WO2019007345A1

WO2019007345A1 - Method, apparatus, and system for selecting network slice, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2019007345A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/094361
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陈祥榴; 郑武军
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2017-07-05
Filing date: 2018-07-03
Publication date: 2019-01-10
Also published as: CN109429277A

Abstract

The present application provides a method, apparatus, and system for selecting a network slice, and a storage medium. The method comprises: when an App on a terminal initiates a service, the terminal obtains corresponding first network slice identification information; the terminal initiates a service request to a network side device, the service request carrying the first network slice identification information.

Description

Method, device and system for selecting network slice, storage medium

Cross-reference to related applications

The present application is filed on the basis of the Chinese Patent Application No. PCT Application No.

Technical field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a system for selecting a network slice, and a storage medium.

Background technique

5G introduces the concept of network slicing, relying on the development of NFV (Network Function Virtualization) technology, based on the general physical infrastructure, logically define and divide the network to form an end-to-end virtual network, each virtual network. With different functional features to dynamically meet a variety of needs and business models.

A typical network slice includes a set of virtualized access network functions and core network functions. The network slice is built by the operator according to the requirements and policies. The functions included in a network slice are also determined by the operator according to the requirements and policies. For example, some network slices may include a dedicated forwarding plane in addition to the control plane functionality; some network slices may include only some basic control plane functions.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network slice in the related art. As shown in FIG. 1 , a common network (Common Network), and customized A, B, and C network slice categories. The Common Network provides services for general-purpose services; and customized network slicing provides three different types of services (for example: Type A is ultra-high-speed services such as video services, virtual reality, etc.; Type B is bursty small business data services) Such as QQ, WeChat, etc.; type C is low-latency ultra-reliable services, such as car networking, smart grid, etc.), each type generates different network slice instances according to some differences (such as business requirements and business models, etc. For example, type A performs video services. According to the requirements of the video type, the service rate is divided into a slice A1 supporting normal video and a slice A2 supporting high-definition video. The organization of slices is not limited to the same type, and the specific organization depends on the operator strategy.

A network slice forms a virtual network that provides a specific mobile network access service for the user terminal (UE). At present, the industry is still discussing how to implement the network slicing standards, and there is no clear conclusion.

The current discussion has the following options:

The terminal will pre-configure the default network slice selection auxiliary information (Default NSSAI). After the terminal is successfully registered, the network side device will allocate the received slice selection auxiliary information (Allowed NSSAI). When the terminal performs the service, it will carry the NSSAI to the network: There is Allowed NSSAI, which carries Allowed NSSAI; if there is no Allowed NSSAI, it carries Default NSSAI. The network side device performs slice selection according to the NSSAI carried by the terminal in combination with other information (such as subscription information).

For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , the terminal UE performs some common video service, and the terminal carries the NSSAI. The network selects A according to the NSSAI, and then combines other information (such as subscription information) to select a specific specific slice A1. When the UE performs some low-latency service, such as health care, the terminal still carries the original NSSAI, and the network still selects A according to the NSSAI, but A selects the appropriate slice according to the information, and then performs the redirection process. According to the policy, A will redirect to C, and then C will select the appropriate specific slice C2 according to other information (such as subscription information, etc.), and send the NSSAI corresponding to C to the terminal in the subsequent message.

At present, the main discussion solution is that the terminal carries the pre-configured (or later updated) slice auxiliary information, and the slice selection is performed by the core side. If the initial selection is not made, the slice relocation needs to be performed.

The current solution has the following problems:

1. The slice auxiliary information is UE-level. There is no discussion about the network slice selection of the APP level. The difference of the APP on the same terminal is not fully considered. In particular, most of the current services are completed by different types of APPs. of.

2. In the case of a given slice of the operator, the usage rate of some users will result in a very low success rate for the initial selection of the slice, and the delay will also have a great impact. The management granularity of the operator slice is finer. The initial success rate is lower. For example, for the case of the slice as shown in FIG. 2, in the extreme case, if the user alternately uses different types of applications, the relocation process is performed every time, which greatly affects the success rate of the initial selection of the slice, thereby affecting the delay of the service. Especially for low-latency services, the air interface and the network may be targeted for optimization. If the initial selection fails at the beginning, it is likely that the low latency requirement cannot be met.

Summary of the invention

The present application provides a method, an apparatus, and a system for selecting a network slice, and a storage medium, to at least solve the problem of network slice selection for an APP in the related art.

According to an aspect of the present application, a method for selecting a network slice is provided, including: when an APP initiates a service on a terminal, the terminal acquires corresponding first network slice identification information; and the terminal initiates a service request to a network side device. The service request carries the first network slice identifier information.

According to another aspect of the present application, a method for selecting a network slice is further provided, the network side device receiving a service request initiated by the terminal based on the APP application, where the service request carries the first network slice identification information; The network side device selects a corresponding network slice for the service request according to the first network slice identification information and the decision information.

According to still another aspect of the present application, a device for selecting a network slice is provided. The device is located at the terminal side, and includes: an acquiring module, configured to acquire a corresponding first network slice identifier information when the APP on the terminal initiates a service. The service requesting module is configured to initiate a service request to the network side device, where the service request carries the first network slice identification information.

According to still another aspect of the present application, a device for selecting a network slice is provided, where the device is located on the network side, and includes: a first receiving module, configured to receive a service request initiated by the terminal based on an APP application, where The service request carries the first network slice identifier information, and the decision module is configured to select a corresponding network slice for the service according to the first network slice identifier information and the decision information.

According to still another aspect of the present application, there is also provided a terminal having a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute a software module stored in the memory, the software module comprising: an acquisition module configured to When the APP on the terminal initiates the service, the corresponding first network slice identifier information is obtained; the service request module is configured to initiate a service request to the network side device, where the service request carries the first network slice identifier information .

According to still another aspect of the present application, there is also provided a network device having a processor coupled to a memory, the processor configured to execute a software module stored in the memory, the software module comprising: a first receiving module And configured to receive the service request initiated by the APP on the terminal, where the service request carries the first network slice identifier information, and the decision module is configured to use the first network slice identifier information and the decision information as the service Select the appropriate network slice.

According to still another aspect of the present application, there is also provided a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program being operative to perform the method steps described above.

Through the application, when the APP initiates a service, the most suitable network slice can be accurately selected for different APPs and different service requirements, thereby solving the problem that the network side device performs high-efficiency network slice selection and reduces the service delay.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are provided to provide a further understanding of the present application, and are intended to be a part of this application. In the drawing:

1 is a schematic diagram of a network slice according to the related art;

2 is a schematic diagram of an APP belonging to different network slices according to the related art;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of selecting a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG.

4 is a flowchart of selecting a network slice according to Embodiment 1 of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of selecting a network slice according to Embodiment 2 of the present application;

6 is a flowchart of selecting a network slice according to Embodiment 3 of the present application;

7 is a flowchart of acquiring network slice identification information by a terminal according to Embodiment 4 of the present application;

8 is a flowchart of network slice selection performed by a network side according to Embodiment 5 of the present application;

9 is a flowchart of network slice selection performed by a network side according to Embodiment 6 of the present application;

10 is a flowchart of performing network slice redirection on the network side according to Embodiment 7 of the present application;

11 is a flowchart of network slice redirection performed by a network side according to Embodiment 8 of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of performing network slice reselection on the network side according to Embodiment 9 of the present application;

13 is a flowchart of performing network slice customization on a terminal side according to Embodiment 10 of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a network slice selection apparatus on a terminal side according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a network slice selection apparatus on a network side according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a network slice selection system according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings in conjunction with the embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

It should be noted that the terms "first", "second" and the like in the specification and claims of the present application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or order.

In this embodiment, a method for selecting a network slice is provided. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of selecting a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, the process includes the following steps:

Step S102: When the APP initiates a service, the terminal acquires corresponding first network slice identifier information.

Step S104: The terminal initiates a service request to the network side device, where the service request carries the first network slice identification information.

Through the above steps, the most suitable network slice can be accurately selected for different APPs and different service requirements, thereby solving the problem that the network side device performs high-efficiency network slice selection and reduces the service delay.

In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal receives the second network slice identifier information that is notified by the network side device, where the second network slice identifier information is that the network side device is configured according to the service request. The identification information of the network slice selected by the service; the terminal performs maintenance of the APP and the slice identification information mapping table according to the notification.

In the embodiment of the present application, the process of acquiring the slice identification information by the terminal is as follows: firstly, the mapping relationship table between the APP and the slice identification information is searched, and if yes, the mapped slice identification information is used; if not, the terminal is accepted. The slice identification information, if any, uses the accepted slice identification information saved by the terminal; if not, the slice identifier information pre-configured by the terminal is used.

In the embodiment of the present application, the network side device selects a slice process: first considers the subscription information of the terminal, the slice identification information, and these may refer to the slice selection policy determined by the 3GPP standard; in addition, the slice selection policy may also be increased. Consideration of APP signing information. The subscription information can be very detailed, such as the user identity level of the APP (VIP user/general user), the location of the APP, and the like.

In the first embodiment of the present application, the network side device may modify the network slice identification information corresponding to the APP due to some conditions (such as the change of the subscription information, the change of the operator policy, etc.), and the network side device may After the slice is redirected and selected to the appropriate slice, in the subsequent process, the latest network slice identification information is notified to the terminal, and the terminal updates the local related mapping table.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal saves and maintains the mapping relationship between the APP and the network slice identifier information (the identifier may be the Slice ID or the NSSAI, the S-NSSAI), and the following methods are available:

method one:

A general APP is installed by the user.

For the APP, the terminal initiates the service after the installation, and the terminal carries the default slice identifier information or the received slice identifier information configured by the operator, and initiates a service to the network side device;

When the network side device selects a certain slice to perform the service according to the general slice selection policy, the network side device notifies the corresponding slice identification information of the terminal.

After receiving the received network slice identifier information, the terminal saves the mapping relationship between the APP and the network slice identifier information.

Method Two:

The terminal is customized for the operator, and the operator installs the APP with the contract agreement.

For such an application, the operator can customize the network slice selection policy of each APP according to the information of the APP type, the charging policy, the network topology, and the like, and initially configure the customized network slice identification information, multiple APPs for each APP in the customized terminal. You can use one slice or you can use it for private network (for example, create a network slice for QQ/WeChat and configure unique slice identification information). The terminal needs to save and maintain the mapping relationship between the APP and the network slice identification information.

Method three:

The terminal is customized for non-operators, and the user installs and the operator has a contract agreement APP, and the initial slice selection is successfully identified.

When the network side device identifies the APP that has the subscription agreement, the network side device selects the customized network slice according to the customized network slice selection policy, and notifies the customized network slice identification information to the terminal. The notification method can be a new message, or a field can be added to the original message.

Method four:

The terminal is customized for non-operators, and the user installs and the operator has a contract agreement APP, and the initial slice selection is not successfully identified.

When the network side device is in the slice selection, the attribute of the APP is not recognized, and according to the general slice selection policy, a certain slice is selected for the service, and the slice identification information corresponding to the terminal is notified.

When the network side device identifies the APP that has the subscription agreement in the subsequent process, the process of re-slicing the slice selection process, selecting the customized network slice, and notifying the customized network slice identification information to the terminal, the notification mode may be It is a new message, or you can add a field to the original message.

After receiving the updated network slice identifier information, the terminal updates the mapping relationship between the APP and the network slice identifier information.

Method five:

A general APP is installed by the user, and then the terminal and the operator sign up to customize the network slice to the operator.

The terminal provides a network customization function. After clicking the function, the user can interact with the network-side device to obtain the description of the carrier's charging policy and network slice, and then customize the network slice according to their own needs, and can select the existing suitable one. Network slicing can also require operators to create new network slices.

After the network segment customization is completed, the terminal sends the customized information to the network side device, and the operator performs the audit. After the audit is passed, the network slice selection policy is customized, and the customized network slice identification information is notified to the terminal, and the notification manner may be a new message. You can also add fields to the original message.

In the embodiment of the present application, the format of the APP and network slice identification information (the identifier may be Slice ID or NSSAI, S-NSSAI) maintained by the terminal may be as shown in Table 1:

Table 1

APP信息APP information	网络切片标识信息Network slice identification information

APP ID 1APP ID 1	Info 1 Info 1
APP ID 2APP ID 2	Info 2Info 2
…...	…...

The terminal can also maintain all the network slice identification information locally. The mapping table format is the APP information and the index of the corresponding network slice identification information, as shown in Table 2-3.

Table 2

网络切片标识索引Network slice identifier index	网络切片标识信息Network slice identification information

index 1Index 1	Info 1 Info 1
index2Index2	Info 2Info 2
…...	…...

table 3

APP信息APP information	网络切片标识信息索引信息Network slice identification information index information

APP ID 1APP ID 1	index 1 Index 1
APP ID 2APP ID 2	index 2Index 2

...

In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal may also specify a corresponding service description information (such as a flow ID, a QoS level, and the like), and select a corresponding policy through the policy center to determine a corresponding network slice. The implementation method is similar to the above. The mapping table in the local policy center is changed. The terminal local policy center saves and maintains the service description information indication (such as the flow ID, QoS level, etc.) and the network slice identification information (the identifier can be the slice ID). Or the mapping relationship between NSSAI and S-NSSAI, taking Flow ID as an example, as shown in Table 4:

Table 4

Flow信息Flow information	网络切片标识信息Network slice identification information

Flow ID 1Flow ID 1	Info 1 Info 1
Flow ID 2Flow ID 2	Info 2Info 2
…...	…...

In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal may further refine the same APP, and specify different service description information (such as a flow ID and a QoS level) in the same APP, and select a corresponding policy through the policy center to determine a corresponding Network slice. The implementation is similar to the above, and the mapping table in the local policy center changes. The mapping between the APP information, the service description information indication (such as the flow ID, the QoS level, and the network slice identification information (the identifier can be the Slice ID or the NSSAI, the S-NSSAI) is saved and maintained by the terminal local policy center. The ID and Flow ID are used as an example, as shown in Table 5:

table 5

The network slice selection process of the present application will be further hereinafter described by some embodiments as follows.

Embodiment 1:

In the first embodiment, the identifier information of the slice selected by the network side device is the same as the slice identifier information carried by the terminal. As shown in FIG. 4, the process includes the following steps:

Step 101: When APP1 initiates a service request, the terminal acquires corresponding slice identification information.

Step 102: The terminal initiates a service to the network side device, and carries the slice identification information.

Step 103: The network side device performs slice selection according to the received slice identification information and other information, such as terminal subscription information, APP1 subscription information, and the like.

Then, the identifier information of the slice selected by the network side device is the same as the slice identifier information carried by the terminal, and the process ends.

In this embodiment, if the terminal is customized for the operator, the operator performs the configuration of the slice information of the APP for the APP on the customized terminal, and the network slice identification information carried by the network device is the network slice that the network side device will select. , no need to notify again.

Embodiment 2:

In the second embodiment of the APP1 network slice selection, in this embodiment, the identifier information of the slice selected by the network side device is different from the slice identifier information carried by the terminal. As shown in FIG. 5, the process includes the following steps:

Step 201: When APP1 initiates a service request, the terminal acquires corresponding slice identification information.

Step 202: The terminal initiates a service to the network side device, and carries the slice identification information.

Step 203: The network side device performs slice selection according to the received slice identification information and other information, such as terminal subscription information and APP1 subscription information.

Step 204: The identifier information of the slice selected by the network side device is different from the slice identifier information carried by the terminal, and the terminal is notified to update the slice identifier information.

Step 205: After receiving the update message, the terminal updates the mapping relationship between the APP1 and the slice identification information, and the process ends.

Embodiment 3:

In the third embodiment of the APP1 network slice selection process, in the embodiment, the slice redirection process is initiated when the network side device slice is selected. As shown in FIG. 6, the process includes the following steps:

Step 301: When APP1 initiates a service request, the terminal acquires corresponding slice identification information.

Step 302: The terminal initiates a service to the network side device, and carries the slice identification information.

Step 303: The network side device decides to perform slice redirection according to the received slice identification information and other information, such as terminal subscription information and APP1 subscription information.

Step 304: Perform network slice selection after the network side device is redirected;

Step 305: The network side device notifies the terminal of the slice identification information selected after the redirection;

Step 306: After receiving the update message, the terminal updates the mapping relationship between the APP1 and the slice identifier information, and the process ends.

Embodiment 4:

The process of obtaining the slice identification information by the terminal is as shown in FIG. 7. The process includes the following steps:

Step 401: The APP initiates a service.

Step 402: The terminal checks the mapping relationship table between the APP and the slice identification information in the policy center, if yes, step 403 is performed; otherwise, step 404 is performed;

Step 403, obtaining the mapped slice identification information, proceeds to step 407;

Step 404: The terminal checks whether there is any accepted slice identification information, if yes, step 405 is performed; otherwise, step 406 is performed;

Step 405: Acquire the accepted slice identification information saved by the terminal, and proceed to step 407;

Step 406: The terminal acquires the pre-configured slice identification information, and proceeds to step 407.

Steps 407-408: Fill in the slice identification information, and the terminal initiates a service request to the network side device, and carries the acquired slice identification information, and the process ends.

In an embodiment, the mapping relationship table may be an APP and a slice identification information mapping relationship, or may be a service description identifier (such as a flow ID, a QoS level, and the like), or may be an APP, and a service description indication and a slice identifier information mapping relationship. This embodiment takes the mapping table of APP and slice identification information as an example.

Embodiment 5:

The network side device performs a slice selection process, as shown in FIG. 8, and the process is as follows:

Step 501: The decision module of the network side device acquires the slice identification information carried by the terminal when performing the service.

Step 502: The decision module of the network side device acquires the subscription information of the terminal from the terminal subscription center.

Step 503: The decision module of the network side device acquires the subscription information of the APP from the APP subscription center.

Step 504: The decision module of the network side device acquires a slice selection policy from the policy center.

Step 505: In the process of the slice selection, the determining information of the slice selected by the decision module of the network side device according to the acquired information is consistent with that carried by the terminal, and the process ends.

Example 6:

The network side device performs slice selection and notifies the terminal of the new slice identification information flow, as shown in FIG. 9, and the process is as follows:

Step 601: The decision module of the network side device acquires the slice identification information carried by the terminal when performing the service.

Step 602: The decision module of the network side device acquires the subscription information of the terminal from the terminal subscription center.

Step 603: The decision module of the network side device acquires the subscription information of the APP from the APP subscription center.

Step 604: The decision module of the network side device acquires a slice selection policy from the policy center.

Steps 605-606: In the process of the slice selection, the decision module of the network side device notifies the terminal of the new slice identification information by the identification information of the slice selected by the obtained information and the inconsistency of the terminal, and the process ends.

Example 7:

The slice redirection process 1 occurs when the network side device slice is selected, as shown in Figure 10:

When the terminal and/or APP subscription information is changed, and/or the slice selection policy is changed, the APP performs the service, and the network side device determines the slice redirection process. The specific process is as follows:

Step 701: The decision module 1 of the network side device acquires the slice identification information carried by the terminal when performing service.

Step 702: The decision module 1 of the network side device acquires the terminal subscription information from the terminal subscription center.

Step 703: The decision module 1 of the network side device acquires the APP subscription information from the APP subscription center.

Step 704: The decision module 1 of the network side device acquires a slice selection policy from the policy center.

Step 705: The decision module 1 of the network side device sends a slice redirection to the decision module 2 according to the acquired information. The decision module 2 of the network side device obtains the slice identification information carried by the terminal when performing service on the device.

Step 706: The decision module 2 of the network side device acquires terminal subscription information from the terminal subscription center.

Step 707: The decision module 2 of the network side device acquires the APP subscription information from the APP subscription center.

Step 708: The decision module 2 of the network side device acquires a slice selection policy from the policy center.

Step 709: The decision module 2 of the network side device completes the slice selection according to the acquired information, and notifies the decision module 1 of the network side device of the new slice identification information;

Step 710: After receiving the notification message of the decision module 2, the decision module 1 of the network side device notifies the terminal of the new slice identifier, and the process ends.

Example 8:

The slice redirection process 2 occurs when the network side device slice is selected, as shown in Figure 11:

Step 801: The decision module 1 of the network side device acquires the slice identification information carried by the terminal when performing service.

Step 802: The decision module 1 of the network side device acquires terminal subscription information from the terminal subscription center.

Step 803: The decision module 1 of the network side device acquires the APP subscription information from the APP subscription center.

Step 804: The decision module 1 of the network side device acquires a slice selection policy from the policy center.

Step 805: The decision module 1 of the network side device sends a slice redirect to the decision module 2 according to the acquired information.

Step 806: The decision module 2 of the network side device obtains, from the slice redirection message, the slice identification information, the terminal subscription information, the APP subscription information, and the slice selection policy carried by the terminal when performing the service.

Step 807: The decision module 2 of the network side device completes the slice selection according to the acquired information, and notifies the decision module 1 of the network side device of the new slice identification information;

Step 808: After receiving the notification message of the decision module 2, the decision module 1 of the network side device notifies the terminal of the new slice identifier, and the process ends.

Example 9:

The network side device triggers the slice selection process again, as shown in Figure 12. The specific process is as follows:

Step 901: The terminal APP initiates a service, and the terminal and the network side device jointly complete the first APP slice selection.

Step 902: The subsequent network side device triggers the slice selection again in some scenarios.

Step 903: The network side device notifies the terminal of the result of the slice selection again;

Step 904: The terminal updates the APP and the slice identification information mapping, and the process ends.

In this embodiment, the scenario in step 2 may be as follows:

1. In the APP business process, the APP subscription information changes;

2. In the process of APP business, the slice selection strategy changes;

3. In the APP business process, the terminal subscription information changes;

4. In the process of the APP service, the slice is unavailable, such as failure or deletion;

5. In the first slice selection, the APP is not recognized, so that the most suitable slice cannot be selected, and the specific APP information is identified in the subsequent process;

6. In the APP service process, the network side device receives the slice change request of the terminal.

Example 10:

The user performs the network customization process. As shown in Figure 13, the user subscribes to the network through the network customization function of the terminal and customizes the network to the operator. The specific process is as follows:

Step 1001: Establish a communication link, and the user uses a network customization function to perform network customization;

Step 1002: The terminal initiates a policy request to the network side device.

Step 1003: The network side device replies with a policy response, where the description list of the customizable network slice is carried.

Step 1004: The terminal selects a network to be customized, and initiates a customization request to the network side device, where the APP information is carried;

Step 1005: After receiving the customization request, the network side device performs network customization, such as signing an APP, generating a slice selection policy, and even creating a new network slice.

Step 1006: After completing the network customization, the network side device sends a customized response to the terminal, where the APP and the corresponding slice identification information are carried.

Step 1007: After receiving the customized response, the terminal saves the mapping relationship between the APP and the slice identification information, and the process ends.

Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method according to the above embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, by hardware, but in many cases, the former is A better implementation. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application, which is essential or contributes to the prior art, may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, disk, The optical disc includes a number of instructions for causing a terminal device (which may be a cell phone, a computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform the methods of various embodiments of the present application.

In the embodiment, a device for selecting a network slice is provided, which is used to implement the foregoing embodiments and preferred embodiments, and details are not described herein. As used below, the terms "module," "unit," may implement a combination of software and/or hardware of a predetermined function. Although the devices described in the following embodiments are preferably implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware, is also possible and contemplated.

FIG. 14 is a structural block diagram of a device for selecting a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application. The device is applied to a terminal side. As shown in FIG. 14 , the device includes: a policy center 1101 configured to maintain a network usage policy of an APP, such as an APP. The first sending module 1102 is configured to send a service request to the network side device, where the device carries the slice identification information, and is configured to instruct the network side device to perform network slice selection; the first receiving module 1103, and The policy center 1101 is coupled to receive the slice identification information that is selected or updated by the network device. The network customization module 1104 is configured to subscribe the APP to implement the network customization of the APP. The second sending module 1105 and the network customization module 1104 are configured. The coupled connection is configured to send the network-customized related information. The second receiving module 1106 is coupled to the second sending module 1105 and configured to receive the slice identification information allocated by the network side device for the customized network. Among them: network customization and policy center can be realized through middleware.

FIG. 15 is a structural block diagram of a device for selecting a network slice according to an embodiment of the present application. The device is applied to a network side. As shown in FIG. 15 , the device includes: a first receiving module 1201 configured to receive a service request sent by the terminal, The service request carries the slice identification information. The decision module 1202 is coupled to the first receiving module 1201, and is configured to combine the terminal identification information acquired according to the existing manner with the terminal subscription information acquired from the APP and the subscription center 1025 according to the slice identification information carried by the terminal. Obtaining the APP subscription information, and performing the slice selection according to the slice selection policy; the first sending module 1203 is coupled to the selection module 1202, and configured to send the identifier information of the selected slice to the terminal; the second receiving module 1204 is configured as the receiving terminal. The request for the network capability customization is performed; the APP subscription center 1205 is coupled to the second receiving module 1204 to process the related process of the APP-related capability customization; the second sending module 1206 is coupled with the APP subscription center 1205, and is configured to complete the subscription. The slice identification information of the customized network is sent to the terminal.

16 is a schematic structural diagram of a network slice selection system according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 16, the system includes a network slice selection device on the terminal side and a network slice selection device on the network side as described in the foregoing. In this embodiment, the network slice selection device on the terminal side may be the terminal 100, and the network slice selection device on the network side may be a network device 200. The terminal 100 and the network device 200 may perform some interaction processes described in the foregoing. The interaction process is not described here, so that it is possible to select a suitable network slice for different APPs in the terminal or different services in the same APP.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a storage medium. Optionally, in this embodiment, the foregoing storage medium may be configured to store program code for performing the steps described in the foregoing embodiments. For specific examples in this embodiment, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiments and optional implementation manners. The examples described in this embodiment are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the foregoing storage medium may include, but not limited to, a U disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a mobile hard disk, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. A variety of media that can store program code.

Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the above modules or steps of the present application can be implemented by a general computing device, which can be concentrated on a single computing device or distributed in a network composed of multiple computing devices. Alternatively, they may be implemented by program code executable by the computing device such that they may be stored in the storage device by the computing device and, in some cases, may be different from the order herein. The steps shown or described are performed, or they are separately fabricated into individual integrated circuit modules, or a plurality of modules or steps thereof are fabricated as a single integrated circuit module. Thus, the application is not limited to any particular combination of hardware and software.

The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present application, and is not intended to limit the present application, and various changes and modifications may be made to the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of this application are intended to be included within the scope of the present application.

Claims

A method of selecting a network slice, comprising:

When the APP on the terminal initiates a service, the terminal acquires corresponding first network slice identification information;

The terminal initiates a service request to the network side device, where the service request carries the first network slice identifier information.
The method according to claim 1, wherein after the terminal initiates a service request to the network side device, the method further includes:

Receiving, by the terminal, the second network slice identifier information that is sent by the network side device, where the second network slice identifier information is identifier information of the network slice selected by the network side device according to the service request;

The terminal performs maintenance of a mapping relationship table between the APP and the slice identification information according to the second network slice identifier information.
The method of claim 1, wherein the acquiring, by the terminal, the corresponding first network slice identification information comprises:

The terminal searches for a mapping relationship table between the APP and the slice identification information. If the mapping relationship table has network slice identification information corresponding to the APP, the mapped slice identification information is selected; if the mapping relationship table does not exist If the network slice identification information corresponding to the APP is used, the terminal further confirms whether the accepted slice identification information is saved, and if there is accepted slice identification information, selects the accepted slice identification information; if there is no accepted slice identification information, Then, the slice identifier information pre-configured by the terminal is selected;

The terminal uses the selected slice identifier information as the first network slice identifier information, and is carried in the service request.
The method according to claim 2, wherein the terminal performs maintenance of the mapping relationship table between the APP and the slice identification information according to the second network slice identification information, including:

The terminal saves the received network slice identification information, and correspondingly updates the mapping relationship table between the APP and the slice identification information.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the mapping relationship table between the APP and the slice identification information includes a correspondence between the APP identification information and the network slice identification information, wherein the APP identification information includes At least one of the following: an APP identifier, a service flow identifier, and the network slice identifier information includes at least one of the following: a network slice identifier, and a network slice index.
The method of claim 1, wherein before the APP initiates a service, the method further comprises:

The terminal initiates a network slice customization request to the network side device, where the customization request carries the APP information;

Receiving, by the terminal, the customized response of the network side device, where the customized response carries the identification information of the APP and the customized network slice;

The terminal saves the identification information of the APP and the customized network slice.
A method of selecting a network slice, comprising:

The network side device receives the service request initiated by the terminal based on the APP application, where the service request carries the first network slice identification information;

The network side device selects a corresponding network slice for the service request according to the first network slice identification information and the decision information.
The method according to claim 7, wherein after the network side device selects a corresponding network slice for the service request, the method further includes

The network side device notifies the terminal of the network slice selection result.
The method of claim 7, wherein the decision information comprises at least one of the following:

The subscription information of the terminal, the subscription information of the APP, and the operator slice selection policy.
The method of claim 7 wherein said method comprises:

When the decision information changes, the network side device selects a new network slice by performing redirection of the network slice between different decision modules, and notifies the terminal of the identification information of the new network slice.
The method according to claim 7, wherein before the network side device receives the APP-initiated service request on the terminal, the method further includes:

The network side device receives the network slice customization request initiated by the terminal, where the customization request carries the APP information;

The network side device customizes a corresponding network slice for the APP, and carries the identifier information of the APP and the customized network slice in a customized response to the terminal.
A device for selecting a network slice, located on the terminal side, includes:

Obtaining a module, configured to acquire a corresponding first network slice identifier information when the APP initiates a service on the terminal;

The service requesting module is configured to initiate a service request to the network side device, where the service request carries the first network slice identification information.
The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising:

The first receiving module is configured to receive the second network slice identifier information that is sent by the network side device, where the second network slice identifier information is a network selected by the network side device according to the service request for the service Identification information of the slice;

The policy center is configured to perform maintenance on a mapping relationship table between the APP and the slice identification information according to the second network slice identifier information.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the obtaining module comprises:

a selection unit, configured to search a mapping relationship table of the APP and the slice identification information, and if the mapping relationship table has network slice identification information corresponding to the APP, select the mapped slice identification information; if the mapping relationship table If there is no network slice identification information corresponding to the APP, it is further confirmed whether the accepted slice identification information is saved, and if there is accepted slice identification information, the accepted slice identification information is selected; if there is no accepted slice identification information, Select the pre-configured slice identification information of the terminal;

The carrying unit is configured to use the selected slice identifier information as the first network slice identifier information, and is carried in the service request.
The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the policy center further comprises:

And an updating unit, configured to save the received second network slice identification information, and update the mapping table accordingly.
The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising:

a customization module, configured to initiate a network slice customization request to the network side device, where the customization request carries APP information;

a second receiving module, configured to receive a customized response of the network side device, where the customized response carries identifier information of the APP and the customized network slice;

The policy center is further configured to save the identification information of the APP and the customized network slice.
A device for selecting a network slice, located on the network side, includes:

The first receiving module is configured to receive a service request initiated by the terminal based on the APP application, where the service request carries the first network slice identifier information;

The decision module is configured to select a corresponding network slice for the service according to the first network slice identification information and the decision information.
The device according to claim 17, further comprising:

The first sending module is configured to notify the terminal of the selection result of the network slice.
The device according to claim 17, further comprising:

The information center is configured to provide decision information of at least one of the following: subscription information of the terminal, subscription information of the APP, and an operator slice selection policy.
The device according to claim 17, wherein

The decision module is further configured to perform redirection of the network slice to select a new network slice when the decision information is changed, and notify the location information of the new network slice by using the first sending module. Said terminal.
The device according to claim 17, further comprising:

a second receiving module, configured to receive a network slice customization request initiated by the terminal, where the customization request carries APP information;

a custom module configured to customize a corresponding network slice to the APP;

The second sending module is configured to carry the identifier information of the APP and the customized network slice to the terminal in a customized response.
A terminal having a processor coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to execute a software module stored in the memory, wherein the software module comprises:

Obtaining a module, configured to acquire a corresponding first network slice identifier information when the APP initiates a service on the terminal;

The service requesting module is configured to initiate a service request to the network side device, where the service request carries the first network slice identification information.
The terminal of claim 22, wherein the software module further comprises:

a first receiving module, configured to receive the second network slice identifier information that is notified by the network side device, where the second network slice identifier information is a network selected by the network side device according to the service request for the service Identification information of the slice;

The policy center is configured to perform maintenance of the APP and the slice identification information mapping table according to the notification.
The terminal according to claim 22, wherein the obtaining module comprises:

a selection unit, configured to search a mapping relationship table of the APP and the slice identification information, and if the mapping relationship table has network slice identification information corresponding to the APP, select the mapped slice identification information; if the mapping relationship table If there is no network slice identification information corresponding to the APP, it is further confirmed whether the accepted slice identification information is saved, and if there is accepted slice identification information, the accepted slice identification information is selected; if there is no accepted slice identification information, Select the pre-configured slice identification information of the terminal;

The carrying unit is configured to carry the selected slice identifier information as the first network slice identifier information in the service request.
The terminal of claim 23, wherein the policy center further comprises:

And an updating unit, configured to save the received second network slice identification information, and update the mapping table accordingly.
The terminal of claim 22, wherein the software module further comprises:

a customization module, configured to initiate a network slice customization request to the network side device, where the customization request carries APP information;

a second receiving module, configured to receive a customized response of the network side device, where the customized response carries identifier information of the APP and the customized network slice;

The policy center is further configured to save the identification information of the APP and the customized network slice.
A network device having a processor coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to execute a software module stored in the memory, wherein the software module comprises:

The first receiving module is configured to receive the service request initiated by the APP on the terminal, where the service request carries the first network slice identifier information;

The decision module is configured to select a corresponding network slice for the service according to the first network slice identification information and the decision information.
The device of claim 27, wherein the software module further comprises:

The first sending module is configured to notify the terminal of the selection result of the network slice.
The device of claim 27, wherein the software module further comprises:

The information center is configured to provide decision information of at least one of the following: subscription information of the terminal, subscription information of the APP, and an operator slice selection policy.
The device according to claim 27, wherein

The decision module is further configured to perform redirection of the network slice to select a new network slice when the decision information is changed, and notify the location information of the new network slice by using the first sending interface. Said terminal.
The device of claim 27, wherein the software module further comprises:

a second receiving module, configured to receive a network slice customization request initiated by the terminal, where the customization request carries APP information;

a custom module configured to customize a corresponding network slice to the APP;

The second sending module is configured to carry the identifier information of the APP and the customized network slice to the terminal in a customized response.
A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program being operative to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 12.