Network Slice Indication for Accurate MME Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless communications systems with multiple network slices, radio access network nodes often select incorrect Mobility Management Entities (MMEs) for user equipment (UE), leading to a failure in providing customized services as the selected MME may not correspond to the UE's intended network slice.
Innovation Solution
The UE obtains indication information to identify its network slice and sends this information to the radio access network node, enabling it to determine and select the appropriate control plane node that corresponds to the UE's network slice, ensuring customized services are provided.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the radio access network node selects an MME based on an MME selection function, then the MME selection process is automated and efficient, but the selected MME may not correspond to the network slice to which the UE belongs, resulting in inability to provide customized services
Solution Approach 1:
The indication information identifying the network slice is pre-obtained by the UE before the MME selection process. This preliminary action ensures that when the radio access network node performs MME selection, it already has the necessary information to correctly identify and select the MME corresponding to the UE's network slice, thus maintaining both selection efficiency and correctness.
Solution Approach 2:
The indication information acts as an intermediary element that bridges the UE and the MME selection process. By including this indication information in the service request message, the radio access network node can accurately determine the appropriate MME based on the network slice identification, ensuring that the selected MME can provide customized services for the specific network slice.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple network slices are deployed for different types of UE, then the system can provide customized services for different application scenarios, but the complexity of MME selection increases as the radio access network node must correctly identify the appropriate MME for each network slice
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the MME pool by network slice types, with each MME dedicated to handling specific network slices. The indication information further segments the service request routing by identifying which network slice the UE belongs to. This segmentation approach allows the radio access network node to select the appropriate MME based on the network slice type, maintaining manageable complexity while supporting multiple customized network slices.
Solution Approach 2:
Different MMEs are assigned different local qualities or specializations corresponding to different network slice types. Each MME is optimized to handle specific types of UEs and services associated with particular network slices. The indication information enables the radio access network node to match the UE's network slice requirements with the appropriate MME's local quality, ensuring customized service delivery without overwhelming system-wide complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention relate to the communications field, and provide a method for determining a control plane node, an apparatus, and a wireless communications system, so as to select, for UE, a control plane node corresponding to a network slice to which the UE belongs, thereby ensuring that the control plane node can provide a customized service for the UE. The method includes: obtaining, by UE, indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate a network slice to which the UE belongs; and sending, by the UE, an access layer request message to a radio access network node, where the access layer request message includes the indication information, and the access layer request message is used to trigger the radio access network node to determine, based on the indication information, a control plane node corresponding to the network slice for the UE.