Policy management method and apparatus, and processor-readable storage medium

Abstract

A policy management method and apparatus, and a processor-readable storage medium, which relate to the technical field of communications. The method comprises: a first entity receiving first indication information sent by a second entity, and / or receiving first indication information sent by an application in a non-real time radio access network intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC); and the first entity executing management over an A1 policy on the basis of the first indication information, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating an execution priority of the A1 policy.

Description

Policy management methods, devices, and processor-readable storage media

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410496223.5, filed on April 24, 2024, entitled "Strategy Management Method, Apparatus and Processor-Readable Storage Medium", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a policy management method, apparatus, and processor-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0003] In Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN), applications (rApps) running on the Non-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC) can send various policies and / or configurations to the Near-RT RIC based on their own tasks and optimization goals. However, since rApps are deployed within the Non-RT RIC by different third-party vendors, conflicts may occur between the policies and / or configurations sent by different rApps to the Near-RT RIC. Currently, there is no corresponding solution for policy and / or configuration conflicts caused by inconsistencies between rApps. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This disclosure provides a policy management method, apparatus, and processor-readable storage medium, which solves the problem that there is currently no corresponding solution for policy and / or configuration conflicts caused by policy inconsistencies between rApps.

[0005] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a strategy management method, including:

[0006] The first entity receives the first instruction information sent by the second entity, and / or receives the first instruction information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC;

[0007] The first entity executes A1 policy management based on the first instruction information;

[0008] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first entity includes one of the following:

[0010] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0011] Near-Real Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Near-RT RIC);

[0012] And / or,

[0013] The second entity includes one of the following:

[0014] Application management functionality entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0015] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0016] Functional entities in the SMO architecture other than Non-RT RIC.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0018] A1 strategy priority;

[0019] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0020] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0021] In some embodiments, before the first entity receives the first indication information sent by the second entity, at least one of the following is included:

[0022] The first entity receives a first request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC, and sends a first query message to the second entity based on the first request message; wherein, the first request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the first query message is used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0023] The first entity sends a first subscription information to the second entity; wherein the first subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0024] In some embodiments, the first entity receives first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receives first indication information sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC, including at least one of the following:

[0025] The first entity receives a second request message sent by the second entity; wherein the second request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the second request message includes the first indication message;

[0026] The first entity receives a third request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

[0027] In some embodiments, the first entity performs A1 policy management based on the first indication information, including:

[0028] The first entity performs conflict detection on at least two A1 policies and determines the conflict detection result;

[0029] If the conflict detection result indicates that there is a conflict between at least two A1 policies, then the first entity performs A1 policy management according to the first indication information;

[0030] The first entity determines that there is a conflict between the at least two A1 policies by at least one of the following methods:

[0031] The configuration parameters of at least two A1 strategies overlap;

[0032] There is a conflict in the policy actions between at least two A1 policies.

[0033] In some embodiments, the execution of A1 policy management includes at least one of the following:

[0034] For A1 policies that conflict, the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy shall be rejected;

[0035] For conflicting A1 policies, suspend the creation and / or updating of the A1 policies;

[0036] For conflicting A1 policies, delete the A1 policy;

[0037] For A1 policies that have been rejected or suspended from creation and / or updating, retry the creation and / or updating process of the A1 policy;

[0038] For at least two conflicting A1 policies, merge the at least two A1 policies.

[0039] In some embodiments, when the second A1 policy requests the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy by the first application, the first entity performs A1 policy management based on the first instruction information, including:

[0040] If, based on the first indication information, it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is lower than or equal to the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application; wherein, the rejection message is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the first A1 policy;

[0041] And / or,

[0042] If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the first entity executes the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0043] In some embodiments, the first entity determines the priority relationship between the execution priority of the first A1 policy and the execution priority of the second A1 policy by at least one of the following methods:

[0044] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is higher than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0045] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is lower than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0046] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is equal to the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0047] If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0048] If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a second value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a first value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0049] If the second identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the second identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0050] Wherein, the first identification information is a first value used to indicate that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is allowed, and the first identification information is a second value used to indicate that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is not allowed; the second identification information is a first value used to indicate that preemption by other A1 strategies is not allowed, and the second identification information is a second value used to indicate that preemption by other A1 strategies is allowed.

[0051] In some embodiments, after the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application, the method further includes:

[0052] The first entity receives a first deletion request message sent by the second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0053] The first entity sends the first deletion request information to Near-RT RIC;

[0054] The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0055] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, the first entity sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to indicate the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0056] In some embodiments, after the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application, the method further includes:

[0057] The first entity receives a first deletion request message sent by the second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0058] The first entity deletes the second A1 policy and sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0059] In some embodiments, the first entity performs the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy, including:

[0060] The first entity sends the rejection information to the first application and a second deletion request information to Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request information is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0061] The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0062] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, the first entity sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0063] In some embodiments, before the first entity sends retry information to the first application, it further includes:

[0064] The first entity receives third identification information sent by the first application; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the first application allows retry of A1 policy execution;

[0065] The first entity sends retry information to the first application, including:

[0066] When the third identification information indicates that the first application allows retrying the execution of policy A1, the first entity sends the retry information to the first application.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first entity performs the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy, including:

[0068] The first entity sends a second deletion request message to the Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0069] The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0070] If the feedback information indicates that the deletion of the second A1 policy is successful, the first entity performs the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0071] This disclosure provides a strategy management method, including:

[0072] An application in a non-RT RIC sends a first indication message to a first entity; wherein the first indication message is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0073] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0074] A1 strategy priority;

[0075] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0076] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0077] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0078] In some embodiments, the application in the Non-RT RIC sends a first indication message to the first entity, including:

[0079] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a third request message to the first entity; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

[0080] In some embodiments, before the application in the Non-RT RIC sends the first indication information to the first entity, it further includes:

[0081] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a second subscription message to the second entity; wherein the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0082] In some embodiments, before the application in the Non-RT RIC sends the first indication information to the first entity, it further includes:

[0083] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a second query message to the second entity; wherein the second query message is used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0084] The application in the Non-RT RIC receives response information sent by the second entity; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

[0085] In some embodiments, the strategy management method further includes at least one of the following:

[0086] The application in the Non-RT RIC receives a rejection message sent by the first entity; wherein the rejection message is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the A1 policy;

[0087] The application in the Non-RT RIC receives retry information sent by the first entity; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the application to retry the creation and / or update process of the A1 policy;

[0088] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a third identification information to the first entity; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the application allows retrying the execution of the A1 policy;

[0089] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a first deletion request message to the first entity; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the A1 policy.

[0090] This disclosure provides a strategy management method, including:

[0091] The second entity sends a first instruction message to the first entity, and / or sends a first instruction message to the application in the Non-RT RIC;

[0092] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0093] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0094] A1 strategy priority;

[0095] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0096] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0097] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0098] In some embodiments, the second entity sends a first indication message to the first entity, and / or sends the first indication message to an application in a Non-RT RIC, including:

[0099] The second entity receives a first query message sent by the first entity, and / or receives a second query message sent by an application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the first query message and / or the second query message are used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy; the second entity sends the first indication message to the first entity according to the first query message; and / or sends a response message of the second query message to the application; wherein the response message is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

[0100] In some embodiments, before the second entity sends the first indication information to the first entity, and / or before sending the first indication information to the application in the Non-RT RIC, the method further includes:

[0101] The second entity receives the first subscription information sent by the first entity; wherein the subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0102] And / or,

[0103] The second entity receives second subscription information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the second subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0104] This disclosure provides a policy management device, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

[0105] The memory stores computer programs; the transceiver, under the control of the processor, sends and receives data; the processor reads the computer programs from the memory and performs the following operations:

[0106] Receive first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receive first indication information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC;

[0107] Execute A1 policy management based on the first instruction information;

[0108] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0109] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0110] A1 strategy priority;

[0111] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0112] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0113] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0114] In some embodiments, the execution of A1 policy management includes at least one of the following:

[0115] For A1 policies that conflict, the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy shall be rejected;

[0116] For conflicting A1 policies, suspend the creation and / or updating of the A1 policies;

[0117] For conflicting A1 policies, delete the A1 policy;

[0118] For A1 policies that have been rejected or suspended from creation and / or updating, retry the creation and / or updating process of the A1 policy;

[0119] For at least two conflicting A1 policies, merge the at least two A1 policies.

[0120] In some embodiments, when the second A1 policy requests the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy by the first application, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0121] If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then a rejection message is sent to the first application; wherein, the rejection message is used to indicate that the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy is refused.

[0122] And / or,

[0123] If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy is executed.

[0124] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0125] Receive a first deletion request message sent by a second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0126] Send the first deletion request information to Near-RT RIC;

[0127] Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0128] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, a retry message is sent to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0129] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0130] Receive a first deletion request message sent by a second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0131] Delete the second A1 policy and send a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0132] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0133] Send the rejection information to the first application and send a second deletion request information to Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request information is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0134] Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0135] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, a retry message is sent to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0136] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0137] Receive third identification information sent by the first application; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the first application allows retry of A1 policy execution;

[0138] Sending retry information to the first application includes:

[0139] If the third identification information indicates that the first application allows retrying the execution of policy A1, the retry information is sent to the first application.

[0140] In some embodiments, the processor is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0141] Send a second deletion request message to the Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0142] Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0143] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy deletion is successful, the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy is executed.

[0144] This disclosure provides a strategy management device, including:

[0145] The first receiving unit is configured to receive first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receive first indication information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC;

[0146] The processing unit is configured to execute A1 policy management based on the first instruction information;

[0147] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0148] This disclosure provides a policy management device, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

[0149] The memory stores computer programs; the transceiver, under the control of the processor, sends and receives data; the processor reads the computer programs from the memory and performs the following operations:

[0150] Send a first indication message to the first entity; wherein the first indication message is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0151] This disclosure provides a strategy management device, including:

[0152] The first sending unit is used to send first indication information to the first entity; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0153] This disclosure provides a policy management device, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

[0154] The memory stores computer programs; the transceiver, under the control of the processor, sends and receives data; the processor reads the computer programs from the memory and performs the following operations:

[0155] Send a first instruction message to a first entity, and / or send a first instruction message to an application in a Non-RT RIC;

[0156] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0157] This disclosure provides a strategy management device, including:

[0158] The sending unit is configured to send first indication information to the first entity and / or send first indication information to an application in a Non-RT RIC;

[0159] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0160] This disclosure provides a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing the processor to perform the steps of the policy management method described above.

[0161] This disclosure provides a computer program product, including computer instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the policy management method described above.

[0162] The beneficial effects of the above-mentioned technical solution disclosed herein are:

[0163] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the first entity obtains the first instruction information, namely the execution priority of the A1 policy, through the second entity and / or the application in the Non-RT RIC. This allows the first entity to perform A1 policy management based on the execution priorities of different A1 policies, thereby resolving or avoiding conflicts between A1 policies. This solves the problem that there is currently no corresponding solution for policy and / or configuration conflicts caused by policy inconsistencies between rApps. Attached Figure Description

[0164] Figure 1 illustrates a flowchart of creating a single A1 policy in a Near-RT RIC according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0165] Figure 2 is a flowchart of a strategy management method on the first entity side according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0166] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the A1 policy management process according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0167] Figure 4 is a flowchart of the application-side policy management method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0168] Figure 5 shows a flowchart of the strategy management method on the second entity side according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0169] Figure 6 illustrates a flowchart of the query A1 policy execution priority in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0170] Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart of the subscription A1 policy execution priority according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0171] Figure 8 illustrates one of the flowcharts for the A1 policy execution priority transmission according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0172] Figure 9 shows one of the interactive flowcharts of the strategy management method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0173] Figure 10 shows a second interactive flowchart of the strategy management method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0174] Figure 11 illustrates a second flowchart of the A1 policy execution priority transmission according to an embodiment of this disclosure:

[0175] Figure 12 shows the third interactive flowchart of the strategy management method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0176] Figure 13 shows the fourth interactive flowchart of the strategy management method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0177] Figure 14 shows the fifth interactive flowchart of the strategy management method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0178] Figure 15 shows the sixth interactive flowchart of the strategy management method according to an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0179] Figure 16 shows the seventh interactive flowchart of the strategy management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0180] Figure 17 shows one of the block diagrams of a strategy management device on the first entity side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0181] Figure 18 shows a second block diagram of the strategy management device on the first entity side of this disclosure embodiment;

[0182] Figure 19 shows a block diagram of one of the application-side policy management devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0183] Figure 20 shows a second block diagram of the application-side policy management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0184] Figure 21 shows one of the block diagrams of a strategy management device on the second entity side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0185] Figure 22 shows a second block diagram of a strategy management device on the second entity side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0186] To make the technical problems, solutions, and advantages of this disclosure clearer, a detailed description will be provided below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In the following description, specific details such as particular configurations and components are provided merely to aid in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of this disclosure. Therefore, those skilled in the art should understand that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Furthermore, for clarity and brevity, descriptions of known functions and structures have been omitted.

[0187] It should be understood that the phrase "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" throughout the specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic relating to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. Therefore, "in one embodiment" or "one embodiment" appearing throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0188] In the various embodiments of this disclosure, it should be understood that the sequence number of each process described below does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0189] In addition, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this article.

[0190] The technical solutions provided in this disclosure can be applied to various systems, such as 5G and 6G systems. For example, applicable systems include Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G New Radio (NR), and 6G systems. All of these systems include terminal equipment and RAN equipment. The system may also include a core network component, such as an evolved packet system (EPS), a 5G system (5GS), or a 6G system.

[0191] RAN equipment and terminal equipment can each use one or more antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission. MIMO transmission can be single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) or multiple-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). Depending on the configuration and number of antenna combinations, MIMO transmission can be two-dimensional MIMO (2D-MIMO), three-dimensional MIMO (3D-MIMO), full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), or massive-scale MIMO (MMIMO), or it can be diversity transmission, pre-coded transmission, or beamforming transmission, etc.

[0192] In this disclosure, the term "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0193] In this disclosure, the term "multiple" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0194] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0195] The following describes the relevant technologies involved in this disclosure:

[0196] 1) Description of A1 policy conflicts between rApps in O-RAN:

[0197] The logical functional entity that generates the A1 policy management service is exposed to rApp through the R1 interface. It is called the "A1 Policy Function" entity and implements the following functions:

[0198] Execute A1 strategy conflict resolution;

[0199] If multiple policy generation rApps set conflicting A1 policy statements to the same or overlapping policy scope identifiers, the A1 policy function entity decides to reject one or more A1 policy creation and / or modification requests, or temporarily suspend the implementation of one or more A1 policies.

[0200] 2) The process for creating and updating A1 Policy:

[0201] Create a single A1 policy in the defined Near-RT RIC, as shown in Table 1 and Figure 1.

[0202] Table 1

[0203] Because rApps have their own operational or optimization goals, policy conflicts may arise during execution. For example, an rApp aiming for energy saving might send an A1 policy that shuts down certain cells to achieve energy efficiency, while an rApp aiming to improve Quality of Service (QoS) might send an A1 policy that maintains current cell resources and increases bandwidth. Furthermore, for the same type of A1 policy, different rApps may have overlapping optimization scopes. For instance, the target values ​​for an A1 policy aimed at increasing UE throughput and an A1 policy based on slice Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for UE throughput may differ. How to handle A1 policy conflicts between different rApps within a Non-RT RIC is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0204] This disclosure provides a policy management method, apparatus, and processor-readable storage medium to address the current lack of a solution for policy and / or configuration conflicts caused by policy inconsistencies between rApps. The method and apparatus are based on the same concept, and since their problem-solving principles are similar, implementations of the apparatus and method can be mutually referenced; repeated details will not be elaborated further.

[0205] As shown in Figure 2, an embodiment of this disclosure provides a strategy management method, including the following steps:

[0206] Step 21: The first entity receives the first instruction information sent by the second entity, and / or receives the first instruction information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC.

[0207] Step 22: The first entity performs A1 policy management according to the first instruction information; wherein, the first instruction information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0208] In some embodiments, the first entity includes at least one of the following:

[0209] The A1 Policy Function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0210] Near-RT RIC;

[0211] And / or,

[0212] The second entity includes at least one of the following:

[0213] The rApp Management Function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0214] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0215] Functional entities in the SMO architecture other than Non-RT RIC.

[0216] In some embodiments, the application may be an rApp that requests the creation and / or updating of A1 policies, or it may be an rApp with management functions in a Non-RT RIC. For example, the application in the Non-RT RIC sending first instruction information to the first entity may be that rApp1 in the Non-RT RIC provides the first instruction information (i.e., the execution priority of the A1 policy that rApp1 requests to create and / or update) to the first entity, or it may be that an rApp with management functions in the Non-RT RIC provides the first instruction information (i.e., the execution priority of the A1 policy that rApp1 requests to create and / or update) to the first entity, etc. The embodiments disclosed herein are not limited thereto.

[0217] Example 1: When the first entity is the A1 policy function entity in a Non-RT RIC, that is, the A1 policy function entity can obtain the first instruction information corresponding to rApp from the application management function entity in the Non-RT RIC, or the A1 policy function entity can obtain the first instruction information corresponding to rApp from a function entity other than the Non-RT RIC in the Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) architecture, or the rApp (such as an rApp that requests to create and / or update A1 policies, or an rApp with management functions, etc.) provides its corresponding first instruction information to the A1 policy function entity. Thus, the A1 policy function entity can perform A1 policy management according to the first instruction information corresponding to rApp to resolve conflicts between A1 policies or avoid conflicts between A1 policies.

[0218] Example 2: When the first entity is a Near-RT RIC, that is, the A1 policy function entity can notify the Near-RT RIC of the first instruction information corresponding to rApp. The Near-RT RIC can then perform A1 policy management based on the first instruction information corresponding to rApp to resolve conflicts between A1 policies or prevent conflicts from occurring between A1 policies. In some embodiments, the A1 policy function entity can obtain the first instruction information in a manner similar to that described in Example 1, and this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0219] In some embodiments, the process of the first entity performing A1 policy management includes: conflict detection, conflict arbitration, and conflict resolution, as shown in Figure 3.

[0220] For example, conflict detection detects whether there is a conflict between different A1 policies. For instance, whether there is overlap between the configuration parameters of different A1 policies or the degree of overlap between the configuration parameters of different A1 policies. There is also a conflict between the policy actions of different A1 policies. For example, the policy action of one A1 policy is to shut down some cells to achieve energy saving, while the policy action of another A1 policy is to maintain the current cell resources to improve QoS, etc. This disclosure is not limited to these embodiments.

[0221] For example, conflict detection scenarios include, but are not limited to, the following: when an rApp requests to create and / or update an A1 policy, the first entity determines that there is a conflict between the A1 policy requested by the rApp to create and / or update and one (or some) A1 policies that have already been created (or executed); or, when multiple rApps request to create and / or update an A1 policy, the first entity determines that there is a conflict between the A1 policies requested by the multiple rApps to create and / or update, etc., and the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited thereto.

[0222] For example, conflict arbitration refers to deciding the execution priority of different conflicting A1 strategies, and obtaining the decision result of the A1 strategy execution priority. For example, if a first entity learns the execution priorities of different A1 strategies based on a first instruction, it can determine the decision result of the execution priority of different A1 strategies based on that first instruction.

[0223] For example, conflict resolution refers to addressing conflicting A1 policies by employing appropriate conflict resolution methods based on the decision results of the execution priorities of these conflicting A1 policies. In some embodiments, conflict resolution methods include, but are not limited to, one or a combination of the following: Reject, Suspend, Delete, Retry, and Merge. For example: refusing to create and / or update A1 policies with lower execution priorities; or temporarily suspending the creation and / or updating of A1 policies and retrying the creation and / or updating process after the A1 policy conflicts are resolved; or deleting low-priority A1 policies to eliminate A1 policy conflicts; or merging conflicting A1 policies (e.g., merging overlapping A1 policy configuration parameters), and this disclosure is not limited to these embodiments.

[0224] In some embodiments, the execution priority of the A1 policy can be determined by the priority of the A1 policy itself and / or the preemption capability corresponding to the A1 policy. For example, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0225] A1 strategy priority; for example, A1 strategy priority can represent the importance or degree of importance of the A1 strategy. For instance, different A1 strategies can be configured with corresponding A1 strategy priorities. A1 strategy priorities can be represented by an index or priority level value. For example, the smaller the index or priority level value of the A1 strategy priority, the higher the A1 strategy priority, and thus the higher the execution priority of the A1 strategy; alternatively, the larger the index or priority level value of the A1 strategy priority, the higher the A1 strategy priority, and thus the higher the execution priority of the A1 strategy, etc. This disclosure is not limited to these embodiments.

[0226] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to an A1 policy; for example, an A1 policy corresponds to a policy type or a policy object, and a policy object can correspond to one or more policy actions. Policy actions are described by policy statements, such as shutting down one or more cells to achieve energy saving, or maintaining current cell resources to improve QoS. For example, the policy action priorities of each policy statement corresponding to an A1 policy can be configured separately, and the execution priority of the A1 policy can be determined based on the policy action priorities of each policy statement corresponding to the A1 policy. For example, the highest policy action priority among the policy action priorities of each policy statement corresponding to the A1 policy (or the policy action priority of a specific policy statement) can be used as the A1 policy priority, and the execution priority of the A1 policy can be determined based on the A1 policy priority. Of course, this disclosure is not limited to this.

[0227] The first identifier information corresponding to the A1 policy is used to indicate whether the A1 policy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 policies. For example, this first identifier information can be called preemption identifier information, used to indicate whether the A1 policy has preemption capability. For instance, if the first identifier information indicates that preemption of the execution of other A1 policies is allowed, then the A1 policy has preemption capability; or if the first identifier information indicates that preemption of the execution of other A1 policies is not allowed, then the A1 policy does not have preemption capability. For example, the preemption identifier information indicates that if the A1 policy, during creation and / or update, has a configuration and / or policy conflict with other A1 policies, it has the ability to preempt by deleting or interrupting the execution of other A1 policies.

[0228] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 policy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 policy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 policies. For example, this second identification information can be called preemption protection information, used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 policy has the ability to not be preempted. For example, if the second identification information indicates that it is not allowed to be preempted by other A1 policies, it means that the execution of the A1 policy has the ability to not be preempted; or if the second identification information indicates that it is allowed to be preempted by other A1 policies, it means that the execution of the A1 policy does not have the ability to not be preempted. For example, preemption protection means that during the execution of the A1 policy, if there is a configuration and / or policy conflict with other A1 policies, the execution of the A1 policy has the ability to be uninterrupted.

[0229] In the above scheme, the first entity obtains the first instruction information, namely the execution priority of the A1 policy, through the second entity and / or the application in the Non-RT RIC. Thus, it can perform A1 policy management based on the execution priorities of different A1 policies to resolve conflicts between A1 policies or avoid conflicts between A1 policies. This solves the problem that there is currently no corresponding solution for policy and / or configuration conflicts caused by policy inconsistencies between rApps.

[0230] In some embodiments, before the first entity receives the first indication information sent by the second entity, at least one of the following methods is further included:

[0231] Method 1: The first entity receives a first request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC; wherein the first request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy;

[0232] Based on the first request information, a first query information is sent to the second entity; wherein, the first query information is used to request the strategy execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0233] For example, an rApp that needs to create and / or update an A1 policy can send a first request message to a first entity, or an rApp that needs to create and / or update an A1 policy can send a first request message to a first entity through an rApp with management functions. When the first entity receives the first request message sent by the rApp, it can be an A1 policy function entity that receives the first request message sent by the rApp. When the first entity receives the A1 policy creation and / or update request from the rApp, it queries the second entity (such as an application management function entity or a function entity other than Non-RT RIC in the SMO architecture) for the execution priority of the A1 policy. In this way, when the first entity knows the execution priority of the A1 policy, it can perform A1 policy management to resolve conflicts between A1 policies or avoid conflicts between A1 policies.

[0234] For another example, an rApp that needs to create and / or update an A1 policy can send a first request message to the first entity, or an rApp that needs to create and / or update an A1 policy can send a first request message to the first entity through an rApp with management functions. Specifically, the rApp can send a first request message to the A1 policy function entity, which then forwards the first request message to the Near-RT RIC, which is the first entity. When the first entity receives the A1 policy creation and / or update request from the rApp, it queries the second entity (such as the A1 policy function entity, the application management function entity, or a function entity in the SMO architecture other than the Non-RT RIC) for the execution priority of the A1 policy. In this way, the first entity can perform A1 policy management to resolve conflicts between A1 policies or avoid conflicts between A1 policies after knowing the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0235] Method 2: The first entity sends first subscription information to the second entity; wherein, the first subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of strategy A1.

[0236] For example, the A1 policy function entity, as the first entity, can subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy from the second entity (such as the application management function entity or the function entity other than the Non-RT RIC in the SMO architecture). In this way, the first entity can perform A1 policy management for the A1 policy creation and / or update requests of rApp to resolve conflicts between A1 policies or avoid conflicts between A1 policies.

[0237] For another example, the Near-RT RIC, as the first entity, can subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy from the second entity (such as the A1 policy function entity, the application management function entity, or other function entities in the SMO architecture besides the Non-RT RIC). In this way, when the first entity knows the execution priority of the A1 policy, it can perform A1 policy management to resolve conflicts between A1 policies or avoid conflicts between A1 policies.

[0238] In some embodiments, the first entity receives first indication information sent by the second entity, including:

[0239] The first entity receives a second request message sent by the second entity; wherein the second request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the second request message includes the first indication message.

[0240] For example, a second entity (such as an A1 policy functional entity or a functional entity in the SMO architecture other than the Non-RT RIC) can receive A1 policy creation and / or subscription requests sent by an rApp (such as an rApp that needs to create and / or update A1 policies or an rApp with management functions), and forward the rApp's A1 policy creation and / or subscription request to the Near-RT RIC, which is the first entity. In some embodiments, the second entity can learn the execution priority of the A1 policy by querying or subscribing, or learn the execution priority of the A1 policy from the rApp's A1 policy creation and / or subscription request, etc., and the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited thereto.

[0241] In some embodiments, the first entity receives first indication information sent by an application in a Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC), including:

[0242] The first entity receives a third request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

[0243] For example, an rApp (such as an rApp that needs to create and / or update A1 policies or an rApp with management functions) can query or subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy from the application management function entity or other function entities in the SMO architecture other than the Non-RT RIC, and when initiating the creation and / or update of the A1 policy to the A1 policy function entity, notify the first entity (such as the A1 policy function entity or the Near-RT RIC) of the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0244] In some embodiments, the first entity performs A1 policy management based on the first indication information, including:

[0245] The first entity performs conflict detection on at least two A1 policies and determines the conflict detection result;

[0246] If the conflict detection result indicates that there is a conflict between at least two A1 policies, then the first entity performs A1 policy management according to the first instruction information.

[0247] For example, when an A1 policy function entity or Near-RT RIC, acting as the first entity, initiates the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy for an rApp, it can start a conflict detection process. This process checks whether there are policy and / or configuration conflicts between the A1 policy initiating the creation and / or updating and one or more other A1 policies initiating creation and / or updating, or whether there are policy and / or configuration conflicts between the A1 policy initiating the creation and / or updating and one or more other already created or executed A1 policies. If a conflict exists, conflict arbitration can be performed based on the execution priority of different A1 policies, and A1 policy management can be executed according to the corresponding arbitration result.

[0248] In some embodiments, the first entity determines that a conflict exists by at least one of the following methods:

[0249] The configuration parameters between the at least two A1 policies overlap; for example, the target value settings of the A1 policy aimed at improving UE throughput and the A1 policy aimed at improving UE throughput based on slice SLA overlap, etc., but this disclosure is not limited to this.

[0250] There is a conflict between the policy actions of the at least two A1 policies. For example, there is a conflict between an A1 policy that shuts down some cells to achieve energy saving and an A1 policy that maintains the current cell resources to improve QoS. This disclosure is not limited to this.

[0251] In some embodiments, the execution of A1 policy management includes at least one of the following methods:

[0252] Method 1: For A1 policies that conflict, reject the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy.

[0253] For example, if the conflict detection process determines that the A1 policy initiated by the rApp for creation and / or update conflicts with other A1 policies, and the conflict arbitration process determines that the execution priority of the A1 policy initiated by the rApp for creation and / or update is low, then the creation and / or update of the rApp's A1 policy will be rejected to avoid A1 policy conflicts.

[0254] Method 2: For conflicting A1 policies, suspend the creation and / or updating of the A1 policies.

[0255] For example, regarding the creation and / or update of an A1 policy initiated by an rApp, if the conflict detection process determines that the A1 policy created and / or updated by the rApp conflicts with other A1 policies, and the conflict arbitration process determines that the execution priority of the A1 policy created and / or updated by the rApp is higher, then the creation and / or update of the rApp's A1 policy can be paused to wait for the conflict to be resolved (e.g., waiting for other A1 policies to be executed and / or waiting for other created A1 policies to be successfully deleted, or using other conflict resolution methods, etc.), thereby avoiding A1 policy conflicts.

[0256] Method 3: For conflicting A1 strategies, delete the A1 strategy.

[0257] For example, if the conflict detection process determines that the A1 policy that initiates creation and / or update conflicts with other created A1 policies, and the conflict arbitration process determines that the execution priority of the created A1 policy is low, then the created A1 policy can be deleted to eliminate the conflict.

[0258] Method 4: For A1 policies that have been rejected or suspended from creation and / or updating, retry the creation and / or updating process of the A1 policy.

[0259] For example, if the conflict detection process determines that the A1 policy initiated for creation and / or update conflicts with other created A1 policies, and the conflict arbitration process determines that the execution priority of the A1 policy initiated for creation and / or update is higher, then the creation and / or update of the A1 policy can be suspended first. After the other created A1 policies that conflict with it are successfully deleted, the creation and / or update process of the A1 policy can be retried. In other words, conflict elimination is performed before creating and / or updating the A1 policy to avoid the occurrence of A1 policy conflicts.

[0260] Method 5: For at least two conflicting A1 strategies, merge the at least two A1 strategies.

[0261] For example, if a conflict exists between a first A1 policy that initiates creation and / or updating and another second A1 policy during the conflict detection process (e.g., overlapping configuration parameters between the first and second A1 policies), then the first and second A1 policies can be merged. For instance, if the first entity is an A1 policy functional entity, and the first A1 policy is requested for creation or updating by a first rApp, and the second A1 policy is requested for creation or updating by a second rApp, then the A1 policy functional entity can create or update its respective A1 policy for the first rApp and / or the second rApp respectively, and send the merged A1 policy to the Near-RT RIC.

[0262] In some embodiments, when the second A1 policy requests the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy by the first application, the first entity performs A1 policy management based on the first instruction information, including:

[0263] If, based on the first indication information, it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is lower than or equal to the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application; wherein, the rejection message is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the first A1 policy;

[0264] And / or,

[0265] If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the first entity executes the first A1 policy creation and / or update process.

[0266] In some embodiments, the second A1 policy may be an A1 policy that the second application requests to create and / or update, or it may be an A1 policy that the second application has already created or updated, etc., and the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited thereto.

[0267] For example, if the first application is an rApp requesting the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the second application can be another rApp requesting the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and if the execution priority of the first A1 policy is determined to be lower than the execution priority of the second A1 policy based on the first indication information, then the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy is rejected, and the creation and / or updating process of the second A1 policy is executed. And / or, if the execution priority of the first A1 policy is determined to be higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy based on the first indication information, then the creation and / or updating process of the first A1 policy is executed, and the creation and / or updating of the second A1 policy is rejected.

[0268] For another example, if the first application is an rApp that requests the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the second application can be another rApp that has already created an A1 policy, if the execution priority of the first A1 policy is determined to be lower than or equal to the execution priority of the second A1 policy according to the first indication information, then the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy is refused; and / or, if the execution priority of the first A1 policy is determined to be higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy according to the first indication information, then the second A1 policy can be directly deleted or the process of creating and / or updating the first A1 policy can be executed after the second application successfully requests the deletion of the second A1 policy.

[0269] In some embodiments, the first entity determines the priority relationship between the first A1 policy execution priority and the second A1 policy execution priority by at least one of the following methods:

[0270] Method 1: If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is higher than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the A1 strategy of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the A1 strategy of the second A1 strategy.

[0271] For example, taking the smaller the index value or priority value as indicating a higher priority of the A1 strategy, if the index value of the priority of the first A1 strategy is "1" and the index value of the priority of the second A1 strategy is "3", then it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than that of the second A1 strategy.

[0272] Method 2: If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is lower than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the A1 strategy of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the A1 strategy of the second A1 strategy.

[0273] For example, taking the smaller the index value or priority value as the higher the priority of the A1 strategy, if the index value of the priority of the first A1 strategy is "3" and the index value of the priority of the second A1 strategy is "1", then it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than that of the second A1 strategy.

[0274] Method 3: If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is equal to the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the A1 strategy of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the A1 strategy of the second A1 strategy.

[0275] For example, taking the lower the index value or priority value as indicating a higher priority for the A1 strategy, if different A1 strategies have the same index value for their priority, then the A1 strategy created and / or updated later will have a lower execution priority. For instance, if a first application initiates the creation and / or update of a first A1 strategy, and the index value of the priority for that first A1 strategy is "3," and the index value of the priority for the already created second A1 strategy is also "3," then since the second A1 strategy was created first, the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is determined to be lower than that of the second A1 strategy.

[0276] Method 4: If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0277] Method 5: If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a second value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a first value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0278] For example, if the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and this first identifier information being a first value indicates that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is permitted, then it is determined that the first A1 strategy has the ability to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies, and therefore the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is determined to be higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy. Conversely, if the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a first value, then it is determined that the second A1 strategy has the ability to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies, and therefore the execution priority of the second A1 strategy is determined to be higher than the execution priority of the first A1 strategy.

[0279] For example, if the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, where the first identifier information being a second value indicates that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is not allowed. That is, the first A1 strategy has the ability to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies, and the second A1 strategy does not have the ability to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies. Therefore, the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is determined to be higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy. Conversely, if the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a second value, and the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a first value, meaning the first A1 strategy does not have the ability to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies, and the second A1 strategy does have the ability to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies, then the execution priority of the second A1 strategy is determined to be higher than the execution priority of the first A1 strategy.

[0280] Method 6: If the second identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the second identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0281] Wherein, the second identification information is a first value used to indicate that it is not allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies, and the second identification information is a second value used to indicate that it is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0282] For example, if the first A1 policy is an A1 policy created and / or updated by the first application, and the second A1 policy is another A1 policy that has already been created, if the second identifier information corresponding to the first A1 policy is a first value, and / or the second identifier information corresponding to the second A1 policy is a second value, it means that the first A1 policy has the ability not to be preempted by other A1 policies, and / or the second A1 policy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 policies, then it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy.

[0283] For another example, if the first A1 policy is an A1 policy created and / or updated by the first application, and the second A1 policy is an A1 policy created and / or updated by the second application, if the second identifier information corresponding to the first A1 policy is a second value, and / or the second identifier information corresponding to the second A1 policy is a first value, that is, the first A1 policy has the ability to be preempted by other A1 policies, and / or the second A1 policy has the ability not to be preempted by other A1 policies, then it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 policy.

[0284] It should be noted that when the first indication information includes an A1 policy priority and also includes at least one of first identification information and / or second identification information, the first identification information and / or second identification information are preferentially used for conflict arbitration (i.e., determining priority relationships). In some embodiments, when the first identification information corresponding to different A1 policies is the same, conflict arbitration (i.e., determining priority relationships) can be further performed according to the second identification information and / or A1 policy priority; or, when the first identification information and second identification information corresponding to different A1 policies are the same, conflict arbitration (i.e., determining priority relationships) can be further performed according to the A1 policy priority, etc., and the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited thereto.

[0285] For example, if the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy and the second A1 strategy are both first values, that is, both the first A1 strategy and the second A1 strategy have the ability to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies, then the priority relationship can be determined based on whether the first A1 strategy and / or the second A1 strategy are configured with second identifier information, and / or based on the A1 strategy priority between the first A1 strategy and the second A1 strategy. Correspondingly, if the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy and the second A1 strategy are both second values, that is, neither the first A1 strategy nor the second A1 strategy has the ability to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies, then the priority relationship can be determined based on whether the first A1 strategy and / or the second A1 strategy are configured with second identifier information, and / or based on the A1 strategy priority between the first A1 strategy and the second A1 strategy, etc. This disclosure is not limited to these embodiments.

[0286] In some embodiments, after the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application, the method further includes:

[0287] The first entity receives a first deletion request message sent by the second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0288] The first entity sends the first deletion request information to Near-RT RIC;

[0289] The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0290] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, the first entity sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0291] For example, taking the first entity as the A1 policy function entity, if the first application is an rApp requesting the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy, and the second application is another rApp that has already created the second A1 policy, if the execution priority of the first A1 policy is determined to be lower than the execution priority of the second A1 policy according to the first indication information, then the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy is rejected. Furthermore, after rejecting the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy, if the second application actively requests to delete the second A1 policy, the A1 policy function entity, after successfully deleting the second A1 policy through Near-RT RIC, can notify the first application to retry initiating the creation and / or updating process of the first A1 policy. Thus, for A1 policies whose creation and / or updating are rejected, the reliability of A1 policy creation and / or updating can be guaranteed by retrying the A1 policy creation and / or updating process after conflict resolution, while avoiding A1 policy or configuration conflicts.

[0292] In some embodiments, after the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application, the method further includes:

[0293] The first entity receives a first deletion request message sent by the second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0294] The first entity deletes the second A1 policy and sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0295] For example, taking Near-RT RIC as the first entity, if the first application is an rApp requesting the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy, and the second application is another rApp that has already created the second A1 policy, if the execution priority of the first A1 policy is determined to be lower than the execution priority of the second A1 policy according to the first indication information, then the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy is rejected. Furthermore, after rejecting the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy, if the second application actively requests to delete the second A1 policy, Near-RT RIC can delete the second A1 policy and notify the first application to retry initiating the creation and / or updating process of the first A1 policy. Thus, for A1 policies whose creation and / or updating is rejected, the reliability of A1 policy creation and / or updating can be guaranteed by retrying the A1 policy creation and / or updating process after conflict resolution, while avoiding A1 policy or configuration conflicts.

[0296] In some embodiments, the first entity performs the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy, including:

[0297] The first entity sends the rejection information to the first application and a second deletion request information to Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request information is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0298] The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0299] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, the first entity sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0300] For example, taking the first entity as the A1 policy function entity, if the first application is an rApp requesting the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy, and the second application is another rApp that has already created the second A1 policy, if it is determined according to the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy can be rejected first, and the Near-RT RIC can be requested to delete the second A1 policy. Furthermore, after the Near-RT RIC successfully deletes the second A1 policy, it can notify the first application to retry the creation and / or updating process of the first A1 policy. Thus, for applications experiencing conflicts, the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy can be paused first, and after the conflict is resolved, the creation and / or updating process can be retried to ensure the reliability of A1 policy creation and / or updating while avoiding A1 policy or configuration conflicts.

[0301] In some embodiments, before the first entity sends retry information to the first application, it further includes:

[0302] The first entity receives third identification information sent by the first application; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the first application allows retry of A1 policy execution;

[0303] The first entity sends retry information to the first application, including:

[0304] When the third identification information indicates that the first application allows retrying the execution of policy A1, the first entity sends the retry information to the first application.

[0305] For example, when initiating an A1 policy creation and / or update request, the first application may include third identification information in the request information, such as a NotifyDesitinationURI. If, when initiating an A1 policy creation and / or update request, the first application instructs itself to support retrying the creation and / or update of the A1 policy after it has been rejected or aborted, the first entity may send a retry message to the first application to notify it to re-initiate the A1 policy creation and / or update process.

[0306] In some embodiments, the first entity performs the first A1 policy creation and / or update process, including:

[0307] The first entity sends a second deletion request message to the Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0308] The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0309] If the feedback information indicates that the deletion of the second A1 policy is successful, the first entity creates and / or updates the first A1 policy.

[0310] For example, taking the first entity as the A1 policy function entity, if the first application is an rApp requesting the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy, and the second application is another rApp that has already created a second A1 policy, if the execution priority of the first A1 policy is determined to be higher than that of the second A1 policy according to the first indication information, the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy can be paused first, and the Near-RT RIC can be requested to delete the second A1 policy. Further, after the Near-RT RIC successfully deletes the second A1 policy, the creation and / or updating process of the first A1 policy continues. In this way, for applications with conflicts, the creation and / or updating of A1 policies can be paused first, and a conflict resolution process can be performed. After the conflict is resolved, the creation and / or updating process of A1 policies can be performed again, thereby ensuring the reliability of A1 policy creation and / or updating while avoiding A1 policy or configuration conflicts.

[0311] For example, taking the first entity as Near-RT RIC, if the first application is an rApp requesting the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy, and the second application is another rApp that has already created a second A1 policy, if the execution priority of the first A1 policy is determined to be higher than that of the second A1 policy according to the first indication information, the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy can be paused, and the second A1 policy can be deleted to eliminate the conflict. Furthermore, after successfully deleting the second A1 policy, the creation and / or updating process of the first A1 policy continues. This way, the A1 policy creation and / or updating process is executed after the conflict is resolved, thereby ensuring the reliability of A1 policy creation and / or updating while avoiding A1 policy or configuration conflicts.

[0312] As shown in Figure 4, an embodiment of this disclosure provides a strategy management method, including the following steps:

[0313] Step 41: The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a first indication message to the first entity; wherein the first indication message is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0314] In some embodiments, the application may be an rApp that requests the creation and / or updating of A1 policies, or it may be an rApp with management functions in a Non-RT RIC. For example, the application in the Non-RT RIC sending first instruction information to the first entity may be that rApp1 in the Non-RT RIC provides the first instruction information (i.e., the execution priority of the A1 policy that rApp1 requests to create and / or update) to the first entity, or it may be that an rApp with management functions in the Non-RT RIC provides the first instruction information (i.e., the execution priority of the A1 policy that rApp1 requests to create and / or update) to the first entity, etc. The embodiments disclosed herein are not limited thereto.

[0315] It should be noted that the policy management method on the application side in the Non-RT RIC of this disclosure and the policy management method on the first entity side are based on the same inventive concept. The two embodiments can refer to each other and can achieve the same technical effect. The repetitions will not be repeated, but the differences between the two will be explained.

[0316] In some embodiments, the first entity includes at least one of the following:

[0317] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0318] Near-RT RIC.

[0319] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0320] A1 strategy priority;

[0321] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0322] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0323] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0324] In some embodiments, the application in the Non-RT RIC sends a first indication message to the first entity, including:

[0325] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a third request message to the first entity; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

[0326] In some embodiments, before the application in the Non-RT RIC sends the first indication information to the first entity, it further includes:

[0327] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a second subscription message to the second entity; wherein the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0328] In this embodiment, the application in the Non-RT RIC can subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy from a second entity (such as the application management function entity in the Non-RT RIC or a function entity other than the Non-RT RIC in the SMO architecture). In this way, the application can notify the first entity of the execution priority of the A1 policy when initiating the creation and / or update of the A1 policy.

[0329] For example, the execution priority of the A1 policy obtained by the application in the Non-RT RIC from the second entity can be the priority supported by the A1 policy, such as the highest priority supported by the A1 policy, or the priority range supported by the A1 policy.

[0330] It should be noted that the execution priority supported by the A1 policy can represent the execution capability of the A1 policy. For example, the smaller the index value corresponding to the A1 policy priority, the higher the A1 policy priority. For instance, if the application queries the second entity that the index value corresponding to the A1 policy priority supported by a certain A1 policy is "1", which means that the highest priority supported by the A1 policy is "1", then when the application initiates an A1 policy creation and / or update request to the first entity, it can indicate that the index value of the A1 policy priority corresponding to the A1 policy is "1", or it can indicate that the index value of the A1 policy priority corresponding to the A1 policy is other values ​​lower than "1", such as "2" or "3", or other index values ​​lower than "1" within the priority index range, etc. This disclosure embodiment is not limited to this.

[0331] In some embodiments, before the application in the Non-RT RIC sends the first indication information to the first entity, it further includes:

[0332] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a second query message to the second entity; wherein the second query message is used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0333] The application in the Non-RT RIC receives response information sent by the second entity; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

[0334] In this embodiment, before initiating the creation and / or update of an A1 policy, an application in the Non-RT RIC can query the execution priority of the A1 policy from a second entity (such as the application management function entity in the Non-RT RIC or a function entity other than the Non-RT RIC in the SMO architecture). In some embodiments, the application can determine the actual execution priority of the A1 policy based on the execution priorities supported by the A1 policy provided by the second entity, and notify the first entity of the actual execution priority of the A1 policy when initiating the creation and / or update of the A1 policy (see the above embodiment for details, which will not be repeated here).

[0335] In some embodiments, the strategy management method further includes at least one of the following:

[0336] The application in the Non-RT RIC receives a rejection message sent by the first entity; wherein the rejection message is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the A1 policy;

[0337] The application in the Non-RT RIC receives retry information sent by the first entity; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the application to retry the creation and / or update process of the A1 policy;

[0338] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a third identification information to the first entity; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the application allows retrying the execution of the A1 policy;

[0339] The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a first deletion request message to the first entity; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the A1 policy.

[0340] It should be noted that the strategy management method provided in this embodiment can implement the corresponding method steps in the strategy management method embodiment of the first entity side and achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0341] As shown in Figure 5, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides a strategy management method, including the following steps:

[0342] Step 51: The second entity sends a first instruction message to the first entity, and / or sends a first instruction message to the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the first instruction message is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0343] In some embodiments, the first entity includes at least one of the following:

[0344] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0345] Near-RT RIC (Near Real-Time Radio Access Controller)

[0346] And / or,

[0347] The second entity includes at least one of the following:

[0348] Application management functionality entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0349] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0350] Functional entities in the SMO architecture other than Non-RT RIC.

[0351] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0352] A1 strategy priority;

[0353] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0354] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0355] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0356] In some embodiments, the second entity sends a first indication message to the first entity, and / or sends the first indication message to an application in a Non-RT RIC, including:

[0357] The second entity receives a first query message sent by the first entity, and / or receives a second query message sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the first query message and / or the second query message are used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0358] The second entity sends the first indication information to the first entity based on the first query information; and / or sends response information of the second query information to the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

[0359] In some embodiments, before the second entity sends the first indication information to the first entity, and / or before sending the first indication information to the application in the Non-RT RIC, the method further includes:

[0360] The second entity receives the first subscription information sent by the first entity; wherein the subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0361] And / or,

[0362] The second entity receives second subscription information sent by the application; wherein the second subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0363] It should be noted that the policy management method on the second entity side in this embodiment is based on the same inventive concept as the policy management method on the first entity side and / or the application side in the Non-RT RIC. The policy management method can implement the corresponding method steps in the policy management method embodiment on the first entity side and / or the application side in the Non-RT RIC, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0364] The first entity, second entity, and application in the Non-RT RIC involved in the embodiments of this disclosure belong to RAN devices. Depending on the specific application, the RAN device may include a base station, or it may be a device in the access network that communicates with a wireless terminal device over one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The base station may include multiple cells providing services to the terminal. The RAN device can be used to interchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, where the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The RAN device can also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the RAN equipment involved in this disclosure can be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), a RAN equipment (NodeB) in Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), an evolved RAN equipment (eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a next generation system, a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), a relay node, a femto, a pico, etc., and is not limited in this disclosure. In some network structures, the RAN equipment may include centralized unit (CU) nodes and distributed unit (DU) nodes, and the centralized unit and distributed unit may be geographically separated.

[0365] The strategy management method of this disclosure will be described below with reference to specific embodiments:

[0366] Example 1: A1 Strategy Capability Query Service;

[0367] Figure 6 shows a flowchart for querying the execution priority of strategy A1, which includes:

[0368] Step 61: The first entity or rApp (such as an rApp that needs to create and / or update A1 policies or an rApp with management functions) queries the second entity through the R1 interface for the A1 policy execution priority and carries the list of A1 policy type supported by the current rApp.

[0369] Step 62: The second entity sends a list of A1 policy types and the corresponding A1 policy execution priorities to the first entity or rApp (such as an rApp that needs to create and / or update A1 policies or an rApp with management functions).

[0370] Example 2: A1 policy capability configuration (or subscription) service;

[0371] Figure 7 shows a flowchart of the execution priority of the subscription A1 strategy, which includes:

[0372] Step 71: When the execution priority of the A1 policy changes, the second entity sends a list of A1 policy types and the corresponding A1 policy execution priorities to the first entity or rAPP (such as an rAPP that needs to create and / or update A1 policies or an rAPP with management functions).

[0373] Step 72: The first entity or rAPP (such as an rAPP that needs to create and / or update A1 policies or an rAPP with management functions) returns a response indicating that the A1 policy capability configuration is successful.

[0374] Example 3: The rApp (such as an rApp that needs to create and / or update A1 policies or an rApp with management functions) provides the A1 policy execution priority to the first entity;

[0375] Figure 8 shows a flowchart of priority transmission for A1 policy execution, which includes:

[0376] Step 81: rApp reads the A1 policy execution priority (e.g., A1 policy priority and / or preemption capability information) from the second entity.

[0377] Step 82: When creating or updating an A1 policy, rApp sets the execution priority of the corresponding A1 policy (e.g., A1 policy priority and / or preemption capability).

[0378] Step 83: If the first entity (e.g., the A1 policy function entity) finds that the currently created or updated A1 policy conflicts with other A1 policies in the conflict detection, it will use the corresponding A1 policy execution priority to arbitrate the conflict.

[0379] Example 4: Conflict arbitration based on A1 policy priority;

[0380] During the creation and / or update of A1 policies, the first entity first performs conflict detection. If a configuration and / or policy conflict is detected, the execution order of the conflicting A1 policies is determined based on the A1 policy execution priority, as shown in Figure 9. Taking the first entity as the A1 policy functional entity and the second entity as the rApp management functional entity as an example, the specific process includes:

[0381] Step 91: rApp1 queries the execution priority configuration information of A1 strategy 1 through the rApp management function entity to obtain the maximum settable A1 strategy priority as "1" (for example, "1" corresponds to the highest priority).

[0382] Step 92: rApp1 sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the A1 policy function entity and sets the priority of A1 policy to "3".

[0383] It should be noted that the A1 policy priority corresponding to A1 policy 1 is configured as the highest priority. When it initiates an A1 policy creation request, the corresponding A1 policy priority can be set to "1" or other lower A1 policy priorities, such as "3". This disclosure embodiment is not limited to this.

[0384] Step 93: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is no configuration or policy that conflicts with A1 policy 1.

[0385] Step 94: The A1 policy function entity sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC.

[0386] Step 95: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to create A1 strategy 1.

[0387] Step 96: After A1 policy 1 is successfully created, Near-RT RIC sends a success response to the A1 policy function entity.

[0388] Step 97: The A1 policy function entity sends a response to rApp1 indicating that A1 policy 1 has been successfully created.

[0389] Step 98: rApp2 queries the execution priority configuration information of the A1 policy through the rApp management function entity to obtain the maximum configurable A1 policy priority as "5" (for example, "1" corresponds to the highest priority).

[0390] Step 99: rApp2 sends a creation request for A1 policy 2 to the A1 policy function entity and sets the priority of A1 policy to "5".

[0391] Step 910: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is a conflict between A1 policy 1 and A1 policy 2.

[0392] The A1 strategy functional entity conducts conflict arbitration and determines that the priority of A1 strategy 2 "5" is greater than the priority of A1 strategy 1 "3". Therefore, the A1 strategy functional entity determines the arbitration result as follows: the execution priority of A1 strategy 2 is lower than the execution priority of A1 strategy 1.

[0393] Step 911: The A1 policy function entity sends a response to rApp2 indicating that the creation of A1 policy 2 failed.

[0394] Example 5: Conflict arbitration based on preemption flags and / or preemption protection;

[0395] During the creation and / or update of A1 policies, the first entity first performs conflict detection. If a configuration and / or policy conflict is detected, a conflict arbitration process is conducted through preemption flags and / or preemption protection to determine the execution order of the conflicting A1 policies, as shown in Figure 10. Taking the first entity as the A1 policy functional entity and the second entity as the rApp management functional entity as an example, the specific process includes:

[0396] Step 101: rApp1 queries the preemption capability configuration information of A1 policy 1 through the rApp management function entity and obtains that the preemption protection flag is true (TRUE) or "1", that is, the second identification information corresponding to A1 policy 1 indicates that the execution of A1 policy 1 is not allowed to be preempted by other A1 policies, which means that if A1 policy 1 is executed, it cannot be interrupted by other conflicting A1 policies.

[0397] Step 102: rApp1 sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 and sets the preemption protection flag to TRUE.

[0398] Step 103: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there are no configurations and / or policies that conflict with A1 policy 1.

[0399] Step 104: The A1 policy function entity sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC.

[0400] Step 105: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to create A1 strategy 1.

[0401] Step 106: After A1 policy 1 is successfully created, Near-RT RIC sends a response to the A1 policy function entity indicating that A1 policy 1 has been successfully created.

[0402] Step 107: The A1 policy function entity sends a response indicating that A1 policy 1 has been successfully created.

[0403] Step 108: rApp2 queries the preemption capability configuration information of A1 strategy 2 through the rApp management function entity and obtains that the preemption flag is false (FALSE) or "0", that is, the first identification information corresponding to A1 strategy 2 indicates that A1 strategy 2 is not allowed to preempt the execution of other A1 strategies. In other words, when A1 strategy 2 is executed, it cannot interrupt the execution of other conflicting A1 strategies.

[0404] Step 109: rApp2 sends a creation request for strategy A1 and sets the preemption flag to FALSE.

[0405] Step 1010: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection: There is a conflict between A1 policy 1 and A1 policy 2.

[0406] The A1 policy function entity arbitrates the conflict: A1 policy 1 is configured with the preemption protection flag set to TRUE, and A1 policy 2 is configured with the preemption flag set to FALSE. Therefore, the A1 policy function entity determines the arbitration result as follows: A1 policy 2 cannot be executed.

[0407] Step 1011: Send a response indicating that strategy 2 failed to create to rApp2.

[0408] It should be noted that if the preemption protection flag is FALSE or "0", it means that the execution of this A1 policy is allowed to be interrupted by other conflicting A1 policies. If the preemption flag is TRUE or "1", it means that the execution of this A1 policy can interrupt the execution of other conflicting A1 policies.

[0409] Example 6: The first entity obtains the execution priority of strategy A1 on its own;

[0410] Figure 11 shows a flowchart of another A1 strategy priority transmission execution process, the specific steps of which include:

[0411] Step 111: rApp sends a request to create or update the A1 policy.

[0412] Step 112: The first entity (e.g., the A1 policy function entity) discovers in the conflict detection that the currently created or updated A1 policy has a configuration and / or policy conflict with other A1 policies, and queries the second entity (e.g., the rApp management function entity) for the corresponding A1 policy execution priority (e.g., including A1 policy priority and / or preemption capability information).

[0413] Step 113: The first entity (e.g., the A1 strategy function entity) arbitrates the conflict.

[0414] Example 7: Conflict arbitration based on A1 policy priority;

[0415] In this embodiment, the first entity directly queries the second entity for the A1 policy priority corresponding to A1 policy 1. Specifically, during the creation and / or update of A1 policy 1, the first entity first performs conflict detection. If a configuration and / or policy conflict is detected, a conflict arbitration process is initiated by querying the second entity for the A1 policy priority corresponding to A1 policy 1 to determine the execution order of the conflicting A1 policies. As shown in Figure 12, taking the first entity as the A1 policy function entity and the second entity as the rApp management function entity as an example, the A1 policy function entity directly queries the rApp management function entity for the A1 policy priority corresponding to the rApp, specifically including:

[0416] Step 121: rApp1 sends a creation request for strategy 1 A1.

[0417] Step 122: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there are no configurations and / or policies that conflict with the A1 policy created by the rApp1 request.

[0418] Step 123: The A1 policy function entity sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC.

[0419] Step 124: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to create A1 strategy 1;

[0420] Step 125: After the A1 policy is successfully created, Near-RT RIC sends a response indicating that the A1 policy 1 has been successfully created to the A1 policy function entity.

[0421] Step 126: The A1 policy function entity sends a response indicating that A1 policy 1 has been successfully created.

[0422] Step 127: rApp2 sends a creation request for strategy 2 of A1.

[0423] Step 128: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is a conflict between A1 policy 1 and A1 policy 2.

[0424] Step 129: The A1 strategy function entity queries the rApp management function entity for the A1 strategy priority corresponding to A1 strategy 1 of A1 strategy 1 and A1 strategy 2 of A1 strategy 2, and finds out that the A1 strategy priority corresponding to A1 strategy 1 is "3" and the A1 strategy priority corresponding to A1 strategy 2 is "5".

[0425] The A1 strategy functional entity determines the arbitration result as follows: the execution priority of A1 strategy 2 is lower than the execution priority of A1 strategy 1.

[0426] Step 1210: Send a response indicating that strategy 2 failed to create to rApp2.

[0427] Example 8: Conflict arbitration based on preemption flags and / or preemption protection;

[0428] In this embodiment, the first entity directly queries the second entity for the preemption flag and / or preemption protection corresponding to the A1 policy. Specifically, during the creation and / or update of the A1 policy, the first entity first performs conflict detection. If a configuration and / or policy conflict is detected, the first entity directly queries the second entity for the preemption flag and / or preemption protection corresponding to the A1 policy, and performs a conflict arbitration process to determine the execution order of the conflicting A1 policies. As shown in Figure 13, taking the first entity as the A1 policy function entity and the second entity as the rApp management function entity as an example, the A1 policy function entity directly queries the rApp management function entity for the preemption flag and / or preemption protection corresponding to the rApp. The specific process includes:

[0429] Step 131: rApp1 sends a creation request for strategy 1 A1.

[0430] Step 132: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there are no configurations and / or policies that conflict with the A1 policy created by the rApp1 request.

[0431] Step 133: The A1 policy function entity sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC.

[0432] Step 134: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to create A1 strategy 1;

[0433] Step 135: After the A1 policy is successfully created, Near-RT RIC sends a response indicating that the A1 policy has been successfully created to the A1 policy function entity.

[0434] Step 136: The A1 policy function entity sends a response indicating that A1 policy 1 has been successfully created.

[0435] Step 137: rApp2 sends a creation request for strategy A1 2.

[0436] Step 138: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is a conflict between A1 policy 1 and A1 policy 2.

[0437] Step 139: The A1 policy function entity queries the rApp management function entity for the preemption capabilities (e.g., preemption flag and / or preemption protection) of A1 policy 1 and A1 policy 2, and learns that A1 policy 1 has preemption protection.

[0438] The A1 strategy functional entity conducts conflict arbitration. Since A1 strategy 1 has preemption protection, the A1 strategy functional entity determines the arbitration result as follows: the execution priority of A1 strategy 2 is lower than the execution priority of A1 strategy 1.

[0439] Step 1310: Send a response indicating that strategy 2 failed to create to rApp2.

[0440] Example 9: Conflict resolution based on the retry process after preemption failure;

[0441] During the creation and / or update of an A1 policy, if the rApp sets a NotifyDesitinationURI (i.e., third-party identification information) in the A1 policy creation and / or update request, then the A1 policy will conflict with other A1 policies during creation or execution. After the A1 policy is rejected and / or its execution is suspended, the first entity is responsible for sending a retry notification to the previously rejected rApp, triggering the rApp's retry process. As shown in Figure 14, taking the first entity as the A1 policy functional entity and the second entity as the rApp management functional entity as an example, the specific steps include:

[0442] Step 141: rApp1 queries the configuration information of the A1 policy priority and preemption capability corresponding to A1 policy 1 through the rApp management function entity, determines that the A1 policy priority range is "3" to "8" (for example, "1" corresponds to the highest priority), and sets the preemption protection flag to TRUE.

[0443] Step 142: rApp1 sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the A1 policy function entity and sets the A1 policy priority to "5" and the preemption protection flag to TRUE.

[0444] Step 143: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is no configuration or policy that conflicts with A1 policy 1.

[0445] Step 144: The A1 policy function entity sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC.

[0446] Step 145: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to create A1 strategy 1.

[0447] Step 146: After A1 policy 1 is successfully created, Near-RT RIC sends a success response to the A1 policy function entity.

[0448] Step 147: The A1 policy function entity sends a response to rApp1 indicating that A1 policy 1 has been successfully created.

[0449] Step 148: rApp2 queries the configuration information of the A1 policy priority and preemption capability corresponding to A1 policy 2 through the rApp management function entity, determines that the A1 policy priority range is "2" to "5" (for example, "1" corresponds to the highest priority), and the preemption flag is FALSE.

[0450] Step 149: rApp2 sends a creation request for A1 policy 2 to the A1 policy function entity and sets the A1 policy priority to "5" and the preemption flag to FALSE.

[0451] Step 1410: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is a conflict between A1 policy 1 and A1 policy 2.

[0452] The A1 strategy function entity arbitrates the conflict and determines that the A1 strategy priority "5" corresponding to A1 strategy 2 is equal to the A1 strategy priority "5" corresponding to A1 strategy 1, and rApp1 has preemption protection. Therefore, the A1 strategy function entity determines the arbitration result as follows: the execution priority of A1 strategy 2 is lower than the execution priority of A1 strategy 1.

[0453] Step 1411: The A1 policy function entity sends a response to rApp2 indicating that the creation of A1 policy 2 failed.

[0454] Step 1412: rApp1 triggers the deletion process of A1 strategy 1 and sends the deletion request of A1 strategy 1 to the A1 strategy function entity.

[0455] Step 1413: The A1 policy function entity sends a deletion request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC.

[0456] Step 1414: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to delete strategy A1 1.

[0457] Step 1415: After successful deletion of A1 policy 1, Near-RT RIC sends a success response to the A1 policy function entity.

[0458] Step 1416: The A1 policy function entity sends a response to rApp1 indicating that the deletion of A1 policy 1 was successful.

[0459] Step 1417: Since A1 policy 1 of rApp1 has been deleted, the A1 policy function entity determines that rApp2 is allowed to retry the A1 policy creation process based on the NotifyDesitinationURI of rApp2. Then, the A1 policy function entity sends a retry notification to rApp2, and rApp2 triggers the creation process of A1 policy 2 again.

[0460] Example 10: Conflict resolution based on successful preemption;

[0461] During the creation and / or update of an A1 policy, if the rApp sets a NotifyDesitinationURI (i.e., third-party identification information) in the A1 policy creation and / or update request, a conflict will occur between the rApp and the A1 policy during its creation or execution. After the A1 policy is rejected and / or its execution is suspended, the first entity is responsible for sending a retry notification to the previously rejected rApp, triggering the rApp's retry process. As shown in Figure 15, taking the first entity as the A1 policy function entity and the second entity as the rApp management function entity as an example, the specific steps include:

[0462] Step 151: rApp1 queries the configuration information of the A1 policy priority and preemption capability corresponding to A1 policy 1 through the rApp management function entity, and determines that the A1 policy priority range is "3" to "8" (for example, "1" corresponds to the highest priority).

[0463] Step 152: rApp1 sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the A1 policy function entity and sets the A1 policy priority to "5", as well as the retry notification target.

[0464] Step 153: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is no configuration or policy that conflicts with A1 policy 1.

[0465] Step 154: The A1 policy function entity sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC.

[0466] Step 155: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to create A1 strategy 1.

[0467] Step 156: After A1 policy 1 is successfully created, Near-RT RIC sends a success response to the A1 policy function entity.

[0468] Step 157: The A1 policy function entity sends a response to rApp1 indicating that A1 policy 1 has been successfully created.

[0469] Step 158: rApp2 queries the configuration information of the A1 policy priority and preemption capability corresponding to A1 policy 2 through the rApp management function entity, and determines that the A1 policy priority range is "2" to "5" (for example, "1" corresponds to the highest priority).

[0470] Step 159: rApp2 sends a creation request for A1 policy 2 to the A1 policy function entity and sets the A1 policy priority to "3", as well as the retry notification target.

[0471] Step 1510: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is a conflict between A1 policy 1 and A1 policy 2.

[0472] The A1 strategy functional entity conducts conflict arbitration and determines that the A1 strategy priority "3" corresponding to A1 strategy 2 is greater than the A1 strategy priority "5" corresponding to A1 strategy 1. Therefore, the A1 strategy functional entity determines the arbitration result as follows: the execution priority of A1 strategy 2 is higher than the execution priority of A1 strategy 1.

[0473] Solution 1:

[0474] Step 1511: The A1 strategy function entity first rejects the creation of A1 strategy 2, that is, it sends a creation failure notification to rApp2.

[0475] Step 1512: The A1 policy function entity requests Near-RT RIC to delete A1 policy 1.

[0476] Step 1513: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to delete strategy A1 1.

[0477] Step 1514: After successful deletion of A1 policy 1, Near-RT RIC sends a success response to the A1 policy function entity.

[0478] Step 1515: A1 policy function entity notifies rApp1 that A1 policy 1 was successfully deleted.

[0479] Step 1516: The A1 policy function entity sends a retry notification to rApp2 based on the NotifyDesitinationURI of rApp2, and rApp2 triggers the creation process of A1 policy 2 again.

[0480] Solution 2:

[0481] Step 1517: First, maintain the creation process of strategy A1 2.

[0482] Step 1518: The A1 policy function entity requests Near-RT RIC to delete A1 policy 1.

[0483] Step 1519: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to delete strategy A1 1.

[0484] Step 1520: After successful deletion of A1 policy 1, Near-RT RIC sends a success response to the A1 policy function entity.

[0485] Step 1521: A1 policy function entity notifies rApp1 that A1 policy 1 was successfully deleted.

[0486] Step 1522: The A1 policy function entity sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC. The Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to create A1 policy 1.

[0487] Example 11: Conflict resolution based on strategy merging;

[0488] Figure 16 shows the conflict resolution process based on strategy merging, which specifically includes:

[0489] Step 161: rApp1 queries the configuration information of the A1 policy priority and preemption capability corresponding to A1 policy 1 through the rApp management function entity, and determines that the A1 policy priority range is "3" to "8" (for example, "1" corresponds to the highest priority).

[0490] Step 162: rApp1 sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the A1 policy function entity and sets the priority of A1 policy to "5".

[0491] Step 163: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine that there is no configuration or policy that conflicts with A1 policy 1.

[0492] Step 164: The A1 policy function entity sends a creation request for A1 policy 1 to the Near-RT RIC.

[0493] Step 165: Near-RT RIC interacts with xApp to create A1 strategy 1.

[0494] Step 166: After A1 policy 1 is successfully created, Near-RT RIC sends a success response to the A1 policy function entity.

[0495] Step 167: The A1 policy function entity sends a response to rApp1 indicating that A1 policy 1 has been successfully created.

[0496] Step 168: rApp2 queries the configuration information of the A1 policy priority and preemption capability corresponding to A1 policy 2 through the rApp management function entity, and determines that the A1 policy priority range is "2" to "5" (for example, "1" corresponds to the highest priority).

[0497] Step 169: rApp2 sends a creation request for A1 policy 2 to the A1 policy function entity and sets the priority of A1 policy to "3".

[0498] Step 1610: The A1 policy function entity performs conflict detection to determine the A1 policy conflict between A1 policy 1 and A1 policy 2.

[0499] The A1 strategy functional entity conducts conflict arbitration and determines that the A1 strategy priority "3" corresponding to A1 strategy 2 is greater than the A1 strategy priority "5" corresponding to A1 strategy 1. Therefore, the A1 strategy functional entity determines the arbitration result as follows: the execution priority of A1 strategy 2 is higher than the execution priority of A1 strategy 1.

[0500] Step 1611: After a conflict is detected, if policy configuration merging is possible, the A1 policy function entity maintains the current creation process of A1 policy 2 and merges it with the A1 policy 1 previously created by rApp1.

[0501] Step 1612: The A1 policy function entity sends an update message to the Near-RT RIC, notifying the Near-RT RIC of the merged policy through the update message.

[0502] Step 1613: Near-RT RIC updates A1 policy 1 by interacting with xApp.

[0503] Step 1614: Near-RT RIC sends a successful update response for A1 policy 1 to the A1 policy function entity.

[0504] Step 1615: The A1 policy function entity sends a notification that A1 policy 2 has been successfully created to rApp2.

[0505] In this embodiment of the disclosure, configuration and / or policy conflicts based on A1 policy are detected. By introducing a conflict arbitration mechanism based on A1 policy priority and / or preemption capability in the Non-RT RIC, and conflict resolution mechanisms based on deletion, notification retry, and merging, the priority and execution order of A1 policies can be controlled. This can better realize the network optimization policy executed by rApp and effectively avoid the occurrence of configuration and / or policy conflicts.

[0506] The above embodiments describe the strategy management method of this disclosure. The following embodiments will further describe the corresponding strategy management device with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0507] As shown in Figure 17, this embodiment provides a policy management device, including a memory 171, a transceiver 172, and a processor 173; wherein, the memory 171 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 172 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor 173; for example, the transceiver 172 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 173; the processor 173 is used to read the computer program in the memory 171 and perform the following operations:

[0508] Receive first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receive first indication information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC;

[0509] Execute A1 policy management based on the first instruction information;

[0510] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0511] In some embodiments, the first entity includes at least one of the following:

[0512] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0513] Near-RT RIC (Near Real-Time Radio Access Controller)

[0514] And / or,

[0515] The second entity includes at least one of the following:

[0516] Application management functionality entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0517] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0518] Functional entities in the SMO architecture other than Non-RT RIC.

[0519] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0520] A1 strategy priority;

[0521] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0522] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0523] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0524] In some embodiments, the processor 173 is configured to read a computer program from the memory 171 and perform at least one of the following operations:

[0525] Receive a first request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC, and send a first query message to the second entity based on the first request message; wherein the first request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the first query message is used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0526] Send first subscription information to the second entity; wherein the first subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of policy A1.

[0527] In some embodiments, the processor 173 is configured to read a computer program from the memory 171 and perform at least one of the following operations:

[0528] Receive a second request message sent by the second entity; wherein the second request message is used to request the creation and / or update of the A1 policy, and the second request message includes the first indication message;

[0529] Receive a third request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

[0530] In some embodiments, the processor 173 is configured to read the computer program in the memory 171 and perform the following operations:

[0531] Conflict detection is performed on the at least two A1 strategies to determine the conflict detection results;

[0532] If the conflict detection result indicates that there is a conflict between at least two A1 policies, then A1 policy management is executed according to the first indication information;

[0533] The first entity determines that there is a conflict between the at least two A1 policies by at least one of the following methods:

[0534] At least two A1 policies have overlapping configuration parameters;

[0535] There is a conflict in the policy actions between at least two A1 policies.

[0536] In some embodiments, the processor 173 is configured to read a computer program from the memory 171 and perform at least one of the following operations:

[0537] For A1 policies that conflict, the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy shall be rejected;

[0538] For conflicting A1 policies, suspend the creation and / or updating of the A1 policies;

[0539] For conflicting A1 policies, delete the A1 policy;

[0540] For A1 policies that have been rejected or suspended from creation and / or updating, retry the creation and / or updating process of the A1 policy;

[0541] For at least two conflicting A1 policies, merge the at least two A1 policies.

[0542] In some embodiments, when the second A1 policy requests the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy in conjunction with the first application, the processor 173 is configured to read the computer program in the memory 171 and perform the following operations:

[0543] If, based on the first indication information, it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is lower than or equal to the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then a rejection message is sent to the first application; wherein, the rejection message is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the first A1 policy;

[0544] And / or,

[0545] If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy is executed.

[0546] In some embodiments, the processor 173 is configured to read a computer program from the memory 171 and determine the priority relationship between the execution priority of the first A1 policy and the execution priority of the second A1 policy by at least one of the following methods:

[0547] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is higher than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0548] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is lower than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0549] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is equal to the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0550] If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0551] If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a second value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a first value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0552] If the second identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the second identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0553] Wherein, the first identification information is a first value used to indicate that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is allowed, and the first identification information is a second value used to indicate that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is not allowed; the second identification information is a first value used to indicate that preemption by other A1 strategies is not allowed, and the second identification information is a second value used to indicate that preemption by other A1 strategies is allowed.

[0554] In some embodiments, the processor 173, for reading the computer program in the memory 171, also performs the following operations:

[0555] Receive a first deletion request message sent by a second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0556] Send the first deletion request information to Near-RT RIC;

[0557] Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0558] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, a retry message is sent to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0559] In some embodiments, the processor 173, for reading the computer program in the memory 171, also performs the following operations:

[0560] Receive a first deletion request message sent by a second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0561] Delete the second A1 policy and send a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0562] In some embodiments, the processor 173 is configured to read the computer program in the memory 171 and perform the following operations:

[0563] Send the rejection information to the first application and send a second deletion request information to Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request information is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0564] Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0565] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, a retry message is sent to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0566] In some embodiments, the processor 173, for reading the computer program in the memory 171, also performs the following operations:

[0567] Receive third identification information sent by the first application; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the first application allows retry of A1 policy execution;

[0568] Sending retry information to the first application includes:

[0569] If the third identification information indicates that the first application allows retrying the execution of policy A1, the retry information is sent to the first application.

[0570] In some embodiments, the processor 173 is configured to read the computer program in the memory 171 and perform the following operations:

[0571] Send a second deletion request message to the Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0572] Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0573] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy deletion is successful, the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy is executed.

[0574] In Figure 17, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 173 and memory represented by memory 171. The bus architecture may also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. Transceiver 172 may be multiple elements, including transmitters and receivers, providing units for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, and other transmission media.

[0575] Processor 173 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, while memory 171 can store the data used by processor 173 when performing operations.

[0576] In some embodiments, the processor 173 may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), and the processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0577] The processor executes any of the methods described in the embodiments of this disclosure by invoking a computer program stored in memory, according to the obtained executable instructions. The processor and memory may also be physically separated.

[0578] It should be noted that the strategy management device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the strategy management method embodiment of the first entity side, and can achieve the same technical effect. Here, the parts that are the same as those in the method embodiment and the beneficial effects will not be described in detail.

[0579] As shown in Figure 18, this embodiment of the disclosure provides a strategy management device 1800, including:

[0580] The first receiving unit 1810 is configured to receive first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receive first indication information sent by an application in the Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC).

[0581] Processing unit 1820 is configured to perform A1 policy management according to the first instruction information;

[0582] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0583] In some embodiments, the first entity includes at least one of the following:

[0584] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0585] Near-RT RIC (Near Real-Time Radio Access Controller)

[0586] And / or,

[0587] The second entity includes at least one of the following:

[0588] Application management functionality entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0589] A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC;

[0590] Functional entities in the SMO architecture other than Non-RT RIC.

[0591] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0592] A1 strategy priority;

[0593] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0594] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0595] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0596] In some embodiments, the policy management device 1800 further includes at least one of the following:

[0597] The second receiving unit is configured to receive a first request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC, and send a first query message to the second entity based on the first request message; wherein the first request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the first query message is used to request the provision of the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0598] The first sending unit is used to send first subscription information to the second entity; wherein the first subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0599] In some embodiments, the first receiving unit 1810 is further configured to include at least one of the following:

[0600] Receive a second request message sent by the second entity; wherein the second request message is used to request the creation and / or update of the A1 policy, and the second request message includes the first indication message;

[0601] Receive a third request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

[0602] In some embodiments, the processing unit 1820 is further configured to:

[0603] Conflict detection is performed on the at least two A1 strategies to determine the conflict detection results;

[0604] If the conflict detection result indicates that there is a conflict between at least two A1 policies, then A1 policy management is executed according to the first indication information;

[0605] The first entity determines that there is a conflict between at least two A1 policies by at least one of the following methods:

[0606] At least two A1 policies have overlapping configuration parameters;

[0607] There is a conflict in the policy actions between at least two A1 policies.

[0608] In some embodiments, the execution of A1 policy management includes at least one of the following:

[0609] For A1 policies that conflict, the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy shall be rejected;

[0610] For conflicting A1 policies, suspend the creation and / or updating of the A1 policies;

[0611] For conflicting A1 policies, delete the A1 policy;

[0612] For A1 policies that have been rejected or suspended from creation and / or updating, retry the creation and / or updating process of the A1 policy;

[0613] For at least two conflicting A1 policies, merge the at least two A1 policies.

[0614] In some embodiments, when the second A1 policy is requested to create and / or update the first A1 policy by the first application, the processing unit 1820 is further configured to:

[0615] If, based on the first indication information, it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is lower than or equal to the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then a rejection message is sent to the first application; wherein, the rejection message is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the first A1 policy;

[0616] And / or,

[0617] If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy is executed.

[0618] In some embodiments, the processing unit 1820 determines the priority relationship between the execution priority of the first A1 policy and the execution priority of the second A1 policy by at least one of the following methods:

[0619] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is higher than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0620] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is lower than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0621] If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is equal to the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0622] If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0623] If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a second value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a first value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0624] If the second identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the second identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy.

[0625] Wherein, the first identification information is a first value used to indicate that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is allowed, and the first identification information is a second value used to indicate that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is not allowed; the second identification information is a first value used to indicate that preemption by other A1 strategies is not allowed, and the second identification information is a second value used to indicate that preemption by other A1 strategies is allowed.

[0626] In some embodiments, the policy management device 1800 further includes:

[0627] The third receiving unit is configured to receive a first deletion request message sent by the second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0628] The second sending unit is used to send the first deletion request information to the Near-RT RIC;

[0629] The fourth receiving unit is used to receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0630] The third sending unit is configured to send retry information to the first application when the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0631] In some embodiments, the policy management device 1800 further includes:

[0632] The fifth receiving unit is configured to receive a first deletion request message sent by the second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0633] Deletion unit, used to delete the second A1 strategy;

[0634] The fourth sending unit is used to send retry information to the first application; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0635] In some embodiments, the processing unit 1820 is further configured to:

[0636] The fifth sending unit is used to send the rejection information to the first application and to send a second deletion request information to Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request information is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0637] The sixth receiving unit is used to receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0638] The sixth sending unit is configured to send retry information to the first application when the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

[0639] In some embodiments, the policy management device 1800 further includes:

[0640] The seventh receiving unit is configured to receive third identification information sent by the first application; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the first application allows retry of A1 policy execution;

[0641] The third sending unit, the fourth sending unit, and the sixth sending unit are further configured to: send retry information to the first application when the third identification information indicates that the first application allows the retry of the A1 policy execution.

[0642] In some embodiments, the processing unit 1820 is further configured to:

[0643] Send a second deletion request message to the Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy;

[0644] Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC;

[0645] If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy deletion is successful, the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy is executed.

[0646] It should be noted that the strategy management device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the strategy management method embodiment of the first entity side, and can achieve the same technical effect. Here, the parts that are the same as those in the method embodiment and the beneficial effects will not be described in detail.

[0647] As shown in Figure 19, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides a policy management device, including a memory 191, a transceiver 192, and a processor 193; wherein, the memory 191 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 192 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor 193; for example, the transceiver 192 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 193; the processor 193 is used to read the computer program in the memory 191 and perform the following operations:

[0648] Send a first indication message to the first entity; wherein the first indication message is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0649] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0650] A1 strategy priority;

[0651] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0652] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0653] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0654] In some embodiments, the processor 193 is configured to read a computer program from the memory 191 and perform the following operations:

[0655] Send a third request message to the first entity; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

[0656] In some embodiments, the processor 193, for reading the computer program in the memory 191, also performs the following operations:

[0657] Send a second subscription message to the second entity; wherein the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the execution priority of policy A1.

[0658] In some embodiments, the processor 193, for reading the computer program in the memory 191, also performs the following operations:

[0659] Send a second query message to the second entity; wherein the second query message is used to request the execution priority of policy A1;

[0660] Receive response information sent by the second entity; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

[0661] In some embodiments, the processor 193 reads a computer program from the memory 191 and performs at least one of the following operations:

[0662] Receive a rejection message sent by the first entity; wherein the rejection message is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the A1 policy;

[0663] Receive retry information sent by the first entity; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the application to retry the creation and / or update process of the A1 policy;

[0664] Send a third identification information to the first entity; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the application allows retrying the execution of the A1 policy;

[0665] Send a first deletion request message to the first entity; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the A1 policy.

[0666] In Figure 19, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 193 and memory represented by memory 191. The bus architecture may also link various other circuits, such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. Transceiver 192 may be multiple elements, including transmitters and receivers, providing units for communicating with various other devices over transmission media, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. Processor 193 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and memory 191 may store data used by processor 193 during operation.

[0667] The processor 193 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0668] It should be noted that the policy management device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the application-side policy management method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0669] As shown in Figure 20, this embodiment of the disclosure provides a strategy management device 2000, including:

[0670] The first sending unit 2010 is used to send first indication information to the first entity; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0671] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0672] A1 strategy priority;

[0673] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0674] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0675] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0676] In some embodiments, the first transmitting unit 2010 is further configured to:

[0677] Send a third request message to the first entity; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

[0678] In some embodiments, the policy management device 2000 further includes:

[0679] The second sending unit is used to send second subscription information to the second entity; wherein the second subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0680] In some embodiments, the policy management device 2000 further includes:

[0681] The third sending unit is used to send second query information to the second entity; wherein the second query information is used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0682] The application in the Non-RT RIC receives response information sent by the second entity; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

[0683] In some embodiments, the policy management device 2000 further includes at least one of the following:

[0684] The first receiving unit is configured to receive rejection information sent by the first entity; wherein the rejection information is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the A1 policy;

[0685] The second receiving unit is configured to receive retry information sent by the first entity; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the application to retry the creation and / or update process of the A1 policy;

[0686] The fourth sending unit is used to send third identification information to the first entity; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the application allows retry of A1 policy execution;

[0687] The fifth sending unit is used to send a first deletion request message to the first entity; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the A1 strategy.

[0688] It should be noted that the policy management device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the application-side policy management method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0689] As shown in Figure 21, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides a policy management device, including a memory 211, a transceiver 212, and a processor 213; wherein, the memory 211 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 212 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor 213; for example, the transceiver 212 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 213; the processor 213 is used to read the computer program in the memory 211 and perform the following operations:

[0690] Send a first instruction message to a first entity, and / or send a first instruction message to an application in a Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC);

[0691] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0692] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0693] A1 strategy priority;

[0694] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0695] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0696] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0697] In some embodiments, the processor 213, for reading the computer program in the memory 211, also performs the following operations:

[0698] Receive a first query message sent by a first entity, and / or receive a second query message sent by an application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the first query message and / or the second query message are used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0699] Based on the first query information, the first indication information is sent to the first entity; and / or, a response information of the second query information is sent to the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

[0700] In some embodiments, the processor 213, for reading the computer program in the memory 211, also performs the following operations:

[0701] Receive first subscription information sent by the first entity; wherein, the subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of strategy A1;

[0702] And / or,

[0703] Receive second subscription information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the second subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0704] In Figure 21, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 213 and memory represented by memory 211. The bus architecture may also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 212 may be multiple elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. Processor 213 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and memory 211 may store data used by processor 213 during operation.

[0705] The processor 213 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0706] It should be noted that the strategy management device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the strategy management method embodiment on the second entity side, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts that are the same as those in the method embodiment and the beneficial effects will not be described in detail here.

[0707] As shown in Figure 22, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides a strategy management device 2200, including:

[0708] The transmitting unit 2210 is configured to transmit first indication information to the first entity, and / or to the application in the Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC);

[0709] The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

[0710] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0711] A1 strategy priority;

[0712] The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1;

[0713] The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies;

[0714] The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

[0715] In some embodiments, the sending unit 2210 is further configured to:

[0716] Receive a first query message sent by a first entity, and / or receive a second query message sent by an application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the first query message and / or the second query message are used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0717] Based on the first query information, the first indication information is sent to the first entity; and / or, a response information of the second query information is sent to at least one application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

[0718] In some embodiments, the policy management device 2200 further includes:

[0719] The first receiving unit is configured to receive first subscription information sent by the first entity; wherein the subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy;

[0720] And / or,

[0721] The second receiving unit is configured to receive second subscription information sent by at least one application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the second subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

[0722] It should be noted that the strategy management device provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the strategy management method embodiment on the second entity side, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts that are the same as those in the method embodiment and the beneficial effects will not be described in detail here.

[0723] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0724] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this disclosure, in essence, or the part that contributes to related technologies, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0725] This disclosure also provides a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program that causes the processor to execute the steps of the above-described strategy management method, achieving the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, further details are omitted here.

[0726] This disclosure also provides a computer program product, including computer instructions. When executed by a processor, these computer instructions implement the various processes of the above-described policy management method embodiments and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0727] The processor-readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device that the processor can access, including but not limited to magnetic memory (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, magneto-optical disk (MO)), optical memory (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital video disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), high-definition versatile disc (HVD)), and semiconductor memory (read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), non-volatile memory (NAND FLASH), solid state disk (SSD)).

[0728] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage and optical storage) containing computer-usable program code.

[0729] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart illustrations and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0730] These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0731] These processor-executable instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0732] Furthermore, it should be noted that in the apparatus and method of this disclosure, it is obvious that the components or steps can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be considered equivalent solutions of this disclosure. Moreover, the steps performing the above series of processes can naturally be executed in the order described, but are not necessarily required to be executed in chronological order; some steps can be executed in parallel or independently of each other. Those skilled in the art will understand that all or any step or component of the method and apparatus of this disclosure can be implemented in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or network of computing devices, in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, which can be achieved by those skilled in the art using their basic programming skills after reading the description of this disclosure.

[0733] Furthermore, it should be noted that in the apparatus and method of this disclosure, it is obvious that the components or steps can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be considered equivalent solutions of this disclosure. Moreover, the steps performing the above series of processes can naturally be executed in the order described, but are not necessarily required to be executed in chronological order; some steps can be executed in parallel or independently of each other. Those skilled in the art will understand that all or any step or component of the method and apparatus of this disclosure can be implemented in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or network of computing devices, in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, which can be achieved by those skilled in the art using their basic programming skills after reading the description of this disclosure.

[0734] It should be noted that the above division of modules is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, these modules can be implemented entirely in software via processing element calls; they can be fully implemented in hardware; or some modules can be implemented by processing element calls to software, while others are implemented in hardware. For example, a module can be a separate processing element, or it can be integrated into a chip in the aforementioned device. Alternatively, it can be stored as program code in the memory of the aforementioned device, and its function can be called and executed by a processing element of the device. The implementation of other modules is similar. Moreover, these modules can be fully or partially integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element mentioned here can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each step of the above method or each of the above modules can be completed through integrated logic circuits in the hardware of the processor element or through software instructions.

[0735] For example, each module, unit, subunit, or submodule can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). As another example, when a module is implemented using processing element scheduler code, the processing element can be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or other processor capable of calling program code. Furthermore, these modules can be integrated together to implement a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0736] The terms “first,” “second,” etc., used in this disclosure and in the claims are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this disclosure described herein may be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus. Additionally, the use of “and / or” in the specification and claims indicates at least one of the connected objects, such as A and / or B and / or C, indicating seven possibilities: A alone, B alone, C alone, and both A and B, both B and C, both A and C, and A, B, and C. Similarly, the use of “at least one of A and B” in this specification and claims should be understood as “A alone, B alone, or both A and B.”

[0737] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this disclosure without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this disclosure and their equivalents, this disclosure is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A strategy management method, comprising: The first entity receives the first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receives the first indication information sent by the application in the Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC); The first entity executes A1 policy management based on the first instruction information; The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

2. The strategy management method according to claim 1, wherein, The first entity includes one of the following: A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC; Near-RT RIC (Near Real-Time Radio Access Network Controller) And / or, The second entity includes one of the following: Application management functionality entity in Non-RT RIC; A1 policy function entity in Non-RT RIC; Functional entities in the SMO architecture other than Non-RT RIC.

3. The strategy management method according to claim 1, wherein, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: A1 strategy priority; The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1; The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies; The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

4. The strategy management method according to claim 1, wherein, Before the first entity receives the first indication information sent by the second entity, it also includes at least one of the following: The first entity receives a first request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC, and sends a first query message to the second entity based on the first request message; wherein, the first request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the first query message is used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy; The first entity sends a first subscription information to the second entity; wherein the first subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

5. The strategy management method according to claim 1 or 4, wherein, The first entity receives first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receives first indication information sent by an application in a Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC), including at least one of the following: The first entity receives a second request message sent by the second entity; wherein the second request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the second request message includes the first indication message; The first entity receives a third request message sent by an application in a Non-RT RIC; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of an A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

6. The strategy management method according to claim 1, wherein, The first entity executes A1 policy management based on the first instruction information, including: The first entity performs conflict detection on at least two A1 policies and determines the conflict detection result; If the conflict detection result indicates that there is a conflict between at least two A1 policies, then the first entity performs A1 policy management according to the first indication information; The first entity determines that there is a conflict between the at least two A1 policies by at least one of the following methods: At least two A1 policies have overlapping configuration parameters; There is a conflict in the policy actions between at least two A1 policies.

7. The strategy management method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, The execution of A1 policy management includes at least one of the following: For A1 policies that conflict, the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy shall be rejected; For conflicting A1 policies, suspend the creation and / or updating of the A1 policies; For conflicting A1 policies, delete the A1 policy; For A1 policies that have been rejected or suspended from creation and / or updating, retry the creation and / or updating process of the A1 policy; For at least two conflicting A1 policies, merge the at least two A1 policies.

8. The strategy management method according to claim 7, wherein, In the event that the second A1 policy requests the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy by the first application, the first entity performs A1 policy management according to the first instruction information, including: If, based on the first indication information, it is determined that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is lower than or equal to the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application; wherein, the rejection message is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the first A1 policy; And / or, If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the first entity executes the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

9. The strategy management method according to claim 8, wherein, The first entity determines the priority relationship between the execution priority of the first A1 policy and the execution priority of the second A1 policy through at least one of the following methods: If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is higher than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy. If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is lower than the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy. If the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the first A1 strategy is equal to the priority of the A1 strategy corresponding to the second A1 strategy, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy. If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy. If the first identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a second value, and / or the first identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a first value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy. If the second identifier information corresponding to the first A1 strategy is a first value, and / or the second identifier information corresponding to the second A1 strategy is a second value, then the priority relationship is determined to be that the execution priority of the first A1 strategy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 strategy. Wherein, the first identification information is a first value used to indicate that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is allowed, and the first identification information is a second value used to indicate that preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies is not allowed; the second identification information is a first value used to indicate that preemption by other A1 strategies is not allowed, and the second identification information is a second value used to indicate that preemption by other A1 strategies is allowed.

10. The strategy management method according to claim 8, wherein, After the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application, the process further includes: The first entity receives a first deletion request message sent by the second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy; The first entity sends the first deletion request information to Near-RT RIC; The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC; If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, the first entity sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

11. The strategy management method according to claim 8, wherein, After the first entity sends a rejection message to the first application, the process further includes: The first entity receives a first deletion request message sent by the second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy; The first entity deletes the second A1 policy and sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

12. The strategy management method according to claim 8, wherein, The first entity performs the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy, including: The first entity sends the rejection information to the first application and a second deletion request information to Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request information is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy; The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC; If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, the first entity sends a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

13. The strategy management method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein, Before the first entity sends retry information to the first application, it also includes: The first entity receives third identification information sent by the first application; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the first application allows retry of A1 policy execution; The first entity sends retry information to the first application, including: When the third identification information indicates that the first application allows retrying the execution of policy A1, the first entity sends the retry information to the first application.

14. The strategy management method according to claim 10, wherein, The first entity performs the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy, including: The first entity sends a second deletion request message to the Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy; The first entity receives the feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC; If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, the first entity performs the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

15. A strategy management method, comprising: An application in a Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC) sends a first indication message to a first entity; wherein the first indication message is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

16. The strategy management method according to claim 15, wherein, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: A1 strategy priority; The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1; The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies; The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

17. The strategy management method according to claim 15, wherein, The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a first indication message to the first entity, including: The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a third request message to the first entity; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

18. The strategy management method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein, Before the application in the Non-RT RIC sends the first indication information to the first entity, it also includes: The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a second subscription message to the second entity; wherein the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

19. The strategy management method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein, Before the application in the Non-RT RIC sends the first indication information to the first entity, it also includes: The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a second query message to the second entity; wherein the second query message is used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy; The application in the Non-RT RIC receives response information sent by the second entity; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

20. The strategy management method according to claim 17, further comprising at least one of the following: The application in the Non-RT RIC receives the rejection information sent by the first entity; wherein, The rejection information is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the A1 policy; The application in the Non-RT RIC receives retry information sent by the first entity; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the application to retry the creation and / or update process of the A1 policy; The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a third identification information to the first entity; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the application allows retrying the execution of the A1 policy; The application in the Non-RT RIC sends a first deletion request message to the first entity; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the A1 policy.

21. A strategy management method, comprising: The second entity sends a first instruction message to the first entity, and / or sends the first instruction message to the application in the Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC). The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

22. The strategy management method according to claim 21, wherein, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: A1 strategy priority; The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1; The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies; The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

23. The strategy management method according to claim 21, wherein, The second entity sends a first indication message to the first entity, and / or sends the first indication message to an application in the Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC), including: The second entity receives a first query message sent by the first entity, and / or receives a second query message sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the first query message and / or the second query message are used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy; The second entity sends the first indication information to the first entity based on the first query information; and / or sends response information of the second query information to the application; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

24. The strategy management method according to claim 21, wherein, Before the second entity sends the first indication information to the first entity, and / or before sending the first indication information to the application in the Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC), the method further includes: The second entity receives the first subscription information sent by the first entity; wherein the subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy; And / or, The second entity receives second subscription information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the second subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

25. A policy management device, comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor; in, The memory is used to store computer programs; the transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; the processor is used to read the computer programs from the memory and perform the following operations: Receive first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receive first indication information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC; Execute A1 policy management based on the first instruction information; The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

26. The strategy management device according to claim 25, wherein, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: A1 strategy priority; The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1; The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies; The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

27. The strategy management device according to claim 25 or 26, wherein, The execution of A1 policy management includes at least one of the following: For A1 policies that conflict, the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy shall be rejected; For conflicting A1 policies, suspend the creation and / or updating of the A1 policies; For conflicting A1 policies, delete the A1 policy; For A1 policies that have been rejected or suspended from creation and / or updating, retry the creation and / or updating process of the A1 policy; For at least two conflicting A1 policies, merge the at least two A1 policies.

28. The strategy management device according to claim 27, wherein, In the event that the second A1 policy requests the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is lower than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then a rejection message is sent to the first application; wherein, the rejection message is used to indicate that the creation and / or updating of the first A1 policy is refused. And / or, If it is determined from the first indication information that the execution priority of the first A1 policy is higher than the execution priority of the second A1 policy, then the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy is executed.

29. The strategy management device according to claim 28, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Receive a first deletion request message sent by a second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy; Send the first deletion request information to the Near-RT RIC (Near-Real-Time Radio Access Network Controller); Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC; If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, a retry message is sent to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

30. The strategy management device according to claim 28, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Receive a first deletion request message sent by a second application; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy; Delete the second A1 policy and send a retry message to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

31. The strategy management device according to claim 28, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Send the rejection information to the first application and send a second deletion request information to Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request information is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy; Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC; If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, a retry message is sent to the first application; wherein the retry message is used to instruct the first application to retry the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy.

32. The strategy management device according to any one of claims 29 to 31, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Receive third identification information sent by the first application; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the first application allows retry of A1 policy execution; Sending retry information to the first application includes: If the third identification information indicates that the first application allows retrying the execution of policy A1, the retry information is sent to the first application.

33. The strategy management device according to claim 29, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Send a second deletion request message to the Near-RT RIC; wherein the second deletion request message is used to request the deletion of the second A1 policy; Receive feedback information sent by the Near-RT RIC; If the feedback information indicates that the second A1 policy was successfully deleted, the creation and / or update process of the first A1 policy is executed.

34. A strategy management device, comprising: The first receiving unit is configured to receive first indication information sent by the second entity, and / or receive first indication information sent by an application in the Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC). The processing unit is configured to execute A1 policy management based on the first instruction information; The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

35. A strategy management device, wherein, Includes memory, transceiver, and processor; The memory stores computer programs; the transceiver, under the control of the processor, sends and receives data; the processor reads the computer programs from the memory and performs the following operations: Send a first indication message to the first entity; wherein the first indication message is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

36. The strategy management device according to claim 35, wherein, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: A1 strategy priority; The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1; The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies; The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

37. The strategy management device according to claim 35, wherein, The processor, for reading the computer program in the memory, also performs the following operations: Send a third request message to the first entity; wherein the third request message is used to request the creation and / or updating of the A1 policy, and the third request message includes the first indication message.

38. The strategy management device according to any one of claims 35 to 37, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Send a second subscription message to the second entity; wherein the second subscription message is used to subscribe to the execution priority of policy A1.

39. The strategy management device according to any one of claims 35 to 37, wherein, The processor, for reading the computer program in the memory, also performs the following operations: Send a second query message to the second entity; wherein the second query message is used to request the execution priority of policy A1; Receive response information sent by the second entity; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

40. The policy management apparatus of claim 37, wherein the processor reads the computer program in the memory and further performs at least one of the following operations: Receive the rejection information sent by the first entity; wherein, The rejection information is used to indicate a refusal to create and / or update the A1 policy; Receive retry information sent by the first entity; wherein the retry information is used to instruct the application to retry the creation and / or update process of the A1 policy; Send a third identification information to the first entity; wherein the third identification information is used to indicate whether the application allows retrying the execution of the A1 policy; Send a first deletion request message to the first entity; wherein the first deletion request message is used to request the deletion of strategy A1.

41. A strategy management device, wherein, include: The first sending unit is used to send first indication information to the first entity; wherein the first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 policy.

42. A strategy management device, wherein, Includes memory, transceiver, and processor; The memory stores computer programs; the transceiver, under the control of the processor, sends and receives data; the processor reads the computer programs from the memory and performs the following operations: Send a first instruction message to a first entity, and / or send a first instruction message to an application in a Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC); The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

43. The strategy management device according to claim 42, wherein, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: A1 strategy priority; The priority of at least one policy action corresponding to policy A1; The first identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the A1 strategy allows preemption of the execution of other A1 strategies; The second identification information corresponding to the A1 strategy is used to indicate whether the execution of the A1 strategy is allowed to be preempted by other A1 strategies.

44. The strategy management device according to claim 42, wherein, The processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Receive a first query message sent by a first entity, and / or receive a second query message sent by an application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the first query message and / or the second query message are used to request the execution priority of the A1 policy; Based on the first query information, the first instruction information is sent to the first entity; and / or, a response information of the second query information is sent to the application; wherein the response information is used to indicate the execution priority supported by the A1 policy.

45. The strategy management device according to claim 42, wherein, The processor, for reading the computer program in the memory, also performs the following operations: Receive first subscription information sent by the first entity; wherein, the subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of strategy A1; And / or, Receive second subscription information sent by the application in the Non-RT RIC; wherein the second subscription information is used to subscribe to the execution priority of the A1 policy.

46. ​​A strategy management device, wherein, include: The transmitting unit is configured to transmit first indication information to a first entity, and / or to an application in a Non-RT Radio Access Network Controller (Non-RT RIC); The first indication information is used to indicate the execution priority of the A1 strategy.

47. A processor-readable storage medium, wherein, The processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program for causing the processor to perform the steps of the policy management method according to any one of claims 1 to 24.

48. A computer program product, wherein, It includes computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the policy management method as described in any one of claims 1 to 24.

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