CN113453252B

CN113453252B - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN113453252B
Application number: CN202110663355.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 任驰; 马瑞涛; 马泽芳; 邢天齐
Original assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-15
Filing date: 2021-06-15
Publication date: 2023-02-17
Anticipated expiration: 2041-06-15
Also published as: CN113453252A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and a communication device, relates to the technical field of communication, and aims to update the delay information of an NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list in an NF service consumer in real time and ensure the real-time performance of the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list in the NF service consumer. The method comprises the following steps: the NF service consumer receives first information from an NRF, the first information comprises updated delay information of a target NWDAF, the target NWDAF belongs to NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, the alternative NWDAF list is a NWDAF list provided for the NF service consumer, and the delay information is used for indicating analysis delay of an analysis type requested by the NF service consumer; and the NF service consumer updates the time delay information of the target NWDAF according to the first information.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus.

Background

With the further development of the fifth generation (5g) mobile communication network system, the 5G network architecture is further improved.

In a 5G network architecture, a network data analysis function (NWDAF) performs mechanisms such as corresponding data acquisition, data analysis, analysis result feedback and the like through a standardized communication network flow, thereby further improving the automated management, operation and optimization capabilities of the 5G network. For example, the NWDAF may collect network Operation data from a core network control plane Network Function (NF), obtain terminal and network related statistical data from an Operation and Maintenance management system (OAM), obtain application data from an Application Function (AF), perform data analysis on the obtained data, and feed back an analysis result to an NF service consumer, such as NF, OAM, or AF, within a certain analysis delay.

In the related art, the NRF may provide performance information (e.g., latency information) of a plurality of NWDAFs for the NF service consumer, so that the NF service consumer may select one NWDAF from among a plurality of NWDAFs based on the performance information of the plurality of NWDAFs and provide an analysis service for the NWDAF. However, when the delay information of the NWDAFs is updated, the delay information of the NWDAFs in the NF service consumers is not updated, and the NF service consumers do not reselect the NWDAFs providing the analysis services for the NWDAFs, so that the delay information of the NWDAFs in the NF service consumers may not be the latest, and the NWDAFs providing the analysis services for the NF service consumers may not be optimized.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and device, so that the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list in the NF service consumer can be updated in real time, and the real-time performance of the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list in the NF service consumer is ensured.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, where the method includes: the NF service consumer receives first information from the NRF, the first information comprises updated delay information of a target NWDAF, the target NWDAF belongs to the NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, the alternative NWDAF list is the NWDAF list provided for the NF service consumer, and the delay information is used for indicating analysis delay of an analysis type requested by the NF service consumer; and the NF service consumer updates the time delay information of the target NWDAF according to the first information.

According to the technical scheme, the NF service consumer receives the first message carrying the updated delay information of the target NWDAF, and can update the delay information of the target NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list according to the updated delay information of the target NWDAF in the first message, so that the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list in the NF service consumer can be updated in real time, and the real-time performance of the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list in the NF service consumer is guaranteed.

Therefore, the NF service consumer may reselect the NWDAF with the smallest analysis delay of the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer based on the updated candidate NWDAF list, and provide an analysis service for the NWDAF. The NF service consumer can select the NWDAF providing the optimal analysis service for the NF service consumer based on the updated alternative NWDAF list, and the optimal selection of the NF service consumer for the NWDAF is achieved.

As a possible implementation, before the NF service consumer receives the first information from the NRF, the method further comprises: the NF service consumer sends a first subscription request message to the NRF, wherein the first subscription request message is used for requesting to subscribe a time delay information updating event of an alternative NWDAF list; the NF service consumer receives a first subscription response message from the NRF, wherein the first subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the time delay information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list is successful.

As one possible implementation, after updating the latency information of the target NWDAF, the method further includes: and the NF service consumer reselects the NWDAF providing service for the NF service consumer according to the updated time delay information of the target NWDAF and the time delay information of other NWDAF except the target NWDAF in the NWDAF list.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, where the method includes: the NRF receives second information from the target NWDAF, the second information is used for updating delay information of the target NWDAF, the delay information is used for indicating analysis delay of the target NWDAF to an analysis type requested by an NF service consumer, the target NWDAF belongs to NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, and the alternative NWDAF list is an NWDAF list provided for the NF service consumer; the NRF sends first information to the NF service consumer, the first information including updated latency information of the target NWDAF.

Compared with the technical scheme of sending at fixed time and sending at the request of an NF service consumer, according to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, after receiving second information used for updating the delay information of the target NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list, the NRF sends a first message carrying the updated delay information of the target NWDAF to the NF service consumer, so that the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list in the NF service consumer can be updated in real time, and the real-time performance of the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list in the NF service consumer is ensured.

Therefore, the NF service consumer may reselect the NWDAF with the smallest analysis delay of the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer based on the candidate NWDAF list updated in real time, and provide an analysis service for the NWDAF.

As a possible implementation, before the NRF receives the second information from the target NWDAF, the method further comprises: the NRF sends a second subscription request message to the target NWDAF, wherein the second subscription request message is used for requesting to subscribe to an update event of the delay information of the target NWDAF; the NRF receives a second subscription response message from the target NWDAF, wherein the second subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the update event of the delay information of the target NWDAF is successful.

As one possible implementation, before the NRF receives the second information from the target NWDAF, the method further includes: the NRF receives a first subscription request message from a NF service consumer, wherein the first subscription request message is used for requesting to subscribe a time delay information updating event of an alternative NWDAF list; the NRF sends a first subscription response message to the NF service consumer, wherein the first subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the time delay information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list is successful.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus includes: the device comprises a communication module and a processing module, wherein the communication module is used for receiving first information from the NRF, the first information comprises updated delay information of a target NWDAF, the target NWDAF belongs to NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, the alternative NWDAF list is a NWDAF list provided for an NF service consumer, and the delay information is used for indicating analysis delay of an analysis type requested by the NF service consumer. And the processing module is used for updating the time delay information of the target NWDAF according to the first information.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication module is further configured to send a first subscription request message to the NRF, where the first subscription request message is used to request subscription to a delay information update event of the alternative NWDAF list; and receiving a first subscription response message from the NRF, wherein the first subscription response message is used for indicating that the event subscription of the time delay information updating of the alternative NWDAF list is successful.

As a possible implementation manner, the processing module is further configured to reselect an NWDAF providing a service for the NF service consumer according to the updated delay information of the target NWDAF and the delay information of other NWDAFs in the NWDAF list except the target NWDAF.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus includes: the device comprises a communication module and a processing module. The communication module is used for receiving second information from the target NWDAF, the second information is used for updating delay information of the target NWDAF, the delay information is used for indicating analysis delay of the target NWDAF to an analysis type requested by an NF service consumer, the target NWDAF belongs to NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, and the alternative NWDAF list is an NWDAF list provided for the NF service consumer. And the processing module is used for generating the first information according to the second information. The communication module is further configured to send first information to the NF service consumer, where the first information includes updated delay information of the target NWDAF.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication module is further configured to send a second subscription request message to the target NWDAF, where the second subscription request message is used to request a subscription to an update event of the delay information of the target NWDAF; and receiving a second subscription response message from the target NWDAF, wherein the second subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the update event of the delay information of the target NWDAF is successful.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication module is further configured to receive a first subscription request message from the NF service consumer, where the first subscription request message is used to request subscription to a delay information update event of the alternative NWDAF list; and sending a first subscription response message to the NF service consumer, wherein the first subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the time delay information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list is successful.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, where the apparatus includes: a processor configured to perform processing operations in the method according to any one of the first or second aspects and any one of its possible implementations, and a communication interface configured to perform communication operations in the method according to any one of the first or second aspects and any one of its possible implementations.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium includes computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the communication method described in any one of the first aspect or the second aspect and any one of the possible implementation manners thereof.

For technical effects brought by any design of the third aspect to the seventh aspect, reference may be made to technical effects brought by corresponding designs of the first aspect or the second aspect, and details are not repeated here.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a 5G mobile communication system provided in the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an NWDAF architecture provided herein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another NWDAF architecture provided herein;

fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in the present application;

fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating another communication method provided herein;

fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating another communication method provided herein;

fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating another communication method provided herein;

fig. 8 is a flow chart illustrating another communication method provided herein;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

In the description of the present invention, "/" means "or" unless otherwise specified, for example, a/B may mean a or B. "and/or" herein is merely an association describing an associated object, and means that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Further, "at least one" or "a plurality" means two or more. The terms "first," "second," and the like do not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms "first," "second," and the like do not denote any order or importance.

In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present relevant concepts in a concrete fashion for ease of understanding.

Furthermore, the terms "including" and "having," and any variations thereof, as referred to in the description of the present application, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of steps or modules is not limited to the listed steps or modules, but may alternatively include other steps or modules not listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.

A brief description of some concepts involved in embodiments of the present invention follows.

1. 5G network architecture

The international telecommunication standards organization third Generation partnership project (3 gpp) defines the architecture of a 5G network in the fifth Generation (5 th-Generation, 5G) mobile communication technology.

As shown in fig. 1, based on the 5G mobile network framework of 3GPP, the present application provides an architecture diagram of a 5G mobile communication system. The 5G mobile communication system may include, but is not limited to, the following components:

an access and mobility management function (AMF) controls a plane network element for a core network, and is used for implementing management functions of a control plane such as registration management, connection management, mobility management, user accessibility management of a user, and management related to authentication and authorization.

A Session Management Function (SMF) is a core network control plane network element and is mainly responsible for Session Management related work including establishment, modification, release, and the like.

An authentication server function (AUSF) is a core network control plane network element and is mainly responsible for authentication and authorization of a user to ensure that the user is a legal user.

A Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), which is a core network control plane network element and is mainly responsible for selecting a network slice instance set of a service for a user terminal, determining allowed and configured network slice selection auxiliary information, determining an AMF set of the service user terminal, and the like.

The Network Exposure Function (NEF) controls the plane network element for the core network, and is mainly responsible for opening the mobile network capability to the outside, converting internal and external information, and the like.

A unified data management function (UDM), which controls a plane network element for a core network, is mainly responsible for unified processing of foreground data, including user identification, user subscription data, authentication data, and the like.

A Policy Control Function (PCF), which is a core network control plane network element, is mainly used to obtain policy information signed by a user terminal, and send the policy information to the AMF device and the SMF device.

A network storage function (NRF) is a core network control plane network element and is mainly responsible for dynamic registration of service capabilities of network functions and discovery of network functions.

An Operation and Maintenance management system (OAM) is mainly responsible for Operation, management and Maintenance of network operations of operators. The operation mainly completes the analysis, prediction, planning and configuration work of the daily network and the business; maintenance is mainly daily operation activities performed on the network and its service test, fault management, and the like.

An Application Function (AF) interacts with the 5G core network to provide services, support the application's impact on traffic routing, access NEF, interact with policy framework, etc.

A network data analysis function (NWDAF) is mainly used for analyzing various types of network data. The NWDAF network element may collect network operation data from the core network control plane network function NF, terminal and network related statistical data obtained from the OAM, and application data obtained from the AF. And the NWDAF feeds back the analysis result to NF, OAM or AF within a certain analysis time delay.

The User Plane Function (UPF) is mainly responsible for routing and forwarding functions of the User Plane.

A Data Network (DN), a service network providing data transmission services for users, such as operator services, internet access, and third party services.

(radio) access network, (R) AN): and the system is responsible for air interface resource scheduling and air interface connection management of the user terminal access network.

A User Equipment (UE) is mainly connected to a 5G network through a wireless air interface and obtains services, and the UE exchanges information with a base station through the air interface.

It should be noted that the names of the communication devices or network elements and the connection relationships between the communication devices or network elements in the foregoing architecture are only an example, and the names of the communication devices and the connection relationships between the communication devices in a specific implementation may be embodied in other forms, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

2. Network data analysis function NWDAF architecture

Based on the above-mentioned exemplary architecture of the 5G mobile communication system, the 3gpp 5G mobile communication technology also defines a 5G native big data analysis and AI technology application framework based on a network data analysis function NWDAF, and the NWDAF architecture supports mechanisms such as performing corresponding data acquisition, data analysis and analysis result feedback through a standardized communication network flow, thereby further improving the automated management, operation and optimization capabilities of the 5G network.

As shown in fig. 2, the NWDAF may collect network operation data, terminal and network related statistics obtained from OAM, and application data from the AF from the core network control plane network function NF. And the NWDAF feeds back the analysis result to NF, OAM or AF within a certain analysis time delay. The NWDAF can also interact with the NRF to acquire NF registration information and finish the data access operation.

The NF may be any instantiated functional network element in the 5G core network control plane functional network elements, for example: AMF, SMF, AUSF, NSSF, NEF, UDM, PCF in the 5G mobile communication system in FIG. 1.

Based on the 5G network architecture shown in fig. 1 and the NWDAF architecture shown in fig. 2, as shown in fig. 3, another NWDAF architecture is provided. The NF service consumer may be any NF in the 5G network architecture, or may also be OAM, or may also be AF, which is not limited herein.

The NWDAF may provide event subscription services and analysis request services to any NF service consumer. The event subscription service may include three operations of subscribing, unsubscribing and notifying, or the event subscription service may be further classified as receiving an event periodically or receiving an event when a specific condition is satisfied.

The analysis request service is different from the event subscription service. When the NWDAF provides an analysis request service for the NF service consumer, the NWDAF may evaluate and calculate a network function of a specific analysis type sent by the NF service consumer, and feed back a corresponding analysis result within a certain analysis delay. The NWDAF may also send the analysis latency for the network function of the particular analysis type described above to the NRF as performance information for the NWDAF. The NRF receives the capability information from the NWDAF and generates a NWDAF list based on the performance information of the NWDAF. The NRF sends the NWDAF list to the NF service consumer for selection by the NF service consumer.

The above is an introduction of a part of concepts related to the embodiments of the present invention, and details are not described below.

Based on the NWDAF architectures shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus. The technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, for example, a New Radio (NR) communication system adopting a 5G communication technology, a future evolution system or a multiple communication convergence system, and the like. The technical scheme provided by the application can be applied to various application scenarios, for example, scenarios such as machine to machine (M2M), macro-micro communication, eMBB, mtc, and CMTC. As can be known to those skilled in the art, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solution provided in the embodiments of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

The technical solution in the embodiments of the present application is described below with reference to other drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

As shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which may include:

s201, the NF service consumer sends a first discovery request message to the NRF. Accordingly, the NRF receives a first discovery request message from the NF service consumer.

The first discovery request message is used for requesting an NWDAF meeting preset conditions. For example, the preset condition may be that an analysis delay of the NWDAF for an analysis type requested by the NF service consumer is smaller than a preset threshold.

In some embodiments, the first discovery request message may include an identification of the type of analysis requested by the NF service consumer.

In some embodiments, the first discovery request message may further include a preset threshold for indicating an expected analysis latency of the NF service consumer for the requested analysis type of analysis service.

It may be appreciated that when an analysis delay of an analysis service provided by an NWDAF is less than or equal to a preset threshold, the NRF may determine that the NWDAF may provide a "near real-time" analysis service for the NF service consumer, such that the NRF determines the NWDAF as one of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list, such that the NWDAF may provide the analysis service for the NF service consumer.

When the analysis delay of the analysis service provided by the NWDAF is greater than the preset threshold, the NRF may determine that the NWDAF cannot provide the "near real-time" analysis service for the NF service consumer, so that the NRF excludes the NWDAF from the alternative NWDAF list, so as to prevent the NWDAF from requiring a long time of analysis delay and damaging the "near real-time" interaction mechanism between the NF service consumer and the NWDAF when the NWDAF provides the analysis service for the NF service consumer.

S202, the NRF determines the candidate NWDAF list according to the first discovery request message.

Wherein, the candidate NWDAF list is used to indicate the NWDAFs providing the analysis services for the NF service consumers, and the number of the NWDAFs in the candidate NWDAF list may be one or more.

It is noted that the NRF may receive and store the capability information from the NWDAF to complete the registration and capability information update of the NWDAF in the NRF. The performance information of the NWDAF may include an identifier of the NWDAF, an analysis delay of the NWDAF, an average prediction confidence of the NWDAF, load information of the NWDAF, and data analysis capability information of the NWDAF. Wherein the analysis delay of the NWDAF and the average prediction confidence of the NWDAF are both related to the analysis type. That is, the analysis time delay and the average prediction confidence corresponding to each analysis type are also different.

As a possible implementation, the NRF may filter NWDAFs that have been registered in the NRF according to the identification of the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer, and a preset threshold, to determine a list of alternative NWDAFs.

For example, the NRF may provide the NF service consumer with a requested analysis type of analysis service, and analyze an NWDAF having a latency less than a preset threshold to determine as one of the NWDAFs in the candidate NWDAF list. After the NRF determines the list of alternative NWDAFs, the NRF may set an identification for the list of alternative NWDAFs to facilitate identifying the list of alternative NWDAFs. As an example, the list of alternative NWDAFs may be as shown in table 1.

TABLE 1

Identification of alternative NWDAF lists	Alternative NWDAF lists
		01	NWDAF1,NWDAF2,NWDAF4,NWDAF7
02	NWDAF1,NWDAF3,NWDAF5,NWDAF6
		03	NWDAF2,NWDAF4,NWDAF7
…	…

S203, the NRF sends a first discovery response message to the NF service consumer. Accordingly, the NF service consumer receives the first discovery response message from the NRF.

Wherein the first discovery response message is used to indicate that the NWDAF meeting the preset condition is successfully discovered.

In some embodiments, the first discovery response message may include a list of alternative NWDAFs and an identification of the list of alternative NWDAFs. Illustratively, the first discovery response message is shown in table 2.

TABLE 2

Optionally, the first discovery response message further includes an identifier of NRF, which is used to determine NRF, so that the NF service consumer sends a message to NRF for interaction.

And S204, determining the NWDAF for providing the analysis service for the NF service consumer according to the first discovery response message by the NF service consumer.

In some embodiments, the first discovery response message may include performance information for each NWDAF in the list of alternative NWDAFs. The NF service consumer may determine, based on the performance information of the NWDAF, the NWDAF that provides the analysis service for the NF service consumer.

Illustratively, the performance information of the NWDAF may include an analysis latency of the NWDAF. Thus, the NF service consumer determines the NWDAF with the smallest analysis delay in the candidate NWDAF list as the NWDAF providing the analysis service for the NF service consumer.

In other embodiments, the NF service consumer determines, according to a preset condition, NWDAFs that provide analytics services for the NF service consumer in order of the NWDAFs in the list of alternative NWDAFs.

For example, as shown in table 3, the latency information NF service consumer for each NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list may determine the NWDAF that provides the analysis service for the NF service consumer according to the latency information of the NWDAF in table 3. For example, NWDAF1 is the NWDAF with the minimum delay information in the candidate NWDAF list, and the NF service consumer determines NWDAF1 as the NWDAF for which analysis service is provided.

TABLE 3

Alternative NWDAF lists	Latency information for NWDAF
		NWDAF1	6ms
NWDAF2	10ms
		NWDAF4	7ms
NWDAF7	8ms

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the NF service consumer can select the NWDAF capable of providing the optimal analysis service for the NF service consumer from the alternative NWDAF list by receiving the alternative NWDAF list meeting the preset condition, so that the NF service consumer can optimally select the NWDAF.

Currently, the NF service consumer may select the NWDAF for which to provide the best analysis service based on a list of alternative NWDAFs. But is a continuous process since the NWDAF provides analytics services to NF service consumers. However, in this process, the delay information of the NWDAFs in the NF service consumer may not be updated, and the NF service consumer may not reselect the NWDAFs providing the analysis services for the NF service consumer, so that the delay information of the NWDAFs in the NF service consumer may not be the latest, and the NWDAFs providing the analysis services for the NF service consumer may not be optimized.

In order to solve the above problem, as shown in fig. 5, a further communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include:

s301, NRF receives second information from the target NWDAF. Accordingly, the target NWDAF transmits the second information to the NRF.

The second information is used for updating delay information of the target NWDAF, and the delay information is used for indicating the analysis delay of the target NWDAF to the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer.

It should be noted that the target NWDAF belongs to an NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, which is a NWDAF list provided to the NF service consumer. It should be appreciated that the number of NWDAFs in the alternative NWDAF list may be one or more, and accordingly, the number of target NWDAFs may also be one or more.

In some embodiments, after the target NWDAF receives the second subscription request message from the NRF, the target NWDAF may analyze the analysis type of the NF service consumer request carried in the second subscription request message. After the target NWDAF updates the latency information of the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer, the target NWDAF sends second information to the NRF for updating the latency information of the target NWDAF.

In some embodiments, the second information may include updated latency information, the type of analysis requested by the NF service consumer. Illustratively, the second information is shown in table 4.

In other embodiments, as shown in Table 4, the second information may include time delay information before updating.

TABLE 4

Type of analysis	Time delay information before update	Updated delay information
			02	8ms	4ms

In other embodiments, the second information may further include performance information other than latency information of the target NWDAF, such as, but not limited to, average prediction confidence of the NWDAF for the analysis type, loading information of the NWDAF, data analysis capability information of the NWDAF.

S302, the NRF sends first information to the NF service consumer. Accordingly, the NF service consumer receives the first information from the NRF.

In an embodiment of the application, the first information comprises updated latency information of the target NWDAF. The latency information is used to indicate an analysis latency for the type of analysis requested by the NF service consumer.

Optionally, the first information may further include other performance information of the target NWDAF, such as the average prediction confidence, which is not limited herein.

In one possible design, the first information may include only the updated latency information for the target NWDAF and not the latency information for other NWDAFs in the alternative NWDAF list. Therefore, the load of the first information is small, and the use of transmission resources is reduced in the scene of frequent updating of the time delay information.

In another possible design, the first information may include not only the updated latency information of the target NWDAF, but also latency information of other NWDAFs in the alternative NWDAF list.

And S303, updating the time delay information of the target NWDAF by the NF service consumer according to the first information.

As a possible implementation manner, the NF service consumer updates the delay information of the target NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list according to the updated delay information of the target NWDAF in the received first information.

Optionally, the first information may further include other performance information, and the NF service consumer updates the other performance information in the alternative NWDAF list according to the first information.

It may be appreciated that, after the NF service consumer updates the latency information of the target NWDAF, the NF service consumer may reselect the NWDAF that provides service to the NF service consumer based on the updated latency information of the target NWDAF and the latency information of other NWDAFs in the NWDAF list except for the target NWDAF.

For example, after the NF service consumer updates the latency information of the target NWDAF, the NWDAF that provides service for the NF service consumer is directly reselected in order to get an optimized analysis service.

For another example, the NF service consumer may also determine to reselect an NWDAF that provides service to the NF service consumer when certain conditions are met. Illustratively, the NF service consumer reselects and selects an NWDAF serving the NF service consumer to obtain an analysis service that satisfies an analysis delay requirement, in a case where it is determined that the NWDAF currently serving the NF service consumer does not satisfy the analysis delay requirement.

In some embodiments, after the NF service consumer reselects the NWDAF that provides service to the NF service consumer, the NF service consumer may send third information to the reselected NWDAF; accordingly, the reselected NWDAF receives a third message from the NF service consumer. Wherein the third information is to indicate the reselected NWDAF to provide analytics services for the NF service consumer.

In some embodiments, the third information may include data information of an analysis service requested by the NF service consumer, so that the reselected NWDAF performs analysis processing on the third information to obtain an analysis result corresponding to the third information.

Exemplary latency information for the list of alternative NWDAFs in the NF service consumer is shown in table 5. In S204, the NF service consumer selects NWDAF1 as the NWDAF for which analysis services are provided. As the load information and performance information of the NWDAF are constantly changing, the analysis latency of the NWDAF for the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer is updated. As shown in table 5, the delay information of NWDAF2 is updated from 10ms to 4ms, and in this case, NWDAF2 is the NWDAF with the minimum delay information after updating. According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, the NF service consumer can select the NWDAF2 with the minimum updated delay information according to the updated delay information in the alternative NWDAF list, and analysis service is provided for the NWDAF 2.

TABLE 5

Based on the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the NF service consumer may update the delay information of the target NWDAF in the candidate NWDAF list according to the updated delay information of the target NWDAF in the first message by receiving the first message carrying the updated delay information of the target NWDAF, so as to ensure the real-time performance of the delay information of the NWDAF in the candidate NWDAF list. Therefore, the NF service consumer can reselect the NWDAF with the minimum analysis delay of the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer based on the updated alternative NWDAF list, and provides analysis service for the NWDAF. The NF service consumer can select the NWDAF providing the optimal analysis service for the NF service consumer based on the updated alternative NWDAF list, so that the NF service consumer can optimally select the NWDAF.

As shown in fig. 6, another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may include:

s401, the NF service consumer sends a first subscription request message to the NRF. Accordingly, the NRF receives a first subscription request message from the NF service consumer.

The first subscription request message is used for requesting a subscription to a latency information update event of an alternative NWDAF list. And the delay information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list is used for indicating that the NRF notifies the NF service consumer that the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list is updated after the delay information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list is updated.

It is noted that the NWDAF may provide analytics services for NF service consumers. In this process, as the load information and performance information of the NWDAF are constantly changing, the analysis latency of the NWDAF to the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer is also constantly changing. Accordingly, the NF service consumer may send a first subscription request message to the NRF to request subscription to a latency information update event of the alternative NWDAF list, so that after the latency information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list is updated, the NRF may notify the NF service consumer that the latency information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list is updated.

In some embodiments, the first subscription request message may carry an identification of the alternative NWDAF list and an identification of the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer, so that the NRF may determine the alternative NWDAF list according to the identification of the alternative NWDAF list and/or the identification of the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer.

S402, the NF service consumer receives the first subscription response message sent by the NRF, and correspondingly, the NRF sends the first subscription response message to the NF service consumer.

The first subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the latency information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list is successful.

S301-S303: reference may be made to the description of S301-S303 in fig. 5, which is not repeated here.

Based on the embodiment shown in fig. 6, a latency information update event notification mechanism is established between the NF service consumer and the NRF through a first subscription request message and a first subscription response message, that is, after the latency information of the NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list is updated, the NRF sends first information including the updated latency information of the target NWDAF to the NF service consumer. Therefore, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application ensures the real-time performance of the updated delay information of the target NWDAF and improves the accuracy of the NWDAF reselected by the NF service consumer.

As shown in fig. 7, according to another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the communication method may include:

s501, the NRF sends a second subscription request message to the target NWDAF, and correspondingly, the target NWDAF receives the second subscription request message from the NRF.

The second subscription request message is used for requesting an update event of the time delay information of the subscription target NWDAF. The update event of the latency information of the target NWDAF is used to indicate that the latency information of the target NWDAF is updated.

As one possible implementation, after the NRF receives the first subscription request message from the NF service consumer, the NRF may determine an alternative NWDAF list according to an identification of the alternative NWDAF list and a correspondence between the identifications of the NWDAF list and the NWDAF list; the NRF may thus determine path information (e.g., number of NWDAFs, identification, address, etc.) for each NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list based on the alternative NWDAF list. Thereafter, the NRF sends a second subscription request message to each NWDAF in the list of alternative NWDAFs.

In some embodiments, the second subscription request message may include the type of analysis requested by the NF service consumer, e.g., an identification of the type of analysis requested by the NF service consumer. Thus, after the NWDAF receives the second subscription request message from the NRF, the NWDAF may determine an analysis latency of the NWDAF for the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer based on the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer.

It should be noted that the NWDAF may provide analytics services for NF service consumers. In this process, as the load information and performance information of the NWDAF are constantly changing, the analysis latency of the NWDAF to the analysis type requested by the NF service consumer is also constantly changing. Accordingly, the NRF may send a second subscription request message to each NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list to request an update event of the latency information of the subscribed NWDAF, such that after the latency information of the NWDAF is updated, the NWDAF may send a notification to the NRF that the latency information of the NWDAF is updated.

S502, the NRF receives a second subscription response message from the target NWDAF, and correspondingly, the target NWDAF sends the second subscription response message to the NRF.

The second subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the update event of the delay information of the target NWDAF is successful.

S301-S303: reference may be made to the description of S301-S302 in fig. 5, which is not repeated here. .

Based on the embodiment shown in fig. 7, a latency information update event notification mechanism is established between the NRF and each NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list through the second subscription request message and the second subscription response message, that is, after the latency information of the NWDAF is updated, each NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list may send second information for updating the latency information of the NWDAF to the NRF. Therefore, the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application ensures the real-time performance of the updated delay information of each NWDAF in the alternative NWDAF list in the NRF, and improves the accuracy of the NWDAF reselected by the NF service consumer.

Alternatively, the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 may be used in combination with the embodiment shown in FIG. 7. Illustratively, as shown in fig. 8, another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application may include:

S401 and S402 implement timely updating of the delay information of the NWDAF in the candidate NWDAF list, and ensure real-time performance of the updated delay information of the target NWDAF.

S501 and S502 implement timely updating of the updated delay information of the target NWDAF, and further ensure real-time performance of the updated delay information of the target NWDAF.

Based on the embodiment shown in fig. 8, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application simultaneously ensure real-time performance of the updated delay information of the target NWDAF and the updated delay information of the target NWDAF, so that the NF service consumer can update the delay information of the target NWDAF in the candidate NWDAF list according to the latest updated delay information of the target NWDAF, thereby improving accuracy of the NF service consumer in optimal selection of the NWDAF.

It can be seen that the foregoing describes the solution provided by the embodiments of the present application primarily from a methodological perspective. To implement the above functions, it includes hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative modules and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present application, the communication apparatus may be divided into the functional modules according to the method example, for example, each functional module may be divided according to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. Optionally, the division of the modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device is used for realizing the optimal selection of an NF service consumer for an NWDAF, for example, for executing the communication methods shown in fig. 4 and 5, and includes: a communication module 601 and a processing module 602.

Illustratively, when the communication device is an NF service consumer, then the communication device is configured to perform the communication method in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to 8.

A communication module 601, configured to receive first information from the NRF, where the first information includes updated delay information of a target NWDAF, the target NWDAF belongs to NWDAFs in an alternative NWDAF list, the alternative NWDAF list is a NWDAF list provided for an NF service consumer, and the delay information is used to indicate an analysis delay of an analysis type requested by the NF service consumer.

A processing module 602, configured to update the delay information of the target NWDAF according to the first information.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication module 601 is further configured to send a first subscription request message to the NRF, where the first subscription request message is used to request a subscription to a delay information update event of the alternative NWDAF list; and receiving a first subscription response message from the NRF, wherein the first subscription response message is used for indicating that the event subscription of the time delay information updating of the alternative NWDAF list is successful.

As a possible implementation manner, the processing module 602 is further configured to reselect an NWDAF that provides a service for the NF service consumer according to the updated delay information of the target NWDAF and the delay information of NWDAFs other than the target NWDAF in the NWDAF list.

As another example, when the communication apparatus is an NRF, the communication apparatus is configured to perform the communication method in the embodiments shown in fig. 4 to 8.

A communication module 601, configured to receive second information from the target NWDAF, where the second information is used to indicate that delay information of the target NWDAF is updated, the delay information is used to indicate an analysis delay of an analysis type requested by the target NWDAF for the NF service consumer, the target NWDAF belongs to an NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, and the alternative NWDAF list is an NWDAF list provided for the NF service consumer.

The processing module 602 is configured to generate the first information according to the second information.

The communication module 601 is further configured to send first information to the NF service consumer, where the first information includes updated delay information of the target NWDAF.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication module 601 is further configured to send a second subscription request message to the target NWDAF, where the second subscription request message is used to request to subscribe to an update event of the delay information of the target NWDAF; and receiving a second subscription response message from the target NWDAF, wherein the second subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the update event of the delay information of the target NWDAF is successful.

As a possible implementation manner, the communication module 601 is further configured to receive a first subscription request message from an NF service consumer, where the first subscription request message is used to request a subscription to a delay information update event of an alternative NWDAF list; and sending a first subscription response message to the NF service consumer, wherein the first subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the time delay information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list is successful.

The processing module 602 may be a processor or a controller, among others. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. A processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, a DSP and a microprocessor, or the like. The communication module 601 may be a transceiver circuit or a communication interface, etc. The storage module may be a memory. When the processing module 602 is a processor, the communication module 601 is a communication interface, and the storage module is a memory, the communication device according to the embodiment of the present application may be the communication device shown in fig. 10.

As shown in fig. 10, the embodiment of the present invention further provides a schematic structural diagram of another communication device, which includes a processor 82, a bus 83, and a communication interface 84; optionally, the communication device may further include a memory 81, the memory 81 is used for storing computer-executable instructions, and the processor 82 is connected to the memory 81 through a bus 83; when the communication device is operating, the processor 82 executes computer-executable instructions stored by the memory 81 to cause the communication device to perform the communication methods provided by the embodiments described above.

In a particular implementation, processor 82 (82-1 and 82-2) may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 10, as one embodiment. And as an example, the communication device may include a plurality of processors 82, such as processor 82-1 and processor 82-2 shown in fig. 10. Each of the processors 82 may be a single-Core Processor (CPU) or a multi-Core Processor (CPU). Processor 82 herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

The memory 81 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a Random Access Memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disc storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to these. The memory 81 may be self-contained and coupled to the processor 82 via a bus 83. The memory 81 may also be integrated with the processor 82.

In some embodiments, the memory 81 is used for storing data in the present application and computer-executable instructions corresponding to the software programs for executing the present application. The processor 82 may implement various functions of the communication device by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 81 and calling up data stored in the memory 81.

The communication interface 84 is any device, such as a transceiver, for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as a control system, a Radio Access Network (RAN), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and the like. The communication interface 84 may include a receiving unit to implement the receiving function and a transmitting unit to implement the transmitting function.

The bus 83 may be an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, an extended ISA (enhanced industry standard architecture) bus, or the like. The bus 83 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 10, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

Embodiments of the present invention further provide a computer-readable storage medium, where the computer-readable storage medium includes computer-executable instructions, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to execute the communication method provided in the foregoing embodiments.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a computer program product, which can be directly loaded into the memory and contains software codes, and the computer program product can implement the communication method provided by the above embodiment after being loaded and executed by the computer.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in one or more of the examples described above, the functions described in this invention may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer.

Through the above description of the embodiments, it is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity of description, the foregoing division of the functional modules is merely used as an example, and in practical applications, the above function distribution may be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device may be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above described functions.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the modules or units is only one logical function division, and there may be other division ways in actual implementation. For example, various elements or components may be combined or may be integrated into another device, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form. Units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may be one physical unit or a plurality of physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to a plurality of different places. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit. The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application may be essentially or partially contributed to by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solutions may be embodied in the form of a software product, where the software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a device (which may be a single chip, a chip, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present invention. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a U disk, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the NF service consumer sends a first subscription request message to the NRF, wherein the first subscription request message is used for requesting to subscribe a time delay information updating event of an alternative NWDAF list;

the NF service consumer receives a first subscription response message from the NRF, wherein the first subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the time delay information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list is successful;

the NF service consumer receiving first information from the NRF, the first information including updated delay information of a target NWDAF, the target NWDAF belonging to NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, the alternative NWDAF list being a NWDAF list provided to the NF service consumer, the delay information being used to indicate an analysis delay for an analysis type requested by the NF service consumer;

and the NF service consumer updates the time delay information of the target NWDAF according to the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein after updating latency information of the target NWDAF, the method further comprises:

and the NF service consumer reselects the NWDAF providing service for the NF service consumer according to the updated delay information of the target NWDAF and the delay information of other NWDAF except the target NWDAF in the NWDAF list.

3. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the NRF sends a second subscription request message to a target NWDAF, wherein the second subscription request message is used for requesting to subscribe to an update event of the delay information of the target NWDAF;

the NRF receives a second subscription response message from the target NWDAF, wherein the second subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the delay information of the target NWDAF is successful;

the NRF receiving second information from the target NWDAF, the second information being used to update latency information of the target NWDAF, the latency information being used to indicate an analysis latency of the target NWDAF for an analysis type requested by an NF service consumer, the target NWDAF belonging to an NWDAF in an alternative NWDAF list, the alternative NWDAF list being an NWDAF list provided to the NF service consumer;

the NRF sends first information to the NF service consumer, the first information including updated delay information of a target NWDAF.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein prior to the NRF receiving the second information from the target NWDAF, the method further comprises:

the NRF receives a first subscription request message from the NF service consumer, wherein the first subscription request message is used for requesting to subscribe to a time delay information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list;

the NRF sends a first subscription response message to the NF service consumer, wherein the first subscription response message is used for indicating that the subscription of the time delay information updating event of the alternative NWDAF list is successful.

5. A communication apparatus, comprising a communication module and a processing module, wherein the processing module is configured to perform the processing operation in the method of claim 1 or 2, and the communication module is configured to perform the communication operation in the method of claim 1 or 2.

6. A communication apparatus, comprising a communication module and a processing module, wherein the processing module is configured to perform the processing operations in the method of claim 3 or 4, and wherein the communication module is configured to perform the communication operations in the method of claim 3 or 4.

7. A communications device comprising a processor configured to perform processing operations in a method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and a communications interface configured to perform communications operations in a method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 4.