CN109218046B

CN109218046B - Method and system for managing network slices and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN109218046B
Application number: CN201710524156.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孙晓文; 陈炜
Original assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Current assignee: China Mobile Communications Group Co Ltd; China Mobile Communications Ltd Research Institute
Priority date: 2017-06-30
Filing date: 2017-06-30
Publication date: 2021-09-14
Anticipated expiration: 2037-06-30
Also published as: CN109218046A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a management method, a system and a storage medium of network slices, and the management system applied to a network side comprises the following steps: the network slice management functional entity determines a network slice template according to the creation requirement, wherein the network slice template comprises a network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information, and splits the network slice requirement corresponding to the network slice template into sub-network slice requirements; the sub-network slice management function entity is based on a sub-network slice template corresponding to the sub-network slice requirement, the sub-network slice template comprises a sub-network slice description file and sub-network slice maintenance management information, and the resource management and arrangement function entity allocates virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file to generate sub-network slices and end-to-end network slices.

Description

Method and system for managing network slices and storage medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of network technologies, and in particular, to a method and a system for managing network slices, and a storage medium.

Background

With the development of communication technology, network slices appear, which are a set description of a series of network functions; existing physical network resources are logically divided into different networks by network slices.

In the prior art, the network slices are separately and respectively deployed on specific network elements, the network slices are relatively opposite, and only information interaction is performed when the network slices are applied, so that the isolation of the network slices arranged on the specific network elements can only perform some performance and error management, and there is no way to uniformly manage all the network slices of a certain service, so that the network slice management is complicated, and the problem of poor service quality caused by the problem of disordered or asynchronous management is solved.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method and system for managing network slices, and a storage medium, which are used to solve at least one of the above problems.

In order to achieve the purpose, the technical scheme of the invention is realized as follows:

a first aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for managing a network slice, which is applied to a management system on a network side, and includes:

the network slice management functional entity determines a network slice template according to the creation requirement, wherein the network slice template comprises a network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information, and the network slice maintenance management information is used for maintenance management of an end-to-end network slice formed by instantiation of the network slice description file;

the network slice management functional entity splits the network slice requirements corresponding to the network slice template into sub-network slice requirements;

a sub-network slice management functional entity, configured to obtain a sub-network slice template corresponding to the sub-network slice requirement, where the sub-network slice template includes a sub-network slice description file and sub-network slice maintenance management information, and the sub-network slice maintenance management information is used for maintenance management of a sub-network slice formed by instantiation of the sub-network slice description file;

a resource management and orchestration function that allocates virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file, generates the sub-network slices, and combines the sub-network slices to generate the end-to-end network slices.

A second aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a method for managing network slices, including:

a resource management and orchestration function that allocates virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file, instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file, generate the sub-network slice, and combine the sub-network slices to generate the end-to-end network slice;

the method further comprises the following steps:

the sub-network slice management functional entity sends a sub-network slice instantiation request to the resource management and arrangement functional entity; correspondingly, the resource management and orchestration function allocating virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file, generating the sub-network slice and the end-to-end network slice, comprising: the resource management and arrangement functional entity responds to the sub-network slice instantiation request to allocate virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file, and generates the sub-network slice network; receiving the associated information of the network slice management functional entity, and associating the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to generate the end-to-end network slice;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the method further comprises the following steps:

the network slice management functional entity sends a network slice instantiation request to the resource management and orchestration functional entity after the sub-network slice management functional entity generates the sub-network slice maintenance management information; correspondingly, the resource management and orchestration function allocating virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file or the network slice description file, generating the sub-network slice and the end-to-end network slice, comprising: instantiating the sub-network slice description file to generate the sub-network slice according to the network slice instantiation request, and associating the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to generate the end-to-end network slice according to the network slice instantiation request.

In a third aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, a method for managing a network slice, the method further includes:

the network slice management functional entity sends a network slice resource release instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity according to the deletion requirement; and according to the deletion requirement, the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice is removed;

a resource management and arrangement functional entity for releasing the resources mapped by the end-to-end network slice based on the network slice resource release instruction;

and the sub-network slice management functional entity releases the maintenance management of the sub-network slices according to the sub-network slice resource release instruction provided by the network slice management functional entity or the sub-network slice resource release result provided by the resource management and arrangement functional entity.

A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a method for managing network slices, where the method further includes:

the network slice management functional entity determines an end-to-end network slice indicating deletion according to a deletion requirement, sends a sub-network slice deletion instruction to the corresponding sub-network slice management functional entity and removes maintenance management on the end-to-end network slice needing to be deleted;

the sub-network slice management functional entity releases the maintenance and management of the sub-network slices according to the sub-network slice deleting instruction and sends a sub-network slice resource releasing instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity;

and the resource management and arrangement functional entity releases the virtualized resources mapped by the sub-network slice and releases the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice to be deleted based on the sub-network slice resource release instruction.

A fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a method for managing network slices, where the method further includes:

a resource management and orchestration function that allocates virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file, generating the sub-network slice and the end-to-end network slice;

the network slice management functional entity judges whether a sharable and created end-to-end network slice meets the creation requirement and/or judges whether a sharable and created sub-network slice or a network functional entity meets the creation requirement;

if sharable and established network slices meet the establishment requirements, sharing the established end-to-end network slices and performing related configuration management;

if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement and/or no sharable network sub-network slice or network functional entity meets the creation requirement, the network slice management functional entity determines a network slice description file according to the creation requirement;

if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement, the network slice management functional entity selects a sub-network slice and/or a network functional entity sharable to meet the creation requirement, and creates a network slice template of the end-to-end network slice together with creating a sub-network slice and/or a network functional entity based on the network slice template.

A sixth aspect of the present invention provides a system for managing network slices, including:

the network slice management functional entity is used for determining a network slice description file according to a creation requirement, wherein the network slice template comprises the network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information, and the network slice maintenance management information is used for maintenance management of an end-to-end network slice formed by instantiation of the network slice description file; splitting the network slicing requirements corresponding to the network slicing template into sub-network slicing requirements;

and the resource management and arrangement functional entity is used for allocating virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file and generate the sub-network slice and the end-to-end network slice.

A seventh aspect of the present invention provides a system for managing network slices, where the system includes:

the network slice management functional entity is used for determining a network slice template according to the creation requirement, wherein the network slice template comprises a network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information, and the network slice maintenance management information is used for maintenance management of an end-to-end network slice formed by instantiation of the network slice description file; splitting the network slicing requirements corresponding to the network slicing template into sub-network slicing requirements;

a resource management and orchestration function for allocating virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file, generating the sub-network slice and the end-to-end network slice;

the network slice management functional entity is further configured to determine whether a sharable and created end-to-end network slice meets the creation requirement, and/or determine whether a sharable and created sub-network slice or a network functional entity meets the creation requirement;

the network slice management functional entity is specifically configured to share the created end-to-end network slice if a sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement; and/or determining a network slice template according to the creation requirement if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement and no sharable subnetwork slice or network functional entity meets the creation requirement, and/or determining a network slice template according to the creation requirement if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement; and/or if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement and a sharable created sub-network slice and/or network functional entity exists, selecting the sub-network slice and/or network functional entity sharable to meet the creation requirement, and jointly creating a network slice template of the end-to-end network slice in combination with the sub-network slice and/or network functional entity created based on the network slice template.

An eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a system for managing network slices, including one or more functional entities, where the functional entities include:

a memory for storing a computer program;

and the processor is connected with the memory and used for realizing the method provided by any one or more of the above technical schemes by executing the computer program.

A ninth aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer storage medium for storing a computer program; the computer program can implement the method provided by any one or more of the above technical solutions after being executed.

In the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the end-to-end network slice is created based on the creation requirement, and the end-to-end network slice is generated, so that the network slice can be maintained and managed in the whole network. The embodiment of the invention provides a specific method for establishing the end-to-end network slice, and has the characteristic of simple and convenient establishing process.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for managing network slices according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating another method for managing network slices according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a first network slice management system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a second network slice management system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a functional entity according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a management system for providing a third network slice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a management system for providing a fourth network slice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a management system for providing a fifth network slice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a management system for a sixth network slice according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solution of the present invention is further described in detail with reference to the drawings and the specific embodiments of the specification.

As shown in fig. 1, the present embodiment provides a method for managing network slices, which is applied to a management system on a network side, and includes:

step S110: the network slice management functional entity determines a network slice template according to the creation requirement, wherein the network slice template comprises a network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information, and the network slice maintenance management information is used for maintenance management of an end-to-end network slice formed by instantiation of the network slice description file;

step S120: the network slice management functional entity splits the network slice requirements corresponding to the network slice template into sub-network slice requirements;

step S130: a sub-network slice management functional entity, configured to obtain a sub-network slice template corresponding to the sub-network slice requirement, where the sub-network slice template includes a sub-network slice description file and sub-network slice maintenance management information, and the sub-network slice maintenance management information is used for maintenance management of a sub-network slice formed by instantiation of the sub-network slice description file;

step S140: a resource management and orchestration function that allocates virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file, generates the sub-network slices, and combines the sub-network slices to generate the end-to-end network slices.

The method for managing network slices provided in this embodiment may be applied to a management system on a network side of a communication network. The management system at least comprises three functional entities, namely a network slice management functional entity, a sub-network slice management functional entity and a resource management and arrangement functional entity. The network slice management functional entity is used for maintaining and managing the whole end-to-end network slice; and the sub-network slice management functional entity is used for maintaining and managing the sub-network slices forming the end-to-end network slice. The resource Guarani and arrangement functional entity is used for virtualizing network resources on a network side to form virtualized resources and performing resource mapping and resource management and arrangement on network slices and/or sub-network slices.

The maintenance management of the network slice in this embodiment includes: creation, deletion, update and daily maintenance of the network slice. Routine maintenance herein may include: whether the current network slice operates normally or not is determined through monitoring, and when abnormality occurs, relevant parameters of the network slice are adjusted to enable the network slice to be normal and the like.

Maintenance management at a network slice may include: creation, deletion, update and routine maintenance of subnet slices. Routine maintenance herein may include: whether the current sub-network slice operates normally or not is determined through monitoring, and when abnormality occurs, relevant parameters of the network slice are adjusted to enable the network slice to be normal.

The end-to-end network slice may be: a proprietary network for providing a specific traffic service throughout the entire communication network is connected by a plurality of sub-network slices in accordance with a predetermined connection relationship.

In this embodiment, the end-to-end network slice is: a network slice running through the entire communication network, i.e. in this embodiment, the network slice is provided with sub-network slices meeting specific service requirements in each area of the communication network.

The communication network in this embodiment may include: a wireless domain, a core network domain, a transmission domain, etc. The wireless domain may include one or more base stations, or, at least one Residential Access Network (RAN), and the core Network domain may include: a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Gateway (GW), and other network function entities.

The end-to-end network slice may include: the sub-network slices located in the radio domain, core network domain and transmission domain of the communication network, through which the terminal can obtain the whole specific service.

A slice of subnetworks may define one or more functions located in one network domain, or may define a plurality of combinations of functions located in different network domains, and functional entities implementing the functions and combinations of functions.

The end-to-end network slice created in the embodiment, and the sub-network slices in the end-to-end network slice are managed based on the unified coordination of the end-to-end network slice, so that various abnormal problems caused by the management uncoordinated between partial network slices which can only provide one service can be simply and conveniently avoided, and the stability of the network slice and the service quality of the service are ensured.

In this embodiment the creation requirement is gathered by the network slice function management entity from a user interface provided by a communications carrier. The creation requirements may include: service requirement information and network capability requirement information. The service requirement information is used for indicating the service type and/or the service content currently required by the user. The service type may be a type of network service provided by a communication operator to the communication terminal, and the service content may be a specific network service required by the communication operator to be provided to the communication terminal.

The service types may include: the service types of the internet of things, the vehicle internet of things, the human-mounted terminal and the like. The Internet of things type service can provide a network service for the Internet of things terminal. The type of the internet of vehicles service can be a service for providing network service for the vehicle-mounted equipment. The type of the human-borne terminal service can be a type of network service provided for a mobile terminal carried by a person, such as a mobile phone or a wearable device.

In some embodiments, the traffic types divided from a charging perspective may include: traffic class traffic and timing class traffic. The traffic class service is a service for charging according to the data interaction volume generated by the network service, and the timing class service can be a service for charging according to the time length for providing the network service.

The network service capability requirement information is used to indicate the communication capability supported by the configured network slice, where the communication capability may include: the number of terminals allowed to access simultaneously, the number of concurrent connections supported simultaneously, the bandwidth, the network size, and other various network capacity requirements.

In this embodiment, after receiving the creation requirement, the network slice function management entity determines which network slice description file can satisfy the creation requirement when instantiated.

Determining the network slice template in step S110 may include: querying an existing network slice template satisfying the creation requirement from a network slice template library, which may further include: according to the creation requirement, the network function library is inquired to provide various network functions, and the network slice template is created.

The network slice template may include: creating configuration information for the end-to-end network slice; the configuration information may be used to indicate information such as a resource type and a resource quantity of a virtualized resource required for creating an end-to-end network slice, and specifically may include: topology parameters describing the network topology of the end-to-end network slice, and the like. In some embodiments the network slice template may further comprise: basic maintenance management parameters; the basic maintenance management parameters can be used for basic maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice.

In some embodiments, the network slice management functional entity further configures an exclusive maintenance management parameter according to the creation requirement, or generates a specific maintenance management parameter based on the basic maintenance management parameter, so as to form the network slice maintenance management information. The network slice maintenance management information can be used for maintenance and management of the network slice management functional entity after the end-to-end network slice is created, and information support or maintenance management basis is provided.

In this embodiment, after determining the network slice template, the network slice management functional entity knows that the network slice requirements of the current network slice template are split into sub-network slice requirements.

In this embodiment, the network slicing requirement may be indicated by configuration information in the network slicing template, and may be a network function or a combination of network functions that the end-to-end network slicing needs to provide. The sub-network slice requirements herein may be functions or combinations of functions that need to be satisfied by the created sub-network slice.

In this embodiment, the splitting of the network slice requirement and the generation of the sub-network slice requirement are equivalent to determining the type and number of the sub-network slices constituting the end-to-end network slice to be created and the connection relationship between the sub-network slices.

The operation and maintenance management system corresponding to the embodiment of the invention can comprise: one or more sub-network slice management functional entities, a plurality of which can complete the maintenance management of all types of sub-network slices, or different sub-network slice management functional entities can only complete the maintenance management of sub-network slices that can provide specific network functions or function combinations.

In any case, in this embodiment, the subnet slice management function entity obtains the corresponding subnet slice template based on the split subnet slice requirement. The sub-network slice template herein may include at least: configuration information of the subnet slice, which can be used for resource mapping during instantiation of the subnet slice description file, and can also include the subnet slice description file. In this embodiment, the sub-network slice management functional entity at least generates the maintenance management information of the sub-network slice based on the sub-network slice description file, so as to maintain and manage the sub-network slice subsequently created by the user.

In step S140, the resource management and orchestration function entity allocates virtualized resources to the sub-network slices first, and then implements instantiation of the network slice description file by combining or connecting the sub-network slices, so as to complete creation of an end-to-end network slice.

In this embodiment, the virtualized resources may include: and parameters such as a virtual machine and a virtual gateway established on the physical resources. Allocating virtualized resources in this embodiment may include: and allocating a corresponding virtual machine to a corresponding sub-network slice for use, and allocating a corresponding virtual port or virtual network Protocol (IP) address to the sub-network slice.

In some embodiments the method may further comprise:

the sub-network slice management functional entity performs service configuration on the sub-network slice according to the service requirement information in the creation requirement, where the service configuration at least may include: the service identifier corresponding to the service requirement information is associated with the sub-network slice, so that after receiving a data packet corresponding to a service, a subsequent sub-network slice can perform corresponding operations according to the service identifier of the data packet, where the operations may include: forwarding, filtering, repackaging and data query of the data packet.

In summary, the present embodiment provides a method for creating an end-to-end network slice, where the created end-to-end network slice runs through the entire communication network, a network slice management function entity performs coordinated management on the network slice, and a sub-network slice management entity performs maintenance management on each sub-network slice, so as to ensure the stability of the network slice and the quality of service provided by the network slice.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: and the network slice management functional entity determines the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice requirements. In this embodiment, the network slice management functional entity may directly determine the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice requirement or the decomposed sub-network slice requirement, for example, the network slice management functional entity queries a sub-network slice template library based on the sub-network slice requirement to determine the sub-network slice template, or automatically create the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice requirement and the network functions provided by each functional entity in the network.

In other embodiments, the network slice management function sends the sub-network slice requirement to the sub-network slice management function; and the sub-network slice management functional entity determines the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice requirement.

In this embodiment, the network slice management function entity is only responsible for splitting the sub-network slice requirement, and is not responsible for determining the sub-network slice template, but is determined by the sub-network slice function entity. Specifically, the sub-network slice function entity queries a sub-network slice template library based on the sub-network slice requirement, and selects a sub-network slice template that can satisfy the sub-network slice requirement, or the sub-network slice management function entity creates the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice requirement.

The creation of the sub-network slice and the end-to-end network slice includes a number of alternatives, two alternatives being provided as follows:

alternative 1, the method further comprises:

the sub-network slice management functional entity sends a sub-network slice instantiation request to the resource management and arrangement functional entity;

the step S140 may include:

the resource management and arrangement functional entity responds to the sub-network slice instantiation request, allocates virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file, and generates the sub-network slice network;

and receiving the association information of the network slice management functional entity, and associating the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to generate the end-to-end network slice.

In this embodiment, after determining the sub-network slice template, the sub-network slice management functional entity determines the configuration parameters of the sub-network slice, and in this embodiment, the sub-network slice management functional entity may send a sub-network slice instantiation request to the resource management and organization functional entity directly based on the sub-network slice template. In this way, the resource management and orchestration function receives the creation requirement of multiple sub-network slices to create an end-to-end network slice. And the resource management and arrangement functional entity respectively maps the virtualized resources of the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice instantiation request, and completes the instantiation of the sub-network slice template so as to create each sub-network slice. After each sub-network slice is completed, the resource management and orchestration function also receives association information from the network slice management function, where the association information may indicate to the resource management and orchestration function to connect or combine the sub-network slices according to the topology of the sub-network slices that make up the end-to-end network slice, thereby completing instantiation of the network slice template and completing creation of the network slice.

In a specific implementation process, after completing creation of a corresponding sub-network slice, the resource management and orchestration functional entity sends creation feedback to the sub-network slice management functional entity, and the sub-network slice management functional entity informs the network slice management functional entity of a creation result of the corresponding sub-network slice according to the creation feedback. And the network slice management functional entity sends the association information to the resource management and arrangement functional entity after determining that all the sub-network slices are established.

Alternative 2, the method further comprises:

the network slice management functional entity sends a network slice instantiation request to the resource management and orchestration functional entity after the sub-network slice management functional entity generates the sub-network slice maintenance management information;

the step S140 may include:

instantiating the sub-network slice description file to generate the sub-network slice according to the network slice instantiation request, and associating the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to generate the end-to-end network slice according to the network slice instantiation request.

In this embodiment, the resource management and orchestration function entity directly receives a network slice instantiation request from the network slice management function entity, where the network slice instantiation request carries association information, and thus, after creating a sub-network slice, the resource management and orchestration function entity automatically associates the created sub-network slice based on the association information to complete instantiation of a network slice template.

In this mode, after the resource management and orchestration functional entity creates a sub-network slice, the corresponding sub-network slice functional management entity is notified; after the creation of the network slice is completed, the network slice management functional entity is notified, so that the sub-network slice management functional entity and the network slice management functional entity know the current creation condition.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise:

and the sub-network slice management functional entity also starts the maintenance management of the sub-network slices according to the sub-network slice maintenance management information after determining that the corresponding sub-network slices are created.

And the network slice management functional entity starts the maintenance management of the network slice according to the network slice maintenance management information after the end-to-end network slice is established.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the network slice management functional entity generates a network slice management identifier of an end-to-end network slice, wherein the network slice management identifier is at least used for the creation and management of the end-to-end network slice by the network slice management functional entity.

After the network slice management identifier is generated in this embodiment, the network slice management functional entity will carry the network slice management identifier when sending the sub-network slice requirement or the sub-network slice template to the sub-network slice management functional entity; in this way, the sub-network slice management functional entity creates the sub-network slice management identifier under the network slice management identifier, and determines the sub-network slice template.

The sub-network slice management functional entity generates a sub-network slice management identifier of the sub-network slice, wherein the sub-network slice management identifier is used for the sub-network slice management functional entity to create and manage the sub-network slice network.

The sub-network slice management functional entity also generates a sub-network slice management identifier, and when sending a sub-network slice instantiation request to the resource management and arrangement functional entity, the sub-network slice management identifier is carried, so that the resource management and arrangement functional entity can conveniently create a sub-network slice based on the sub-network slice management identifier, and after generating the sub-network slice instance identifier, the sub-network slice instance identifier corresponds to the sub-network slice management identifier.

Or, the sub-network slice management functional entity returns the sub-network slice management identifier to the network slice management functional entity, and when the network slice management functional entity sends a network slice creation requirement to the resource management and organization functional entity, the resource management and organization functional entity starts a network slice creation task based on the network slice management identifier carried by the network slice creation requirement, and creates a sub-network slice management identifier carried by the network slice creation requirement, starts a sub-network slice sub-task under the network slice creation task, and completes sub-network slice creation based on the sub-network slice management identifier.

The resource management and orchestration functional entity generates a sub-network slice instance identifier of the sub-network slice and a network slice instance identifier of the end-to-end network slice, wherein the sub-network slice instance identifier is used for maintenance and management of the sub-network slice by the resource management and orchestration functional entity; the network slice instance identifier is used for managing the resource management and arrangement functional entity;

the sub-network slice management functional entity corresponds to the sub-network slice management identifier and the sub-network slice instance identifier; the network slice management function entity corresponds to the network slice management identifier and the network slice instance identifier.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

and the network slice management functional entity judges whether a sharable and created end-to-end network slice meets the creation requirement or not, and/or judges whether a sharable and created sub-network slice or a network functional entity meets the creation requirement or not.

The step S110 may include at least one of:

if sharable and established network slices meet the establishment requirements, sharing the established end-to-end network slices and performing related configuration management; for example, adding the instantiation identification of the created end-to-end network slice to the subscription information of the user requesting to create;

if no sharable network slice meets the creation requirement and no sharable network sub-network slice or network functional entity meets the creation requirement, determining a network slice template according to the creation requirement;

if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement and there is a created sub-network slice and/or network function entity that can be shared, selecting a sub-network slice and/or network function entity that can be shared that meets the creation requirement, and co-creating a network slice template for the end-to-end network slice in conjunction with the sub-network slice and/or network function entity created based on the network slice template.

In this embodiment, in order to reduce the creation of the network slice template of the end-to-end network slice, first, it is checked whether a sharable end-to-end network slice can meet the creation requirement according to the creation requirement, and if so, repeated creation is not needed, thereby simplifying the maintenance and management of the network slice.

If sharable sub-network slices and network functional entities exist, when the corresponding end-to-end network slices are created, the creation or instantiation of the end-to-end network slices can be simplified by sharing the corresponding sub-network slices and/or network functional entities.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the method further comprises:

step S210: the network slice management functional entity determines the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion according to the deletion requirement and removes the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion;

step S220: the sub-network slice management functional entity relieves the maintenance management of the sub-network slices of the end-to-end network slices indicating deletion;

step S230: and the resource management and arrangement functional entity releases the sub-network slice mapping virtualization resource of the end-to-end network slice.

In this embodiment, the network slice management functional entity may receive the deletion request from an interactive interface provided in operation, where the deletion request may be a deletion instruction for deleting the corresponding end-to-end network slice.

In this embodiment, the network slice management functional entity may first cancel the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice indicating the deletion according to the end-to-end network slice indicating the deletion. The sub-network slice management functional entity can release the maintenance and management of the sub-network slice.

The releasing of the management and maintenance in the embodiment may include: deleting the corresponding management maintenance information and releasing the management resources for managing the end-to-end network slice or the sub-network slice.

The resource management and orchestration functional entity may release virtualized resources mapped by the corresponding end-to-end network slice according to the deletion requirement, and these resources may be used for creation of other network slices or sub-network slices after being released.

There are several specific ways to delete the end-to-end network slice, and two alternatives are provided as follows:

the 1 st:

the step S210 may include:

after determining the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion, the network slice management functional entity sends a sub-network slice deletion instruction to the corresponding sub-network slice management functional entity and removes maintenance management on the end-to-end network slice needing to be deleted;

the step S220 may include:

the step S230 may include:

and the resource management and arrangement functional entity releases the virtualized resources mapped by the sub-network slice based on the sub-network slice resource release instruction.

In this embodiment, after receiving a deletion requirement, the network slice management functional entity first determines an end-to-end network slice that a user indicates to delete, and generates a sub-network slice deletion instruction of the end-to-end network slice, where the sub-network slice deletion instruction may carry a network slice management identifier of the end-to-end network slice. In this way, the sub-network slice management functional entity may query the sub-network slice management identifier corresponding to the sub-network slice management identifier based on the network slice management identifier, remove the maintenance management on the corresponding sub-network slice based on the sub-network slice management identifier, and send a sub-network slice resource release instruction carrying the network slice management identifier and/or the sub-network slice management identifier to the resource management and organization functional entity. Thus, after the resource management and arrangement functional entity receives the sub-network slice resource release instruction, the end-to-end network slice and the sub-network slice which are required to be deleted currently can be determined, and the corresponding virtualized resources can be released.

In some embodiments, when the resource management and orchestration functional entity releases the resources of the end-to-end network slice or sub-network slice, a network slice resource release result is returned to a network slice function management entity, or a sub-network slice resource release result is returned to the sub-network slice functional entity. The network slice management functional entity may specifically release the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice after determining that the resource of the end-to-end network slice is released based on the network slice resource release result. The sub-network slice management functional entity may specifically release the maintenance management of the sub-network slice after determining that the resource of the sub-network slice is released based on the corresponding sub-network slice resource release result.

In some embodiments, the resource management and orchestration functional entity may only return a sub-network slice resource release result to a sub-network slice functional entity, and the sub-network slice management functional entity may specifically release the maintenance management of the sub-network slice after determining that the resource of the sub-network slice is released based on the corresponding sub-network slice resource release result, and return the sub-network slice resource release result to the network slice management functional entity. And the network slice management functional entity determines that the resources of the sub-network slices of the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion are all released based on the sub-network slice resource release result, and then releases the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice.

The 2 nd:

the step S210 may include:

the network slice management functional entity sends a network slice resource release instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity and removes the maintenance and management of the end-to-end network slice to be deleted;

the step 230 may include:

the resource management and arrangement functional entity releases the resources mapped by the end-to-end network slice based on the network slice resource release instruction;

the step S220 may include:

the sub-network slice management functional entity releases the maintenance management of the sub-network slice according to the sub-network slice resource release instruction provided by the network slice management functional entity or the sub-network slice resource release result provided by the resource management and arrangement functional entity.

In this embodiment, after receiving the deletion request, the network slice management functional entity directly sends a network slice resource release instruction to the resource management and deployment functional entity, so that after receiving the network slice deletion instruction, the resource management and deployment functional entity releases the resource mapped by the end-to-end network slice.

The resource management and arrangement functional entity can return a network slice resource release result to the network slice functional entity after completing resource release, and the network slice functional entity can send a network slice resource release instruction to the sub-network slice management functional entity according to the network slice resource release result so as to trigger the sub-network slice functional entity to release maintenance and management on the sub-network slices.

In some embodiments, the resource management and orchestration function may also release the result to the resource on the network slice, which may also trigger the sub-network slice management function to release the sub-network slice from maintenance management.

If a resource management and orchestration functional entity can complete instantiation of an end-to-end network slice, the network slice management functional entity can preferentially send a network slice creation requirement to the resource management and orchestration functional entity, trigger the resource management and orchestration functional entity to complete creation of all sub-network slices at once, and associate each sub-network slice. In this case, when the end-to-end network slice is deleted, it is also preferred that the network slice management function entity complete the deletion of the entire end-to-end network slice at once to the resource management and orchestration function entity.

If the management system comprises a plurality of resource management and arrangement functional entities and can only complete the creation of part of the subnetwork slices, the subnetwork slices preferentially send subnetwork slice instantiation requests and subnetwork slice resource release instructions to the corresponding resource management and arrangement functional entities, so that the subnetwork slices can be deleted one by one.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the network slice management functional entity determines whether the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is a shared network slice or a shared network sub-network slice and a network functional entity exist;

initiating deletion of the end-to-end network slice when the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is not a shared network slice and there is no shared network sub-network slice or network functional entity.

Here, the initiating of the deletion of the end-to-end network slice may be to perform the steps S210 to S230.

The method further comprises at least one of:

when the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is a shared end-to-end network slice, the network slice management functional entity relieves the use right of the proposed user for using the end-to-end network slice of the deletion requirement;

when the shared network sub-network slice or the network functional entity exists in the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion, deleting the network sub-network slice and the network functional entity which are not shared in the end-to-end network slice.

If the indicated deletion is a shared end-to-end network slice, if the deletion affects the use of other users, in this embodiment, the use right of the user is deleted according to the deletion requirement, specifically, the configuration information of the corresponding end-to-end network slice and the sub-network slice in the network slice management functional entity, the sub-network slice management functional entity, and the resource management and arrangement functional entity may be modified respectively, and specifically, the configuration information may include: and deleting the user identification of the user in the configuration information. And if the end-to-end network slice which is currently indicated to be deleted has a sub-network slice or a network functional entity which is shared with other end-to-end network slices, only the sub-network slice and the network functional entity which are not shared are deleted, so that the normal functions of other end-to-end network slices are not influenced.

There are several ways to delete the network slice, and the following two alternatives are available:

the first optional method is as follows: the method for deleting the network slice comprises the following steps:

Optional method two, the method of deleting the network slice includes:

the embodiment of the invention also provides another network slice management method, which further comprises the following steps:

As shown in fig. 3, the present embodiment provides a system for managing network slices, including:

a network slice management functional entity 110, configured to determine a network slice description file according to a creation requirement, where the network slice template includes the network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information, and the network slice maintenance management information is used for maintenance management of an end-to-end network slice formed by instantiating the network slice description file; splitting the network slicing requirements corresponding to the network slicing template into sub-network slicing requirements;

the sub-network slice management functional entity 120 is configured to obtain a sub-network slice template corresponding to the sub-network slice requirement, where the sub-network slice template includes a sub-network slice description file and sub-network slice maintenance management information, and the sub-network slice maintenance management information is used for maintenance management of a sub-network slice formed by instantiation of the sub-network slice description file;

a resource management and orchestration function 130, configured to allocate virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file, and generate the sub-network slice and the end-to-end network slice.

The network slice management function 110, the sub-network slice management function 120, and the resource management and orchestration function 130 provided in this embodiment may each correspond to one or more servers. These servers may comprise a memory having stored thereon executable code such as a computer program, and a processor that may implement the functions of the functional entities described above by executing the executable code. The network slice management function 110, the sub-network slice management function 120 and the resource management and orchestration function 130 may be integrated on one physical server, or may be respectively disposed on different physical devices.

In some embodiments, the sub-network slice template is determined by the network slice management function 110 or may be of the sub-network slice management function 120. Specifically, the network slice management functional entity is further configured to determine the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice requirement or the decomposed sub-network slice requirement; or, the network slice management functional entity 110 is further configured to send the sub-network slice requirement to the sub-network slice management functional entity; the sub-network slice management function entity 120 is further configured to determine the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice requirement.

The management system of the network slice may include: a network slice management function 130 that can create all end-to-end network slices, a sub-network slice function 120 that can create all types of sub-network slices, and a resource management and orchestration function 130 that can create all types of end-to-end network slices or sub-network slices. In some embodiments, the sub-network slice function 120 may comprise a plurality of sub-network slices, wherein the sub-network slice function 120 may only be capable of creating partial types of sub-network slices. The resource management and orchestration function 130 may also comprise a plurality, wherein a portion of the resource management and orchestration function 130 may create only a portion of the subnet slices. At this point, different types of resource management and orchestration functions 130 and sub-network slice functions 120 may be required to coordinate with each other to create both sub-network slices and end-to-end network slices.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a management system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 4 shows a plurality of sub-network slice management entities.

Optionally, the sub-network slice management function entity 120 is further configured to send a sub-network slice instantiation request to the resource management and orchestration function entity;

the resource management and orchestration function 130 is specifically configured to allocate a virtualized resource to instantiate the sub-network slice description file in response to the sub-network slice instantiation request, so as to generate the sub-network slice network; receiving the association information of the network slice management function 110, associating the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to generate the end-to-end network slice.

It is the sub-network slice management function 120 that triggers the resource management and orchestration function 130 to instantiate the sub-network slice template in this embodiment.

In other embodiments, the network slice management function entity 110 is further configured to send a network slice instantiation request to the resource management and orchestration function entity after the sub-network slice management function entity generates the sub-network slice maintenance management information; the resource management and orchestration function 130 is specifically configured to instantiate the sub-network slice description file to generate the sub-network slice according to the network slice instantiation request, and associate the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to generate the end-to-end network slice according to the network slice instantiation request. The network slice management function entity itself, which in this embodiment triggers the resource mapping of the resource management and orchestration function entity 130.

In some embodiments, the network slice management function entity 110 is further configured to generate a network slice management identifier of an end-to-end network slice, where the network slice management identifier is at least used for creation and management of the end-to-end network slice by the network slice management function entity;

the sub-network slice management functional entity 120 is further configured to generate a sub-network slice management identifier of the sub-network slice, where the sub-network slice management identifier is used by the sub-network slice management functional entity to create and manage the sub-network slice network;

the resource management and orchestration function 130 is further configured to generate a sub-network slice instance identifier of the sub-network slice and a network slice instance identifier of the end-to-end network slice, where the sub-network slice instance identifier is used for maintenance and management of the sub-network slice by the resource management and orchestration function; the network slice instance identifier is used for managing the resource management and arrangement functional entity; the sub-network slice management functional entity 120 is further configured to correspond to the sub-network slice management identifier and the sub-network slice instance identifier; the network slice management functional entity 110 is further configured to correspond to the network slice management identifier and the network slice instance identifier.

Optionally, the network slice management function entity 110 is further configured to determine whether a sharable and created end-to-end network slice meets the creation requirement, and/or determine whether a sharable and created sub-network slice or network function entity meets the creation requirement;

the network slice management functional entity 110 is further specifically configured to share the created end-to-end network slice and perform related configuration if a sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement; and/or if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement and no sharable network sub-network slice or network functional entity meets the creation requirement, determining a network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information according to the creation requirement; and if no sharable network slice exists and the created network slice meets the creation requirement, selecting a sharable sub-network slice and/or a network functional entity meeting the creation requirement according to the creation requirement, and creating a network slice template of the end-to-end network slice.

After the creation and instantiation of the network slice template of the end-to-end network slice are completed, when the corresponding service is cancelled, the deletion of the end-to-end network slice is designed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the network slice management functional entity 110 is further configured to determine an end-to-end network slice indicating deletion according to a deletion requirement, and remove maintenance and management of the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion; the sub-network slice management function entity 120, further configured to release the maintenance management of the sub-network slice indicating the deleted end-to-end network slice; the resource management and orchestration function 130 is further configured to release sub-network slice mapping virtualized resources of the end-to-end network slice.

Optionally, the network slice management functional entity 110 is specifically configured to, after determining an end-to-end network slice indicating deletion, send a sub-network slice deletion instruction to the corresponding sub-network slice management functional entity and remove maintenance management on the end-to-end network slice to be deleted

The sub-network slice management functional entity 120 is specifically configured to release the maintenance and management of the sub-network slice according to the sub-network slice deletion instruction, and send a sub-network slice resource release instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity;

the resource management and orchestration function 130 is specifically configured to release the virtualized resource mapped by the sub-network slice based on the sub-network slice resource release instruction.

Alternatively,

the network slice management functional entity 110 is specifically configured to send a network slice resource release instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity and release maintenance and management of the end-to-end network slice to be deleted;

the resource management and orchestration functional entity 130 is specifically configured to release the resources mapped by the end-to-end network slice based on the network slice resource release instruction;

the sub-network slice management functional entity 120 is specifically configured to release the maintenance management on the sub-network slice according to a sub-network slice resource release instruction provided by the network slice management functional entity or based on a sub-network slice resource release result provided by the resource management and orchestration functional entity.

In addition, the network slice management function 110 is further configured to determine whether the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is a shared network slice or there is a shared network sub-network slice and a network function; initiating deletion of the end-to-end network slice when the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is not a shared network slice and there is no shared network sub-network slice or network functional entity.

In some embodiments, the network slice management function 110 is further configured to, when the end-to-end network slice indicated to be deleted is a shared end-to-end network slice, release the usage right of the proposed user for the deletion requirement to use the end-to-end network slice; and/or deleting the network sub-network slices and the network functional entities which are not shared in the end-to-end network slices when the shared network sub-network slices or the network functional entities exist in the deleted end-to-end network slices.

In some embodiments, the sub-network slice management function entity 120 is further configured to perform service configuration on the sub-network slices, and the specific configuration operation may refer to the foregoing embodiments.

In some embodiments, a system for managing network slices, comprising:

As shown in fig. 5, a management system for network slices includes one or more functional entities, which may include:

a memory 210 for storing a computer program;

a processor 220, connected to the memory, for implementing one or more of the methods of managing network slices by executing the computer program.

The functional entities herein are classified according to the functions they implement, and include at least: the network slice management function 110, the sub-network slice management function 120, and the resource management and orchestration function 130 are described above.

In this embodiment, the memory 210 may comprise various types of memory, preferably a memory that may comprise a non-transitory storage medium, and may be used to store the computer program.

The processor 220 may include: a central processing unit, a microprocessor, an application processor, a digital signal processor, or a programmable array, etc.

The processor 220 and the memory 210 may be connected by a bus 230, where the bus 230 may include an internal communication interface of a detection device such as an integrated circuit (IIC) bus, or a peripheral interconnect standard (PCI) bus.

The processor 220 may be adapted to perform the method as shown in fig. 1 and/or fig. 2 by executing the computer program in the memory 210.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a computer storage medium, which is used for storing the computer program; the computer program can implement the method provided by any one or more of the above technical solutions after being executed, for example, the method shown in fig. 1 and/or fig. 2 can be executed.

The computer storage medium provided by the embodiment of the invention can be a random access storage medium, a read-only storage medium, a flash memory or a mobile storage device or an optical disc and the like. The computer storage medium may be a non-transitory storage medium.

Several specific examples are provided below in connection with the above embodiments:

example one:

the embodiment provides a management system of network slices, which comprises a network slice management functional entity, a sub-network slice management functional entity and a resource management and arrangement functional entity.

The network slice management function entity may implement one or more of the following functional descriptions:

1) and acquiring the service requirement information of the user, and inputting the service requirement information and the network capacity requirement information by the user through an open interface provided by an operator.

2) Analyzing the service requirement information of the user, and judging the service type and the network slice type which can be provided by the network for the user;

3) designing end-to-end network slice topology/composition, defining sub-network slices, network functional entities and topological connections among the sub-network slices, the network functional entities and the sub-network slices.

4) Generating end-to-end network slice configuration strategy information, error configuration accounting performance mapped to each domain/sub-network slice, and safety FCAPS configuration and/or new operation and maintenance management information except the FCAPS information according to the requirements of users.

5) And generating a deployment strategy of the end-to-end network slice, and deciding deployment positions of each sub-network slice and the network function which form the network slice, such as whether edge computing application needs to be deployed or not and relative positions of application deployment. The deployment policy may be used to select a corresponding virtualized resource mapping to enable generation of an end-to-end network slice. For example, the deployment policy may be used by the resource management and orchestration function entity to select a portion of the plurality of function entities that can satisfy the requirement information to serve the corresponding function to generate the network slice. For example, when there are a plurality of functional entities that satisfy the same function, but only one is currently available, and which one is specifically selected, the most suitable one of the functional entities may be selected to participate in instantiation of the network slice description file with reference to the deployment policy.

6) End-to-end service management and monitoring functions, collecting the domain and sub-network slice operation parameters (including but not limited to bandwidth, time delay, connection number, etc.) reported by the network management functions (including but not limited to EM and NM in traditional network management, sub-network slice management function entity, etc.) corresponding to each domain and sub-network slice

7) And generating a life cycle management strategy of the end-to-end network slice, wherein the life cycle management strategy can be one of the network slice maintenance management information and can be used for the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice.

The sub-network slice management function entity may implement one or more of the following functional descriptions:

the method comprises the steps of obtaining a sub-network slice requirement from a network slice management functional entity, wherein the requirement can be description of a sub-network slice function, or a sub-network slice template which can be deployed by the sub-network slice management functional entity.

If the sub-network slice requirement acquired by the sub-network slice management functional entity from the network slice management functional entity is the function description of the sub-network slice, the sub-network slice management functional entity can convert the function description into a deployable sub-network slice template; if the sub-network slice requirement acquired by the sub-network slice function from the network slice management function entity macro is a sub-network slice template, the sub-network slice management function entity may directly deploy the sub-network slices, and the deployment process may include interaction with a virtualized network management function (network function virtualization (NFV), management function of a Software Defined Network (SDN)).

The current domain and sub-network slice service management monitoring function: the relevant operational parameters (including but not limited to bandwidth, latency, number of connections, etc.) of each domain, sub-network slice, or network function of the handset.

Resource management and orchestration functional entity: it may implement one or more SDN management orchestrators, NFV management orchestrators, and end-to-end collaborative multi-domain management orchestrators (global resource management orchestrations) in the following functional description: the management and arrangement functions of each domain from end to end are realized, and the resource mapping and resource management of the network slice from end to end are carried out.

Example two:

as shown in fig. 6, the present example provides a network slice creation method, including:

step S1: and the network slice management functional entity receives the service requirement information input by the user.

The service requirement information includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:

the type of traffic that needs to be supported by the network, the size of the service, the network slice priority, the quality of service of the network slice (e.g., bandwidth, latency, network capacity, number of simultaneous connections initiated, etc.), the network deployment location, and the resource occupancy option (whether or not the resource can be shared with other network slices in the network).

Step S2: and the network slice management functional entity converts the service requirement information into a network slice requirement, judges whether an end-to-end network slice meets the network slice requirement or not, and determines a network slice template meeting the network slice requirement if the end-to-end network slice does not meet the network slice requirement. The step S2 may specifically include: the network slice management functional entity converts the requirement description of the service level into a network slice description file, judges whether instantiated end-to-end network slices can meet the creation requirement input by a user in the network or not, judges whether the user receives sharing of the network slices with other users or not, and directly uses the existing network slices to provide services for the user if the network slices are shared; if not, an end-to-end network slice is newly built, and the next step is continued. If an end-to-end network slice needs to be newly created, the network slice management functional entity generates an end-to-end network slice template (describing network slice topology and related end-to-end network slice configuration information) and generates a network slice management identifier, and the subsequent network slice management functional entity manages the end-to-end network slice according to the identifier.

Step S3: and decomposing the network slice requirements into sub-network slice requirements of each domain and each sub-network slice level, and distributing the sub-network slice requirements to the sub-network slice management functional entity. The method specifically comprises the following steps: the network slice management function entity transfers the decomposed sub-network slice requirements to the sub-network slice management function entity (transfers sub-network slice templates of each domain and sub-network slice, and related end-to-end network slice configuration such as configuration of network slice selection corresponding relation.

Step S4: the sub-network slice management functional entity generates sub-network slice maintenance management information, which may specifically include:

and a sub-network slice management functional entity generates a management file (such as FCAPS management information) of the sub-network slice according to the sub-network slice requirement, generates management identifications of each domain and the sub-network slice, and manages the sub-network slice according to the sub-network slice management identifications by the subsequent sub-network slice management functional entity.

Step S5: the sub-network slice management functional entity transfers the sub-network slice requirements to the resource management and arrangement functional entity, which may specifically include: the sub-network slice management function entity transfers the creation requirement of the sub-network slice and the resource management and arrangement function generated in the stage of network slice template design. The resource management and orchestration function may be a centralized virtualized resource management data center including NFV/SDN, or may be a distributed virtualized resource management data center distributed in each domain and each region.

Step S6: the resource management and orchestration function entity allocates virtualized resources, generates a subnet slice, and allocates a subnet slice instance identifier, which may specifically include: arranging virtual resources, generating each domain and sub-network slice, and distributing sub-network slice instance identifications.

Step S7: and the resource management and arrangement functional entity returns the sub-network slice instance identification to the sub-network slice management functional entity, and the sub-network slice instance identification corresponds to the sub-network slice management identification.

Step S8: the sub-network slice management functional entity returns the creation result of the sub-network slice to the network slice management functional entity; the method specifically comprises the following steps: and after all the sub-network slice templates are successfully instantiated, each sub-network slice management functional entity returns a message of successful instantiation to the network slice management functional entity.

Step S9: the network slice management function entity configures an end-to-end network slice, and combines different sub-network slices into a complete end-to-end network slice, which may specifically include: the network slice management functional entity configures the end-to-end network slices according to the configuration information (connecting different domains and different sub-network slices; configuring the corresponding relation between the network slices and the selection of the sub-network slices and the virtualized resources, etc.) of the end-to-end network slices generated in the network slice template design stage.

Step S10: the resource management and arrangement functional entity generates a network slice instance identifier, and the life cycle management of the resource level is managed by the resource management and arrangement functional entity according to the network slice instance identifier.

Step S11: the network slice instance identification corresponds to the network slice management identification. The network slicing procedure is ended.

Example three:

as shown in fig. 7, the present example provides a network slice creation method, including:

step S21: and the network slice management functional entity receives the service requirement information input by the user.

Step S2: the network slice management functional entity converts the service requirement information into a network slice requirement;

step a: judging whether instantiated network slices can meet the network slice requirements input by a user or not in the network, and whether the user accepts sharing of the network slices with other users or not, if so, directly using the existing network slices to provide services for the user; if not, a network slice is newly built, and the next step is continued.

Step b: if a new network slice is needed to be created, the network slice management functional entity generates an end-to-end network slice template (describing the network slice topology and the related end-to-end network slice configuration information).

Step c: the network slice requirements are decomposed into sub-network slice requirements for each domain and each sub-network slice level.

Step d: and generating a network slice management identifier, and managing the network slices according to the network slice management identifier by a subsequent network slice management functional entity.

Step S23: the network slice management functional entity transfers the decomposed sub-network slice requirements to the sub-network slice management functional entity (transfers the description files of each domain and sub-network slice, and the configuration of the relevant end-to-end network slices, such as the configuration of the network slice selection corresponding relation).

Step S24: the sub-network slice management function entity generates sub-network slice maintenance management information (FCAPS management information) of the sub-network slice according to the sub-network slice requirement, and generates sub-network slice management identifications of each domain and the sub-network slice.

Step S25: the sub-network slice management functional entity returns a response generated by the sub-network slice configuration information to the network slice management functional entity. The subnet slice configuration information may be used at least for resource mapping of the subnet slice.

Step S26: the network slice management functional entity sends a network slice instantiation request to the resource management and orchestration functional entity, which may specifically include: the network slice management function entity transmits the network slice creation requirement, the description file for defining each sub-network slice in the network slice description file or the network slice template, and the sub-network slice topology description to the resource management and arrangement function, and initiates network slice instantiation.

Step S27: the resource management and orchestration function entity allocates virtualized resources, creates a subnet slice, generates a subnet slice instance identifier of the subnet slice, associates each subnet slice, and generates a network slice instance identifier, which may specifically include: the resource management and arrangement functional entity arranges virtual resources, generates each domain and sub-network slice, allocates sub-network slice instance identifiers, and generates network slice instance identifiers.

Step S28: and the resource management and arrangement functional entity returns the sub-network slice instance identification to the sub-network slice functional entity, and the sub-network slice instance identification corresponds to the sub-network slice management identification.

Step S29: the sub-network slice management function entity performs service configuration of the sub-network slice, and may include: each domain and sub-network slice are configured based on the service requirement (the service configuration of each domain and sub-network slice is independent).

Step S30: the sub-network slice management functional entity returns a network slice instance identifier to the network slice functional entity, and corresponds the network slice instance identifier to the network slice management identifier, which may specifically include: and returning a notice of successful end-to-end network slicing to the network slicing management functional entity, and transmitting the network slicing instance identifier corresponding to the end-to-end network slicing management identifier.

Step S31: the network slice management function entity configures an end-to-end network slice, and combines different sub-network slices to form a complete end-to-end network slice, which may specifically include: and configuring the end-to-end network slices according to end-to-end network slice configuration information (connecting different domains and different sub-network slices, configuring network slice selection corresponding relation and the like) generated in the network slice template design stage.

Example four:

as shown in fig. 8, the present example provides a network slice creation method, including:

step S41: the network slice management functional entity receives a deletion requirement input by a user; the deleting requirement may include: the user initiates a service deletion instruction, such as an unsubscribe service instruction.

Step S42: the network slice management function entity determines whether the corresponding end-to-end network slice needs to be deleted, and specifically may include: and judging whether the end-to-end network slice is a network slice shared by different users according to the condition of the end-to-end network slice instructed to be deleted, if not, determining to delete the end-to-end network slice if the user is used alone.

Step S43: the network slice management functional entity transmits a sub-network slice resource release instruction to different sub-network slice management functional entities.

Step S44: and after receiving the sub-network slice resource release instruction, each sub-network slice management functional entity executes the deletion operation of the sub-network slice.

Step S45: the sub-network slicing functional entity transmits a sub-network slicing resource deleting instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity;

step S46: the resource management and orchestration function entity releases resources, which may specifically include: and releasing the corresponding virtualized resources of the current sub-network slice after receiving the sub-network slice resource deleting instruction.

Step S47: the resource management and arrangement functional entity returns the resource release result of the sub-network slice to the sub-network slice management functional entity;

step S48: each sub-network slice management functional entity returns the deletion result of the sub-network slice to the network slice management functional entity;

step S49: the network slice management function entity deletes the end-to-end network slice, and comprises the following steps: other resources of the end-to-end network slice are deleted, such as deletion of connection resources of different domains and sub-network slices, deletion of connections, and the like.

Example five:

as shown in fig. 9, the present example provides a network slice creation method, including:

step S51: the network slice management functional entity receives a deletion requirement input by a user; the deleting requirement may include: the user initiates a service deletion instruction, such as an unsubscribe service instruction.

Step S52: the network slice management function entity determines whether the corresponding end-to-end network slice needs to be deleted, and specifically may include: and judging whether the end-to-end network slice is a network slice shared by different users according to the condition of the end-to-end network slice instructed to be deleted, if so, not deleting the network slice, and if the user uses the network slice alone, determining to delete the end-to-end network slice.

Step S53: the network slice management functional entity sends a network slice deletion instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity, and specifically may include: and transmitting a network slice deleting instruction of the end-to-end network stealing network slice to the resource management and arrangement function, and commanding the resource management and arrangement function to release virtual resources occupied by the end-to-end network slice.

Step S54: the resource management and arrangement functional entity releases the resources of the end-to-end network slices and deletes the connection between the sub-network slices or between each domain;

step S55: the resource management and arrangement functional entity returns the sub-network slice resource release result to the sub-network slice management functional entity;

step S56: and each sub-network slice management functional entity returns the sub-network slice deletion result to the network slice management functional entity.

Step S57: the network slice management function entity deletes other resources of the end-to-end network slice, such as connection resources of different domains and sub-network slices, and deletes connection.

Example six:

this example provides a management system of a network slice, including: a network slice management functional entity, a sub-network slice management functional entity and a resource management and arrangement functional entity.

Network slice management function entity: and converting the business/service requirements of the user into corresponding network slicing requirements, designing a network slicing template, and connecting different sub-network slicing management functional entities.

The sub-network slice management functional entity: the network slice management system may be an integral domain (a radio domain RAN/core network domain, or a combination of different domains, or a combination of multiple network functions NF within the domain), and cooperates with NFV and SDN virtualization management systems to implement life cycle management of network slices.

The resource management and orchestration function entity is responsible for orchestration of virtualized network resources, such as SDNO & NFVO, which may be a centralized management orchestration, or a plurality of management orchestration functions distributed in various domains, where network slice selection is separated from network slice routing functions, and which may be flexibly configured in different locations in the network.

The network slice management functional entity may specifically determine whether to create or delete an end-to-end network slice for the user according to the selection when the user subscribes to the service and inputs the service requirement, or provide the network service for the service required by the user by using the existing end-to-end network slice in the network. If the existing network slice in the network is used for serving different users, whether the network slice is deleted or not can be flexibly judged when a network slice deleting instruction is executed.

And the network slice management functional entity is also used for decomposing the network slice requirements into sub-network slice requirements and transmitting the sub-network slice requirements to different sub-network slice management functional entities.

The network slice management functional entity can generate a network slice description file according to the service requirement of a user, so that the sub-network slice management functional entity and the resource management and arrangement functional entity can instantiate the configuration information required by the network slice template.

The network slice management functional entity can generate the configuration information of the network slice according to the user requirement, and the configuration information is mainly the end-to-end network slice configuration information.

And the sub-network slice management functional entity generates the configuration information of the related sub-network slices according to the sub-network slice requirements. The sub-network slice management functional entity can transmit a sub-network slice generation sub-network slice template which is acquired by the sub-network slice management functional entity from the network slice management functional entity or generated by the sub-network slice management functional entity to the resource management and arrangement functional entity.

And the resource management and arrangement functional entity further allocates virtual resources for the sub-network slice template of the required sub-network slice and completes the virtualization deployment.

The sub-network slice management functional entity can automatically generate sub-network slice related management and maintenance management information (FCAPS information) according to the sub-network slice requirements.

The network slice management functional entity can also directly communicate with the resource management and arrangement functional entity to inform the network slice of the requirement of virtualizing instantiation/deletion of released resources, or can communicate with the sub-network slice management functional entity first, and complete the action of virtualizing deployment/deletion of released resources through the interaction of the sub-network slice management functional entity and the resource management and arrangement function.

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. The above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, for example, the division of the unit is only a logical functional division, and there may be other division ways in actual implementation, such as: multiple units or components may be combined, or may be integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not implemented. In addition, the coupling, direct coupling or communication connection between the components shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection between the devices or units may be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units; 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, all the functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing module, or each unit may be separately used as one unit, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit; the integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, or in a form of hardware plus a software functional unit.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: all or part of the steps for implementing the method embodiments may be implemented by hardware related to program instructions, and the program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when executed, the program performs the steps including the method embodiments; and the aforementioned storage medium includes: a mobile storage device, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A management method of network slices is characterized in that the management method is applied to a management system at a network side and comprises the following steps:

2. The method of claim 1,

the method further comprises the following steps:

the network slice management functional entity determines the sub-network slice template according to the network slice requirements or decomposed sub-network slice requirements;

or the like, or, alternatively,

the network slice management functional entity sends the sub-network slice requirements to the sub-network slice management functional entity; and the sub-network slice management functional entity determines the sub-network slice template according to the sub-network slice requirement.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

the method further comprises the following steps:

the resource management and orchestration function allocating virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file and the network slice description file, generating the sub-network slices and combining the sub-network slices to generate the end-to-end network slices, comprising:

the resource management and arrangement functional entity responds to the sub-network slice instantiation request, allocates virtualized resources to instantiate the sub-network slice description file, and generates the sub-network slice network; and receiving the associated information of the network slice management functional entity, and associating the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to generate the end-to-end network slice.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

the method further comprises the following steps:

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

the method further comprises the following steps:

the network slice management functional entity generates a network slice management identifier of an end-to-end network slice, wherein the network slice management identifier is at least used for the creation and management of the end-to-end network slice by the network slice management functional entity;

the sub-network slice management functional entity generates a sub-network slice management identifier of the sub-network slice, wherein the sub-network slice management identifier is used for the sub-network slice management functional entity to create and manage the sub-network slice network;

the sub-network slice management functional entity corresponds to the sub-network slice management identifier and the sub-network slice instance identifier;

the network slice management function entity corresponds to the network slice management identification and the network slice example identification.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

the method further comprises the following steps:

the network slice management functional entity determines a network slice template according to the creation requirement, and comprises at least one of the following components:

if sharable and established network slices meet the establishment requirements, sharing the established end-to-end network slices and performing related configuration management; if no sharable network slice meets the creation requirement and no sharable network sub-network slice or network functional entity meets the creation requirement, determining a network slice template according to the creation requirement;

7. The method of claim 1,

the method further comprises the following steps:

the network slice management functional entity determines the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion according to the deletion requirement and removes the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion;

the sub-network slice management functional entity relieves the maintenance management of the sub-network slices of the end-to-end network slices indicating deletion;

and the resource management and arrangement functional entity releases the sub-network slice mapping virtualization resource of the end-to-end network slice.

8. The method of claim 7,

the network slice management functional entity determines the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion according to the deletion requirement and removes the maintenance management of the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion, and comprises the following steps:

the sub-network slice management functional entity relieves maintenance management on sub-network slices of end-to-end network slices indicating deletion, and comprises the following steps:

the resource management and orchestration function entity releases the sub-network slice mapping virtualization resources of the end-to-end network slice, including:

9. The method of claim 7,

10. The method of claim 7,

the method further comprises the following steps:

initiating deletion of the end-to-end network slice when the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is not a shared network slice and there is no shared network sub-network slice or network functional entity;

when the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is a shared end-to-end network slice, the network slice management functional entity relieves the use right of the end-to-end network slice used by the user for proposing the deletion requirement;

11. A method for managing network slices, the method comprising:

the method further comprises the following steps:

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the method further comprises the following steps:

12. A method for managing network slices, the method further comprising:

13. A method for managing network slices, the method further comprising:

14. A method for managing network slices, the method further comprising:

15. A system for managing network slices, comprising:

16. The system of claim 15,

the sub-network slice management functional entity is also used for sending a sub-network slice instantiation request to the resource management and arrangement functional entity; the resource management and orchestration functional entity is specifically configured to allocate a virtualized resource to instantiate the sub-network slice description file in response to the sub-network slice instantiation request, and generate the sub-network slice network; receiving the association information of the network slice management functional entity, associating the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to generate the end-to-end network slice;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the network slice management functional entity is further configured to send a network slice instantiation request to the resource management and orchestration functional entity after the sub-network slice management functional entity generates the sub-network slice maintenance management information; the resource management and orchestration function entity is specifically configured to instantiate the sub-network slice description file to generate the sub-network slice according to the network slice instantiation request, and associate the sub-network slice to instantiate the network slice description file to biochemically instantiate the end-to-end network slice according to the network slice instantiation request.

17. The system of claim 15 or 16,

the network slice management functional entity is specifically configured to share the created end-to-end network slice if a sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement; and/or determining a network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information according to the creation requirement if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement and no sharable network subnetwork slice or network functional entity meets the creation requirement, and/or determining a network slice description file and network slice maintenance management information according to the creation requirement if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement; and/or if no sharable and created network slice meets the creation requirement and a created sub-network slice and/or network functional entity is sharable, selecting the sub-network slice and/or network functional entity sharable to meet the creation requirement, and jointly creating the end-to-end network slice together with the sub-network slice and/or network functional entity created based on the network slice template.

18. The system of claim 15 or 16,

the network slice management functional entity is specifically configured to, after determining an end-to-end network slice indicated to be deleted according to a deletion requirement, send a sub-network slice deletion instruction to the corresponding sub-network slice management functional entity and remove maintenance management on the end-to-end network slice to be deleted; the sub-network slice management functional entity is specifically configured to release maintenance and management of the sub-network slice according to the sub-network slice deletion instruction, and send a sub-network slice resource release instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity; the resource management and arrangement functional entity is specifically configured to release the virtualized resource mapped by the sub-network slice based on the sub-network slice resource release instruction;

alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the network slice management functional entity is specifically used for sending a network slice resource release instruction to the resource management and arrangement functional entity after determining an end-to-end network slice indicating deletion according to a deletion requirement and removing maintenance management on the end-to-end network slice needing to be deleted; the resource management and arrangement functional entity is specifically configured to release the resource mapped by the end-to-end network slice based on the network slice resource release instruction; the sub-network slice management functional entity is specifically configured to release the maintenance management of the sub-network slice according to a sub-network slice resource release instruction provided by the network slice management functional entity or based on a sub-network slice resource release result provided by the resource management and orchestration functional entity.

19. The system of claim 15 or 16,

the network slice management functional entity is further configured to determine whether the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is a shared network slice or whether a shared network sub-network slice and a network functional entity exist; initiating deletion of the end-to-end network slice when the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is not a shared network slice and there is no shared network sub-network slice or network functional entity; the network slice management function entity is further configured to release the usage right of the proposed user for using the end-to-end network slice of the deletion requirement when the end-to-end network slice indicating deletion is a shared end-to-end network slice; and/or deleting the network sub-network slices and the network functional entities which are not shared in the end-to-end network slices when the shared network sub-network slices or the network functional entities exist in the deleted end-to-end network slices.

20. A system for managing network slices, the system comprising:

21. A system for management of network slices, comprising one or more functional entities, the functional entities comprising:

a memory for storing a computer program;

a processor, coupled to the memory, for implementing the method of any of claims 1 to 14 by executing the computer program.

22. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program; the computer program is capable of implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 14 when executed.