Network slice selection method, device, and terminal, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

This application discloses a network slice selection method, an apparatus, a terminal, and a computer-readable storage medium. The network slice selection method includes: when an application is launched, determining a corresponding first access network based on the application (S101); and switching from a second access network to the first access network and performing communication through the first access network (S102). The first access network and the second access network correspond to different network slices, respectively. Based on the correspondence between the application and the different access networks, a correspondence between "application → access network → network slice" is realized through several implementation processes, and the correspondence between the application and the network slice is further realized.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] (CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS) This application is based on and claims priority from a Chinese patent application bearing application number 202011008760.9 and filed on September 23, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The embodiments of the present application relate to, but are not limited to, the communications field, and specifically relate to, but are not limited to, a network slice selection method, an apparatus and terminal, and a computer-readable storage medium. [Background technology]

[0003] The rapid development of mobile communications has penetrated into every aspect of people's work, social life, and daily life, greatly affecting people's lifestyles, work styles, social politics, economics, etc. As human society enters the information age, the needs for business applications in various aspects are growing explosively, and future mobile networks will not only provide communication between people, but also serve large-capacity devices of the Internet of Things.

[0004] For example, traffic with ultra-high-rate service needs, such as virtual reality and high-definition video, can reach rates 10 to 100 times higher than today. For traffic with low-latency service needs, such as vehicle-to-everything, end-to-end delays can be reduced by 5 times. The Internet of Things can be accessed by 1,000 times more traffic than today, and battery life can be extended by 10 times or more.

[0005] 5G (5th Generation) traffic features multi-scene and differentiation, for example, mobile network access traffic focuses on bandwidth, autonomous driving traffic requires low latency and high reliability, and Internet of Things traffic supports a huge number of connections. In response, the 5G radio access network and core network will both be restructured, changing the physical location of device processing units based on traffic type, and building independent end-to-end logical networks for different types of traffic through slicing within the same physical network.

[0006] 5G is an open network that can meet the application needs of vertical integration and leased traffic. Since the 5G bearer network is part of the 5G end-to-end traffic path, the bearer network is required to support the traffic separation and independent operation maintenance needs of 5G slices and allocate different bearer network slices to different types of traffic.

[0007] Network slicing uses virtualization technology to establish multiple virtual networks on shared physical network resources, also called slices. Network slicing slices the physical network into corresponding virtual networks based on different types of bearer traffic or different tenants (for example, slicing based on government / enterprise clients, home clients, and 5G eMBB (Enhance Mobile Broadband) traffic, uRLLC (Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications) traffic, and mMTC (massive machine type of communication) traffic) to meet the needs of different types of traffic.

[0008] Different network slices provide different types of services, and one network slice constitutes one virtual network and provides a specific mobile network access service to a UE (user equipment). However, currently, in some cases, a terminal can only select an access network for an electronic device based on the signal strength of a WLAN (wireless local area network) network, which is too monotonous and does not allow flexible access to a specific network slice. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The network slice selection method, device, terminal, and computer-readable storage medium provided in the embodiments of the present application aim to solve, at least to some extent, one of the related technical problems, including the problem that a terminal can only select an access network for an electronic device based on the signal strength of a WLAN network, which is too monotonous and does not allow flexible access to a specific network slice. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for selecting a network slice, which includes the steps of: when an application is launched, determining a corresponding first access network based on the application; and switching from a second access network to the first access network and performing communication via the first access network, wherein the first access network and the second access network each correspond to a different network slice.

[0011] An embodiment of the present application further provides a network slice selection device, including: a determination module configured to determine a corresponding first access network based on an application when the application is launched; and a switching module configured to switch from a second access network to the first access network and perform communication via the first access network, wherein the first access network and the second access network each correspond to a different network slice.

[0012] An embodiment of the present application further provides a terminal, including a processor, a memory, and a communication bus, wherein the communication bus is configured to realize connection communication between the processor and the memory, and the processor is configured to realize the steps of the network slice selection method described above by executing one or more computer programs stored in the memory.

[0013] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer storage medium, wherein one or more programs are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and the one or more programs are executed by one or more processors to realize the steps of the network slice selection method described above.

[0014] Other features and corresponding advantages of the present application will be described in subsequent portions of the specification, where at least some of the advantages will be readily apparent from the description of the present application. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the basic flow of a network slice selection method according to a first embodiment of the present application. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a detailed flow of a network slice selection method according to a second embodiment of the present application. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of the basic mechanism of a network slice selection device according to a third embodiment of the present application. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a basic structural diagram of a terminal according to a third embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments will be used to further describe the examples of the present application in conjunction with the drawings, where the specific embodiments described do not limit the present application but are merely for the purpose of interpreting the present application.

[0017] Example 1 When a user actually uses an electronic device, the user still has to select an access network for the electronic device based on the signal strength of the WLAN network, which is too monotonous and does not allow flexible access to a specific network slice. In order to solve this problem, referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 shows a network slice selection method, which includes the following steps: S101: When an application is launched, a corresponding first access network is determined based on the application.

[0018] In some embodiments, a corresponding first access network is determined based on an application, the first access network is one of multiple access networks on the network side, and the different access networks have different SSIDs (Service Set Identifiers), and the terminal sets the one access network determined based on the application as the corresponding first access network, where one access network corresponds to one network slice, and different network slices have different capabilities, for example, the network slice has high-bandwidth network capability, or high-definition voice network capability, or low-latency network capability, etc., and further, the different network slices are divided into a gaming network slice, a video network slice, a fixed access network slice, an automatic control network slice, a voice call slice, etc., and here, the above multiple access networks may be transmitted from the same gateway device or the same network device supporting multiple SSIDs, or may be transmitted from multiple gateway devices and / or multiple network devices respectively.

[0019] In some embodiments, determining a corresponding first access network based on an application includes any one of determining a corresponding first access network based on a type of application, determining a corresponding first access network based on a name of the application, and determining a corresponding first access network based on a required traffic quality of the application.

[0020] In some embodiments, when determining a corresponding first access network based on the type of application, first determine the type of application, where application types include, but are not limited to, video, social applications, games, and telephone communications, etc., and one application type corresponds to one network slice, i.e., one access network, and one network slice corresponds to multiple application types. For example, if the application type is video, based on the traffic rate requirement of the video application, an access network corresponding to a network slice having high-bandwidth network capability is obtained as the first access network; if the application type is games, an access network corresponding to a network slice having low-latency network capability is obtained as the first access network; and if the application type is telephone communications, an access network corresponding to a network slice having high-definition voice network capability is obtained as the first access network.

[0021] In some embodiments, when determining a corresponding first access network based on the name of an application, a corresponding network slice is allocated for each application name, and one application name corresponds to one network slice, i.e., one access network, and one network slice corresponds to multiple application names. For example, if the application name is "Glory of Kings", an access network corresponding to a network slice with low-latency network capability is obtained as the first access network.

[0022] In some embodiments, when determining a corresponding first access network based on the required traffic quality of an application, the traffic quality includes, but is not limited to, delay requirements and bandwidth requirements, and one traffic quality corresponds to one network slice, i.e., one access network, and one network slice corresponds to multiple traffic qualities. For example, if the delay requirement in the required traffic quality of the application is low latency, an access network corresponding to a network slice having low latency network capabilities is obtained as the first access network.

[0023] Here, the network slice corresponding to each application can be flexibly changed, and this embodiment does not limit the network slice corresponding to each application.

[0024] In some embodiments, before determining a corresponding target access network based on an application, the method further includes the steps of: arranging a first access network corresponding to the application, for example, arranging an access network corresponding to the application based on a type of the application, arranging an access network corresponding to the application based on a name of the application, and arranging a traffic name corresponding to the application based on a required traffic quality of the application.

[0025] Here, before determining the corresponding target access network based on the application, the method further includes a step of arranging a default access network, and if the corresponding first access network cannot be determined based on the application, the default access network is accessed, and the terminal communicates based on the default access network.

[0026] In some embodiments, launching an application may include, but is not limited to, running the application, switching the application to the front end, etc., such as launching an application that is not running and switching an application that is running in the background to the front end and running it.

[0027] S102: Switch from the second access network to the first access network and perform communication through the first access network.

[0028] Here, the second access network is a current network for communication and may be the default access network, the first access network and the second access network each correspond to different network slices, and the first access network and the second access network may be different access networks transmitted from the same gateway device or the same network device that supports multiple SSIDs, or may be different access networks respectively transmitted from multiple gateway devices and / or multiple network devices.

[0029] In some embodiments, the step of switching from the second access network to the first access network and communicating via the first access network includes the steps of maintaining the connection of the second access network, switching the current communication network from the second access network to the first access network, and communicating via the first access network.

[0030] For example, after determining the corresponding first access network, when the terminal is connected to the first access network, it maintains the connection with the second access network and is connected to the second access network and the first access network, switches the current communication network from the second access network to the first access network, and communicates via the first access network.

[0031] In some embodiments, switching from the second access network to the first access network and communicating via the first access network includes disconnecting the second access network and communicating via the first access network, with the first access network as the current communication network.

[0032] For example, after determining the corresponding first access network, when the terminal is connected to the first access network, it directly disconnects the connection of the second access network, connects only to the first access network, and further, takes the first access network as the current communication network and communicates through the first access network.

[0033] In some embodiments, the network slice selection method further includes switching from the first access network to a default access network and communicating via the default access network when an application is terminated, for example, by terminating the application, or by switching the application to the background and running, or by a time period during which the application is switched to the background reaching a predetermined threshold.

[0034] In the network slice selection method provided by the embodiments of the present application, when an application is launched, a corresponding first access network is determined based on the application, the second access network is switched to the first access network, and communication is performed via the first access network, and the first access network and the second access network correspond to different network slices, respectively. Based on the correspondence between the application and the different access networks, a correspondence relationship of "application → access network → network slice" is realized, and further, a correspondence between the application and the network slice is realized.

[0035] The terminal realizes flexible selection of an access network based on an application, and further achieves the effect of flexible selection of a network slice based on an application, thereby avoiding the problem that the terminal can only select the access network of the electronic device based on the signal strength of the WLAN network, which is too monotonous and cannot flexibly access a specific network slice.

[0036] Example 2 In order to better understand the present application, this embodiment provides a more specific example to describe the above network slice selection method. Refer to FIG. 2, which is a flow diagram of the network slice selection method, including the following steps: S201: A gateway-like device establishes a multi-slice.

[0037] In some embodiments, a gateway-type device interacts with a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) core network based on the support of network slices to establish different network slices, each network slice corresponding to a different slice function, and various slice functions corresponding to different QoS (Quality of Service), where the QoS includes, but is not limited to, any one of high-bandwidth network capability, high-definition voice network capability, low-latency network capability, etc., and further divides the different network slices into a gaming network slice, a video network slice, a fixed access network slice, an automated control network slice, a voice call slice, etc.

[0038] Here, when establishing a multi-slice, it is checked whether the establishment of the multi-slice is successful, and if the establishment of the multi-slice fails, the failure information is fed back to the user or system administrator. Factors that affect the establishment of the multi-slice include the contract status of the device and the current network support status, etc.

[0039] S202: The gateway device establishes multiple SSIDs. In some embodiments, the multi-SSID function of the gateway-type device establishes SSIDs whose number corresponds to the number of network slices, and each SSID has a different name, for example, the established names may be "ZTE_SSID_NORMAL," "ZTE_SSID_GAME," and "ZTE_SSID_video." When establishing an SSID, it checks whether the multi-SSID establishment is successful, and if the multi-SSID establishment fails, it feeds back failure information to the user or system administrator. The number of supported SSIDs depends on the support status of the gateway-type device, and the more SSIDs supported, the more network slices it can support.

[0040] S203: The gateway-like device maps each SSID to a different network slice.

[0041] In some embodiments, a routing table is used to establish a routing correspondence between the "SSID network interface" and the "network slice network interface", i.e., routing is arranged by mapping each SSID to a different network slice, and different SSIDs are represented as different network ports, i.e., independent routing is arranged for different network ports. For example, the SSID "ZTE_SSID_GAME" is mapped to a game network slice with low-latency network capabilities, the SSID "ZTE_SSID_video" is mapped to a video network slice with high-rate network capabilities, and "ZTE_SSID_NORMAL" is mapped to a fixed access network slice, and the fixed access network slice is set as the default network slice. If a corresponding network slice is not set for an application or if any application is not running, the default network slice is set as the current communication network. Here, when mapping, it is checked whether the mapping is successful, and if the mapping fails, failure information is fed back to the user or system administrator.

[0042] S204: The terminal configures the SSID corresponding to the application.

[0043] In some embodiments, the step of the terminal configuring an SSID corresponding to an application includes, but is not limited to, configuring an access network corresponding to the application based on the type of the application, configuring an access network corresponding to the application based on the name of the application, and configuring a traffic name corresponding to the application based on the required traffic quality of the application. For example, there are two applications in the terminal, "Glory of Kings" and "shipin", and the access network corresponding to the application is configured to "ZTE_SSID_GAME" based on the application name "Glory of Kings", and the access network corresponding to the application is configured to "ZTE_SSID_VIDEO" based on the application name "shipin". For example, the terminal configures network slices corresponding to different application types. If the type of the application is game, the access network corresponding to the application type is configured to "ZTE_SSID_GAME", and if the type of the application is video, the access network corresponding to the application type is configured to "ZTE_SSID_VIDEO". That is, for the application "Glory of If it is determined that the type of the application "Glory of Kings" is a game, the access network corresponding to the application is "ZTE_SSID_GAME", and if it is determined that the type of the application "Shipin" is a video, the access network corresponding to the application is "ZTE_SSID_VIDEO". Also, if it is determined that the application "Glory of Kings" requires low latency traffic quality, the access network corresponding to the application "Glory of Kings" is "ZTE_SSID_GAME".If it is determined that the application "shipin" requires high-rate traffic quality, the access network corresponding to the application "shipin" will be placed in "ZTE_SSID_VIDEO."

[0044] Furthermore, a specific application achieves the effect of communicating through a specified network slice, for example, "Glory of kings" → ZTE_SSID_GAME → "game network slice with low latency network capability".

[0045] S205: When the application is started, the terminal determines the corresponding SSID based on the application and connects to it.

[0046] In some embodiments, the terminal defaults to connecting to "ZTE_SSID_NORMAL".

[0047] The terminal will perform default communication traffic based on this SSID. When the terminal is running the application "Toutiao", since the APP does not have a separate SSID, it will continue to use the default "ZTE_SSID_NORMAL" for communication. The data flow direction at this time is "Toutiao" <-> ZTE_SSID_NORMAL <-> "Fixed access network slice". The terminal switches to the application and runs "Glory Of Kings". When the application is launched, it checks that a custom SSID has been configured and triggers a connection to the application's custom SSID, i.e., "ZTE_SSID_GAME". The data flow direction at this time is "Glory of kings" <-> ZTE_SSID_GAME <-> "Game network slice with low-latency network capabilities". Here, if the terminal supports multiple Wi-Fi connections, it will maintain the connection to "ZTE_SSID_NORMAL" and connect to "ZTE_SSID_GAME". "ZTE_SSID_GAME" will then connect to "Glory of kings". When the terminal communicates with "shipin", the terminal subsequently switches to the application to run "shipin". When the application is launched, it checks that a custom SSID has been configured and triggers the application to connect to its custom SSID, i.e., "ZTE_SSID_VIDEO". The data flow direction is "shipin" <-> ZTE_SSID_VIDEO <-> "Video network slice with high-rate traffic quality", where each application is bound to a "network port" corresponding to the corresponding SSID, which may be realized, for example, by the socket SO_BINDTODEVICE in a Linux (registered trademark) type operating system.

[0048] S206: When the application is terminated, the terminal disconnects the corresponding SSID connection.

[0049] In some embodiments, when the terminal closes an application in which an SSID is configured, it triggers the terminal to disconnect the configured SSID and return to the default connection. For example, when the terminal closes "Glory of Kings" and closes the application, it checks that the SSID is configured, triggers the terminal to disconnect the configured SSID, i.e., "ZTE_SSID_GAME" flow, and reconnects to "ZTE_SSID_NORMAL".

[0050] In this embodiment, multiple slices are established by a gateway-type device, multiple SSIDs are established, and finally, each SSID is mapped to a different network slice. The terminal configures the SSID corresponding to the application. When the application is launched, the corresponding SSID is determined based on the application and connected to. When the application is terminated, the corresponding SSID connection is disconnected. The gateway-type device maps to different network slices based on multiple SSIDs, and different SSIDs are associated with different network slices. The terminal realizes the correspondence between the application and the SSID, i.e., the correspondence between the application and the network slice, of "application → SSID → network slice".

[0051] This allows a terminal to flexibly select a network slice based on an application, thereby avoiding the problem that the terminal can only select the access network of the electronic device based on the signal strength of the WLAN network, which is too monotonous and cannot flexibly access a specific network slice.

[0052] Example 3 This embodiment further provides a network slice selection device, which, with reference to FIG. 3, comprises: a determining module configured to, when the application is launched, determine a corresponding first access network based on the application; a switching module configured to switch from the second access network to the first access network and communicate via the first access network; The first access network and the second access network each correspond to a different network slice.

[0053] This embodiment further provides a terminal, which, referring to FIG. 4, includes a processor 401, a memory 402 and a communication bus 403; The communication bus 103 is arranged to realize communication connection between the processor 401 and the memory 402; The processor 401 is configured to execute one or more computer programs stored in the memory 402 to realize at least one step of the network slice selection methods of Examples 1 and 2 above.

[0054] This embodiment further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may be volatile or non-volatile, removable or non-removable, implemented in any method or technology for storing information (e.g., computer-readable instructions, data structures, computer program modules, or other data), including, but not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical disc storage, magnetic box, magnetic tape, magnetic disc storage or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium for storing desired information and accessible by a computer.

[0055] The computer-readable storage medium in this embodiment can store one or more computer programs, and the stored one or more computer programs can be executed by a processor to realize at least one step of the network slice selection method of the above-mentioned embodiments 1 and 2.

[0056] According to the network slice selection method, device, terminal, and computer-readable storage medium provided in the embodiments of the present application, when an application is launched, a corresponding first access network is determined based on the application, and the second access network is switched to the first access network, and communication is performed through the first access network. The first access network and the second access network correspond to different network slices, respectively. Based on the correspondence between the application and the different access networks, a correspondence relationship of "application → access network → network slice" is realized in a certain implementation process, and further, a correspondence between the application and the network slice is realized.

[0057] The terminal realizes flexibly selecting an access network based on an application, and further achieves the effect of flexibly selecting a network slice based on an application, thereby avoiding the problem that the terminal can only select the access network of the electronic device based on the signal strength of the WLAN network, which is too monotonous and cannot flexibly access a specific network slice.

[0058] As such, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, all or some of the steps in the methods, systems, and functional modules / units in the devices disclosed above may be implemented as software (which may be realized by computer program code executable by a computing device), firmware, hardware, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0059] In hardware embodiments, the division between functional modules / units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to a division between physical components, for example, one physical component may have multiple functions, or one function or step may be performed by several physical components in cooperation.

[0060] Some or all of the physical components may be implemented as software executed by a processor, for example a central processing unit, digital signal processor or microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, for example a dedicated integrated circuit.

[0061] Also, as known to those skilled in the art, communication media generally includes computer-readable instructions, data structures, computer program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier or other transport mechanism, and includes any information delivery media. Thus, the present application is not limited to any particular hardware and software combinations.

[0062] The above is a detailed description of the examples of the present application in combination with specific embodiments, and the specific implementation of the present application is not limited to these descriptions. For those skilled in the art of the present application, any simple deductions and substitutions that are completed without departing from the concept of the present application are within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a network slice, comprising: When an application is launched, determining a first access network corresponding to the application based on a pre-configured mapping relationship between the application and the access network; switching from the second access network to the first access network and communicating via the first access network; The first access network and the second access network correspond to different network slices, respectively. How to select a network slice.

2. The step of determining a first access network corresponding to the application based on a pre-configured mapping relationship between the application and the access network includes: determining the corresponding first access network based on the type of the application; determining the corresponding first access network based on a name of the application; determining the corresponding first access network based on a required traffic quality of the application; The network slice selection method according to claim 1.

3. before determining a first access network corresponding to the application based on a pre-configured mapping relationship between the application and the access network; and further comprising the step of: deploying a first access network corresponding to the application. A method for selecting a network slice as described in claim 1 or claim 2.

4. The first access network and the second access network are different access networks in the same network device. The network slice selection method according to claim 3.

5. The step of switching from the second access network to the first access network and performing communication via the first access network includes: maintaining a connection of the second access network, switching a current communication network from the second access network to the first access network, and performing communication via the first access network; The network slice selection method according to claim 4.

6. The step of switching from the second access network to the first access network and performing communication via the first access network includes: disconnecting the second access network, making the first access network a current communication network, and performing communication via the first access network; The network slice selection method according to claim 4.

7. and when the application is terminated, switching from the first access network to a default access network and performing communication via the default access network. A network slice selection method according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

8. A network slice selection device, a determining module configured to, when an application is launched, determine a first access network corresponding to the application based on a pre-configured mapping relationship between the application and the access network; a switching module configured to switch from a second access network to the first access network and communicate via the first access network; The first access network and the second access network correspond to different network slices, respectively. Network slice selection device.

9. a terminal including a processor, a memory, and a communication bus; the communication bus is arranged to provide communication connectivity between the processor and the memory; The processor is arranged to execute one or more computer programs stored in a memory to implement the steps of the network slice selection method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Terminal.

10. A computer-readable storage medium having one or more computer programs stored thereon, The one or more computer programs are executed by one or more processors to implement the steps of the network slice selection method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A computer-readable storage medium.

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