CN108990068B

CN108990068B - Communication method and network device

Info

Publication number: CN108990068B
Application number: CN201710405617.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵祺阳; 李旭
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-06-01
Filing date: 2017-06-01
Publication date: 2021-02-05
Anticipated expiration: 2037-06-01
Also published as: CN108990068A; WO2018219229A1

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and network device. The communication method includes: a network device for managing a wireless access network determines a network slice; the network device configures network resources required for accessing the wireless access network for the network slice, where the network resources include at least one of the following: a network function module and a frequency spectrum resources, wherein the network function module includes a shared network function module and/or a dedicated network function module, and the spectrum resources include shared spectrum resources and/or dedicated spectrum resources. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can flexibly allocate network resources required for accessing a wireless access network to a network slice, so as to improve communication efficiency.

Description

Communication method and network device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and a network device.

Background

Network slicing technology has been proposed as a key technology for future communication system research, enabling future networks to support rich services to serve various industries of society. For example, Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services represented by virtual reality and augmented reality, Ultra-Low-delay and Low-reliability (URLLC) services represented by automatic driving and industrial control, and massive internet of things (mtc) services represented by intelligent logistics and sensors will greatly expand the service range of the communication system.

The existing communication system places all network services in a common transmission pipeline, and cannot meet the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of different services with huge differences in future networks. Therefore, in the research of the next generation 5G communication system, the network slicing technology is generated. In a 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) portion, the Radio resources may include spectrum resources, site resources, and the like, and the Radio protocol may include a physical system (Numerology) of a Radio link, protocol stack parameter configuration, and the like. In the existing wireless communication system, the base station generally enables all users accessing the network to share the wireless resources and uniformly control and configure the protocol parameters. The scheme of network slicing proposes that radio resources and protocols of the RAN are isolated according to slices, including but not limited to that each slice uses exclusive spectrum resources, and independent radio protocols are configured, so that services using the slices can be guaranteed to obtain signed service quality. However, spectrum is a very scarce and expensive resource for operators, and traffic flow, number of users, quality of service requirements, etc. on slices in mobile networks can be dynamic, random, rapidly changing in time and space. Therefore, how to maximize scheduling and utilize spectrum resources, and at the same time, ensure the isolation of the slice traffic pipeline becomes a challenge for network slice wireless resource management.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method, which can flexibly allocate network resources required by accessing a wireless access network to a network slice so as to improve the communication efficiency.

In a first aspect, a communication method is provided for a network device managing a radio access network to determine a network slice;

the network equipment configures network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice, wherein the network resources include at least one of the following: network function modules and spectrum resources, wherein the network function modules comprise shared network function modules and/or proprietary network function modules, and the spectrum resources comprise shared spectrum resources and/or proprietary spectrum resources.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device for managing the wireless access network is independent of the service network of the network slice, and configures the network resources required for accessing the wireless access network for the network slice according to the life cycle management information of the network slice, so that the network resources required for accessing the wireless access network can be flexibly allocated for the network slice, and the communication efficiency is improved.

In an embodiment of the present application, the network device may configure shared network resources for a network slice. Therefore, the network resource sharing of the plurality of network slices is realized, the waste or congestion of the network resource is avoided, the network resource required by the access of the wireless access network can be flexibly distributed to the network slices, and the communication efficiency is improved.

In one possible implementation, the configuring, by the network device, network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice includes: the network device spectrum resource occupation position on the spectrum resource, or the occupation ratio between the shared spectrum resource and the exclusive spectrum resource of the network slice.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device can flexibly configure a plurality of network slices to share the spectrum resources, or flexibly configure the occupation ratio between the shared spectrum resources of the network slices and the dedicated spectrum resources, so that the network resources of the wireless access network are dynamically adjusted when the operation state of the network slices and the user traffic change, the utilization rate of the network resources is improved, and the flexibility of configuring the wireless access network is improved.

The configuring, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network includes: the network device configures a connection relationship between a shared network function module and a proprietary network function module of the network slice.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device can flexibly configure the occupation ratio between the shared network function module and the proprietary network function module, so that the network resources of the wireless access network are dynamically adjusted when the running state of the network slice and the user flow change, the utilization rate of the network resources is improved, and the flexibility of configuring the wireless access network is improved.

In one possible implementation, the configuring, by the network device, network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice includes: the network equipment configures network resources required for accessing the wireless access network for the network slice according to at least one of the following information: state information of the network slice, user information of the network slice, and service information of the network slice.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device can flexibly configure the shared network resource or the dedicated network resource of the wireless access network according to the state information of the network slice, the user information of the network slice and the service information condition of the network slice, so that the network resource required by accessing the wireless access network can be flexibly allocated to the network slice, and the communication efficiency is improved.

In one possible implementation, the configuring, by the network device, network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice includes: and the network equipment configures the first user of the network slice to use the shared network resource or the special network resource of the network slice according to the user information of the network slice.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device configures the shared network resource or the dedicated network resource for the first user according to the user information of the network slice, so that the network resource of the wireless access network is configured for the network slice according to the user granularity, and the utilization efficiency of the network resource is improved.

In one possible implementation, the configuring, by the network device, network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice includes: and the network equipment configures the first type service of the network slice to use the shared network resource or the special network resource of the network slice according to the service information of the network slice.

In the embodiment of the application, the network device configures the first type of service to use the shared network resource or the dedicated network resource according to the service information of the network slice, so that the network resource of the wireless access network is configured for the network slice according to the service type granularity, and the utilization efficiency of the network resource is improved.

In one possible implementation, the lifecycle management information of the network slice includes at least one of: the creation information of the network slice, the deletion information of the network slice, the capacity expansion information of the network slice, the capacity reduction information of the network slice, the subscription information of the network slice, and the QoS information of the network slice.

In one possible implementation, the network device may receive lifecycle management information for the network slice from a network slice orchestrator.

In a second aspect, a network device is provided for performing the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. In particular, the network device comprises means for performing the method of the first aspect described above or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a third aspect, a network device is provided, which includes: communication interface, memory, processor and bus system. Wherein the communication interface, the memory and the processor are connected by the bus system, the memory is configured to store instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the instructions stored by the memory to control the communication interface to receive signals and/or transmit signals, and when the processor executes the instructions stored by the memory, the execution causes the processor to execute the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium for storing a computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application environment of an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a functional schematic diagram of a RAN slice controller according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to another embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Before introducing the communication method, apparatus and system of the present application, some terms appearing herein will be described in order to facilitate understanding of the contents of the present application.

Network slice (Network slice): the network is a logical network which is customized on the basis of physical or virtual network infrastructure and has different network capabilities and network characteristics according to different service requirements. The network slice can be a complete end-to-end network comprising a terminal, an access network, a transmission network, a core network and an application server, can provide telecommunication service and has certain network capacity; the network slice may also be any combination of the above terminals, access networks, transport networks, core networks and application servers, e.g. a network slice only contains access networks and core networks. A network slice may have one or more of the following characteristics: the access network may or may not be sliced. The access network may be common to multiple network slices. The characteristics of different network slices and the network function modules that make up them may be different.

In embodiments of the present application, a network slice may also be referred to as a network slice instance or slice.

Network function module (NF): the network function module can be realized by special hardware, or by running software on special hardware, or by virtual function on general hardware platform. Therefore, from an implementation point of view, the network function module can be divided into a physical network function module and a virtual network function module. From the perspective of use, the network function module may be divided into an exclusive network function module and a shared network function module, and specifically, for a plurality of (sub) network slice instances, different network function modules may be independently used, such a network function module is referred to as an exclusive network function module, and may also share the same network function module, such a network function module is referred to as a shared network function module.

A Network Slice Lifecycle manager (NS-LCM), the NS-LCM may be used to mainly take charge of Lifecycle Management of Network slices, for example, including creation, combination, update, deletion (finalization), and the like of the Network slices. In particular, at least one of the following functions may be included: (1) requirements for receiving traffic, such as the number of devices that need support/service, latency and throughput of data streams, coverage, economic parameters (e.g., charging mode), etc.; (2) converting the service requirement into a requirement for the network, for example, if the requirement of the user is the number of devices and the coverage, the corresponding network requirement is the throughput/delay of the network connection, the number of required base stations, and the like; (3) a Network Slice Descriptor (NSD) is generated, and components of a Network Slice are described, for example, Network Slice identity (NS-ID), a Network function module, a Network Slice logical topology (connection mode, interface, Key Performance Indicator (KPI) requirement), and the like. Specifically, the network function module may be a large-granularity function, such as a function of mobility management, connection management, Access Control, or an atomic function, such as a function of Robust Header Compression (ROHC), encryption/decryption, reordering, or the like in a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a function of Automatic Repeat-Request (ARQ), Packet fragmentation, reordering, or the like in a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a function of Hybrid Automatic Repeat-Request (HARQ), multiplexing/demultiplexing, or the like in a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The network slice logical topology may be used to represent the connectivity, interfaces, KPI requirements (which may include bandwidth, latency, throughput), etc. between the network functional modules of the network slice.

Network Slice Orchestrator (NSO): it mainly manages network slices from the network level. The NSO may orchestrate network resources based on the network slice requirements generated by the NS-LCM and the network resources actually owned. The network resources may include link resources, storage resources, computing resources, or other network resources as described above.

In some embodiments, the user involved in the embodiments of the present application may include a user using a terminal device. In other embodiments, the user to which embodiments of the present application relate may also include a terminal device connected to the network slice. The terminal devices may include various handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, which have wireless communication functions, as well as various forms of User Equipment (UE), Mobile Stations (MS), terminals (terminal), terminal devices (terminal device), and so on.

The embodiment of the application provides a method for supporting network slice dynamic allocation, configuration and sharing of network resources in a wireless access network. The method and the device can ensure the isolation of resources among slices and the reliability of service quality while realizing that a plurality of network slices share spectrum resources, access network function modules, wireless access technologies and parameter configuration, thereby improving the utilization rate of wireless resources, the service quality of slice services and the flexibility and consistency of function configuration.

First, referring to fig. 1, a possible application environment of the embodiment of the present application is described. As shown in fig. 1, the application environment introduces a radio access network slice controller (hereinafter referred to as RAN slice controller) in a network slice management system. The RAN slice controller may include, but is not limited to, the following functions:

1) for the radio access network portion, the northbound interface of the RAN slice controller is connected to the network slice orchestrator for receiving instructions for slice lifecycle management, including but not limited to time, region, traffic, user, class of service, etc. of slice operation.

2) The southbound interface of the RAN slice controller is connected with the functional modules on the protocol layers of the RAN and used for flexibly configuring functions, parameters and resources used by the slices and enabling the terminal to initiate request information of the service access network slices.

3) The RAN slice controller is connected with slice controllers of other parts of the east-west interface network, and the network controller interface is used for deploying, deleting and maintaining the RAN slice controller and configuring a RAN service node which is responsible for management.

4) Interfaces between the RAN slice controller and sub-controllers of a core network, a transmission network, a backbone network and the like are used for coordinating the consistency of the service quality of the slice service among all parts of networks and maintaining an end-to-end service pipeline.

As a possible implementation manner, in the future C-RAN network architecture, the base stations may be divided into a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU). The CU and the DU may be software-based or virtualized, and RAN functions that need to be flexibly combined are executed in a CU composed of a general server, for example, high-level functions such as Radio Link Control (RLC), Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), Radio Resource Control (RRC), and the like; the RAN function, which is strongly related to hardware and has a high real-time requirement, is run in a DU formed by a proprietary hardware platform, such as a physical layer (PHY), a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and other underlying functions.

The base station in the embodiment of the present application describes the communication method in the embodiment of the present application in a CU-DU architecture. The method of the embodiments of the present application is not limited to any one CU-DU architecture. The method of the embodiment of the present application may not be applied to the CU-DU architecture. For example, the base station of the embodiments of the present application may also include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, and the like. In systems employing different radio access technologies, the names of devices having a base station function may differ. For example, in an LTE network, referred to as an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), in a third Generation (3rd Generation, 3G) network, referred to as a Node B (Node B), and so on.

Optionally, the RAN slice controller may dynamically deploy, delete, and configure the RAN function modules on the CUs through the southbound interface, so that they are flexibly combined to form a service pipeline of the RAN slice; and performing spectrum resource allocation on an RAN physical layer module on the DU, and dynamically adjusting physical parameters such as waveform, coding and decoding, modulation and demodulation and the like to adapt to the requirements of slice services on service quality.

Alternatively, the RAN slice controller, as a control function module independent of the service slice, may be deployed in an edge cloud data center, and control one or more CUs and DUs, i.e., one or more cells (e.g., Remote Radio Units (RRUs)) physically.

In fig. 1, the application environment may include a Transport Network (TN) slice controller and a Core Network (CN) slice controller in addition to the RAN slice controller. The TN slice controller is used for managing the transmission network part, and the CN slice controller is used for managing the core network part.

The foregoing describes an application environment of the embodiments of the present application, and the communication method and the network device of the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a communication method 200 according to an embodiment of the present application. Method 200 describes a method of configuring network resources for a network slice to access a radio access network. The method 200 may be applicable to and is not limited to the application environment of FIG. 1. The network device in method 200 may be a RAN slice controller. The method 200 comprises the following steps:

s201, the network device for managing the radio access network determines a network slice.

Alternatively, the network device may be a RAN slice controller. The network slice may be a network slice of network resources of a radio access network to be configured.

Alternatively, the network device may autonomously determine the network slice in which the network resources of the radio access network need to be configured or adjusted according to the operating state of the network slice. Alternatively, the network device may determine the network slice based on the received information. For example, the network device may receive first indication information, the first indication information including life cycle management information of the network slice or access request information of users and services of the network slice; and the network equipment determines the network slice according to the first indication information.

Optionally, the network device may receive lifecycle management information for the network slice from a network slice orchestrator.

Alternatively, the network device may receive access request information of prime users and services from a terminal device accessing the network slice.

Optionally, the lifecycle management information of the network slice includes at least one of: the operation information of the network slice, the subscription information of the network slice and the QoS information of the network slice. Wherein the operation information of the network slice comprises at least one of: the creation information of the network slice, the deletion information of the network slice, the capacity expansion information of the network slice, and the capacity reduction information of the network slice. The subscription information of the network slice may include, for example, an area, time, level, and security of the network slice; the QoS information of a network slice may include, for example, throughput, latency, number of connections, reliability, mobility of the network slice.

S202, the network device configures, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network, where the network resources include at least one of: network function modules and spectrum resources, wherein the network function modules comprise shared network function modules and/or proprietary network function modules, and the spectrum resources comprise shared spectrum resources and/or proprietary spectrum resources.

Optionally, the resource partitioning manner of the spectrum resources among different slices includes multiple manners. For example, a certain number of Resource Block (RB) sets within one carrier may be configured for the same network slice, which use the same access technology, i.e. include the same basic parameter set (Numerology Block). Or, a plurality of different carriers can be configured for the same network slice, and different access technologies are used, so that the slice can flexibly select network resources according to channel characteristics, flow states and access technologies of different frequency bands.

Optionally, the network function module may include a RAN function module. For example, the RAN functional modules may include MAC layer user scheduling, HARQ, RLC layer transmission mode, PDCP layer header compression, ciphering, status maintenance for RRC layer user access and handover, and the like. In the embodiment of the present application, the functional modules of the RAN are neither completely independently isolated for slicing nor completely unified as in the existing LTE system. The number of the functional modules of each layer of the protocol stack is determined by the difference of the functions of the functional modules.

As an example, fig. 3 is a functional schematic diagram of a RAN slice controller. As shown in fig. 3, the RAN slice controller deploys three layers of functional modules in the base station, and each layer deploys a plurality of sub-functional modules according to service characteristics. By establishing flexible connection of different layers of Function modules of the data plane, the Service Function Chain (SFC) of different slices is mapped. Optionally, for the air interface spectrum resource, the RAN slice controller may divide a part of the carriers into multiple slices, and at the same time, one slice may span multiple carriers, and perform corresponding physical layer parameter configuration according to the service characteristics.

In the embodiment of the application, after the network resources of the radio access network allocated to the network slice are allocated, the network resources of the radio access network allocated to the network slice can be flexibly and dynamically adjusted, and the network resources of the radio access network allocated to the network slice are not fixed and unchangeable, so that the utilization rate of the network resources can be improved.

As one example, the network resources configured for the network slice include shared network resources. The shared network resource may refer to a network resource that is common to multiple network slices.

As an example, the network resources configured for the network slice may also include network slice-specific network resources. A proprietary network resource may refer to a network resource that is exclusive to a network slice.

Optionally, the configuring, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network includes: the network device configures the occupied position of the shared spectrum resource of the network slice on the spectrum resource or the occupied proportion between the shared spectrum resource of the network slice and the exclusive spectrum resource.

Optionally, the configuring, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network includes: the network device configures a connection relationship between a shared network function module and a proprietary network function module of the network slice.

Optionally, the configuring, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network includes: a shared control channel is configured for a network slice using shared spectrum resources.

For example, the RAN slice controller may configure network resources for sharing by multiple network slices. Meanwhile, different services or different users in the slices can be appointed to use according to the size of the shared network resource and the number of the operated slices. It is also possible to run newly established slices on top of shared network resources and dynamically adjust the ratio of shared to dedicated network resources. Therefore, slices, services and users can be flexibly and dynamically configured to use shared or proprietary network function modules or spectrum resources, and the reliability of the services is improved while the support of the slice function characteristics is ensured.

As an example, the configuring, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network includes: the network device configures an occupancy ratio between shared network resources and proprietary network resources of the network slice.

In the embodiment of the application, the network equipment can flexibly configure the occupation ratio between the shared network resource and the proprietary network resource, so that the network resource of the wireless access network is dynamically adjusted when the running state of the network slice and the user flow change, the utilization rate of the network resource is improved, and the flexibility of configuring the wireless access network is improved.

As an example, the configuring, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network includes: the network equipment configures network resources required for accessing the wireless access network for the network slice according to at least one of the following information: state information of the network slice, user information of the network slice, and service information of the network slice.

For example, the status information of the network slice may include operating status information of the network slice or other information indicating a status of the network slice.

For example, some users of a network slice may be made to attempt to use access technologies on certain carriers, and the optimal resources allocated for the slice may be determined by the operating state

For example, the basic functions of the user can be configured to be processed by using a single module according to the capabilities of the user and the function module and the state information of the network slice, and the characteristic functions of the user are processed by using independent modules, so that the utilization rate of network resources is improved.

For example, the user information may include, but is not limited to: the method comprises the following steps of example information of a slice accessed by a user, carrier information supported by the user, air interface system information supported by the user, modulation coding mode information supported by the user, scheduling mechanism information supported by the user, reliability mode information supported by the user, encryption mode information supported by the user, mobility state information supported by the user, connectivity state information supported by the user, energy state information supported by the user and the like.

For example, the RAN slice controller may flexibly and differentially configure slices, services, and user usage of shared or independent modules according to functions required by each slice. For example, an autonomous driving service and a telemedicine service have common requirements for low latency and high reliability, and the same RLC layer transmission mode can be used; but their requirements for mobility are very different and different RRC layers can be used to handle user handover. In addition, for users accessing a plurality of network slices, the slice controller can configure the same RRC layer, thereby simplifying the complexity of radio bearer maintenance and improving the reliability of user switching.

As an example, the configuring, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network includes: and the network equipment configures the first user of the network slice to use the shared network resource or the special network resource of the network slice according to the user information of the network slice.

For example, some low-level slices and users may share other slice resources according to the service level of the user or the life cycle of the network slice, so as to guarantee the QoS of important slices and users.

As an example, the configuring, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network includes: and the network equipment configures the first type service of the network slice to use the shared network resource or the special network resource of the network slice according to the service information of the network slice.

The embodiments of the present application are described in more detail below with reference to specific examples, and it should be noted that the following embodiments are only for assisting those skilled in the art in understanding the embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application to the specific scenarios illustrated. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that various equivalent modifications or changes may be made, and such modifications or changes are intended to fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method 400 according to an embodiment of the present application. Method 400 describes a process by which a RAN slice controller configures RAN network resources for a network slice. The network device in method 300 may be the RAN slice controller in method 400, among others. Steps S402 to S405 are to deploy/delete a function module on the CU, configure an interface and a logical mapping with a slice, and steps S406 to S409 are to allocate spectrum resources to a slice and schedule users. These two parts may be triggered by steps S402 and S406, respectively, or by step S401 together. Wherein the user in fig. 4 is represented by a UE.

The contents of the method 400 are as follows:

s401, the network slice orchestrator sends the life cycle management information of the network slices to the RAN controller.

For example, the lifecycle management information for a network slice may include: operation information of the slice, such as establishment, deletion and update of the network slice; type information of the network slice; subscription information of the network slice, such as area, time, level, security of the network slice; QoS information of a network slice, e.g., throughput, latency, number of connections, reliability, mobility of a network slice.

S402, the RAN slice controller checks the mapping relation of the existing NF and the slice to the CU on the base station.

Optionally, the S402 portion may also be periodically self-triggered by the RAN slice controller.

Optionally, the NF may include a RAN functional module. The mapping relationship may include the following information of the NF: function description information of the NF, adjustable parameter information of the NF, service slice information of the NF and interface capability information of the NF.

And S403, the RAN slice controller makes a decision to establish a new NF or multiplex the existing NF according to the slice supporting capability of the existing NF, and determines the connection relationship among the NFs to form the SFC of the network slice.

S404, the RAN slice controller starts or deletes NF on CU, which may be pushed or recycled by the mirror repository to CU.

S405, the RAN slice controller sends a parameter configuration request to each NF on the CU, and the slice service flow can be processed through a logic channel constructed by the SFC configured by the RAN controller.

Optionally, the parameter configuration request of the NF may include at least one of: slice example number: the service package is used for identifying the slice to which the service package belongs; interface information of the NF, which is used to establish a logical link connection between NFs, for example, a port information of the NF may include an ID, an IP, and port information of the NF; the service flow rule information is used for caching, processing and forwarding different slice service flows;

s406, the RAN slice controller checks mapping relationship between allocated spectrum resources and slices to the DU on the base station.

Optionally, the S406 portion may also be periodically self-triggered by the RAN slice controller.

Optionally, the mapping relationship of the spectrum resources and the slices may include at least one of: carrier information; slice instance information; air interface standard information, such as subcarrier interval, TTI length, etc.; control channel frequency point information, scheduling information, etc.

S407, the RAN slice controller configures physical parameters corresponding to each carrier in the DU, and configures mapping relationships between the physical parameters and corresponding slices.

Optionally, the physical parameter of the carrier may include at least one of subcarrier range information, scheduling period information, priority information, and air interface standard information.

S408, the base station DU selects the control channel of the slice according to the spectrum information allocated to the slice.

Alternatively, DU can adopt two schemes: 1) each slice uses an independent control channel; 2) each slice on the same carrier or air interface system uses a shared control channel. The base station informs the user of the control channel information through a sliced common broadcast channel. The user listens for scheduling information on the designated control channel.

S409, base station DU sends scheduling request to user.

Alternatively, when each slice employs an independent control channel, the included scheduling information is resource allocation information in units of spectrum information. For example, the spectrum information may include frequency point information, subcarrier range information, and scheduling period information.

Optionally, when the slices share the control channel in the air interface system of the same carrier, the included scheduling information may be resource allocation information using the slice information as a unit, and a user may obtain the scheduling information of the corresponding slice by analyzing the slice information.

And S410, carrying out uplink/downlink transmission between the user and the base station DU.

In the example of fig. 4, the RAN slice controller may receive slice lifecycle management information of the network slice orchestrator from the northbound interface. And converting the slice service level protocol in the life cycle management information of the network slice into configuration parameters of RAN wireless resources and function modules, and allocating shared or proprietary wireless resources and network function modules for the slices according to the existing wireless resource allocation and function module mapping state in the network. And the size and the position of the shared resource and the occupation proportion of the shared resource and the proprietary resource can be dynamically adjusted according to the running state of the slice.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method 500 according to an embodiment of the present application. Method 500 describes a process by which a RAN slice controller configures RAN network resources of a network slice based on user information or traffic information. The network device in method 300 may be the RAN slice controller in method 500, among others. Wherein the user in fig. 5 is represented by a UE.

S501, after the network slice is established, a user can send a service access request to the RAN slice controller through a common control channel.

Optionally, the service access request may include slice information, such as slice type, slice instance; service information, e.g., subscription information, QoS information; and (4) user information.

The user information may include, but is not limited to: the user has access to the slice instance information, and the user can support carrier information, air interface standard information, modulation coding mode information, scheduling mechanism information, reliability mode information, encryption mode information, mobility state information, connectivity state information, energy state information and the like.

S502, the RAN slice controller queries the base station CU for connection status information of the user or service.

For example, the connection status information may include functional modules responsible for processing in each layer of the RAN for each service flow of the user, the number of users and the size of the service flow being processed by each module, and the size of occupied computing and storage resources.

S503, the RAN slice controller queries the configuration and description file of each functional module to obtain the information of the user and the service that can be supported by the RAN slice controller.

And S504, the RAN slice controller updates the service function chain of the user and the service flow according to the capability and the state information of the user and the function module. For example, when a user has accessed multiple slices, the RRC function of the original slice may be used to manage its connectivity; when the reliability requirement of the new slice is higher, a new RLC function can be created to manage the retransmission mechanism thereof, and the like.

And S505, configuring the service flow rule of each functional module on the base station CU by the RAN slice controller according to the service function chain. Namely, after the service flow enters the base station, the processing, storing and forwarding mechanisms of the modules form a logic channel of the service flow.

S506, the RAN slice controller queries scheduling information of users and services on the base station DU, including the number of users on each physical resource, the size of service flow, and slice instance information.

And S507, the RAN slice controller updates the physical resource allocation of each user and service or adjusts the configuration of an air interface system by applying a scheduling algorithm according to the occupation condition of each physical resource and the corresponding configuration of the air interface system.

The air interface standard configuration may include at least one of the following: carrier frequency point, subcarrier range, scheduling period, slice type, slice example, service type, and user identification.

S508, after receiving the scheduling command, the base station DU broadcasts the control channel information to the user whose access resource is modified through the common broadcast channel, and the user monitors the scheduling information on the updated control channel.

S509, when there is data, the base station DU schedules the user on each physical resource according to the scheduling mechanism indicated by the RAN slice controller, and sends a scheduling instruction to the user.

S510, uplink/downlink transmission is performed between the user and the base station DU.

In the example of fig. 5, the RAN slice controller is added to schedule resources for different services and users in the slice, so that the network can configure its use of shared or proprietary radio resources and function modules according to the differences of services and users. Configuring network resources of corresponding sharing levels for users of different service levels; according to the number of the user access network slices, the flexible use of part of the accessed functional modules is configured to enhance the reliability.

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a network device 600 of an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the network device 600 is capable of performing the various steps performed by the network device in the methods of fig. 1-5, and will not be described in detail herein to avoid repetition. The network device includes a RAN slice controller, and the network device 600 includes: a determination unit 610 and a processing unit 620,

the determining unit 610 is configured to determine a network slice; the processing unit 620 is configured to configure, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing the radio access network, where the network resources include at least one of: network function modules and spectrum resources, wherein the network function modules comprise shared network function modules and/or proprietary network function modules, and the spectrum resources comprise shared spectrum resources and/or proprietary spectrum resources.

Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a network device 700 of an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the network device 700 is capable of performing the various steps performed by the network device in the methods of fig. 1-5, and will not be described in detail herein to avoid repetition. The network device includes a RAN slice controller, and the network device 700 includes:

a memory 710 for storing programs;

a communication interface 720 for communicating with other devices;

a processor 730 for executing a program in memory 710, the processor 730 for determining a network slice when the program is executed; and configuring network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice, wherein the network resources include at least one of the following: network function modules and spectrum resources, wherein the network function modules comprise shared network function modules and/or proprietary network function modules, and the spectrum resources comprise shared spectrum resources and/or proprietary spectrum resources.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium and including instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

a network device for managing a radio access network determines a network slice;

the network device configures network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice, wherein the network resources include network function modules and spectrum resources, the network function modules include shared network function modules and/or proprietary network function modules, the spectrum resources include shared spectrum resources and proprietary spectrum resources,

wherein the network device configures network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice, and the configuring comprises: the network device configures the occupied position of the shared spectrum resource of the network slice on the spectrum resource or the occupied proportion between the shared spectrum resource of the network slice and the exclusive spectrum resource.

2. The communications method of claim 1, wherein in a case that the network function module includes a shared network function module and a proprietary network function module, the network device configures network resources required to access the radio access network for the network slice, comprising: the network device configures a connection relationship between a shared network function module and a proprietary network function module of the network slice.

3. The communication method of claim 1, wherein the network device configures network resources required for the network slice to access the radio access network, comprising: the network equipment configures network resources required for accessing the wireless access network for the network slice according to at least one of the following information: state information of the network slice, user information of the network slice, and service information of the network slice.

4. The communications method of claim 3, wherein the network device configures the network slice with network resources required to access the radio access network, comprising: and the network equipment configures the first user of the network slice to use the shared network resource or the special network resource of the network slice according to the user information of the network slice.

5. The communication method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the network device configures network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice, comprising: and the network equipment configures the first type service of the network slice to use the shared network resource or the special network resource of the network slice according to the service information of the network slice.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein determining the network slice by a network device for managing a radio access network comprises:

the network equipment receives first indication information, wherein the first indication information comprises life cycle management information of the network slice or access request information of users and services of the network slice;

and the network equipment determines the network slice according to the first indication information.

7. The communication method of claim 6, wherein the lifecycle management information of the network slice comprises at least one of: the creation information of the network slice, the deletion information of the network slice, the capacity expansion information of the network slice, the capacity reduction information of the network slice, the subscription information of the network slice, and the QoS information of the network slice.

8. A network device, comprising:

a determining unit for determining a network slice;

a processing unit, configured to configure, for the network slice, network resources required for accessing a radio access network, where the network resources include network function modules and spectrum resources, where the network function modules include shared network function modules and/or dedicated network function modules, and the spectrum resources include shared spectrum resources and dedicated spectrum resources,

in configuring network resources required for accessing the radio access network for the network slice, the processing unit is specifically configured to configure a position occupied by the shared spectrum resources of the network slice on the spectrum resources, or an occupation ratio between the shared spectrum resources of the network slice and the dedicated spectrum resources.

9. The network device of claim 8, wherein in a case that the network function modules include a shared network function module and a proprietary network function module, the processing unit is specifically configured to configure a connection relationship between the shared network function module and the proprietary network function module of the network slice in terms of configuring network resources required to access the radio access network for the network slice.

10. The network device of claim 8, wherein in configuring the network slice with the network resources needed to access the radio access network, the processing unit is specifically configured to configure the network slice with the network resources needed to access the radio access network according to at least one of the following information: state information of the network slice, user information of the network slice, and service information of the network slice.

11. The network device of claim 10, wherein in configuring the network slice with network resources required to access the radio access network, the processing unit is specifically configured to configure a first user of the network slice to use shared network resources or dedicated network resources of the network slice according to user information of the network slice.

12. The network device according to claim 10 or 11, wherein in configuring the network slice with network resources required for accessing the radio access network, the processing unit is specifically configured to configure the first type of traffic of the network slice to use shared network resources or dedicated network resources of the network slice according to the traffic information of the network slice.

13. Network device of any of claims 8 to 11, wherein in connection with the determining of the network slice, the determining unit is specifically configured to receive first indication information, the first indication information comprising lifecycle management information of the network slice or access request information of users and services of the network slice; and determining the network slice according to the first indication information.

14. The network device of any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the lifecycle management information of the network slice comprises at least one of: the creation information of the network slice, the deletion information of the network slice, the capacity expansion information of the network slice, the capacity reduction information of the network slice, the subscription information of the network slice, and the QoS information of the network slice.