CN110730478B

CN110730478B - Slice association method, device, end-to-end slice organizer and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN110730478B
Application number: CN201910999339.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈炜; 王亚晨; 冯佳新
Original assignee: Tencent Technology Shenzhen Co Ltd
Current assignee: Tencent Technology Shenzhen Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-10-18
Filing date: 2019-10-18
Publication date: 2021-12-21
Anticipated expiration: 2039-10-18
Also published as: CN110730478A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention discloses a slice association method, a slice association device, an end-to-end slice orchestrator and a storage medium, wherein the method comprises the following steps: acquiring slice parameter information of a slice to be configured, wherein the slice parameter information is used for indicating a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure a mobile network sub-slice according to the slice parameter information; sending the slice parameter information to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator; and receiving a response message for indicating an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice, wherein the response message is used for indicating that the association between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice is successful, and the response message can be used for coordinating the sub-slices of different editing domains to realize flexible transmission of user data.

Description

Slice association method, device, end-to-end slice organizer and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a slice association method and apparatus, an end-to-end slice organizer, and a storage medium.

Background

With the continuous development of mobile communication technology, the amount of user data transmitted in a communication network is increasing day by day, and the service types of the transmitted user data are different, and because different services have different quality requirements on the communication network, for example, different service user data have different requirements on bandwidth and time delay when the communication network is transmitted, network resources can be divided by adopting a slicing technology at present, so as to provide differentiated service guarantee for the user data of different service types.

However, since the end-to-end slice provided by the slicing technique includes a plurality of sub-slices in different layout domains, and the sub-slices in different layout domains are configured based on different configuration requirements, how to cooperatively control the sub-slices in different layout domains when the user data is transmitted end-to-end becomes a current research hotspot.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a slice association method, a slice association device, an end-to-end slice orchestrator and a storage medium, which can be used for coordinating sub-slices of different orchestration domains and realizing flexible transmission of user data.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a slice association method, where the method includes:

acquiring slice parameter information of a slice to be configured, wherein the slice parameter information is used for indicating a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure a mobile network sub-slice according to the slice parameter information;

sending the slice parameter information to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator;

receiving a response message indicating an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and a transport network sub-slice, the response message indicating that the mobile network sub-slice and the transport network sub-slice are successfully associated;

wherein the association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice comprises: and the mobile network sub-slice is associated with the transmission network sub-slice through a slice mapping identifier, or the mobile network sub-slice is associated with the transmission network sub-slice through an address planning parameter of a target tunnel.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a slice association apparatus, where the apparatus includes:

the acquisition unit is used for acquiring slice parameter information of a slice to be configured, and the slice parameter information is used for indicating the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure the mobile network sub-slice according to the slice parameter information;

the sending unit is used for sending the slice parameter information to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator;

a receiving unit, configured to receive a response message indicating an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and a transport network sub-slice, where the response message is used to indicate that the association between the mobile network sub-slice and the transport network sub-slice is successful;

In yet another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an end-to-end slice orchestrator, including a processor, a memory, and a communication interface, where the processor, the memory, and the communication interface are connected to each other, where the memory is used to store computer program instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the program instructions, and perform the following steps:

In yet another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program, where the computer program includes program instructions, and the program instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the method of the first aspect.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the end-to-end slice orchestrator may obtain slice parameter information of a slice to be configured from the slice controller, so that the slice parameter information may be sent to the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator may configure the mobile network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information and determine a transmission network sub-slice associated with the mobile network sub-slice, and an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice, after instantiating the mobile network sub-slice, the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator may return the determined association mechanism to the end-to-end slice orchestrator, and after receiving the determined association mechanism, the end-to-end slice orchestrator may send the slice parameter information and the association mechanism to a transmission network sub-slice for associating with a mobile network self-slice, and the transmission network sub-slice is configured, so that a uniform configuration mode of the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice in different arrangement domains is realized, the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice can be flexibly combined, the transmission of user data is realized, and the transmission performance and the transmission quality in the end-to-end service data transmission process are ensured.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a slice association system provided by an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a slice association method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart of a slice association method according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart of slice state switching provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a slice association method according to yet another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6a is a schematic flow chart of a slicing subscription provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6b is a schematic flow chart of a slicing subscription according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a slice association apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of an end-to-end slice composer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In a Fifth Generation Mobile communication network (5G), in order to carry different service data, a slicing technique may be used to logically divide existing end-to-end network resources to implement differentiated data transmission for services in different service scenarios, where the slicing technique refers to a technique of dividing a physical network into multiple virtual Networks so that each network performs transmission of different service data. Based on that, an embodiment of the present invention provides a slice association method for associating sub-slices in different arrangement domains when user data (a service data) is transmitted in a communication network, so that the user data is flexibly transmitted in the sub-slices in the different arrangement domains, and it can be effectively ensured that the user data is transmitted with high performance and high quality in the communication networks in the different arrangement domains, where the different arrangement domains include a mobile network and a transmission network, and the corresponding sub-slices in the different arrangement domains include a mobile network sub-slice and a transmission network sub-slice.

In one embodiment, the slice association method may be applied to a slice association system as shown in fig. 1, where the slice association system includes a slice controller 11, an end-to-end slice orchestrator 12, a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator 13, and a transport network sub-slice management orchestrator 14, the slice controller 11 may send a subscription request (or a subscription request) to the end-to-end slice orchestrator 12 to request an end-to-end slice from the end-to-end management orchestrator, where the subscription request is sent to the slice controller 11 by a user equipment, the subscription request includes slice parameter information of the requested end-to-end slice, and service data that the user equipment requests the end-to-end slice transmission, and after the end-to-end slice orchestrator 12 receives the subscription request, the end-to-end slice orchestrator 12 may determine, based on the slice parameter information included in the subscription request, and configuring the sub-slices in different arrangement domains, wherein the configured end-to-end slice can transmit user data which is sent by the user equipment and under the service indicated by the subscription request.

In one embodiment, when the end-To-end slice orchestrator 12 configures sub-slices in different orchestration domains based on the slice parameter information, it may determine a slice type indicated by the slice controller 11 for subscription, wherein the end-To-end slice orchestrator 12 may determine the slice type indicated by the slice controller for subscription based on slice type information included in the slice parameter information, wherein the slice types include a first type (To C type) and a second type (To B type), the first type of end-To-end slice includes a mobile net sub-slice and a transport net sub-slice, the second type of end-To-end slice includes a mobile net slice, a transport net slice and a mobile net slice, wherein the slice parameter information may indicate the first type of end-To-end slice with 0, indicate the second type of end-To-end slice with 1, such that the end-to-end slice composer 12, upon receiving the slice parameter information, can determine the slice type indicating the subscription by identifying the parameter information.

Based on the difference of slice types of the slices to be configured (i.e. the one end-to-end slice requested by the above subscription request), the slice parameter information sent by the slice controller 11 to the end-to-end slice composer 12 is also different, and when the slice to be configured is a first type slice, the slice parameter information further includes: slice performance parameters, slice operation cycle parameters, and device identifiers of the user equipment, and when the slice to be configured is a second type of slice, the slice parameter information further includes: slice performance parameters, slice operation cycle parameters, and slice-bound Internet Protocol address (IP) quintuple, etc. Wherein the slice performance parameters include parameters including one or more of: bandwidth, latency, subscription period, coverage location, and the like, where the slice operation period parameter is used to indicate activation or deactivation time of the subscribed end-to-end slice, the end-to-end slice composer 12 may determine, based on the activation or deactivation time, an operation time of the subscribed end-to-end slice, where the activation time may be, for example, 7:00 to 18:00, the end-to-end slice is in a deactivated state at a time other than the activation time, the end-to-end slice in the deactivated state does not support transmission of user data, and the IP quintuple includes IP information, a source port, a destination IP, a target port, and a transport layer protocol. In one embodiment, the end-to-end slice composer 12 may further determine a running time of the end-to-end slice based on an activation identifier (or an activation instruction), and when the end-to-end slice composer 12 receives the activation identifier and a slice identification code (ID) sent by the slice controller 11, the slice ID is activated so that the end-to-end slice corresponding to the slice ID is in a running state, or when the end-to-end slice composer 12 receives a deactivation identifier and a slice ID sent by the slice controller 11, the slice ID is deactivated so that the end-to-end slice corresponding to the slice ID is in a non-running state.

In one embodiment, in order to implement cooperative control between a mobile network sub-slice and a transmission network sub-slice in a slice to be configured, an association mechanism between each slice in the mobile network and a corresponding slice in the transmission network needs to be determined first. Wherein, the association mechanism is related to the slice type of the slice to be configured, when the slice type is a first type, the end-to-end slice editing and managing arranger 12 coordinates the mobile network sub-slice editing and managing arranger 13 and the transmission network sub-slice editing and managing arranger 14 to realize the association of the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice through the slice mapping identifier, in one embodiment, the end-to-end slice editing and managing arranger 12 can configure an identifier adding port (UPF) and a transmission network egress/ingress switching device, so that when the UPF in the mobile network editing domain identifies the user data under the subscription service type sent by the user device, the end-to-end slice editing and managing arranger 12 adds the slice mapping identifier to the user data, and can identify the slice mapping identifier based on the configured transmission network egress/ingress switching device, thereby sending the user data transmitted in the mobile network sub-slice to the corresponding transmission network sub-slice, the slice mapping identifier may be, for example, a Virtual Network identifier, the Virtual Network identifier may be, for example, a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) tag or a Virtual extensible Local Area Network (VXLAN) tag, and the mobile Network sub-slice compiling Management scheduler 13 may directly configure the UPF, or may also use a method of configuring the UPF through a Packet Control Function (PCF) via a Session Management Function (Session Management Function, SMF).

In an embodiment, when the end-to-end Slice organizer 12 adds a Slice mapping identifier to user data, the configured UPF may match the user data flowing through, query a Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) for obtaining the user data, and add a Slice mapping identifier to the user data, where the S-NSSAI is used to uniquely identify one Network Slice, and further, after adding the Slice mapping identifier to the user data, the mobile Network sub-Slice organizer 13 may maintain a set of mapping Information, where the mapping Information may be, for example, "user-S-NSSAI-Slice mapping identifier" Information.

After the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator 13 adds a corresponding slice mapping identifier to the user data flowing through the mobile network, the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator 14 may configure the transmission network egress/ingress switching device, so that the configured transmission network egress/ingress switching device may identify the slice mapping identifier corresponding to the user data. In an embodiment, each sub-slice in the transmission network may identify a slice mapping identifier of user data flowing through, and after the identification is successful, associate the user data with a corresponding sub-slice for transmission, where in a transmission network sub-slice implemented based on a flexible Ethernet (FlexE), when the configured transmission network egress/ingress switching device identifies the slice mapping identifier, it may determine whether the slice mapping identifier can be converted into a flexible Ethernet client (FlexE client) corresponding to the transmission network sub-slice, or determine whether the slice mapping identifier can be converted into a FlexE interface corresponding to the transmission network sub-slice, and when it is determined that the conversion is successful, determine that the slice mapping identifier of the user data is successfully identified by the corresponding transmission network sub-slice. Or, in a transmission network sub-slice implemented based on Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), when the configured transmission network egress/ingress Switching device identifies the slice mapping identifier, it may determine whether the user data having the same slice mapping identifier can be converted into a group of forwarding equivalence classes, and when it is determined that the user data can be successfully identified by the corresponding transmission network sub-slice, determine that the slice mapping identifier of the user data is successfully identified by the corresponding transmission network sub-slice. In one embodiment, if it is determined that no subslice in the transmission network can identify the slice mapping identifier, the user data is transmitted by using a common IP bearer transmission mode.

In an embodiment, when the slice type is the second type, the end-to-end slice orchestrator 12 may coordinate the mobile network sub-slice orchestrator 13 and the transmission network sub-slice orchestrator 14, so that the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice are associated with each other by using address planning parameters of a target tunnel, where the association based on the address planning parameters of the target tunnel means that the end-to-end management orchestrator 12 may establish a target tunnel from one UPF to another UPF and transmit user data based on the target tunnel, and specifically, the end-to-end management orchestrator 12 may control the network sub-slice orchestrators at both ends to respectively configure the UPFs at both ends and establish the target tunnel, and further, the UPF may maintain a set of association information, where the association information may be, for example, "IP five-tuple-S-NSSAI-tunnel identifier", the configured UPF may identify the service type of the user data flowing through, and add a new tunnel identifier to the user data after successful identification, where the target tunnel may be, for example, a tunnel under a conventional tunneling protocol (GRE), and the tunnel identifier may be, for example, an address planning parameter of the target tunnel, such as a GRE header and an external IP. After the target tunnel is established, the transmission network sub-slice orchestrator 14 may configure the transmission network egress/ingress switching device, so that the transmission network egress/ingress switching device may identify the tunnel identifier information, and map the successfully identified user data into the corresponding transmission network sub-slice for transmission, or may transmit the user data in a normal IP bearer manner when the identification fails.

Please refer to fig. 2, which is a schematic flowchart of a slice association method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the slice association method can be applied to the end-to-end slice composer, as shown in fig. 2, the method includes:

s201, obtaining slice parameter information of a slice to be configured.

In one embodiment, a slice controller may request (or order) a slice from an openness module of a slice of an end-to-end slice orchestrator, and the slice controller may send slice parameter information of the requested slice to be configured to the end-to-end slice orchestrator, so that the end-to-end slice orchestrator may obtain the slice parameter information of the slice to be configured from the slice controller, wherein the slice controller performs slice ordering, binding configuration of a user equipment and a slice, slice lifecycle management, unsubscribe of slices, and the like by connecting an openness interface provided by the end-to-end slice orchestrator, and the end-to-end slice orchestrator is an integral orchestrator of end-to-end slices and is configured to cooperate with sub-slices in different network orchestration domains and notify each sub-slice orchestrator to control establishment of the sub-slices and coordinate transmission of user data between the sub-slices, in addition, the end-to-end slice organizer also provides an open capability interface of slices, which is used for a third party to perform slice ordering, slice parameter information customization, user binding configuration, and meanwhile, can also control user equipment access/exit slice control, service data access/exit slice control and the like, the slice parameter information is used for indicating a mobile network sub-slice management organizer to configure mobile network sub-slices according to the slice parameter information, the mobile network sub-slice management organizer is used for constructing mobile network sub-slices, and adds slice mapping identifiers (such as virtual network identifiers) to user data by configuring UPF strategies after the user signs the slices so as to distinguish the user data of different slices going to a transmission network, and in addition, the UPF can also be directly configured through the mobile network sub-slice management organizer or configured through the SMF through the PCF.

In an embodiment, the slice parameter information includes a slice type parameter, a slice performance, a slice operation period parameter, and the like of the slice to be configured, where the slice type parameter is used to indicate a slice type of the slice to be configured, the slice type includes a first type and a second type, a slice type parameter of a corresponding end-to-end slice of the first type may be 0, a slice type parameter of an end-to-end slice of the second type may be 1, and when the slice to be configured is a slice of the second type, the slice parameter information further includes IP quintuple information of user data transmitted in the slice to be configured.

After the end-to-end slice organizer obtains the slice parameter information of the slice to be configured, an available mobile network sub-slice management organizer can be searched from a plurality of mobile network sub-slices based on the slice type parameter in the slice parameter information, and the slice parameter information is forwarded to the available mobile network sub-slice management organizer, that is, step S202 is executed instead, so that the available mobile network sub-slice management organizer performs parameter configuration on the slice to be configured based on the slice parameter information.

And S202, sending the slice parameter information to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator.

In an embodiment, after the end-to-end slice orchestrator obtains the slice parameter information, the end-to-end slice orchestrator may send the slice parameter information to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator instantiates a mobile network sub-slice for transmitting the user data based on the slice parameter information, where the process of instantiating a sub-slice refers to a process of configuring the sub-slice based on the slice parameter information.

After the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator receives the slice parameter information, when instantiating a mobile network sub-slice based on the parameter information, if the mobile network sub-slice is determined to be a first type of slice according to a slice type parameter, the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator may configure a UPF to add a slice mapping identifier to user data, and the slice mapping identifier will indicate that the user data is transmitted to the transmission network, and then carry the transmission network sub-slice for user data transmission. Or, when the slice type parameter indicates that the mobile network sub-slice is a second type of slice, the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator may configure the UPF, establish a target tunnel for transmitting the user data, and return an address planning parameter of the target tunnel to the end-to-end slice orchestrator.

In one embodiment, after the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator instantiates the mobile network sub-slice and associates the mobile network sub-slice with the transmission network sub-slice, the mobile network sub-slice may send a response message to an end-to-end slice orchestrator, that is, in turn, execute step S203, where the response message includes the slice mapping identifier or the address planning parameter for informing the end-to-end slice orchestrator of the transmission network sub-slice associated with the mobile network sub-slice, so that the end-to-end slice orchestrator sends the slice parameter information to the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator instantiates the transmission network sub-slice associated with the mobile network sub-slice according to the slice parameter information. In an embodiment, the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator is configured to construct, instantiate, manage, and orchestrate transmission network sub-slices according to slice parameter information, communicate with the end-to-end slice orchestrator, obtain a correspondence between a transmission network sub-slice ID and a slice mapping identifier, and a configured transmission network egress/ingress switching device may map user data into the slice for transmission by identifying the slice mapping identifier (e.g., a virtual network identifier).

S203, receiving a response message for indicating an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice, where the response message is used to indicate that the association between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice is successful.

In one embodiment, the response information is sent to the end-to-end slice orchestrator by the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator after instantiating a mobile network sub-slice and determining an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and a transport network sub-slice, and the end-to-end slice orchestrator, after receiving the response message, may further send slice parameter information to a transport network sub-slice management orchestrator successfully associated with the mobile network sub-slice, so that the transport network sub-slice management orchestrator may instantiate a transport network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information. Specifically, the end-to-end orchestrator may send the slice parameter information and the determined association mechanism into a transport network sub-slice management orchestrator, where the slice type parameter indicates that a transport network sub-slice is a first type of slice, the slice parameter information further including: slice performance parameters, slice operation cycle parameters and the like, wherein the corresponding association mechanism is that the mobile network sub-slices are associated with the transmission network sub-slices through slice mapping identifiers; or, when the slice type parameter indicates that the transmission network sub-slice is a second type of slice, the slice parameter information further includes a slice performance parameter, a slice operation period parameter, an IP quintuple of user data, and the like, and the corresponding association mechanism is address planning parameter association between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice through a target tunnel.

After the end-to-end slice orchestrator sends the determined association mechanism to the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator, the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator may further configure a transmission network egress/ingress switching device based on the association mechanism, so that user data flowing through the transmission network may be identified based on the transmission network egress/ingress switching device, thereby determining a transmission network sub-slice for transmitting the user data, and the transmission network sub-slice carries transmission of the user data, when the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator configures the transmission network egress/ingress switching device, different configuration information may be sent to the transmission network egress/ingress switching device based on a type of the slice to be configured, in one embodiment, when the type of the slice to be configured is a first type, the configuration information sent to the transmission network egress/ingress switching device is data information for identifying a slice mapping identifier (i.e., a virtual network identifier), so as to associate/disassociate user data into a corresponding transmission network sub-slice; or, when the type of the slice to be configured is the second type, the configuration information that may be sent to the transmission network egress/ingress switching device is the configuration information for identifying the source/destination IP, so that the transmission network egress/ingress switching device associates/disassociates the user data to the corresponding transmission network sub-slice according to the source/destination IP.

In an embodiment, please refer to fig. 3, which is a flowchart illustrating a slice association method according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the figure, a slice controller may first send a slice ordering request (or a subscription request) to an end-to-end slice orchestrator, and at the same time send slice parameter information of the slice ordering request to the end-to-end slice orchestrator, after receiving the ordering request and the slice parameter information, the end-to-end slice orchestrator may search for an available sub-slice management orchestrator, after searching for the available sub-slice management orchestrator (including an available mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator and an available transport network sub-slice management orchestrator), may first send the slice parameter information to an available mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator may create a mobile network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information, and instantiating the created mobile web sub-slice.

After the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator instantiates the mobile network sub-slice, in order to associate the sub-slice in the mobile network with the sub-slice in the transmission network, an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice may be determined according to slice types of the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice. In an embodiment, when the slice type is the first type, the UPF may be configured, so that a slice mapping identifier may be added to the user data based on the configured UPF, where the mobile network subslice management orchestrator may directly configure the UPF by using default configuration policy information, or may also configure the UPF by using a data mapping policy via the SMF through the PCF. Or, when the slice type is the second type, the UPF may be configured to determine a target tunnel for user data transmission, and after the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator completes the configuration of the UPF, the UPF may generate corresponding response information based on the association mechanism after the completion of the configuration, and send the response information to the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the mobile network sub-slice association orchestrator may forward the response information to the end-to-end slice orchestrator.

In one embodiment, the end-to-end slice orchestrator may send, after receiving the response information, slice parameter information and the response information to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator may generate a transmission network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information and the response information and instantiate the generated transmission network sub-slice, and when instantiating the transmission network sub-slice, the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator may associate the generated transmission network sub-slice and the mobile network sub-slice according to the association mechanism.

In an embodiment, when associating the transmission network sub-slice with the mobile network sub-slice, the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator may send a configured slice mapping identifier or target tunnel information (such as an address planning parameter of a target tunnel) to a gateway switching device of the transmission network, and after the gateway switching device completes configuration based on the slice mapping identifier or the target tunnel information, the gateway switching device may return successful configuration information to the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator, further, the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator sends the generated related information of the transmission network sub-slice to an end-to-end slice orchestrator to inform the end-to-end slice orchestrator that the transmission network sub-slice configuration is completed, and further, the end-to-end slice orchestrator sends successful slice ordering information to a slice controller, the ordering process for the different slices is completed. The switching device of the transmission network access is used for receiving configuration information such as an SDN control flow table and the like issued by a transmission network slice controller, when the slice is a first type of slice, user data with a specified virtual network identifier is identified and mapped into a specified transmission network sub-slice according to a routing rule to transmit the user data, and when the slice is a second type of slice, the user data with a specified source/destination IP is identified and mapped into a corresponding transmission network sub-slice.

In one embodiment, if the slice parameter information received by the end-to-end slice orchestrator includes a slice operation period parameter, such as an activation/deactivation time of the slice to be configured, the configured mobile network sub-slice and transport network sub-slice may be activated or deactivated based on the slice operation period parameter, such as an operation time indicated based on the activation/deactivation time. Or, when the end-to-end slice composer receives that the slice parameter information does not include the slice operation period parameter, the operation control on the end-to-end slice may be implemented by receiving an operation instruction (such as an activation/deactivation instruction), specifically, as shown in fig. 4, the slice controller may send the operation instruction to the end-to-end slice composer, where the operation instruction may be an activation instruction or an inactivation instruction, and in the flowchart shown in this figure, the instruction is described in detail when the instruction is the activation instruction, and the operation instruction is the deactivation instruction, which may be referred to in this flowchart.

After the end-to-end slice orchestrator receives the operation instruction, the operation instruction may be sent to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator and to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator to control the operation state of the mobile network sub-slices and the transmission network sub-slices, such as to keep the mobile network sub-slices and the transmission network sub-slices in an activated state. The mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator may further send the operation instruction to the UPF, where the UPF may return a feedback message of successful state switching to the end-to-end slice orchestrator after switching the operation state of the mobile network sub-slice, and may send a feedback message of successful slice state switching to the slice controller after the end-to-end slice orchestrator determines that the state switching (e.g., keeping the activation state) of the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice is successful, thereby completing the state switching of the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice.

Referring to fig. 5, a flowchart of a slice association method according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown, where the method includes:

s501, a subscription request sent by user equipment is obtained.

S502, associating the user equipment with the slice to be configured according to the subscription request, so as to transmit the user data sent by the user equipment using the slice to be configured.

In step S501 and step S502, before the end-to-end slice composer obtains the slice parameter information, the end-to-end slice composer may obtain a subscription request of the user equipment, as shown in fig. 6a, before the user equipment transmits service data, the user equipment may initiate a slice subscription request to the slice controller, where the subscription request includes a device identifier of the user equipment, slice parameter information of a requested slice (i.e., a slice to be configured), and requested service information, and further, after receiving the subscription request, the slice controller may send the subscription request to the end-to-end slice composer, so that the end-to-end slice composer obtains the subscription request from the user equipment. In an embodiment, the service information included in the subscription request is used to indicate user data included in the service indicated by the subscription request, and specifically may include: and after the end-to-end slice organizer configures a slice for transmitting a specific service for the user equipment based on the signing request, the user data is transmitted by the signed slice when the slice subsequently receives the user data under the service sent by the user equipment, so that the flexible and efficient transmission of the user data can be realized. The device identifier may be, for example, a mobile phone number or a unique identification code corresponding to the user device, and the slice parameter information includes S-NSSAI information of the slice, and the like. The user equipment may be a terminal device or a server device, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

In an embodiment, after obtaining the subscription request, the end-to-end slice orchestrator may further perform a user-service-slice binding procedure to bind a user device and a user service requested to be subscribed by the user device with a specific slice, so that when the slice receives user data sent by the user device under the service, the specific slice is used to transmit the user data to achieve efficient transmission of the user data, and after the end-to-end slice orchestrator completes the binding procedure, feedback information of successful binding is returned to the slice controller to inform the slice controller of completing the subscription to the slice of the user device. When the end-to-end slice organizer implements a user-service-slice binding process, that is, a process of associating the user equipment with a slice to be configured about the subscription request, specifically, the end-to-end slice organizer may first send the equipment identifier and the slice parameter information to the mobile sub-slice management organizer, and control the mobile sub-slice management organizer to associate the equipment identifier with the slice parameter information, and generate association information; and receiving feedback information generated by the mobile sub-slice management orchestrator based on the association information, and determining that the user equipment is to be associated with the slice to be configured according to the feedback information.

In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 6b, when performing a user-service-slice binding procedure, the end-to-end slice organizer may first send user-service-slice related information to a mobile network sub-slice management organizer, where the user-service-slice related information includes a device identifier and slice parameter information of the user device, further, the mobile network sub-slice management organizer may send the user-service-slice related information to a user data decoupling UDM/UDR, and the UDM/UDR may configure a slice inside a mobile network based on the user-service-slice related information and send feedback information of successful configuration to the mobile network sub-slice management organizer after successful configuration, and the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator forwards the feedback information to the end-to-end slice orchestrator to complete a user-service-slice binding configuration process.

S503, acquiring slice parameter information of the slice to be configured, wherein the slice parameter information is used for indicating the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure the mobile network sub-slice according to the slice parameter information.

S504, the slice parameter information is sent to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator.

In an embodiment, for specific implementation of step S503 and step S504, reference may be made to the specific implementation of step S201 and step S202 in the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described here again.

S505, receiving a response message indicating an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice, where the response message is used to indicate that the association between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice is successful.

In one embodiment, since the slice to be configured includes a moving net sub-slice and a transmitting net sub-slice, since the slice to be configured includes sub-slices in different editing domains, in order to implement the transmission of user data in the slice to be configured, therefore, it is necessary to associate sub-slices of different editing domains, specifically, when associating sub-slices in different orchestration domains, different association mechanisms may be determined based on the type of slice, to realize flexible association to sub-slices, the end-to-end slice organizer can firstly control the mobile network sub-slice management organizer to determine the slice type of the slice to be configured according to the slice parameter information, the slice type of the slice to be configured is used for indicating a slice type of a mobile network sub-slice and a slice type of a transmission network sub-slice, wherein the slice types comprise a first type and a second type; further, the end-to-end slice organizer may control the mobile network sub-slice management organizer to determine an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice according to the slice type, and receive a response message generated by the mobile network sub-slice management organizer according to the association mechanism. In one embodiment the response message comprises: the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice are associated based on the slice mapping identifier, and the address planning parameter is used for indicating the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice to be associated based on a target tunnel indicated by the address planning parameter.

When the end-to-end slice organizer controls the mobile network sub-slice organizer to determine an association mechanism between a mobile network sub-slice and a transmission network sub-slice according to a slice type, if the end-to-end slice organizer determines that the slice type of the slice to be configured is a first type, the end-to-end slice organizer controls the mobile network sub-slice management organizer to associate the association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice determined according to the first type through a slice mapping identifier, and the response message generated by the mobile network sub-slice management organizer according to the association mechanism is received and includes the slice mapping identifier. Or if the end-to-end orchestrator determines that the slice type of the slice to be configured is a second type, controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to associate the address planning parameters passing through the target tunnel according to an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice determined by the second type; and the received response message generated by the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator according to the association mechanism comprises the address planning parameter.

In an embodiment, the end-to-end slice orchestrator determines that the configuration of the mobile network sub-slice is completed and determines an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transport network sub-slice after receiving a response message sent by the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator, and further, in order to implement the configuration of the transport network sub-slice, may send the slice parameter information and the response information to the transport network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the transport network sub-slice management orchestrator determines the transport network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information and associates the determined transport network sub-slice with the mobile network sub-slice based on the association mechanism in the response message. Specifically, if the response information includes the slice mapping identifier, controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure a UPF, so that the identifier adding port adds the slice mapping identifier to the target user data transmitted in the mobile network sub-slice; further, the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator may be controlled to send the slice mapping identifier to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator confirms to receive the target user data sent by the mobile network sub-slice.

In an embodiment, after controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to send the slice mapping identifier to the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator, the end-to-end slice orchestrator may further control the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to send the slice mapping identifier to a data switching node (i.e., the above-mentioned transmission network egress/ingress switching device), so that the data switching node associates the mobile network sub-slice with the transmission network sub-slice, so that the data switching node sends user data sent by the mobile network sub-slice to a corresponding transmission network sub-slice according to the identification of the slice mapping identifier after receiving the user data.

In an embodiment, if the response information includes the address planning parameter, the end-to-end slice orchestrator may control the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure an identifier adding port, so that the identifier adding port establishes a target tunnel for the mobile network sub-slice and obtains the address planning parameter corresponding to the target tunnel; and controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to send the address planning parameters to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator establishes the target tunnel according to the address planning parameters, and the user data can be transmitted based on the target tunnel indicated by the address planning parameters during transmission.

In the embodiment of the invention, before user data is transmitted, user equipment can order a slice of a user transmission service to a slice controller, and sends slice parameter information of the ordered slice to the slice controller, the slice controller can respectively carry out configuration work of sub-slices in a mobile network and a transmission network after receiving the slice parameter information, and the configured sub-slices of the mobile network and the transmission network are associated according to a specified association mechanism, so that fusion and coordination of network slices in different arrangement domains are realized, the user equipment can formulate a plurality of slices in different arrangement domains, flexible transmission of the user data among the plurality of slices is realized, and transmission efficiency of the user data can be improved.

Based on the description of the foregoing slice association method embodiment, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a slice association apparatus, which may be a computer program (including a program code) running in the above end-to-end slice composer. The slice association apparatus may be used to perform the slice association method shown in fig. 2 and 5, please refer to fig. 7, and the slice association apparatus includes: an acquisition unit 701, a transmission unit 702, and a reception unit 703.

An obtaining unit 701, configured to obtain slice parameter information of a slice to be configured, where the slice parameter information is used to instruct a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure a mobile network sub-slice according to the slice parameter information;

a sending unit 702, configured to send the slice parameter information to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator;

a receiving unit 703, configured to receive a response message indicating an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice, where the response message is used to indicate that the association between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice is successful;

In one embodiment, the slice to be configured comprises a moving mesh sub-slice and a transmission mesh sub-slice;

the response message includes: the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice are associated based on the slice mapping identifier, and the address planning parameter is used for indicating the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice to be associated based on a target tunnel indicated by the address planning parameter.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises: a determination unit 704.

A determining unit 704, configured to control the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine, according to the slice parameter information, a slice type of the slice to be configured, where the slice type of the slice to be configured is used to indicate a slice type of a mobile network sub-slice and a slice type of a transmission network sub-slice, where the slice types include a first type and a second type;

the determining unit 704 is further configured to control the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine, according to the slice type, an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice;

the receiving unit 703 is further configured to receive a response message generated by the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator according to the association mechanism.

In an embodiment, the determining unit 704 is specifically configured to:

if the slice type of the slice to be configured is a first type, controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to associate through a slice mapping identifier according to an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice determined by the first type; and the number of the first and second electrodes,

and the response message generated by the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator according to the association mechanism is received and comprises the slice mapping identifier.

In an embodiment, the determining unit 704 is specifically configured to:

if the slice type of the slice to be configured is a second type, controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to associate the address planning parameters passing through the target tunnel according to an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice determined by the second type; and the number of the first and second electrodes,

and the received response message generated by the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator according to the association mechanism comprises the address planning parameter.

In one embodiment, the sending unit 702 is further configured to send the slice parameter information and the response information to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator determines a transmission network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information and associates the determined transmission network sub-slice with the mobile network sub-slice.

In an embodiment, the determining unit 704 is specifically configured to:

if the response information comprises the slice mapping identifier, controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure an identifier adding port so that the identifier adding port adds a slice mapping identifier for target user data transmitted in the mobile network sub-slice;

and controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to send the slice mapping identifier to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator confirms to receive the target user data sent by the mobile network sub-slice.

In an embodiment, the sending unit 702 is further configured to: and controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to send the slice mapping identifier to a data switching node, so that the data switching node associates the mobile network sub-slice with the transmission network sub-slice.

In an embodiment, the determining unit 704 is specifically configured to:

if the response information comprises the address planning parameters, controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure an identifier adding port so that the identifier adding port establishes a target tunnel for the mobile network sub-slice and acquires the address planning parameters corresponding to the target tunnel;

and controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to send the address planning parameters to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator establishes the target tunnel according to the address planning parameters.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises: an association unit 705.

The obtaining unit 701 is further configured to obtain a subscription request sent by a user equipment, where the subscription request includes an equipment identifier of the user equipment and slice parameter information of the slice to be configured;

an associating unit 705, configured to associate the user equipment and the slice to be configured according to the subscription request, so as to transmit user data sent by the user equipment using the slice to be configured.

In an embodiment, the associating unit 705 is specifically configured to:

sending the equipment identifier and the slice parameter information to the mobile sub-slice management orchestrator, and controlling the mobile sub-slice management orchestrator to associate the equipment identifier with the slice parameter information and generate associated information;

and receiving feedback information generated by the mobile sub-slice management orchestrator based on the association information, and determining that the user equipment is to be associated with the slice to be configured according to the feedback information.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the obtaining unit 701 may obtain slice parameter information of a slice to be configured from a slice controller, so that the sending unit 702 may send the slice parameter information to a mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator, so that the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator may configure a mobile network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information, and determine a transmission network sub-slice associated with the mobile network sub-slice, and an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice, after the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator instantiates the mobile network sub-slice, the determined association mechanism may be returned to the end-to-end slice orchestrator, after the receiving unit receives the determined association mechanism, the sending unit 703 may send the slice parameter information and the association mechanism to a transmission network sub-slice for associating with a mobile network self-slice, and the transmission network sub-slice is configured, so that a uniform configuration mode of the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice in different arrangement domains is realized, the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice can be flexibly combined, the transmission of user data is realized, and the transmission performance and the transmission quality in the end-to-end service data transmission process are ensured.

Fig. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a structure of an end-to-end slice composer according to an embodiment of the present invention, where the end-to-end slice composer can be applied to a server or other end-to-end configurable devices. The end-to-end slice composer in the present embodiment as shown in fig. 8 may include: one or more processors 801; one or more input devices 802, one or more output devices 803, and memory 804. The processor 801, the input device 802, the output device 803, and the memory 804 described above are connected by a bus 805. The memory 804 is used for storing a computer program comprising program instructions, and the processor 801 is used for executing the program instructions stored by the memory 804.

The memory 804 may include a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM); the memory 804 may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as a flash memory (flash memory), a solid-state drive (SSD), etc.; the memory 804 may also comprise a combination of the above-described types of memory.

The processor 801 may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The processor 801 may further include a hardware chip. The hardware chip may be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or the like. The PLD may be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a General Array Logic (GAL), or the like. The processor 801 may also be a combination of the above structures.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the memory 804 is used for storing a computer program, the computer program includes program instructions, and the processor 801 is used for executing the program instructions stored in the memory 804, so as to implement the steps of the corresponding methods as described above in fig. 2 and fig. 4.

In one embodiment, the processor 801 is configured to call the program instructions for performing:

controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine a slice type of the slice to be configured according to the slice parameter information, wherein the slice type of the slice to be configured is used for indicating the slice type of the mobile network sub-slice and the slice type of the transmission network sub-slice, and the slice types include a first type and a second type;

controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice according to the slice type;

and receiving a response message generated by the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator according to the association mechanism.

and sending the slice parameter information and the response information to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator determines a transmission network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information and associates the determined transmission network sub-slice with the mobile network sub-slice.

and controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to send the slice mapping identifier to a data switching node, so that the data switching node associates the mobile network sub-slice with the transmission network sub-slice.

acquiring a signing request sent by user equipment, wherein the signing request comprises an equipment identifier of the user equipment and slice parameter information of the slice to be configured;

and associating the user equipment with the slice to be configured according to the subscription request so as to transmit user data sent by the user equipment by adopting the slice to be configured.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the processes of the methods of the embodiments described above can be implemented by a computer program, which can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, can include the processes of the embodiments of the methods described above. The storage medium may be a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), or the like.

While the invention has been described with reference to a particular embodiment, 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 invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A slice association method, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the slice to be configured comprises a moving mesh sub-slice and a transmitting mesh sub-slice;

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transport network sub-slice according to the slice type comprises:

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transport network sub-slice according to the slice type comprises:

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

and sending the slice parameter information and the response message to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator so that the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator determines a transmission network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information and associates the determined transmission network sub-slice with the mobile network sub-slice.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein sending the slice parameter information and the response message to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator for the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine a transmission network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information and to associate the determined transmission network sub-slice with the mobile network sub-slice comprises:

if the response message comprises the slice mapping identifier, controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure an identifier adding port so that the identifier adding port adds a slice mapping identifier for target user data transmitted in the mobile network sub-slice;

7. The method of claim 6, wherein after controlling the mobile network subslice management orchestrator to send the slice mapping identifier to a transport network subslice management orchestrator, the method further comprises:

8. The method of claim 5, wherein sending the slice parameter information and the response message to a transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator for the transmission network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine a transmission network sub-slice based on the slice parameter information and to associate the determined transmission network sub-slice with the mobile network sub-slice comprises:

if the response message comprises the address planning parameters, controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to configure an identifier adding port so that the identifier adding port establishes a target tunnel for the mobile network sub-slice and acquires the address planning parameters corresponding to the target tunnel;

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein before the obtaining the slice parameter information of the slice to be configured, the method further comprises:

10. The method of claim 9, wherein associating the user device with the slice to be configured according to the subscription request comprises:

sending the equipment identifier and the slice parameter information to the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator, and controlling the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to associate the equipment identifier with the slice parameter information and generate associated information;

and receiving feedback information generated by the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator based on the association information, and determining that the association between the user equipment and the slice to be configured is successful according to the feedback information.

11. A slice association apparatus, comprising:

a determining unit, configured to control the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine, according to the slice parameter information, a slice type of the slice to be configured, where the slice type of the slice to be configured is used to indicate a slice type of a mobile network sub-slice and a slice type of a transmission network sub-slice, where the slice types include a first type and a second type;

the determining unit is further configured to control the mobile network sub-slice management orchestrator to determine, according to the slice type, an association mechanism between the mobile network sub-slice and the transmission network sub-slice;

12. An end-to-end slice composer comprising a processor, a memory and a communication interface, the processor, the memory and the communication interface being interconnected, wherein the memory is configured to store computer program instructions and the processor is configured to execute the program instructions to implement the method of any of claims 1-10.

13. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program comprising program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1-10.