Method and apparatus for upgrading network slices

Abstract

This application discloses a method and apparatus for upgrading a network slice. The method and apparatus partially upgrades service instances in individual NFs within the network slice, directs dial test traffic to the upgraded service instances for each NF, and performs end-to-end verification of traffic processing for the new version of the service instance within the network slice. If the verification passes, the remaining service instances in the NFs within the scope of the network slice are upgraded. If the dial test verification fails, a network slice version rollback may be initiated, which involves sequentially rolling back the versions of multiple NFs under the network slice.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application is filed based on a Chinese patent application with application number 202011338018.4 and filing date of November 25, 2020, and claims priority to the Chinese patent application, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into this application.

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications technology, and in particular to a method and apparatus for upgrading a network slice. [Background technology]

[0003] In 5G communication, a network slice (NS) divides a physical network into multiple end-to-end virtual networks on demand, and each network slice can meet different types of needs, such as high-capacity machine communication, ultra-reliable low latency, and enhanced mobile broadband. One network slice may be composed of multiple network slice subnets (NSS), such as a radio access network slice subnet, a core network slice subnet, and a bearer network slice subnet. Under one network slice subnet, there may be one or multiple network functions (NF). One NF may be dedicated to one network slice or slice subnet, or may be shared by multiple network slices or slice subnets at the same time.

[0004] The Network Slicing Management Function (NSMF) instantiates network slices and controls their lifecycle. The Network Slice Subnet Management Function (NSSMF) instantiates slice subnets and controls their lifecycle.

[0005] 5G NF adopts an architecture based on serviceization, where one NF has multiple different types of services, each type of service may run one or multiple service instances, and multiple service instances may have a load-sharing relationship. The upgrade of a network slice is related to the end-to-end network on the radio access network, core network, and bearer network, and NFs in multiple areas need to be upgraded jointly without affecting the traffic processing of the entire end-to-end network of the network slice during the upgrade. The existing upgrade technology only updates the version of a single NF, and the service instances in a single NF can be upgraded in bulk or in stages during the upgrade, as shown in Figure 1. However, in some scenarios in this field, the joint upgrade of multiple proprietary networks and multiple NFs under a network slice is not possible. It is not possible to perform end-to-end and low-risk dial test verification of the operation effect of the new version on the network slice during the upgrade, and to perform all the upgrades if the test is passed. In addition, when upgrading a single NF, other NFs in the network slice may be affected, which results in the end-to-end traffic processing of the network slice not being able to be processed normally. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] To solve at least one of the above technical problems to some extent, the present application provides a method and apparatus for upgrading a network slice. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An embodiment of the present application includes the following technical proposals:

[0008] The network slice upgrade main control unit queries the NSMF for information on network slice instances and network slice subnet instances. The network slice upgrade main control unit queries the radio access network NSSMF, the core network NSSMF, and the bearer network NSSMF for information on network slice subnet instances and NFs, respectively. The network slice upgrade main control unit queries all NFs for their version information, and the types, numbers, and version information of various service instances of NFs. Each NF contains different types of service instances, and different types of service instances handle different traffic. The network slice upgrade main control unit may display the network slice, network slice subnet, and NF belonging topology diagrams, as well as the version information of NF service instances.

[0009] The network slice upgrade master control unit may create a network slice upgrade schedule, a network slice dial test schedule, and a network slice rollback schedule.

[0010] The network slice upgrade schedule includes at least the upgrade order of individual NFs in the network slice, the service types that individual NFs require upgrades for, and the percentage of service instances of each version of each service type being upgraded.

[0011] The network slice dial test schedule includes at least a network slice for a dial test, a user for a dial test, traffic for a dial test, an NF for a dial test, and a service version for a dial test.

[0012] The network slice rollback schedule includes at least the range of NFs that need to be rolled back and the rollback order of each NF.

[0013] The network slice upgrade main control unit issues an upgrade command to each NF, and the NF downloads the upgrade package and backs up the current version, current model and data, and this upgrade command has a preset upgrade percentage. The agent unit upgrades the service instances in the NF and reports the progress to the network slice upgrade main control unit.

[0014] After each NF completes the upgrade of the service instance according to the preset upgrade ratio, the network slice upgrade main control unit issues a network slice dial test command to each NF to perform end-to-end dial test verification of the traffic processing of the new version of the service instance in the network slice. If the verification result shows that the traffic is normal, the network slice upgrade main control unit continues to upgrade the remaining service instances of the NFs in the range covered by the network slice until all upgrades are completed.

[0015] If an abnormality in traffic processing is found, a network slice version rollback needs to be performed. The network slice upgrade main control unit issues a network slice version rollback command to each NF, and each agent unit performs the version rollback of each NF.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present application, each NF in a network slice The information processing device that manages the A method for upgrading a network slice is provided, the method including: each of the NFs obtains version information of all service instances and receives an upgrade command; and after each of the NFs receives the upgrade command, each of the NFs downloads an upgrade package and upgrades the service instances in each of the NFs simultaneously according to the upgrade package until all upgrades are completed, the upgrade command including a preset upgrade ratio and an upgrade order.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present application, an apparatus for upgrading a network slice is further provided, the apparatus including: a network slice upgrade main control unit configured to inquire about version information of service instances in each NF in the network slice and issue an upgrade command; at least two model and data management units configured to manage software packages, models, and data of each version of the service instances in each NF in the network slice; and at least two agent units configured to download an upgrade package after each NF in the network slice receives the upgrade command, and simultaneously upgrade the service instances in each NF according to the upgrade package until all upgrades are completed, where the upgrade command includes a preset upgrade percentage and an upgrade order. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a flowchart of a method for upgrading an NF in some scenarios in the field. [Diagram 2] 1 is a flow chart of the method of the present application. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the device of the present application. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a specific embodiment of the device of the present application; [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart of upgrading a single NF. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart of a network slice wide upgrade. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of network slice dial test validation. [Figure 8] 1 is a flowchart of a network slice version rollback. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The technical solution of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the description of the present application, the terms "first" and "second" are used for explanatory purposes only to distinguish different components, and are not understood to indicate or imply relative importance or the number of technical features shown. In the present application, the "first service instance" includes a service instance in an individual NF in a network slice that requires an upgrade, and the "second service instance" includes a service instance in an individual NF in a network slice that requires a network slice version rollback.

[0020] 2 is a flowchart of the method of the present application. As shown in FIG. 2, each NF in a network slice is used to obtain version information of all service instances and receive an upgrade command in step 200, and after receiving the upgrade command, download an upgrade package and simultaneously upgrade the service instances in each NF according to the upgrade package in step 201 until all upgrades are completed, where the upgrade command includes a preset upgrade ratio and an upgrade order.

[0021] As a specific example, before a service instance of an individual NF in a network slice is upgraded, the software packages, models, and data of the pre-upgrade version of the service instance are backed up.

[0022] As a specific embodiment, the step of each NF in the network slice obtaining the version information of all service instances includes the steps of: first, the NSMF in the network slice provides information of the NSSMF instance, the network slice instance, and the network slice subnet instance; then, the NSSMF provides information of the network slice subnet instance and the NF; and finally, the NF provides the type, number, and version information of all service instances. In general, the type and number of service instances are used to determine the upgrade order, for example, to determine a preset upgrade ratio based on the number of service instances. An appropriate upgrade ratio is determined so that the current upgrade does not affect the processing of normal traffic.

[0023] As a specific embodiment, each NF in the network slice also receives a network slice dial test command and a network slice version rollback command, and verifies the traffic processing of the upgraded service instance in each NF in the network slice according to the network slice dial test command. If the verification result is normal, the upgrade of the remaining service instances in each NF in the network slice is continued until all upgrades are completed. If the verification result is not normal, each NF in the network slice performs version rollback according to the network slice version rollback command. The network slice upgrade and dial test method of the present application does not affect the normal processing of end-to-end traffic of the network slice during execution. In the process of verification, for example, after some of the service instances in all NFs that need to be upgraded in the network slice are upgraded, the NF has other service instances waiting to be upgraded. As shown in FIG. 7, first, verify the traffic processing of the upgraded service instance, and offload traffic to the upgraded service instance. That is, direct the dial test traffic to the upgraded service instance. If the service instance is successfully handling traffic, the service instance passes validation.

[0024] 3 is a schematic diagram of the device of the present application. The device includes a network slice upgrade main control unit, at least two model and data management units, and at least two agent units. The network slice upgrade main control unit manages the software versions of all NFs in the entire network slice, queries the version information of all service instances of all NFs in the network slice, and issues an upgrade command, a network slice dial test command, and a network slice version rollback command. The at least two model and data management units manage multiple sets of different versions of models and data in a single NF. The at least two agent units manage the version of a single NF, and after receiving an upgrade command, download an upgrade package and simultaneously upgrade the service instances in each NF according to the upgrade package. The upgrade command includes a preset service instance upgrade percentage. During the upgrade, the network slice upgrade main control unit may be notified of the upgrade progress in real time.

[0025] The network slice upgrade main control unit's querying of version information of service instances in each NF includes first querying the NSMF for information of the NSSMF instance, the network slice instance and the network slice subnet instance, then querying the NSSMF for information of the network slice subnet instance and the NF, and finally querying all NFs in the network slice for the type, number and version information of each type of service instance.

[0026] The agent unit is further configured to, after the service instances in each NF are upgraded in accordance with the upgrade instruction, verify traffic processing of the upgraded service instances in accordance with the network slice dial test instruction, and if the verification results in normal traffic processing, continue upgrading the service instances in the remaining individual NFs until all upgrades are completed, and if the verification results in abnormal traffic processing, perform a version rollback in accordance with the network slice version rollback instruction.

[0027] The above apparatus further includes at least two load balancing units, which are mainly configured to issue traffic to the service instances in the respective NFs, and migrate and offload traffic in the service instances, such as migrating traffic in the service instances requiring upgrade to the service instances not requiring upgrade temporarily and the temporary service instances, or migrating traffic in the temporary service instances to the upgraded service instances, or offloading traffic of network slice dial tests to the upgraded service instances.

[0028] Figure 4 is a specific embodiment of the device described in this application. As shown in Figure 4, the network slice upgrade main control unit is connected to the NSMF and the NSSMF. Here, the NSSMF is divided into a radio access network NSSMF, a core network NSSMF and a bearer network NSSMF according to different specialties. The radio access network NSSMF, the core network NSSMF and the bearer network NSSMF all include at least one NF, in which an agent unit, a model and data management unit and a load management unit are respectively disposed.

[0029] As a specific embodiment, the network slice upgrade main control unit may be an independently deployed management system, or may be integrated with other management systems. The agent unit, the model and data management unit, and the load balancing unit are generally deployed in the NF.

[0030] As a specific example, preparation of a network slice before an upgrade includes: (1) The network slice upgrade main control unit queries the NSMF to obtain all network slice instance information and network slice subnet instance information in the network. The network slice upgrade main control unit queries the radio access network NSSMF, the core network NSSMF, and the bearer network NSSMF, respectively, to obtain each network slice subnet instance information and NF information. The network slice upgrade main control unit queries each of the NFs to obtain the version information of each NF, and the type, number, and version information of various service instances. Then, the network slice upgrade main control unit displays the 5G network slice, network slice subnet, NF belonging relationship topology diagram, and the type, number, and version information of various service instances in each NF. (2) Upload the network slice upgrade package to the network slice upgrade main control unit, where the network slice upgrade package consists of upgrade packages of various NFs under the network slice. Select the network slice instances that need to be upgraded and the corresponding network slice upgrade packages. (3) The network slice upgrade main control unit analyzes the upgrade package and automatically selects the NF instances in the network slice that need to be upgraded. (4) The network slice upgrade main control unit creates a network slice upgrade schedule according to a predetermined rule, including the upgrade order of each NF in the network slice, the type of service that each NF needs to upgrade, and the ratio of new and old versions of service instances of various service types during the upgrade. For example, first upgrade the data type NFs, and then upgrade the traffic type NFs. For example, upgrade one NF of the same type, and then upgrade the remaining multiple NFs of the same type at the same time. For example, before the dial test, the upgrade ratio of the service instances is 1:3, and only 1 / 3 of the service instances are upgraded, and after the dial test, the upgrade ratio of the service instances is 3:3, and all the service instances are upgraded. If the upgrade ratio of the service instances is 2:3 before the dial test, the dial test verification is performed after upgrading 2 / 3 of the service instances, and if the upgrade ratio of the service instances is 3:3 after the dial test, all the service instances are upgraded. (5) The network slice upgrade main control unit creates a network slice dial test schedule including a network slice instance for the dial test, an NF service instance list for the dial test, a user for the dial test, and traffic for the dial test. (6) The network slice upgrade main control unit automatically creates a rollback schedule in case of failure of the network slice upgrade, including NF instances that need to be rolled back and the rollback order of individual NFs according to the preset rollback policy. For example, a partial rollback is performed to roll back only NFs that failed to be upgraded. Also, for example, a full rollback is performed to roll back all NFs that failed to be upgraded and all NFs that were successfully upgraded. Also, for example, the last upgraded NF in the upgrade order is rolled back first, and the first upgraded NF is rolled back last. (7) The network slice upgrade main control unit reviews the network slice upgrade schedule, the network slice dial test schedule, and the network slice rollback schedule, and after confirming that there are no errors, the network slice upgrade main control unit starts executing the schedules. (8) The network slice upgrade main control unit issues a pre-upgrade preparation command to the agent unit. The agent unit downloads the NF upgrade package compatible with this NF from the network slice upgrade main control unit, verifies the validity of the upgrade package, and stores it locally in the agent unit. The model and data management unit in the NF backs up the files, models, and data of the currently running pre-upgrade version, and prepares for version rollback in case of an abnormality.

[0031] Figure 5 shows the flow chart of upgrading a single NF where service instances of the same type on each NF run in a load-balanced manner. In the following, we will explain in detail the upgrade of service 1, service 2, and service 3 of the same service type from version V1 to version V2.

[0032] (1) The network slice upgrade main control unit issues an upgrade command to the agent unit of the NF. The upgrade ratio of the service instances is 1:3, that is, only one service instance is upgraded.

[0033] (2) The agent unit parses the NF upgrade package and obtains the V2 version of the service upgrade package.

[0034] (3) The model and data management unit copies one piece of data of the V1 version, analyzes the model and upgrade script of the V2 version from the service upgrade package of the V2 version, and executes the upgrade script to obtain the data of the V2 version.

[0035] (4) The agent unit pops up service 4, loads and runs the V1 version from local, loads the V1 version of the model and data from the model and data management unit, and starts receiving and processing traffic.

[0036] (5) The load balancing unit shifts all traffic from Service 1 to Services 2, 3, and 4, and Service 1 no longer handles traffic.

[0037] (6) The agent unit upgrades service 1 to the V2 version and loads the V2 version of the model and data from the model and data management unit.

[0038] (7) The agent unit in the NF feeds back the upgrade progress to the network slice upgrade main control unit.

[0039] Meanwhile, upgrading an entire network slice requires end-to-end coordination of multiple NFs in the network slice and end-to-end dial test verification of the upgraded service instances of individual NFs in the network slice. For example, to support the new characteristics of the network slice, multiple NFs in the network slice, which are three 5G base stations (gNBs: gNodeBs), two Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs: Access and Mobility Management Functions), and one Unified Data Management (UDM: Unified Data Management), respectively, need to be upgraded. The upgrade order is that the UDM is upgraded first, the AMF is upgraded next, and the gNB is upgraded last. For example, the gNB has two service instances of the same type, the AMF has three service instances of the same type, and the UDM has three service instances of the same type, and each service instance works in a load-balancing manner.

[0040] According to the above upgrade sequence, the upgrade steps for the entire network slice are as shown in Figure 6.

[0041] (1) Upgrade UDM. The network slice upgrade main control unit issues an upgrade command to UDM, and the upgrade ratio of service instances is 1:3, that is, only one service instance is upgraded. After the upgrade is completed, the agent unit in UDM feedbacks the upgrade progress to the network slice upgrade main control unit.

[0042] (2) Upgrade the AMF. The network slice upgrade main control unit issues an upgrade command to the first AMF, and the upgrade ratio of the service instance is 1:3, i.e., only one service instance is upgraded. The agent unit in the first AMF feedbacks the upgrade progress to the network slice upgrade main control unit after the upgrade is completed. The network slice upgrade main control unit further issues an upgrade command to the second AMF, and the upgrade ratio of the service instance is 1:3, i.e., only one service instance is upgraded. The agent unit in the second AMF feedbacks the upgrade progress to the network slice upgrade main control unit after the upgrade is completed.

[0043] (3) Upgrade the gNBs. The network slice upgrade main control unit issues an upgrade command to the first gNB, and the upgrade ratio of the service instances is 1:2, i.e., only one service instance is upgraded. The agent unit in the first gNB feedbacks the upgrade progress to the network slice upgrade main control unit after the upgrade is completed. The network slice upgrade main control unit further issues an upgrade command to the second and third gNBs, and the upgrade ratio of the service instances is 1:2, i.e., only one service instance is upgraded. The agent units in the second and third gNBs feedback the upgrade progress to the network slice upgrade main control unit after the upgrade is completed.

[0044] (4) After each NF upgrades a portion of its service instances to the new version at a predetermined rate, the network slice upgrade main control unit constructs a network slice dial test task, including a network slice for dial test, a user for dial test, a traffic for dial test, and a service version for dial test, and issues it to each NF under the network slice. The load balancing unit of each NF directs the network slice for dial test, the user for dial test, and the traffic for dial test to the service instance of the specific upgraded version, and verifies the execution of the dial test traffic. If the verification result shows that the dial test traffic is abnormal, it identifies the cause of the problem, stops the upgrade if necessary, executes a network slice rollback schedule, and each NF in the network slice executes a network slice version rollback. If the verification result shows that the dial test traffic is normal, the network slice upgrade main control unit continues issuing upgrade commands and upgrades the remaining service instances of the NFs in the range covered by the network slice.

[0045] If the result of verifying the dial test traffic is normal, i.e., if the result of verifying the end-to-end dial test traffic of the network slice is normal, the upgrade of the remaining service instances of the NFs in the range covered by the network slice may be continued. As a specific example, an NF is dedicated to network slice 1, and within this NF there are service instances of the same type and version (including service 1, service 2, and service 3), and each service instance operates in a load-balancing manner. If service 1 is upgraded to version V2, service 2, service 3, and service 4 remain at version V1, and service 4 is a temporary service instance that is popped up by the agent unit during the upgrade, service 2 and service 3 should be upgraded to version V2, and service 4 should be deleted after the upgrade is completed. The specific steps are as follows:

[0046] (1) The network slice upgrade master control unit issues an upgrade persistence command to the agent unit in the NF.

[0047] (2) The load balancing unit shifts all traffic for Service 2 to Services 1, 3, and 4, and Service 2 no longer handles traffic.

[0048] (3) The agent unit upgrades service 2 to the V2 version and loads the V2 version of the model and data from the model and data management unit.

[0049] (4) The agent unit further upgrades service 3 in the same manner as upgrading service 2.

[0050] (5) Service 1, Service 2, and Service 3 will all be upgraded to V2 version.

[0051] (6) The load balancing unit shifts all traffic for Service 4 to Services 1, 2, and 3, and Service 4 no longer handles traffic.

[0052] (7) The agent unit deletes service 4.

[0053] (8) The agent unit returns to the network slice upgrade main control unit a notification that all services of the dedicated NF have been successfully upgraded.

[0054] If the verification result of the network slice dial test traffic is abnormal, the network slice upgrade main control unit needs to perform network slice version rollback for each NF in the network slice according to the network slice rollback schedule. Taking the version rollback of a single NF as an example, the single NF version rollback includes two scenarios. Scenario 1: Service 1 in the NF is V2 version and needs to be rolled back to V1 version, and the versions of Service 2, Service 3, and Service 4 are all V1 and do not need to be rolled back. Here, Service 4 is a temporary service instance that is popped up during the upgrade. Service 4 needs to be deleted after the version rollback is completed. Scenario 2: All services in the NF have been upgraded, and the versions of Service 1, Service 2, and Service 3 are all V2 and need to be rolled back to V1. The specific steps of the version rollback are as follows:

[0055] (1) The network slice upgrade main control unit of the network slice receives a message that the NF upgrade has failed and performs the network slice rollback according to the network slice rollback schedule.

[0056] (2) The network slice upgrade main control unit issues a network slice version rollback command to the agent unit.

[0057] (3) The agent unit locally extracts the V1 version of the software package that was backed up before the upgrade, and the model and data management unit locally extracts the V1 model and data that was backed up before the upgrade.

[0058] (4) The agent unit inspects the running service instances and versions and determines which service instances require version rollback.

[0059] (5) If service 4 does not exist, the agent unit pops up service 4, loads version V1 from local, loads the model and data of version V1 from the model and data management unit, and starts receiving and processing traffic. If service 1 needs to be rolled back to version V1, the load balancing unit transfers all traffic in service 1 to service 2, service 3, and service 4. Service 1 will no longer process traffic. The agent unit rolls back service 1 version to V1, loads the model and data of V1 version from the model and data management unit, and starts receiving and processing traffic. The load balancing unit evenly offloads traffic to service 1 and verifies whether the traffic processing of service 1 is normal. If the traffic processing of service 1 is abnormal, it is necessary to identify the cause of the problem and eliminate the trouble step by step. If the traffic processing of service 1 is normal, the rollback of service 1 is successful.

[0060] (6) The agent unit sequentially determines the versions of services 2 and 3 and rolls them back, similar to the rollback of service 1.

[0061] (7) After Service 1, Service 2, and Service 3 are rolled back to the V1 version, the load balancing unit shifts all traffic for Service 4 to Service 1, Service 2, and Service 3. Service 4 will no longer process traffic. The agent unit deletes Service 4. The agent unit returns a notification that the NF rollback was successful to the network slice upgrade main control unit.

[0062] To roll back an entire network slice, multiple NFs in the network slice need to be rolled back. For example, the NFs involved in the network slice upgrade process are three gNBs, two AMFs, and one UDM, respectively, which fail to upgrade and require rollback. When adopting sequential rollback, the rollback is performed in the reverse order of the upgrade order. If the upgrade order is UDM-AMF-gNB, the rollback order is gNB-AMF-UDM.

[0063] According to the above rollback sequence, the rollback steps of the whole network slice are as shown in Figure 8.

[0064] (1) Roll back a gNB. The network slice upgrade main control unit issues a rollback command to the first gNB. After the rollback is completed, the agent unit in the first gNB feeds back to the network slice upgrade main control unit that the rollback was successful. The network slice upgrade main control unit further issues a rollback command to the second and third gNBs. After the rollback is completed, the agent unit in the second and third gNB feeds back to the network slice upgrade main control unit that the rollback was successful.

[0065] (2) Roll back the AMF. The network slice upgrade main control unit issues a rollback command to the first AMF. After the agent unit in the first AMF completes the rollback, it feeds back to the network slice upgrade main control unit that the rollback was successful. The network slice upgrade main control unit further issues a rollback command to the second AMF. After the agent unit in the second AMF completes the rollback, it feeds back to the network slice upgrade main control unit that the rollback was successful.

[0066] (3) Roll back the UDM. The network slice upgrade main control unit issues a rollback command to the UDM. After the rollback is completed, the agent unit in the UDM feeds back to the network slice upgrade main control unit that the rollback was successful.

[0067] The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: The method and apparatus for upgrading a network slice described in the present application globally control the upgrade of the radio access network, the core network, and the bearer network at the network slice level end-to-end, and perform the joint upgrade of multiple NFs in the range covered by the network slice, thereby improving the maintainability of the network. In addition, the service instances of each NF are only partially upgraded, and each NF directs dial test traffic to the upgraded service instance to verify the traffic processing of the new version of the service instance end-to-end. If the verification is passed, the remaining service instances of the NFs in the range covered by the network slice are upgraded. If the dial test verification fails, the versions of the multiple NFs under the network slice can be rolled back in sequence. In addition, the entire process of upgrade, dial test, and rollback of the present application does not affect the normal processing of traffic end-to-end of the network slice.

[0068] The above are some examples of the present application, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for upgrading a network slice, executed by an information processing device managing individual NFs in a network slice, comprising: each NF obtaining version information of all service instances and receiving upgrade instructions; After receiving the upgrade command, each of the NFs downloads an upgrade package, and upgrades service instances in each of the NFs simultaneously according to the upgrade package until all upgrades are completed; Including, The upgrade instruction includes a preset upgrade ratio and an upgrade order. How to upgrade a network slice.

2. Each of the NFs backs up software packages, models, and data of a pre-upgrade version of the service instance before upgrading the service instance of each of the NFs in the network slice; The method for upgrading a network slice according to claim 1.

3. The individual NFs in the network slice are further used for receiving a network slice dial test command and a network slice version rollback command; After the service instance is upgraded according to the upgrade instruction, the method for upgrading the network slice includes: each of the NFs verifies traffic processing of the upgraded service instances according to the network slice dial test command, and if the verification result is normal, continues upgrading the remaining service instances in the each of the NFs until all upgrades are completed, and if the verification result is not normal, performs a network slice version rollback according to the network slice version rollback command. The method for upgrading a network slice according to claim 2.

4. If the service instances requiring upgrade include a first service instance, and the first service instances belong to different NFs, then each of the first service instances is upgraded separately or simultaneously according to the upgrade percentage and upgrade order of the individual NFs, and if the first service instances belong to the same NF, then the first service instances are upgraded according to the upgrade percentage; After each NF receives the upgrade command, the upgrade is performed as follows: said individual NFs popping up temporary service instances that load the pre-upgrade version of software packages, models, and data and begin receiving and processing traffic; upgrading the first service instance after the individual NFs have shifted all traffic in the first service instance to the temporary non-upgraded service instance and the temporary service instance; After all of the first service instances have been successfully upgraded or any of the first service instances have failed to be upgraded and the individual NFs have performed a network slice version rollback, the individual NFs delete the temporary service instances. A method for upgrading a network slice according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The step of each NF performing a network slice version rollback includes: After each of the NFs receives a message that the NF upgrade has failed, the NFs receive a network slice version rollback command, extract the software package of the version before the upgrade, inquire about the running service instances and their version information, and determine a second service instance that needs to perform a network slice version rollback; The individual NFs extracting the pre-upgrade version's models and data so that the temporary service instance loads the pre-upgrade version's software packages, models and data; the respective NFs migrating all traffic on the second service instance to a service instance on which a version rollback is not being temporarily performed and the temporary service instance; The individual NFs perform a network slice version rollback on the version of the second service instance such that the version of the second service instance loads the software packages, models, and data of the pre-upgrade version and starts receiving and processing traffic; each NF offloads traffic to the second service instance, verifies whether the traffic processing of the second service instance is normal, and if the version rollback of the second service instance is successful, each NF migrates all traffic in the temporary service instance to the second service instance and deletes the temporary service instance. The method for upgrading a network slice according to claim 4.

6. The network slice version rollback includes a full rollback and a partial rollback, and the full rollback and the partial rollback further include an incremental rollback; The complete rollback includes rolling back both successfully upgraded and unsuccessfully upgraded service instances in a network slice if any of the service instances in the network slice are not normal after upgrade as a result of validation; said partial rollback including rolling back only those service instances that were not successfully upgraded; the incremental rollback includes performing a version rollback in a reverse order to the upgrade order; The method for upgrading a network slice according to claim 5.

7. The step of each NF in the network slice obtaining version information of all service instances includes: The individual NFs obtain information of an NSSMF instance, a network slice instance, and a network slice subnet instance provided by an NSMF in a network slice; The individual NFs obtain information of network slice subnet instances and NFs provided by an NSSMF; each NF obtaining version information of all service instances provided by all NFs; The method for upgrading a network slice according to claim 1.

8. A network slice upgrade main control unit configured to query version information of service instances in individual NFs in the network slice and issue upgrade instructions; At least two model and data management units configured to manage software packages, models, and data of each version of a service instance in each NF in the network slice; at least two agent units configured to download an upgrade package after each NF in a network slice receives an upgrade command, and upgrade service instances in each NF according to the upgrade package simultaneously until all upgrades are completed, the upgrade command including a preset upgrade ratio and an upgrade order; A device for upgrading network slices.

9. The network slice upgrade main control unit further comprises: configured to issue a network slice dial test command and a network slice version rollback command; The agent unit further comprises: after the service instances in each NF in the network slice have been upgraded in accordance with the upgrade command, verifying traffic processing of the upgraded service instances in accordance with the network slice dial test command, and if the verification result is normal, continuing to upgrade the remaining service instances in each NF until all upgrades are completed, and if the verification result is not normal, performing a version rollback in accordance with the network slice version rollback command. An apparatus for upgrading a network slice according to claim 8.

10. The apparatus further includes at least two load balancing units; The service instances requiring upgrade include a first service instance, and if the first service instances belong to different NFs, the agent unit upgrades each of the first service instances separately or simultaneously according to the upgrade ratio and upgrade order of the respective NFs, and if the first service instances belong to the same NF, upgrades the first service instances according to the upgrade ratio; After receiving the upgrade command, the agent unit is configured to load software packages, models, and data of the pre-upgrade version and pop up a temporary service instance that starts receiving and processing traffic; the load balancing unit is configured to shift all traffic in the first service instance to a temporary non-upgraded service instance and the temporary service instance; the agent unit is configured to upgrade the first service instances, and delete a temporary service instance after all of the first service instances are successfully upgraded or any of the first service instances fails to be upgraded and a network slice version rollback is performed. An apparatus for upgrading a network slice according to claim 8 or 9.

11. performing the network slice version rollback, The network slice upgrade main control unit issues a network slice version rollback command after receiving a message indicating that the NF upgrade has failed; and The agent unit receives the network slice version rollback command, extracts a pre-upgrade version software package, queries running service instances and their version information, and determines a second service instance that needs to perform version rollback; The model and data management unit extracts the model and data of a pre-upgrade version, and the temporary service instance loads the software package, the model and the data of the pre-upgrade version; the load balancing unit shifts all traffic on the second service instance to a service instance on which a version rollback is not being temporarily performed and to the temporary service instance; After the agent unit executes a version rollback on the second service instance, the second service instance loads pre-upgrade versions of software packages, models and data from the model and data management unit, and starts receiving and processing traffic; the load balancing unit offloads traffic to the second service instance, and verifies whether the traffic processing of the second service instance is normal; if the version rollback of the second service instance is successful, the load balancing unit migrates all traffic in the temporary service instance to the second service instance, and the agent unit deletes the temporary service instance. An apparatus for upgrading a network slice according to claim 10.

12. The network slice version rollback includes a full rollback and a partial rollback, and the full rollback and the partial rollback further include an incremental rollback; The complete rollback includes rolling back both successfully upgraded and unsuccessfully upgraded service instances in a network slice if any of the service instances in the network slice are not normal after upgrade as a result of validation; said partial rollback including rolling back only those service instances that were not successfully upgraded; the incremental rollback includes performing a version rollback in a reverse order to the upgrade order; An apparatus for upgrading a network slice according to claim 11.

13. The network slice upgrade main control unit further comprises: Querying the NSMF for information on the NSSMF instance, the network slice instance, and the network slice subnet instance; Querying the NSSMF for information on network slice subnet instances and NFs; Configured to query all NFs for version information of all service instances; An apparatus for upgrading a network slice according to claim 8.

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