WO2025095476A1

WO2025095476A1 - Method and apparatus for support a slicing in a wireless communication system

Info

Publication number: WO2025095476A1
Application number: PCT/KR2024/016399
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yanru Wang; Lixiang Xu; Hong Wang
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-11-02
Filing date: 2024-10-25
Publication date: 2025-05-08
Anticipated expiration: 2026-05-02
Also published as: CN119946741A

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. The present disclosure relates to a method including: transmitting a first message to a UE or a third node, wherein the first message includes a request for predicted slice information, wherein a second message is transmitted by the UE or the third node based on the first message.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORT A SLICING IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

The present disclosure relates to a technical field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to a node and a user equipment in a wireless communication system and methods performed by the same.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wireless communication is one of the most successful innovations in modern history. Recently, a number of subscribers of wireless communication services has exceeded 5 billion, and it continues growing rapidly. With the increasing popularity of smart phones and other mobile data devices (such as tablet computers, notebook computers, netbooks, e-book readers and machine-type devices) in consumers and enterprises, a demand for wireless data services is growing rapidly. In order to meet rapid growth of mobile data services and support new applications and deployments, it is very important to improve efficiency and coverage of wireless interfaces.

This disclosure relates to wireless communication networks, and more particularly to a terminal and a communication method thereof in a wireless communication system.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a first message to the UE or the third node, wherein the first message includes a request for the predicted slice information, wherein the second message is transmitted by the UE or the third node based on the first message.

Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide efficient communication methods in a wireless communication system.

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exemplary system architecture 100 of System Architecture Evolution (SAE);

FIG. 2 is an exemplary system architecture 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3A shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3C shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3D shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3E shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3F shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3G shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3H shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4A shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4C shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5A shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5B shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5C shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5D shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5E shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9A shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9B shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10A show schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10B show schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12A shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12B shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12C shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12D shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12F shows schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of a method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 shows a structure of a base station or a network entity according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 shows a structure of a UE according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 18 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 19 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide a terminal and a communication method thereof in a wireless communication system.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, which includes: receiving a second message from a user equipment (UE) or a third node, wherein the second message includes predicted slice information of the UE; selecting a target node based on the predicted slice information; transmitting a seventeenth message to the target node, wherein the seventeenth message includes information of a Quality of Experience parameter associated with the UE; and receiving an eighteenth message from the target node, wherein the eighteenth message includes a slice re-mapping decision associated with the UE and/or an applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a first message to the UE or the third node, wherein the first message includes a request for the predicted slice information, wherein the second message is transmitted by the UE or the third node based on the first message.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the seventeenth message further includes the predicted slice information and/or slice performance request related information, wherein the slice performance request related information is used for triggering the target node to collect slice performance, and the predicted slice information is used for making a slice-related handover decision.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a nineteenth message to the UE, wherein the nineteenth message includes first information about the support of the target node for slices.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the first information includes priority information of the target node, wherein the priority information is determined based on the number of predicted slices that can be supported by the target node included in the predicted slice information.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a seventh message from the target node, wherein the seventh message includes information on slice-related performance acquired by the target node.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a measurement report from the UE, wherein the measurement report includes one or more of the following: a Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) measurement report, a Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, and a Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, which includes: transmitting a second message to a first node, wherein the second message includes predicted slice information of the UE; and receiving a nineteenth message from the first node, wherein the predicted slice information is used for the first node to select a target node; wherein information of a Quality of Experience parameter associated with the UE is included in a seventeenth message, and the seventeenth message is transmitted from the first node to the target node; and wherein a slice re-mapping decision associated with the UE and/or an applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision are included in an eighteenth message, and the eighteenth message is transmitted from the target node to the first node.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the nineteenth message includes first information about the support of the target node for slices.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a measurement report to the first node, wherein the measurement report includes one or more of the following: a Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) measurement report, a Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, and a Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a first message from the first node, wherein the first message includes a request for the predicted slice information, and transmitting the second message to the first node based on the first message.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system, which includes: receiving a seventeenth message from a first node, wherein the seventeenth message includes information of a Quality of Experience parameter associated with a user equipment (UE); and transmitting an eighteenth message to the first node, wherein the eighteenth message includes a slice re-mapping decision associated with the UE and/or an applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the seventeenth message further includes predicted slice information of the UE and/or slice performance request related information, wherein the slice performance request related information is used for triggering the second node to collect slice performance.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: transmitting a seventh message to the first node, wherein the seventh message includes information on slice-related performance acquired by the second node.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a fifth message from a third node, wherein the fifth message includes slice load information acquired by the third node.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: determining a slice re-mapping decision associated with the UE and/or an applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision based on the Quality of Experience parameter and/or the slice load information.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving an eighth message and/or a ninth message from a third node, wherein the eighth message includes information indicating that a predicted slice is overloaded, and the ninth message includes information indicating a load amount that can be received by the second node.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a first node device in a wireless communication system, including: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive signals; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform methods performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a second node device in a wireless communication system, including: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive signals; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform methods performed by a second node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, including: a transceiver configured to transmit and receive signals; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform methods performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement methods performed by a first node and/or a second node and/or a user equipment in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

The methods performed by the first node and/or the second node and/or the user equipment in a wireless communication system provided by the present disclosure can effectively support the nodes and/or the user equipment to perform slice-related handover or decision making by exchanging slice-related information between the nodes and/or the user equipment.

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to their bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it can be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term “couple” and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms “transmit,” “receive,” and “communicate,” as well as derivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or” is inclusive, meaning and/or. The phrase “associated with,” as well as derivatives thereof, means to include, be included within, connect to, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, or the like. The term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and/or firmware. The functionality associated with any particular controller can be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. The phrase “at least one of,” when used with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items can be used, and only one item in the list can be needed. For example, “at least one of: A, B, and C” includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C. For example, “at least one of: A, B, or C” includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A, B and C.

Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer-readable program code and embodied in a computer-readable medium. The terms “application” and “program” refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computer-readable program code. The phrase “computer-readable program code” includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase “computer-readable medium” includes any type of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disc (DVD), or any other type of memory. A “non-transitory” computer-readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transport transitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computer-readable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored and media where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as a rewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

Terms used herein to describe the embodiments of the disclosure are not intended to limit and/or define the scope of the disclosure. For example, unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the disclosure shall have the ordinary meaning understood by those with ordinary skills in the art to which the disclosure belongs.

It should be understood that “first”, “second” and similar words used in the disclosure do not express any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components.

As used herein, any reference to “an example” or “example”, “an implementation” or “implementation”, “an embodiment” or “embodiment” means that particular elements, features, structures or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The phrases “in one embodiment” or “in one example” appearing in different places in the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

As used herein, “a portion of” something means “at least some of” the thing, and as such may mean less than all of, or all of, the thing. As such, “a portion of” a thing includes the entire thing as a special case, i.e., the entire thing is an example of a portion of the thing.

As used herein, the term “set” means one or more. Accordingly, a set of items can be a single item or a collection of two or more items.

In this disclosure, to determine whether a specific condition is satisfied or fulfilled, expressions, such as “greater than” or “less than” are used by way of example and expressions, such as “greater than or equal to” or “less than or equal to” are also applicable and not excluded. For example, a condition defined with “greater than or equal to” may be replaced by “greater than” (or vice-versa), a condition defined with “less than or equal to” may be replaced by “less than” (or vice-versa), etc.

It will be further understood that similar words such as the term “include” or “comprise” mean that elements or objects appearing before the word encompass the listed elements or objects appearing after the word and their equivalents, but other elements or objects are not excluded. Similar words such as “connect” or “connected” are not limited to physical or mechanical connection, but can include electrical connection, whether direct or indirect. “Upper”, “lower”, “left” and “right” are only used to express a relative positional relationship, and when an absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may change accordingly.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the disclosure can be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication system. For example, although the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure will be directed to LTE and/or 5G communication systems, those skilled in the art will understand that the main points of the disclosure can also be applied to other communication systems with similar technical backgrounds and channel formats with slight modifications without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The technical schemes of the embodiments of the application can be applied to various communication systems, and for example, the communication systems may include global systems for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) systems, general packet radio service (GPRS) systems, long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR) systems, etc. In addition, the technical schemes of the embodiments of the application can be applied to future-oriented communication technologies. In addition, the technical schemes of the embodiments of the application can be applied to future-oriented communication technologies.

In order to meet the increasing demand for wireless data communication services since the deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made to develop improved 5G or pre-5G communication systems. Therefore, 5G or pre-5G communication systems are also called “Beyond 4G networks” or “Post-LTE systems”.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary system architecture 100 of system architecture evolution (SAE). User equipment (UE) 101 is a terminal device for receiving data. An evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) 102 is a radio access network, which includes a macro base station (eNodeB/NodeB) that provides UE with interfaces to access the radio network. A mobility management entity (MME) 103 is responsible for managing mobility context, session context and security information of the UE. A serving gateway (SGW) 104 mainly provides functions of user plane, and the MME 103 and the SGW 104 may be in the same physical entity. A packet data network gateway (PGW) 105 is responsible for functions of charging, lawful interception, etc., and may be in the same physical entity as the SGW 104. A policy and charging rules function entity (PCRF) 106 provides quality of service (QoS) policies and charging criteria. A general packet radio service support node (SGSN) 108 is a network node device that provides routing for data transmission in a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS). A home subscriber server (HSS)109 is a home subsystem of the UE, and is responsible for protecting user information including a current location of the user equipment, an address of a serving node, user security information, and packet data context of the user equipment, etc.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary system architecture 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments of the system architecture 200 can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

User equipment (UE) 201 is a terminal device for receiving data. A next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) 202 is a radio access network, which includes a base station (a gNB or an eNB connected to 5G core network 5GC, and the eNB connected to the 5GC is also called ng-gNB) that provides UE with interfaces to access the radio network. An access control and mobility management function entity (AMF) 203 is responsible for managing mobility context and security information of the UE. A user plane function entity (UPF) 204 mainly provides functions of user plane. A session management function entity SMF 205 is responsible for session management. A data network (DN) 206 includes, for example, services of operators, access of Internet and service of third parties.

Nodes mentioned in the present disclosure may include: gNB, gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU), gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU), gNB Central Unit control plane (gNB-CU-CP), gNB Central Unit user plane (gNB CU-UP), en-gNB, eNB, ng-eNB, UE, Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Mobility Management Entity (MME), User Plane Function (UPF) and other network entities or network logic units, and cells and/or beams managed by them.

A field mentioned in the present disclosure may be an average value, an instantaneous value, a maximum value, a minimum value, etc. of a corresponding parameter, and it is not limited herein.

The signal strength and/or signal quality described in the present disclosure may be a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Reference Signal Receiving Power, RSRP), a Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ), and a Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), etc.

In the present disclosure, a slice may be identified by one or more Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI).

In the present disclosure, a failure type and/or a problem type may also be a report type.

In the present disclosure, Self-Organized Network (SON) related reports and/or Self-Optimization Network (SON) related reports may include one or more of the following: a Connection Establishment Failure (CEF) report, a Random Access report, a Successful Handover report, a Radio Link Failure (RLF) report, a measurement report, or other reports related to radio connection.

In the present disclosure, radio link failure contains radio link failure and handover failure.

In the present disclosure, user equipment (UE), user, terminal and the like can be referred to as each other.

In the present disclosure, load, load condition (load status), load information and Resource Status and the like can be referred to as each other.

When selecting a target node, the base station will select a node that supports slice(s) of a user as the target node. This process may have at least one of the following problems:

1. if the user’s service changes and an accessed slice needs to be changed, but the serving node does not support the target slice, and its managed slices cannot meet the demand of the new service, the base station needs to perform handover for the user, which may lead to a problem of frequent handover due to slice only;

2. if the target node does not support slice(s) of the user, it needs to perform slice re-mapping, and the user accessing the remapped slice may lead to a problem that the Quality of Experience of the user cannot be guaranteed; and

3. after handover, when the slice is overloaded, the target base station needs to handover the user to other nodes, which may lead to a problem of frequent handover.

Example 1

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a second node transmits a first message containing a predicted slice information request (i.e., a request for predicted slice information) to a first node to request the first node to report the requested predicted slice information. The second node may allocate resources based on the predicted slice information obtained from the first node. In some implementations, for example, resource reservation may be performed for a predicted slice, so that when an accessed slice needs to be changed, there are enough resources for the slice to be accessed to support access and/or guarantee transmission performance, so as to avoid the need to perform handover for the UE and/or the need of the UE to re-select a cell due to insufficient slice resources, which may result in service interruption. Alternatively, the second node may select a target node for handover based on the predicted slice information obtained from the first node. In some implementations, for example, a node supporting the predicted slice may be selected as the target node, to ensure the stability and robustness of handover, and prevent the UE from having to re-select a serving cell if the target node handed over to cannot support a certain slice, which may result in service interruption and the like.

In some implementations, the first message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE); or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the first message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● UE identification (ID): used to indicate the user corresponding to the requested predicted slice information. It may be a UE ID or a list of UE IDs.

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Identification of a request for predicted slice information: used to indicate a request for predicted slice information. This field may be represented by a single bit. For example, when this bit is 1, it means that predicted slice information is requested, and when this bit is 0, it means that predicted slice information is not requested; alternatively, when this bit is 0, it means that predicted slice information is requested, and when this bit is 1, it means that predicted slice information is not requested.

● Prediction registration request: used to indicate the type of a prediction request, which, for example, may include start, end, addition, update, etc.

● Registration request: used to indicate the type of a request, which, for example, may include start, end, addition, update, etc.

● Report registration request: used to indicate the type of a report request, which, for example, may include start, end, addition, update, etc.

● Requested prediction time: used to indicate the time and/or time interval for a prediction. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent a prediction start time and the last n bits represent a prediction end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

o Prediction start time: used to indicate a start time of a prediction. The start time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

o Prediction end time: used to indicate an end time of a prediction. The end time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

● Applicable/validity time of requested prediction content: used to indicate the time and/or time interval corresponding to the prediction content. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

o Start time: used to indicate a start time of the applicable time. The start time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

o End time: used to indicate an end time of the applicable time. The end time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

● Prediction request information: used to indicate request information for the predicted slice information. It may include one or more of the following:

o Number of slices: the number of slices corresponding to the requested predicted slice information.

o Slice ID and/or ID list: used to indicate a scope of slices for which the predicted slice information is requested. For example, a slice corresponding to the predicted and/or reported predicted slice information should be one or more of the slice ID list and/or slice list.

o Number of cells: the number of cells corresponding to the requested predicted slice information.

o Handover times: the number of handover times corresponding to the requested predicted slice information.

o Cell ID and/or ID list: the ID and/or ID list of cells where the slices for which the predicted slice information is requested are located.

o Number of nodes: the number of nodes corresponding to the requested predicted slice information.

o Node ID and/or ID list: the ID and/or ID list of nodes where the slices for which the predicted slice information is requested are located.

● Reporting time of requested prediction content: used to indicate the time and/or time interval of the reporting of the prediction content. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

o Start time: used to indicate a start time of the reporting time. The start time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

o End time: used to indicate an end time of the reporting time. The end time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

● Reporting type of the prediction content: used to indicate a reporting type of the requested content. It may include single-time reporting, periodic reporting, on-demand reporting and event-triggered reporting, etc.

● Reporting periodicity of the prediction content: used to indicate an interval time of a periodic reporting of the prediction content. In some implementations, the reporting periodicity may also be the prediction time of the reported data. In some implementations, for example, if there is no content in this field, a single-time reporting is indicated, and the time of the single-time reporting is from the start time to the end time of the prediction.

● Events and/or conditions that trigger reporting: when the events and/or conditions that trigger reporting are met, predicted slice information needs to be reported. The events and/or conditions that trigger reporting include one or more of the following:

o the predicted slice information is changed: when the predicted slice information changes, reporting will be triggered. The change may be an addition, a deletion, an update, etc.

o the predicted slice information is generated: when the predicted slice information is generated, the predicted slice information will be reported.

o the prediction information meets the prediction request information: when the prediction information meets the above prediction request information, the predicted slice information will be reported.

o the number of slices corresponding to the predicted slice information reaches a predetermined (or predefined) threshold: this event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined threshold, etc.

o the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined slice ID and/or ID list: when the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined slice ID and/or ID list, the predicted slice information will be reported. This event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined slice ID and/or ID list, etc.

o the number of cells corresponding to the predicted slice information reaches a predetermined threshold: this event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined threshold, etc.

o the number of handover times corresponding to the predicted slice information reaches a predetermined threshold: this event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined threshold, etc.

o the cell corresponding to the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined cell ID and/or ID list: when the cell corresponding to the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined cell ID and/or ID list, the predicted slice information will be reported. This event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined cell ID and/or ID list, etc.

o the number of nodes corresponding to the predicted slice information reaches a predetermined threshold: this event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined threshold, etc.

o the node corresponding to the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined node ID and/or ID list: when the node corresponding to the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined node ID and/or ID list, the predicted slice information will be reported. This event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined node ID and/or ID list, etc.

o the current serving cell does not support the predicted slice information.

o a time difference between the applicable time of the predicted slice information and the current time is greater than and/or less than and/or equal to a predetermined threshold: this event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined threshold, an event meeting time, etc. Herein, the event meeting time may also be called hysteresis. In some implementations, when the time at which the event is met reaches the event meeting time, the predicted slice information will be reported.

o a predetermined time is reached: upon receiving the message, the time is started to be counted, and when the counted time reaches a predetermined time, the predicted slice information will be reported. This event and/or condition that triggers reporting may include one or more of the following: the event, an event type, the predetermined time, etc.

● Slice information requested to be predicted: the slice information requested to be predicted may include one or more of the following: ID of the slice to be predicted, residence time corresponding to the slice to be predicted, accessing time corresponding to the slice to be predicted, departing time corresponding to the slice to be predicted, accessing probability, departing probability, priority, prediction precision and/or accuracy, etc.

In some implementations, the first node transmits a second message containing the predicted slice information to the second node according to its own situation and/or according to the first message containing the predicted slice information request received from the second node. In some implementations, for example, the second node may select a target node for handover based on the predicted slice information obtained from the first node. In some implementations, for example, a node that supports more predicted slices may be selected as the target node, to ensure the stability and robustness of handover, and prevent the UE from having to re-select a serving cell if the target node handed over to cannot support a certain slice, which may result in service interruption and the like. In another implementation, for example, the second node may allocate resources based on the predicted slice information obtained from the first node, for example, reserve resources for slices in the predicted slice information, so as to avoid that after changing slices, services cannot be provided normally due to the shortage of slice resources.

In some implementations, the second message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc.

In some implementations, the second message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● UE ID: used to indicate the user corresponding to the predicted slice information. It may be a UE ID or a list of UE IDs.

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Predicted slice information: used to represent information of the predicted slices. The predicted slice information may include one or more of the following: ID of the slice to be predicted, residence time corresponding to the slice to be predicted, accessing time corresponding to the slice to be predicted, departing time corresponding to the slice to be predicted, accessing probability, departing probability, priority, prediction precision and/or accuracy, etc.

● Applicable/validity time corresponding to the predicted slice information: used to indicate the time and/or time interval corresponding to the prediction content. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Events and/or conditions that trigger reporting: used to indicate an event and/or condition that triggered the reporting. The events and/or conditions that triggered the reporting include one or more of the following:

o the number of slices corresponding to the predicted slice information reaches a predetermined (or predefined) threshold.

o the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined slice ID and/or ID list.

o the number of cells corresponding to the predicted slice information reaches a predetermined threshold.

o the number of handover times corresponding to the predicted slice information reaches a predetermined threshold.

o the cell corresponding to the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined cell ID and/or ID list.

o the number of nodes corresponding to the predicted slice information reaches a predetermined threshold.

o the node corresponding to the predicted slice information is out of and/or is not (in) a predetermined node ID and/or ID list.

o the current serving cell does not support the predicted slice information.

o a time difference between the applicable time of the predicted slice information and the current time is greater than and/or less than and/or equal to a predetermined threshold.

o a predetermined time is reached: upon receiving the message, the time is started to be counted, and when the counted time reaches a predetermined time, the predicted slice information will be reported.

Example 2

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a third node transmits a third message containing a slice load condition request to a fourth node to request the fourth node to report the slice load condition (or called slice load information). The slice load condition may include a measured slice load condition or a predicted slice load condition. After the third node obtains the slice load condition of the fourth node and/or other nodes, it may make relevant decisions based on the slice load condition of the fourth node and/or other nodes, such as SON-related decisions, etc., so as to avoid frequent handover, local overload, overload and service performance damage, etc. For example, when making decisions on load balancing and/or network energy saving and/or slice re-mapping, a node at the access network side should consider the overall load condition of the slices, so the node at the access network side may obtain the overall load condition of the slices from a node at the core network side to make decisions on load balancing and/or network energy saving and/or slice re-mapping. The third node may also evaluate the decisions based on the slice load condition of the fourth node and/or other nodes. In some implementations, for example, when local overload occurs after a decision, it indicates that the decision is inappropriate.

In some implementations, the third message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the third message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement.

● Registration request: used to identify the type of a request, which may include start, end, addition, update, etc.

● Slice load condition request ID: used to indicate information of a request for the slice load condition. The request may be a request for a measured slice load condition or a request for a predicted slice load condition.

● Scope requested to be reported: used to indicate a scope requested to be reported, where the scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, service, scenario, node, UE, cell, beam, channel, Protocol Data Unit Session, Data Radio Bearer (DRB), QoS flow, QoS level, etc. The service may be a service type, a Quality of Service (QoS), a scenario, etc. The service type may include one or more of the following: voice service, video service, virtual reality service, augmented reality service, call service, etc. The quality of service may include one or more of the following: delay, throughput, reliability, packet loss rate, data rate, etc, and it may be identified by a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI), a QoS Class Identifier (QCI), etc. The scenario may include one or more of the following: Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

● Reporting periodicity of the requested slice load condition: used to indicate an interval time of a periodic reporting of the requested slice load condition. The reporting periodicity may also be the reporting time of the reported data. In some implementations, for example, if there is no content in this field, a single-time reporting is indicated, and the time of the single-time reporting is from the start time to the end time of the reporting.

● Reporting type of the requested slice load condition: used to indicate a reporting type of the requested slice load condition. It may include single-time reporting, periodic reporting, on-demand reporting and event-triggered reporting, etc.

● Reporting time of the slice load condition: used to indicate the time and/or time interval of the reporting of the slice load condition. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Measurement time of the slice load condition: used to indicate the time and/or time interval and/or measurement period for the measurement of the slice load condition. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

o Start time: used to indicate a start time of the measurement time. The start time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

o End time: used to indicate an end time of the measurement time. The end time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

● Applicable/validity time corresponding to the slice load condition requested to be reported: used to indicate a valid time and/or time interval corresponding to the slice load condition requested to be reported. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Prediction ID: used to identify this prediction request.

● Identification of a prediction slice load condition request: used to indicate a request for prediction information of the slice load.

● Scope requested to be predicted: used to indicate a scope requested to be predicted, where the scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, service, scenario, node, UE, cell, beam, channel, Protocol Data Unit Session, Data Radio Bearer (DRB), QoS flow, QoS level, etc. The service may be a service type, a Quality of Service (QoS), a scenario, etc. The service type may include one or more of the following: voice service, video service, virtual reality service, augmented reality service, call service, etc. The quality of service may include one or more of the following: delay, throughput, reliability, packet loss rate, data rate, etc, and it may be identified by a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI), a QoS Class Identifier (QCI), etc. The scenario may include one or more of the following: Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

● Reporting periodicity of the slice load condition requested to be predicted: used to indicate an interval time of a periodic reporting of the requested predicted slice load condition. In some implementations, the reporting periodicity may also be the prediction time of the reported data. If there is no content in this field, a single-time reporting is indicated, and the time of the single-time reporting is from the start time to the end time of the prediction.

● Reporting type of the requested predicted slice load condition: used to indicate a reporting type of the requested predicted slice load condition. It may include single-time reporting, periodic reporting, on-demand reporting and event-triggered reporting, etc.

● Reporting time of the predicted slice load condition: used to indicate the time and/or time interval of the reporting of the predicted slice load condition. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Prediction time of the predicted slice load condition: used to indicate the prediction time and/or time interval corresponding to the predicted slice load condition. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

o Start time: used to indicate a start time of the prediction time. The start time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

o End time: used to indicate an end time of the prediction time. The end time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

● Valid time of the predicted slice load condition: used to indicate a valid time and/or time interval corresponding to the predicted slice load condition. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

o Start time: used to indicate a start time of the valid time. The start time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

o End time: used to indicate an end time of the valid time. The end time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

● Trigger conditions and/or events for reporting slice load condition: it means that slice load information (or information related to slice load condition) needs to be reported when a trigger event and/or condition for the reporting is met. The slice load information includes currently measured slice load information or predicted slice load information. The events and/or conditions that trigger reporting include one or more of the following: the slice load is greater than and/or equal to and/or less than a predetermined threshold, the predicted slice load is greater than and/or equal to and/or less than a predetermined threshold, overload is to occur, and overload is predicted to occur.

● Slice load condition requested to be reported: used to indicate specific parameters of the slice load condition requested to be reported. The load condition may include one or more of the following: the load condition and/or load information may include one or more of the following: usage ratio of Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), number of available PRBs, number of allocated PRBs, usage of scheduling Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) Control Channel Elements (CCEs), Transport Network Layer (TNL) capacity indication, radio resource status, comprehensive available capacity group, comprehensive available resource group, number of active user terminals, number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, available capacity of slices, hardware capacity indication, S1 TNL load indication, hardware load indication, Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) status, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement report list, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report, Channel State Information (CSI) report, cell report indication, Channel Occupancy time ratio, Energy Detection threshold, signal strength and/or signal quality, channel busy ratio, data amount, and Jitter of the various content parameters, etc.

● Indication on whether partial reporting can be performed: used to indicate whether the receiving node of the message can perform partial reporting. That is, whether the receiving node of the message can report part of the information requested to be reported. If the indication is that partial reporting is possible, the receiving node of the message only needs to report part of the information requested to be reported. If the indication is that partial reporting is not possible, the receiving node of the message must report all the requested information, and if one or more of the requested information cannot be reported, the receiving node of the message transmits a request failure message to the transmitting node of the message. The information requested to be reported may include one or more of the above-mentioned slice load condition requested to be reported, and may also include one or more of the above-mentioned scope requested to be predicted and/or scope requested to be reported. This indication may allow the receiving node of the message to report partial information according to its own situation, so as to avoid that the receiving node of the message must transmit a request failure message when one or more of the information requested to be reported cannot be reported, which results in a request failure, so that the transmitting node of the message needs to make a new request. If the transmitting node of the message does not know which information the receiving node of the message can transmit, it may lead to the need for the transmitting node of the message to constantly try to request, which results in signaling burden.

● Indication on whether information requested to be reported must be reported: used to indicate whether the information requested to be reported must be reported. If the indication is that the information must be reported, the receiving node of the message must report the information and/or the load condition corresponding to the information. The information requested to be reported may include one or more of the above-mentioned slice load condition requested to be reported, and may also include one or more of the above-mentioned scope requested to be predicted and/or scope requested to be reported. The receiving node of the message may determine which parameters to report according to the indication and/or its own situation.

● Priority of information requested to be reported: used to indicate the priority of information requested to be reported. In some implementations, the receiving node of the message must report information of a high priority. The receiving node of the message may report and/or not report information of a low priority according to its own situation. The information requested to be reported may include one or more of the above-mentioned slice load condition requested to be reported, and may also include one or more of the above-mentioned scope requested to be predicted and/or scope requested to be reported. The receiving node of the message can determine which parameters to report according to the priorities and its own situation.

In some implementations, the fourth node transmits a fourth message containing a slice load condition response to the third node, so as to inform the third node whether the fourth node can report the slice load condition, so that the third node can know whether the requested content can be received later. In some implementations, for example, if the fourth message received by the third node indicates that the fourth node can report the slice load condition, the third node can receive the slice load condition reported by the fourth node later. For example, the slice load condition may be reported by a subsequent fifth message.

In some implementations, the fourth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the fourth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement. In some implementations, for example, the measurement ID may be consistent with the measurement ID in the third message, in order for associating the response message with the request message.

● Slice load condition request confirmation: used to indicate whether the slice load condition can be measured and/or reported. There may be a bit to indicate whether the requested slice load condition can be measured and/or reported.

● Predicted slice load condition confirmation: used to indicate whether the slice load condition can be predicted and/or reported. There may be a bit to indicate whether the requested slice load condition can be measured and/or reported.

● Scope that can be measured and/or reported: used to indicate a scope that can be measured and/or predicted and/or reported, where the scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, service, scenario, node, UE, cell, beam, channel, Protocol Data Unit Session, Data Radio Bearer (DRB), QoS flow, QoS level, etc. The service may be a service type, a Quality of Service (QoS), a scenario, etc. The service type may include one or more of the following: voice service, video service, virtual reality service, augmented reality service, call service, etc. The quality of service may include one or more of the following: delay, throughput, reliability, packet loss rate, data rate, etc, and it may be identified by a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI), a QoS Class Identifier (QCI), etc. The scenario may include one or more of the following: Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

● Slice load condition that can be measured and/or reported: used to indicate specific parameters of slice load condition that can be measured and/or reported. The load condition may include one or more of the following: the load condition and/or load information may include one or more of the following: usage ratio of PRBs, number of available PRBs, number of allocated PRBs, usage of scheduling PDCCH CCEs, Transport Network Layer (TNL) capacity indication, radio resource status, comprehensive available capacity group, comprehensive available resource group, number of active user terminals, number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, available capacity of slices, hardware capacity indication, S1 TNL load indication, hardware load indication, Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) status, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement report list, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report, Channel State Information (CSI) report, cell report indication, Channel Occupancy time ratio, Energy Detection threshold, signal strength and/or signal quality, channel busy ratio, data amount, and Jitter of the various content parameters, etc. The above-mentioned load condition may be for a measured result or a predicted result.

● Scope that cannot be measured and/or reported: used to indicate a scope that cannot be measured and/or predicted and/or reported, where the scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, service, scenario, node, UE, cell, beam, channel, Protocol Data Unit Session, Data Radio Bearer (DRB), QoS flow, QoS level, etc. The service may be a service type, a Quality of Service (QoS), a scenario, etc. The service type may include one or more of the following: voice service, video service, virtual reality service, augmented reality service, call service, etc. The quality of service may include one or more of the following: delay, throughput, reliability, packet loss rate, data rate, etc, and it may be identified by a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI), a QoS Class Identifier (QCI), etc. The scenario may include one or more of the following: Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

● Slice load condition that cannot be measured and/or reported: used to indicate specific parameters of slice load condition that cannot be measured and/or reported. The load condition may include one or more of the following: the load condition and/or load information may include one or more of the following: usage ratio of PRBs, number of available PRBs, number of allocated PRBs, usage of scheduling PDCCH CCEs, Transport Network Layer (TNL) capacity indication, radio resource status, comprehensive available capacity group, comprehensive available resource group, number of active user terminals, number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, available capacity of slices, hardware capacity indication, S1 TNL load indication, hardware load indication, Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) status, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement report list, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report, Channel State Information (CSI) report, cell report indication, Channel Occupancy time ratio, Energy Detection threshold, signal strength and/or signal quality, channel busy ratio, data amount, and Jitter of the various content parameters, etc. The above-mentioned load condition may be for a measured result or a predicted result.

● Cause: used to indicate reasons why measurement and/or reporting cannot be performed. The reasons may include one or more of the following: slice is unavailable, measurement is unavailable, slice load measurement is unavailable, slice is temporarily unavailable, measurement is temporarily unavailable, slice measurement is temporarily unavailable, reporting time is unavailable, reporting periodicity is unavailable, slice corresponding to prediction is unavailable, prediction is unavailable, slice load prediction is unavailable, prediction is temporarily unavailable, slice prediction is temporarily unavailable, prediction time is unavailable, prediction reporting time is unavailable, valid time of prediction information is unavailable, reporting periodicity of prediction information is unavailable, slice is not supported, measurement is not supported, slice load measurement is not supported, slice is not supported temporarily, measurement is not supported temporarily, slice measurement is not supported temporarily, reporting time is not supported, reporting periodicity is not supported, slice corresponding to prediction is not supported, prediction is not supported, slice load prediction is not supported, prediction is not supported temporarily, slice prediction is not supported temporarily, prediction time is not supported, prediction reporting time is not supported, valid time of prediction information is not supported, and reporting periodicity of prediction information is not supported, etc.

In some implementations, the fourth node transmits a fifth message containing a slice load condition or an update of a slice load condition to the third node according to its own situation and/or according to the third message containing the slice load condition request received from the third node, so as to inform the third node of the slice load condition (or referred to as slice load information) measured (or acquired) by the fourth node. In some implementations, after the fourth node receives the third message containing a slice load condition request of the third node, and after the fourth node informs the third node that the fourth node can perform reporting of part and/or all of the requested slice load condition through the fourth message, the fourth node transmits the slice load condition to the third node according to the third message containing the slice load request. After the third node obtains the slice load condition of the fourth node and/or other nodes, it may make relevant decisions based on the slice load condition of the fourth node and/or other nodes, such as SON-related decisions, etc., so as to avoid frequent handover, local overload, overload and service performance damage, etc. The third node may also evaluate the decisions based on the slice load condition of the fourth node and/or other nodes. In some implementations, for example, when local overload occurs after a decision, it indicates that the decision is inappropriate.

In some implementations, the fifth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the fifth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement.

● Scope corresponding to load condition: used to indicate a scope corresponding to load condition, where the scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, service, scenario, node, UE, cell, beam, channel, Protocol Data Unit Session, Data Radio Bearer (DRB), QoS flow, QoS level, etc. The service may be a service type, a Quality of Service (QoS), a scenario, etc. The service type may include one or more of the following: voice service, video service, virtual reality service, augmented reality service, call service, etc. The quality of service may include one or more of the following: delay, throughput, reliability, packet loss rate, data rate, etc, and it may be identified by a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI), a QoS Class Identifier (QCI), etc. The scenario may include one or more of the following: Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

● Measured slice load condition: used to indicate a measured slice load condition. The slice load condition may include usage ratio of PRBs, number of available PRBs, number of allocated PRBs, usage of scheduling PDCCH CCEs, Transport Network Layer (TNL) capacity indication, radio resource status, comprehensive available capacity group, comprehensive available resource group, number of active user terminals, number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, available capacity of slices, hardware capacity indication, S1 TNL load indication, hardware load indication, Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) status, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement report list, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report, Channel State Information (CSI) report, cell report indication, Channel Occupancy time ratio, Energy Detection threshold, signal strength and/or signal quality, channel busy ratio, data amount, and Jitter of the various content parameters, etc. The above-mentioned load condition may be for a measured result or a predicted result.

● Applicable/validity time of a measured slice load condition: used to indicate a time and/or time interval corresponding to the measured slice load condition. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Predicted slice load condition: used to indicate a predicted slice load condition. The slice load condition may include usage ratio of PRBs, number of available PRBs, number of allocated PRBs, usage of scheduling PDCCH CCEs, Transport Network Layer (TNL) capacity indication, radio resource status, comprehensive available capacity group, comprehensive available resource group, number of active user terminals, number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, available capacity of slices, hardware capacity indication, S1 TNL load indication, hardware load indication, Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) status, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement report list, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report, Channel State Information (CSI) report, cell report indication, Channel Occupancy time ratio, Energy Detection threshold, signal strength and/or signal quality, channel busy ratio, data amount, and Jitter of the various content parameters, etc. The above-mentioned load condition may be for a measured result or a predicted result.

● Applicable/validity time of a predicted slice load condition: used to indicate the time and/or time interval corresponding to the predicted slice load condition. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Conditions and/or events that trigger the reporting of the slice load condition: used to indicate an event and/or condition that triggers the reporting of slice load condition. The slice load condition includes currently measured slice load information or predicted slice load information. The events and/or conditions that trigger reporting include one or more of the following: the slice load is greater than and/or equal to and/or less than a predetermined threshold, the predicted slice load is greater than and/or equal to and/or less than a predetermined threshold, overload is to occur, and overload is predicted to occur.

● Measurement time of a reported slice load condition: used to indicate the time and/or time interval and/or measurement period of a reported slice load condition. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

The fields in the above third message, fourth message and fifth message may be used for measured load information or for predicted load information.

Example 3

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a fifth node transmits a sixth message containing a slice-related performance request (for example, a request for slice-related performance) to a sixth node to request the sixth node to report the requested slice-related performance. In some implementations, for example, the fifth node may use the slice-related performance to evaluate a slice-related decision. For example, a good slice-related performance (for example, better than one or more predetermined standards or performance levels) may indicate that the slice-related decision is appropriate, and a poor slice-related performance (for example, worse than one or more predetermined standards or performance levels) may indicate that the slice-related decision is inappropriate and needs to be optimized and/or updated. In some other implementations, for example, the fifth node may also use the slice-related performance to evaluate an artificial intelligence machine learning model, for example, it may evaluate whether the model can continue to be used, and it may evaluate whether the model needs to be trained and/or adjusted, etc. In still other implementations, for example, the fifth node may make a decision based on the slice-related performance. For example, if the slice-related performance meets the requirements of a user and/or a service, the user may be handed over and/or switched to a corresponding slice. For example, alternatively, if the slice-related performance can meet related requirements of an other slice, such as the QoS requirement, the fifth node may map the other slice to this slice when performing slice re-mapping. The fifth node may also use the collected slice performance information for the training and/or inference of an artificial intelligence machine learning model, for example, in order for the prediction of slice information, etc.

In some implementations, the sixth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or DL PDU SESSION INFORMATION or UL PDU Session Information or DL USER DATA or DL DATA DELIVERY STATUS or ASSISTANCE INFORMATION DATA, etc. of a user plane; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container and/or a user plane frame, etc. In some implementations, the sixth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Request ID: used to identify the request.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement.

● Slice performance request indication: used to indicate a request to report slice performance.

● Requested content: used to indicate the requested content. The content may include one or more of the following: QoS parameter, QoE parameter, load information, actual slice information, time information, UE ID, slice ID, cell ID, beam ID, etc. Herein, the actual slice information may be information of an actually accessed slice, which may include one or more of the following: ID of the actually accessed slice, information of an accessing time, information of a departure time, residence time of the slice, etc. In some implementations, for example, the actual slice information may be used to evaluate the accuracy of predicted slice information. In some implementations, for example, the load information may be used to make and/or evaluate slice-related decisions, for example, to evaluate a re-mapping decision. If overload occurs after a re-mapping decision is implemented, it means that the re-mapping decision is not appropriate.

● Scope corresponding to the requested content: the scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, UE, UE not to be measured, UE to be measured, etc. The above scope may also indicate a slice performance after removing one or more UEs, for example, after removing other users in the slice except for the handover user, or after removing other users in the slice except for the user corresponding to the slice re-mapping.

● Reporting type of the requested content: used to indicate a reporting type of the requested content. It may include single-time reporting, periodic reporting, on-demand reporting and event-triggered reporting, etc.

● Reporting periodicity of the requested content: used to indicate an interval time of the reporting of the requested content, or an interval of two adjacent reporting. The reporting periodicity may also be the measurement time of the reported data. If there is no content in this field, a single-time reporting is indicated, and the time of the single-time reporting is from the measurement start time to the measurement end time. In some implementations, for example, the reporting periodicity may be a reporting periodicity for periodic reporting.

● Requested measurement time: used to indicate a time and/or time interval for measurement. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits in which, for example, the first n bits represent the measurement start time and the last n bits represent the measurement end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

o Measurement start time: used to indicate a start time of measurement. The start time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

o Measurement end time: used to indicate an end time of measurement. The end time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

● Requested reporting time: used to indicate a time and/or time interval for reporting. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

o Start time: used to indicate a start time of the reporting. The start time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

o End time: used to indicate an end time of the reporting. The end time may be a relative time or an absolute time.

● Applicable/validity time corresponding to the requested report content: used to indicate an applicable time and/or time interval corresponding to the requested report content. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Indication on whether partial reporting can be performed: used to indicate whether the receiving node of the message can perform partial reporting. That is, whether the receiving node of the message can report part of the information requested to be reported. If the indication is that partial reporting is possible, the receiving node of the message only needs to report part of the information requested to be reported. If the indication is that partial reporting is not possible, the receiving node of the message must report all the requested information, and if one or more of the requested information cannot be reported, the receiving node of the message transmits a request failure message to the transmitting node of the message. The information requested to be reported may include one or more of the above-mentioned requested contents, and may also include one or more of the scopes corresponding to the above-mentioned requested contents. This indication may allow the receiving node of the message to report partial information according to its own situation, so as to avoid that the receiving node of the message must transmit a request failure message when one or more of the information requested to be reported cannot be reported, which results in a request failure, so that the transmitting node of the message needs to make a new request. If the transmitting node of the message does not know which information the receiving node of the message can transmit, it may lead to the need for the transmitting node of the message to constantly try to request, which results in signaling burden.

● Indication on whether information requested to be reported must be reported: used to indicate whether the information requested to be reported must be reported. If the indication is that the information must be reported, the receiving node of the message must report the information and/or the load condition corresponding to the information. The information requested to be reported may include one or more of the above-mentioned requested contents, and may also include one or more of the scopes corresponding to the above-mentioned requested contents. The receiving node of the message may determine which parameters to report according to the indication and/or its own situation.

● Priority of information requested to be reported: used to indicate the priority of information requested to be reported. In some implementations, the receiving node of the message must report information of a high priority. The receiving node of the message may report and/or not report information of a low priority according to its own situation. The information requested to be reported may include one or more of the above-mentioned requested contents, and may also include one or more of the scopes corresponding to the above-mentioned requested contents. The receiving node of the message can determine which parameters to report according to the priorities and its own situation.

In some implementations, the sixth node transmits a seventh message containing the slice-related performance (or information about the slice-related performance) to the fifth node according to its own situation and/or according to the sixth message containing the slice-related performance request received from the fifth node. In some implementations, for example, the fifth node may use the slice-related performance to evaluate a slice-related decision. For example, a good slice-related performance may indicate that the slice-related decision is appropriate, and a poor slice-related performance may indicate that the slice-related decision is inappropriate and needs to be optimized and/or updated. For example, the fifth node may also use the slice-related performance to evaluate an artificial intelligence machine learning model, for example, it may evaluate whether the model can continue to be used, and it may evaluate whether the model needs to be trained and/or adjusted, etc.

In some implementations, the seventh message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or DL PDU SESSION INFORMATION or UL PDU Session Information or DL USER DATA or DL DATA DELIVERY STATUS or ASSISTANCE INFORMATION DATA, etc. of a user plane; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container and/or a user plane frame, etc.

In some implementations, the seventh message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Request ID: used to identify the request.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement.

● Reported content: used to indicate the report content. The content may include one or more of the following: QoS parameter, QoE parameter, load information, actual slice information, time information, UE ID, slice ID, cell ID, beam ID, etc. Herein, the actual slice information may be information of an actually accessed slice, which may include one or more of the following: ID of the actually accessed slice, information of an accessing time, information of a departure time, residence time of the slice, etc.

● Scope corresponding to the reported content: the scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, UE, UE not to be measured, UE to be measured, cell, etc. The above scope may also indicate a slice performance after removing one or more UEs, for example, after removing other users in the slice except for the handover user, or after removing other users in the slice except for the user corresponding to the slice re-mapping.

● Applicable/validity time corresponding to the reported content: used to indicate an applicable time and/or time interval corresponding to the reported content. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

Example 4

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a seventh node transmits an eighth message containing information about a situation that a predicted slice is overloaded to an eighth node, so that the eighth node can know the situation that the predicted slice is overloaded, and the eighth node may refer to this information in making a handover decision. In some implementations, for example, when the eighth node receives a handover request to handover to a slice, the eighth node can reject the handover request because it knows that the predicted slice is overloaded, so as to avoid the need to hand over the UE to other cells in a short time after accepting the UE to cope with the situation that the load of the slice is overload.

In some implementations, the eighth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the eighth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Slice ID corresponding to the predicted overload: used to identify the ID of the slice corresponding to the situation of predicted slice overload.

● Cell ID corresponding to the predicted overload: used to identify the ID of the cell corresponding to the situation of predicted slice overload.

● Load amount of the predicted overload: the load amount may be one or more of the following: usage ratio of PRBs, number of available PRBs, number of allocated PRBs, usage of scheduling PDCCH CCEs, Transport Network Layer (TNL) capacity indication, radio resource status, comprehensive available capacity group, comprehensive available resource group, number of active user terminals, number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, available capacity of slices, hardware capacity indication, S1 TNL load indication, hardware load indication, Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) status, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement report list, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report, Channel State Information (CSI) report, cell report indication, Channel Occupancy time ratio, Energy Detection threshold, signal strength and/or signal quality, channel busy ratio, data amount, and Jitter of the various content parameters, etc. It may also be represented by means of a ratio. In some implementations, for example, it may be a ratio of a load amount when overload occurs to a current load amount, a ratio of a load amount when overload occurs to a current instantaneous input rate, a ratio of a load amount when overload occurs to a total load amount, a ratio of an overload amount when overload occurs to a current load amount, a ratio of an overload amount when overload occurs to a current instantaneous input rate, a ratio of an overload amount when overload occurs to a total load amount.

● Time information corresponding to the predicted overload: used to indicate when the predicted overload occurs.

● Accuracy and/or reliability of the prediction.

● Measure: used to indicate a measure that the receiving node of the message should apply. The measure may include one or more of the following: for example, rejecting RRC establishment, rejecting non-emergency RRC establishment, rejecting RRC establishment for signaling, allowing only emergency session establishment, allowing only mobile terminated services, allowing only high-priority sessions, etc. In some implementations, the measure may be a configured measure, that is, the receiving node of the message must implement the measure. In some other implementations, the measure may also be a suggested measure, and the receiving node of the message may or may not implement the suggested measure according to its own situation.

Example 5

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a seventh node transmits a ninth message containing information on a load amount that can be received/accepted (by a specific node and/or a specific slice) to an eighth node, so that the eighth node can know the load amount that can be received by the eighth node itself and/or any other associated node. The eighth node may refer to this information in a subsequent handover decision. In some implementations, for example, when the eighth node receives a handover request to handover to a slice, if the load amount of the UE is less than and/or equal to the load amount that can be received, the eighth node can accept the handover request; and if the load amount of the UE is greater than the load amount that can be received, the eighth node can reject the handover request, so as to avoid the need to hand over the UE to other cells in a short time after accepting the UE to cope with the situation that the load of the slice is overload.

In some implementations, the ninth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the ninth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Information of a load amount that can be received: used to indicate information of a receivable load amount.

o Load amount that can be received: the load amount may be one or more of the following: usage ratio of PRBs, number of available PRBs, number of allocated PRBs, usage of scheduling PDCCH CCEs, Transport Network Layer (TNL) capacity indication, radio resource status, comprehensive available capacity group, comprehensive available resource group, number of active user terminals, number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, available capacity of slices, hardware capacity indication, S1 TNL load indication, hardware load indication, Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) status, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement report list, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report, Channel State Information (CSI) report, cell report indication, Channel Occupancy time ratio, Energy Detection threshold, signal strength and/or signal quality, channel busy ratio, data amount, and Jitter of the various content parameters, etc. It may also be represented by means of a ratio. In some implementations, for example, it may be a ratio of a load amount that can be received to a current load amount, a ratio of a load amount that can be received to a current instantaneous input rate, or a ratio of a load amount that can be received to a total load amount, etc.

o Slice ID corresponding to the load amount that can be received.

o Cell ID corresponding to the load amount that can be received.

o Measure corresponding to the load amount that can be received: used to indicate a measure that the receiving node of the message should apply. The measure may include one or more of the following: for example, rejecting RRC establishment, rejecting non-emergency RRC establishment, rejecting RRC establishment for signaling, allowing only emergency session establishment, allowing only mobile terminated services, allowing only high-priority sessions, etc. In some implementations, the measure may be a configured measure, that is, the receiving node of the message must implement the measure. In some other implementations, the measure may also be a suggested measure, and the receiving node of the message may or may not implement the suggested measure according to its own situation.

● Time corresponding to the load amount that can be received: used to indicate when the load amount that can be received can be received.

● Accuracy and/or reliability of the prediction.

Example 6

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a ninth node transmits a tenth message containing a slice resource allocation decision to a tenth node, so that the tenth node can know the slice resource allocation decision, and the tenth node may use resources according to the slice resource allocation decision, or the tenth node may forward it to other nodes, so that the other nodes may use resources according to the slice resource allocation decision. The slice resource allocation decision may be a current slice resource allocation decision or a predicted resource allocation decision.

In some implementations, the tenth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the tenth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Time information corresponding to the resource allocation decision: the time may be a current time or a future time and/or time period.

● Resource allocation decision: the resource allocation decision may include one or more of the following:

o Exclusive resource allocation decision: the exclusive resource allocation decision may include one or more of the following: a starting position of exclusive resources, an ending position of exclusive resources, a resource size of exclusive resources, a proportion of exclusive resources, an exclusive proportion of an RRM policy, a minimum proportion of an RRM policy, a maximum proportion of an RRM policy, etc. In some implementations, the resources indicated by the exclusive proportion of an RRM policy are exclusive resources.

o Prioritized resource allocation decision: the prioritized resource allocation decision may include one or more of the following: a starting position of prioritized resources, an ending position of prioritized resources, a resource size of prioritized resources, a proportion of prioritized resources, an exclusive proportion of an RRM policy, a minimum proportion of an RRM policy, a maximum proportion of an RRM policy, etc. In some implementations, resources indicated from the exclusive proportion of an RRM policy to the minimum proportion of an RRM policy are exclusive resources.

o Shared resource allocation decision: the shared resource allocation decision may include one or more of the following: a starting position of shared resources, an ending position of shared resources, a resource size of shared resources, a proportion of shared resources, an exclusive proportion of an RRM policy, a minimum proportion of an RRM policy, a maximum proportion of an RRM policy, etc. In some implementations, resources indicated from the minimum proportion of an RRM policy to the maximum proportion of an RRM policy are exclusive resources.

o RRM strategy proportion: it may include one or more of the following: an exclusive proportion of an RRM policy, a minimum proportion of an RRM policy, a maximum proportion of an RRM policy, etc.

Example 7

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: an eleventh node transmits an eleventh message containing a request for slice resource usage to a twelfth node to request the twelfth node to report the slice resource usage. The eleventh node may evaluate a made decision according to the slice resource usage. For example, if the occupancy rate of prioritized resources is high, it means that the decision is inappropriate, for example, because the use of other slice shared resources cannot be guaranteed, etc. Alternatively, the eleventh node may set a slice resource allocation decision according to the slice resource usage. For example, if the occupancy rate of prioritized resources is high, prioritized resources may be set as exclusive resources to guarantee the use of other slice shared resources.

In some implementations, the eleventh message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc.

In some implementations, the eleventh message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement.

● Request ID: used to identify the request.

● Identification of a request for slice resource usage: used to indicate the request for slice resource usage.

● Slice ID: used to identify the slice corresponding to the request for slice resource usage.

● Reporting type of requested slice resource usage: used to indicate a reporting type of the requested slice resource usage. It may include single-time reporting, periodic reporting, on-demand reporting and event-triggered reporting, etc.

● Reporting periodicity of requested slice resource usage: used to indicate an interval time of a periodic reporting of the requested slice resource usage. The reporting periodicity may also be the reporting time of the reported data. If there is no content in this field, a single-time reporting is indicated, and the time of the single-time reporting is from the start time to the end time of the reporting.

● Reporting time of slice resource usage: used to indicate a time and/or time interval for the reporting of slice resource usage. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Measurement time of slice resource usage: used to indicate a time and/or time interval of the measurement of the slice resource usage. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Applicable/validity time corresponding to the requested slice resource usage: used to indicate an applicable time and/or time interval corresponding to the slice resource usage requested to be reported. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Conditions and/or events for triggering reporting: when a condition and/or report for triggering the reporting is met, the reporting will be performed. The conditions and/or events for triggering reporting may include one or more of the following:

o a ratio of the amount of resources actually used to allocated resources is greater than and/or equal to and/or less than a predetermined threshold. The condition and/or event should include the event, an event type, the predetermined threshold, time information for meeting the condition, etc. For example, only when the actual time when the condition is met meets the configured time information for meeting the condition, the reporting will be performed.

● Requested content: it may include one or more of the following:

o Amount of exclusive resources actually used: the amount of exclusive resources actually used may include one or more of the following: a ratio of exclusive resources actually used to allocated exclusive resources, a starting position of exclusive resources actually used, an ending position of exclusive resources actually used, a resource size of exclusive resources actually used, a ratio of exclusive resources actually used, etc.

o Amount of prioritized resources actually used: the amount of prioritized resources actually used may include one or more of the following: a ratio of prioritized resources actually used to allocated prioritized resources, a starting position of prioritized resources actually used, an ending position of prioritized resources actually used, a resource size of prioritized resources actually used, a ratio of prioritized resources actually used, etc.

o Amount of shared resources actually used: the amount of shared resources actually used may include one or more of the following: a ratio of shared resources actually used to allocated shared resources, a starting position of shared resources actually used, an ending position of shared resources actually used, a resource size of shared resources actually used, a ratio of shared resources actually used, etc.

o Slice performance: it may include one or more of the following: a QoS parameter, a QoE parameter, etc.

o Service type corresponding to the slice: the service type may include one or more of the following: a service type, a Quality of Service (QoS), a scenario, etc. The service type may include one or more of the following: voice service, video service, virtual reality service, augmented reality service, call service, etc. The quality of service may include one or more of the following: delay, throughput, reliability, packet loss rate, data rate, etc, and it may be identified by a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI), a QoS Class Identifier (QCI), etc. The scenario may include one or more of the following: Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

In some implementations, the twelfth node transmits a twelfth message containing the slice resource usage to the eleventh node according to its own situation and/or based on the eleventh message containing the request for slice resource usage received from the eleventh node. The twelfth node can transmit the slice resource usage to the eleventh node, and the eleventh node may use this information to evaluate whether its resource allocation decision is reasonable. For example, if the occupancy rate of prioritized resources is high, it means that the decision is inappropriate, for example, because the use of other slice shared resources cannot be guaranteed, etc. Alternatively, the eleventh node may set a slice resource allocation decision according to the slice resource usage. For example, if the occupancy rate of prioritized resources is high, prioritized resources may be set as exclusive resources to guarantee the use of other slice shared resources.

In some implementations, the twelfth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc.

In some implementations, the twelfth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement. The measurement ID may be consistent with the measurement ID in the eleventh message, in order to associate the message with the request message.

● Request ID: used to identify the request corresponding to this reporting.

● Slice ID: used to identify the slice corresponding to the slice resource usage.

● Exclusive resources actually used: used to indicate the amount of exclusive resources actually used. The amount of exclusive resources actually used may include one or more of the following: a ratio of exclusive resources actually used to allocated exclusive resources, a starting position of exclusive resources actually used, an ending position of exclusive resources actually used, a resource size of exclusive resources actually used, a ratio of exclusive resources actually used, etc. Prioritized resources actually used: used to indicate the amount of prioritized resources actually used. The amount of prioritized resources actually used may include one or more of the following: a ratio of prioritized resources actually used to allocated prioritized resources, a starting position of prioritized resources actually used, an ending position of prioritized resources actually used, a resource size of prioritized resources actually used, a ratio of prioritized resources actually used, etc.

● Shared resources actually used: used to indicate the amount of shared resources actually used. The amount of shared resources actually used may include one or more of the following: a ratio of shared resources actually used to allocated shared resources, a starting position of shared resources actually used, an ending position of shared resources actually used, a resource size of shared resources actually used, a ratio of shared resources actually used, etc.

● Slice performance: used to indicate the performance of the service transmitted on the slice. It may include one or more of the following: a QoS parameter, a QoE parameter, etc.

● Service type corresponding to the slice: the service may be a service type, a Quality of Service (QoS), a scenario, etc. The service type may include one or more of the following: voice service, video service, virtual reality service, augmented reality service, call service, etc. The quality of service may include one or more of the following: delay, throughput, reliability, packet loss rate, data rate, etc, and it may be identified by a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI), a QoS Class Identifier (QCI), etc. The scenario may include one or more of the following: Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), etc.

● Applicable/validity time corresponding to slice resource usage: used to indicate an applicable time and/or time interval corresponding to the reported slice resource usage. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

● Conditions and/or events that trigger the reporting: the conditions and/or events that trigger the reporting may include one or more of the following:

Example 8

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a thirteenth node transmits a thirteenth message containing a request for slice supporting information to a fourteenth node, for requesting the fourteenth node to report slice supporting information. The thirteenth node obtains the slice supporting information of the fourteenth node, and may make relevant decisions according to the slice supporting information, such as SON-related decisions, target node selection, and whether to request slice prediction information, etc.

In some implementations, the thirteenth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the thirteenth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Content of the slice supporting information requested to be reported: it may include one or more of the following:

o Slice information supported by a cell: used to indicate the slice information supported by the cell. It may include a cell ID, supported slice IDs, etc. The cell may be a cell included in a node, a source cell and/or a target cell in handover, or a candidate target cell in handover (also called a candidate cell).

o Information about supporting of slice prediction: used to indicate whether slice prediction can be performed. This field may be represented by a single bit. For example, a bit of 1 indicates that slice prediction is supported, that is, slice prediction can be performed, and a bit of 0 indicates that slice prediction is not supported, that is, slice prediction cannot be performed; alternatively, a bit of 0 indicates that slice prediction is supported, that is, slice prediction can be performed, and a bit of 1 indicates that slice prediction is not supported, that is, slice prediction cannot be performed.

o Cell ID: used to indicate the cell corresponding to the slice.

In some implementations, the fourteenth node can transmit a fourteenth message containing slice supporting information to the thirteenth node according to its own situation and/or based on the thirteenth message containing the request for slice supporting information received from the thirteenth node. The fourteenth node can transmit the slice supporting information to the thirteenth node, and the thirteenth node may use this information for decision-making, for example, SON-related decision-making, target node selection, and whether to request slice prediction information, etc.

In some implementations, the fourteenth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc. In some implementations, the fourteenth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Slice information supported by a cell: used to indicate the slice information supported by the cell. It may include a cell ID, supported slice IDs, etc. The cell may be a cell included in a node, a source cell and/or a target cell in handover, or a candidate target cell in handover (also called a candidate cell).

● Information about supporting of slice prediction: used to indicate whether slice prediction can be performed. This field may be represented by a single bit. For example, a bit of 1 indicates that slice prediction is supported, that is, slice prediction can be performed, and a bit of 0 indicates that slice prediction is not supported, that is, slice prediction cannot be performed; alternatively, a bit of 0 indicates that slice prediction is supported, that is, slice prediction can be performed, and a bit of 1 indicates that slice prediction is not supported, that is, slice prediction cannot be performed.

● Cell ID: used to indicate the cell corresponding to the slice.

Example 9

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a fifteenth node transmits a fifteenth message containing an applicable time of a re-mapping decision to a sixteenth node, for informing the sixteenth node of the applicable time of the re-mapping decision, and the sixteenth node applies the re-mapping decision only within the applicable time.

In some implementations, the fifteenth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc.

The fifteenth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Re-mapping decision: the re-mapping decision may include one or more of the following:

o Slice ID: used to represent information of a source slice in a re-mapping decision.

o Re-mapped slice ID: used to represent the ID of the slice re-mapped to in a re-mapping decision.

● Applicable/validity time of a re-mapping decision: used to indicate an applicable time and/or time interval corresponding to a re-mapping decision. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. The time interval may be expressed by a timer, a combination of a start time and an end time, and a combination of a start time and a time duration, etc. If it is a time interval, it may be represented by 2*n bits, for example, the first n bits represent the start time and the last n bits represent the end time. It may also be represented by separate fields, including one or more of the following:

Example 10

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for slice supporting, which may include: a seventeenth node transmits a sixteenth message containing Quality of Experience parameters to an eighteenth node, for informing the eighteenth node of the Quality of Experience parameters of one or more users, and the eighteenth node may refer to this information when making resource allocation and/or handover decisions, so as to guarantee the Quality of Experience parameters of the users.

In some implementations, the sixteenth message may be included in one or more of the following: a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a NG-RAN NODE CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a XN SETUP REQUEST message or a XN SETUP RESPONSE message of Xn; a NG SETUP REQUEST message or a NG SETUP RESPONSE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a RAN CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or an AMF CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or an AMF STATUS INDICATION message or an OVERLOAD START message or an OVERLOAD STOP message or a HANDOVER REQUIRED message or a HANDOVER COMMAND message or a HANDOVER REQUEST message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message or a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an F1 SETUP REQUEST message or an F1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-DU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-DU STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message of F1; or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-UP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP REQUEST message or a GNB-CU-CP E1 SETUP RESPONSE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-UP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE message or a GNB-CU-CP CONFIGURATION UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGE message or a GNB-CU-UP STATUS INDICATION message or a RESOURCE STATUS REQUEST message or a RESOURCE STATUS RESPONSE message or a RESOURCE STATUS FAILURE message or a RESOURCE STATUS UPDATE message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUIRED message or a BEARER CONTEXT MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message or a BEARER CONTEXT RELEASE REQUEST message of E1; or an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message or an RRCReestablishment message or an RRCSetup message or an RRCReconfigurationComplete message or an RCResumeComplete message or an RRCReestablishmentComplete message or an RRCSetupComplete message of RRC; or it may be transmitted by means of a MAC CE; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or an RRC container, etc.

The sixteenth message may include one or more of the following fields or related information:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● User ID: used to identify the user corresponding to a Quality of Experience parameter.

● Quality of Experience parameter: used to identify the Quality of Experience parameter of a user. The Quality of Experience parameter may be a measured Quality of Experience parameter or a predicted Quality of Experience parameter.

Network self-optimization decisions and/or Self-Optimization Network (SON) related decisions mentioned in the present disclosure may include network energy saving, load balancing, coverage optimization, mobility optimization and/or management, configuration making and/or updating, etc.

In the present disclosure, a result and a report may refer to each other.

In the present disclosure, time may be represented by one or more of the following: a timestamp, a time point, a time interval, a timer, a period of time, a time length, a time period, a time spacing, etc. Herein, the time length may be a length of time from a certain time point, which may be the current time. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. In some implementations, a period of time may be represented by separate fields, for example, by a combination of a start time and an end time, or by a combination of a start time and a time period. In the present disclosure, Quality of Experience (QoE) parameters and/or user experience parameters may include one or more of the following: Round-trip time, Jitter duration, Corruption duration, Average throughput, Initial playout delay, Playout Delay at Initial Startup, Device information, Rendered viewports, Codec information, Buffer level, Representation switch events, Play List, Media presentation description (MPD) Information, Interactivity Summary, Interactivity Event List, etc.

In the present disclosure, a Quality of Experience (QoE) parameter may refer to a user experience parameter, an application layer measurement parameter, etc.

In the present disclosure, Quality of Experience may refer to user experience, application layer measurement and so on.

In the present disclosure, Quality of Experience measurement may refer to user experience measurement, application layer measurement and so on.

In the present disclosure, Quality of Service (QoS) parameters and/or quality of service parameters may include at least one of the following: packet loss rate, delay, throughput, data rate, etc. In the present disclosure, QoS parameters and quality of service parameters may refer to each other.

In the present disclosure, load condition and/or load information may include one or more of the following: usage ratio of PRBs, number of available PRBs, number of allocated PRBs, usage of scheduling PDCCH CCEs, Transport Network Layer (TNL) capacity indication, radio resource status, comprehensive available capacity group, comprehensive available resource group, number of active user terminals, number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connections, available capacity of slices, hardware capacity indication, S1 TNL load indication, hardware load indication, Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) status, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement report list, Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ) measurement report, Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) measurement report, Channel State Information (CSI) report, cell report indication, Channel Occupancy time ratio, Energy Detection threshold, signal strength and/or signal quality, channel busy ratio, data amount, and Jitter of the various content parameters, etc. In the present disclosure, the load condition and the load information may refer to each other.

In the present disclosure, an applicable time may also be used interchangeably with a corresponding time or a valid time or an effective time and so on.

In the present disclosure, a slice may also refer to a service, business, etc.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The text and drawings are provided as examples only to help understand the present disclosure. They should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Although certain embodiments and examples have been provided, based on the disclosure herein, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that changes can be made to the illustrated embodiments and examples without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3A shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3A shows a process of exchanging predicted slice information between two nodes, so that the second node can make resource allocation and/or handover decisions based on the predicted slice information.

In some implementations, for example, the first node may be a UE, and the second node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the first node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the second node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the first node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the second node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the first node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the second node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 301A: the first node transmits predicted slice information to the second node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message.

Step 302A: the second node may perform resource allocation and/or reservation based on the received predicted slice information, or refer to the predicted slice information when making a handover decision.

FIG. 3B shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3B shows a process of exchanging predicted slice information between two nodes, so that the second node can make resource allocation and/or handover decisions based on the predicted slice information.

Step 301B: the second node transmits a predicted slice information request to the first node. The predicted slice information request may be the aforementioned first message.

Step 302B: the first node transmits predicted slice information to the second node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message.

Step 303B: the second node may perform resource allocation and/or reservation based on the received predicted slice information, or refer to the predicted slice information when making a handover decision.

FIG. 3C shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3C shows a process of exchanging predicted slice information between a UE and a serving node, so that the serving node can make resource allocation and/or handover decisions based on the predicted slice information.

Step 301C: the serving node transmits a predicted slice information request to the UE. The predicted slice information request may be the aforementioned first message.

Step 302C: the UE transmits predicted slice information to the serving node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message.

Step 303C: the serving node may perform resource allocation and/or reservation based on the received predicted slice information, or refer to the predicted slice information when making a handover decision.

Step 304C: the UE evaluates the predicted slice information based on a subsequent slice condition (for example, a condition of the slice actually accessed by the UE), such as performing performance evaluation and accuracy evaluation, etc.

FIG. 3D shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3D shows a process of exchanging predicted slice information among a UE, a source node and a target node, so that the source node can make resource allocation and/or handover decision based on the predicted slice information, so that the target node can make resource allocation and/or subsequent handover decision based on the predicted slice information.

Step 301D: the source node transmits a predicted slice information request to the UE. The predicted slice information request may be the aforementioned first message.

Step 302D: the UE transmits predicted slice information to the source node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message.

Step 303D: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node. Herein, measurement reports may include, but are not limited to, the RSRP measurement report, RSRQ measurement report and SINR measurement report as described above, etc.

Step 304D: the source node makes a handover decision based on the measurement report and the predicted slice information and so on. For example, the source node may select a node that supports the predicted slice as the target node, to ensure the stability and robustness of handover, and prevent the UE from having to re-select a serving cell if the target node handed over to cannot support a certain slice, which may result in service interruption and the like.

Step 305D: the source node transmits predicted slice information to the target node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The predicted slice information may be carried by a seventeenth message. In some implementations, the seventeenth message may be a handover request message or any other suitable message, which is not limited herein. Hereinafter, the handover request message will be described as an example of the seventeenth message.

Step 306D: the target node transmits an eighteenth message to the source node. In some implementations, the eighteenth message may be a handover request acknowledge message or any other suitable message, which is not limited herein. Hereinafter, the handover request acknowledge message will be described as an example of the eighteenth message.

Step 307D: the source node transmits the predicted slice information and/or a slice supporting condition of the target cell to the UE. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may include one or more of the following: the ID of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list supported by the target cell, and the priority of the target cell. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may be obtained by the source node from the target cell. The priority of the target cell may be set according to the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slice. For example, a cell that supports the predicted slice has a higher priority. Herein, a specific priority setting method may be that a cell supporting more predicted slices is set with a higher priority. The predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell may be carried by a nineteenth message. In some implementations, the nineteenth message may be an RRC reconfiguration message or any other suitable message, such as an RRC reestablishment message, etc., which is not limited herein. Hereinafter, an RRC reconfiguration message is described as an example of the nineteenth message. In some implementations, for example, in a conditional handover, the UE may select a cell supporting the predicted slice as the target cell according to the predicted slice information and the slice supporting condition of the target cell when an execution condition is met.

Step 308D: subsequent processes of the handover are performed.

Step 309D: the UE evaluates the predicted slice information based on a subsequent slice condition, such as performing performance evaluation and accuracy evaluation, etc.

FIG. 3E shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3E shows a process of exchanging predicted slice information among a UE, a source node and a target node, so that the source node can make resource allocation and/or handover decision based on the predicted slice information, so that the target node can make resource allocation and/or subsequent handover decision based on the predicted slice information.

Step 301E: the source node transmits a slice-related performance request to the target node. The slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message.

Step 302E: the target node transmits a slice-related performance response to the source node, so as to inform the source node whether the target node can report the slice-related performance. The slice-related performance response may include one or more of the following:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement. In some implementations, for example, the measurement ID may be consistent with the measurement ID in step 301E, in order for associating the response message with the request message.

● Slice-related performance request confirmation: used to indicate whether the slice-related performance can be measured and/or reported. Whether the requested slice-related performance can be measured and/or reported may be indicated by a bit.

● Contents that can be measured: used to indicate contents that can be measured. The content may include one or more of the following: QoS parameter, QoE parameter, load information, actual slice information, time information, UE ID, slice ID, cell ID, beam ID, etc. Herein, the actual slice information may be information of an actually accessed slice, which may include one or more of the following: ID of the actually accessed slice, information of an accessing time, information of a departure time, residence time of the slice, etc.

● Scope that can be measured and/or reported: used to indicate a scope that can be measured and/or predicted and/or reported. The scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, UE, UE not to be measured, UE to be measured, etc. The above scope may also indicate a slice performance after removing one or more UEs, for example, after removing other users in the slice except for the handover user, or after removing other users in the slice except for the user corresponding to the slice re-mapping.

● Scope that cannot be measured and/or reported: used to indicate a scope that cannot be measured and/or predicted and/or reported. The scope may be an ID and/or ID list of one or more of the following: slice, UE, UE not to be measured, UE to be measured, etc. The above scope may also indicate a slice performance after removing one or more UEs, for example, after removing other users in the slice except for the handover user, or after removing other users in the slice except for the user corresponding to the slice re-mapping.

● Contents that cannot be measured: used to indicate contents that cannot be measured. The content may include one or more of the following: QoS parameter, QoE parameter, load information, actual slice information, time information, UE ID, slice ID, cell ID, beam ID, etc. Herein, the actual slice information may be information of an actually accessed slice, which may include one or more of the following: ID of the actually accessed slice, information of an accessing time, information of a departure time, residence time of the slice, etc.

● Cause: used to indicate reasons why measurement and/or reporting cannot be performed. The reasons may include one or more of the following: slice is unavailable, measurement is unavailable, slice load measurement is unavailable, slice is temporarily unavailable, measurement is temporarily unavailable, slice measurement is temporarily unavailable, reporting time is unavailable, reporting periodicity is unavailable, etc.

Step 303E: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 304E: the source node predicts slice information, and the source node makes a handover decision based on the measurement report and the predicted slice information and so on. For example, the source node may select a node that supports the predicted slice as the target node, to ensure the stability and robustness of handover, and prevent the UE from having to re-select a serving cell if the target node handed over to cannot support a certain slice, which may result in service interruption and the like.

Step 305E: the source node transmits the predicted slice information and/or the slice performance request indication (also referred to as slice performance request related information herein) to the target node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The slice performance request indication is used for triggering the target node to collect slice performance, which may be the identification request in the sixth message or the slice performance request indication in the sixth message. The predicted slice information and/or slice performance request indication may be carried by a handover request message. The predicted slice information may be used to make subsequent handover decisions, for example, a slice-related handover decision, etc.

Step 306E: the target node transmits a handover request acknowledge message to the source node.

Step 307E: the source node transmits the predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell to the UE. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may include one or more of the following: the ID of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list supported by the target cell, the priority of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list of predicted slices supported by the target cell (for example, predicted slices included in the predicted slice information), the number of predicted slices supported by the target cell, etc. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may be the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slices included in the predicted slice information, or the target cell's own slice supporting ability. The priority of the target cell may be set according to the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slice. For example, a cell that supports the predicted slice has a higher priority. Herein, a specific priority setting method may be that a cell supporting more predicted slices is set with a higher priority. The predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell may be carried by an RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, for example, in a conditional handover, the UE may select a cell supporting the predicted slice as the target cell according to the predicted slice information and the slice supporting condition of the target cell when an execution condition is met. In some implementations, the information such as the priority of the target cell and the number of predicted slices supported by the target cell above may be determined by the source node, or determined by the target cell itself and transmitted to the source node.

Step 308E: subsequent processes of the handover are performed.

Step 309E: the target node transmits the collected (or obtained) slice-related performance to the source node. The slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message.

Step 310E: the source node evaluates the predicted slice information based on the collected slice-related performance, such as performing performance evaluation and accuracy evaluation, etc.

FIG. 3F shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3F shows a process of exchanging predicted slice information among a UE, a source node, a target node and an AMF, so that the source node can make resource allocation and/or handover decision based on the predicted slice information, so that the target node can make resource allocation and/or subsequent handover decision based on the predicted slice information.

Step 301F: the source node transmits a predicted slice information request to the AMF. The predicted slice information request may be the aforementioned first message.

Step 302F: the AMF transmits predicted slice information to the source node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message.

Step 303F: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 304F: the source node makes a handover decision based on the measurement report and the predicted slice information and so on. For example, the source node may select a node that supports the predicted slice as the target node, to ensure the stability and robustness of handover, and prevent the UE from having to re-select a serving cell if the target node handed over to cannot support a certain slice, which may result in service interruption and the like.

Step 305F: the source node transmits predicted slice information to the target node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The predicted slice information may be carried by a handover request message.

Step 306F: the target node transmits a handover request acknowledge message to the source node.

Step 307F: the source node transmits the predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell to the UE. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may include one or more of the following: the ID of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list supported by the target cell, and the priority of the target cell. The priority of the target cell may be set according to the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slice. For example, a cell that supports the predicted slice has a higher priority. Herein, a specific priority setting method may be that a cell supporting more predicted slices is set with a higher priority. The predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell may be carried by an RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, for example, in a conditional handover, the UE may select a cell supporting the predicted slice as the target cell according to the predicted slice information and the slice supporting condition of the target cell when an execution condition is met.

Step 308F: subsequent processes of the handover are performed.

Step 309F: the AMF evaluates the predicted slice information based on a subsequent slice condition, such as performing performance evaluation and accuracy evaluation, etc.

FIG. 3G shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3G shows a process of exchanging predicted slice information among a UE, a source node, a target node and an AMF, so that the source node can make resource allocation and/or handover decision based on the predicted slice information, so that the target node can make resource allocation and/or subsequent handover decision based on the predicted slice information.

Step 301G: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 302G: the source node makes a handover decision based on the received measurement report.

Step 303G: the source node transmits a handover required message carrying a target cell list to the AMF.

Step 304G: the AMF performs prediction based on slice information, and selects a target cell according to the predicted slice information, for example, selecting a cell supporting the predicted slices as the target cell from the target cell list received from the source node.

Step 305G: the AMF transmits predicted slice information to the target cell. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The predicted slice information may be carried by a handover request message.

Step 306G: the target node transmits a handover request acknowledge message to the AMF.

Step 307G: the AMF transmits predicted slice information to the source node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The predicted slice information may be carried by a handover command message.

Step 308G: the source node transmits the predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell to the UE. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may include one or more of the following: the ID of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list supported by the target cell, and the priority of the target cell. The priority of the target cell may be set according to the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slice. For example, a cell that supports the predicted slice has a higher priority. Herein, a specific priority setting method may be that a cell supporting more predicted slices is set with a higher priority. The predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell may be carried by an RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, for example, in a conditional handover, the UE may select a cell supporting the predicted slice as the target cell according to the predicted slice information and the slice supporting condition of the target cell when an execution condition is met.

Step 309G: subsequent processes of the handover are performed.

Step 310G: the AMF evaluates the predicted slice information based on a subsequent slice condition, such as performing performance evaluation and accuracy evaluation, etc.

FIG. 3H shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3H shows a process of exchanging predicted slice information among a UE, a source node and a target node, so that the source node can make resource allocation and/or handover decision based on the predicted slice information, so that the target node can make resource allocation and/or subsequent handover decision based on the predicted slice information.

Step 301H: the source node transmits a slice-related performance request to the target node. The slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message.

Step 302H: the target node transmits a slice-related performance response to the source node, so as to inform the source node whether the target node can report the slice-related performance. The slice-related performance response may include one or more of the following:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement. In some implementations, for example, the measurement ID may be consistent with the measurement ID in step 301H, in order for associating the response message with the request message.

Step 303H: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 304H: the source node predicts the slice information, and the source node makes a handover decision based on the measurement report and the predicted slice information and so on. For example, the source node may select a node that supports the predicted slice as the target node, to ensure the stability and robustness of handover, and prevent the UE from having to re-select a serving cell if the target node handed over to cannot support a certain slice, which may result in service interruption and the like.

Step 305H: the source node transmits the predicted slice information and/or the slice performance request indication (also referred to as slice performance request related information herein) to the target node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The slice performance request indication is used for triggering the target node to collect slice performance, which may be the identification request in the sixth message or the slice performance request indication in the sixth message. The predicted slice information and/or slice performance request indication may be carried by a handover request message. The predicted slice information may be used to make subsequent handover decisions, for example, a slice-related handover decision, etc.

Step 306H: the target node transmits the predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell to the source node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may include one or more of the following: the ID of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list supported by the target cell, the priority of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list of predicted slices supported by the target cell (for example, predicted slices included in the predicted slice information), the number of predicted slices supported by the target cell, etc. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may be the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slices included in the predicted slice information, or the target cell's own slice supporting ability. The priority of the target cell may be set according to the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slice. For example, a cell that supports the predicted slice has a higher priority. Herein, a specific priority setting method may be that a cell supporting more predicted slices is set with a higher priority. The predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell may be carried by an RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, for example, in a conditional handover, the UE may select a cell supporting the predicted slice as the target cell according to the predicted slice information and the slice supporting condition of the target cell when an execution condition is met. The predicted slice information and/or the support of the target cell for slices may be carried by a handover request acknowledge message.

Step 307H: the source node transmits the predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell to the UE. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may include one or more of the following: the ID of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list supported by the target cell, the priority of the target cell, the slice ID and/or ID list of predicted slices supported by the target cell (for example, predicted slices included in the predicted slice information), the number of predicted slices supported by the target cell, etc. The slice supporting condition of the target cell may be the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slices included in the predicted slice information, or the target cell's own slice supporting ability. The priority of the target cell may be set according to the supporting condition of the target cell for the predicted slice. For example, a cell that supports the predicted slice has a higher priority. Herein, a specific priority setting method may be that a cell supporting more predicted slices is set with a higher priority. The predicted slice information and/or the slice supporting condition of the target cell may be carried by an RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, for example, in a conditional handover, the UE may select a cell supporting the predicted slice as the target cell according to the predicted slice information and the slice supporting condition of the target cell when an execution condition is met. In some implementations, the information such as the priority of the target cell and the number of predicted slices supported by the target cell above may be determined by the source node, or determined by the target cell itself and transmitted to the source node.

Step 308H: subsequent processes of the handover are performed.

Step 309H: the target node transmits the collected (or obtained) slice-related performance to the source node. The slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message.

Step 310H: the source node evaluates the predicted slice information based on the collected slice-related performance, such as performing performance evaluation and accuracy evaluation, etc.

FIG. 4A shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 4A shows a process of exchanging slice load condition between two nodes, so that the third node can know the slice load condition, and the third node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use this slice load information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate or not.

In some implementations, for example, the third node may be a UE, and the fourth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the third node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the fourth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the third node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the fourth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the third node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the fourth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 401A: the fourth node transmits a slice load condition to the third node. The slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message.

Step 402A: the fourth node makes resource allocation and/or handover decision and/or slice re-mapping decision and/or evaluation of the performance of a decision based on the slice load condition, etc.

FIG. 4B shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 4B shows a process of exchanging slice load condition between two nodes, so that the third node can know the slice load condition, and the third node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use this slice load information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate or not.

Step 401B: the third node transmits a slice load condition request to the fourth node. The slice load condition request may be the aforementioned third message.

Step 402B: the fourth node transmits a slice load condition to the third node. The slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message.

Step 403B: the fourth node makes resource allocation and/or handover decision and/or slice re-mapping decision and/or evaluation of the performance of a decision based on the slice load condition, etc.

If the fourth node is required to report periodically in step 401B, step 402B is performed periodically.

FIG. 4C shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 4C shows a process of exchanging slice load condition between two nodes, so that the third node can know the slice load condition, and the third node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use this slice load information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate or not.

Step 401C: the third node transmits a slice load condition request to the fourth node. The slice load condition request may be the aforementioned third message.

Step 402C: the fourth node transmits a slice load condition response to the third node. The slice load condition response may be the aforementioned fourth message.

Step 403C: the fourth node transmits a slice load condition to the third node. The slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message.

Step 404C: the fourth node makes resource allocation and/or handover decision and/or slice re-mapping decision and/or evaluation of the performance of a decision based on the slice load condition, etc.

If the fourth node is required to report periodically in step 401C, step 403C is performed periodically.

FIG. 5A shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5A shows a process of exchanging slice load condition between two nodes, so that a fifth node can know slice-related performance, and the fifth node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a decision is appropriate, and the like.

In some implementations, for example, the fifth node may be a UE, and the sixth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the fifth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the sixth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the fifth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME or an UPF, and the sixth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the fifth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the sixth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME or an UPF.

Step 501A: the sixth node transmits slice-related performance to the fifth node. The slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message.

Step 502A: the fifth node makes resource allocation and/or handover decision and/or slice re-mapping decision and/or evaluation of the performance of a decision based on the slice-related performance.

FIG. 5B shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5B shows a process of exchanging slice performance between two nodes, so that the fifth node can know the slice-related performance, and the fifth node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a decision is appropriate, and the like.

Step 501B: the fifth node transmits a slice-related performance request to the sixth node. The slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message.

Step 502B: the sixth node transmits slice-related performance to the fifth node. The slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message.

Step 503B: the fifth node makes resource allocation and/or handover decision and/or slice re-mapping decision and/or evaluation of the performance of a decision based on the slice-related performance.

FIG. 5C shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5C shows a process of exchanging slice performance between two nodes, so that the fifth node can know the slice-related performance, and the fifth node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a decision is appropriate, and the like.

Step 501C: the fifth node transmits a slice-related performance request to the sixth node. The slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message.

Step 502C: the sixth node informs the fifth node whether it can perform reporting according to the slice-related performance request. The message may be a slice-related performance response message. The message may include: transmitting node ID, receiving node ID, slice ID, cell ID, user ID, parameters that can be reported, parameters that cannot be reported, reasons why reporting cannot be performed, etc.

Step 503C: the sixth node transmits slice-related performance to the fifth node. The slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message.

Step 504C: the fifth node makes resource allocation and/or handover decision and/or slice re-mapping decision and/or evaluation of the performance of a decision based on the slice-related performance.

If periodic reporting is requested in step 501C, step 503C is performed periodically.

FIG. 5D shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5D shows a process of exchanging slice-related performance among nodes, so that the source node can know the slice-related performance, and the source node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a decision is appropriate, and the like.

Step 501D: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 502D: the source node makes a handover decision based on the measurement report.

Step 503D: the source node transmits a slice-related performance request to the target node. The slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message. The slice-related performance request may be carried by a handover request message.

Step 504D: the target node transmits a slice-related performance response to the source node, so as to inform the source node whether the target node can report the slice-related performance. The slice-related performance response may include one or more of the following:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement. In some implementations, for example, the measurement ID may be consistent with the measurement ID in step 503D, in order for associating the response message with the request message.

The slice-related performance response may be carried by a handover request acknowledge message.

Step 505D: the source node transmits an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

Step 506D: subsequent processes of the handover are performed.

Step 507D: the target node transmits the collected (or obtained) slice-related performance to the source node. The slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message.

Step 508D: the source node evaluates a made decision based on the collected slice-related performance.

FIG. 5E shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5E shows a process of exchanging slice-related performance among nodes, so that the source node can know the slice-related performance, and the source node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a decision is appropriate, and the like.

Step 501E: the source node transmits a slice-related performance request to the target node. The slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message.

Step 502E: the target node transmits a slice-related performance response to the source node, so as to inform the source node whether the target node can report the slice-related performance. The slice-related performance response may include one or more of the following:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● Measurement ID: used to identify this measurement. In some implementations, for example, the measurement ID may be consistent with the measurement ID in step 501E, in order for associating the response message with the request message.

Step 503E: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 504E: the source node makes a handover decision based on the measurement report.

Step 505E: the source node transmits a slice performance request indication (also referred to as slice performance request related information herein) to the target node. The slice performance request indication is used for triggering the target node to collect slice performance, which may be the identification request in the sixth message or the slice performance request indication in the sixth message. The slice performance request indication may be carried by a handover request message.

Step 506E: the target node transmits a handover request acknowledge message to the source node.

Step 507E: the source node transmits an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

Step 508E: subsequent processes of the handover are performed.

Step 509E: the target node transmits the collected (or obtained) slice-related performance to the source node. The slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message.

Step 510E: the source node evaluates a made decision based on the collected slice-related performance.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 6 shows a process of exchanging information about that a predicted slice is overloaded between two nodes, so that an eighth node can know the situation that the predicted slice will be overloaded, and the eighth node may refer to this information when making a SON-related decision, or refer to this information when making a handover decision, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a decision is appropriate, and the like.

In some implementations, for example, the seventh node may be a UE, and the eighth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the seventh node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the eighth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the seventh node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the eighth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the seventh node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the eighth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 601A: the seventh node transmits information about a situation that a predicted slice is overloaded to the eighth node. The information about a situation that a predicted slice is overloaded may be the aforementioned eighth message.

Step 602A: the eighth node makes resource allocation and/or handover decision and/or slice re-mapping decision and/or evaluation of the performance of a decision based on the predicted slice overload.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 7 shows a process of exchanging information on a load amount that can be received between two nodes, so that an eighth node can know the load amount that can be received, and the eighth node may refer to this information when making handover decisions, or refer to this information when making SON-related decisions, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate, or use the slice-related performance information to evaluate whether a decision is appropriate, and the like. For example, it may refer to this information when receiving a handover request, so as to avoid situations such as that too many handover requests are received, which causes overload, and the received UEs need to be handed over to other nodes, which causes service interruption due to frequent handover.

Step 701A: the seventh node transmits information on a load amount that can be received to the eighth node. The information on a load amount that can be received may be the aforementioned ninth message.

Step 702A: the eighth node makes handover decision and/or slice re-mapping decision and/or evaluation of the performance of a decision based on the information on the load amount that can be received.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 8 shows a process of exchanging a slice resource allocation decision between two nodes, so that a tenth node can obtain the resource allocation decision and make a resource allocation decision according to the resource allocation decision, etc.

In some implementations, for example, the tenth node may be a UE, and the ninth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the ninth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the tenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the ninth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the tenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the ninth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the tenth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 801A: the ninth node transmits a slice resource allocation decision to the tenth node. The slice resource allocation decision may be the aforementioned tenth message.

Step 802A: the tenth node makes a resource allocation decision based on the obtained resource allocation decision, etc.

FIG. 9A shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 9A shows a process of exchanging slice resource usage between two nodes, so that an eleventh node may evaluate a resource allocation decision and/or adjust a slice resource allocation decision based on the slice resource usage, etc.

In some implementations, for example, the twelfth node may be a UE, and the eleventh node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the eleventh node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the twelfth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the eleventh node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the twelfth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the eleventh node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the twelfth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 901A: the twelfth node transmits the slice resource usage to the eleventh node. The slice resource usage may be the aforementioned twelfth message.

Step 902A: the eleventh node may evaluate a resource allocation decision and/or adjust a slice resource allocation decision based on the slice resource usage, etc.

FIG. 9B shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 9B shows a process of exchanging slice resource usage between two nodes, so that an eleventh node may evaluate a resource allocation decision and/or adjust a slice resource allocation decision based on the slice resource usage, etc.

Step 901B: the eleventh node transmits a request for slice resource usage to the twelfth node. The request for slice resource usage may be the aforementioned eleventh message.

Step 902B: the twelfth node transmits the slice resource usage to the eleventh node. The slice resource usage may be the aforementioned twelfth message.

Step 903B: the eleventh node may evaluate a resource allocation decision and/or adjust a slice resource allocation decision based on the slice resource usage, etc.

FIG. 8 can be combined with FIG. 9A or 9B, for example, the steps of FIG. 9A or 9B occur after the steps of FIG. 8; alternatively, the steps of FIG. 8 may occur after the steps of FIG. 9A or 9B; alternatively, the steps of FIG. 8 may occur after the steps of FIG. 9A or 9B, and then the steps of FIG. 9A or 9B may occur.

FIG. 10A shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 10A shows a process of exchanging slice supporting information between two nodes, so that a thirteenth node can obtain the slice supporting information of the fourteenth node and/or other nodes, and the thirteenth node can make a handover decision and/or further request slice prediction information based on this information, and the like.

In some implementations, for example, the thirteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the fourteenth node may be a UE. In some other implementations, for example, the thirteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the fourteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the thirteenth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the fourteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the thirteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the fourteenth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 1001A: the fourteenth node transmits slice supporting information to the thirteenth node. The slice supporting information may be the aforementioned fourteenth message.

Step 1002A: the thirteenth node makes a handover decision based on the slice supporting information, for example, selecting a node supporting the required slice as the target node, or further requesting slice prediction information. For example, if the fourteenth node supports slice prediction, the thirteenth node may request slice prediction information according to FIGs. 3A to 3H.

FIG. 10B shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 10B shows a process of exchanging slice supporting information between two nodes, so that a thirteenth node can obtain the slice supporting information of the fourteenth node and/or other nodes, and the thirteenth node can make a handover decision and/or further request slice prediction information based on this information, and the like.

Step 1001B: the thirteenth node transmits a slice supporting information request to the fourteenth node to request the fourteenth node to transmit slice supporting information. The slice supporting information request may be the aforementioned thirteenth message.

Step 1002B: the fourteenth node transmits slice supporting information to the thirteenth node. The slice supporting information may be the aforementioned fourteenth message.

Step 1003B: the thirteenth node makes a handover decision based on the slice supporting information, for example, selecting a node supporting the required slice as the target node, or further requesting slice prediction information. For example, if the fourteenth node supports slice prediction, the thirteenth node may request slice prediction information according to FIGs. 3A to 3H.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 11 shows a process of exchanging an applicable time of a re-mapping decision between two nodes, so that the sixteenth node can know the applicable time of the re-mapping decision and apply the relevant re-mapping decision only within the applicable time.

In some implementations, for example, the fifteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the sixteenth node may be a UE. In some other implementations, for example, the fifteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the sixteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the fifteenth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the sixteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the fifteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the sixteenth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 1101A: the fifteenth node transmits an applicable time of a re-mapping decision to the sixteenth node. The applicable time of a re-mapping decision may be the aforementioned fifteenth message.

Step 1102A: the sixteenth node applies the relevant re-mapping decision only within the applicable time of the re-mapping decision. The sixteenth node may make relevant decisions according to the re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the re-mapping decision, such as slice decision, PDU session reestablishment and/or modification, etc. In some implementations, for example, the sixteenth node may reestablish and/or modify a PDU session of one or more users of a certain slice to another slice based on a re-mapping decision within the applicable time of the re-mapping decision. In another implementation, for example, the sixteenth node may select a handover target node for the user based on a re-mapping decision within the applicable time of the re-mapping decision.

FIG. 12A shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 12A shows a process of exchanging Quality of Experience parameters between two nodes, so that the eighteenth node may refer to information of the Quality of Experience parameters when making relevant decisions, which may include handover decision, resource allocation decision, slice re-mapping decision, etc. In some implementations, for example, nodes and/or cells that can guarantee the quality of experience parameters are selected as handover target nodes and/or cells, in order to ensure the quality of experience; alternatively, the quality of experience parameters are considered when making a resource allocation decision, in order to ensure the quality of experience; alternatively, if the slice that the user currently belongs to is not supported and/or the resources are insufficient, and slice re-mapping is needed, the node needs to select a slice that can support the quality of experience as the re-mapping slice, in order to ensure the quality of experience.

In some implementations, for example, the seventeenth node may be a UE, and the eighteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the seventeenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the eighteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the seventeenth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the eighteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the seventeenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the eighteenth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 1201A: the seventeenth node transmits the Quality of Experience parameters to the eighteenth node. The Quality of Experience parameter may be the aforementioned sixteenth message.

Step 1202A: the eighteenth node may refer to information of the Quality of Experience parameters when making relevant decisions, which may include handover decision, resource allocation decision, slice re-mapping decision, etc. In some implementations, for example, nodes and/or cells that can guarantee the quality of experience parameters are selected as handover target nodes and/or cells, in order to ensure the quality of experience; alternatively, the quality of experience parameters are considered when making a resource allocation decision, in order to ensure the quality of experience; alternatively, if the slice that the user currently belongs to is not supported and/or the resources are insufficient, and slice re-mapping is needed, the node needs to select a slice that can support the quality of experience as the re-mapping slice, in order to ensure the quality of experience.

FIG. 12B shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 12B shows a process in which an AMF makes a slice re-mapping decision.

Step 1201B: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 1202B: the source node makes a mobility decision based on the measurement report.

Step 1203B: the source node transmits the Quality of Experience parameters to the AMF. The Quality of Experience parameter may be the aforementioned sixteenth message. The Quality of Experience parameter may be transmitted by a HANDOVER REQUIRED message. The message may also carry information of multiple target cells for the AMF to select one of the multiple target cells as the handover target cell based on the re-mapping decision later.

Step 1204B: the AMF makes a re-mapping decision based on the Quality of Experience parameters.

Step 1205B: the AMF transmits the slice re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision to the target node. The applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision may be the aforementioned fifteenth message. The slice re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision may be carried by a HANDOVER REQUEST message.

Step 1206B: the target node transmits the received slice information to the AMF. The received slice information may include a user ID, an ID corresponding to the received slice, and the like. The received slice information may be carried by a handover request acknowledge message.

Step 1207B: the AMF transmits a handover command to the source node.

Step 1208B: other processes of the handover are performed.

Step 1209B: the AMF transmits a slice-related performance request and/or a slice load condition request to the target node (in and after step 1209b, the target node is the user's serving node). Herein the slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message. Herein the slice load condition request may be the aforementioned third message.

Step 1210B: the target node transmits a slice-related performance response and/or a slice load condition response to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance response may be the message in the aforementioned step 502C. Herein the slice load condition response may be the aforementioned fourth message.

Step 1211B: the target node transmits the slice-related performance and/or slice load condition to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message. Herein the slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message. The AMF may evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate after obtaining the slice-related performance and/or slice load condition. For example, if the slice-related performance is poor and/or the slice load is overloaded, it may be evaluated that the slice re-mapping decision is inappropriate.

If the request in step 1209B needs to be reported periodically, step 1211B is performed periodically.

Step 1210B may be omitted.

FIG. 12C shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 12C shows a process in which a target node makes a slice re-mapping decision.

Step 1201C: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 1202C: the source node makes a mobility decision based on the measurement report.

Step 1203C: the source node transmits Quality of Experience parameters to the target node. The Quality of Experience parameter may be the aforementioned sixteenth message. The Quality of Experience parameter may be transmitted by a HANDOVER REQUEST message.

Step 1204C: the target node makes a re-mapping decision based on the Quality of Experience parameters.

Step 1205C: the target node transmits the slice re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision to the source node. The applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision may be the aforementioned fifteenth message. The slice re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision may be carried by a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEGEMENT message.

Step 1206C: other processes of the handover are performed.

Step 1207C: the target node (in and after step 1207C, the target node is the user's serving node) transmits a slice-related performance request and/or a slice load condition request to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message. Herein the slice load condition request may be the aforementioned third message.

Step 1208C: the AMF transmits a slice-related performance response and/or a slice load condition response to the target node. Herein the slice-related performance response may be the message in the aforementioned step 502C. Herein the slice load condition response may be the aforementioned fourth message.

Step 1209C: the AMF transmits slice-related performance and/or slice load condition to the target node. Herein the slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message. Herein the slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message. The target node may evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate after obtaining the slice-related performance and/or slice load condition. For example, if the slice-related performance is poor and/or the slice load is overloaded, it may be evaluated that the slice re-mapping decision is inappropriate.

If the request in step 1207C needs to be reported periodically, step 1209C is performed periodically.

Step 1208C may be omitted.

FIG. 12D shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 12D shows a process in which a target node makes a slice re-mapping decision.

Step 1200D: the AMF transmits information on a load amount that can be received (for example, by the target node) and/or information about a situation that a predicted slice is overloaded to an access network-side node (for example, the target node is used as an representation and an example in this figure). The information on a load amount that can be received may be the aforementioned ninth message. The information about a situation that a predicted slice is overloaded may be the aforementioned eighth message.

Step 1201D.A: the target node transmits a slice load information request to the AMF. Herein the slice load condition request may be the aforementioned third message.

Step 1201D.B: the AMF transmits a slice load information response to the target node. Herein the slice load condition response may be the aforementioned fourth message.

Step 1201D.C: the AMF transmits slice load information (or slice load condition) to the target node. Herein the slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message.

Step 1202D.A: the source node transmits a predicted slice information request to the UE. The predicted slice information request may be the aforementioned first message.

Step 1202D.B: the UE transmits predicted slice information to the source node. The predicted slice information may be the aforementioned second message. In the implementation, the predicted slice information may be the predicted slice information of the UE. In some other implementations, the predicted slice information may also be predicted slice information associated with the UE or with any other UE or node.

Step 1203D: the UE transmits a measurement report to the source node.

Step 1204D: the source node makes a mobility decision based on the measurement report and/or the predicted slice information, for example, performing selection of a target node. For example, a node and/or cell that can support the predicted slice (for example, one or more predicted slices included in the predicted slice information) is selected as the target cell.

Step 1205D: the source node transmits Quality of Experience parameters to the target node. The Quality of Experience parameter may be the aforementioned sixteenth message. The Quality of Experience parameter may be transmitted by a HANDOVER REQUEST message.

Step 1206D: the target node makes a re-mapping decision based on the Quality of Experience parameters and/or slice load information.

Step 1207D: the target node transmits the slice re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision to the source node. The applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision may be the aforementioned fifteenth message. The slice re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision may be carried by a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEGEMENT message.

Step 1208D: other processes of the handover are performed.

Step 1209D.A: the target node (in and after step 1209D.A, the target node is the user's serving node) transmits a slice-related performance request and/or a slice load condition request to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message. Herein the slice load condition request may be the aforementioned third message.

Step 1209D.B: the AMF transmits a slice-related performance response and/or a slice load condition response to the target node. Herein the slice-related performance response may be the message in the aforementioned step 502C. Herein the slice load condition response may be the aforementioned fourth message.

Step 1209D.C: the AMF transmits the slice-related performance and/or slice load condition to the target node. Herein the slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message. Herein the slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message. The target node may evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate after obtaining the slice-related performance and/or slice load condition. For example, if the slice-related performance is poor and/or the slice load is overloaded, it may be evaluated that the slice re-mapping decision is inappropriate.

If the request in step 1201D.A needs to be reported periodically, step 1201D.C is performed periodically.

Step 1201D.B may be omitted.

If the request in step 1209D.A needs to be reported periodically, step 1209D.C is performed periodically.

Step 1209D.B may be omitted.

Herein, step 1201D.A, step 1201D.B and step 1201D.C can be replaced by step 1200D. Herein, step 1200D can be replaced by step 1201D.A, step 1201D.B and step 1201D.C.

In some implementations, for example, steps 1201D.A, 1201D.B and 1201D.C may be omitted.

In some implementations, for example, step 1200D may be omitted.

FIG. 12E shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 12E shows a process in which an AMF makes a slice re-mapping decision.

Step 1201E: the serving node transmits the Quality of Experience parameters to the AMF. The Quality of Experience parameter may be the aforementioned sixteenth message.

Step 1202E: the AMF makes a re-mapping decision based on the Quality of Experience parameters.

Step 1203E: the AMF transmits the slice re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision to the serving node. The applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision may be the aforementioned fifteenth message.

Step 1204E: the serving node performs an RRC reconfiguration process with the user.

Step 1205E: the AMF transmits a slice-related performance request and/or a slice load condition request to the serving node. Herein the slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message. Herein the slice load condition request may be the aforementioned third message.

Step 1206E: the serving node transmits a slice-related performance response and/or a slice load condition response to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance response may be the message in the aforementioned step 502C. Herein the slice load condition response may be the aforementioned fourth message.

Step 1207E: the serving node transmits the slice-related performance and/or slice load condition to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message. Herein the slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message. The serving node may evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate after obtaining the slice-related performance and/or slice load condition. For example, if the slice-related performance is poor and/or the slice load is overloaded, it may be evaluated that the slice re-mapping decision is inappropriate.

If the request in step 1205E needs to be reported periodically, step 1207E is performed periodically.

Step 1206E may be omitted.

FIG. 12F shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 12F shows a process in which the serving node makes a slice re-mapping decision.

Step 1201F: the serving node makes a re-mapping decision based on the Quality of Experience parameters and/or load information, etc.

Step 1202F: the serving node transmits the slice re-mapping decision and/or the applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision to the AMF. The applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision may be the aforementioned fifteenth message.

Step 1203F: the serving node performs an RRC reconfiguration process with the user.

Step 1204F: the serving node transmits a slice-related performance request and/or a slice load condition request to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance request may be the aforementioned sixth message. Herein the slice load condition request may be the aforementioned third message.

Step 1205F: the serving node transmits a slice-related performance response and/or a slice load condition response to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance response may be the message in the aforementioned step 502C. Herein the slice load condition response may be the aforementioned fourth message.

Step 1206F: the serving node transmits the slice-related performance and/or the slice load to the AMF. Herein the slice-related performance may be the aforementioned seventh message. Herein the slice load condition may be the aforementioned fifth message. The serving node may evaluate whether a slice re-mapping decision is appropriate after obtaining the slice-related performance and/or slice load condition. For example, if the slice-related performance is poor and/or the slice load is overloaded, it may be evaluated that the slice re-mapping decision is inappropriate.

If the request in step 1204F needs to be reported periodically, step 1206F is performed periodically.

Step 1205F may be omitted.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a method 1300 performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 13, a method 1300 performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include: in step S1301, receiving a second message from a user equipment (UE) or a third node, wherein the second message includes predicted slice information of the UE; in step S1302, selecting a target node based on the predicted slice information; in step S1303, transmitting a seventeenth message to the target node, wherein the seventeenth message includes information of a Quality of Experience parameter associated with the UE; and in step S1304, receiving an eighteenth message from the target node, wherein the eighteenth message includes a slice re-mapping decision associated with the UE and/or an applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart of a method 1400 performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 14, a method 1400 performed by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include: in step S1401, transmitting a second message to a first node, wherein the second message includes predicted slice information of the UE; and in step S1402, receiving a nineteenth message from the first node. In some implementations, the predicted slice information is used for the first node to select a target node. In some implementations, information of a Quality of Experience parameter associated with the UE is included in a seventeenth message, and the seventeenth message is transmitted from the first node to the target node. In some implementations, a slice re-mapping decision associated with the UE and/or an applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision are included in an eighteenth message, and the eighteenth message is transmitted from the target node to the first node.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of a method 1500 performed by a second node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 15, a method 1500 performed by a second node in a wireless communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure may include: in step S1501, receiving a seventeenth message from a first node, wherein the seventeenth message includes information of a Quality of Experience parameter associated with a user equipment (UE); and in step S1502, transmitting an eighteenth message to the first node, wherein the eighteenth message includes a slice re-mapping decision associated with the UE and/or an applicable time of the slice re-mapping decision.

It should be understood that

methods

1300, 1400, 1500, etc. according to embodiments of the present disclosure may further include any method or step described in connection with various examples, aspects, drawings, etc. of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 16, the base station(or the network entity) according to an embodiment may include a transceiver 1610, a memory 1620, and a processor 1630. However, while the following describes the configuration of a base station, it can also be applied to network entities described above. The transceiver 1610, the memory 1620, and the processor 1630 of the base station may operate according to a communication method of the base station described above. However, the components of the base station are not limited thereto. For example, the base station may include more or fewer components than those described above. In addition, the processor 1630, the transceiver 1610, and the memory 1620 may be implemented as a single chip. Also, the processor 1630 may include at least one processor. Furthermore, the base station of FIG. 16 corresponds to the E-UTRAN of the FIG. 1 or the NG-RAN of the FIG. 2.

The transceiver 1610 collectively refers to a base station receiver and a base station transmitter, and may transmit/receive a signal to/from a terminal(UE) or a network entity. The signal transmitted or received to or from the terminal or a network entity may include control information and data. The transceiver 1610 may include a RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying a frequency of a transmitted signal, and a RF receiver for amplifying low-noise and down-converting a frequency of a received signal. However, this is only an example of the transceiver 1610 and components of the transceiver 1610 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver.

Also, the transceiver 1610 may receive and output, to the processor 1630, a signal through a wireless channel, and transmit a signal output from the processor 1630 through the wireless channel.

The memory 1620 may store a program and data required for operations of the base station. Also, the memory 1620 may store control information or data included in a signal obtained by the base station. The memory 1620 may be a storage medium, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD, or a combination of storage media.

The processor 1630 may control a series of processes such that the base station operates as described above. For example, the transceiver 1610 may receive a data signal including a control signal transmitted by the terminal, and the processor 1630 may determine a result of receiving the control signal and the data signal transmitted by the terminal.

FIG. 17 shows a structure of a UE according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 17, the UE according to an embodiment may include a transceiver 1710, a memory 1720, and a processor 1730. The transceiver 1710, the memory 1720, and the processor 1730 of the UE may operate according to a communication method of the UE described above. However, the components of the UE are not limited thereto. For example, the UE may include more or fewer components than those described above. In addition, the processor 1730, the transceiver 1710, and the memory 1720 may be implemented as a single chip. Also, the processor 1730 may include at least one processor. Furthermore, the UE of FIG. 17 corresponds to the UE of the FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

The transceiver 1710 collectively refers to a UE receiver and a UE transmitter, and may transmit/receive a signal to/from a base station or a network entity. The signal transmitted or received to or from the base station or a network entity may include control information and data. The transceiver 1710 may include a RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying a frequency of a transmitted signal, and a RF receiver for amplifying low-noise and down-converting a frequency of a received signal. However, this is only an example of the transceiver 1710 and components of the transceiver 1710 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver.

Also, the transceiver 1710 may receive and output, to the processor 1730, a signal through a wireless channel, and transmit a signal output from the processor 1730 through the wireless channel.

The memory 1720 may store a program and data required for operations of the UE. Also, the memory 1720 may store control information or data included in a signal obtained by the UE. The memory 1720 may be a storage medium, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD, or a combination of storage media.

The processor 1730 may control a series of processes such that the UE operates as described above. For example, the transceiver 1710 may receive a data signal including a control signal transmitted by the base station or the network entity, and the processor 1730 may determine a result of receiving the control signal and the data signal transmitted by the base station or the network entity.

FIG. 18 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 18 shows a process of exchanging slice-related self-optimization information between two nodes, so that a twentieth node can make a self-optimization strategy and/or update configuration, or the twentieth node may forward it to other nodes for the other nodes to make a self-optimization strategy and/or update configuration.

In some implementations, for example, the nineteenth node may be a UE, and the twentieth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the nineteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the twentieth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the nineteenth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the twentieth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the nineteenth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the twentieth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 1801: optionally, the nineteenth node transmits information about that the slice-related self-optimization information is available to the twentieth node, so as to inform the twentieth node that the nineteenth node has stored slice-related self-optimization information. The slice-related self-optimization information may include one or more of the following: information about that the slice-related self-optimization information is available, information about that the slice-related information is available, etc. This information may be included in an RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or a MAC CE.

Step 1802: optionally, the twentieth node may transmit a request for slice-related self-optimization information to the nineteenth node based on the information about that the slice-related self-optimization information is available received in step 1801, so as to request the nineteenth node to transmit slice-related self-optimization information to the twentieth node; alternatively, the twentieth node autonomously transmits a request for slice-related self-optimization information to the nineteenth node, so as to request the nineteenth node to transmit slice-related self-optimization information to the twentieth node. The request for slice-related self-optimization information may include one or more of the following: a request for slice-related self-optimization information, a request for slice-related information, etc. This information may be included in an RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or a MAC CE.

Step 1803: the nineteenth node transmits slice-related self-optimization information to the twentieth node. In some implementations, for example, the nineteenth node transmits slice-related self-optimization information to the twentieth node based on the request for slice-related self-optimization information received from the twentieth node. In some other implementations, for example, the nineteenth node autonomously transmits slice-related self-optimization information to the twentieth node. This information may be included in an RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or a MAC CE.

The slice-related self-optimization information may be included in one or more of the following: UEInformationResponse, SCGFailureInformation, and MCGFailureInformation of RRC; a FAILURE INDICATION message, a HANDOVER REPORT message, an ACCESS AND MOBILITY INDICATION message, a S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST message, a SgNB MODIFICATION REQUEST message, a SCG FAILURE INFORMATION REPORT message, a RRC TRANSFER message of Xn; an ACCESS AND MOBILITY INDICATION message of F1; an UPLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message and a DOWNLINK RAN CONFIGURATION TRANSFER message of NG; or an other and/or newly defined RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or a MAC CE. The slice-related self-optimization information may be included in a report. In some implementations, for example, the report may be a Connection Establishment Failure (CEF) report, a Random Access report, a Successful Handover report, a Radio Link Failure (RLF) report, a measurement report, or other reports related to wireless connection, or it may be a new report.

The slice-related self-optimization information may include one or more of the following:

● Transmitting node ID: used to identify the node that transmits the message.

● Receiving node ID: used to identify the node that receives the message.

● UE ID: used to identify the UE corresponding to the slice-related self-optimization information.

● Information of slice accessed before handover: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) accessed (for example, by the UE) before handover. It may include one or more of the following: ID of the slice accessed before handover, access time corresponding to the slice accessed before handover, departure time corresponding to the slice accessed before handover, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the slice accessed before handover. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover, for example, the cell of the slice accessed before handover may be served as the target cell for handover. In still other implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping occurs during handover, and/or whether a re-mapping strategy is appropriate.

● Information of slice accessed in the source cell: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) accessed (for example, by the UE) in the source cell. It may include one or more of the following: ID of the slice accessed in the source cell, access time corresponding to the slice accessed in the source cell, departure time corresponding to the slice accessed in the source cell, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the slice accessed in the source cell. In some implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping occurs before and after handover, and/or whether a re-mapping strategy is appropriate. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover. For example, the cell of the slice accessed in the source cell may be served as the target cell for handover, or the cell of the slice accessed in the source cell is not served as the target cell for handover.

● Information of slice supported by the source cell: used to indicate information of the slice(s) supported by the source cell. It may include one or more of the following: ID and/or ID list of slice(s) supported by the source cell.

● Information of slice accessed after handover: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) accessed (for example, by the UE) after handover. It may include one or more of the following: ID of the slice accessed after handover, access time corresponding to the slice accessed after handover, departure time corresponding to the slice accessed after handover, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the slice accessed after handover. In some implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping occurs before and after handover, and/or whether a re-mapping strategy is appropriate. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover. For example, the cell of the slice accessed after handover may be served as the target cell for handover, or the cell of the slice accessed after handover is not served as the target cell for handover.

● Information of slice accessed in the target cell: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) accessed (for example, by the UE) in the target cell. It may include one or more of the following: ID of the slice accessed in the target cell, access time corresponding to the slice accessed in the target cell, departure time corresponding to the slice accessed in the target cell, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the slice accessed in the target cell. In some implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping occurs before and after handover, and/or whether a re-mapping strategy is appropriate. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover. For example, the cell of the slice accessed in the target cell may be served as the target cell for handover, or the cell of the slice accessed in the target cell is not served as the target cell for handover.

● Information of slice supported by the target cell: used to indicate information of the slice(s) supported by the target cell. It may include one or more of the following: ID and/or ID list of the slice(s) supported by the target cell.

● Information of slice accessed before link failure: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) accessed (for example, by the UE) before link failure. It may include one or more of the following: ID of the slice accessed before link failure, access time corresponding to the slice accessed before link failure, departure time corresponding to the slice accessed before link failure, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the slice accessed before link failure. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover. For example, a cell supporting the slice accessed before link failure may be served as the target cell for handover, or the cell supporting the slice accessed before link failure is not served as the target cell for handover. In still other implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping occurs before link failure, and/or whether a re-mapping strategy is appropriate. In some other implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping strategy is appropriate, and/or to select an appropriate re-mapping slice.

● Information of slice supported by the cell accessed before link failure: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) supported by the cell accessed (for example, by the UE) before link failure. It may include one or more of the following: ID and/or ID list of the slice(s) supported by the cell accessed before link failure.

● Information of slice accessed after link failure: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) accessed (for example, by the UE) after link failure. It may include one or more of the following: ID of the slice accessed after link failure, access time corresponding to the slice accessed after link failure, departure time corresponding to the slice accessed after link failure, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the slice accessed after link failure. In some implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping occurs before link failure, and/or whether a re-mapping strategy is appropriate. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover. For example, a cell that supports the slice(s) accessed after link failure may be served as the target cell for handover. In still other implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping occurs before link failure, and/or whether a re-mapping strategy is appropriate. In some other implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether a slice re-mapping strategy is appropriate, and/or to select an appropriate re-mapping slice.

● Information of slice supported by the cell accessed after link failure: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) supported by the cell accessed (for example, by the UE) after link failure. It may include one or more of the following: ID and/or ID list of the slice(s) supported by the cell accessed after link failure.

● Information of reconnected slice: used to indicate information and/or information list of reconnected slice(s). It may include one or more of the following: ID of the reconnected slice, access time corresponding to the reconnected slice, departure time corresponding to the reconnected slice, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the reconnected slice. In some implementations, for example, a reconnected slice may be a slice reconnected after a link failure and/or a handover failure. In some implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether slice re-mapping is appropriate. In still other implementations, for example, the information may be used to determine whether the coverage of a slice is appropriate. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover, for example, cells supporting the reconnected slices may be served as a target cell for handover.

● Information of slice supported by a reconnected cell: used to indicate information of the slice(s) supported by the reconnected cell. It may include one or more of the following: ID and/or ID list of the slice(s) supported by the reconnected cell.

● Information of slice intended to be accessed: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) that the UE intends to access. It may include one or more of the following: ID and/or ID list of the slice(s) intended to be accessed, access time corresponding to the slice intended to be accessed, departure time corresponding to the slice intended to be accessed, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the slice intended to be accessed. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover. For example, the cell supporting the slice(s) intended to be accessed may be served as the target cell for handover.

● Information of slice actually accessed: used to indicate information and/or information list of the slice(s) that the UE actually accesses. It may include one or more of the following: ID and/or ID list of the slice(s) actually accessed, access time corresponding to the slice actually accessed, departure time corresponding to the slice actually accessed, accessing time and/or staying time corresponding to the slice actually accessed. In some implementations, for example, the information is used to determine which cells may be selected as a target cell for handover, for example, a cell supporting the slice(s) actually accessed may be served as the target cell for handover.

● Reasons for failure: for example, it may include one or more of the following: there is no available slice for access, and there is no available slice for handover. The failure may be one or more of the following: link failure, handover failure, random access failure, etc.

● Purpose of random access: for example, it may include one or more of the following: there is no available slice for access.

Step 1804: the twentieth node can make a self-optimization decision and/or update configuration based on the received slice-related self-optimization information, or the twentieth node may forward the received slice-related self-optimization information to other nodes for the other nodes to make a self-optimization strategy and/or update configuration.

FIG. 19 shows a schematic diagram of an aspect of a method for slice supporting according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 19 shows a process of exchanging slice-related measurement and/or data collection configuration between two nodes, so that a twenty-first node may collect data and/or configure other nodes to perform data collection and/or measurement according to the slice-related measurement and/or data collection configuration. The twenty-first node may transmit the collected slice-related measurement and/or data collection results to the twenty-second node, and the twenty-second node may use the slice-related measurement and/or data collection results to make self-optimization decisions and/or update configuration and/or perform AI/ML related operations. Herein, the AI/ML related operations include one or more of the following: AI/ML model training, AI/ML model inference, AI/ML model evaluation, AI/ML performance evaluation, AI/ML model related decision evaluation, etc.

In some implementations, for example, the twenty-first node may be a UE, and the twenty-second node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In some other implementations, for example, the twenty-first node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the twenty-second node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the twenty-first node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the twenty-second node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB. In still other implementations, for example, the twenty-first node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or a ng-eNB, and the twenty-second node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME.

Step 1901: the twenty-second node transmits the slice-related measurement and/or data collection configuration to the twenty-first node. The configuration includes a slice ID and/or a slice ID list. In some implementations, for example, the slice-related measurement and/or data collection may be Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT). For example, the slice-related measurement and/or data collection configuration is added into an MDT configuration. In a signal-based MDT, the twenty-first node performs data collection and/or measurement according to the slice indicated by the slice ID and/or slice ID list contained in the collection configuration. In a management-based MDT, the twenty-first node may select a UE to perform data collection and/or measurement according to the slice indicated by the slice ID and/or slice ID list contained in the collection configuration, or the twenty-first node performs data collection and/or measurement according to the slice indicated by the slice ID and/or slice ID list contained in the collection configuration. The configuration may be included in an RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or a MAC CE.

Step 1902: the twenty-first node transmits the slice-related measurement and/or data collection results to the twenty-second node. The slice-related measurement and/or data collection results may include one or more of the following: slice ID and/or ID list, slice-related measurement results, data collection results and measurement results. Herein the measurement result may be an MDT measurement result. In some implementations, for example, the slice-related measurement and/or data collection results may be included in an MDT report. The result may be included in an RRC and/or Xn and/or X2 and/or F1 and/or E1 and/or NG message and/or a MAC CE.

In some implementations, for example, the twenty-first node may perform data collection and/or configure other nodes to perform data collection and/or measurement based on the slice-related measurement and/or data collection configuration received in step 1901 to obtain slice-related measurement and/or data collection results. For example, in a signal-based MDT, the twenty-first node performs data collection and/or measurement according to the slice indicated by the slice ID and/or slice ID list contained in the collection configuration. In a management-based MDT, the twenty-first node may select a UE to perform data collection and/or measurement according to the slice indicated by the slice ID and/or slice ID list contained in the collection configuration, or the twenty-first node performs data collection and/or measurement according to the slice indicated by the slice ID and/or slice ID list contained in the collection configuration, to obtain slice-related measurement and/or data collection results.

Step 1903: the twenty-second node may use the slice-related measurement and/or data collection results to make self-optimization decisions and/or update configuration and/or perform AI/ML related operations. Herein, the AI/ML related operations include one or more of the following: AI/ML model training, AI/ML model inference, AI/ML model evaluation, AI/ML performance evaluation, AI/ML model related decision evaluation, etc.

It should be understood that, depending on application scenarios, the various example aspects, methods, steps, processes, etc. shown above in connection with the drawings may be combined and implemented in any way, and there is no limitation here.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and steps described in this application may be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability between hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described above in the form of their functional sets. Whether such function sets are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system. Technicians may implement the described functional sets in different ways for each specific application, but such design decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of this application.

In the above-described embodiments of the disclosure, all operations and messages may be selectively performed or may be omitted. In addition, the operations in each embodiment do not need to be performed sequentially, and the order of operations may vary. Messages do not need to be transmitted in order, and the transmission order of messages may change. Each operation and transfer of each message can be performed independently.

Although the figures illustrate different examples of user equipment, various changes may be made to the figures. For example, the user equipment can include any number of each component in any suitable arrangement. In general, the figures do not limit the scope of this disclosure to any particular configuration(s). Moreover, while figures illustrate operational environments in which various user equipment features disclosed in this patent document can be used, these features can be used in any other suitable system.

The various illustrative logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in this application may be implemented or performed by a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates or transistor logics, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors cooperating with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps of the method or algorithm described in this application may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination thereof. The software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, register, hard disk, removable disk, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. A storage medium is coupled to a processor to enable the processor to read and write information from/to the storage media. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In an alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside in the user terminal as discrete components.

In one or more designs, the functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, each function may be stored as one or more pieces of instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium or delivered through it. The computer-readable medium includes both a computer storage medium and a communication medium, the latter including any medium that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

A method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, the first node comprising:

receiving, from a second node, first information including at least one of a predicted radio resource status or a predicted available capacity; and

receiving, from the second node, second information on a slice user equipment (UE) performance,

wherein the first information and second information are associated with a network slice for an artificial intelligence (AI), a machine learning (ML), or a self-organizing network (SON).
The method of claim 1, further comprising,

receiving, from the second node, minimization of drive tests (MDT) configuration information associated with the network slice,

wherein the MDT configuration information for a MDT measurement collection includes a list of at least one network slice.
The method of claim 1, further comprising,

receiving, from the second node, slice related information for optimizing a handover.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first node is a UE or a base station, and

wherein the second node is the UE or the base station.
A method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system, the second node comprising:

transmitting, to a first node, first information including at least one of a predicted radio resource status or a predicted available capacity; and

transmitting, to second information on a slice user equipment (UE) performance,

wherein the first information and second information are associated with a network slice for an artificial intelligence (AI), a machine learning (ML), or a self-organizing network (SON).
The method of claim 5, further comprising,

transmitting, to the second node, minimization of drive tests (MDT) configuration information associated with the network slice,

wherein the MDT configuration information for a MDT measurement collection includes a list of at least one network slice.
The method of claim 5, further comprising,

transmitting, to the second node, slice related information for optimizing a handover.
The method of claim 5, wherein the first node is a UE or a base station, and

wherein the second node is the UE or the base station.
A first node in a wireless communication system, the first node comprising:

a transceiver; and

at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to:

receive, from a second node, first information including at least one of a predicted radio resource status or a predicted available capacity, and

receiving, from the second node, second information on a slice user equipment (UE) performance,

wherein the first information and second information are associated with a network slice for an artificial intelligence (AI), a machine learning (ML), or a self-organizing network (SON).
The first node of claim 9, at least one processor is further configured to:

receive, from the second node, minimization of drive tests (MDT) configuration information associated with the network slice,

wherein the MDT configuration information for a MDT measurement collection includes a list of at least one network slice.
The first node of claim 9, at least one processor is further configured to:

receive, from the second node, slice related information for optimizing a handover.
The first node of claim 9, wherein the first node is a UE or a base station, and

wherein the second node is the UE or the base station.
A second node in a wireless communication system, the second node comprising:

a transceiver; and

at least one processor coupled with the transceiver and configured to:

transmit, to a first node, first information including at least one of a predicted radio resource status or a predicted available capacity, and

transmit, to second information on a slice user equipment (UE) performance,

wherein the first information and second information are associated with a network slice for an artificial intelligence (AI), a machine learning (ML), or a self-organizing network (SON).
The second node of claim 13, at least one processor is further configured to:

transmit, to the second node, minimization of drive tests (MDT) configuration information associated with the network slice,

wherein the MDT configuration information for a MDT measurement collection includes a list of at least one network slice.
The second node of claim 13, at least one processor is further configured to:

transmit, to the second node, slice related information for optimizing a handover.