CN111698691A

CN111698691A - 5G network capacity control method and device

Info

Publication number: CN111698691A
Application number: CN201910192645.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 弋景峰
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-14
Filing date: 2019-03-14
Publication date: 2020-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-03-14
Also published as: CN111698691B

Abstract

The invention relates to a communication system and discloses a method and a device for controlling 5G network capacity. To enable orchestration and deployment of sophisticated 5G network capabilities. The method comprises the following steps: the capability management and control server can instruct the NFVO in the MANO to instantiate various CF components described in the NCD according to the description information NCD of the specified network capability, and combine the CF instances to generate an instance of the network capability required by the user. Therefore, the network capacity arrangement and deployment are realized through the cooperation of the capacity management and control server and the MANO, and the customized service of the network capacity can be realized according to the user requirements, so that a flexible QoS strategy is supported, and the requirements of the outside on the network service are met more finely and intelligently.

Description

5G network capacity control method and device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to communications systems, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for managing and controlling 5G network capabilities.

Background

Currently, a 5G network architecture is a Service-based architecture, and functions and deployments are very flexible, and network functions can be deployed at appropriate locations according to Service requirements, so as to control Quality of Service (Qos) of sessions and Service flows, and manage a mobile mode of a terminal according to Service characteristics. The flexible policies and functions can be encapsulated into different network capabilities through an open service architecture, and the network capabilities can be called by a third-party application. The network is no longer a transparent channel but some manageable service.

At present, no core network capability arrangement standard exists, and development and deployment of network capability application are limited. With the standard evolution and commercial deployment of 5G core networks, it is expected that core networks will open more and more network capabilities, and the number of third party applications developed based on these network capabilities will also increase rapidly.

As shown in fig. 1, some operators currently discuss a method of exposing network capabilities based on a conventional Element Management System (EMS) and then using the capabilities through a capability open platform. This method is based on the continuation of the current method that does not perform the technical transformation of the network Virtualization function (NFV), because when the NFV is not introduced, the network element receives the EMS management, and the network capabilities are reported to the EMS.

After the NFV technology is introduced, referring to fig. 2, the Network element is managed by two management entities, that is, a collaborative management Network element managed by an EMS and a Virtual Network Function Manager (VNFM); as shown in fig. 2, a more extensive idea is to add a conventional northbound enhanced interface in EMS and an FCAPS interface related to EMS in NFVO to realize cooperative cooperation of the two interfaces.

However, at present, the technical solution of network capability orchestration is still in the research phase, and both the operator and the equipment manufacturer want to implement and provide the target, but the technical solution has not yet reached the stage of standard discussion and establishment, and the industry has not yet detailed implementation solution, and is in the exploration phase.

In addition, the ability users can directly use the network ability through the ability open platform, and this method lacks a management and control scheme for the network ability, because the network is very complex in practice and the requirements for the network ability are various, a comprehensive management and control scheme is designed for the network ability.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a method and a device for controlling 5G network capacity, which are used for accurately realizing the arrangement and deployment of the 5G network capacity.

The purpose of the invention is realized by the following technical scheme:

a management and control method for 5G network capacity comprises the following steps:

the method comprises the steps that a capacity management and control server obtains a specified network capacity description file NCD, and description information of set capacity function CF assemblies is recorded in an NCD, wherein one CF assembly is used for describing a network function;

the capacity management and control server indicates a management and editing entity MANO to implement each CF component contained in the NCD;

and the capacity control server acquires the instantiated CF components returned by the MANO, assembles each instantiated CF component and generates corresponding network capacity.

Optionally, further comprising:

the capacity management and control server disassembles various specified network capacities into a plurality of corresponding CF components in advance and stores the CF components in a capacity directory.

Optionally, after the capability management and control server obtains the specified NCD, before instructing the MANO to perform the embodiment on each CF component included in the NCD, the method further includes:

determining that the NCD passes an integrity check and a validity check; and the number of the first and second groups,

determining the CF component recorded in the NCD as an existing component.

Optionally, the capability management and control server instructs a MANO to implement each CF component included in the NCD, including:

determining existing CF instances based on each CF component contained in the NCD, and screening out CF components which do not create corresponding CF instances;

establishing network capacity connectivity resources with the MANO, indicating the MANO, and establishing corresponding CF instances aiming at the screened CF components;

and determining a newly created CF instance and an existing CF instance corresponding to the NCD, indicating the MANO, and respectively establishing external network connection through corresponding virtual ports aiming at each CF instance.

Optionally, further comprising:

the capacity management and control server updates the NCD according to the indication to generate a new NCD, wherein the update at least comprises the addition or/and deletion of the specified CF component;

and the capability management and control server instructs the MANO to update the corresponding CF instance according to the new NCD and regenerate the corresponding network capability according to the updated CF instance.

Optionally, the capability management and control server instructs the MANO to update the corresponding CF instance according to the new NCD, including:

determining an added CF component according to the new NCD, and indicating a MANO to instantiate the added CF component to obtain a corresponding CF instance;

establishing a network connection between the added CF instance and the MANO;

a network connection is established between the existing CF instance and the added CF instance.

Optionally, further comprising:

and the capacity management and control server judges whether the CF instances corresponding to the NCD exist or not when determining that the NCD needs to be deleted according to the indication, and deletes the NCD when determining that the CF instances corresponding to the NCD are all deleted.

Optionally, the deleting, by the capability management and control server, the CF instance corresponding to the NCD according to the instruction includes:

the following operations are performed separately for each CF instance:

determining that one CF instance is not currently referenced by other CF instances;

deleting the network connection between said one CF instance and the MANO;

deleting the CF instance.

A capacity management server includes a processor and a memory, wherein,

the processor is used for reading the program stored in the memory and executing the following operations:

acquiring a specified network capability description file NCD, wherein the NCD records the description information of set capability function CF components, and one CF component is used for describing a network function;

instructing a management and orchestration entity, MANO, to enforce each CF component contained in the NCD;

and acquiring the instantiated CF components returned by the MANO, and assembling each instantiated CF component to generate corresponding network capacity.

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

and resolving various specified network capabilities into a plurality of corresponding CF components in advance, and storing the CF components in a capability directory.

Optionally, after acquiring the designated NCD, before instructing a MANO to perform an embodiment on each CF component included in the NCD, the processor is further configured to:

determining the CF component recorded in the NCD as an existing component.

Optionally, instructing a MANO, and when implementing each CF component included in the NCD, the processor is configured to:

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

updating the NCD according to the indication to generate a new NCD, wherein the updating at least comprises adding or/and deleting the specified CF component;

instructing the MANO to update the corresponding CF instance according to the new NCD, and regenerating the corresponding network capability according to the updated CF instance.

Optionally, when instructing the MANO to update the corresponding CF instance according to the new NCD, the processor is configured to:

establishing a network connection between the added CF instance and the MANO;

Optionally, the processor is further configured to:

and according to the indication, when the NCD is determined to be deleted, judging whether the CF instances corresponding to the NCD exist, and deleting the NCD when the CF instances corresponding to the NCD are all deleted.

Optionally, according to an indication, when the CF instance corresponding to the NCD is deleted, the processor is configured to:

the following operations are performed separately for each CF instance:

deleting the network connection between said one CF instance and the MANO;

deleting the CF instance.

A storage medium storing a program for implementing management and control of 5G network capabilities, the program, when executed by a processor, performing the steps of:

In the embodiment of the present invention, the capability management and control server may instruct the NFVO in the MANO to instantiate various CF components described in the NCD according to the description information of the specified network capability (i.e., the NCD), and combine the CF instances to generate an instance of the network capability required by the user. Therefore, the network capacity arrangement and deployment are realized through the cooperation of the capacity management and control server and the MANO, and the customized service of the network capacity can be realized according to the user requirements, so that a flexible QoS strategy is supported, and the requirements of the outside on the network service are met more finely and intelligently.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating EMS-based exposed network capabilities in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating EMS and VNFM-based exposed network capabilities in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a prior art MANO architecture;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a capability management server cluster and a MANO according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a general architecture for network capacity management and management of the capacity management server according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an uploading process of an NCD by a capability management server according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flow chart illustrating an implementation of a capability management and control server on network capabilities according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the process of disabling the NCD by the capability management server according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an NCD enabling process of the capacity management server according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of updating NCD by the capability management server;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of updating CF by the capability management server according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a process of querying an NCD by a capacity management server according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process of deleting an NCD by the capability management server according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating the process of the capability management server terminating the network capability according to the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a functional architecture of a management server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to adapt to the capability requirement of flexibly expanding new network capability and flexibly matching third-party application, in the embodiment of the invention, a set of method and device for arranging network capability is provided by analyzing and abstracting typical services of a 5G service typical scene. And by designing capability design, capability description, capability management, capability execution, capability verification and the like, the rapid deployment and online of new services and new capabilities are realized.

In the future 5G network, a data center is used as an infrastructure, a 5G capability open platform and a 5G core network are deployed based on the same infrastructure, the arranging requirements of network capabilities and network services are deeply fused with an arranging system of the core network, and the network capabilities are arranged on the arranging system of the core network to cooperatively complete the arranging management of the network capabilities.

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

Referring to fig. 3, under the prior art, the Network function scheduling (NFVO), VNFM and virtual machine infrastructure Management (VIM) are collectively called Management and organization (MANO), and the MANO Management is the orchestration Management of NFV. In the embodiment of the invention, the 5G network capability is required to be arranged based on the NFV arranging capability of the MANO.

In the embodiment of the invention, the virtual network elements are disassembled and assembled by adopting a capacity control server cluster mode. Taking two virtualized network elements, namely, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and a Session Management Function (SMF), as an example (actually, the two virtualized network elements are not limited to the two network elements), specifically, the two network elements may be disassembled according to the following manner:

the AMF network element can be disassembled as follows: providing a UE location change capability, a UE move in/out of a particular area capability, a registration state change capability, a connection state change capability, and a UE reachability capability.

The SMF network element may be disassembled as follows: the opening of the UE IP address/prefix change capability, the PDU session release capability and the user plane path change capability.

The specific Capacity management and control server may disassemble the network Capacity at the atomic level based on various virtualized network elements, and store various network capacities as a Capacity Function (CF) component. And multiple CF components may be combined into corresponding network capability instances for use by the user.

Specifically, referring to fig. 4 and 5, the capability management and control server cluster interacts with the MANO, so as to complete the disassembly and assembly of each CF component, and generate a required network capability instance (also referred to as a capability instance for short).

As shown in fig. 5, the general architecture of capability orchestration of the capability management server cluster may be divided into a capability operation layer, a capability management layer, and a capability execution layer.

The following are described separately.

1. And the capability operation layer is used for providing a uniform capability operation entrance, and a capability designer or a capability manager can design and import network capability according to the requirement of the NFV system service, a user or a third party (such as a service provider) on the network capability.

Wherein the content of the first and second substances,

a capability manager (e.g., a network operator) for importing network capability requirements provided by a user or a third party.

And the capacity designer is used for designing the capacity according to the user requirements or the third-party service requirements and designing the capacity template according to the differentiated requirements of the specific service on the network resources, so that the automatic operation and maintenance of the network driven by the capacity is realized.

2. The capability management layer is used for managing and controlling network capabilities, for example, functions such as generating, modifying, deleting, managing, distributing, storing, activating, deactivating and verifying, and includes a system functional entity (which may be implemented by a dedicated server or a functional module) such as a capability design function, a capability control function, a capability management function, a capability directory and a capability verification function.

Wherein the content of the first and second substances,

the Capability Design Function (CDF) is used for providing a powerful and easy-to-use Capability Design Function suite, comprises a rule language of a specific domain and a rule editor with a guide Function, and is beneficial to a user to realize quick and easy Capability template creation and updating.

The Capability Control Function (CCF) is configured to define network capabilities according to the imported network capability requirements or capability templates, provide relevant interfaces, store the defined network capabilities through a database, and issue the definitions to the capability management Function at the same time.

A Capability Catalog (CC) is used to store defined and published network capabilities. The network capability information recorded by the capability directory may include user and resource information in the network that requires network capability management, capability information for network capability management, network capability conditions, and definitions of network capability operations.

A Capability Management Function (CMF) for lifecycle management of network capabilities, distribution of network capabilities, and the like, including: loading of a network capability template, adding and deleting, checking, starting, stopping and pausing of the network capability.

The CMF also has the capabilities of network capacity task management, network capacity template management, network capacity query service, network capacity disassembly and assembly (the network capacity is disassembled into capacity components, and the capacity components are assembled into the network capacity required by a user), conflict confusion detection and solution and the like.

Considering that the CMF has a huge amount of network capacity for managing, and the speed of network capacity processing is related to the timeliness of the capacity management system, a rule engine technology can be introduced into the CMF and combined with other functional modules to form a capacity engine.

Network capacity is reasonably formulated, selected and matched through a capacity engine.

In addition, multiple CMFs may be provided in the capability management server to support network capability-based management of network devices from different vendors.

The Capability Verification Function (CVF) is responsible for checking whether the capability execution Function has executed the issued capability, verifying and evaluating the performance of the capability executed, and then deciding whether the capability is re-executed or needs to be modified according to the evaluation result.

3) And the capability execution layer is used for receiving the network capability and other signaling sent by the capability management layer, executing the capability and feeding back the information of the capability execution condition to the capability management layer.

Wherein the content of the first and second substances,

a Capability Execution Function (CEF) is a network entity that accepts Capability management and performs Capability execution. It can also send information to the CMF to let the capability checking function know the change of the network or device condition, or report the information such as the execution condition of the network capability.

Based on the above framework, referring to fig. 6, in the embodiment of the present invention, a specific process of uploading a Network Capability and uploading a Network Capability description file (NCD) by a Capability management and control server is as follows:

step 601: the operation terminal instructs the capability management server to upload the designated NCD.

The designated NCD contains the description information of CF components at each atomic level for assembling the network capability, which is set by the administrator, wherein one CF component is used for describing one network function.

Step 602: and the management and control server carries out integrity and validity check on the NCD.

Specifically, the integrity of the NCD is checked and the validity of the mandatory parameters contained in the NCD is checked. If the verification is passed, the step 603 is continuously executed, and if the verification is not passed, the operation terminal is notified of the upload failure.

Step 603: the management and control server determines the CF component described in the NCD as an existing component.

That is, the policing server needs to determine that the CF component described in the NCD is a CF component that the policing server has disassembled, and if it is determined to be a new CF component, it needs to request the operation terminal to transmit a description file of the new CF component, because the MANO may not recognize the new CF component.

Step 604: the capacity management and control server saves the NCD into a capacity directory (namely CC) and sets the running state of the NCD to an enabled (Enable) state.

Step 605: and the capacity management and control server returns an uploading result to the operation terminal.

Step 606: and the capacity management and control server instructs the MANO to implement the embodiment of the CF components contained in the NCD, and assembles the instantiated CF components to generate corresponding network capacity.

Among them, the so-called Network Capability (CF) can be regarded as a virtual Network element (i.e. VNF).

Based on the above embodiment, referring to fig. 7, the specific process of the capability management server instructing the MANO to implement the CF component included in the NCD is as follows:

step 701, the operation terminal instructs the capability management and control server to send a network capability instantiation request.

When the network capability implementation is instructed (also referred to as an NC instance), the operation terminal needs to instruct identification information (i.e., ID) of the NCD, and if a CF component of a record in the NCD already has a corresponding CF instance, the input parameter should also include the ID of the existing CF instance.

Step 702: and the capacity management and control server checks the validity of the network capacity enforcement request.

And 703, the capacity control server checks each CF component recorded in the NCD in a circulating mode, and screens out the CF components of which the corresponding CF instances are not created.

Specifically, in step 702, if the NCD records the ID of an existing CF instance, the capability management server queries the corresponding CEF according to the ID of each CF instance recorded in the NCD to confirm that the corresponding CF instance exists. If there is at least one CF instance corresponding to the ID of the CF instance, the capability management server may confirm that the CF instance creation fails.

It is determined that there are already CF components of the corresponding CF instance, and the remaining CF components are those that have not yet created the corresponding CF instance.

For example, as shown in fig. 7, in the loop process, for an ID of any one CF instance, between the capability management server and the NFVO in the MANO, a CF implementation Query request message [ Query CF (CfInstanceId) Req ] and a CF implementation Query response message [ Query CF (CfInstanceId) Rsp ] may be used to Query whether a corresponding CF instance already exists.

Step 703: the capacity management server creates a network capacity connectivity resource.

Specifically, the capability management server needs to create network capability connectivity resources between the VIMs of the local and MANOs.

Step 704: the capability management server instructs the MANO to create a corresponding CF instance for the screened CF component (i.e., the CF component recorded in the NCD for which the corresponding CF instance has not been created yet).

Specifically, the instantiation of the CF component may be performed by the NFVO in the MANO.

Step 705: the capacity management server establishes network connections between the CF instances and the MANO for each existing CF instance (including the newly instantiated CF and the incoming instantiated CF) in a round-robin fashion.

For example, as shown in fig. 7, taking an arbitrary cyclic process as an example, for an arbitrary existing CF instance, the capability management server uses, between NFVO in the local and MANO, a virtual port request message corresponding to a Point of Connection (CP) external to the CF query and a virtual port response message corresponding to a CP external to the CF query to confirm an external virtual port corresponding to the arbitrary existing CF instance, and then, the capability management server uses, between VIMs in the local and MANO, the virtual port to establish a network connection between the arbitrary existing CF instance and the external CP to query whether the corresponding CF instance is already present.

The external CP is a connection point which can be connected to other CF instances, each CF instance is connected through the external CP, each external CP needs to be described in the NCD, the MANO sets and establishes the external CP according to the NCD, and in the establishing process, the MANO needs to establish a virtual port and an IP address for each external CP.

Step 706: and the capacity management and control server returns a network capacity instantiation result to the operation terminal.

Further, the management and control server needs to manage and control the operation state of the NCD according to the instruction of the operation terminal, specifically, the management and control server can be divided into a disable server and an enable server, which are respectively described below.

Referring to fig. 8, in the embodiment of the present invention, the flow of disabling the NCD by the capability management server is as follows:

step 801: the operation terminal instructs the capability management server to disable the specified NCD.

The disabled NCD cannot be used to instantiate a new CF component, but does not affect already instantiated CF components, nor does the assembled network capabilities.

Step 802: and the capacity management and control server sets the working state corresponding to the NCD to be forbidden.

Specifically, the CMF in the capability management server may set a state of a Virtual Network Function (VNF) packet in the NCD to a disabled (Disable) state, where the NCD in the "to-be-deleted" state cannot be disabled.

Step 803: the capability manager returns the disabling result to the operation terminal.

Referring to fig. 9, in the embodiment of the present invention, the flow of enabling the NCD by the capability management server is as follows:

step 901: the operation terminal instructs the capability management server to disable the specified NCD.

The enabled NCD can be used to instantiate a new CF component to complete the assembly of new network capabilities.

Step 902: and the capacity management and control server sets the working state corresponding to the NCD to be forbidden.

Specifically, the CMF in the capability management server may set the state of the VNF packet in the NCD to an enabled (enabled) state, where the NCD in the "to-be-deleted" state cannot be enabled.

Step 903: and the capability management controller returns the starting result to the operation terminal.

Referring to fig. 10, in the embodiment of the present invention, the flow of updating the NCD by the capacity management server is as follows:

step 1001: the operation terminal instructs the capability management server to disable the specified NCD.

Step 1002: and the capacity management and control server sets the working state corresponding to the NCD to be forbidden.

Step 1003: and the capability management controller returns the starting result to the operation terminal.

step 1001: the operation terminal instructs the capability management server operator to update the designated NCD.

Specifically, the updated content may be: the CF component recorded in the NCD is added or deleted.

Step 1002: the capacity management server updates the specified content in the NCD according to the instruction.

For example, the capability management server adds description information of a new CD component to the NCD, or/and deletes description information of an existing CF component.

Step 1003: and the capacity management and control server generates a new version number aiming at the updated NCD and stores the version number as a new NCD.

Specifically, the working state of the new NCD is "enabled but not used", and updating is not supported for NCDs in the "to-be-deleted" state.

Step 1004: and the capacity management and control server returns an update result to the operation terminal.

Step 1005: and the capacity management and control server instructs the MANO to update the corresponding CF example according to the new NCD and regenerate the corresponding network capacity according to the updated CF example.

Based on the above embodiment, referring to fig. 11, the specific flow of the capability management server instructing the MAN to update the corresponding CF instance according to the new NCD is as follows:

in practical applications, in some scenarios, CF instances need to be modified, for example, a certain CF component is added or/and deleted, so that corresponding CF instances are added or/and deleted, and after a CF instance is updated, corresponding combined scenarios are more.

Step 1101: the operation terminal requests the capability management server to update the designated NCD.

In practical application, the operation terminal needs to indicate the ID of the CF component that needs to be added or/and deleted in the update request.

Step 1102: the capacity management and control server checks the validity of the update request.

Step 1103: the capacity management server creates new network capacity connectivity resources.

Specifically, the capability management server needs to create corresponding new network capability connectivity resources between the VIMs of the local and MANOs for the added CF components.

Step 1104: and the capacity management and control server indicates the MANO to instantiate the added CF component and generate a corresponding CF instance.

Specifically, the instantiation of the added CF component may be performed by the NFVO in the MANO.

Step 1105: the capability management server establishes a network connection between the added CF instance and the MANO.

For example, as shown in fig. 11, for any one added CF instance, the capability management server firstly queries, between NFVOs in the local and MANOs, a first external CP corresponding to the added CF instance and a network corresponding to the first external CP, and then establishes a network connection between the first external CP and the added CP instance between VIMs in the local and MANOs.

Step 1106: the capacity management server establishes a network connection between the existing CF instance and the added CF instance.

For example, as shown in fig. 11, for any one added CF instance, the capability management server firstly queries, between NFVOs in the local and MANOs, a second external CP corresponding to a VNF generated based on the existing CF instance assembly and a network corresponding to the second external CP, and then establishes a network connection between the second external CP and the added CP instance between VIMs in the local and MANOs, so as to implement connectivity between the existing CF instance and the added CF instance.

Step 1107: and the capacity management and control server returns an update result to the operation terminal.

In practical applications, if the CF instance is deleted, the connection between the specified existing CF instance and the MANO needs to be removed, and the CF instance is deleted, which is not described herein again.

Referring to fig. 12, in the embodiment of the present invention, a flow of querying the NCD by the capacity management server is as follows:

step 1201: the operation terminal instructs the capability management server to inquire about the designated NCD.

Specifically, the operation terminal may instruct the capability management and control server to perform an inquiry using the ID or the version number of the NCD as an inquiry condition.

Step 1202: and the capacity management and control server inquires the designated NCD.

Specifically, the CMF in the capacity management server may query a local database, so as to obtain the relevant information of the designated NCD.

Step 1203: and the capacity management and control server returns the query result to the operation terminal.

Referring to fig. 13, in the embodiment of the present invention, a specific process of deleting the NCD by the capability management server is as follows:

step 1301: the operation terminal instructs the capability management server to delete the designated NCD.

Specifically, the operation terminal may instruct the capability management server to delete a certain specified version or all versions of the NCD in the CMF.

Step 1302: and the capability management and control server instructs the MANO to terminate all NF instances corresponding to the NCD.

Step 1303: is the capability management server determining whether a CF instance corresponding to the NCD exists? If yes, go to step 1304; otherwise, step 1305 is executed.

The capability management and control server judges whether a CF instance generated after instantiation of a CF component recorded in an NCD exists, if so, the working state of the NCD is still enabled, and the network capability generated based on the NCD is still used, so that the NCD cannot be deleted immediately, the working state equipment of the NCD is just to be deleted, and the NCD is deleted when all CF instances corresponding to the NCD are deleted.

Step 1304: the capacity management and control server determines that the working state of the NCD is set to "to be deleted", and then, step 1306 is executed.

Step 1305: the capacity management server deletes the NCD and executes step 1306.

Step 1306: and the capacity management and control server returns the deletion result to the operation terminal.

Based on the above embodiments, referring to fig. 14, in an embodiment of the present invention, a specific flow of terminating, by the capability management server, the CF instance corresponding to the NCD is as follows:

step 1401: the operation terminal requests the capability management server to terminate the network capability corresponding to the designated NCD.

Step 1402: the capacity management server checks the validity of the termination request.

Step 1403: and the capacity control server terminates each CF example corresponding to the network capacity in a circulating mode.

For example, as shown in fig. 14, in a loop process, for any CF instance included in the network capability corresponding to the NCD, the capability management server first determines whether the CF instance is referred to by another CF instance, and when determining that the CF instance is not referred to, terminates the network connection between the CF instance and NFVO and VIM in the MANO, and deletes the CF instance.

Wherein if the CF instance is referenced by other CF instances, the CF instance is not temporarily terminated, but continues to be processed first.

Step 1404: and the capacity management and control server returns a termination result to the operation terminal.

Based on the above-mentioned embodiment, referring to fig. 15, in the embodiment of the present invention, the capacity management server at least includes a processor 150 and a memory 151, wherein,

a processor 150 for reading the program in the memory 151 and executing the following processes:

acquiring a designated NCD, wherein the NCD records description information of set capability function CF components, wherein one CF component is used for describing a network capability;

an indicator MANO that enforces each CF component contained in the NCD;

In the embodiment of the present invention, the processor 150 may be configured to implement relevant functions of CDF, CCF, CMF, CVF, and CEF, and the memory 151 may be configured to store CCs.

Optionally, the processor 150 is further configured to:

Optionally, after acquiring the designated NCD, before instructing a MANO to perform an embodiment on each CF component included in the NCD, the processor 150 is further configured to:

determining the CF component recorded in the NCD as an existing component.

Optionally, instructing a MANO, when implementing each CF component included in the NCD, the processor 150 is configured to:

Optionally, the processor 150 is further configured to:

Optionally, when instructing the MANO to update the corresponding CF instance according to the new NCD, the processor 150 is configured to:

establishing a network connection between the added CF instance and the MANO;

Optionally, the processor 150 is further configured to:

Optionally, according to an instruction, when the CF instance corresponding to the NCD is deleted, the processor 150 is configured to:

the following operations are performed separately for each CF instance:

deleting the network connection between said one CF instance and the MANO;

deleting the CF instance.

In the embodiment of the invention, a capacity control server cluster is designed and is in butt joint with the existing MANO, so that the influence on the arrangement management architecture of the existing MANO is small, and two interfaces are mainly added in the NFVO.

The first interface is an interface between the NFVO and a Capability Execution Function (CEF) in the capability management server cluster. In order to not increase the complexity of the NFVO, various network capabilities (namely NC) are disassembled in advance on a Capability Management Function (CMF) in the capability management and control server cluster, and are disassembled into atomic-level CF components, and then are issued to the NFVO for assembly and deployment of the CF components.

And the second interface is an interface between the NFVO and the capability open platform, and the NFVO reports various assembled network capabilities to the capability open platform and is arranged by the capability management function to be provided for the capability user.

It can be seen that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the capability management and control server may instruct the NFVO in the MANO to instantiate various CF components described in the NCD according to the description information of the specified network capability (i.e., the NCD), and combine the CF instances to generate an instance of the network capability required by the user. Therefore, the network capacity arrangement and deployment are realized through the cooperation of the capacity management and control server and the MANO, and the customized service of the network capacity can be realized according to the user requirements, so that a flexible QoS strategy is supported, and the requirements of the outside on the network service are met more finely and intelligently.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the embodiments of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the embodiments of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to encompass such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for managing and controlling 5G network capability is characterized by comprising the following steps:

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein after the capability management server obtains the specified NCD, prior to instructing a MANO to perform an embodiment on each CF component included in the NCD, further comprising:

determining that the NCD passes an integrity check and a validity check; and

determining the CF component recorded in the NCD as an existing component.

4. A method according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein a capability management server instructs a MANO to enforce each CF component contained in the NCD, including:

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the capability management server instructs the MANO to update the corresponding CF instance according to the new NCD, comprising:

establishing a network connection between the added CF instance and the MANO;

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the capability management server deleting the CF instance corresponding to the NCD according to the indication comprises:

the following operations are performed separately for each CF instance:

deleting the network connection between said one CF instance and the MANO;

deleting the CF instance.

9. A capacity management server, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein,

10. The capacity management server of claim 9, wherein the processor is further to:

11. The capacity management server of claim 9, wherein after acquiring the specified NCD, prior to instructing a MANO to perform an embodiment on each CF component included in the NCD, the processor is further configured to:

determining that the NCD passes an integrity check and a validity check; and

determining the CF component recorded in the NCD as an existing component.

12. The capability management server according to any one of claims 9, 10 or 11, wherein a MANO is instructed, and wherein the processor, when enforcing each CF component included in the NCD, is configured to:

13. The capacity management server of claim 12, wherein the processor is further to:

14. The capacity management server of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to, when instructing the MANO to update the corresponding CF instance according to the new NCD:

establishing a network connection between the added CF instance and the MANO;

15. The capacity management server of claim 12, wherein the processor is further to:

16. The capacity management and control server of claim 15, wherein, when deleting the CF instance corresponding to the NCD according to an indication, the processor is configured to:

the following operations are performed separately for each CF instance:

deleting the network connection between said one CF instance and the MANO;

deleting the CF instance.

17. A storage medium storing a program for implementing management and control of 5G network capabilities, the program, when executed by a processor, performing the steps of: