test analysis instruction that may be used to describe the requested behavior instruction or to request that a terminal fault location analysis be performed.

[0485] The capability exposure request message may be an NEF interface application policy create request message (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request) or an NNEF interface event exposure subscription request message (Nnef_EventExposure_subscribe request), or may be an NEF service request defined in this application, such as an NNEF interface communications CPE diagnostics job create request (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create request) message. The specific message type is not limited in this application.

[0486] S1004: The NEF sends a capability exposure response message to the domain WTEMF.

[0487] The results of the creation of maintenance jobs and test jobs are fed back in the capability exposure response message.

[0488] The capability exposure response message is a response message to S1003. If there is an Nnef interface application policy creation request (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create request) message of the NEF in S1003, there is an Nnef interface application policy creation response (Nnef_ApplyPolicy_Create response) message in S1004. If there is an Nnef interface event exposure subscription request (Nnef_EventExposure_subscribe request) message of the NEF in S1003, there is an Nnef interface event exposure subscription response (Nnef_EventExposure_subscribe response) message in S1004. If there is a service request of the NEF defined in this application in S1003, for example, an Nnef interface communication CPE diagnostic job creation request (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create request) message, there is an Nnef interface communication CPE diagnostic job creation response (Nnef_CPEDiagnosticsJob_Create response) message in S1004.

[0489] For S1005, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S208.

[0490] S1006: The NEF sends an analysis request message to the NWDAF.

[0491] The NEF requests terminal fault maintenance and test analysis results from the NWDAF based on the maintenance and test analysis instruction of S1003, that is, invokes the Nnwdaf Interface Analytics Subscription (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe) service request message of the NWDAF. The message carries the information element parameters of S1003.

[0492] S1007: For details, see the corresponding explanation in S203, and the domain WTEMF in S203 is replaced by NWDAF.

[0493] S1008: The NWDAF sends a diagnostic measurement request to the CPE.

[0494] There may be two possible implementation forms for S1008. Specifically, in the procedure in which the NWDAF forwards the dial test type to the CPE via the AMF and the RAN, after receiving a request from the NWDAF, the AMF may separately send relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on an AS signaling-based method or a NAS signaling-based method.

[0495] Implementation 1: AS-based signaling.

[0496] S1008 may be replaced with S1101 to S1103 in FIG.

[0497] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 1100 according to the present application.

[0498] For S1101 to S1103, refer to the explanation of S302 to S304, and NEF in S302 to S304 is replaced with NWDAF.

[0499] Implementation 2: NAS-based signaling.

[0500] S1008 may be replaced with S1201 to S1204 in FIG.

[0501] FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a fault localization method 1200 according to the present application.

[0502] For S1201 to S1204, refer to the explanation of S402 to S405, and NEF in S402 to S405 is replaced with NWDAF.

[0503] S1009: For details, please refer to the explanation of S209.

[0504] S1010: The CPE transmits a diagnostic measurement completion notification to the NWDAF.

[0505] There may be two possible implementation forms for S1010. Specifically, in the procedure in which the NWDAF forwards the dial test type to the CPE via the AMF and the RAN, after receiving a request from the NWDAF, the AMF may separately send relevant information about the dial test performed by the terminal to the CPE based on an AS signaling-based method or a NAS signaling-based method.

[0506] Implementation 1: AS-based signaling.

[0507] S1010 may be replaced with S1104 to S1106 in FIG.

[0508] For S1104 to S1106, refer to the explanation of S310 to S313, and NEF in S310 to S313 is replaced with NWDAF.

[0509] Implementation 2: NAS-based signaling.

[0510] S1010 may be replaced with S1205 to S1207 in FIG.

[0511] For S1205 to S1207, refer to the explanations of S411 to S414, and NEF in S411 to S414 is replaced with NWDAF.

[0512] S1011: For details, see the corresponding explanation of S211, and the domain WTEMF in S211 is replaced by NWDAF.

[0513] S1012: NWDAF will report the results of its analysis to NEF.

[0514] The NWDAF sends the analysis results to the NEF by invoking the NEF's Nnwdaf interface Analytics Subscription Notify (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify) service request message. The message further conveys the CPE ID and the maintenance and test job identifier.

[0515] S1013: The NEF transmits the analysis result to the domain WTEMF.

[0516] The NEF sends the information reported by the NWDAF to the domain WTEMF by data exposure. This step can use the NEF's Nnef interface event exposure notification (Nnef_EventExposure_Notify) service message, i.e., the input parameters of the Nnef_EventExposure_Notify message are extended to include the analysis result, the CPE ID, and the maintenance and test job identifier.

[0517] S1014: For details, please refer to the corresponding explanation of S212.

[0518] Optionally, the method 1000 may alternatively have another implementation. Before S1003, the domain WTEMF determines that the fault demarcation is performed and the failed network element is a CPE. In S1011, the NWDAF may only perform fault localization.

[0519] In this implementation of the present application, the NWDAF performs fault localization. In this way, relevant performance data can be collected in a targeted manner for various maintenance and test type problems, and fault localization analysis can be quickly implemented on the terminal device based on the data collection results, so that fault localization is automatically implemented on the terminal device. This can further reduce the resource consumption of the interface between the domains WTEMF and NEF caused by the reporting of a large amount of measurement data.

[0520] The solution of the present application may be applied to detect exception failures in 5GtoB scenarios, or to detect network functionality before the E2E network is enabled. For example, the delay of the E2E network is measured by a dial test performed by a terminal to evaluate the delay performance level that can be achieved by the network.

[0521] Above, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 15. Hereinafter, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application is described in detail with reference to Figures 16 and 17.

[0522] 16 is a block diagram of a fault location device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 16, the device 10 may include a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12.

[0523] The transceiver module 11 may be configured to receive information transmitted by another device or to transmit information to another device. For example, the transceiver module receives the second instruction information or transmits the first instruction information. The processing module 12 may be configured to perform content processing of the device, for example, to analyze the first instruction information.

[0524] In a possible design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to a first network element or domain WTEMF or NWDAF in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0525] Specifically, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the first network element or domain WTEMF or NWDAF of the method 100 to the method 1200 in the embodiments of the present application. The apparatus 10 may include modules configured to perform the operations performed by the first network element or domain WTEMF or NWDAF in the corresponding manner. In addition, the units in the apparatus 10 are separately configured to implement the operations performed by the first network element or domain WTEMF or NWDAF in the corresponding manner.

[0526] For example, when the apparatus 10 corresponds to the first network element of the method 100, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S101, S103 and S104, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform step S104.

[0527] For example, when the apparatus 10 corresponds to the domain WTEMF in the method 200, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S202, S205, S207, S208, S210, and S212, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S203, S204, and S211.

[0528] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to the domain WTEMF in the method 300, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S301, S308, and S313.

[0529] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to the domain WTEMF in the method 400, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S401, S409, and S414.

[0530] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to the domain WTEMF in the method 500, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S501, S509, and S514.

[0531] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to the domain WTEMF in the method 600, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S601, S610, and S615.

[0532] For example, when the apparatus 10 corresponds to the domain WTEMF in the method 700, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S702, S705, S709, S714, and S716, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S703, S704, and S715.

[0533] For example, when apparatus 10 supports NWDAF of method 1000, transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S1006, S1008, S1010, and S1012, and processing module 12 is configured to perform S1007 and S1011.

[0534] For example, when the apparatus 10 supports NWDAF of the method 1100, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S1101 and S1106.

[0535] For example, when the apparatus 10 supports NWDAF of the method 1200, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S1201 and S1207.

[0536] In another possible design, the apparatus 10 may correspond to a second network element, a cross-domain WTEMF, or a domain WTEMF in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0537] Specifically, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the network device of the method 100 to the method 1200 according to the embodiments of the present application. The apparatus 10 may include a module configured to perform an operation performed by a second network element, a cross-domain WTEMF, or a domain WTEMF in a corresponding manner. In addition, the units in the apparatus 10 are separately configured to implement the operation performed by a second network element, a cross-domain WTEMF, or a domain WTEMF in a corresponding manner.

[0538] For example, when the apparatus 10 supports cross-domain WTEMF in the method 200, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S201, S202, S208, and S212.

[0539] For example, when the apparatus 10 supports cross-domain WTEMF in the method 700, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S701, S702, S710, and S716.

[0540] For example, when the apparatus 10 corresponds to the domain WTEMF in the method 1000, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S1001, S1002, S1005, and S1014.

[0541] Specifically, the apparatus 10 may correspond to the terminal device or CPE of the methods 100 to 1200 according to the embodiments of the present application. The apparatus 10 may include modules configured to perform operations performed by the terminal device or CPE in the corresponding manner. In addition, the units in the apparatus 10 are separately configured to implement the operations performed by the terminal device or CPE in the corresponding manner.

[0542] For example, when the apparatus 10 corresponds to a terminal device of the method 100, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S101 and S103, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S102.

[0543] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 200, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S205, S207, and S210, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S206 and S209.

[0544] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 300, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S304, S305, and S310, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S309.

[0545] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 400, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S405, S406, and S412, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S410.

[0546] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 500, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S504, S506, and S511, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S505 and S510.

[0547] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 600, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S605, S607, and S613, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S606, S611, and S612.

[0548] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 700, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S707, S708, and S712, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S711.

[0549] For example, when the apparatus 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 800, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S803, S804, and S808, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S807.

[0550] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 900, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S904, S905, and S909, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S908.

[0551] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 1000, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S1008 and S1010, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S1009.

[0552] For example, when the apparatus 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 1100, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S1103 and S1104.

[0553] For example, when the device 10 corresponds to a CPE of the method 1200, the transceiver module 11 is configured to perform steps S1204 and S1207, and the processing module 12 is configured to perform S1205.

[0554] FIG. 17 is a diagram of an apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present application.

[0555] In a possible design, the apparatus 20 may be a first network element, a domain WTEMF, a second network element, a cross-domain WTEMF, an NWDAF, or a CPE, or may be a chip or chip system disposed on the first network element, a domain WTEMF, a second network element, a cross-domain WTEMF, an NWDAF, or a CPE, etc.

[0556] The apparatus 20 may include a processor 21 (i.e., an example of a processing module) and a memory 22. The memory 22 is configured to store instructions. The processor 21 is configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory 22 to enable the apparatus 20 to implement steps performed by devices of the above possible designs in the methods corresponding to Figures 1 to 7.

[0557] Furthermore, the apparatus 20 may further include an input port 23 (i.e., one example of a transceiver module) and an output port 24 (i.e., another example of a transceiver module). Furthermore, the processor 21, the memory 22, the input port 23, and the output port 24 may communicate with each other through an internal connection path to transmit control signals and / or data signals. The memory 22 is configured to store a computer program. The processor 21 may be configured to call the computer program from the memory 22 and run the computer program to control the input port 23 to receive signals and control the output port 24 to transmit signals to complete the steps performed by the terminal device, the radio access network element device, the UE, or the base station in the aforementioned method. The memory 22 may be integrated with the processor 21 or may be located separately from the processor 21.

[0558] Optionally, if the apparatus 20 is a communications device, the input port 23 is a receiver and the output port 24 is a transmitter. The receiver and transmitter may be the same physical entity or may be different physical entities. If they are the same physical entity, the receiver and transmitter may be collectively referred to as a transceiver.

[0559] Optionally, when device 20 is a chip or a circuit, input port 23 is an input interface and output port 24 is an output interface.

[0560] In one implementation, the functions of input port 23 and output port 34 may be considered to be implemented using transmit and receive circuitry, or using dedicated transmit and receive chips. Processor 21 may be considered to be implemented using a dedicated processing chip, processing circuitry, processor, or a general purpose chip.

[0561] In another implementation form, the device provided in this embodiment of the present application may be considered to be implemented using a general-purpose computer. Specifically, program codes for implementing the functions of the processor 21, the input port 23, and the output port 24 are stored in the memory 22, and the general-purpose processor executes the codes in the memory 22 to implement the functions of the processor 21, the input port 23, and the output port 24.

[0562] The modules or units in the apparatus 20 may be configured to perform the actions or processing steps performed by a device (e.g., a terminal device) that performs random access in the manner described above. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are omitted in this specification.

[0563] For the concept, description, detailed description and other steps of the device 20 related to the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application, please refer to the description of the content of the above method or other embodiments, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0564] It should be understood that the processor in this embodiment of the application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be another general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), another programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware device, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processor, etc.

[0565] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions used to implement the method performed by the first network element, the domain WTEMF, the second network element, the cross-domain WTEMF, the NWDAF, or the CPE in the above method embodiment.

[0566] For example, when the computer instructions are executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to implement a method performed by a first network element, a domain WTEMF, a second network element, a cross-domain WTEMF, an NWDAF, or a CPE in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0567] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions used to implement the method performed by the first network element, the domain WTEMF, the second network element, the cross-domain WTEMF, the NWDAF, or the CPE in the above method embodiment.

[0568] For example, when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method performed by the first network element, domain WTEMF, second network element, cross-domain WTEMF, NWDAF, or CPE in the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0569] It should be further understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be volatile or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM may be used, such as static random access memory (static RAM, SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), synchlink dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM), and direct rambus random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DR RAM).

[0570] All or part of the above-mentioned embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used in the implementation form, all or part of the above-mentioned embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or another programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or may be transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible to a computer, or may be a data storage device, such as a server or data center, that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium. The semiconductor medium may be a solid-state drive.

[0571] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this specification describes only the relational relationship between related objects and indicates that three relations may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent the following three cases: only A is present, both A and B are present, and only B is present. In addition, the character " / " in this specification generally indicates an "or" relationship between related objects.

[0572] It should be understood that the sequence numbers of the above processes do not mean the execution order in various embodiments of the present application. The execution order of the processes should be determined according to the functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0573] Those skilled in the art will notice that, in combination with the examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the units and algorithm steps can be implemented by electronic hardware, or by a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether the functions are executed by hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but the implementation should not be considered to go beyond the scope of this application.

[0574] For ease of description, it will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the detailed operation processes of the above-mentioned systems, devices and units should be referred to the corresponding processes in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and the details will not be described again in this specification.

[0575] In some embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device, and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-mentioned device embodiment is merely an example. For example, the division into units is only a logical functional division, and may be divided differently during actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not implemented. Furthermore, the shown or described mutual couplings or direct couplings or communication connections may be implemented through some interfaces. Indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.

[0576] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components presented as units may or may not be physical units, and may be located in one place or distributed among multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected based on actual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.

[0577] In addition, the functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, each of the units may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0578] When a function is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, the function may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or a part of the contribution to the prior art, or a part of the technical solution may be basically implemented in the form of a software product. The software product is stored in a storage medium and includes some instructions for instructing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes any medium that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0579] The above description is merely a specific implementation form of the present application, and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any variation or replacement that is easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application shall fall within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0580] 10 equipment 11 Transceiver Module 12 Processing Module 20 equipment 21 Processors 22 Memory 23 Input Ports 24 output ports 100 How to identify the fault location 200 How to identify the fault location 300 How to identify the fault location 400 How to identify the fault location 500 How to identify the fault location 600 How to identify the fault location 700 How to identify the fault location 800 How to identify the fault location 900 How to identify the fault location 1000 How to identify the fault location 1100 How to identify the location of a fault 1200 How to identify the fault location

Claims

1. sending, by a first network element, first indication information to a terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow; receiving, by the first network element, a second indication from the terminal device, the second indication indicating a measurement of the performance indicator for the service flow; analyzing, by the first network element, the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow; A fault location determination method comprising:

2. the exception event for the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow; The method of claim 1.

3. the performance indicators of the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by the terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface with delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The method comprises: determining, by the first network element, the performance indicator for the service flow based on the exception event for the service flow; The method of claim 1, further comprising:

5. determining, by the first network element, the performance indicator for the service flow based on the exception event for the service flow; determining, by the first network element, the performance indicator of the service flow based on the exception event of the service flow and a correspondence between the exception event of the service flow and the performance indicator of the service flow; The method of claim 4.

6. The correspondence between the exception events of the service flow and the performance indicators of the service flow is: The video freeze corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance metrics of the service flow: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count and downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count; The controlled delay exception corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of packet data convergence protocol packets having an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by the terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface having a delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface; 6. The method of claim 5, comprising:

7. The method comprises: receiving, by the first network element, an identifier of the terminal device and third indication information from a second network element, the third indication information indicating the exception event of the service flow; Further comprising: The step of transmitting first indication information to the terminal device by a first network element includes: sending, by the first network element, the first indication information to the terminal device based on the identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information; Including, 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The method comprises: receiving, by the first network element, an identifier of the terminal device and the first indication information from a second network element; 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

9. The method comprises: sending, by the first network element, a fourth indication to the second network element, the fourth indication indicating the cause of the exception event for the service flow; 9. The method of claim 7 or 8, further comprising:

10. said step of transmitting first indication information to a terminal device by a first network element; sending the first indication information to the terminal device directly by the first network element, or sending the first indication information to the terminal device by the first network element via a third network element, wherein the third network element includes a core network element device and a radio access network device; 10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising:

11. receiving, by the first network element, second indication information from the terminal device; receiving the second indication information by the first network element directly from the terminal device, or receiving the second indication information by the first network element from the terminal device via the third network element, wherein the third network element includes the core network element device and the radio access network device; 11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising:

12. receiving, by a terminal device, first indication information from a first network element, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow; measuring, by the terminal device, the performance indicators of the service flows according to the first indication information to obtain measurement results of the performance indicators of the service flows; sending, by the terminal device, a second indication to the first network element, the second indication indicating the measurement of the performance indicator of the service flow; A fault location determination method comprising:

13. the exception event for the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow; The method of claim 12.

14. the performance indicators of the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by the terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface with delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface.

14. The method of claim 12 or 13.

15. sending, by a second network element, an identifier of the terminal device and third indication information to the first network element, the third indication information indicating an exception event of a service flow of the terminal device; receiving, by the second network element, a fourth indication from the first network element, the fourth indication indicating a cause of the exception event for the service flow, the cause being determined based on a measurement of a performance indicator for the service flow, the performance indicator for the service flow being associated with the exception event for the service flow; A fault location determination method comprising:

16. determining, by a second network element, a performance indicator for the service flow based on the exception event for the service flow; sending, by the second network element, first indication information to a first network element, the first indication information indicating the performance indicator of the service flow of a terminal device, the performance indicator being used to determine a cause of the exception event of the service flow; receiving, by the second network element, a fourth indication from the first network element, the fourth indication indicating the cause of the exception event for the service flow; A fault location determination method comprising:

17. the exception event for the service flow includes at least one of the following: a video freeze corresponding to the service flow and a control delay exception corresponding to the service flow; 17. The method of claim 15 or 16.

18. the performance indicators of the service flow include at least one of the following: uplink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, downlink packet data convergence protocol packet loss count, uplink air interface transmission delay, downlink air interface transmission delay, a quantity of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets with uplink air interface transmission delay greater than a first threshold, a delay in processing downlink packets by a user plane function network element, a delay in processing downlink packets by the terminal device, a delay in processing downlink packets by a radio access network element device, a quantity of downlink packets on an N3 interface with delay greater than a second threshold, and a transmission delay of downlink packets on an N3 interface.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17.

19. determining, by a second network element, a performance indicator for a service flow based on an exception event for the service flow; determining, by the second network element, the performance indicator of the service flow based on the exception event of the service flow and a correspondence between the exception event of the service flow and the performance indicator of the service flow.

19. The method of any one of claims 16 to 18, comprising:

20. The correspondence between the exception events of the service flow and the performance indicators of the service flow is: The video freeze corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance metrics of the service flow: the uplink Packet Data Convergence Protocol packet loss count and the downlink Packet Data Convergence Protocol packet loss count; the controlled delay exception corresponding to the service flow corresponds to at least one of the following performance indicators of the service flow: the uplink air interface transmission delay, the downlink air interface transmission delay, the amount of Packet Data Convergence Protocol packets having an uplink air interface transmission delay greater than the first threshold, the delay of processing the downlink packets by the user plane function network element, the delay of processing the downlink packets by the terminal device, the delay of processing the downlink packets by the radio access network element device, the amount of downlink packets on the N3 interface having a delay greater than the second threshold, and the transmission delay of the downlink packets on the N3 interface; Including, 20. The method of claim 19.

21. sending, by a first network element, first indication information to a terminal device, the first indication information indicating a performance indicator of a service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with an exception event of the service flow; measuring, by the terminal device, the performance indicators of the service flows according to the first indication information to obtain measurement results of the performance indicators of the service flows; sending, by the terminal device, a second indication to the first network element, the second indication indicating the measurement of the performance indicator of the service flow; analyzing, by the first network element, the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow; A fault location determination method comprising:

22. The method comprises: determining, by the first network element, the performance indicator of the service flow based on the exception event of the service flow; 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

23. sending, by a second network element, an identifier of the terminal device and third indication information to the first network element, the third indication information indicating an exception event of a service flow of the terminal device; sending, by the first network element, first indication information to the terminal device based on the identifier of the terminal device and the third indication information; measuring, by the terminal device, a performance indicator of the service flow according to the first indication information, to obtain a measurement result of the performance indicator of the service flow; sending, by the terminal device, a second indication to the first network element, the second indication indicating the measurement of the performance indicator of the service flow; analyzing, by the first network element, the second indication information to obtain a cause of the exception event of the service flow; sending, by the first network element, a fourth indication to the second network element, the fourth indication indicating the cause of the exception event for the service flow; A fault location determination method comprising:

24. determining, by a second network element, a performance indicator for the service flow based on the exception event for the service flow; sending, by the second network element, first indication information to a first network element, the first indication information indicating the performance indicator of the service flow of a terminal device, the performance indicator being used to determine a cause of the exception event of the service flow; sending, by the first network element, the first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information indicating the performance indicator of the service flow of the terminal device, the performance indicator of the service flow being associated with the exception event of the service flow; measuring, by the terminal device, the performance indicators of the service flows according to the first indication information to obtain measurement results of the performance indicators of the service flows; sending, by the terminal device, a second indication to the first network element, the second indication indicating the measurement of the performance indicator of the service flow; analyzing, by the first network element, the second indication information to obtain the cause of the exception event of the service flow; sending, by the first network element, a fourth indication to the second network element, the fourth indication indicating the cause of the exception event for the service flow; A fault location determination method comprising:

25. 15. A fault location system comprising a first network element and a terminal device, the first network element configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, and the terminal device configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 12 to 14.

26. A method for communicating with a network, comprising: a first network element, a second network element, and a terminal device, the first network element being configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, and the terminal device being configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, The second network element is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, or the second network element is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 15 and 17 to 20. Fault location system.

27. A module adapted to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11; A module configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, or A module configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 15 to 20, A communication device comprising:

28. 1. A communication device, comprising: Processor and memory Equipped with the memory is configured to store a computer program; The processor is configured to execute the computer program stored in the memory to enable the communication device to execute a method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, a method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, a method according to any one of claims 15 and 17 to 20, or a method according to any one of claims 16 to 20. Communications equipment.

29. 1. A computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, when run on a computer, enable the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11, the method of any one of claims 12 to 14, the method of any one of claims 15 and 17 to 20, or the method of any one of claims 16 to 20.

30. a memory configured to store a computer program; a processor configured to read and execute the computer program stored in the memory, the execution of which causes the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, the method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, the method according to any one of claims 15 and 17 to 20, or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 20; A chip comprising:

31. 1. A computer program product comprising computer program code which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11, the method of any one of claims 12 to 14, the method of any one of claims 15 and 17 to 20, or the method of any one of claims 16 to 20.

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