Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a communication method and a related apparatus, which can be used in the technical field of communications. In the technical solution provided in the present application, a first network element may send a first message to a first network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, wherein the first message is used for requesting the first NWDAF network element to recommend a quality of service (QoS) parameter, and the first message comprises at least one group of QoS parameters. In the method, a first NWDAF network element may determine a first QoS parameter on the basis of a first message, the first QoS parameter may comprise one or more of at least one group of QoS parameters, and the first QoS parameter may meet the requirements of a consumer, thereby avoiding the situation in which service requirements cannot be met or a service cannot be executed due to a QoS parameter which is recommended by the first NWDAF network element not meeting the requirements of a first network element.

Description

Communication method and related device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 29, 2023, with application number 202311865567.0 and application name “Communication Method and Related Device”, and claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on April 3, 2024, with application number 202410406953.1 and application name “Communication Method and Related Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related devices. Background Art

[0003] In the fifth generation (5G) network, the network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element can provide recommended quality of service (QoS) parameters to consumers, who can then perform services based on the recommended QoS parameters.

[0004] The method by which the NWDAF network element provides recommended QoS parameters to the consumer may include: the consumer may subscribe to / request recommended QoS parameters from the NWDAF network element through a recommendation subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation, and then the NWDAF network element generates recommended QoS parameters based on local policies, and sends the recommended QoS parameters to the consumer through a recommendation notification service operation / recommendation response service operation.

[0005] However, when consumers execute services based on recommended QoS parameters, they often fail to meet their service requirements or even fail to execute the services. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and related devices for solving the problem in the prior art that when consumers perform services based on recommended QoS parameters, they often fail to meet service requirements or even fail to perform services.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a first network element. The method includes: sending a first message to a first network data analysis function (NWDAF) network element, the first message being used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first message including at least one set of QoS parameters; and receiving a second message from the first NWDAF network element, the second message including first QoS parameters, the first QoS parameters being QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element, the first QoS parameters including one or more sets of QoS parameters from the at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0008] In this method, the first network element may be a consumer, which may be a network function network element (such as a PCF network element, NSSF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NEF network element, AF network element, NWDAF network element, DCCF network element, etc.) or an OAM network element in the system architecture shown in Figure 1.

[0009] As an example, when the PCF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first network element may be the PCF network element.

[0010] As another example, when the AF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first network element may be the AF network element.

[0011] As another example, when the third-party AF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first message may be sent through the NEF network element. In this case, the first network element may be the NEF network element.

[0012] In the method, at least one set of QoS parameters is QoS parameters supported by the first network element. The QoS parameters supported by the first network element can be understood as QoS parameters that meet the requirements of the first network element. The first network element can ensure the quality of service of the service based on the supported QoS parameters. As an example, the QoS parameters supported by the first network element can include QoS parameters generated by the first network element.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the first message may be an analysis subscription / request message. In this implementation, the first network element may send the analysis subscription / request message to the first NWDAF network element through an analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the first message may be a recommend subscription / request message. In this implementation, the first network element may send the recommend subscription / request message to the first NWDAF network element through a recommend subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0015] In this method, after receiving the first message, the first NWDAF network element may determine a first QoS parameter based on the first message, and then send the first QoS parameter to the first network element.

[0016] In this method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters in at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message. The first QoS parameter can meet the requirements of the first network element, avoiding the situation where the service requirements cannot be met or the service cannot be executed because the recommended QoS parameters generated by the NWDAF network element based on the local policy do not meet the requirements of the first network element.

[0017] In some possible implementations, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message further includes priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0018] In this method, the priority of multiple sets of QoS parameters can be determined based on the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the multiple sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the QoS parameter with better service experience in the multiple sets of QoS parameters has a higher priority.

[0019] Optionally, the quality of the service experience can be represented by a mean opinion score (MOS) of the service experience. A higher MOS of the service experience indicates a better service experience.

[0020] In this method, the first network element can select the QoS parameter with the highest priority from the multiple groups of QoS parameters based on the priority corresponding to each group of QoS parameters to establish a session, which is conducive to improving service quality and thus improving user experience.

[0021] In some possible implementations, the second message further includes the terminal device UE corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0022] In this method, the UE corresponding to the QoS parameter can be understood as the UE supported by the QoS parameter, that is, the UE can perform services based on the QoS parameter, or the PDU session established based on the QoS parameter is applicable to the UE.

[0023] In this method, the first network element can determine the UE corresponding to the first QoS parameter based on the second message, thereby avoiding the situation where the UE cannot perform services when a subsequent session established based on the first QoS parameter is not applicable to the UE.

[0024] In some possible implementations, the first message may further include an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters meets the optimization target.

[0025] In this method, if the first QoS parameter meets the optimization target, the service experience corresponding to the first QoS parameter is better, which is conducive to improving service quality and thus improving user experience.

[0026] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: receiving a third message from the first NWDAF network element, where the third message indicates a second QoS parameter, where the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter in the at least one set of QoS parameters that does not meet the optimization target.

[0027] In this method, the first network element determines based on the third message that the first NWDAF network element does not recommend the second QoS parameters, and the second QoS parameters include QoS parameters that do not meet the optimization target, thereby avoiding the problem of poor service experience when the first network element establishes a session based on the second QoS parameters.

[0028] In some possible implementations, the third message further indicates the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target.

[0029] In this method, the first network element can also determine the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target based on the third message, so that the first network element can optimize the generation of QoS parameters and avoid subsequent generation of some unusable QoS parameters.

[0030] In some possible implementations, the first message further includes a third QoS parameter and a constraint condition of the third QoS parameter.

[0031] In this implementation, the third QoS parameter may be a QoS parameter specified by the first network element, that is, the third QoS parameter may be a QoS parameter specified by the first network element or required to be recommended by the first NWDAF network element.

[0032] In this implementation, the third QoS parameter and each set of QoS parameters in at least one set of QoS parameters in the first message may be different QoS parameters.

[0033] As an example, assuming that the third QoS parameter is a packet delay budget PDB, each QoS parameter in the at least one set of QoS parameters may include a bit rate and a packet loss rate PLR.

[0034] As an example, the constraint condition may be a parameter value or parameter value range that the third QoS parameter needs to satisfy. For example, the constraint condition may be: PDB is equal to 50ms, or PDB is less than or equal to 50ms, or PDB is equal to 50ms and the bit rate is greater than or equal to 200Mbps, etc.

[0035] In this method, the value or value range of the third QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element needs to meet the constraint condition, so that when the first network element establishes a session based on the recommended QoS parameter, it can meet specific service experience requirements, such as meeting the low latency requirements of latency-sensitive services.

[0036] In some possible implementations, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes a third QoS parameter that satisfies the constraint condition.

[0037] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a value or value range of a third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0038] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a third QoS parameter and a value or value range of the third QoS parameter, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter satisfies the constraint condition.

[0039] As an example, assume that the third QoS parameter is PDB, and the constraint condition of the third QoS parameter is that PDB is less than or equal to 50ms. And assume that the first message contains two sets of QoS parameters, where the parameters and values ​​of the first set of QoS parameters are: bit rate equal to 200Mbps, packet loss rate equal to 10 -4 The second set of QoS parameters and values ​​are: bit rate equal to 300Mbps, packet loss rate equal to 10 -3 .

[0040] If the service experience of the two sets of QoS parameters in the first message both meet the optimization target, the first QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element to the first network element include two sets of QoS parameters, wherein the parameters and values ​​of the first set of QoS parameters can be: PDB equals 50ms, bit rate equals 200Mbps, packet loss rate equals 10 -4 The second set of QoS parameters and their values ​​can be: PDB equals 30ms, bit rate equals 300Mbps, packet loss rate equals 10 -3 .

[0041] In this method, the QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element also meet the constraints, so that when the first network element establishes a session based on the recommended QoS parameters, it can meet specific service experience requirements, such as meeting the low latency requirements of latency-sensitive services.

[0042] In some possible implementations, the first NWDAF network element is a NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information.

[0043] In the method, providing the recommended information capability may include providing the capability of recommending QoS parameters.

[0044] In this method, unnecessary waste of resources when the first network element sends the first message to the NWDAF network element that does not provide the recommendation information capability can be avoided, which is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0045] In some possible implementations, before sending the first message to the first NWDAF network element, the method further includes: sending a first request message to the network storage function NRF network element, the first request message including first information, the first information being used to request an NWDAF network element having the capability of providing recommended information; receiving a first response message from the NRF network element, the first response message including at least one NWDAF network element having the capability of providing recommended information, the at least one NWDAF network element having the capability of providing recommended information including the first NWDAF network element.

[0046] Each NWDAF network element in the at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information may register network element related information in the NRF network element. The network element related information may include network element type, network element address, supported service operations, and whether recommendation capability is supported.

[0047] In this method, the first network element can select one as the first NWDAF network element from at least one NWDAF network element with the capability of providing recommendation information based on the first response message. This can avoid unnecessary waste of resources when the first network element sends the first message to the NWDAF network element that does not have the capability of providing recommendation information, which is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0048] In some possible implementations, the first network element is a policy control function (PCF) network element or an application function (AF) network element.

[0049] In some possible implementations, when the first network element is the AF network element, the method further includes: sending the first QoS parameter to a policy control function PCF network element.

[0050] In this method, the PCF network element can establish a session based on the first QoS parameter, which is conducive to ensuring service quality.

[0051] Optionally, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the AF network element may send one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters to the PCF network element.

[0052] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network data analysis function (NWDAF) network element. The method includes: receiving a first message from a first network element, the first message being used to request the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first message including at least one set of QoS parameters; determining a first QoS parameter based on the first message, the first QoS parameter being a QoS parameter recommended by the NWDAF network element, the first QoS parameter including one or more sets of QoS parameters from the at least one set of QoS parameters; and sending a second message to the first network element, the second message including the first QoS parameter.

[0053] In some possible implementations, when the first quality of service parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message further includes priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0054] In some possible implementations, the second message further includes the terminal device corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0055] In some possible implementations, the first message further includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters meets the optimization target.

[0056] In some possible implementations, the method further includes: sending a third message to the first network element, where the third message indicates a second QoS parameter, and the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter in the at least one set of QoS parameters that does not meet the optimization target.

[0057] In some possible implementations, the third message further indicates the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target.

[0058] In some possible implementations, the first message further includes a third QoS parameter and a constraint condition of the third QoS parameter.

[0059] In some possible implementations, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes a third QoS parameter that satisfies the constraint condition.

[0060] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a value or value range of a third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0061] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a third QoS parameter and a value or value range of the third QoS parameter, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter satisfies the constraint condition.

[0062] In some possible implementations, the NWDAF network element is a NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information.

[0063] In some possible implementations, the first network element is a policy control function (PCF) network element or an application function (AF) network element.

[0064] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applied to a network storage function (NRF) network element. The method includes: receiving a first request message from a first network element, the first request message including first information, the first information being used to request an NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information; and sending a first response message to the first network element, the first response message including at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information.

[0065] In some possible implementations, the method includes: receiving a second request message from a second NWDAF network element, the second request message including second information, the second information being used to indicate that the second NWDAF network element has the ability to provide recommendation information, and the second request message being used to request registration of the second NWDAF network element; and sending a second response message to the second NWDAF network element, the second response message including a result indication, and the result indication being used to indicate a result of registering the second NWDAF network element.

[0066] Optionally, the NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information may include at least one NWDAF network element, and the second NWDAF network element may be any one of the at least one NWDAF network element.

[0067] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising modules or units for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0068] As an example, the communication device may include a sending module and a receiving module.

[0069] The sending module can be used to send a first message to a first network data analysis function NWDAF network element, where the first message is used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend quality of service QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0070] The receiving module is used to receive a second message from the first NWDAF network element, where the second message includes a first QoS parameter, where the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element, and where the first QoS parameter includes one or more groups of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0071] In some possible implementations, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message further includes priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0072] In some possible implementations, the second message further includes the terminal device corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0073] In some possible implementations, the first message further includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters meets the optimization target.

[0074] In some possible implementations, the receiving module may also be configured to receive a third message from the first NWDAF network element, where the third message indicates a second QoS parameter, and the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter in the at least one set of QoS parameters that does not meet the optimization target.

[0075] In some possible implementations, the third message further indicates the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target.

[0076] In some possible implementations, the first message further includes a third QoS parameter and a constraint condition of the third QoS parameter.

[0077] In some possible implementations, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes a third QoS parameter that satisfies the constraint condition.

[0078] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a value or value range of a third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0079] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a third QoS parameter and a value or value range of the third QoS parameter, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter satisfies the constraint condition.

[0080] In some possible implementations, the first NWDAF network element is a NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information.

[0081] In some possible implementations, the sending module can also be used to send a first request message to the network storage function NRF network element, where the first request message includes first information, and the first information is used to request a network data analysis function network element capable of providing recommended information.

[0082] The receiving module may also be configured to receive a first response message from the NRF network element, where the first response message includes at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information, and the at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information includes the first NWDAF network element.

[0083] In some possible implementations, the first network element is a policy control function (PCF) network element or an application function (AF) network element.

[0084] In some possible implementations, the sending module may also be configured to send the first QoS parameter to a policy control function (PCF) network element.

[0085] The communication device can be applied to the first network element, and can also be applied to a chip in the first network element.

[0086] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising modules or units for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0087] As an example, the communication device may include a receiving module, a determining module, and a sending module.

[0088] The receiving module may be configured to receive a first message from a first network element, where the first message is used to request the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0089] The determination module is used to determine a first QoS parameter based on the first message, where the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter recommended by the NWDAF network element, and the first QoS parameter includes one or more groups of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0090] The sending module is used to send a second message to the first network element, where the second message includes the first QoS parameter.

[0091] In some possible implementations, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message further includes priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0092] In some possible implementations, the second message further includes the terminal device corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0093] In some possible implementations, the first message further includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters meets the optimization target.

[0094] In some possible implementations, the sending module can also be used to send a third message to the first network element, where the third message indicates a second QoS parameter, and the second QoS parameter is a QoS parameter in the at least one set of QoS parameters that does not meet the optimization target.

[0095] In some possible implementations, the third message further indicates the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target.

[0096] In some possible implementations, the first message further includes a third QoS parameter and a constraint condition of the third QoS parameter.

[0097] In some possible implementations, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters further includes a third QoS parameter that satisfies the constraint condition.

[0098] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a value or value range of a third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0099] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a third QoS parameter and a value or value range of the third QoS parameter, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter satisfies the constraint condition.

[0100] In some possible implementations, the NWDAF network element is a NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information.

[0101] In some possible implementations, the first network element is a policy control function (PCF) network element or an application function (AF) network element.

[0102] The communication device can be applied to an NWDAF network element, and can also be applied to a chip in the NWDAF network element.

[0103] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising modules or units for implementing the method in the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0104] As an example, the communication device may include a receiving module and a sending module, wherein the receiving module may be configured to receive a first request message from a first network element, the first request message including first information, the first information being configured to request a network data analysis function network element capable of providing recommended information.

[0105] The sending module can be used to send a first response message to the first network element, where the first response message includes at least one network data analysis function network element capable of providing recommendation information.

[0106] In some possible implementations, the receiving module is also used to receive a second request message from a second network data analysis function network element, the second request message including second information, the second information being used to indicate that the second network data analysis function network element has the ability to provide recommendation information, and the second request message being used to request registration of the second network data analysis function network element.

[0107] The sending module is further used to send a second response message to the second network data analysis function network element, where the second response message includes a result indication, and the result indication is used to indicate the result of registering the second network data analysis function network element.

[0108] The communication device can be applied to an NRF network element, and can also be applied to a chip in the NRF network element.

[0109] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to execute the method described in any one of the first to third aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0110] The apparatus may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the methods described in the above aspects may be implemented. The apparatus may further include a communication interface for communicating between the apparatus and other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, or other type of communication interface.

[0111] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program code for execution by a device, wherein the program code includes instructions for implementing the method described in any one of the first to third aspects and any possible implementation methods thereof.

[0112] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a device, enables the device to implement the method described in any one of the first to third aspects and any possible implementation thereof.

[0113] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which includes a first network element, a network data analysis function network element and a network storage function network element, the first network element is used to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation method of the first aspect, the network data analysis function network element is used to implement the method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation method of the second aspect, and the network storage function network element is used to implement the method described in the third aspect and any possible implementation method of the third aspect.

[0114] It can be understood that the effects that can be obtained from the second to tenth aspects can be referred to the description in the first aspect and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0115] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a 5G communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0116] FIG2 is a flow chart of a method in which an NWDAF network element provides analysis results to a consumer;

[0117] FIG3 is a flow chart of a method in which an NWDAF network element provides recommendation results to a consumer;

[0118] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0119] FIG5 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0120] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0121] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0122] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided by another embodiment of the present application;

[0123] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0124] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in yet another embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0125] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0126] To facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. For example, the first information and the second information are merely used to distinguish different information and do not limit their order. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit differences.

[0127] In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a, b, and c. Among them, a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0128] The communication method of the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the fifth generation (5G) communication system or future communication systems, such as the sixth generation (6G) communication system, etc., and the present invention is not limited thereto. The following description of the present application will take the 5G communication system as an example.

[0129] Below, the embodiments of the present application are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0130] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a schematic diagram of the 5G communication system structure applicable to the embodiments of the present application is first described in conjunction with Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the 5G communication system includes network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0131] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to wireless communications between communication devices. Wireless communications between communication devices may include: wireless communications between network devices and terminal devices, wireless communications between network devices, and wireless communications between terminal devices. In the embodiments of this application, the term "wireless communications" may also be referred to as "communication," and the term "communication" may also be described as "data transmission," "information transmission," or "transmission." In the embodiments of this application, a communication device may also be referred to as a network element.

[0132] In the embodiment of the present application, a network device is an entity used to transmit or receive signals. The network device may include a radio access network (RAN) device and a core network device.

[0133] Terminal devices can connect to radio access network equipment wirelessly, and radio access network equipment can connect to core network equipment wirelessly or by wired connection. Core network equipment and radio access network equipment can be independent, distinct physical devices, or they can integrate the core network equipment's functions and the radio access network equipment's logical functions into the same physical device. Alternatively, a single physical device can integrate some of the core network equipment's functions and some of the radio access network equipment's functions. Terminal devices and radio access network equipment can connect to each other by wired or wireless means.

[0134] The terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. It may be an entity on the user side for receiving or transmitting signals, such as a mobile phone. The terminal device includes a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, or a computing device with wireless communication capabilities. Exemplarily, the UE may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities. The terminal device may also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, and the like. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. In the embodiment of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal can be a terminal; it can also be a device that can support the terminal to implement the function, such as a chip system, or a communication module, or a modem, which can be installed in the terminal. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the function of the terminal is a terminal, and the terminal is a UE as an example to describe the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0135] The radio access network device may be a device that provides wireless communication function services, typically located on the network side, including but not limited to: a next-generation base station (gNodeB, gNB) in a 5G communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc., an evolved node B (eNB) in a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), a transmission reception point (TRP), a transmitting point (TP), a base transceiver station (BTS), etc. In a network structure, the access network device may include at least one of a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), and a radio unit (RU). Access network equipment provides services for a cell. User equipment communicates with a base station through the transmission resources used by the cell (e.g., frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources). The cell can be a cell corresponding to a base station (e.g., a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. Small cells here can include: metro cells, micro cells, pico cells, femto cells, etc. These small cells have small coverage and low transmission power and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services. Radio access network equipment can be a satellite, a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, or a relay node or donor node. It provides wireless communication services to user equipment, wireless controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios, relay stations, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, and network equipment in future evolution networks.The access network device in this embodiment may also be an open radio access network (O-RAN) device, which may include at least one of an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open centralized unit (O-CU), and an open radio unit (O-RU).

[0136] The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the wireless access network device. For ease of description, the following description uses a base station as an example of a wireless access network device.

[0137] In this application, the number of wireless access network devices and terminal devices may not be limited. For example, the number of wireless access network devices may be at least one, and each of the at least one wireless access network devices may be connected to at least one terminal device.

[0138] In this application, wireless access network equipment and terminal equipment can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water; and can also be deployed in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of wireless access network equipment and terminal equipment.

[0139] Core network equipment may include network data analytics function (NWDAF) network element, application function (AF) network element, policy control function (PCF) network element, network exposure function (NEF) network element, network slice selection function (NSSF) network element, access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, session management function (SMF) network element, network storage function (NRF) network element, user plane function (UPF) network element, operations, administration and management (OAM) network element, unified data management (UDM) network element, unified data repository (UDR) network element, binding support function (BSF) network element and data network (DN), etc.

[0140] Among them, the NWDAF network element has data collection, training, analysis, and reasoning functions. It can be used to collect relevant data from network elements, third-party service servers, terminal devices or network management systems, perform analysis and training based on relevant data, and provide data analysis results to network elements, third-party service servers, terminal devices or network management systems. The analysis results can assist the network in selecting service quality (QoS) parameters, or assist the network in executing traffic routing, or assist the network in selecting background data transmission strategies, etc.

[0141] The AF network element is mainly used to convey the requirements of the application side to the network side, such as QoS requirements or user status event subscription. The AF network element can be a third-party functional entity or a functional entity deployed by the operator.

[0142] The PCF network element is mainly responsible for generating UE access policies and QoS flow control policies.

[0143] NRF network elements can be used to provide registration and discovery capabilities for network elements in 5G networks, enabling network function (NF) network elements to discover each other and communicate through interfaces.

[0144] The NEF network element is located between the 5G core network and external third-party application functions (possibly also some internal AFs), and is responsible for managing externally exposed network data. All external applications that want to access internal data in the 5G core network must go through the NEF network element. The NEF network element provides corresponding security guarantees to ensure the security of external applications accessing the network, providing external application QoS customization capabilities, mobility status event subscription, AF request distribution and other functions.

[0145] The NSSF network element can be used to determine the network slice instance that the UE is allowed to access based on the UE's slice selection auxiliary information, subscription information, etc.

[0146] The AMF network element is mainly used to perform registration, connection, reachability, and mobility management, provide a session management message transmission channel for UE and SMF network elements, provide authentication and authorization functions for user access, and serve as an access point for the terminal and wireless core network control plane.

[0147] The SMF network element is mainly responsible for tunnel maintenance, Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, UP function selection, policy implementation and control of QoS parameters, billing control collection, roaming, etc.

[0148] The DCCF network element is mainly used to cooperate with the NWDAF to achieve data collection coordination functions, reduce repeated data collection, and implement data formatting processing.

[0149] The UPF network element is mainly responsible for the routing and forwarding of user plane data packets in the 5G core network.

[0150] OAM network elements are mainly used to complete daily network and business analysis, prediction, planning and configuration work, and maintain daily operations such as testing and fault management of the network and its services.

[0151] UDM network elements are mainly used for user contract management, access authorization, authentication information generation, etc.

[0152] The UDR network element is mainly used to provide contract data, policy data, and capability exposure related data.

[0153] The BSF network element is used to implement session binding. Specifically, it is used for the AF network element to address the PCF network element. As an example, when the SMF network element requests policy control from the PCF network element for the session that the UE requests to establish, it provides the PCF network element with information such as the UE's identifier, user IP address, and the PCF network element registers the binding information (including but not limited to the UE's identifier, user IP address, and the identifier of the selected PCF network element) with the BSF network element. Later, when the UE accesses the service on the AF network element through this session, the AF network element may need to request policy authorization from the PCF network element for the service accessed by the UE. The PCF network element selected by the AF network element for this policy authorization must be consistent with the PCF network element selected by the SMF network element for this session, because this policy authorization generally triggers the PCF network element to adjust the policy control of the associated session for the SMF network element. The AF network element can query the corresponding PCF network element from the BSF network element based on the user IP address or the UE's identifier, and then directly request policy authorization from the AF network element through the interface.

[0154] A data network is a network used to provide data transmission.

[0155] It can be understood that the system architecture shown in Figure 1 is a 5G network structure based on a service-oriented interface. This system structure is only an example and does not limit the scope of the communication system of this application.

[0156] Optionally, the communication system may further include a data collection coordination function (DCCF) network element (not shown in FIG1 ), which is used to cooperate with the NWDAF network element to implement data collection coordination functions, reduce repeated data collection, and implement data formatting.

[0157] In this communication system, the NWDAF network element can provide data analysis results to consumers. The NWDAF network element can provide different types of data analysis results to consumers, such as service experience data analysis results, network performance analysis results, UE mobility analysis results, etc. These different types of data analysis results can be distinguished by analysis IDs.

[0158] For example, when the analysis identifier is service experience, it indicates the analysis result of service experience data. When the analysis identifier is network performance, it indicates the analysis result of network performance. When the analysis identifier is UE mobility, it indicates the analysis result of UE mobility.

[0159] FIG2 is a flow chart showing a method in which an NWDAF network element provides analysis results to a consumer.

[0160] S201: A consumer sends an analysis subscription / request message to an NWDAF network element, wherein the analysis subscription / request message is used to request data analysis results. Correspondingly, the NWDAF network element receives the analysis subscription / request message.

[0161] Among them, the consumer can be a network function network element in the 5G core network (such as PCF network element, NSSF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NEF network element, AF network element, NWDAF network element, DCCF network element, etc.) or OAM network element, etc.

[0162] In this method, the consumer can send an analytics subscription / request message to the NWDAF network element through the analytics subscription (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe) service operation / analysis request (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request) service operation.

[0163] The analysis subscription / request message sent by the consumer to the NWDAF network element can contain the following parameters:

[0164] A list of analytics ID(s): used to identify the type of analytics result requested.

[0165] Analytics filter information: Indicates the usage conditions of the analysis results, such as area of ​​interest (AOI), single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI), etc.

[0166] Target of analytics reporting: can be a specific UE, a group of UEs, or any UE.

[0167] Analytics target period: Indicates the time period for which the consumer wants to obtain the analytics results.

[0168] S202: The NWDAF network element collects data based on the analysis subscription / request message and generates analysis results.

[0169] In this method, the NWDAF network element can determine the type of analysis result requested by the consumer based on the analysis identifier list in the subscription / request message, and then generate the corresponding analysis result.

[0170] S203: The NWDAF network element sends an analysis notification / response message to the consumer, where the analysis notification / response message indicates the data analysis result. Correspondingly, the consumer receives the analysis notification / response message.

[0171] In this method, the NWDAF network element can send an analysis notification / response message to the consumer through the analysis notification (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify) service operation / analysis response (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsInfo_Request Response) service operation.

[0172] Optionally, the analysis notification / response message sent by the NWDAF network element to the consumer may include the following parameters: data analysis results (i.e., the data analysis results generated within the analysis target period for each analysis identifier), the timestamp of analytics generation, the validity period of the data analysis results, and the confidence in the predicted data analysis results.

[0173] In addition, the NWDAF network element can also provide recommendation results to consumers. For example, the NWDAF network element can provide a back-off timer to the AMF network element, or the NWDAF network element can provide QoS parameters to the PCF network element or AF network element.

[0174] FIG3 is a flow chart of a method in which an NWDAF network element provides recommendation results to a consumer.

[0175] S301: The consumer sends a recommendation subscription / request message to the NWDAF network element, where the recommendation subscription / request message is used to request a recommendation result. Correspondingly, the NWDAF network element receives the recommendation subscription / request message.

[0176] Among them, the consumer can be a network function network element in the 5G core network (such as PCF network element, NSSF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NEF network element, AF network element, NWDAF network element, DCCF network element, etc.) or OAM network element, etc.

[0177] In this method, the consumer can send a recommendation subscription / request message to the NWDAF network element through the recommendation subscription (Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Subscribe) service operation / recommendation request (Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Request) service operation.

[0178] The recommendation subscription / request message sent by the consumer to the NWDAF network element may include the following parameters: the desired recommendation result (the desired recommendation on a given domain), the time period for providing recommendation results (observation period [start..end] in the future on which recommendations are requested), the maximum tolerable delay for the provision of the recommendations (maximum tolerable delay for the provision of the recommendations), the target of the recommendation results (target of event reporting) and the recommendation result filtering information (event filtering information).

[0179] The recommendation result expected to be obtained may include a recommendation identifier (the recommendation registered ID in the given domain). The recommendation identifier is used to identify the type of recommendation result to be obtained, for example, it can be used to identify the recommended QoS parameters to be obtained, or to identify the recommended UPF network element to be obtained.

[0180] Optionally, the recommendation results expected to be obtained may also include optimization goals and constraints per requested parameter.

[0181] As an example, when a consumer wants to obtain recommended QoS parameters, the optimization target may be a mean opinion score (MOS) condition of the service experience. For example, the optimization target may be: MOS>4.

[0182] Constraints on request parameters can be expressed as parameter ranges. For example, when a consumer wants to obtain recommended QoS, the parameter range can be: 50 megabits per second (Mbps) < bitrate < 100Mbps, or 20ms < delay < 50ms.

[0183] The time period for providing recommendation results indicates that the NWDAF network element is requested to provide recommendation results applicable to a specific time period.

[0184] The target of the recommendation result can be a specific UE, a group of UEs, or any UE. For example, when a consumer wants to obtain recommended QoS parameters and specifies the target as Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI) 1, it means that the consumer wants to obtain the recommended QoS parameters for SUPI1.

[0185] The recommendation result filtering information indicates the applicable conditions of the recommendation result, and the recommendation result filtering information may be AOI, S-NSSAI, etc. For example, when the recommendation result filtering information is cell 1, it means that the consumer wants to obtain the recommendation results in cell 1.

[0186] S302: The NWDAF network element generates a recommendation result.

[0187] In this method, the NWDAF network element can generate recommendation results based on local policies. The local policies here can be locally pre-configured.

[0188] S303: The NWDAF network element sends a recommendation notification / response message to the consumer, where the recommendation notification / response message indicates the recommendation result. Correspondingly, the consumer receives the recommendation notification / response message.

[0189] In this method, the NWDAF network element may send a recommendation notification / response message to the consumer through a recommendation notification (Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Notify) service operation / recommendation response (Nnwdaf_Recommendations_Request Response) service operation.

[0190] Optionally, the recommendation notification / response message sent by the NWDAF network element to the consumer may include one or more sets of candidate recommendation results (recommendations). Each set of recommendation results in the one or more sets of candidate recommendation results may include a recommendation identifier, a recommended parameter value, or a recommended parameter range (the vector of tagged parameter recommended values ​​or value ranges).

[0191] Optionally, each set of recommendation results may also include the associated impacts (a set of predicted analytics) if such parameters are chosen) of the recommendation results and a preference order in order to suggest a preference.

[0192] Taking the recommendation result as QoS parameters as an example, after the consumer receives the recommended QoS parameters, it can perform services based on the recommended QoS parameters.

[0193] However, in this method, when the consumer performs services based on the recommended QoS parameters, the service requirements are often not met, and the service may even be unable to be performed.

[0194] In the existing technology, the QoS parameters recommended by the NWDAF network element to the consumer do not take into account the generation logic of the consumer's QoS parameters, but only generate recommendation results based on local policies. As a result, the recommended QoS parameters may not meet the consumer's requirements, resulting in the consumer being unable to use the recommended QoS parameters, which may lead to the inability to meet business needs or even the inability to execute business.

[0195] To this end, the present application provides a communication method for solving the problem in the prior art that consumers cannot use the recommended QoS parameters.

[0196] In the technical solution of the present application, the consumer may send a first message to the NWDAF network element, where the first message is used to request the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0197] In this method, at least one set of QoS parameters may be QoS parameters supported by the consumer. The QoS parameters supported by the consumer may be understood as QoS parameters that meet the consumer's requirements. The consumer may ensure the service quality of the business based on the supported QoS parameters.

[0198] As an example, when the PCF network element requests the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the consumer may be the PCF network element.

[0199] As another example, when the AF network element requests the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the consumer may be the AF network element.

[0200] As another example, when a third-party AF network element requests the NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first message may be sent through the NEF network element. In this case, the consumer may be the NEF network element.

[0201] Optionally, the first message may further include an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to the first QoS parameter may meet the optimization target.

[0202] In this method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message. The first QoS parameter can meet the requirements of the consumer, avoiding the situation where the service requirements cannot be met or the service cannot be executed because the QoS parameters recommended by the NWDAF network element do not meet the requirements of the consumer.

[0203] Next, the present application will provide a detailed introduction to the solution of the present application in conjunction with Figures 4 to 10.

[0204] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0205] S401: A first network element sends a first message to a first NWDAF network element, the first message being used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first message including at least one set of QoS parameters.

[0206] In this method, the first network element may be a consumer, which may be a network function network element (such as a PCF network element, NSSF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, NEF network element, AF network element, NWDAF network element, DCCF network element, etc.) or an OAM network element in the system architecture shown in Figure 1.

[0207] As an example, when the PCF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first network element may be the PCF network element.

[0208] As another example, when the AF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first network element may be the AF network element.

[0209] As another example, when the third-party AF network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the first message may be sent through the NEF network element. In this case, the first network element may be the NEF network element.

[0210] In this method, the at least one set of QoS parameters is QoS parameters supported by the first network element. The QoS parameters supported by the first network element can be understood as QoS parameters that meet the requirements of the first network element. The first network element can ensure the quality of service of the service based on the supported QoS parameters. In this embodiment, the QoS parameters supported by the first network element can include QoS parameters generated by the first network element.

[0211] Optionally, the first message may further include an optimization target, which may be a preset condition that the QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element must meet. As an example, the optimization target may be a MOS condition for service experience. For example, the optimization target may be: MOS>4.

[0212] In the method, each set of QoS parameters in the at least one set of QoS parameters may include any one or more of the following parameters: 5G QoS identifier (5QI), allocation and retention priority (ARP), uplink (UL) maximum bit rate, downlink (DL) maximum bit rate, uplink guaranteed bit rate (UL-guaranteed bitrate), downlink guaranteed bit rate (DL-guaranteed bitrate), uplink maximum packet loss rate (UL maximum packet loss rate), downlink maximum packet loss rate (DL Maximum Packet Loss Rate), resource type (resource type), scheduling resource priority (priority level), packet delay budget (PDB), packet error rate (PER), averaging window, maximum data burst volume (MDBV), etc.

[0213] Among them, 5QI can be a scalar value used to identify the characteristics of 5G QoS. ARP can contain information about priority, preemption capability and preemption capability. Resource type can include guaranteed bit rate (GBR) and non-GBR. PDB defines the upper limit of the time that a data packet may be delayed between the N6 termination point of the UE and the UPF network element. PER defines the upper limit of the ratio of packet data units (PDU) that have been processed by the sender of the link layer protocol but have not been successfully transmitted to the upper layer by the corresponding receiver. Among them, the link layer protocol can include radio link control (RLC) in the RAN of 3GPP access, the upper layer can include the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) in the RAN of 3GPP access, and the PDU can include Internet Protocol (IP) data packets. The averaging window represents the duration for calculating the guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR) and the maximum flow bit rate (MFBR) (in the RAN, UPF network element or UE). MDBV represents the maximum amount of data that needs to be served within the 5G access network (5G-AN) PDB cycle.

[0214] In this method, the first message may further include parameter values ​​of each group of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0215] As an example, assume that the at least one set of QoS parameters may include three sets of QoS parameters. The first set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: a maximum uplink bit rate of 100 Mbps, a PDB of 50 ms, and a PER of 10^-4. The second set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: a maximum downlink bit rate of 80 Mbps and a resource type of GBR. The third set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: a guaranteed uplink bit rate of 50 Mbps and a maximum downlink packet loss rate of 10^-3.

[0216] In the method, the first message may further include a parameter value range of each group of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0217] As an example, assume that the at least one set of QoS parameters may include three sets of QoS parameters. The first set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: uplink maximum bit rate, with a value range of 100Mbps to 200Mbps; PDB, with a value range of 20ms to 50ms; and PER, with a value range of 10^-4 to 10^-3. The second set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: downlink maximum bit rate, with a value range of 50Mbps to 80Mbps; and resource type, with a value of GBR or Non-GBR. The third set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: uplink guaranteed bit rate, with a value range of 50Mbps to 100Mbps; and downlink maximum packet loss rate, with a value range of 10^-4 to 10^-3.

[0218] In the method, the first message may further include a combination of parameter values ​​and value ranges of each group of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0219] As an example, assume that the at least one set of QoS parameters may include three sets of QoS parameters. The first set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: uplink maximum bit rate, with a value range of 100Mbps to 200Mbps; PDB, with a value of 50ms; and PER, with a value range of 10^-4 to 10^-3. The second set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: downlink maximum bit rate, with a value range of 50Mbps to 80Mbps; resource type, with a value of GBR. The third set of QoS parameters may include the following parameters: uplink guaranteed bit rate, with a value range of 50Mbps to 100Mbps; and downlink maximum packet loss rate, with a value of 10^-3.

[0220] Optionally, the first message may further include a third QoS parameter and a constraint condition of the third QoS parameter.

[0221] In this method, the third QoS parameter may be a QoS parameter specified by the first network element, that is, the third QoS parameter may be a QoS parameter specified by the first network element or required to be recommended by the first NWDAF network element.

[0222] In the method, the third QoS parameter and each set of QoS parameters in at least one set of QoS parameters in the first message may be different QoS parameters.

[0223] As an example, assuming that the third QoS parameter is PDB, each QoS parameter in the at least one set of QoS parameters may include a bit rate and a PLR.

[0224] As an example, the constraint condition may be a parameter value or parameter value range that the third QoS parameter needs to satisfy.

[0225] For example, the constraint condition may be: PDB is equal to 50 ms, or PDB is less than or equal to 50 ms, or PDB is equal to 50 ms and the bit rate is greater than or equal to 200 Mbps, etc.

[0226] In this method, the at least one set of QoS parameters may also be referred to as candidate QoS parameters.

[0227] In a possible implementation, the first message may be an analysis subscription / request message.

[0228] In this implementation, the first network element may send the analysis subscription / request message to the first NWDAF network element through an analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation.

[0229] In this implementation, the first message may further include an analysis identifier, which is used to identify the requested recommendation result. As an example, when the first network element requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, the analysis identifier may be a QoS recommendation result (recommendation).

[0230] Optionally, the first message may further include indication information, where the indication information is used to instruct the first NWDAF network element to generate recommended QoS parameters.

[0231] In this method, the first network element can determine the need to generate recommended QoS parameters based on the indication information, then generate the recommended QoS parameters, and send the recommended QoS parameters to the first network element, which is conducive to the subsequent first network element ensuring the service quality based on the recommended QoS parameters.

[0232] In another possible implementation, the first message may be a recommendation subscription / request message.

[0233] In this implementation, the first network element may send the recommended subscription / request message to the first NWDAF network element through a recommended subscription service operation / recommended request service operation.

[0234] The recommendation subscription / request message may include a recommendation result requirement (recRequirement) object, which may include a recommendation identifier (recommendation registered ID).

[0235] Optionally, information such as QoS parameters and optimization targets supported by the first network element may also be included in the recommendation result requirement object.

[0236] In the method, the first NWDAF network element is a NWDAF network element having the capability of providing recommendation information. In the present application, the recommendation information capability here includes the capability of recommending QoS parameters.

[0237] In this method, unnecessary waste of resources when the first network element sends the first message to the NWDAF network element that does not provide the recommendation information capability can be avoided, which is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0238] Optionally, in some possible implementations, the communication system may include multiple NWDAF network elements. In this way, before sending the first message, the first network element may also send a first request message to the NRF network element. The first request message may include first information, and the first information may be used to request an NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information. After receiving the first request message, the NRF network element may send a first response message to the first network element. The first response message includes at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information, and the at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information includes the first NWDAF network element.

[0239] In this method, the first request message may further include any one or more of the following information: service name, target network element type, target network element address, and network element type of the first network element.

[0240] The service name may include a service name for the first network element to send information to the target network element. As an example, the service name may include an analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation. As another example, the service name may also include a recommendation subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0241] The target network element may be a network element capable of providing recommendation information. In this application, the target network element is an NWDAF network element.

[0242] In the method, the first network element may send a first request message to the NRF network element through a network function discovery request (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request) service operation.

[0243] Optionally, the first information in the first request message may be indicated by a parameter.

[0244] Optionally, the second NWDAF network element may send a second request message to the NRF network element in advance. The second request message may include second information, and the second information is used to indicate that the second NWDAF network element has the ability to provide recommended information. The second request message is used to request registration of the second NWDAF network element. Accordingly, after receiving the second request message, the NRF network element may send a second response message to the second NWDAF network element. The second response message includes a result indication, and the result indication is used to indicate the result of registering the second NWDAF network element.

[0245] In the method, the multiple NWDAF network elements in the communication system may include at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information, and the second NWDAF network element may be any one of the at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information.

[0246] Optionally, the second request message may further include information such as the network element type, the network element address, and supported service operations.

[0247] Optionally, the second information in the second request message may be indicated by a parameter.

[0248] Optionally, the second NWDAF network element may send a second request message to the NRF network element through a network function registration (Nnrf_NFManagement_NFRegister) service operation.

[0249] In the method, the result indication is used to indicate success or failure of registering the second NWDAF network element.

[0250] Optionally, after the NRF network element successfully registers the second NWDAF network element, the registration information of the second NWDAF network element may be stored. The registration information may include network element type, network element address, supported service operations, whether it has the ability to provide recommended information, and other information.

[0251] It can be understood that the registration information stored in the NRF network element may include at least one registration information, and the at least one registration information corresponds one-to-one to at least one NWDAF network element having the capability of providing recommendation information.

[0252] In this method, after receiving the first request message, the NRF network element may determine at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information based on at least one registration information, and then send a first response message to the first network element.

[0253] In the method, the NRF network element may send the first response message to the first network element through a network function discovery response (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response) service operation.

[0254] In this method, the first network element can select one as the first NWDAF network element from at least one NWDAF network element with the capability of providing recommendation information based on the first response message. This can avoid unnecessary waste of resources when the first network element sends the first message to the NWDAF network element that does not have the capability of providing recommendation information, which is conducive to improving resource utilization.

[0255] Optionally, in other embodiments, after the NRF network element determines at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information based on at least one registration information, it can select one NWDAF network element from the at least one NWDAF network element as the first NWDAF network element, and then send a first response message to the first network element, where the first response message includes the first NWDAF network element.

[0256] In this embodiment, the first NWDAF network element may be any one of the one or more NWDAF network elements.

[0257] In this embodiment, the NRF network element only needs to transmit one NWDAF network element, which is beneficial to reducing transmission overhead.

[0258] In the method, the NRF network element may send the first response message to the first network element through a network function discovery response (Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response) service operation.

[0259] Optionally, the third-party AF network element may also send a first request message to the NRF network element. When the third-party AF network element sends the first request message to the NRF network element, the first request message may be sent through the NEF network element. Correspondingly, when the NRF network element sends the first response message to the third-party AF network element, the first response message may be sent through the NEF network element.

[0260] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first network element is locally configured with NWDAF network element instance information, which can be used to indicate an NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information. In this way, the first network element can determine the first NWDAF network element based on the NWDAF network element instance information without sending the first request message to the NRF network element.

[0261] S402: The first NWDAF network element determines a first QoS parameter based on the first message, where the first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element.

[0262] In the method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters among the at least one group of QoS parameters included in the first message.

[0263] As an example, assume that at least one set of QoS parameters may include three sets of QoS parameters: a first set of QoS parameters, a second set of QoS parameters, and a third set of QoS parameters. The first QoS parameters may be the first set of QoS parameters, or the second set of QoS parameters, or the third set of QoS parameters, or the first set of QoS parameters and the second set of QoS parameters, or the first set of QoS parameters and the third set of QoS parameters, or the second set of QoS parameters and the third set of QoS parameters, or the first set of QoS parameters, the second set of QoS parameters, and the third set of QoS parameters. Optionally, the first QoS parameters may be empty.

[0264] In this method, the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters can meet the optimization target.

[0265] In one possible implementation method, the method for the first NWDAF network element to determine the first QoS parameter may include: inputting each group of QoS parameters in at least one group of QoS parameters into a local model respectively, obtaining the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters, and then determining the QoS parameter whose service experience meets the optimization target as the first QoS parameter.

[0266] As an example, the local model may be a pre-configured model, and the local model may be used to predict the service experience corresponding to the QoS parameters.

[0267] Optionally, the local model can be trained based on historical data.

[0268] In some examples, the first NWDAF network element can obtain historical information from some network function network elements (such as AF network element, AMF network element, SMF network element, UPF network element, OAM network element, etc.), which may include historical data and the service experience corresponding to the historical data, and then obtain the local model based on the historical information.

[0269] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may obtain one or more of the following information from the AF network element: application ID, IP filter information, application locations, service experience MOS, UE identifier and timestamp, etc.

[0270] The IP filtering information can be used to identify the service flow of the UE corresponding to the application. The application location is used to indicate the location of the application and can be represented by one or more data network access identifiers (DNAIs). The UE identifier can be used to identify the UE associated with the service experience (MOS) provided by the AF network element. The timestamp is used to indicate the timestamp associated with the service experience provided by the AF network element.

[0271] In this method, when the first network element is an AF network element, the first network element and the AF network element used to obtain historical information may be the same AF network element or different AF network elements.

[0272] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element can obtain one or more of the following information from the SMF network element: timestamp, data network name (DNN), S-NSSAI, application identifier, DNAI, PDU session type, session and service continuity (SSC) mode, access type, IP filtering information and QoS flow identifier (QFI), etc.

[0273] Among them, the timestamp is used to indicate the timestamp associated with the information provided by the SMF network element. DNN contains the DNN of the PDU session of the QoS flow. S-NSSAI contains the S-NSSAI of the PDU session of the QoS flow. The application identifier is used by the NWDAF network element to identify the application service provider and application of the QoS flow. DNAI is used to identify the data network (DN) access connected to the PDU session. The access type is used to identify the access type of the PDU session. IP filtering information is used by the NWDAF network element to identify service data flows, perform policy control and / or differentiated billing on QoS flows.

[0274] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may obtain one or more of the following information from the OAM network element: timestamp, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference information received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SNIR), uplink / downlink RAN ​​throughput (RAN throughput for DL ​​and UL), uplink / downlink RAN ​​packet delay (RAN Packet delay for DL ​​and UL), and uplink / downlink RAN ​​packet loss rate (RAN packet loss rate for DL ​​and UL), etc.

[0275] As an example, when the optimization target is the MOS condition of the service experience, the output of the local model may be the MOS of the service experience. In this example, the MOS of the service experience corresponding to the first QoS parameter meets the MOS condition.

[0276] Optionally, assuming that the QoS parameters that meet the optimization target in at least one group of QoS parameters can include one or more groups, the first NWDAF network element can determine the first QoS parameter from this group or more groups of QoS parameters that meet the optimization target, and the first QoS parameter can be included in this group or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0277] As an example, when there are multiple groups of QoS parameters that meet the optimization target among the QoS parameters supported by the first network element, the first NWDAF network element may determine all of the multiple groups of QoS parameters as the first QoS parameters.

[0278] As another example, when multiple sets of QoS parameters supported by the first network element meet the optimization objective, the first NWDAF network element may select one set of QoS parameters from the multiple sets of QoS parameters as the first QoS parameters. Optionally, the first QoS parameters may be the set of QoS parameters that provides the best service experience among the multiple sets of QoS parameters.

[0279] Optionally, the first QoS parameter may also be any one of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0280] As another example, when there is a set of QoS parameters that meet the optimization target among the QoS parameters supported by the first network element, the first NWDAF network element may determine the QoS parameters that meet the optimization target as the first QoS parameters.

[0281] Optionally, the number of QoS parameters that meet the optimization target among the QoS parameters supported by the first network element may be zero, and in this case, the first QoS parameter is empty.

[0282] Optionally, in some implementations, when the first message includes a third QoS parameter and a constraint condition of the third QoS parameter, each group of QoS parameters in one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameter also includes a third QoS parameter that satisfies the constraint condition.

[0283] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a value or value range of a third QoS parameter that meets the constraint condition.

[0284] In other words, each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters also includes a third QoS parameter and a value or value range of the third QoS parameter, and the value or value range of the third QoS parameter satisfies the constraint condition.

[0285] In this implementation, the method for the first NWDAF network element to determine the first QoS parameter may include: training or updating the local model based on the constraint conditions of the third QoS parameter to obtain the first model, and then inputting each group of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message into the first model respectively to determine whether each group of QoS parameters meets the optimization goal, and screening out the QoS parameters that can meet the optimization goal to obtain the first QoS parameter.

[0286] The first QoS parameter includes one or more groups of QoS parameters, and each group of QoS parameters in the one or more groups of QoS parameters includes a third QoS parameter that meets a constraint condition.

[0287] In this method, the first model can be used to predict whether the service experience of each group of QoS parameters in at least one group of QoS parameters can meet the optimization target under the premise of ensuring that the third QoS parameter meets the constraint condition.

[0288] As an example, assume that the third QoS parameter is PDB, and the constraint condition of the third QoS parameter is that PDB is less than or equal to 50ms. And assume that the first message contains two sets of QoS parameters, where the parameters and values ​​of the first set of QoS parameters are: bit rate equal to 200Mbps, packet loss rate equal to 10 -4 The second set of QoS parameters and values ​​are: bit rate equal to 300Mbps, packet loss rate equal to 10 -3 .

[0289] If the service experience of the two sets of QoS parameters in the first message both meet the optimization target, the first QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element to the first network element include two sets of QoS parameters, wherein the parameters and values ​​of the first set of QoS parameters can be: PDB equals 50ms, bit rate equals 200Mbps, packet loss rate equals 10 -4 The second set of QoS parameters and their values ​​can be: PDB equals 30ms, bit rate equals 300Mbps, packet loss rate equals 10 -3 .

[0290] In this method, the QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element also meet the constraints, so that when the first network element establishes a session based on the recommended QoS parameters, it can meet specific service experience requirements, such as meeting the low latency requirements of latency-sensitive services.

[0291] Optionally, assuming that the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the first NWDAF network element can determine the priority of the multiple groups of QoS parameters. The priority can be represented by a serial number, for example, serial number 1 indicates the highest priority, serial number 2 indicates the second priority, etc.; or, the priority can also be indicated by information such as High / Medium / Low. The present invention does not limit the way of expressing the priority. For example, the first QoS parameters include three groups of QoS parameters, namely QoS parameter combination 1, QoS parameter combination 2 and QoS parameter combination 3. The priorities of the three groups of QoS parameters are QoS parameter combination 2:1, QoS parameter combination 1:2, and QoS parameter combination 3:3, indicating that QoS parameter combination 2 has the highest priority, QoS parameter combination 1 has the second priority, and QoS parameter combination 3 has the lowest priority. For another example, the first QoS parameters include three groups of QoS parameters, namely QoS parameter combination 1, QoS parameter combination 2 and QoS parameter combination 3. The priorities of the three groups of QoS parameters are QoS parameter combination 2: High, QoS parameter combination 1: Medium, QoS parameter combination 3: Low, indicating that QoS parameter combination 2 has the highest priority, QoS parameter combination 1 has the second highest priority, and QoS parameter combination 3 has the lowest priority.

[0292] In this method, the priority of multiple sets of QoS parameters can be determined based on the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the multiple sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the QoS parameter with better service experience in the multiple sets of QoS parameters has a higher priority.

[0293] In this method, the first QoS parameter may also be referred to as a recommended QoS parameter or a recommendation result.

[0294] S403: The first NWDAF network element sends a second message to the first network element, where the second message includes the first QoS parameter.

[0295] In the method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0296] In this method, the first network element can determine the first QoS parameter based on the second message. Since the first QoS parameter can include one or more groups of QoS parameters in at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message, the first QoS parameter can meet the requirements of the first network element, avoiding the situation where the service demand cannot be met or the service cannot be executed because the first QoS parameter recommended by the NWDAF network element does not meet the requirements of the first network element.

[0297] Optionally, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message may be used to indicate priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0298] In this method, the priority of multiple sets of QoS parameters can be determined based on the service experience corresponding to each set of QoS parameters in the multiple sets of QoS parameters. Among them, the QoS parameter with better service experience in the multiple sets of QoS parameters has a higher priority.

[0299] Optionally, the quality of the service experience can be represented by a MOS of the service experience. A higher MOS of the service experience indicates a better service experience.

[0300] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may further sort the multiple groups of QoS parameters based on their priorities, and then send the sorted multiple groups of QoS parameters to the first network element.

[0301] For example, the first NWDAF network element may sort the multiple groups of QoS parameters according to a descending order of priority or a descending order of priority.

[0302] In this method, the first network element can select the QoS parameter with the highest priority from the multiple groups of QoS parameters based on the priority corresponding to each group of QoS parameters to establish a session, which is conducive to improving business service quality and thus improving user experience.

[0303] Optionally, the second message may further include the UE corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience of each group of QoS parameters.

[0304] The UE corresponding to the first QoS parameter can be understood as a UE supported by the first QoS parameter, that is, the UE can perform services based on the first QoS parameter, or the session established based on the first QoS parameter is applicable to the UE.

[0305] The first network element can also determine the UE corresponding to the first QoS parameter based on the second message, thereby avoiding the situation where the UE cannot perform services when a subsequent session established based on the first QoS parameter is not applicable to the UE.

[0306] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may send the second message to the third-party AF network element. When the first NWDAF network element sends the second message to the third-party AF network element, the second message may be sent to the third-party AF network element through the NEF network element.

[0307] Optionally, the first QoS parameter, the UE corresponding to the first QoS parameter, the priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters, and the priorities corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the multiple groups of QoS parameters may also be sent through different messages.

[0308] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may further send a third message to the first network element, where the third message is used to indicate the second QoS parameter.

[0309] The second QoS parameter may be a QoS parameter that does not meet the optimization target among the at least one QoS parameter in the first message.

[0310] In this method, the first network element determines based on the third message that the first NWDAF network element does not recommend the second QoS parameter, thereby avoiding the problem of poor service experience when the first network element establishes a session based on the second QoS parameter.

[0311] Optionally, the third message may further indicate the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target.

[0312] In this method, the first network element can also determine the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target based on the third message, so that the first network element can optimize the generation of QoS parameters and avoid subsequent generation of some unusable QoS parameters.

[0313] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may send the third message to the third-party AF network element. When the first NWDAF network element sends the third message to the third-party AF network element, the third message may be sent to the third-party AF network element through the NEF network element.

[0314] Optionally, the third message and the second message may be the same message or different messages.

[0315] In this method, the first message, the second message, and the third message are merely names for information / messages and do not limit the scope of this application. In some embodiments, the second message and the third message may have the same name. For example, the second message and the third message may be named notification / response messages.

[0316] In a possible implementation, when the first message is an analysis subscription / request message, the second message and the third message may be analysis notification / response messages.

[0317] In this implementation, the first NWDAF network element may send an analysis notification / response message to the first network element through an analysis notification service operation / analysis response service operation.

[0318] In another possible implementation, when the first message is a recommendation subscription / request message, the second message and the third message may be recommendation notification / response messages.

[0319] In this implementation, the first NWDAF network element may send a recommendation notification / response message to the first network element through a recommendation notification service operation / recommendation response service operation.

[0320] In this implementation, the recommendation notification / response message may include a recommendation result (recResult) object, and the recommendation result object may include a recommendation identifier and a first QoS parameter.

[0321] Optionally, the second QoS parameter and the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target may also be included in the recommendation result object.

[0322] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may also send other parameters to the first network element, such as UE identification, time slot list (Time slot entry) in the target time period, time slot start time (Time slot start), time slot duration (duration), DNN, S-NSSAI, validity period of recommendation result (validity period), spatial validity of recommendation result (spatial validity), confidence of recommendation result (confidence), etc.

[0323] Optionally, when the first network element is an AF network element or an NEF network element, after receiving the second message, the first network element may further send the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element. Accordingly, after receiving the first QoS parameter, the PCF network element may send a response message to the first network element, where the response message is used to indicate that the PCF network element has received the first QoS parameter.

[0324] In addition, the PCF network element can establish a session based on the first QoS parameter, which is conducive to ensuring the quality of business service.

[0325] In this method, the first QoS parameters recommended by the first NWDAF network element to the first network element may be one or more groups of at least one group of QoS parameters in the first message, and the one or more groups of QoS parameters meet the requirements of the first network element, thereby avoiding the situation where the service requirements cannot be met or the service cannot be executed because the recommended QoS parameters generated by the first NWDAF network element based on the local policy do not meet the requirements of the first network element.

[0326] Optionally, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the AF network element or the NEF network element may send one or more groups of parameters in the first QoS parameters to the PCF network element.

[0327] Next, this application will take the first network element as a PCF network element as an example to further introduce the method of this application.

[0328] When the first network element is a PCF network element, the communication method may be as shown in FIG5 .

[0329] S501: A PCF network element sends a first request message to an NRF network element, where the first request message includes first information for requesting an NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information. Accordingly, the NRF network element receives the first request message.

[0330] In this method, the information included in the first request message can refer to the relevant content in S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0331] In this method, the PCF network element may send a first request message to the NRF network element through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request service operation.

[0332] S502: The NRF network element sends a first response message to the PCF network element, the first response message including at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information, the at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information including the first NWDAF network element. Accordingly, the PCF network element receives the first response message.

[0333] In this method, the method in which the NRF network element determines at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information and the information included in the first response message can refer to the relevant content in S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0334] In the method, the first NWDAF network element may be any one of the at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information.

[0335] In this method, the NRF network element may send a first response message to the PCF network element through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response service operation.

[0336] S503: The PCF network element sends a first message to the first NWDAF network element, where the first message is used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters. Correspondingly, the first NWDAF network element receives the first message.

[0337] In this method, the parameters included in the first message can refer to the relevant content in S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0338] In some implementations, the first message may be an analysis subscription / request message. The PCF network element may send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through an analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation.

[0339] Optionally, the PCF network element may further send indication information to the first NWDAF network element, where the indication information is used to instruct the first NWDAF network element to generate recommended QoS parameters.

[0340] In some other implementations, the first message may be a recommend subscription / request message. The PCF network element may send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through a recommend subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0341] In this implementation, the first message may include a recommendation result request object, and the parameters included in the first message may be included in the recommendation request result object.

[0342] S504: The first NWDAF network element determines a first QoS parameter based on the first message. The first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element. The first QoS parameter includes one or more groups of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0343] The method for the first NWDAF network element to determine the first QoS parameter may refer to the relevant content in S402 and will not be repeated here.

[0344] S505: The first NWDAF network element sends a second message to the PCF network element, where the second message includes the first QoS parameter. Correspondingly, the PCF network element receives the second message.

[0345] In the method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0346] Optionally, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message may further include priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0347] Optionally, the second message may further include the UE corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0348] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may further send a third message to the PCF network element, where the third message is used to indicate a second QoS parameter, wherein the second QoS parameter may be a QoS parameter that does not meet the optimization target in the at least one set of QoS parameters in the first message.

[0349] Optionally, the third message may further indicate the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target.

[0350] In a possible implementation, when the first message is an analysis subscription / request message, the second message and the third message may be analysis notification / response messages.

[0351] In this implementation, the first NWDAF network element may send an analysis notification / response message to the PCF network element through an analysis notification service operation / analysis response service operation.

[0352] In another possible implementation, when the first message is a recommendation subscription / request message, the second message and the third message may be recommendation notification / response messages.

[0353] In this implementation, the first NWDAF network element may send a recommendation notification / response message to the PCF network element through a recommendation notification service operation / recommendation response service operation.

[0354] In this implementation, the recommendation notification / response message may include a recommendation result object, and the parameters included in the second message and the third message may be included in the recommendation result object.

[0355] In some embodiments, the communication method may not include S501 and S502. For example, when the PCF network element is locally configured with NWDAF network element instance information, the NWDAF network element instance information may be used to indicate an NWDAF network element capable of providing recommended information. In this way, the PCF network element does not need to send a first request message to the NRF network element and can determine the first NWDAF network element based on the NWDAF network element instance information.

[0356] When the first network element is an AF network element, the communication method may be as shown in FIG6 .

[0357] S601: The AF network element sends a first request message to the NRF network element, where the first request message includes first information for requesting an NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information. Correspondingly, the NRF network element receives the first request message.

[0358] In this method, the information included in the first request message can refer to the relevant content in S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0359] In this method, the AF network element may send a first request message to the NRF network element through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request service operation.

[0360] S602: The NRF network element sends a first response message to the AF network element, the first response message including at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information, the at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information including the first NWDAF network element. Accordingly, the AF network element receives the first response message.

[0361] In this method, the method in which the NRF network element determines at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information and the information included in the first response message can refer to the relevant content in S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0362] In the method, the first NWDAF network element may be any one of the at least one NWDAF network element capable of providing recommendation information.

[0363] In this method, the NRF network element may send a first response message to the AF network element through the Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request Response service operation.

[0364] S603: The AF network element sends a first message to the first NWDAF network element, where the first message is used to request the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, and the first message includes at least one set of QoS parameters. Accordingly, the first NWDAF network element receives the first message.

[0365] In this method, the parameters included in the first message can refer to the relevant content in S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0366] In some implementations, the first message may be an analysis subscription / request message. The AF network element may send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through an analysis subscription service operation / analysis request service operation.

[0367] Optionally, the AF network element may further send indication information to the first NWDAF network element, where the indication information is used to instruct the first NWDAF network element to generate recommended QoS parameters.

[0368] In some other implementations, the first message may be a recommend subscription / request message. The AF network element may send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through a recommend subscription service operation / recommendation request service operation.

[0369] In this implementation, the first message may include a recommendation result request object, and the parameters included in the first message may be included in the recommendation request result object.

[0370] S604: The first NWDAF network element determines a first QoS parameter based on the first message. The first QoS parameter is a QoS parameter recommended by the first NWDAF network element. The first QoS parameter includes one or more groups of QoS parameters in the at least one group of QoS parameters.

[0371] The method for the first NWDAF network element to determine the first QoS parameter may refer to the relevant content in S402 and will not be repeated here.

[0372] S605: The first NWDAF network element sends a second message to the AF network element, where the second message includes the first QoS parameter. Correspondingly, the AF network element receives the second message.

[0373] In the method, the first QoS parameter may include one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0374] Optionally, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the second message may further include priorities of the multiple groups of QoS parameters.

[0375] Optionally, the second message may further include the UE corresponding to each group of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of QoS parameters.

[0376] Optionally, the first NWDAF network element may further send a third message to the AF network element, where the third message is used to indicate a second QoS parameter, wherein the second QoS parameter may be a QoS parameter that does not meet the optimization target in the at least one set of QoS parameters in the first message.

[0377] Optionally, the third message may further indicate the reason why the second QoS parameter does not meet the optimization target.

[0378] In a possible implementation, when the first message is an analysis subscription / request message, the second message and the third message may be analysis notification / response messages.

[0379] In this implementation, the first NWDAF network element may send an analysis notification / response message to the AF network element through an analysis notification service operation / analysis response service operation.

[0380] In another possible implementation, when the first message is a recommendation subscription / request message, the second message and the third message information may be recommendation notification / response messages.

[0381] In this implementation, the first NWDAF network element may send a recommendation notification / response message to the AF network element through a recommendation notification service operation / recommendation response service operation.

[0382] In this implementation, the recommendation notification / response message may include a recommendation result object, and the parameters included in the second message and the third message may be included in the recommendation result object.

[0383] S606: The AF network element sends the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element may receive the first QoS parameter.

[0384] In this method, when the AF network element sends the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element, the first QoS parameter can be sent to the PCF network element via the NEF network element. For example, the AF network element sends the first QoS parameter to the NEF network element via the AF session QoS setting create request (Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create Request) service operation, and the NEF network element then sends the first QoS parameter to the PCF network element via the PCF policy authorization create request (Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create Request) service operation.

[0385] Optionally, when the first QoS parameters include multiple groups of QoS parameters, the AF network element may send one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters to the PCF network element. Correspondingly, the PCF network element may receive the one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0386] S607: The PCF network element sends response information to the AF network element. The response information is used to indicate that the PCF network element has received the first QoS parameter.

[0387] In this method, when the PCF network element sends a response message to the AF network element, the response message can be sent to the AF network element through the NEF network element. For example, the PCF network element sends a response message to the NEF network element through the PCF Policy Authorization Create Response (Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create Response) service operation, and the NEF network element then sends a response message to the AF network element through the AF Session QoS Setting Create Response (Nnef_AFsessionWithQoS_Create Response) service operation.

[0388] Optionally, if the AF network element sends one or more groups of QoS parameters in the first QoS parameters to the PCF network element, the response message may be used to indicate that the PCF network element has received the one or more groups of QoS parameters.

[0389] In some embodiments, the communication method may not include S601 and S602. For example, when the AF network element is locally configured with recommendation information, the recommendation information may be used to indicate an NWDAF network element capable of providing the recommendation information. In this way, the AF network element does not need to send a first request message to the NRF network element and can determine the first NWDAF network element based on the recommendation information.

[0390] Optionally, in some scenarios, when a third-party AF requests the first NWDAF network element to recommend QoS parameters, it can interact with other network function network elements through the NEF network element. For example, the third-party AF network element can interact with the NRF network element, the NWDAF network element, and the PCF network element through the NEF network element. In this method, the first network element can be the NEF network element.

[0391] Optionally, the third-party AF network element may send a first message to the NEF network element, where the first message is used to request recommended QoS parameters. After receiving the first message, the NEF network element may discover the first NWDAF network element from the NRF network element, then send the first message to the first NWDAF network element, and obtain the recommended QoS parameters from the first NWDAF network element. After receiving the recommended QoS parameters, the NEF network element may send the recommended QoS parameters to the third-party AF network element.

[0392] For example, the third-party AF network element may send the first message to the NEF through an Nnef_AnalyticsExposure_Subscribe service operation.

[0393] The process of the NEF network element discovering the first NWDAF network element from the NRF network element can refer to the process of the AF network element discovering the first NWDAF network element from the NRF network element in S601 and S602, which will not be repeated here.

[0394] The NEF network element may send the first message to the first NWDAF network element through an NWDAF analysis subscription (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Subscribe) service operation.

[0395] The first NWDAF network element may send the recommended QoS parameters to the NEF network element through an NWDAF analysis subscription notification (Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify) service operation.

[0396] The NEF network element can send recommended QoS parameters to the third-party AF network element through the NEF analysis exposure notification (Nnef_AnalyticsExposure_Notify) service operation.

[0397] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , a communication device 700 may include a sending module 701 and a receiving module 702 .

[0398] The communication device 700 can be applied to a first network element, or can be applied to a chip in the first network element.

[0399] As an example, the communication device 700 may be used to implement the method of the embodiment shown in Figure 4. The sending module 701 may be used to execute S401, and the receiving module 702 may be used to execute S403.

[0400] In one example, the first network element may be a PCF network element. In this example, the communication device 700 may be used to implement the method of the embodiment shown in FIG5 . The sending module 701 may be used to execute S501 and S503 , and the receiving module 702 may be used to execute S502 and S505 .

[0401] In another example, the first network element may be an AF network element. In this example, the communication device 700 may be used to implement the method of the embodiment shown in FIG6 . The sending module 701 may be used to execute S601 , S603 , and S606 , and the receiving module 702 may be used to execute S602 , S605 , and S607 .

[0402] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8 , the communication device 800 may include a receiving module 801 , a determining module 802 , and a sending module 803 .

[0403] The communication device 800 can be applied to the first NWDAF network element, and can also be applied to a chip in the first NWDAF network element.

[0404] As an example, the communication device 800 may be used to implement the method of the embodiment shown in Figure 4. The receiving module 801 may be used to execute S401, the determining module 802 may be used to execute S402, and the sending module 803 may be used to execute S403.

[0405] As another example, the communication device 800 may be used to implement the method of the embodiment shown in Figure 5. The receiving module 801 may be used to execute S503, the determining module 802 may be used to execute S504, and the sending module 803 may be used to execute S505.

[0406] As another example, the communication device 800 may be used to implement the method of the embodiment shown in Figure 6. The receiving module 801 may be used to execute S603, the determining module 802 may be used to execute S604, and the sending module 803 may be used to execute S605.

[0407] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to another embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , the communication device 900 may include a receiving module 901 and a sending module 903 .

[0408] The communication device 900 can be applied to an NRF network element, and can also be applied to a chip in an NRF network element.

[0409] As an example, the communication device 900 may be used to implement the method of the embodiment shown in Figure 5. The receiving module 901 may be used to execute S501, and the sending module 902 may be used to execute S502.

[0410] As another example, the communication device 900 may be used to implement the method of the embodiment shown in Figure 6. The receiving module 901 may be used to execute S601, and the sending module 903 may be used to execute S602.

[0411] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in yet another embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, communication device 1000 includes a processor 1001 and an interface circuit 1002. Processor 1001 and interface circuit 1002 are coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuit 1002 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1003 for storing instructions executed by processor 1001, storing input data required by processor 1001 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after processor 1001 executes instructions.

[0412] As an example, the interface circuit 1002 may be used to implement the functions of the aforementioned sending module 701 and receiving module 702 .

[0413] In this example, the communication device 1000 may be a first network element, or may be a chip used in the first network element.

[0414] As another example, the processor 1001 may be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned determination module 802 , and the interface circuit 1002 may be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned receiving module 801 and sending module 803 .

[0415] In this example, the communication device 1000 may be a first NWDAF network element, or may be a chip used in the first NWDAF network element.

[0416] As another example, the interface circuit 1002 can be used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned receiving module 9801 and sending module 902.

[0417] In this example, the communication device 1000 may be an NRF network element, or a chip used in an NRF network element.

[0418] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a network device or a terminal device. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also be present in a network device or a terminal device as discrete components.

[0419] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive.

[0420] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0421] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a first network element, the method includes: Sending a first message to a first network data analysis function network element, the first message being used to request the first network data analysis function network element to recommend quality of service parameters, and the first message including at least one set of quality of service parameters; Receiving a second message from the first network data analysis function network element, the second message including first quality of service parameters, the first quality of service parameters being the quality of service parameters recommended by the first network data analysis function network element, and the first quality of service parameters including one or more sets of the at least one set of quality of service parameters.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the first quality of service parameters include multiple sets of quality of service parameters, the second message further includes the priorities of the multiple sets of quality of service parameters.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The second message further includes the terminal device corresponding to each set of quality of service parameters in the first quality of service parameters and / or the service experience corresponding to each set of quality of service parameters.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first message further includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each set of quality of service parameters in the first quality of service parameters meets the optimization target.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The method further includes: Receiving a third message from the first network data analysis function network element, the third message indicating second quality of service parameters, the second quality of service parameters being the quality of service parameters in the at least one set of quality of service parameters that do not meet the optimization target.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The third message further indicates the reason why the second quality of service parameters do not meet the optimization target.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that The first message further includes third quality of service parameters and the constraint conditions of the third quality of service parameters.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein Each set of quality of service parameters in one or more sets of quality of service parameters in the first quality of service parameters further includes third quality of service parameters that meet the constraint conditions.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The first network data analysis function network element is a network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein Before sending the first message to the first network data analysis function network element, the method further includes: Sending a first request message to a network storage function network element, the first request message including first information, the first information being used to request a network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information; Receiving a first response message from the network storage function network element, the first response message including at least one network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information, and the at least one network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information includes the first network data analysis function network element.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The first network element is a policy control function network element or an application function network element.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein When the first network element is the application function network element, the method further includes: Sending the first quality of service parameters to a policy control function network element.

13. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a network data analysis function network element, the method includes: Receiving a first message from a first network element, the first message being used to request the network data analysis function network element to recommend quality of service parameters, and the first message including at least one set of quality of service parameters; Determine a first quality of service parameter based on the first message, where the first quality of service parameter is the quality of service parameter recommended by the network data analysis function network element, and the first quality of service parameter includes one or more groups of quality of service parameters in the at least one group of quality of service parameters; Send a second message to the first network element, where the second message includes the first quality of service parameter.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein When the first quality of service parameter includes multiple groups of quality of service parameters, the second message further includes the priorities of the multiple groups of quality of service parameters.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The second message further includes the terminal device corresponding to each group of quality of service parameters in the first quality of service parameter and / or the service experience corresponding to each group of quality of service parameters.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that, The first message further includes an optimization target, and the service experience corresponding to each group of quality of service parameters in the first quality of service parameter meets the optimization target.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The method further includes: Send a third message to the first network element, where the third message indicates a second quality of service parameter, and the second quality of service parameter is the quality of service parameter in the at least one group of quality of service parameters that does not meet the optimization target.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The third message further indicates the reason why the second quality of service parameter does not meet the optimization target.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that, The first message further includes a third quality of service parameter and the constraint conditions of the third quality of service parameter.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein Each group of quality of service parameters in one or more groups of quality of service parameters in the first quality of service parameter further includes a third quality of service parameter that meets the constraint conditions.

21. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 20, characterized in that, The network data analysis function network element is a network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

22. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 21, characterized in that, The first network element is a policy control function network element or an application function network element.

23. A communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a network storage function network element, the method includes: Receive a first request message from a first network element, where the first request message includes first information for requesting a network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information; Send a first response message to the first network element, where the first response message includes at least one network data analysis function network element with the ability to provide recommendation information.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein The method further includes: Receive a second request message from a second network data analysis function network element, where the second request message includes second information for indicating that the second network data analysis function network element has the ability to provide recommendation information, and the second request message is used to request registration of the second network data analysis function network element; Send a second response message to the second network data analysis function network element, where the second response message includes a result indication for indicating the result of registering the second network data analysis function network element.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes functional modules for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes: A memory and a processor; The memory is used to store program instructions; The processor is used to execute the program instructions in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores program code for execution by a computer, the program code including instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product contains instructions for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

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