Method and wireless network for managing service

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. Embodiments herein disclose methods for managing a service in a wireless network by a producer device. The method includes obtaining an intent for a consumer device, executing actions to fulfill the intent, transmitting, to the consumer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute.

Description

METHOD AND WIRELESS NETWORK FOR MANAGING SERVICE

[0001] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a wireless communication network, and more particularly to methods and systems for managing a service (e.g., intent driven management service (IDMS), management service (MnS) or the like) in the wireless communication network.

[0002] generation (5G) mobile communication technologies define broad frequency bands such that high transmission rates and new services are possible, and can be implemented not only in “Sub 6 gigahertz (GHz)” bands such as 3.5GHz, but also in “Above 6GHz” bands referred to as millimeter wave (mmWave) including 28GHz and 39GHz. In addition, it has been considered to implement sixth generation (6G) mobile communication technologies (referred to as Beyond 5G systems) in terahertz (THz) bands (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands) in order to accomplish transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technologies and ultra-low latencies one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technologies.

[0003] At the beginning of the development of 5G mobile communication technologies, in order to support services and to satisfy performance requirements in connection with enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization regarding beamforming and massive multi input multi output (MIMO) for mitigating radio-wave path loss and increasing radio-wave transmission distances in mmWave, supporting numerologies (for example, operating multiple subcarrier spacings) for efficiently utilizing mmWave resources and dynamic operation of slot formats, initial access technologies for supporting multi-beam transmission and broadbands, definition and operation of BandWidth Part (BWP), new channel coding methods such as a Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) code for large amount of data transmission and a polar code for highly reliable transmission of control information, L2 pre-processing, and network slicing for providing a dedicated network specialized to a specific service.

[0004] Currently, there are ongoing discussions regarding improvement and performance enhancement of initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technologies, and there has been physical layer standardization regarding technologies such as Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) for aiding driving determination by autonomous vehicles based on information regarding positions and states of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) aimed at system operations conforming to various regulation-related requirements in unlicensed bands, new radio (NR) user equipment (UE) Power Saving, Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) which is UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in an area in which communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.

[0005] Moreover, there has been ongoing standardization in air interface architecture / protocol regarding technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) for providing a node for network service area expansion by supporting a wireless backhaul link and an access link in an integrated manner, mobility enhancement including conditional handover and Dual Active Protocol Stack (DAPS) handover, and two-step random access for simplifying random access procedures (2-step random access channel (RACH) for NR). There also has been ongoing standardization in system architecture / service regarding a 5G baseline architecture (for example, service based architecture or service based interface) for combining Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE positions.

[0006] As 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, connected devices that have been exponentially increasing will be connected to communication networks, and it is accordingly expected that enhanced functions and performances of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research is scheduled in connection with eXtended Reality (XR) for efficiently supporting Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR) and the like, 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), AI service support, metaverse service support, and drone communication.

[0007] Furthermore, such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a basis for developing not only new waveforms for providing coverage in terahertz bands of 6G mobile communication technologies, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas and large-scale antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional space multiplexing technology using Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM), and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS), but also full-duplex technology for increasing frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technologies and improving system networks, AI-based communication technology for implementing system optimization by utilizing satellites and Artificial Intelligence (AI) from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technology for implementing services at levels of complexity exceeding the limit of UE operation capability by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0008] An intent specifies the expectations including requirements, goals and constraints for a specific service or network management workflow. The intent may provide information on particular objective and possibly some related details. The intent is typically understandable by humans, and also needs to be interpreted by the machine without any ambiguity. The intent focuses more on describing the "What" needs to be achieved but less on "How" that outcomes should be achieved. The intent expresses the metrics that need to be achieved and not how to achieve them. This not only relieves the burden of a consumer (or consumer device) knowing implementation details but also leaves room to allow a producer (producer device) to explore alternative options and find optimal solutions. The intent describes properties that allows a satisfactory outcome. The expectations expressed by the intent is agnostic to the underlying system implementation, technology and infrastructure. Area can be used as managed object in the expectations expressed by the intent to achieve system implementation, technology and infrastructure agnostic.

[0009] FIG. 1 depicts a current intent network resource model (S100), according to the prior art. The current intent network resource model (S100) shows that multiple reports can be made for one intent at different point of time.

[0010] The present intent negotiations solutions requires the producer device to provide the consumer device with multiple options / alternatives that can be executed to fulfil the intent. It is expected that the consumer device will choose the best alternative among the provided choices and inform the producer device about the same. The producer device will then fulfil the intent as per the alternative selected by the consumer device. The problem with this approach is that it breaks the basic principle for an Intent driven management service (IDMS) which say that the consumer device will just provide WHAT need to be done and do not tell HOW it should be done. This is assumed because the IDMS is supposed to make the consumer device implementation easier. Where the consumer device do not have to worry about how a particular task is accomplished in a wireless network. The consumer device do not need to know the network details and solutions. If the consumer device do not know the network details and the solutions, the consumer device cannot select among the possible alternative that involve complex re-configuration of several network entities to fulfil the submitted intent. Further, the present intent fulfilment method or approach do not allow informing the consumer device about the network configurations done as part of the intent fulfilment.

[0011] In the intent driven management, the consumer device provides its intent to the producer device of a set of management services that would be consumed in a specific domain. For example, for the purpose of requesting a radio network with a new coverage, one possible solution (e.g., non-intent driven approach or the like) is to use a set of classic MnSs (e.g. provisioning MnS) to decommission a cell and instantiate the cell to a new Node B for a new coverage. The alternative solution (e.g., intent driven approach) is to use management service produced by a domain, which may be referred to as the Intent-driven MnS by stating the intent for the radio network for the new coverage, based on the intent, a system can trigger actions (e.g. decommission a cell and instantiate the cell to a new node B) to satisfy received intent. The intent driven MnS could in principle deployed as a replacement of the deployed classic MnSs for the same network and service management purpose, where the consumer device focuses on the 'what' and the producer device is concerned about the 'how'.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, in the context of Intent-Driven Management (IDM), various Information Object Classes (IOCs) enable the abstraction, interpretation, and enforcement of high-level network goals. The Intent IOC represents user-defined objectives (e.g., ensuring low latency or high throughput of a service), abstracting away implementation details. These intents are processed by an IntentHandlingFunction, which interprets and translates them into actionable configurations or policies. The ManagedEntity (or a ProxyClass) acts as an interface to actual network elements, allowing intent-based control over diverse and vendor-specific devices. These entities operate within a SubNetwork, which defines the logical or physical boundary where the intents are applied and managed.

[0013] The <<InformationObjectClass>> Intent is a formalized high-level expression of desired network outcomes or objectives (e.g., "ensure low latency for video traffic"). The IntentReport is an Information Object Class (IOC) used in the IDM to provide feedback on the status and outcome of the Intent. The IntentReport serves as a reporting mechanism that informs the system or user about whether the intent has been successfully fulfilled, partially met, or failed, along with relevant metrics and reasons.

[0014] Further, having an IDMS always active would consume a lot of network resources. The IDMS need to instantiated and activated on demand. The consumer device can only access the IDMS when it is instantiated and active. Several types of the consumer device can access management capabilities provided by a management domain. A first type of the consumers (or consumer devices) are the consumers, which are inside an operator domain, but not part of a management domain (for example, network function in a fifth generation core (5GC) and a radio access network (RAN) domain). A second type of the consumers are the ones, which are outside an operator domain (for example, application function deployed at a public cloud managed and provided by a 3rd party or external service provider). Another type of the consumers are the ones which are inside a management domain (for example, Element Management System (EMS), Network Management System (NMS)). The access for each type of MnS consumer (for example) may vary depending on a business contract or an operator policy.

[0015] A Common Application Programming Interface (API) Framework (CAPIF) defines a framework for exposing Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) northbound API to external consumers. The CAPIF provides the functionality of API publishing, API discovering and related authorization mechanisms for the consumer access to the APIs. The API invoker is a piece of software module usually provided by 3rd parties, but is present in a trusted operator Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) domain. The CAPIF is responsible for mutual authentication, service and API discovery and invoking the API. The CAPIF core function authenticates the API invoker, authorizes the API invoker before using API services, and publishes and stores API information along with charging and logs (on / off boarding of the API invoker along with interworking with other CAPIF core functions). The API exposing function is the provider of the service APIs and is also a service communication entry point of the service API to the API invokers. The API publishing function enables the API provider to publish the service APIs information in order to enable the discovery of service APIs by the API invoker (think Session Management Function (SMF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) of core network). The API management function takes care of administrative and Life Cycle Management (LCM) of the API.

[0016] But there are no mechanisms defined for a MnS (Management Service), as defined in 3GPP TS 28.533, to be available but inactive. When an MnS Producer (for example) is instantiated, all the MnSs provided by it, become active and usable. Typically, a MnS is implemented as a micro service inside the MnS Producer. Every micro service is assigned some amount of virtual resource for its consumption. These resources are allocated irrespective of whether the service is being used or called. This results in inefficient resource utilization at the MnS Producer, as all the MnS are available all the time, thereby consuming underlining resources. It shall be possible for the MnS Producer to activate or inactivate the available MnS as per the requirements.

[0017] This problem becomes more critical in case that the CAPIF framework is used to expose MnS to the management consumers, where the MnS is mapped to a Service API. The CAPIF framework allows registered service APIs to be available, but either in an active mode or an inactive mode. However, the MnS, if available is always in the active mode and can be used. In case that the MnS Producer, as AEF (API Exposing Function), registers the MnS, as Service API, with the CCF (CAPIF core function), it should be able to mark this MnS as active or inactive. An inactive MnS can be discovered by the consumer, on CAPID-1 / 1e, but cannot be invoked on CAPIF-2 / 2e.

[0018] In general, the existing management mechanisms are not sufficient to be used for exposing management services using the CAPIF. The existing MnSInfo IOC needs to be extended.

[0019] Hence, there is a need in the art for solutions which will overcome the above mentioned drawback(s), among others.

[0020] The principal object of embodiments herein is to disclose methods and systems (or wireless communication network) for managing a service (e.g., intent management service, Intent Driven management service (IDMS) or the like) in the wireless communication network.

[0021] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose one or more structures for configuration update which is sent by a producer device to a consumer device after fulfilling the intent.

[0022] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose the consumer device behavior to update a consumer satisfaction attribute providing low satisfaction.

[0023] Another object of embodiments herein is to manage a management service (MnS) in the wireless communication network, wherein the MnS can be made available (i.e., it can be discovered), but inactive (i.e., it cannot be invoked / used).

[0024] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose the MnS being made available by introducing a new attribute called MnS status in a mnsInfo IOC (as defined in 3GPP TS 28.622).

[0025] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose the MnS being made available by introducing an administrative state of an mnsInfo IOC.

[0026] Another object of embodiments herein is to disclose a new CAPIFMnSInfo IOC (Instance Object Class) inherited from existing MnSInfo IOC, wherein the CAPIFMnSInfo IOC will be instantiated for each MnS that needs to be exposed to the consumer via the CAPIF.

[0027] The embodiments herein achieve methods for managing a service. The method includes creating, by a first producer device, an intent between a consumer device and the first producer device. Further, the method includes executing, by the first producer device, the intent fulfillment between the first producer device and a second producer device. Further, the method includes instantiating, by the first producer device, an intent report with a configuration update information based on the executed intent fulfillment, where the configuration update information includes at least one of: a target object, a type of the target object, and a configuration change.

[0028] In an embodiment, the target object identifies a network node that will be updated to fulfill the intent, where the target object is a Domain Name (DN) of a target node.

[0029] In an embodiment, the type of the target object states a network node belong to which a network domain.

[0030] In an embodiment, the configuration change includes at least one change made to a target node.

[0031] In an embodiment, the configuration change includes at least one of: an attribute name, a first value and a second value, where the attribute name provide a name of an attribute for a target object for which the value got updated, where the first value indicates a previous value for the attribute identified by the attribute name, and where the second value indicates an updated value of the attribute identified by the attribute name.

[0032] In an embodiment, the method includes sending, by the first producer device, a notification about a creation of an intent report. Further, the method includes receiving, by the first producer device, a request to update the intent or a feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report.

[0033] In an embodiment, receiving, by the first producer device, request to update the intent or a feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report includes receiving, by the first producer device, a modify attribute request from the consumer device to update the intent upon determining that the consumer device wants to update the intent, and sending, by the first producer device, a modify attribute response to the first consumer device to update the intent based on the modify attribute request.

[0034] The embodiments herein achieve methods for managing a service. The method includes receiving, by a consumer device, an intent report with a configuration update information from a first producer device, where the configuration update information includes at least one of: a target object, a type of the target object, and a configuration change. Further, the method includes sending, by the consumer device, a request to update an intent or a feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report.

[0035] In an embodiment, receiving, by the consumer device, the intent report with the configuration update information from the first producer device includes creating, by a consumer device, an intent between the consumer device and the first producer device, and receiving, by the consumer device, the intent report with the configuration update information from the first producer device. The first producer device executes the intent fulfillment between the first producer device and a second producer device.

[0036] In an embodiment, sending, by the consumer device, the request to update the intent includes determining, by the consumer device, that the consumer device wants to update the intent, sending, by the consumer device, a modify attribute request to the first producer device to update the intent, and receiving, by the consumer device, a modify attribute response from the first producer device to update the intent based on the modify attribute request.

[0037] In an embodiment, the method includes sending, by the consumer device, the feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report includes determining, by the consumer device, that the consumer device wants to update the configuration, sending, by the consumer device, a modify attribute request to a second producer device to update the configuration, and receiving, by the consumer device, a modify attribute response from the second producer device to update the configuration based on the modify attribute request.

[0038] In an embodiment, update the configuration includes one of: modify the configuration and retain a default configuration.

[0039] The embodiments herein achieve methods for managing a service. The method includes determining, by a producer device, to instantiate management service (MnS) information representing a particular MnS that the producer device is providing, where the MnS information includes at least one of: a MnS status, administrative state, a MnS provider identifier (ID), MnS expiry, an operation and a security technique. Further, the method includes sending, by the producer device, a notify MOI creation notification to at least one authorized consumer from a plurality of authorized consumers indicating the instantiation for the MnS information.

[0040] In an embodiment, the MnS status defines whether the MnS is active or inactive, and where the administrative state indicates an administrative state of at least one of: a network slice and a network slice subnet, where the administrative state describes the permission to use or prohibition against using a managed object instance imposed through an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) service.

[0041] In an embodiment, MnS Provider ID identifies a MnS provider that is exposing MnS to the consumer using a CAPIF entity, where the MnS expiry indicates an unavailability of MnS beyond a particular point of time, where the operation specifies a HTTP method that is invocable on each MOI that the MnS can access, and a security technique specifies a security mechanisms

[0042] In an embodiment, the method includes receiving, by the producer device, a get MOI attribute report to read a characteristics of the instantiated MnS from the at least one authorized consumer device. Further, the method includes sending, by the producer device, a get MOI attribute response to the at least one authorized consumer device based on the get MOI attribute report.

[0043] In an embodiment, the method includes receiving, by the producer device, a modify MOI attributes request to change the value of a MnS status to: an ACTIVE or administrative state to unlocked from the at least one authorized consumer device. Further, the method includes sending, by the producer device, a modify MOI attributes response to the at least one authorized consumer device based on the modify MOI attributes request.

[0044] The embodiments herein achieve methods for managing a service. The method includes receiving, by a consumer device from a plurality of authorized consumer device, a notify MOI creation notification, indicating a instantiation for the MnS information, from a producer device, where the producer device determines to instantiate management service (MnS) information representing a particular MnS that the producer device is providing, where the MnS information includes at least one of: a MnS status, an administrative state, a MnS provider identifier (ID), a MnS expiry, an operation and a security technique.

[0045] In an embodiment, the method includes sending, by the consumer device, a get MOI attribute report to read a characteristics of the instantiated MnS to the producer device. Further, the method includes receiving, by the consumer device, a get MOI attribute response from the producer device based on the get MOI attribute report.

[0046] In an embodiment, the method includes sending, by the consumer device, a modify MOI attributes request to change the value of a MnS status to: an ACTIVE or administrative state to unlocked to the producer device. Further, the method includes receiving, by the consumer device, a modify MOI attributes response from the producer device based on the modify MOI attributes request.

[0047] The embodiments herein achieve a first producer device including a service controller coupled with a processor and a memory. The service controller is configured to create an intent between a consumer device and the first producer device. Further, the service controller is configured to execute the intent fulfillment between the first producer device and a second producer device. Further, the service controller is configured to instantiate an intent report with a configuration update information based on the executed intent fulfillment, where the configuration update information includes at least one of: a target object, a type of the target object, and a configuration change.

[0048] The embodiments herein achieve a consumer device including a service controller coupled with a processor and a memory. The service controller is configured to receive an intent report with a configuration update information from a first producer device, where the configuration update information includes at least one of: a target object, a type of the target object, and a configuration change. Further, the service controller is configured to send a request to update an intent or a feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report.

[0049] The embodiments herein achieve a producer device including a service controller coupled with a processor and a memory. The service controller is configured to determine to instantiate management service (MnS) information representing a particular MnS that the producer device is providing, where the MnS information includes at least one of: a MnS status, administrative state, a MnS provider identifier (ID), MnS expiry, an operation, and a security technique. Further, the service controller is configured to send a notify MOI creation notification to at least one authorized consumer from a plurality of authorized consumers indicating the instantiation for the MnS information.

[0050] The embodiments herein achieve a consumer device including a service controller coupled with a processor and a memory. The service controller is configured to receive a notify MOI creation notification, indicating an instantiation for the MnS information, from a producer device, where the producer device determines to instantiate management service (MnS) information representing a particular MnS that the producer device is providing, where the MnS information includes at least one of: a MnS status, an administrative state, a MnS provider identifier (ID), a MnS expiry, an operation and a security technique.

[0051] The embodiments herein achieve method by a producer device for managing a service. The method includes obtaining an intent for a consumer device, executing actions to fulfill the intent, transmitting, to the consumer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute.

[0052] The embodiments herein achieve method performed by a consumer device for managing a service. The method includes transmitting, to a producer device that executes actions to fulfill an intent, information on the intent, receiving, from the producer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute; and transmitting, to the producer device, information on a feedback based on the intent report, the information on the feedback including an index associated with a consumer satisfaction associated with the intent report.

[0053] The embodiments herein achieve a producer device including a memory and at least one processor configured to obtain an intent for a consumer device to execute actions to fulfill the intent; and to transmit, to the consumer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute.

[0054] The embodiments herein achieve a consumer device including a memory; and at least one processor configured to transmit, to a producer device that executes actions to fulfill an intent, information on the intent, to receive, from the producer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute; and to transmit, to the producer device, information on a feedback based on the intent report, the information on the feedback including an index associated with a consumer satisfaction associated with the intent report.

[0055] These and other aspects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating at least one embodiment and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.

[0056] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an improved method for managing a service and an apparatus for performing the same may be provided.

[0057] Embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the following illustratory drawings. Embodiments herein are illustrated by way of examples in the accompanying drawings, and in which:

[0058] FIG. 1 depicts a current intent network resource model, according to existing arts;

[0059] FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless network for managing a service, according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0060] FIG. 3 shows various hardware components of a producer device, according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0061] FIG. 4 shows various hardware components of a consumer device, according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0062] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method, implemented by the producer device, for managing an intent management, according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0063] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method, implemented by the producer device, for managing a management service (MnS), according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0064] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method, implemented by the consumer device, for managing the intent management, according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0065] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method, implemented by the consumer device, for managing the management service (MnS), according to the embodiments as disclosed herein;

[0066] FIG. 9 depicts an example process for managing the intent procedure, according to embodiments as disclosed herein in the wireless network; and

[0067] FIG. 10 depicts an example procedure for MnS management in the wireless network, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

[0068] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.

[0069] For the purposes of interpreting this specification, the definitions (as defined herein) will apply and whenever appropriate the terms used in singular will also include the plural and vice versa. It is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purposes of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The terms “comprising”, “having” and “including” are to be construed as open-ended terms unless otherwise noted.

[0070] The words / phrases "exemplary", “example”, “illustration”, “in an instance”, “and the like”, “and so on”, “etc.”, “etcetera”, “e.g.,”, “i.e.,” are merely used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein using the words / phrases "exemplary", “example”, “illustration”, “in an instance”, “and the like”, “and so on”, “etc.”, “etcetera”, “e.g.,” , “i.e.,” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0071] Embodiments herein may be described and illustrated in terms of blocks which carry out a described function or functions. These blocks, which may be referred to herein as managers, units, modules, hardware components or the like, are physically implemented by analog and / or digital circuits such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits and the like, and may optionally be driven by a firmware. The circuits may, for example, be embodied in one or more semiconductor chips, or on substrate supports such as printed circuit boards and the like. The circuits constituting a block may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or by a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry), or by a combination of dedicated hardware to perform some functions of the block and a processor to perform other functions of the block. Each block of the embodiments may be physically separated into two or more interacting and discrete blocks without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, the blocks of the embodiments may be physically combined into more complex blocks without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0072] It should be noted that elements in the drawings are illustrated for the purposes of this description and ease of understanding and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flowcharts / sequence diagrams illustrate the method in terms of the steps required for understanding of aspects of the embodiments as disclosed herein. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the present embodiments so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Furthermore, in terms of the system, one or more components / modules which comprise the system may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the present embodiments so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

[0073] The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features and it should be understood that the embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such, the present disclosure should be construed to extend to any modifications, equivalents, and substitutes in addition to those which are particularly set out in the accompanying drawings and the corresponding description. Usage of words such as first, second, third etc., to describe components / elements / steps is for the purposes of this description and should not be construed as sequential ordering / placement / occurrence unless specified otherwise.

[0074] The embodiments herein achieve methods and systems (or wireless communication networks) for intent management in the wireless communication networks. Embodiments herein disclose one or more structures for configuration update which is sent by the producer device to the consumer device after fulfilling the intent. Embodiments herein disclose the consumer device behavior to update the consumer satisfaction attribute providing low satisfaction.

[0075] The proposed method will not require the consumer device to choose the best alternative among the various options / alternatives / outcomes the producer may have to fulfil a particular Intent. This will make the consumer device implementation easier enabling small scale 3rd parties (un-trusted by a Mobile Network Operator (MNO)) to become consumer of the IDMS.

[0076] The embodiments herein achieve methods and systems (or wireless communication networks) for managing a management service (MnS or IDMS) in the wireless communication networks, wherein the MnS can be made available (i.e., it can be discovered), but inactive (i.e., it cannot be invoked / used). Embodiments herein disclose a MnS being made available by introducing a new attribute called MnS status in a mnsInfo IOC (as defined in 3GPP TS 28.622). Embodiments herein disclose the MnS being made available by introducing an Administrative State of an mnsInfo IOC. Embodiments herein disclose a new CAPIFMnSInfo IOC (Instance Object Class) inherited from existing MnSInfo IOC, wherein this IOC will be instantiated for each MnS that needs to be exposed to the consumer via CAPIF.

[0077] The proposed method is sufficient to be used for exposing management services using the CAPIF.

[0078] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 2 through 10, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.

[0079] FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless network (1000) for managing a service (e.g., intent management service, IDMS or the like), according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the wireless network (1000) includes a consumer device (100), a first producer device (200), a second producer device (300) and a CAPIF core function entity (400). The wireless network (1000) can be, for example, but not limited to a fourth generation (4G) network, a 5G network, a sixth generation (6G) network, an Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) or the like. The consumer device (100) can be, for example, but not limited to an intent Mns consumer (100a) (as shown in FIG. 9), and a provisioning MnS consumer (100b) (as shown in FIG. 10). The first producer device (200) can be, for example, but not limited to an intent Mns producer (200a) (as shown in FIG. 9) and a provisioning MnS producer (200b) (as shown in FIG. 10). The second producer device (300) can be, for example, generic provisioning MNS producer 300a (as shown in FIG. 9).

[0080] The first producer device (200) creates an intent between a consumer device (100) and the first producer device (200). Upon creating the intent, the first producer device (200) executes the intent fulfillment between the first producer device (200) and a second producer device (300). Further, the first producer device (200) instantiates an intent report with a configuration update information based on the executed intent fulfillment. The configuration update information includes at least one of: a target object, a type of the target object, and a configuration change. The target object identifies a network node that will be updated to fulfill the intent, wherein the target object is a Domain Name (DN) of a target node. The type of the target object states a network node belong to which a network domain. The configuration change comprises at least one change made to the target node.

[0081] The configuration change includes an attribute name, a first value and a second value, where the attribute name provide a name of an attribute for a target object for which the value got updated, where the first value indicates a previous value for the attribute identified by the attribute name, and where the second value indicates an updated value of the attribute identified by the attribute name.

[0082] Further, the first producer device (200) sends a notification about the intent report to the consumer device (100). In response to the notification, the first producer device (200) receives request to update an intent or a feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report.

[0083] In an embodiment, the consumer device (100) determines that the consumer device (100) wants to update the intent. Further, the consumer device (100) sends a modify attribute request to the first producer device (200) to update the intent. Based on the modify attribute request, the consumer device (100) receives a modify attribute response from the first producer device (200) to update the intent.

[0084] In another embodiment, the consumer device (100) determines that the consumer device (100) wants to update the configuration. The update the configuration includes one of: modify the configuration and retain a default configuration. Further, the consumer device (100) sends a modify attribute request to a second producer device (300) to update the configuration. Based on the modify attribute request, the consumer device (100) receives a modify attribute response from the second producer device (300) to update the configuration.

[0085] Example embodiments herein require the first producer device (200) to inform the consumer device (100) about the configuration updates that were executed in order to fulfill the submitted intent. The configuration update shall include all sort of changes made to any of the network entities inherited from ManagedFunction [as defined in 3GPP TS 28.622]. All the entities that are inherited from ManagedFunction are defined in 3GPP TS 28.541. If the consumer device (100) do not like the configuration updates done by the first producer device (200) then, the consumer device (100) can ask a management system to undo the changes made and update the intent objectives that may not result in the same configurations.

[0086] In an example, the consumer device (100) submitted the intent with an expectation to maintain the energy consumption of a gNB at 1000kWh. The producer device (200) reduced the coverage of the gNB by 50% in order to maintain the energy consumption at 1000kWh. The producer device (200) informs the consumer device (100) about the change in the coverage capacity of the gNB. Consider that the consumer device (100) does not like the update and hence the consumer device (100) asks to change the intent expectation to maintain the energy consumption of a gNB at 800kWh. This may now result in reducing the coverage of gNB by 30%. The consumer device (100) is satisfied by this change.

[0087] In another example, for a voice call over 5G scenario, consider a consumer device (100) that submits the intent to ensure ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) for a high-priority voice call. The intent might specify high call quality, minimal jitter, and latency below a certain threshold, without detailing how to achieve this. The first producer device (200), acting as part of the intent-handling or orchestration layer, processes the intent. To fulfill the requirements, The first producer device (200) executes configuration updates on various network elements, such as gNodeB, AMF, SMF, or UPF, all of which are inherited from the ManagedFunction class (as per 3GPP TS 28.541 and 28.622). These configuration updates may include changes like activating specific QoS flows, modifying scheduling priorities, or enabling dedicated bearers for the voice service.

[0088] After making these changes, the first producer device (200) informs the consumer device (100) about all the executed configuration updates. This transparency allows the consumer device (100) to evaluate whether the implementation aligns with its operational policies or preferences. If the consumer device (100) does not agree with the configuration changes perhaps due to resource usage, policy violations, or operational cost, the consumer device (100) can contact a management system to rollback the changes. Furthermore, the consumer device (100) may revise the original intent to adjust its objectives (e.g., relax the latency requirement), prompting the producer device (200) to apply a new set of configurations that meet the updated goals without replicating the previous setup. The embodiment demonstrates how intent-driven management supports dynamic, feedback-driven control, ensuring both network automation and consumer oversight.

[0089] In an embodiment, the following information will be communicated to the consumer device (100) after the intent in fulfilled. The information will be provided for each network node that gets updated due to intent fulfillment process.

[0090] 1. Target Object: This will identify the network node that was updated in order to fulfill the intent. This will be the DN (Domain Name) of the network node.

[0091] 2. Target Object type: This will provide the type of the object. It can state the network domain (e.g., 5GC, NR etc.) the network node belong to.

[0092] 3. Configuration Changes: This will include all the changes made to the target node.

[0093] a. Attribute Name: This will provide the name of the attribute, of the IOC defined for target object (the IOC for all ManagedFunctions are defined in 3GPP TS 28.541), for which the value got updated.

[0094] b. Old Value: The previous value for the attribute identified by the Attribute Name.

[0095] c. Update Value: The updated value of the attribute identified by the Attribute Name.

[0096] 4. Consumer Satisfaction: This defines if the consumer satisfaction score about the configuration changes made by the producer during intent fulfilment. This will be from 1….5 with 1 being the lowest (for example).

[0097] The above information can be included as part of Intent NRM as defined in 3GPP TD 28.312. The fowling are possible way to do that

[0098] 1. It can be included as part of FulfilmentInfo data type defined in 3GPP TS 28.312. The consumer device (100) will get it as part of intent reporting.

[0099] 2. It can be included as a new structure (datatype) attached directly to the Intent IOC. The consumer device (100) can subscribe to get a Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) notifications for the intent IOC and all its attached datatype. The subscription and notification is done using NtfSubscriptionCtrl defined in 3GPP TS28.622.

[0100] In another embodiment, the following information will be communicated to the consumer device (100) after the intent in fulfilled. The information will be provided for each network node that gets updated due to intent fulfillment process.

[0101] -> PossibleImpact <<dataType>> indicates the possible impact of the possible outcome.

[0102] -> ImpactedObject refers to managed objects that may be impacted by the recommended candidate alternatives. The impactedAttributes defines the name-value pair, where the name indicates the name of the attribute that is impacted and the value indicates the updated value.

[0103] In an example, for a 5G network scenario, the configuration update information related to the fulfillment of an intent can be included as part of the Intent Network Resource Model (NRM), as defined in 3GPP TS 28.312. For instance, if a consumer device (100) submits the intent to optimize network performance for a mobile gaming session requiring low latency and high throughput then, an intent-handling system may apply configuration changes to underlying network entities inherited from the ManagedFunction class (as per 3GPP TS 28.541). These changes can be communicated to the consumer device (100) in two possible ways. First, the information can be embedded within the FulfilmentInfo data type, allowing the consumer device (100) to receive the configuration details passively as part of the intent reporting process. Second, a new data structure can be defined and directly attached to the Intent IOC to carry configuration update details. In this case, the consumer device (100) can subscribe to receive CRUD notifications for both the Intent IOC and its associated data using the NtfSubscriptionCtrl mechanism specified in 3GPP TS 28.622. This approach enables real-time visibility and proactive monitoring of how the intent is being implemented, supporting greater transparency, control, and responsiveness in intent-driven network management.

[0104] In an example implementation, the consumer device (100) and the producer device (200) interact to create an intent as specified in 3GPP TSD 28.312. Further, the producer device (200) executes the intent fulfillment. Further, the producer device (200) instantiates the IntentReport IOC with the configuration update information as defined above.

[0105] Then, the producer device (200) sends the notification for the report, and the consumer device (100) gets the report. The consumer device (100) decides if the executed configuration is acceptable. The consumer device (100) may decide that the configurations are not acceptable. Then, the consumer device (100) may decide to update the intent. The consumer device (100) sends a request to the producer device (200) to update the intent expectation. Further, the consumer device (100) receives the response.

[0106] Alternatively, the consumer device (100) may decide to redo the configuration that was executed by the producer device (200) during intent fulfillment phase. The consumer device (100) sets the value for ConsumerSatification score to 1 (for example). This will indicate to the producer device (200) that the consumer device (100) is not satisfied by the configuration changes. The producer device (200) will then try to find another solution (i.e., try to update different network node). Further, the consumer sends a request to update the configuration of the node identified by the Target Object in configuration update information. Furthermore, the producer device (200) executes the update and sends a response.

[0107] Embodiments herein will not require the consumer device (100) to choose the best alternative among the various options / alternatives / outcomes the producer device (200) may have to fulfil a particular intent. This will make consumer implementation easier enabling small scale 3rdparties (un-trusted by the MNO) to become consumer of the IDMS.

[0108] In another embodiment, the embodiments herein achieve methods and systems for managing the management service (MnS) in the wireless network (100), wherein the MnS can be made available (i.e., it can be discovered), but inactive (i.e., it cannot be invoked / used).

[0109] The producer device (200) determines to instantiate management service (MnS) information representing a particular MnS that the producer device (200) is providing. The MnS information includes a MnS status, an administrative state, a MnS provider identifier (ID), a MnS expiry, an operation, and a security technique. Further, the producer device (200) sends a notify MOI creation notification to at least one consumer device (100) (e.g., authorized consumer device) from a plurality of authorized consumers indicating the instantiation for the MnS information.

[0110] The MnS status defines whether the MnS is active or inactive, and wherein the administrative state indicates an administrative state of at least one of: a network slice and a network slice subnet. The administrative state describes the permission to use or prohibition against using a managed object instance imposed through an Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) service.

[0111] The MnS Provider ID identifies a MnS provider that is exposing MnS to the consumer device (100) using a CAPIF entity. The MnS expiry indicates an unavailability of MnS beyond a particular point of time (for example, 10 minutes). The operation specifies a HTTP method (or any other communication method) that is invocable on each MOI that the MnS can access, and the security technique specifies a security mechanism.

[0112] In an embodiment, the producer device (200) receives a get MOI attribute report to read a characteristics of the instantiated MnS from the at least one consumer device (100). Based on the get MOI attribute report, the producer device (200) sends a get MOI attribute response to the at least one authorized consumer device (100).

[0113] In an embodiment, the producer device (200) receives a modify MOI attributes request to change the value of a MnS status to: an ACTIVE or administrative state to unlocked from the at least one authorized consumer device (100). Based on the modify MOI attributes request, the producer device (200) sends a modify MOI attributes response to the at least one authorized consumer device (100). Further, the producer device (200) sends an APIPublish request (e.g., ServiceAPIStatus request) to the CAPIF Core Function entity (400). Based on the APIPublish request, the producer device (200) receives an APIPublish Response from the CAPIF Core Function entity (400).

[0114] Introduce a new attribute called MnS status in the mnsInfo IOC) as defined in 3GPP TS 28.622):Embodiments herein disclose the MnS being made available by introducing a new attribute called MnS status in the mnsInfo IOC (as defined in 3GPP TS 28.622). The details of the attribute have been described in Table 1.

[0115] Attribute nameisWritableDescriptionPropertiesmnsStatusFThis defines whether the MnS is active or inactive.Allowed Values: ACTIVE, INACTIVEThe value ACTIVE indicates that the MnS can be discovered and can also be invoked / used.The value INACTIVE indicates that the MnS can be discovered but cannot be invoked / used.type: ENUMmultiplicity: 1isOrdered: N / AisUnique: N / AdefaultValue: NoneisNullable: False

[0116] Introducing an Administrative State of an mnsInfo IOC: Embodiments herein disclose the MnS being made available by introducing the Administrative State of an mnsInfo IOC, details of which are described in table 2.

[0117] Attribute nameisWritableDescriptionPropertiesadministrativeStateTIt indicates the administrative state of the network slice or the network slice subnet. It describes the permission to use or prohibition against using the managed object instance, imposed through the OAM services.allowedValues: "LOCKED", "UNLOCKED", SHUTTINGDOWN"The meaning of these values is as defined in 3GPP TS 28.625 and ITU-T X.731.The value LOCKED indicate that the MnS can be discovered but cannot be invoked / used.type: ENUMmultiplicity: 1isOrdered: N / AisUnique: N / AdefaultValue: LOCKEDallowedValues: N / AisNullable: False

[0118] The semantic of isWritable and Properties are as specified in 3GPP TS 32.156.

[0119] When the producer device (200) creates an instance of MnS Info IOC, the producer device (200) also specifies the value of the new attributes indicating the status of the management services available with the producer device (200). The status of the MnS can be toggled between ACTIVE and INACTIVE (or LOCKED and UNLOCKED) based on the requirements and the situations.

[0120] In an example use case, a threshold monitoring MnS for a slice can be kept INACTIVE until performance degradation happens for the same slice. In other words, there is no need to check for the latency threshold unless a latency increment is seen in the slice.

[0121] Another embodiment herein discloses a new CAPIFMnSInfo IOC (Instance Object Class) inherited from an existing MnSInfo IOC. This IOC will be instantiated by the system for each MnS that needs to be exposed to the consumer device (100) via the CAPIF core function entity (400). This IOC can have the attributes as depicted in table 3.

[0122] Attribute nameisWritableDescriptionPropertiescMnSStatusF (False)This defines whether the MnS is active or inactive.Allowed Values: ACTIVE, INACTIVEThe value ACTIVE indicates that the MnS can be discovered and can also be invoked / used.The value INACTIVE indicates that the MnS can be discovered but cannot be invoked / used.type: ENUMmultiplicity: 1isOrdered: N / AisUnique: N / AdefaultValue: NoneisNullable: FalsecMnSProviderIDFThis identify the MnS Provider, as API Provider, that is exposing MnS to the consumer using CAPIF.This will be provided to MnS Producer as part of AEF registration functionality of CCF where MnS Producer registers itself as valid AEF (API Exposing Function).type: Stringmultiplicity: 1isOrdered: N / AisUnique: N / AdefaultValue: NoneisNullable: FalsecMnSExpiryFThis indicates the unavailability of MnS beyond a particular point of time. At this time the MnS Producer, as APF (API Publishing Function), shall invoke Unpublish_Service_API service operation with CCF.type: DateTimemultiplicity: 1isOrdered: N / AisUnique: N / AdefaultValue: NoneisNullable: FalsecOperationFThis specify the HTTP methods that are invocable on each MOI that the MnS can access.type: *multiplicity: 1isOrdered: FalseisUnique: TruedefaultValue: NoneisNullable: FalsecsecurityMethodsFThis specify the security mechanisms that are applicable for the MnS.type: DateTimemultiplicity: 1isOrdered: N / AisUnique: N / AdefaultValue: NoneisNullable: False

[0123] In another embodiment herein, the above attributes can also be added directly into the MnSInfo IOC.

[0124] In an example implementation, the producer device (200) decide to instantiate MnS Info representing a particular MnS that the producer device (200) is providing. Further, the producer device (200) sends a notifyMOICreation notification to all authorized consumer device (100) indicating the instantiation for the MnS. Further, the consumer device (100) sends a getMOIAttributes report to read the characteristics of the newly instantiated MnS. Further, the producer device (200) can provide a response. The msnStatus is set to INACTIVE or the administrativeState is set of LOCKED.

[0125] Further, the consumer device (100) decides to update the status of MnS. The consumer device (100) may decide this based on several conditions; for example, a threshold monitoring MnS for a slice can be kept INACTIVE until a performance degradation happens for the same slice. In other words, there is no requirement to check for the latency threshold unless we see a latency increment in the slice. Further, the consumer device (100) sends a modifyMOIAttributes request to producer requesting to change the value of msnStatus to ACTIVE or administrativeState to UNLOCKED. Further, the producer device (200) may decide to publish this new MnS to CCF. The producer device (200) sends CAPIF_Publish_Service API to the CCF entity (400). Further, the CCF entity (400) sends the response. Hence, the proposed method allow the MnS to be activated only in case that they are needed resulting in better resource consumption and management.

[0126] For example, in a voice call scenario over the 5G network, the producer device (200) which acts as part of the network management system, may decide to instantiate the Management Service (MnS) that monitors or manages resources relevant to voice service quality (e.g., latency, jitter, or QoS flows for a specific network slice). Once the MnS is instantiated, the producer device (200) sends a notifyMOICreation notification to all authorized consumer devices (100), informing them about the availability of this new MnS instance.

[0127] Following this, the consumer device (100) initiates a getMOIAttributes request to retrieve detailed information and characteristics of the instantiated MnS. In the initial response, the producer device (200) may report that the MnS is not yet operational by setting mnsStatus to INACTIVE or administrativeState to LOCKED, meaning the service is present but not active or available for monitoring.

[0128] Later, based on its internal logic or predefined policies (e.g., monitoring only in case that performance degradation is detected), the consumer device (100) decides to activate the MnS. For example, if a latency spike is observed in the voice service slice, the consumer device (100) determines it is now necessary to engage detailed monitoring. The consumer device (100) then sends a modifyMOIAttributes request to the producer device (200), requesting the MnS status to be set to ACTIVE and the administrative state to UNLOCKED.

[0129] Once activated, the producer device (200) may choose to make this MnS publicly discoverable by publishing it to the CCF using the CAPIF_Publish_Service API. The CCF entity (400) acknowledges this publication with a response. This approach allows for on-demand activation of management services, ensuring efficient resource usage and targeted monitoring, which is especially beneficial in dynamic, service-oriented 5G environments where intent-based control and automation are critical.

[0130] FIG. 2 is illustrated with a single consumer device (100); however, it is understood that multiple consumer devices may be implemented in the wireless network (1000) without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0131] Although FIG. 2 shows various hardware components of the wireless network (1000) but it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereon. In other embodiments, the wireless network (1000) may include less or more number of components. Further, the labels or names of the components are used only for illustrative purposes and does not limit the scope of the invention. One or more components can be combined together to perform the same or substantially similar function in the wireless network (1000).

[0132] FIG. 3 shows various hardware components of the producer device (200), according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. In an embodiment, producer device (200) includes a processor (210), a communicator (220), a memory (230), and a service controller (240). The processor (210) is coupled with the communicator (220), the memory (230), and the service controller (240).

[0133] The service controller (240) creates the intent between the consumer device (100) and the first producer device (200). Upon the intent creation, the service controller (240) executes the intent fulfillment between the first producer device (200) and the second producer device (300). Further, the service controller (240) instantiates the intent report with the configuration update information based on the executed intent fulfillment. The configuration update information includes the target object, the type of the target object, and the configuration change.

[0134] Further, the Further, the service controller (240) sends the notification about the intent report. In response to the notification, the service controller (240) receives the request to update an intent or a feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report.

[0135] In an embodiment, the request to update the intent or the feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report is received by receiving, by the first producer device (200), the modify attribute request from the consumer device (100) to update the intent upon determining that the consumer device (100) wants to update the intent, and sending, by the first producer device (200), the modify attribute response to the first consumer device (100) to update the intent based on the modify attribute request.

[0136] In another embodiment, the service controller (240) determines to instantiate the management service (MnS) information representing the particular MnS that the producer device (200) is providing. The MnS information includes the MnS status, the administrative state, the MnS provider ID, the MnS expiry, the operation and the security technique. Further, the service controller (240) sends the notify MOI creation notification to at least one authorized consumer device (100) from the plurality of authorized consumers indicating the instantiation for the MnS information.

[0137] Further, the service controller (240) receives the get MOI attribute report to read the characteristics of the instantiated MnS from the at least one authorized consumer device (100). Further, the service controller (240) sends the get MOI attribute response to the at least one authorized consumer device (100) based on the get MOI attribute report.

[0138] Further, the service controller (240) receives the modify MOI attributes request to change the value of the MnS status to: the ACTIVE or administrative state to unlocked from the at least one authorized consumer device (100). Further, the service controller (240) sends the modify MOI attributes response to the at least one authorized consumer device (100) based on the modify MOI attributes request.

[0139] Further, the service controller (240) sends an APIPublish request (e.g., ServiceAPIStatus request) to the CAPIF Core Function entity (400). Based on the APIPublish request, the service controller (240) receives an APIPublish Response from the CAPIF Core Function entity (400).

[0140] The service controller (240) is implemented by analog and / or digital circuits such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits and the like, and may optionally be driven by firmware.

[0141] The processor (210) may include one or a plurality of processors. The one or the plurality of processors may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, a graphics-only processing unit such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a visual processing unit (VPU), and / or an AI-dedicated processor such as a neural processing unit (NPU). The processor (210) may include multiple cores and is configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory (230).

[0142] Further, the processor (210) is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory (230) and to perform various processes. The communicator (220) is configured for communicating internally between internal hardware components and with external devices via one or more networks. The memory (230) also stores instructions to be executed by the processor (210). The memory (230) may include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the memory (230) may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The term “non-transitory” may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term “non-transitory” should not be interpreted that the memory (230) is non-movable. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).

[0143] Although FIG. 3 shows various hardware components of the producer device (200) but it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereon. In other embodiments, the producer device (200) may include less or more number of components. Further, the labels or names of the components are used only for illustrative purposes and does not limit the scope of the invention. One or more components can be combined together to perform the same or substantially similar function in the producer device (200).

[0144] FIG. 4 shows various hardware components of the consumer device (100), according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. The consumer device (100) includes a processor (110), a communicator (120), a memory (130), and a service controller (140). The processor (110) is coupled with the communicator (120), the memory (130), and the service controller (140).

[0145] The service controller (140) receives the intent report with the configuration update information from the first producer device (200). The configuration update information includes the target object, the type of the target object, and the configuration change. In an embodiment, the service controller (140) creates the intent between the consumer device (100) and the first producer device (200). The first producer device (200) executes the intent fulfillment between the first producer device (200) and the second producer device (300). Further, the service controller (140) receives the intent report with the configuration update information from the first producer device (200).

[0146] Further, the service controller (140) request to update the intent or the feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report.

[0147] In an embodiment, the service controller (140) determines that the consumer device (100) wants to update the intent. Further, the service controller (140) sends the modify attribute request to the first producer device (200) to update the intent. Based on the modify attribute request, the service controller (140) receives the modify attribute response from the first producer device (200) to update the intent.

[0148] In another embodiment, the service controller (140) determines that the consumer device (100) wants to update the configuration. The update the configuration includes one of: modify the configuration and retain a default configuration. Further, the service controller (140) sends the modify attribute request to the second producer device (300) to update the configuration. Based on the modify attribute request, the service controller (140) receives the modify attribute response from the second producer device (300) to update the configuration.

[0149] In another embodiment, further, the service controller (140) receives the notify MOI creation notification, indicating the instantiation for the MnS information, from the producer device (200). The producer device (200) determines to instantiate the MnS information representing the particular MnS that the producer device (200) is providing. The MnS information includes the MnS status, the administrative state, the MnS provider ID, the MnS expiry, the operation and the security technique.

[0150] Further, the service controller (140) sends the get MOI attribute report (or request) to read the characteristics of the instantiated MnS to the producer device (200). based on the get MOI attribute report, the service controller (140) receives the get MOI attribute response from the producer device.

[0151] Further, the service controller (140) sends the modify MOI attributes request to change the value of a MnS status to: the ACTIVE or administrative state to unlocked to the producer device. Further, the service controller (140) receives the modify MOI attributes response from the producer device based on the modify MOI attributes request.

[0152] The service controller (140) is implemented by analog and / or digital circuits such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits and the like, and may optionally be driven by firmware.

[0153] The processor (110) may include one or a plurality of processors. The one or the plurality of processors may be a general-purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, a graphics-only processing unit such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a visual processing unit (VPU), and / or an AI-dedicated processor such as a neural processing unit (NPU). The processor (110) may include multiple cores and is configured to execute the instructions stored in the memory (130).

[0154] Further, the processor (110) is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory (130) and to perform various processes. The communicator (120) is configured for communicating internally between internal hardware components and with external devices via one or more networks. The memory (130) also stores instructions to be executed by the processor (110). The memory (130) may include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the memory (130) may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The term “non-transitory” may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term “non-transitory” should not be interpreted that the memory (130) is non-movable. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in Random Access Memory (RAM) or cache).

[0155] Although FIG. 4 shows various hardware components of the consumer device (100) but it is to be understood that other embodiments are not limited thereon. In other embodiments, the consumer device (100) may include less or more number of components. Further, the labels or names of the components are used only for illustrative purposes and does not limit the scope of the invention. One or more components can be combined together to perform the same or substantially similar function in the consumer device (100).

[0156] FIG. 5 is a flow chart (S500) illustrating a method, implemented by the producer device (200), for managing the intent management, according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. The operations (S502-S506) are handled by the service controller (340).

[0157] At S502, the method includes creating the intent between the consumer device (100) and the first producer device (200). At S504, the method includes executing the intent fulfillment between the first producer device (200) and the second producer device (300). At S506, the method includes instantiating the intent report with the configuration update information based on the executed intent fulfillment. The configuration update information includes at least one of: the target object, the type of the target object, and the configuration change.

[0158] FIG. 6 is a flow chart (S600) illustrating a method, implemented by the producer device, for managing the management service (MnS), according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. The operations (S602-S604) are handled by the service controller (340).

[0159] At S602, the method includes determining to instantiate management service (MnS) information representing a particular MnS that the producer device (200) is providing, where the MnS information includes at least one of: the MnS status, the administrative state, the MnS provider ID, the MnS expiry, and an operation, and a security technique. At S604, the method includes sending the notify MOI creation notification to at least one authorized consumer from the plurality of authorized consumers indicating the instantiation for the MnS information.

[0160] FIG. 7 is a flow chart (S700) illustrating a method, implemented by the consumer device (100), for managing an intent management, according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. The operations (S702-S704) are handled by the service controller (440).

[0161] At S702, the method includes receiving the intent report with the configuration update information from the first producer device (200), where the configuration update information comprises at least one of: the target object, the type of the target object, and the configuration change. At S704, the method includes request to update the intent or the feedback about the configuration change reported in the intent report.

[0162] FIG. 8 is a flow chart (S800) illustrating a method, implemented by the consumer device (100), for managing the management service (MnS), according to the embodiments as disclosed herein. The operation (S802) is handled by the service controller (440).

[0163] At S802, the method includes receiving the notify MOI creation notification, indicating the instantiation for the MnS information, from the producer device. The producer device (200) determines to instantiate management service (MnS) information representing a particular MnS that the producer device (200) is providing, where the MnS information comprises at least one of: the MnS status, the administrative state, the MnS provider identifier (ID), the MnS expiry, the operation and the security technique.

[0164] FIG. 9 depicts an example process for managing the intent procedure in the wireless network (1000), according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

[0165] In step 1, an intent Mns consumer (100a) and an intent Mns producer (200a) interact to create the intent as specified in 3GPP TSD 28.312. In step 2, the intent Mns producer (200a) executes the intent fulfillment. In step 3, the intent Mns producer (200a) instantiates the IntentReport IOC with the configuration update information as defined above (explained in FIG. 2). In step 4, the intent Mns producer (200a) sends the notification for the report, and the intent Mns consumer (100a) gets the report. In step 5, the intent Mns consumer (100a) decides if the executed configuration is acceptable. The intent Mns consumer (100a) may decide that the configurations are not acceptable. In step 6, the intent Mns consumer (100a) may decide to update the intent. The intent Mns consumer (100a) sends a request to the intent Mns producer (200a) to update the intent expectation. In step 7, the intent Mns consumer (100a) receives the response.

[0166] Alternatively in step 8, the intent Mns consumer (100a) may decide to redo the configuration that was executed by the Intent MnS Producer (200a) during intent fulfillment phase. The intent Mns consumer (100a) set the value for ConsumerSatification score to 1. This will indicate to the Intent MnS Producer (200a) that consumer is not satisfied by the configuration changes. A generic provisioning MNS producer (300a) will then try to find another solution (i.e., i.e., try to update different network node. In step 9, the intent Mns consumer (100a) sends a request to update the configuration of the node identified by the Target Object in configuration update information. In step 10, the generic provisioning MNS producer (300a) executes the update and sends a response.

[0167] Embodiments herein will not require the intent Mns consumer (100a) to choose the best alternative among the various options / alternatives / outcomes the producer may have to fulfil a particular Intent. This will make consumer implementation easier enabling small scale 3rd parties (un-trusted by the MNO) to become consumer of the IDMS.

[0168] FIG. 10 depicts an example procedure for MnS management in the wireless network (1000), according to embodiments as disclosed herein. In step 1, a provisioning MnS producer (200b) decide to instantiate MnS Info representing a particular MnS that the provisioning MnS producer (200b) is providing. In step 2, the provisioning MnS producer (200b) sends a notifyMOICreation notification to all authorized consumers (e.g., provisioning MnS consumer (100b)) indicating the instantiation for the MnS. In step 3, the provisioning MnS consumer (100b) sends a getMOIAttributes report (or request) to read the characteristics of the newly instantiated MnS. In step 4, the provisioning MnS producer (200b) can the response based on the getMOIAttributes report. The msnStatus is set to INACTIVE or the administrativeState is set of LOCKED.

[0169] In step 5, the provisioning MnS consumer (100b) decides to update the status of MnS. The provisioning MnS consumer (100b) may decide this based on several conditions (for example, a threshold monitoring MnS for a slice can be kept INACTIVE until a performance degradation happens for the same slice). In other words, there is no requirement to check for the latency threshold unless we see a latency increment in the slice. In step 6, the provisioning MnS consumer (100b) sends the modifyMOIAttributes request to the provisioning MnS producer (200b) requesting to change the value of msnStatus to ACTIVE or administrativeState to UNLOCKED. In step 7, the provisioning MnS producer (200b) may decide to publish this new MnS to the CCF. At step 8, provisioning MnS producer (200b) sends a CAPIF_Publish_Service API to the CCF entity (400). In step 9, the CCF entity (400) sends a response (e.g., APIPublish()Response) to the provisioning MnS producer (200b).

[0170] Embodiments herein allow the MnS to be activated only in case that they are needed resulting in better resource consumption and management.

[0171] The various actions, acts, blocks, steps, or the like in the flow charts (S500-S800) may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts, blocks, steps, or the like may be omitted, added, modified, skipped, or the like without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0172] The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network management functions to control the network elements. The elements include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device, or a combination of hardware device and software module.

[0173] The embodiments disclosed herein describe methods and systems for managing an intent and management service (MnS) in the wireless communication networks (1000), wherein the MnS can be made available (i.e., it can be discovered), but inactive (i.e., it cannot be invoked / used). Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to such a program and in addition to a readable computer means having a message therein, such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a server or mobile device or any suitable programmable device. The method is implemented in at least one embodiment through or together with a software program written in e.g., Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) another programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL or several software modules being executed on at least one hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of portable device that can be programmed. The device may also include means which could be e.g., hardware means like e.g., an ASIC, or a combination of hardware and software means, e.g. an ASIC and an FPGA, or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located therein. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented partly in hardware and partly in software. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware devices, e.g., using a plurality of CPUs.

[0174] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the scope of the embodiments as described herein.

Claims

1.A method performed by a producer device for managing a service in a wireless network, the method comprising:obtaining an intent for a consumer device;executing actions to fulfill the intent;transmitting, to the consumer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute.2.The method of claim 1,wherein the first information on the target object indicates a domain name (DN) of a target node to be updated based on the execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, andwherein the second information on the attribute includes information on a name of the attribute and information on value indicating an updated value.3.The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, from a consumer device, information on a feedback based on the intent report, the information on the feedback including an index associated with a consumer satisfaction associated with the intent report.4.The method of claim 1,wherein the information corresponds to possible impact indicating a possible impact of a possible outcome,wherein the first information corresponds to impact object,wherein the impact object refers to managed objects that to be impacted by a recommended candidate alternatives,wherein the second information corresponds to impacted attributes defining a name-value pair, and where the name indicates the name of the attribute that is impacted and the value indicates the updated value.5.A method performed by a consumer device for managing a service in a wireless network, the method comprising:transmitting, to a producer device that executes actions to fulfill an intent, information on the intent;receiving, from the producer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute; andtransmitting, to the producer device, information on a feedback based on the intent report, the information on the feedback including an index associated with a consumer satisfaction associated with the intent report.6.The method of claim 5,wherein the first information on the target object indicates a domain name (DN) of a target node to be updated based on the execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, andwherein the second information on the attribute includes information on a name of the attribute and information on value indicating an updated value.7.The method of claim 1,wherein the information corresponds to possible impact indicating a possible impact of a possible outcome,wherein the first information corresponds to impact object, andwherein the impact object refers to managed objects that to be impacted by a recommended candidate alternatives,8.The method of claim 7,wherein the second information corresponds to impacted attributes defining a name-value pair, and where the name indicates the name of the attribute that is impacted and the value indicates the updated value.9.A producer device, comprising:a memory; andat least one processor configured to:obtain an intent for a consumer device;execute actions to fulfill the intent; andtransmit, to the consumer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute.10.The producer device of claim 9,wherein the first information on the target object indicates a domain name (DN) of a target node to be updated based on the execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, andwherein the second information on the attribute includes information on a name of the attribute and information on value indicating an updated value.11.The producer device of claim 9, wherein the at least one process is configured to:receive, from a consumer device, information on a feedback based on the intent report, the information on the feedback including an index associated with a consumer satisfaction associated with the intent report.12.The producer device of claim 9,wherein the information corresponds to possible impact indicating a possible impact of a possible outcome,wherein the first information corresponds to impact object,wherein the impact object refers to managed objects that to be impacted by a recommended candidate alternatives,wherein the second information corresponds to impacted attributes defining a name-value pair, and where the name indicates the name of the attribute that is impacted and the value indicates the updated value.13.A consumer device comprising:a memory; andat least one processor configured to:transmit, to a producer device that executes actions to fulfill an intent, information on the intent;receive, from the producer device, an intent report including information associated with an execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, wherein the information includes at least one of first information on a target object or second information on attribute; andtransmit, to the producer device, information on a feedback based on the intent report, the information on the feedback including an index associated with a consumer satisfaction associated with the intent report.14.The consumer device of claim 13,wherein the first information on the target object indicates a domain name (DN) of a target node to be updated based on the execution of the actions to fulfill the intent, andwherein the second information on the attribute includes information on a name of the attribute and information on value indicating an updated value.15.The consumer device of claim 13,wherein the information corresponds to possible impact indicating a possible impact of a possible outcome,wherein the first information corresponds to impact object,wherein the impact object refers to managed objects that to be impacted by a recommended candidate alternatives,wherein the second information corresponds to impacted attributes defining a name-value pair, and where the name indicates the name of the attribute that is impacted and the value indicates the updated value.

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