Communication control device and communication control method

Abstract

To provide a communication control unit enabling a plurality of NFs to cooperate so that user communication quality requirements are satisfied in a control plane.SOLUTION: A communication control unit comprises: a priority control section that performs priority control for an API request, which is used among a plurality of NFs when the NFs cooperate with each other to execute a specific process, on the basis of processing priority, which includes a user quality demand value for meeting user communication quality requirements, included in the received API request; a processing priority setting section that updates the user quality request value on the basis of the user quality request value included in the API request and a communication quality consumption value in own NF, and updates the processing priority on the basis of the updated user quality demand value; and a request transmission section that transmits the API request including the updated processing priority and user quality demand value to an NF at the subsequent stage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication control device. and The present invention relates to a communication control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Figure 2 is a diagram showing the architecture of the mobile core of a 5G system standardized by the "3rd Generation Partnership Project." In a 5G system, the functions of the mobile core are implemented as microservices for each NF (Network Function). Multiple NFs cooperate with each other using the APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) provided by each NF to realize specific procedures defined in the "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] In addition, a wide variety of communication services are expected to emerge in the future toward 6G and Beyond 5G, and it is expected that new procedures, new NFs, and new APIs provided by existing NFs will be defined to realize these services. In this case, the number of APIs for inter-NF communication used on the control-plane (C-plane) bus will increase.

[0004] In addition, it is expected that the number of devices using mobile communications, such as IoT devices in addition to conventional smartphones, will increase. As a result of an increase in requests for registration of these devices, as well as requests from outside the mobile core to inside the mobile core for traffic control and policy changes, the number of signal processes on the C-plane bus is also expected to increase.

[0005] Some interactions between NFs are processed sequentially across multiple NFs. For example, in the "traffic influence" procedure from the AF shown in Figure 3, processing is performed sequentially across multiple NFs from the AF via the NEF to the downstream NF such as the UDR, using the "http2 / Rest API." [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0006] [Non-Patent Document 1] 3GPP, TS 23.502, V18.0.0, 2022-12 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the C-plane of the conventional 5G system described above had the following issues: Because each NF can freely set parameters such as processing priority and timeout value by itself, there was a possibility that each NF would be unable to meet the user's communication quality requirements by independently determining, for example, priority.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to enable multiple NFs to cooperate with each other so as to satisfy the communication quality requirements of users in the control plane. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is a communication control device having a network function of the control plane of a communication network, in which an API request used between multiple network functions when the network functions work together to execute a specific procedure includes a processing priority and a user quality requirement value for satisfying a user's communication quality requirements, and the communication control device includes: a request receiving unit that receives the API request; a priority control unit that performs priority control of the received API request based on the processing priority included in the received API request; a processing priority setting unit that updates the user quality requirement value based on the user quality requirement value included in the received API request and a communication quality consumption value in its own network function, and updates the processing priority based on the updated user quality requirement value; and a request sending unit that sends the API request including the updated processing priority and the user quality requirement value to a subsequent network function that executes the specific procedure. One aspect of the present invention is a communication control device in which, in the above-mentioned communication control device, the processing priority setting unit does not change the processing priority and maintains the specific priority when the processing priority included in the API request received by the request receiving unit is a specific priority. One aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned communication control device, wherein the specific priority is the highest priority.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is a terminal device having a service request sending unit that sends a service request including a user quality requirement value for satisfying a user's communication quality requirements to a communication network having a control plane in which each network function updates the processing priority and user quality requirement value included in the API request so as to satisfy the user quality requirement value included in the service request.

[0011] One aspect of the present invention is a communication control method executed by a communication control device having a network function of a control plane of a communication network, the communication control method including: a request receiving step of receiving an API request used between multiple network functions when the network functions cooperate to execute a specific procedure, the API request including a processing priority and a user quality request value for satisfying a user's communication quality requirements; a priority control step of performing priority control of the received API request based on the processing priority included in the received API request; a processing priority setting step of updating the user quality request value based on the user quality request value included in the received API request and a communication quality consumption value in the network function itself, and updating the processing priority based on the updated user quality request value; and a request sending step of sending the API request including the updated processing priority and the user quality request value to the subsequent network function that executes the specific procedure. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, an effect is obtained in which a plurality of NFs can cooperate with each other so as to satisfy the communication quality requirements of users in the control plane. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a communication control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram showing the architecture of the mobile core of a 5G system. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram showing the "traffic influence" procedure in a 5G system standardized by the "3rd Generation Partnership Project." DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the C-plane (control plane) of a 5G system shown in FIG. 2 will be described as an example of a C-plane of a communication network.

[0015] In this embodiment, an API request includes a processing priority (Priority) and a user quality requirement value (User requirement) for satisfying the user's communication quality requirements. API requests are used on the C-plane bus between multiple NFs (Network Functions) when the NFs work together to execute a specific procedure. An API request is provided with a field for storing the Priority and a field for storing the "User requirement." Priority is the priority with which the NF that received the API request processes the API request. The "User requirement" is a user quality requirement value for satisfying the user's communication quality requirements. As an example of this embodiment, the "User requirement" is a timeout value, which is the remaining time available for processing the API request and is required to satisfy the user's communication quality requirements.

[0016] The NF processes the received API request based on the priority included in the request. The NF updates the timeout value based on the timeout value included in the API request and the processing time required by the NF (communication quality consumption value), and updates the priority based on the updated timeout value. The NF stores the updated priority and timeout value in the respective fields of the API request and sends the API request to the downstream NF.

[0017] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication control device according to an embodiment. The communication control device 1 shown in Fig. 1 has a C-plane NF (network function) of a 5G system. In Fig. 1, the communication control device 1 includes a request receiving unit 11, a request transmitting unit 12, a priority control unit 13, a request processing unit 14, a processing priority setting unit 15, and a response processing unit 16.

[0018] Each function of the communication control device 1 is realized by the communication control device 1 including computer hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and memory, and the CPU executing a computer program stored in the memory. The communication control device 1 may be configured using a general-purpose computer device, or may be configured as a dedicated hardware device. For example, the communication control device 1 may be configured using a server computer. Each function of the communication control device 1 may be realized by cloud computing. The communication control device 1 may be realized by a single computer, or may be realized by distributing the functions of the communication control device 1 across multiple computers.

[0019] The request receiving unit 11 receives an API request A. The API request A is transmitted to the communication control device 1 from another communication control device 1 having an NF at the previous stage that executes a specific procedure.

[0020] In addition, when the NF of the communication control device 1 is an NEF, an AMF, or the like having a function of connecting to an external network, the request receiving unit 11 receives a service request from a user. The service request is a request desired by the user and is a request from outside the mobile core of the 5G system.

[0021] The request receiving unit 11 acquires the priority and "User requirement" from the received API request A. The request receiving unit 11 stores the information of the API request A in the database 30. The database 30 may be provided as an NF on the C-plane bus, or may be provided in an NF that has a function for connecting to an external network such as an NEF or AMF, or may be provided in an NRF or SCP.

[0022] The priority control unit 13 performs priority control of the received API request A based on the priority included in the API request A received by the request receiving unit 11. Specifically, the priority control unit 13 performs queuing of the received API request A based on the priority.

[0023] The request processing unit 14 processes the queued API request A based on the priority.

[0024] The priority setting unit 15 updates the timeout value based on the timeout value (original timeout value) of the "User requirement" included in the received API request A and the processing time of the API request A in its own NF, and updates the priority based on the updated timeout value.

[0025] The timeout value of "User requirement" of API request A is updated using the following formula. Updated timeout value = "Original timeout value" - "(Time API request A processing completed) - (Time API request A was received)"

[0026] The request sending unit 12 acquires information about API request A from the database 30. The request sending unit 12 applies the updated priority and timeout value to the acquired information about API request A, and transmits API request B, in which the updated priority and timeout value are stored in each field, to another communication control device 1 having a downstream NF that executes a specific procedure.

[0027] The response processing unit 16 processes the response C received by the request transmission unit 12 from the subsequent NF, and causes the request reception unit 11 to transmit the processed response D.

[0028] In addition, when communication between NFs is performed by placing a proxy called a "Service Mesh" for each microservice, part of the processing unit within the NF may be placed in the proxy.

[0029] [How Priority is Determined] A method for determining the priority in the priority setting unit 15 will be described.

[0030] (How to determine the initial value of Priority) The initial value of Priority (initial Priority) is determined based on the communication quality requirements included in the user's service request. The user's service request is received from an external network by a request receiving unit 11 of the communication control device 1 having an NF that has a function of connecting to an external network such as an NEF or AMF. The priority setting unit 15 of the communication control device 1 determines a timeout value (initial timeout value) required to satisfy the communication quality requirements based on the communication quality requirements included in the user's service request.

[0031] The priority setting unit 15 determines the initial priority based on the initial timeout value. An example of a method for determining the initial priority is shown below. (1) If the initial timeout value is less than the threshold value TH1, the initial priority is determined to be "high." (2) If the initial timeout value is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH1 and less than the threshold value TH2, the initial priority is determined to be "medium." (3) If the initial timeout value is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH2 and less than the threshold value TH3, the initial priority is determined to be "normal." (4) If the initial timeout value is equal to or greater than the threshold value TH3, the initial priority is determined to be "low." The thresholds TH1, TH2, and TH3 are predetermined values. As an example of the thresholds TH1, TH2, and TH3, TH1 is 5 seconds, TH2 is 10 seconds, and TH3 is 15 seconds. Among the priorities "high," "medium," "normal," and "low," "high" has the highest priority, followed by "medium," then "normal," and "low" has the lowest priority.

[0032] (How to update priority) The priority is updated based on the updated timeout value in the NF. Upon receiving API request A, priority setting unit 15 of communication control device 1 updates the timeout value (original timeout value) included in the received API request A, and updates the priority based on the updated timeout value.

[0033] An example of a method for updating the priority is shown below. Here, the case where the priority has four levels, "high", "medium", "normal", and "low", as described above, is taken as an example. (1) If the updated timeout value is less than "(original timeout value) / 4", the priority is determined to be "high". (2) If the updated timeout value is equal to or greater than "(original timeout value) / 4" and less than "(original timeout value) / 2", the priority is determined to be "medium". (3) If the updated timeout value is equal to or greater than "(original timeout value) ÷ 2" and less than "(original timeout value) × (3 ÷ 4)", the priority is determined to be "normal". (4) If the updated timeout value is equal to or greater than "(original timeout value) × (3 ÷ 4)", the priority is determined to be "low". For example, if the original timeout value is 10 seconds, and the updated timeout value is less than 2.5 seconds, the priority is determined to be "high." If the updated timeout value is between 2.5 seconds and less than 5 seconds, the priority is determined to be "medium." If the updated timeout value is between 5 seconds and less than 7.5 seconds, the priority is determined to be "normal." If the updated timeout value is 7.5 seconds or more, the priority is determined to be "low."

[0034] Note that, when the priority included in API request A received by request receiving unit 11 is a specific priority, priority setting unit 15 may maintain the specific priority without changing the priority. For example, when the priority included in API request A received by request receiving unit 11 is "high", priority setting unit 15 may maintain the priority "high" without changing the priority. In this case, the communication control device 1 that receives API request A with priority "high" transmits API request B with priority "high" to the communication control device 1 at the subsequent stage. Therefore, the priority of the API request continues to be maintained as "high" in all NFs that execute a specific procedure.

[0035] Furthermore, Priority may not be a range such as "high," "medium," "normal," or "low" as described above, but may be a numerical range from 0 (highest priority) to 31 (lowest priority) as defined by the "3rd Generation Partnership Project."

[0036] This concludes the explanation of how to determine the priority.

[0037] [How to determine the initial timeout value] The method for determining the initial timeout value is explained separately for when the service request includes a "User requirement" and when the service request does not include a "User requirement."

[0038] (Example 1: When a service request includes a "User requirement") The priority setting unit 15 compares the timeout value of the "User requirement" included in the service request (user-requested timeout value) with the default timeout value in the NF itself. As a result of this comparison, the initial timeout value is determined as follows: (1) If the "user-requested timeout value>default timeout value", the default timeout value is determined as the initial timeout value. (2) If the "user-requested timeout value is equal to or less than the default timeout value," the user-requested timeout value is determined as the initial timeout value. (3) If no user-requested timeout value is specified, the default timeout value is determined as the initial timeout value.

[0039] (Example 2: When a service request includes a "User requirement") In Example 2, a service request contains a separate timeout value (another timeout value) in addition to the "User requirement" timeout value (user request timeout value). The separate timeout value is used by existing HTTP or API programs to determine whether to retry. The priority setting unit 15 compares the user-requested timeout value with the other timeout value, and determines the initial timeout value as follows based on the comparison result. (1) If "another timeout value>user-requested timeout value", the user-requested timeout value is determined as the initial timeout value. (2) If "another timeout value≦user-requested timeout value", the initial timeout value is determined by the following formula (1). Initial timeout value = Other timeout value × α (1) α is a coefficient based on the priority included in the service request. For example, if the Priority included in the service request is "high", then "α=0.6" is used; if it is "medium", then "α=0.7" is used; if it is "normal", then "α=0.8" is used; and if it is "low", then "α=1.0" is used. If no Priority is specified in the service request, then "α=1.0" is used. The value of α can be set arbitrarily within the range of "0.5<α<1.0".

[0040] (Example when the service request does not include "User requirement") The priority setting unit 15 determines the initial timeout value as follows. (1) If a service request includes a separate timeout value but does not include a priority, the separate timeout value is determined as the initial timeout value. (2) If a service request includes both a different timeout value and a priority, the initial timeout value is determined by the above formula (1). (3) If no other timeout value is specified in the service request, the default timeout value in the local NF is determined as the initial timeout value. (4) If the service request does not include a separate timeout value but does include Priority, the initial timeout value is determined using the default timeout value in the current NF instead of the separate timeout value in the above formula (1).

[0041] This concludes the description of how to determine the initial timeout value.

[0042] The "User requirement," priority, and other timeout values ​​included in the service request may use parameters already defined by the "3rd Generation Partnership Project." For example, the timeout value for the "User requirement" may be set based on the "establishment cause" included in the RRC request. For example, the timeout value for the "User requirement" may be set based on the values ​​of "ARP priority" and "5QI / QFI." The timeout value for the "User requirement" may also be set by combining multiple of these.

[0043] In addition, in service requests and API requests, "User requirements", priority, and other timeout values ​​may be placed in custom HTTP headers.

[0044] The user's terminal device includes a service request sending unit that sends a service request including a "User requirement" (user quality requirement value) for satisfying the user's communication quality requirements to the 5G system according to this embodiment. In the 5G system, an NF having a function for connecting to an external network such as an NEF or AMF receives the service request sent from the user's terminal device. The service request sent by the user's terminal device may further include the priority of the service request and another timeout value.

[0045] According to this embodiment, when multiple NFs cooperate to execute a specific procedure in the C-plane of a communication network, the Priority included in the API request used between the NFs is updated by each NF based on the updated timeout value for satisfying the user's communication quality requirements, and transmitted to the subsequent NF. This provides the effect of enabling multiple NFs to cooperate in the C-plane of the communication network so as to satisfy the user's communication quality requirements.

[0046] Furthermore, since the timeout value is updated sequentially in each NF, inconsistencies in the timeout value can be prevented, and unnecessary retries can be suppressed.

[0047] This will enable, for example, improvements to the overall quality of services in wireless networks, thereby contributing to Goal 9 of the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is to "Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation."

[0048] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like are also included within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

[0049] In addition, a computer program for realizing the functions of each of the above-described devices may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read and executed by a computer system. Note that the "computer system" here may also include hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. In addition, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to writable non-volatile memory such as a flexible disk, optical magnetic disk, ROM, or flash memory, portable media such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a storage device such as a hard disk built into a computer system.

[0050] Furthermore, the term "computer-readable recording medium" also includes those that retain a program for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory (e.g., DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)) within a computer system that serves as a server or client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by transmission waves in the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" that transmits the program refers to a medium that has the function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may also be a program for implementing some of the functions described above, or may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can implement the functions described above in combination with a program already stored in the computer system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1... communication control device, 11... request receiving unit, 12... request transmitting unit, 13... priority control unit, 14... request processing unit, 15... priority setting unit, 16... response processing unit, 30... database

Claims

1. In a communication control device having a network function of a control plane of a communication network, a processing priority for an API request used between the network functions when the plurality of network functions cooperate to execute a specific procedure, and a user quality request value for satisfying a user's communication quality requirement; The communication control device a request receiving unit that receives the API request; a priority control unit that performs priority control of the received API request based on the processing priority included in the received API request; a processing priority setting unit that updates the user quality request value based on the user quality request value included in the received API request and a communication quality consumption value in its own network function, and updates the processing priority based on the updated user quality request value; a request sending unit that sends the API request including the updated processing priority and the user quality request value to the subsequent network function that executes the specific procedure; A communication control device comprising:

2. when the processing priority included in the API request received by the request receiving unit is a specific priority, the processing priority setting unit does not change the processing priority and maintains the specific priority. The communication control device according to claim 1 .

3. the particular priority is the highest priority; The communication control device according to claim 2 .

4. A communication control method executed by a communication control device having a network function of a control plane of a communication network, a processing priority for an API request used between the network functions when the plurality of network functions cooperate to execute a specific procedure, and a user quality request value for satisfying a user's communication quality requirement; a request receiving step of receiving the API request; a priority control step of performing priority control of the received API request based on the processing priority included in the received API request; a processing priority setting step of updating the user quality request value based on the user quality request value included in the received API request and a communication quality consumption value in the own network function, and updating the processing priority based on the updated user quality request value; a request sending step of sending the API request including the updated processing priority and the user quality request value to the subsequent network function that executes the specific procedure; A communication control method including:

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