KR20180039567A - Methods for providing network service using network slicing and Apparatuses thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to operations of a terminal and a base station for applying LAN slicing in a next generation mobile communication system supporting network slicing. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a method for providing a network service to a terminal using a network slicing is provided. In the method, a central unit (CU) of a base station constitutes one or more LAN slices End network Slice information capable of supporting each cell based on the information of the LAN slice to the UE, receiving the RRC connection request from the UE, and receiving the RRC connection request based on the RRC connection request And selecting a LAN slice to be used for a network service to be provided to the terminal, wherein the base station is composed of a central unit and one or more distributed units (DU), and the distributed unit collectively uses the resources of the central unit The method comprising the steps of:

Description

[0001] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING NETWORK SERVICE WITH NETWORK SLIDING [0002]

The present disclosure relates to operations of a terminal and a base station for applying LAN slicing in a next generation mobile communication system supporting network slicing.

In the existing LTE system, dedicated equipment is constructed for each entity to form a core and an access network. As a result, there is a problem that efficiency of network resource utilization is low and network configuration is not easily changed.

Accordingly, in the next generation radio access network (5G) system, a design for a network structure for providing efficient network services for network devices connected in various ways is being discussed. In particular, network slicing technology has been actively studied as a method for ensuring the quality of end-to-end network service for various terminals.

In the case of such a network slicing technique, various solutions for supporting network slicing on a core network are currently being discussed. However, in order to guarantee the quality of end-to-end network services for various terminals, it is necessary not only to perform network slicing on the core network but also to perform network slicing in cooperation with the core network in a radio access network (RAN) There is a need for a solution to support.

It is an object of the present embodiments to provide a stable network service through a simple network slicing to a user by effectively managing and operating network slicing in a RAN unit in a next generation base station based on a separation structure of CU and DU.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of providing a network service to a terminal using a network slicing method, the method comprising the steps of: determining whether a central unit (CU) (RAN Slice), transmitting end-to-end network slice information capable of supporting each cell to the mobile station based on the information of the LAN slice, receiving an RRC connection request from the mobile station And selecting a LAN slice to be used for a network service to be provided to the terminal based on the RRC connection request, wherein the base station is composed of a central unit and one or more distributed units (DUs) Quot; is used in common.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of using a network service through a network slicing, the method comprising: receiving end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by a cell from a base station; Transmitting the RRC connection request, and using the network service through a LAN slice (RAN Slice) selected by the base station.

One embodiment of the present invention is a base station for providing a network service to a terminal using network slicing, comprising: a central unit (CU) constituting one or more LAN slices (RAN Slice) (DU), a transmitting unit for transmitting end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by a cell based on the information of the LAN slice to the mobile station, a receiving unit for receiving an RRC connection request from the mobile station, And a control unit for controlling selection of a LAN slice to be used in a network service to be provided to the terminal based on the request, wherein the distributed unit commonly uses resources of the central unit.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a terminal that uses a network service through network slicing includes a receiver for receiving end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by a cell from a base station, a RRC connection And a controller for controlling use of the network service through a LAN slice (RAN Slice) selected by the base station and the transmission unit for transmitting the request.

The embodiments described above can effectively manage and operate the network slicing in units of RAN in the next-generation base station, and provide a stable network service through the end-to-end network slicing to the user.

1 is a conceptual diagram of a service-oriented mobile communication network to which a network slicing is applied.
2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a core network supporting network slicing.
3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a next-generation mobile communication base station based on a cloud LAN.
4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a LAN slice and a core network slice for end-to-end network slicing.
5 is a diagram illustrating a LAN slicing supporting structure of a cloud-based LAN-based next generation mobile communication base station.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for providing a network service to a terminal using a network slicing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a diagram illustrating a procedure in which a terminal according to the present embodiments uses a network service through network slicing.
8 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for transmitting a DU setup request message when configuring a LAN slice.
9 is a diagram illustrating a radio bearer setup procedure.
10 is a diagram illustrating a radio bearer addition setting procedure.
11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a base station according to the present embodiments.
12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to the present embodiments.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that, in adding reference numerals to the constituent elements of the drawings, the same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference symbols as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

As used herein, a wireless communication system refers to a system for providing various communication services such as voice, packet data, and the like. A wireless communication system includes a user equipment (UE) and a base station (BS).

The user terminal is a comprehensive concept that means a terminal in a wireless communication, and it is a comprehensive concept which means a mobile station (MS) in GSM, a mobile station (MS) in UT (User Terminal), a Subscriber Station (SS), a wireless device, and the like.

A base station or a cell generally refers to a station that communicates with a user terminal and includes a Node-B, an evolved Node-B, a gNB (5G Node-B), a Low Power A Node B, a Sector, a Site, various types of antennas, a Base Transceiver System (BTS), an Access Point, a point (e.g., a transmission point, a reception point, a transmission / reception point) (RRH), a radio unit (RU), and a small cell, as well as a relay cell, a relay node, a megacell, a macrocell, a microcell, a picocell, a femtocell, an RRH,

Since the various cells listed above exist in the base station controlling each cell, the base station can be interpreted into two meanings. Macro cell, micro cell, picocell, femtocell, small cell, or 2) the wireless region itself in connection with the wireless region. 1), all of the devices that interact to configure the wireless area to be cooperatively controlled by the same entity are all pointed to the base station. A point, a transmission / reception point, a transmission point, a reception point, and the like are examples of the base station according to the configuration method of the radio area. 2 may direct the base station to the wireless region itself to receive or transmit signals at the point of view of the user terminal or in the vicinity of the neighboring base station.

In this specification, a cell refers to a component carrier having a coverage of a signal transmitted from a transmission point or a transmission point or a transmission point or a transmission / reception point of a signal transmitted from a transmission / reception point, and a transmission / reception point itself .

Herein, the user terminal and the base station are used in a broad sense as two (uplink or downlink) transmitting and receiving subjects used to implement the technology or technical idea described in the present invention, and are not limited by a specific term or word Do not.

Here, an uplink (UL, or uplink) means a method of transmitting / receiving data to / from a base station by a user terminal, and a downlink (DL or downlink) .

The time division duplex (TDD) scheme, which is transmitted using different time periods, can be used for the uplink and downlink transmission, and a frequency division duplex (FDD) scheme in which different frequencies are used, a TDD scheme and an FDD scheme A hybrid method can be used.

In the wireless communication system, the uplink and the downlink are configured with reference to one carrier or carrier pair to form a standard.

The uplink and the downlink transmit control information through a control channel such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and the like. The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) It is composed of the same data channel and transmits data.

A downlink may refer to a communication or communication path from a multipoint transmission / reception point to a terminal, and an uplink may refer to a communication or communication path from a terminal to a multiple transmission / reception point. At this time, in the downlink, the transmitter may be a part of multiple transmission / reception points, and the receiver may be a part of the terminal. Also, in the uplink, the transmitter may be a part of the terminal, and the receiver may be a part of multiple transmission / reception points.

Hereinafter, a situation in which a signal is transmitted / received through a channel such as PUCCH, PUSCH, PDCCH, and PDSCH is expressed as 'PUCCH, PUSCH, PDCCH and PDSCH are transmitted and received'.

Meanwhile, the High Layer Signaling described below includes RRC signaling for transmitting RRC information including RRC parameters.

The base station performs downlink transmission to the UEs. The base station includes downlink control information, such as scheduling, required for reception of a downlink data channel, which is a primary physical channel for unicast transmission, and physical downlink control information for transmitting scheduling grant information for transmission in an uplink data channel. A control channel can be transmitted. Hereinafter, the transmission / reception of a signal through each channel will be described in a form in which the corresponding channel is transmitted / received.

There are no restrictions on multiple access schemes applied in wireless communication systems. (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) Various multiple access schemes such as OFDM-CDMA can be used. Here, the NOMA includes Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA) and Low Density Spreading (LDS).

One embodiment of the present invention relates to asynchronous wireless communications that evolve into LTE / LTE-Advanced, IMT-2020 over GSM, WCDMA, HSPA, and synchronous wireless communications such as CDMA, CDMA- Can be applied.

In this specification, a MTC (Machine Type Communication) terminal may mean a terminal supporting low cost (or low complexity) or a terminal supporting coverage enhancement. Alternatively, the MTC terminal may refer to a terminal defined in a specific category for supporting low cost (or low complexity) and / or coverage enhancement.

In other words, the MTC terminal in this specification may mean a newly defined 3GPP Release-13 low cost (or low complexity) UE category / type for performing LTE-based MTC-related operations. Alternatively, the MTC terminal may support enhanced coverage over the existing LTE coverage or a UE category / type defined in the existing 3GPP Release-12 or lower that supports low power consumption, or a newly defined Release-13 low cost low complexity UE category / type. Or a further Enhanced MTC terminal defined in Release-14.

In this specification, NarrowBand Internet of Things (NB-IoT) terminal means a terminal supporting wireless access for cellular IoT. The objectives of NB-IoT technology include improved indoor coverage, support for large-scale low-rate terminals, low latency sensitivity, ultra-low cost, low power consumption, and optimized network architecture.

Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) have been proposed as typical usage scenarios in NR (New Radio), which is under discussion in 3GPP.

In this specification, a frequency, a frame, a subframe, a resource, a resource block, a region, a band, a subband, a control channel, a data channel, a synchronization signal, various reference signals, various signals, May be interpreted as past or presently used meanings or various meanings used in the future.

The embodiments described below can be applied to a terminal, a base station, and a core network entity (MME) using next generation mobile communication (5G mobile communication, New-RAT). For convenience of description, the base station includes a base station (CU, DU, or CU and DU) in a 5G wireless network in which a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) , And gNB). ≪ / RTI >

Further, the central unit and the distributed unit described in this specification mean a central unit and a distributed unit included in one base station, and there can be one or more distributed units connected to one central unit. Therefore, the distributed unit described later may mean a specific distributed unit among a set of one or more distributed units connected to the central unit.

In addition, the service described in this specification may refer to a network service in which the terminal is connected to a network through a base station and is configured using network resources. Such a service can be provided through an end-to-end network slice, which will be described later.

In the existing mobile communication network (LTE), dedicated equipment is constructed for each entity to constitute a core and an access network. As a result, efficiency of network resource utilization is low and network configuration change is not easy. In recent years, a service-oriented next-generation mobile communication network (hereinafter, referred to as " service-oriented mobile communication network ") has been applied to effectively accommodate mobile services having various requirements and to apply end- Is being discussed actively.

Network Slicing is a technology that utilizes network virtualization technology to divide a network into multiple virtual networks and improve flexibility by configuring / managing separate logical networks for each service or subscriber.

With network slicing, the virtualized network resource pool can allocate necessary resources according to the service type. Therefore, when introducing a new service, the service can be provided quickly without building a physical network, and limited physical network resources It is useful for reducing capital expenditures (CAPEX) because it can be utilized efficiently.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a service-oriented mobile communication network to which a network slicing is applied. FIG. 1 illustrates a situation where various types of mobile stations are provided with services through different virtual network resources.

Referring to FIG. 1, different types of terminals may be connected to different network slices through a different radio connection technology (RAT) according to types of terminals such as smart phones, autonomous vehicles, and massive IOTs. Different terminals can receive services of different quality suited to the characteristics of the terminal through each network slice.

In this case, each network slice may be a virtualized network constituted by a part of one physical network (Access Node / Cloud Node / Networking Node), and each network slice may have a control plane (CP) ) May be different from each other.

Currently, we are discussing the introduction of network slicing for the service-oriented 5G network design, and each member company is proposing various solutions for network slicing support in the core network.

2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a core network supporting network slicing.

Referring to FIG. 2, the core network may be composed of various types of instances according to each group. And each instance can distribute the functions of CP (Control Plane) and UP (User Plane) processing. And each instance can be connected to one shared access network (AN).

In FIG. 2, the connection between the instance for processing the CP and the shared AN is indicated by a dotted line, and the connection between the instance for processing the UP and the shared AN is indicated by a solid line. Like GROUP A, every instance can process a CP / UP. Like GROUP B, an instance can consist of slices and only handle some of the functions of a CP. Also, like GROUP C, CP can be processed in one instance and UP can be processed in multiple UP instances.

From a service-oriented network point of view, network slicing requires end-to-end network slice support. Therefore, there is a need for a solution for how to support end-to-end network slices in a wireless access network (RAN) in conjunction with a core network, as well as network slicing support in a core network currently under discussion.

On the other hand, discussions are being made on the 5G network design method incorporating cloud-RAN technology to maximize network efficiency. The cloud LAN refers to a technique for receiving a data processing unit among components of a base station in a cloud server group composed of general-purpose hardware and processing signals / traffic in the cloud.

Existing network operators have constructed network equipment based on the busy time load with the highest user traffic, which is inefficient in terms of the construction cost and power consumption considering the smallest amount of user traffic. If one or more distributed units (DUs) share the resources of a common central unit and centralize / virtualize some of the base-band functions of the base station to a central unit (CU) Can be saved.

3 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a next-generation mobile communication base station based on a cloud LAN. A central unit (CU) is located at a central office or branch office of a base station, a distributed unit (DU) is located at each cell site, and a CU and a DU can be connected to each other. Since one central office or branch office manages a large number of cell sites, one or more distributed units can be connected to one central unit. At this time, the network section between CU and DU can be referred to as a front hall (Fronthaul).

The baseband function of the base station is implemented in a virtualized manner by PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC radio protocol layer or Radio Access Network Function (RANF) As shown in Fig.

For example, the base station may be configured as a Type I and Type II separation structure. Separated Structure In Type I, the distributed unit processes the lower layer function of L2, and the distributed unit has a lot of functions. And a non-ideal front hole between the central unit and the dispersing unit.

On the other hand, the Type II separation structure is a structure in which more functions are concentrated on the central unit than that of the Type I, and the dispersion unit is only responsible for the subordinate functions of the PHY layer and can be connected to the ideal front hall between the central unit and the dispersion unit .

Currently, discussions are being made on how to optimize and separate the functions of the central unit and the distributed unit included in the current base station. Depending on how the base unit's separation structure is configured, the functions of the central unit and the functions of the distributed unit It can be different.

In addition, discussions regarding the opening (standardization) of the interface between the central unit and the distributed unit (hereinafter also referred to as CU-DU) interface have been started in the next generation mobile communication base station.

If the interface between the central unit and the distributed unit is not standardized as the interface (CPRI) between the baseband unit and the RF unit of the existing LTE base station, it is impossible to interoperate between the central unit and the distributed unit of different interfaces. There is a restriction that it is necessary to construct only the equipment of the same company. As a result, the operator has a lot of restrictions on the construction and operation of the base station, and the construction / operation cost also increases. Therefore, it is very important to establish an open interface between the central unit and the distributed unit that constitute the base station to secure multi-vendor interoperability.

The present invention provides a method of applying slicing, i.e., RAN slicing, at a radio access network level in a next generation mobile communication system, and provides an operation method of a terminal and a base station and a related signaling message structure for supporting LAN slicing It has its purpose.

The network slice from the end-to-end viewpoint can be classified according to network performance requirements, and the main performance criteria are as follows.

- Transmission reliability

- Required bandwidth

- Support for mobility

- Latency

- The need for local breakout (LBO)

Table 1 below is an example of a network performance requirement configuration of an end-to-end network slice (E2E network slice or network slice). There are predetermined predetermined steps for each performance criterion, and each performance criterion can be variously set for each network slice.

Slice # 1 Slice # 2 Slice # 3 Slice # 4 Delivery reliability Very high Medium Very high Medium Required BW Low Very high Low Very low Mobility Very high Relatively low Fixed Fixed Latency Not critical Not critical Very low Very low Need for Local Breakout no yes yes no

The user terminal may use one end-to-end network slice, or may use a plurality of end-to-end network slices for each parent application.

Slicing in the core network and slicing in the radio access network (RAN) must be supported simultaneously to support end-to-end network slicing in the user terminal.

4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a LAN slice and a core network slice for end-to-end network slicing.

Referring to FIG. 4, one core network slice and one LAN slice are mapped on a one-to-one basis for one end-to-end network slice. For example, RAN Slice # 2, which is one LAN slice and CN Slice # 1, which is one core network slice, are mapped to Network Slice # 3, which is an end-to-end network slice, at the radio access network level. Therefore, if the user terminal uses Network Slice # 3, the service can be performed through RAN Slice # 2 and CN Slice # 1. As another example, when the user terminal uses Network Slice # 2, the service can be performed through RAN Slice # 1 and CN Slice # 3.

Hereinafter, the network slice in the core network is referred to as a core network slice (CN Slice), and the network slice in the radio access network is referred to as a LAN slice (RAN Slice).

The base station can construct a LAN slice based on the following characteristics.

- Whether the upper layer function is supported

o Header Compression

o Ciphering and Integrity Protection

o Routing and reordering

o Segmentation, concatenation, and re-assembly.

o Retransmission and status reporting, ARQ (Retransmission and Status Reporting)

o Multiplexing

o HARQ

- Scheduling policy

o Link reliability requirements

o Latency requirements

- Traffic handling policy

o QoS requirements

- Dedicated radio resource

o Subcarrier spacing

o Time / frequency resource

(e.g., designating a dedicated subframe in a frame, designating a dedicated frequency / symbol section in a subframe)

o Random access channel resources and retry policies (access parameters) (PRACH resource & retry policy (access parameters)

o Measurement resource & period

- Signaling method

o Periodic grant for control signaling

o Unsolicited uplink transmission

5 is a diagram illustrating a LAN slicing supporting structure of a cloud-based LAN-based next generation mobile communication base station.

Referring to FIG. 5, a next generation base station (5G base station, hereinafter referred to as gNB) based on a CU-DU separation structure for supporting LAN slicing can logically construct and operate a LAN slice across a central unit and a distributed unit.

As described above, one or more distributed units may be connected to one central unit, and a specific LAN slice may be logically configured across one of the central unit and the distributed unit. And the central unit can be connected to the core network.

Specifically, in order to support LAN slicing, the central unit can support a CN-RAN Slice Mapper and a LAN slice management unit. The detailed functions of each part are as follows.

- CN-RAN Slice Mapper:

o Map the core network network slice to the LAN slice configured in the base station

o Collects and manages core network information through signaling with a core network control entity connected to the central unit (eg, a CCNF entity, which may be a Common Control Network Function Entity)

o When an initial attach and a service request of the UE are made, the end-to-end network slice and the core network control object related to the UE are selected

- RAN slice management:

o Manage creation and modification of LAN slices

o Add and change the LAN slice configuration according to the physical configuration information of the distributed unit, users' network slice usage status, and wireless and computing resource usage status

As described above, a LAN slice can be mapped to an end-to-end network slice. Therefore, the central unit of the base station broadcasts wirelessly the end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by each cell based on the cell-by-cell LAN slice information configured together with the lower-connected distributed unit in a system information block (SIB) Can be transmitted to each UE through UE-specific RRC signaling.

If an end-to-end network slice configuration is specified as a standard document, a list of end-to-end network slice IDs that can be supported per cell may be included in the system information block.

If there is no separate specification, the system information block stores the performance information (transmission reliability / required bandwidth / mobility (mobility) support / latency / local breakout (LBO) requirements).

6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure for providing a network service to a terminal using a network slicing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a central unit (CU) of a base station may perform a step of configuring one or more LAN slices (S610).

At this time, the central unit constituting the LAN slice can map the LAN slice and the corresponding core network slice. This can be done in the core network-to-LAN slice mapper of the central unit described above.

And, as described above, since the LAN slice is constructed across the central unit and the distributed unit of the base station, the central unit can deliver the setup request message to the distributed unit to configure or update the LAN slice. The distribution unit may receive a LAN slice configuration request or an update request from the central unit in the form of a DU CONFIGURATION REQUEST MESSAGE and forward the response (success or failure) to the central unit.

In step S620, the base station may transmit end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by each cell based on the LAN slice information configured by the central unit. As described above, since the LAN slice configured by the base station corresponds to the end-point network slice, it can be determined which LAN slice is used when the terminal uses the network service according to the end-point network slice used by the terminal.

At this time, the end-to-end network slice information that can be supported for each cell as described above can be transmitted in the system information block (SIB). In this case, the end-to-end network slice information included in the system information block may include an ID list of end-to-end network slices that can be supported by each cell. In addition, performance information (transmission reliability / required bandwidth / mobility support / latency / local breakout (LBO) requirement).

In addition, the base station may perform a step of receiving an RRC connection request from the terminal (S630). After receiving end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by a cell from a base station, the UE can perform an initial access and a service request based on the received end-to-end network slice information through an RRC connection request.

In addition, the base station may perform a step of selecting a LAN slice to be used for a network service to be provided to the terminal based on the RRC connection request received from the terminal (S640).

At this time, the central unit of the base station selects the core network control entity based on PLMN, IMSI, end-to-end network slice ID, and the like included in the RRC connection request received from the terminal, and transmits an initial access or service request message to the core network control entity . In this case, the CCNF entity may be an example of the core network control entity.

When the central unit receives the initial context setup request message from the core network control entity, the central unit sends the LAN slice information based on the end-to-end network slice ID and the core network network slice ID, And update the mapping information between the core network network slice and the LAN slice. This can be done in the core network-to-LAN slice mapper of the central unit described above.

Thereafter, the central unit performs radio bearer setup for the UE by transmitting a radio bearer setup request message to the distributed unit, which is performed in order to set the context for the UE. At this time, the selected LAN slice information (LAN slice ID) may be included in the above-described radio bearer setup request message.

If the UE further requests to establish a data radio bearer, the central unit can transmit a radio bearer addition request message to the distributed unit. At this time, the selected radio bearer addition request message may include the selected LAN slice information (e.g., a LAN slice ID).

7 is a diagram illustrating a procedure in which a terminal according to the present embodiments uses a network service through network slicing.

Referring to FIG. 7, in step S710, the MS may receive End-to-End Network Slice information that can be supported by the MS from the BS. Based on the supported end-to-end network slice information for each received cell, the terminal can use the network service by selecting one end-to-end network slice.

At this time, end-to-end network slice information that can be supported for each cell as described above may be included in the system information block (SIB). In this case, as described above, the end-to-end network slice information included in the system information block may include an ID list of end-to-end network slices that can be supported for each cell. In addition, performance information (transmission reliability) / Required bandwidth / mobility support / latency / local breakout (LBO) requirement) may be included.

In addition, the terminal may perform a step of transmitting an RRC connection request to the base station (S720). The terminal can perform the initial access and service request through the RRC connection request and receive the response thereto.

In addition, the terminal may perform the step of using the network service through the LAN slice (RAN Slice) selected by the base station (S730). As described above, since the terminal uses the network service through the end-to-end network slice and the base station selects the LAN slice corresponding to the end-to-end network slice, the network service used by the terminal is performed through the LAN slice selected by the base station will be.

Hereinafter, a more specific embodiment for constructing the LAN slice by the base station described above will be described. Particularly, a specific CU-DU operation procedure and a related signal message structure for a LAN slice configuration in a base station will be described with reference to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a procedure for setting a DU when constructing a LAN slice.

After the initialization of the DU is completed, the CU can perform a DU configuration procedure to start a cell-related operation of the DU.

The CU can send a setup request message to DU to configure the LAN slice. Hereinafter, the setup request message transmitted by the CU to the DU is referred to as a DU CONFIGURATION REQUEST message.

At this time, the DU configuration request message transmitted from the CU to the DU may include the cell configuration information and the LAN slice configuration information. At this time, the LAN slice configuration information may include the following information. In particular, as described above, since there is a difference in the function of DU according to the CU-DU separation structure, the configuration information of the LAN slice transmitted to DU according to the CU-DU separation structure can be changed.

- Number of LAN slices (# of RAN slices) (N)

- Configuration information for each LAN slice n (x N)

■ The LAN slice ID (RAN slice ID)

■ Supports upper layer function (can be configured with ON / OFF bitmap): Optional, only CU-DU separation structure type I disclosed in FIG. 3

o Routing and reordering

o Segmentation, concatenation, and re-assembly.

o Retransmission and status reporting, ARQ (Retransmission and Status Reporting)

o Multiplexing

o HARQ

■ Scheduling policy: Optional, only CU-DU separation structure type I disclosed in FIG. 3

o Link reliability requirements

o Latency requirements

■ Traffic handling policy: Optional, CU-DU separation structure type I only

o QoS requirements

■ Radio resource setting information

o Subcarrier spacing

o Time / frequency resource allocation information

o Random access channel resource allocation (PRACH resource allocation)

o Resource allocation for unsolicited uplink transmission (resource allocation for unsolicited uplink transmission)

The DU setup procedure described above can also be performed to update the LAN slice configuration during operation of the DU. That is, the CU can add and change the LAN slice configuration according to the physical configuration information of the DU, the user network slice usage status, and the wireless and computing resource usage status. In this case, the CU can also transmit the DU setup request message to the DU .

Firstly, the CU 800 transmits a setup request message to the DU 810 in order to configure the LAN slice (S820). The DU 810 having received the DU setup request message can transmit the DU setup response information (DU CONFIGURATION RESPONSE) to the CU 800 since the LAN slice configuration has been normally operated (S830).

In operation S840, the CU 800 transmits a setup request message to the DU 810 to configure the LAN slice. The DU 810 having received the DU setup request message can send the DU setup failure information to the CU 800 because the configuration of the LAN slice has failed (S850).

Hereinafter, a procedure for selecting a LAN slice to be used in a network service to be provided to a terminal by the base station in the process of requesting initial access or service from the terminal to the base station will be described.

First, the CU determines whether or not a LAN slice and a core network based on a PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network), an IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity), an end-point network slice ID, and the like included in an RRC connection request You can select a network slice.

Then, the CU may select a core network control entity associated with the selected LAN slice and the core network network slice, and may transmit an initial access request or a service request message to the above-described core network control entity.

In this case, since the final set entity of the end-to-end network slice and the core network network slice is the core network, the CU temporarily selects the end-to-end network slice and the core network network slice, and the selected end- It can be used for selecting a core network control entity.

Upon receiving the initial context setup request message from the core network control entity, the CU resets the LAN slice according to the end-point network slice ID and the core network slice ID included in the corresponding message, The inter-slice mapping information can be updated.

The CU may transmit the selected LAN slice information (LAN slice ID per radio bearer) to the DU through a radio bearer setup procedure for establishing a context for the UE in the DU.

9 is a diagram illustrating a radio bearer setup procedure.

Referring to FIG. 9, the CU 900 may forward a radio bearer setup request (RB SETUP REQUEST) message to the DU.

When the DU succeeds in setting up the radio bearer, the CU 900 may first forward the RB SETUP REQUEST message to the DU 910 (S920). The DU 910 may forward the RB SETUP RESPONSE message to the CU 900 after successful radio bearer setup (S930).

On the other hand, when the DU fails to set up the radio bearer, the CU 900 may transmit the RB SETUP REQUEST message to the DU 910 (S940). The DU 910 may forward the RB SETUP FAILURE message to the CU 900 after failing to set up the radio bearer (S950).

10 is a diagram illustrating a radio bearer addition setting procedure.

If the UE that has already set up the RB requests to set up a data radio bearer (DRB), the CU adds a signaling procedure to the existing core network and sets a new DRB in the DU (Radio Bearer Addition) Can be performed. If the UE uses the end-to-end network slice for each data radio bearer, it may include the LAN slice allocation information for each data radio bearer in the RB ADDITION REQUEST message transmitted by the CU.

If the DU succeeds in addition of the radio bearer, the CU 1000 may transmit a RB ADDITION REQUEST message to the DU 1010 (S1020). If the DU succeeds in adding the radio bearer, the DU 1010 may transmit a RE ADDITION RESPONSE message to the CU 1000 (S1030).

On the other hand, when the DU fails to set up the radio bearer, the CU 1000 may transmit a RB ADDITION REQUEST message to the DU 1010 (S1040). If the DU fails to add a radio bearer, the DU 1010 may forward the RB ADDITION FAILURE message to the CU 1000 (S1050).

11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a base station according to the present embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 11, the base station 1100 according to the present embodiment may include a control unit 1110, a transmission unit 1120, and a reception unit 1130.

The control unit 1110 controls the overall operation of the base station 1100 according to the present invention by providing the network service to the terminal using the network slicing.

Specifically, the control unit 1110 can control the selection of a LAN slice used in a network service to be provided to the terminal based on an RRC connection request from the terminal.

The transmitting unit 1120 and the receiving unit 1130 are used to transmit and receive signals, messages, and data necessary for carrying out the present invention to and from the terminal.

Specifically, the transmitting unit 1120 can transmit end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by the cell to the terminal based on the LAN slice information configured in the central unit. At this time, the end-to-end network slice information may be transmitted to the terminal through the system information block.

Specifically, the receiver 1130 can receive an RRC connection request from the terminal. In accordance with the present invention, the BS 1100 may select a LAN slice to be used for a network service to be provided to the MS based on an RRC connection request received from the MS, and map the selected LAN slice to a core network network slice.

12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a user terminal according to the present embodiments.

12, the user terminal 1200 according to the present embodiment includes a receiving unit 1210, a controller 1220, and a transmitting unit 1230.

The receiver 1210 receives downlink control information, data, and messages from the base station through the corresponding channel.

Specifically, the receiving unit 1210 can receive end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by the cell from the base station. At this time, the end-to-end network slice information may be included in the system information block (SIB).

In addition, the controller 1220 controls the overall operation of the user terminal 1200 to utilize the network service through the network slicing according to the present invention described above.

Specifically, the controller 1220 may control the network service to be used through the LAN slice selected by the base station. As described above, the LAN slice configured in the base station corresponds to the end-to-end network slice used by the terminal. Therefore, when one end-to-end network slice is used, the LAN slice selected by the base station is used.

In addition, the transmitter 1230 transmits uplink control information, data, and a message to the base station through the corresponding channel.

Specifically, the transmitter 1230 may transmit an RRC connection request to the base station. In accordance with the present invention, a base station can select a LAN slice to be used for a network service to be provided to a terminal based on the RRC connection request and map it to a core network network slice.

According to the present invention, the next-generation base station based on the separated structure of CU and DU can effectively manage and operate the network slicing in units of RANs, thereby providing a stable network service through sliced network slicing to the user.

The standard content or standard documents referred to in the above-mentioned embodiments constitute a part of this specification, for the sake of simplicity of description of the specification. Therefore, it is to be understood that the content of the above standard content and some of the standard documents is added to or contained in the scope of the present invention, as falling within the scope of the present invention.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (18)

A method for providing a network service to a terminal using a network slicing method,
Configuring at least one LAN slice (RAN Slice) by a central unit (CU) of the base station;
Transmitting end-to-end network slice information, which can be supported by each cell, to the terminal based on the information of the LAN slice;
Receiving an RRC connection request from the terminal; And
Selecting a LAN slice to be used for a network service to be provided to the UE based on the RRC connection request,
Wherein the base station is comprised of the central unit and at least one distributed unit (DU), the distributed unit collectively using the resources of the central unit.
The method according to claim 1,
The central unit comprises:
And mapping the core network Slice to the LAN slice.
The method according to claim 1,
The central unit comprises:
And transmits a configuration request message to the distributed unit to configure the LAN slice.
The method of claim 3,
The setup request message includes cell configuration information and LAN slice configuration information,
Wherein the configuration information of the LAN slice includes configuration information of each LAN slice according to the number of the LAN slices and the number of the LAN slices.
The method according to claim 1,
The end-to-end network slice information includes:
(SIB), and is transmitted to the terminal.
The method according to claim 1,
The central unit comprises:
Selects a core network control entity based on the RRC connection request, and delivers an initial access or service request message to the core network control entity.
The method according to claim 6,
The central unit comprises:
When the initial context setup request message is received from the core network control entity, resets the LAN slice information based on the initial context setup request message and updates the mapping information between the core network slice and the LAN slice .
A method for a terminal to utilize a network service through network slicing,
Receiving end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by a cell from a base station;
Transmitting an RRC connection request to the base station; And
And using the network service through a LAN slice (RAN Slice) selected by the base station.
9. The method of claim 8,
The end-to-end network slice information includes:
(SIB, System Information Block).
1. A base station for providing a network service to a terminal using network slicing,
A central unit (CU) constituting one or more LAN slices (RAN Slice);
One or more distributed units (DUs);
A transmitting unit for transmitting end-to-end network slice information that can be supported by each cell based on the information of the LAN slice to the mobile station;
A receiving unit for receiving an RRC connection request from the terminal; And
And a controller for controlling selection of a LAN slice used in a network service to be provided to the terminal based on the RRC connection request,
Wherein said distributed unit collectively uses resources of said central unit.
11. The method of claim 10,
The central unit comprises:
And mapping the core network Slice to the LAN slice.
11. The method of claim 10,
The central unit comprises:
And transmits a configuration request message to the distributed unit to configure the LAN slice.
13. The method of claim 12,
The setup request message includes cell configuration information and LAN slice configuration information,
Wherein the LAN slice configuration information includes configuration information of each LAN slice according to the number of the LAN slices and the number of the LAN slices.
11. The method of claim 10,
The end-to-end network slice information includes:
And is included in a system information block (SIB) and transmitted to the terminal.
11. The method of claim 10,
The central unit comprises:
Selects a core network control entity based on the RRC connection request, and delivers an initial access or service request message to the core network control entity.
16. The method of claim 15,
The central unit comprises:
Upon receiving an initial context setup request message from the core network control entity, resets the LAN slice information based on the initial context setup request message and updates the mapping information between the core network slice and the LAN slice. .
In a terminal using a network service through network slicing,
A receiving unit for receiving End-to-End Network Slice information capable of supporting each cell from a base station;
A transmitter for transmitting an RRC connection request to the base station; And
And a controller for controlling use of the network service through a LAN slice (RAN Slice) selected by the base station.
18. The method of claim 17,
The end-to-end network slice information includes:
(SIB, System Information Block).

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