CN111698725A

CN111698725A - Method for dynamically determining network slice and electronic equipment

Info

Publication number: CN111698725A
Application number: CN202010581226.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李秋香; 陈炜; 王亚晨; 冯佳新
Original assignee: Tencent Technology Shenzhen Co Ltd
Current assignee: Tencent Technology Shenzhen Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-06-23
Filing date: 2020-06-23
Publication date: 2020-09-22

Abstract

There is provided a method performed by a terminal device for dynamically determining network slices, a method performed by a network node for dynamically switching network slices, an electronic device and a computer-readable storage medium, the method performed by the terminal comprising: configuring a first user routing strategy rule and a second user routing strategy rule for an application running on the terminal equipment, wherein the first user routing strategy rule is associated with a first network slice, and the second user routing strategy rule is associated with a second network slice; acquiring the service information of the application; and dynamically determining a network slice for carrying the applied service based on the applied service information, the first user routing strategy rule and the second user routing strategy rule.

Description

Method for dynamically determining network slice and electronic equipment

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly, to a method of dynamically determining network slices performed by a terminal, a method of dynamically determining network slices performed by a network node, and a corresponding electronic device, computer-readable storage medium.

Background

Compared with the traditional communication system, the core network architecture of the 5G communication system is greatly changed. Specifically, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in a core network of the conventional communication system is replaced by a Control Plane Function (CPF) Entity, for example, functions thereof are decomposed into an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) Entity and a Session Management Function (SMF) Entity. In addition, a Serving GateWay (SGW) and a PDN GateWay (PGW) in a core network of the conventional communication system are replaced by a User Plane Function (UPF) entity.

The UE routing Policy (URSP) rule is set forth in the current Third Generation Partnership project technical Specification (3gpp ts) 23.503.

The UE uses the URSP rules to determine how to route outgoing traffic (traffic). The UE may route the service to an established Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, may also offload the service to a non-3GPP access outside the PDU session, or may trigger establishment of a new PDU session.

Protocol data unit sessions may be carried on a variety of different Network slices (Network slices). 5G communication systems have provided the capability to dynamically and statically configure network slices for applications. However, the way in which network slices are allocated for applications at present is still not flexible enough.

Disclosure of Invention

To overcome the drawbacks of the prior art, the present disclosure proposes a method for dynamically determining a network slice performed by a terminal, a method for dynamically determining a network slice performed by a network node, and a corresponding electronic device, computer-readable storage medium.

According to the method performed by the terminal, the method performed by the network node, and the corresponding electronic device, computer-readable storage medium of the various aspects of the present disclosure, the terminal pre-configures the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule for the application. Therefore, when the network side does not dynamically update the user routing strategy rule for the terminal, the service of the application can still be switched from one network slice to another network slice. And further flexible use of the network slice is realized.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a terminal device for dynamically determining a network slice, including: configuring a first user routing strategy rule and a second user routing strategy rule for an application running on the terminal equipment, wherein the first user routing strategy rule is associated with a first network slice, and the second user routing strategy rule is associated with a second network slice; acquiring the service information of the application; dynamically determining a network slice for carrying the applied service based on the applied service information, the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule; associating traffic of the application to a first network slice if the first network slice is a network slice for carrying traffic of the application; associating traffic of the application to a second network slice if the second network slice is a network slice for carrying traffic of the application.

For example, the configuring the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule for the application running on the terminal device further includes: sending a registration request associated with the application to a network-side device, and receiving the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule from the network-side device, wherein the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule are generated by the network-side device based on the registration request.

For example, the configuring the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule for the application running on the terminal device further includes: determining a first user routing strategy rule and a second user routing strategy rule based on the applied information and the user local configuration; sending a message associated with the application to a network side device, wherein the message associated with the application indicates that the traffic of the application can be carried by the first network slice and/or the second network slice.

For example, the dynamically determining a network slice for carrying traffic of the application based on the traffic information of the application, the first user routing policy rule, and the second user routing policy rule further comprises: determining a first network slice as a network slice for carrying the service of the application under the condition that the first network slice meets the requirement of the service of the application; and determining the second network slice as the network slice for bearing the service of the application under the condition that the first network slice does not meet the requirement of the service of the application, wherein the service processing capacity of the second network slice is higher than that of the first network slice.

For example, the dynamically determining a network slice for carrying traffic of the application based on the traffic information of the application, the first user routing policy rule, and the second user routing policy rule further comprises: determining the service quality of a network slice bearing the service of the application; and associating the service of the application to a second network slice under the condition that the service quality is lower than the service quality requirement of the service of the application, wherein the service information of the application comprises the service quality requirement of the service of the application, and the service processing capacity of the second network slice is higher than that of the first network slice.

For example, the dynamically determining a network slice for carrying traffic of the application based on the traffic information of the application, the first user routing policy rule, and the second user routing policy rule further comprises: determining the load capacity of a network slice for bearing the service of the application, wherein the load capacity indicates the load degree of the network slice; and associating the applied service to a second network slice under the condition that the load capacity does not meet the load capacity requirement of the applied service on the network slice, wherein the applied service information comprises the load capacity requirement of the applied service on the network slice, and the load capacity of the second network slice is lower than that of the first network slice.

For example, the service parameter of the application includes a quality of service requirement of the service of the application, wherein the determining the first network slice as the network slice for carrying the service of the application in the case that the first network slice satisfies the requirement of the service of the application further includes: determining the first network slice as a network slice for carrying the traffic of the application under the condition that the service quality requirement of the traffic of the application is not higher than the service quality of the first network slice; the determining the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application further comprises, in case that the first network slice does not satisfy the requirement of the traffic of the application: determining the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application in case that the quality of service requirement of the traffic of the application is higher than the quality of service of the first network slice.

For example, the service parameter of the application includes a priority of the service of the application, wherein the determining the first network slice as the network slice for carrying the service of the application in the case that the first network slice satisfies a requirement of the service of the application further includes: determining the first network slice as a network slice for carrying the traffic of the application in the case that the priority of the traffic of the application is not higher than the priority of the first network slice; the determining the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application further comprises, in case that the first network slice does not satisfy the requirement of the traffic of the application: determining the second network slice as a network slice for carrying traffic of the application if the priority of the traffic of the application is higher than the priority of the first network slice.

For example, the associating traffic of the application to the first network slice further comprises: determining first single network slice selection assistance information based on a first network slice selection policy in the first user routing policy rule; determining whether there is a matching protocol data unit session applicable to the application based on the first single network slice selection assistance information; associating the application to a matching protocol data unit session if the matching protocol data unit session exists; in case there is no matching protocol data unit session, a new protocol data unit session is established.

For example, the associating traffic of the application to a second network slice further comprises: determining a second single network slice selection assistance information based on a second network slice selection policy in the second user routing policy rule; determining whether there is a matching protocol data unit session applicable to the application based on the second single network slice selection assistance information; associating the application to a matching protocol data unit session if the matching protocol data unit session exists; in case there is no matching protocol data unit session, a new protocol data unit session is established.

For example, a first subscriber routing policy rule is associated with a first IP triplet; the second user routing policy rule is associated with the second IP triplet; the first IP triple comprises a first IP address, a first port number and a protocol identifier; the second IP triplet includes a second IP address, a second port number, and a protocol identifier.

For example, the first IP triplet and the second IP triplet satisfy one of: the first IP address is the same as the second IP address, and the first port number is different from the second port number; the first IP address is different from the second IP address, and the first port number is the same as the second port number; the first IP address is different from the second IP address and the first port number is different from the second port number.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a network node of dynamically switching network slices, comprising: receiving a registration request of an application from a terminal device; in response to the registration request, sending a first user routing policy rule and a second user routing policy rule for the application to the terminal device, wherein the first user routing policy rule is associated with a first network slice and the second user routing policy rule is associated with a second network slice; under the condition that a protocol data unit session request from the terminal equipment is received on the first network slice, the first network slice is utilized to bear the service of the application; and under the condition that a protocol data unit session request from the terminal equipment is received on the second network slice, the second network slice is utilized to bear the service of the application.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device including: a processor; and a memory, wherein the memory has stored therein a computer-executable program that, when executed by the processor, performs the above-described method.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the above-described method.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product or computer program is provided, the computer program product or computer program comprising computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium. The processor of the computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer readable medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to cause the computer device to perform the method provided in the above aspects or various alternative implementations of the above aspects.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in more detail embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the attached drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure and not to limit the disclosure. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally represent like parts or steps.

Fig. 1A illustrates an architecture in the case of a Non-roaming reference (Non-roaming reference) of a communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied.

Fig. 1B illustrates another architecture in the case of a roaming reference (roaming reference) of a communication system in which an embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied.

Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a method performed by a terminal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3A and 3B are message flow diagrams for configuring a first user routing policy rule and a second user routing policy rule for an application running on the terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4A is a flow diagram of dynamically determining a network slice for carrying traffic for the application in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4B and 4C are message flow diagrams performed by a terminal device to dynamically determine a network slice according to an embodiment of the disclosure, which illustrate the interaction of a UE and a network-side device when the UE switches the network slice that carries traffic of an application.

Fig. 5A is a flow chart of a method performed by a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5B is a message interaction diagram between a network node and a UE according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates an architecture of a device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present disclosure more apparent, example embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. It should be understood that: the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

An architecture of a communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied is described with reference to fig. 1A and 1B. The communication system may comprise a 5G system, but may also comprise any other type of wireless communication system, such as a 6G communication system, etc. In the following, embodiments of the present disclosure are described taking a 5G system as an example, but it should be appreciated that the following description may also be applicable to other types of wireless communication systems.

Fig. 1A illustrates one architecture 100A in the case of a Non-roaming reference (Non-roaming reference) of a communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied.

Fig. 1B illustrates another architecture 100B in the case of a roaming reference (roaming reference) for a communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied.

The respective entities in fig. 1A and 1B are briefly described below.

UE101 (i.e., terminal device), which may be referred to as User Equipment (UE), may refer to a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a User. The terminals may communicate with one or more core networks via a Radio Access Network (RAN), and the UEs 101 may be mobile terminals such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones) and computers with mobile terminals, e.g., portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices. Such as a Subscriber Unit (Subscriber Unit), a Subscriber Station (Subscriber Station), a Mobile Station (Mobile), a Remote Station (Remote Station), an Access Point (Access Point), a Remote Terminal (Remote Terminal), an Access Terminal (Access Terminal), a User equipment (User Terminal), a User Agent (User Agent), a User Device (User Device), or a UE.

UE101 and (Radio) Access Network (R) AN102 (hereinafter referred to as (R) AN102) establish a wireless connection over a wireless air interface. Optionally, the wireless air interface is a wireless air interface based on a 5G standard, for example, the wireless air interface is NR; alternatively, the wireless air interface may be a wireless air interface based on a 5G next generation mobile communication network technology standard (e.g., 6G).

The (R) AN102 may be a base station. For example, the base station may be a base station (gNB) in a 5G system that employs a centralized or distributed architecture. When the access network device 120 employs a centralized Distributed architecture, it typically includes a Centralized Unit (CU) and at least two Distributed Units (DUs). The CU and the DU are provided with a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, a Physical (PHY) layer Protocol stack, and a Media Access Control (MAC) layer, where an arrangement manner of each Protocol stack in the CU and the DU is determined according to a logic function division manner of the CU and the DU. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the (R) AN 102.

(R) the AN102 and the core network elements are connected by a wired connection or a wireless connection. The wired connection may be a fiber optic cable or an electrical cable.

For example, in the case of a Non-roaming reference (Non-roaming reference), the core network elements may include: an Access and Mobility Management Function entity 103 (AMF), a Network open Function (NEF) entity, a Network storage Function (NRF) entity, a Policy Control Function (PCF) entity 104, a Unified Data Management (UDM) entity, an Application Function (AF) entity 105, an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) entity, a Session Management Function (SMF) entity, a Service Communication Proxy (SCP) entity, a User Plane Function (UPF) entity, a Data Network (Network) entity, a Network Slice Selection Function (Network Slice sf) entity 106, and the like.

For example, in the case of roaming, the core network element may further include other entities besides the above-mentioned multiple entities to assist the implementation of the roaming Function, such as an Intermediate network open Function (I-NEF) entity, a VPLMN Security Edge Protection Proxy (VPLMN Security Edge Protection Proxy, vSEPP) entity, an HPLMN Security Edge Protection Proxy (HPLMN Security Edge Protection Proxy, hSEPP) entity, a V-PCF (VPLMN policycontrol Function ) entity 104A, and an H-PCF (HPLMN policycontrol Function, HPLMN policy control Function) entity 104B, and so on.

Optionally, the AMF103 is connected to a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) of the UE101 through AN N1 interface, and the AMF103 is further connected to the (R) AN102 through AN N2 interface. The AMF103 is connected to other core network elements such as PCF104, NSSF106, AF 105, etc. The present disclosure is not so limited and embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to communication systems containing more and fewer functional entities. Further, each of the entities described above may be one or more servers. In this disclosure, an "entity" may also be referred to as a node. For convenience, entities and nodes are sometimes used interchangeably hereinafter.

Alternatively, the AMF entity 103 may support access authentication, mobility management, registration management, connection management, lawful answering, etc. of the UE. PCF104 may support a unified policy framework to manage network behavior, provide policy rules to control the control plane, and the like. The AF 105 may support application impacts on traffic paths, interactions with a measurement framework for policy control, etc. The NSSF106 may perform at least one of the following functions: selecting a Network Slice instance serving the UE101, determining allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI), determining configured NSSAI, and so forth.

In a 5G Core Network (5G Core Network, 5GC), the PCF104 is able to provide at least one of the following policy information to the UE 101:

1) access Network Discovery and Selection Policy (ANDSPs): the UE uses it to select a Non-3GPP access and to select an N3IWF (Non-3GPP interworking function) in the PLMN.

2) UE routing Policy (URSP).

In case of roaming, the V-PCF (VPLMN policy control Function) entity 104A may retrieve the URSP in the H-PCF (HPLMN policy control Function) entity 104B.

For example, referring to fig. 1A and 1B, the URSP may be provided to the AMF103 by the PCF and then provided to the UE through the AMF 103. Alternatively, the AMF103 does not change the URSP provided by the PCF 104.

A URSP is a policy used by a UE to determine whether a certain application running on it can be associated with an established PDU (protocol data Unit) session, can offload (offloaded) to a non-3GPP access outside of a PDU session, or can trigger the establishment of a new PDU session.

The URSP may include a Network Slice Selection Policy (NSSP). The NSSP may offload specified traffic to a corresponding network slice. The UE101 activates a service by using the network slice corresponding to the service descriptor and notifies the AMF103 when the protocol data unit session is created.

The network slice refers to a networking on demand mode, which can enable an operator to divide a plurality of virtual end-to-end networks on a unified infrastructure, and each network slice is logically isolated from a wireless access network to a bearer network and then to a core network, so as to adapt to various types of service applications. Within a network slice, at least a radio subslice, a bearer subslice, and a core network subslice are included.

Different network slices have different network transmission qualities. Depending on the operator defined different network traffic packages, application specific traffic requirements, user identity/role (VIP/general user), etc., it is possible to use different network slices even for the same application. The network slicing technology is one of the key technologies of 5G, and can enable a user to access to the most appropriate network according to needs by configuring the network end to end, so that the flexibility of network resources is increased.

However, during the use of an application, there is a need to switch network slices, or to use network slices with better network transmission quality.

The UE101 may associate a network slice with better network transmission quality for the application running thereon in the following manner. The network slicing for better application-associated network transmission quality by the UE101 is also referred to as network slicing acceleration. Network slices with better network transmission quality are also known in the industry as speed-up slices. A network slice with a common network transmission quality is also known in the industry as a common slice or a default slice.

The first method is as follows: regardless of the current network environment, the application transmits traffic on designated network slices of high network transmission quality, either per URSP pre-configured by the user or acquired during registration. One approach is also referred to in the industry as static slicing acceleration. In such a case, even if the service quality can be guaranteed by using the network slice with the normal network transmission quality or the low network transmission quality, the service defaults to using the network slice with the high network transmission quality (i.e. using the network slice acceleration service), which increases the cost of using the slice acceleration service by the service. The approach may result in the UE101 being inflexible to use slice acceleration services. And since the resources of network slices of high network transmission quality are limited, the number of users that these network slices can carry is also limited. The first method cannot fully utilize the use value of the slice with high network transmission quality.

The second method comprises the following steps: the application migrates the relevant application from the default network slice or the currently used network slice to another network slice with better transmission quality only when the network slice with better transmission quality needs to be used. Mode two is also known in the industry as dynamic slicing acceleration.

It is noted that in the current 5G communication system, the implementation manner of dynamic slice acceleration is as follows:

1) the user terminal carries the service on a default network slice or a network slice with ordinary network transmission quality according to a pre-configured URSP (or user local configuration) or a previously received URSP rule.

2) The user terminal or application determines whether to migrate the service default or currently used network slice to another network slice with better transmission quality according to the network environment, the position change and other factors.

3) The user terminal or application requests the network side (including the bearer network and the core network, e.g., (R) AN102, AMF103, or PCF 104) to carry traffic on another network slice with better transmission quality.

4) The network side (e.g., (R) AN102, AMF103, or PCF 104) generates a URSP rule based on the request information and dynamically issues/updates the URSP.

5) And the user terminal associates the service of the application to another network slice with better transmission quality according to the received and updated URSP.

In the current 5G communication system, the network side device dynamically issues/updates the URSP, which puts high requirements on both the 5G network side and the terminal device. This requires that both the 5G network side device and the terminal device support the URSP dynamic delivery/update flow and function. At present, in the initial stage of 5G commercial, most of network side devices and terminal devices may not support the dynamic issuing/updating flow and function of the URSP, so that the dynamic slice acceleration function cannot be realized. Meanwhile, if the dynamic slice acceleration is to be industrially realized, the 5G network side is also required to open an AP I interface for a third party application to call another network slice with better transmission quality, and the third party application calls a dynamic slice acceleration related function through the API interface.

It can be seen that in the current 5G communication system, there is still a need for improvement in switching traffic from one network slice to another with better transmission quality. Especially when the network side device does not support dynamic slice acceleration or cannot issue updated URSPs, the terminal device still wants to be able to switch the applied service from one network slice to another network slice with better transmission quality.

In the present disclosure, a terminal may pre-configure a first URSP and a second URSP for an application. Therefore, when the network side does not dynamically update the URSP for the terminal, the service of the application can still be switched from one network slice to another network slice. And further, flexible use and configuration of the network slice are realized.

A method of dynamically determining a network slice performed by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a method 200 performed by a terminal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in fig. 2, in step S201, the UE101 configures a first user routing policy rule (hereinafter, a first URSP) and a second user routing policy rule (hereinafter, a second URSP) for an application (e.g., application a) running thereon, wherein the first URSP is associated with a first network slice and the second URSP is associated with a second network slice.

Optionally, the first URSP and the second URSP may contain the following two pieces of information:

1. service Descriptor (Traffic Descriptor): the method is used for identifying the service type by the UE and comprises the following modes: OSId + osaprid, IP triplets (IP address or IPv6 network prefix, port number, protocol ID), FQDN (domain name), DNN (data network name).

2. Route Selection Descriptor (Route Selection Descriptor): indicating the control strategy of the matching traffic. Several of the routing descriptors are briefly described below. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the routing descriptor may also include more or fewer control/selection policies that match the traffic.

The routing descriptor may include the following information:

2a) SSC Mode Selection Policy (sscmode Selection Policy, sscmspmsc): the UE associates the matching application with the SSC pattern using the policy. The ssc (session and Service continuity) indicates the continuity of the session and the Service.

2b) Network Slice Selection Policy (NSSP): the UE associates the matched application with the S-NSSAI using the policy.

2c) DNN Selection Policy (DNN Selection Policy): the UE utilizes the policy to associate the matched application with the DNN. Dnn (data Network name) represents the data Network name.

2d) Protocol data unit Session Type Policy (PDU Session Type Policy): the UE utilizes the policy to associate the matched application with the protocol data unit session type.

2e) Non-Seamless Offload Policy (Non-Seamless Offload Policy): the UE utilizes the policy to determine that the matching application should be non-seamlessly offloaded to the non-3GPP access (i.e., outside of the protocol data unit session).

2f) Access Type preference (Access Type preference): the access type preference indicates a preferred access type (3GPP or non-3 GPP) if the UE needs to establish a protocol data unit session for a matching application.

The UE101 completes offloading the specified traffic to the corresponding Network slice using a Network slice selection (Network slice selection) parameter in a Network Slice Selection Policy (NSSP). The network slice corresponding to the service descriptor is used when the UE101 activates a service, and the AMF103 is notified when the protocol data unit session is created. The Network Slice Selection (Network Slice Selection) parameter is, for example, Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NASSI). The S-NASSI is used to uniquely identify a network slice.

Optionally, the NSSP includes a correspondence between a specific application and Single network slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NASSI). Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NASSI) is a set of S-NSSAIs that identifies a set of Network slices.

When the UE101 establishes a pdu session, it selects a corresponding network slice for different applications according to the NSSP in the URSP. The UE101 may include multiple NSSPs to accommodate different access modes. That is, the UE101 may configure corresponding NSSPs for various different access manners.

Alternatively, the NSSP may include one or more NSSP rules, each NSSP rule containing a rule that applies an association with a corresponding S-NSSAI. The NSSP may also contain a default NSSP rule that will be used by applications that fail to match. Alternatively, an application may correspond to multiple NSSP rules in an NSSP. The UE101 will match the NSSP rules with the applied services in sequence according to the priorities of the NSSP rules in the NSSP. The network slice indicated by the S-NSSAI in the NSSP rule that successfully matches for the first time may be used as a candidate network slice. The UE101 will check that the S-NSSAI belongs to the NSSAI (allowed NSSAI) currently allowed by the UE. If yes, the NSSP rule is the NSSP rule which is successfully matched. If not, the UE101 will continue to look for NSSP rules until an NSSP rule is found that both matches the applied service and the S-NSSAI in the NSSP rule belongs to the allowed NASAI. The S-NSSAI in the NSSP rule which is successfully matched is the selected S-NSSAI.

For example, assume that there is a service in application a running in the UE101 that needs to interact with the network side. The UE101 will configure a first and a second URSP rule for application a. Wherein the first URSP is associated with a first network slice and the second URSP is associated with a second network slice. The first network slice has a single network slice selection assistance information S-NSSAI _0 and the second network slice has a single network slice selection assistance information S-NSSAI _ 1. The following is one example of the first URSP and the second URSP.

The first URSP rule associates an application where the IP triplet is (IP _1, Port _1, Protocol _1) onto a first network slice with a single network slice selection assistance information S-NSSAI _ 0. And, the SSC pattern of the first network slice is selected as SSC pattern 3, the access type is 3GPP access, and the data network name thereof is "internet". Wherein, the IP triple includes: IP address/IPv 6 network prefix (IP) (e.g., first IP address, IP _1), Port number (Port) (e.g., first Port number, Port _1), and Protocol identifier (e.g., Protocol _ 1).

The routing policy of the first URSP rule indicates that traffic of an application may be transported using the first network slice if the traffic information of the application matches the traffic descriptor in the first URSP rule. For example, when the service information of the application indicates that the IP triplet that the application can use is (IP _1, Port _1, Protocol _1), the access type is 3GPP access type, and the name of the data network expected to be accessed is "internet", the application matches the first network slice.

Thus, the first subscriber routing policy rule is associated with a first IP triplet, and the first IP triplet includes the first IP address, the first port number, and the protocol identifier.

The second URSP rule associates an application of an IP triplet (IP _1, Port _2, Protocol _1) onto a second network slice with a single network slice selection assistance information S-NSSAI _ 1. And, the SSC pattern of the second network slice is selected as SSC pattern 3, the access type is 3GPP access, and the data network name thereof is "internet".

The routing policy of the second URSP rule indicates that traffic for an application may be transported using the second network slice if the traffic information for the application matches the traffic descriptor in the second URSP rule. For example, when the service information of the application indicates that the IP triplet that can be used by the application is (IP _1, Port _2, Protocol _1), the access type is 3GPP access type, and the name of the data network expected to be accessed is "internet", the application is matched with the second network slice.

Thus, the second subscriber routing policy rule is associated with a second IP triplet, and the second IP triplet includes the second IP address, the second port number, and the protocol identifier.

Since both the first and second URSP rules match application a, the first and second URSP have the same protocol identifier.

Optionally, the first IP triplet and the second IP triplet satisfy any one of the following conditions:

the first IP address is the same as the second IP address, and the first port number is different from the second port number;

the first IP address is different from the second IP address, and the first port number is the same as the second port number;

the first IP address is different from the second IP address and the first port number is different from the second port number.

Therefore, the first IP triple and the second IP triple can be distinguished through the IP address and the port number, and further the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule are distinguished.

For convenience of description, it is assumed that the second network slice has better network service quality than the first network slice. Hereinafter, the second network slice with better network quality of service is also referred to as an acceleration slice, while the first network slice is also referred to as a normal slice or a default slice.

At this time, both the network side device and the UE101 know the first IP triplet and the second IP triplet, which respectively correspond to the first network slice and the second network slice, capable of bearing the service of the application a. At this time, no matter which IP triplet the UE101 initiates access to the service of the application a, the network side device can receive, analyze, and feed back the corresponding service of the application a. Similarly, no matter which IP triplet is used by the network side device to transmit the service of the application a to the UE101 (for example, to transmit a video stream to the UE 101), the UE101 can receive and parse the corresponding service.

In step S202, the UE101 acquires service information of the application a.

For example, the service information of application a may indicate that the access type that the application expects to use is 3GPP access, and the name of the data network expecting to access is "internet".

The service information of the application a may indicate that the service of the application a may be carried through the network slice corresponding to the multiple sets of IP triplets. Specifically, the traffic information of the application a may indicate that the traffic of the application a is expected to be carried through the network slice having the Protocol identifier Protocol _ 1.

In the following, an example of IP triplets of a network slice capable of carrying traffic of application a is given:

example one: IP _1, Port _1, Protocol _1

Example two: IP _1, Port _2, Protocol _1

Example three: IP _2, Port _1, Protocol _1

Example four: IP _2, Port _2, Protocol _1

Those skilled in the art should understand that more network slices corresponding to IP triplets may also be used to carry the traffic of application a, for example, IP triplets are IP _2, Port _3, and Protocol _1, as long as the Protocol identifier of the corresponding IP triplet of the network slice is Protocol _ 1.

Alternatively, the traffic information of application a may indicate the quality of service requirements of the traffic of application a for the network slice. For example, the service information of application a may indicate the quality of service requirements for carrying the service.

Next, in step S203, the UE101 dynamically determines a network slice for carrying the traffic of the application a based on the traffic information of the application a, the first user routing policy rule, and the second user routing policy rule.

As described above, the first URSP rule indicates that the first network slice (normal slice) may be used to carry the traffic of application a. The second URSP rule indicates that a second network slice (acceleration slice) may be used to carry the traffic of application a.

For example, the UE101 determines the quality of service for the first network slice according to a first URSP rule. If the qos of the first network slice can already meet the qos requirement of the application a (i.e., the normal slice can already meet the qos requirement of the application a), the UE may determine the first network slice as a network slice for carrying the service of the application a.

For example, the UE101 determines the quality of service for the first network slice according to a first URSP rule. If the service quality of the first network slice cannot meet the current service quality requirement of the application a (i.e., the common slice cannot meet the service quality requirement of the application a), the UE may determine the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the service of the application a according to the second URSP rule.

It is noted that the UE101 may not only obtain the service information of the application a when initiating the service of the application a, but also obtain the application information of the application a in real time in a process that a certain network slice is already used to carry the service of the application a.

For example, assume application a is a real-time video playback application. When using application a, the user may feel that the current video picture is not clear and smooth enough, so it is desirable to pay for using the network slice with better service quality to carry the service of application a. At this time, the UE101 acquires the service information change of the application a in real time, which indicates the change of the quality of service requirement of the application a. At this point, according to the first URSP rule, the normal slice has not been able to meet the current quality of service requirements of application a. The UE101 will determine from the second URSP rule that the second network slice will be used to carry traffic for application a.

For another example, when the user uses application a, the user may not pay for the acceleration slice any more, so that it is desirable to use the normal slice to carry the service of application a. At this time, the UE101 acquires the service information change of the application a in real time, which indicates the change of the quality of service requirement of the application a. At this point, according to the first URSP rule, the normal slice is already able to meet the current quality of service requirements of application a. The UE101 will migrate the traffic of application a from the acceleration slice to the normal slice. At this point, the UE101 will determine that the first network slice will be used to carry the traffic of application a according to the first URSP rule.

Finally, the UE101 associates the traffic for application A to either the first network slice or the second network slice according to the network slice determined by the UE101 to carry the traffic for application A.

In step S204, the UE101 associates the traffic of the application to the first network slice if the first network slice is used as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application, and associates the traffic of the application to the second network slice if the second network slice is used as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application.

Optionally, step S204 further includes: in case the UE101 determines that the traffic of application a is to be associated to a first network slice (normal slice), based on a first NSSP in said first URSP rule, an S-NSSAI is determined. For example, according to the example of the first URSP rule described above, the UE101 finds that the value of S-NSSAI in NSSP in the first URSP rule is S-NSSAI _ 0. Next, the UE101 locates the network slice with the S-NSSAI _0 tag (i.e., the first network slice) and determines whether there is a matching PDU session applicable to Session A on that network slice. In case there is a matching protocol data unit session, application a is associated to the matching protocol data unit session. In the absence of a matching protocol data unit session, the UE101 will establish a new protocol data unit session on that network slice (e.g., the first network slice).

Similarly, step S204 further includes: in case the UE101 determines that the traffic of application a is to be associated to a second network slice (acceleration slice), based on a second NSSP of said second URSP, an S-NSSAI is determined. For example, according to the example of the second URSP described above, the UE101 finds that the value of S-NSSAI in NSSP in the second URSP is S-NSSAI _ 1. Next, the UE101 locates the network slice with the S-NSSAI _1 marker (i.e., the second network slice) and determines whether there is a matching protocol data unit session applicable to Session A on that network slice. In case there is a matching protocol data unit session, application a is associated to the matching protocol data unit session. In the absence of a matching protocol data unit session, the UE101 will establish a new protocol data unit session on that network slice (e.g., acceleration slice).

Compared with a static slice acceleration scheme in the existing 5G communication system, in which static slice acceleration always utilizes an acceleration slice to carry traffic of the application a, the UE101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may dynamically determine a network slice for carrying traffic of the application, thereby avoiding always using an acceleration slice/a normal slice to carry traffic of the application a, and thus enabling flexible configuration and selection of the network slice.

Compared with the dynamic slice acceleration scheme in the existing 5G communication system, in which the URSP must be dynamically issued/updated by the PCF104 to migrate the traffic of the application a to the acceleration slice/normal slice, the UE101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can configure the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule for the application a in advance, so that when the network side does not dynamically update the URSP for the terminal yet, the applied traffic can still be switched from one network slice to another network slice. And further, flexible use and configuration of the network slice are realized.

A method 200 of dynamically determining a network slice performed by a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to fig. 3A and 3B. Fig. 3A and 3B are message flow diagrams for configuring a first user routing policy rule and a second user routing policy rule for an application running on the terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Alternatively, the URSP rule may be pre-configured (pre-configured) in the UE101, or may be provided to the UE101 from a network-side device (e.g., the PCF 104). Alternatively, the UE101 may apply the pre-configured URSP when the URSP has not been received from the PCF 104.

Fig. 3A shows an example in which the network side device provides the URSP rule to the UE101, and the UE101 dynamically associates the applied traffic to the first network slice or the second network slice according to the URSP rule provided by the network side device.

For example, in step S201 described above, the UE may send a registration request associated with application a to the network-side device, and then receive a first URSP rule and a second URSP rule from the network-side device, where the first and second URSP rules are generated by the network-side device based on the registration request.

The network side device may formulate a first URSP rule and a second URSP rule for application a of the UE101 based on various information. For example, the network quality of service requirements of the traffic of application a, whether the user is a VIP user of application a, whether the user pays, the kind of network traffic package purchased by the user, the type of access of application a, etc. The present disclosure does not limit the manner and input parameters by which the network side device determines the URSP rule for the UE 101.

After the network side device has formulated the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule for application a of UE101, the network side device will send a message including the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule to UE 101.

Fig. 3B shows an example of the UE101 determining the URSP rules according to a UE Local configuration (UE Local configuration), according to which the UE101 dynamically associates the applied traffic to the first network slice or the second network slice.

For example, in step S201 described above, the UE101 may determine a first user routing policy rule (first URSP rule) and a second user routing policy rule (second URSP rule) based on the information of the application a and the user local configuration.

The UE101 may synthesize various information to formulate a first URSP rule and a second URSP rule for application A of the UE 101. For example, the network quality of service requirements of the traffic of application a, whether the user is a VIP user of application a, whether the user pays, the kind of network traffic package purchased by the user, the access type of application a, the protocol data unit sessions currently available to the UE101, the historical usage of the various network slices on the UE101, and so on. The present disclosure does not limit the manner in which the UE101 determines the URSP rules and the parameters that facilitate determining the URSP rules.

Next, the UE101 may send an application a associated message to the network-side device, the application associated message indicating that the traffic of the application a may be carried by the first network slice and/or the second network slice. For example, the UE101 may send the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule formulated for the application a to the network side device. The UE101 may also send application a traffic to the network side through the existing PDU session on the first network slice to inform the network side device that the application a traffic is to be carried by the first network slice. The UE101 may also send the application a traffic to the network side through the existing PDU session on the second network slice to inform the network side device that the application a traffic is to be carried by the second network slice. Alternatively, the UE101 may also send a PUD session request for establishing a PDU session on the first network slice/the second network slice to inform the network side device that the traffic of application a is to be carried by the first network slice/the second network slice. The present disclosure does not limit the message indicating that the service of the application a can be carried by the first network slice and/or the second network slice, as long as the network side device can know the IP triplet that can carry the service of the application a.

Compared with a static slice acceleration scheme in the existing 5G communication system, in which static slice acceleration always utilizes an acceleration slice to carry traffic of the application a, the UE101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may configure a plurality of URSP rules in advance to carry traffic of the application a, thereby avoiding always using an acceleration slice/a common slice to carry traffic of the application a, and thus enabling a network slice to be flexibly configured and selected.

Compared with the dynamic slice acceleration scheme in the existing 5G communication system, in which the URSP must be dynamically issued/updated by the PCF104 to migrate the traffic of the application a to the acceleration slice/normal slice, the UE101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may configure the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule for the application a in advance, so that when the network side has not dynamically issued the URSP capable of using the acceleration slice for the terminal, the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application may still be dynamically determined. And further, flexible use and configuration of the network slice are realized.

A method 200 performed by a terminal device to dynamically determine network slices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to fig. 4A, 4B, and 4C. Fig. 4A is a flow diagram of dynamically determining a network slice for carrying traffic for the application in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 4B and 4C are message flow diagrams performed by a terminal device to dynamically determine a network slice according to an embodiment of the disclosure, which illustrate the interaction of the UE101 and a network side device when the UE101 switches the network slice carrying the traffic of application a.

After determining the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule and acquiring the service information of the application a, the UE101 may execute the above step S203, that is: and dynamically determining whether the service of the application A is carried on the first network slice or the second network slice according to the service information of the application A, the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule.

As shown in fig. 4A, step S203 may include step S401 and step S402.

In step S401, in the case that the first network slice satisfies the requirement of the traffic of the application, the UE101 determines the first network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application.

In step S402, in the case that the first network slice does not satisfy the requirement of the traffic of the application, the UE101 determines the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application. The service information of the application comprises the service requirement of the application, and the service processing capacity of the second network slice is higher than that of the first network slice.

The UE101 may obtain various service information of the application when initiating the service of the application a.

For example, the service information of the application may include the quality of service requirements of the service of application a. For example, application a may be web conferencing software with high requirements on security and traffic transmission speed. Thus, the quality of service requirements of application a may be high. The qos requirement of the service of application a may be expressed by parameters such as packet loss rate (packet loss rate), packet delay budget (packet delay budget), and the like. For example, the traffic of application a may require that the packet loss rate is below a certain threshold or that the delay of packet arrival is below a certain time window.

At this time, the UE101 determines the first network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application when the service quality requirement of the traffic of the application a is not higher than the service quality of the first network slice. And determining the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the service of the application under the condition that the service quality requirement of the service of the application A is higher than the service quality of the first network slice. For example, suppose that the service of application a requires that the packet loss rate cannot be higher than 10%. It is assumed that the packet loss rate of the first network slice can be guaranteed to be within 8%. At this point, the UE will determine to use the first network slice to carry the traffic of application a. Alternatively, the UE101 may also directly indicate, according to the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule, that the traffic with the packet loss rate lower than 5% is required to be carried on the acceleration slice (i.e. the second network slice), and the traffic with the packet loss rate higher than 5% is allowed to be carried on the normal slice (for example, the packet loss rate cannot be higher than 10%, but may be higher than 5%).

For example, the service information of the application may also include the priority of the service of the application a. For example, application a may be the base application software with higher priority requirements. The quality of service requirements of the service of application a may be expressed in a priority order number parameter. It is assumed that the larger the sequence number of the priority, the higher the level of the priority. For example, application a traffic may require the use of network slices with priority order numbers greater than 5. For example, in the case where the priority of the traffic of the application a is not higher than the priority of the first network slice, the first network slice may be determined as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application. And determining the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the service of the application under the condition that the priority of the service of the application A is higher than that of the first network slice. For example, assume that the traffic requirements of application a require the use of network slices with priority index numbers greater than 5. It is assumed that the priority of the first network slice is 4 and the priority of the second network slice is 6. At this point, the UE will determine to use the second network slice to carry the traffic of application a. Alternatively, the UE101 may also set the priority threshold according to the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule. Assume that the set priority threshold is 7. The UE101 may directly indicate that traffic with a priority greater than 7 is required to be carried on the acceleration slice (i.e., the second network slice) while traffic with a priority less than 7 is allowed to be carried on the normal slice (i.e., the first network slice).

Thus, compared to a static slice acceleration scheme in the existing 5G communication system (in which static slice acceleration always utilizes an acceleration slice to carry traffic of application a), the UE101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can dynamically determine which network slice to use to carry traffic of application a when initiating traffic of application a, thereby avoiding always using an acceleration slice/a normal slice to carry traffic of application a, and thus enabling network slices to be flexibly configured and selected.

Compared with the dynamic slice acceleration scheme in the existing 5G communication system, in which the URSP must be dynamically issued/updated by the PCF104 to migrate the service of the application a to the acceleration slice/normal slice, the UE101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may configure the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule for the application a in advance, so that when the network side does not dynamically issue the URSP capable of using the acceleration slice for the terminal, it is still possible to dynamically determine the network slice for carrying the service of the application when the service of the application is initiated. And further, flexible use and configuration of the network slice are realized.

Optionally, the UE101 may dynamically determine the network slice not only at the time of initiating the service of the application a, but also during the process of transmitting the service of the application a with the network-side device by the UE 101.

The UE101 may switch the bearer of the traffic from the normal slice to the accelerated slice or the UE101 switches the bearer of the traffic from the accelerated slice to the normal slice according to the first and second URSP rules.

Fig. 4B gives an example of switching the bearer of traffic from normal to expedited slicing.

It is assumed that the traffic information of application a includes quality of service requirements of the traffic of application a and that the traffic handling capacity of the second network slice is higher than the traffic handling capacity of the first network slice. That is, the second network slice is an acceleration network slice, and the first network slice is a normal network slice.

In step S203, the UE101 may determine the quality of service of the network slice carrying the traffic of application a. Assume that application a is now carried on a normal slice-the first network slice. At this time, there may be more applications that are all carried using the first network slice, and the quality of service of the first network slice may be degraded. At this point, the UE101 may associate the application a traffic to the second network slice according to the second USRP rule in the event that the quality of service of the first network slice is lower than the quality of service requirement of the application a traffic.

Of course, the UE101 may also determine whether to switch the network slice carrying the traffic of application a from the normal slice to the expedited slice according to other parameters.

For example, the traffic information of application a may include a load amount requirement of the traffic of application a, and a load amount of the second network slice is lower than a load amount of the first network slice. Assume that application a requires that the network slice carrying its traffic has a capacity that cannot exceed 75% of the maximum capacity of the network slice.

At this time, in step S203, the UE101 may determine a load amount of a network slice carrying traffic of the application a, where the load amount indicates a load degree of the network slice, and associate the traffic of the application to a second network slice if the load amount does not meet a load amount requirement of the traffic of the application on the network slice. Assume that the current application a is carried on a normal slice-the first network slice. At this time, there may be more applications all using the first network slice for carrying, and the load capacity of the first network slice may exceed 75% of the maximum load capacity thereof. In the case where the load amount of the normal slice is higher than 75% of the load amount threshold that can satisfy the load amount demand of the traffic of application a, the UE101 may associate the traffic of application a to a second network slice (acceleration slice) according to a second URSP rule.

Alternatively, the user using the UE101 may also have changed his network traffic package or purchased the VIP member of application A, thereby allowing the operator/service server to have more traffic carried on the second network slice. In this case, the UE101 may also determine to use the acceleration slice according to a change in the quality of service requirement of the service of the application a. For example, for a video application, after a user purchases a VIP, the quality of service requirement (SLA) for the traffic of the video application changes, which may require a higher quality of service for a network slice carrying the traffic of the application. At this time, the UE101 may dynamically migrate the traffic of the application from the first network slice to the second network slice without the network side re-issuing the URSP rule.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that in other cases, the UE101 may switch network slices as needed as the application traffic or communication quality of the network slices changes. The present disclosure is not limited to these scenarios.

Fig. 4C gives an example of switching the bearer of traffic from the acceleration slice to the normal slice.

The UE101 currently uses the second network slice (acceleration slice) for traffic transmission during the use of the application traffic. At this time, the UE101 determines that the slice acceleration needs to be canceled due to slice admission control or the like. According to the first URSP rule, the UE101 may determine to carry the traffic of the application on a first network slice (normal slice). For example, a user using the UE101 may also have its network traffic package changed or the VIP member of application A cancelled, such that the operator/service server no longer allows the application's traffic to be carried on the second network slice. At this time, the UE101 may also determine to no longer use the acceleration slice according to a change in the quality of service requirement of the service of application a. For example, for a video application, after a user cancels a VIP, the quality of service requirement (SLA) of the traffic corresponding to the video application is also changed, which may require that the network slice carrying the traffic of the application may be a normal slice with lower quality of service. At this time, the UE101 may dynamically migrate the traffic of the application from the second network slice to the first network slice without the network side re-issuing the URSP rule.

Thus, compared to a static slice acceleration scheme in the existing 5G communication system, in which static slice acceleration always utilizes an acceleration slice to carry traffic of application a, the UE101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure can dynamically determine a network slice for carrying traffic of application a when transmitting the traffic of application, thereby avoiding always using the acceleration slice/normal slice to carry traffic of application a, and thus enabling the network slice to be flexibly configured and selected.

Compared with the dynamic slice acceleration scheme in the existing 5G communication system, in which the URSP must be dynamically issued/updated by the PCF104 to migrate the service of the application a to the acceleration slice/normal slice, the UE101 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may configure the first URSP rule and the second URSP rule for the application a in advance, so that when the network side has not dynamically issued/updated the URSP capable of using the acceleration slice for the terminal, it is still possible to dynamically determine the network slice for carrying the service of the application while transmitting the service of the application. And further, flexible use and configuration of the network slice are realized.

A method 500 of dynamically switching network slices performed by a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be further described below with reference to fig. 5A and 5B. Fig. 5A is a flow chart of a method 500 performed by a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 5B is a message interaction diagram between a network node and a UE101 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in fig. 5A, in step S501, a network node (e.g., PCF104, AMF103, etc.) receives a registration request of application a from UE 101. The registration request includes information related to the application a to assist the network node in determining the URSP corresponding to the application.

In step S502, the network node sends, in response to the registration request, to the UE101 a first user routing policy rule and a second user routing policy rule for the application, wherein the first user routing policy rule is associated with a first network slice and the second user routing policy rule is associated with a second network slice.

The network node may formulate a first URSP rule and a second URSP rule for application a of the UE101 based on various information. For example, the network quality of service requirements of the traffic of application a, whether the user is a VIP user of application a, whether the user pays, the kind of network traffic package purchased by the user, the type of access of application a, etc. The present disclosure does not limit the manner and input parameters by which the network side device determines the URSP rule for the UE 101.

As shown in fig. 5B, the first URSP rule indicates that the first network slice (normal slice) may be used to carry traffic for application a. The second URSP rule indicates that a second network slice (acceleration slice) may be used to carry the traffic of application a.

Wherein the routing policy of the first URSP rule indicates that traffic of an application may be transmitted using the first network slice if the traffic information of the application matches the traffic descriptor. For example, when the service information of the application indicates that the IP triplet that can be used by the application is the first IP triplet, the name of the data network expected to be accessed is "DNN 1", the application matches the first network slice.

The routing policy of the second URSP rule indicates that if the traffic information of a certain application matches the traffic descriptor, the traffic of the application can be transmitted using the second network slice. For example, when the service information of the application indicates that the IP triplet that can be used by the application is the second IP triplet, the name of the data network expected to be accessed is "DNN 1", the application matches the second network slice.

The UE101 may perform the following steps after receiving the first and second URSP rules.

For example, the UE101 may determine that the service of the application a is carried on the first network slice or the second network slice according to the information. The UE101 may then dynamically determine which network slice to carry the traffic of application A on in the manner described above. For example, the UE101 determines the quality of service for the first network slice according to a first URSP rule. If the qos of the first network slice can already meet the qos requirement of the application a (i.e., the normal slice can already meet the qos requirement of the application a), the UE may determine the first network slice as a network slice for carrying the service of the application a.

Depending on the network slice determined by the UE101 to carry the traffic for application A, the UE101 associates the traffic for application A to be in the first network slice or the second network slice.

In case the UE101 determines that the traffic of application a is to be associated to a first network slice (normal slice), the UE101 determines S-NSSAI based on a first NSSP in said first URSP rule. For example, according to the example of the first URSP rule described above, the UE101 finds that the value of S-NSSAI in NSSP in the first URSP rule is S-NSSAI _ 0. Next, the UE101 locates the network slice with the S-NSSAI _0 tag (i.e., the first network slice) and determines whether there is a matching PDU session applicable to Session A on that network slice. In case there is a matching protocol data unit session, application a is associated to the matching protocol data unit session. In the absence of a matching protocol data unit session, the UE101 will establish a new protocol data unit session on that network slice (e.g., the first network slice). At this point, the UE101 will send a protocol data unit session request to the network node using the first network slice.

In case the UE101 determines that the traffic of application a is to be associated to a second network slice (acceleration slice), based on a second NSSP of said second URSP, an S-NSSAI is determined. For example, according to the example of the second URSP described above, the UE101 finds that the value of S-NSSAI in NSSP in the second URSP is S-NSSAI _ 1. Next, the UE101 locates the network slice with the S-NSSAI _1 marker (i.e., the second network slice) and determines whether there is a matching protocol data unit session applicable to Session A on that network slice. In case there is a matching protocol data unit session, application a is associated to the matching protocol data unit session. In the absence of a matching protocol data unit session, the UE101 will establish a new protocol data unit session on that network slice (e.g., acceleration slice). At this point, the UE101 will send a protocol data unit session request to the network node using the second network slice.

In step S503, in case the network node receives a protocol data unit session request from the UE101 on a first network slice, the network node carries the traffic of the application with the first network slice. And in case the network node receives a protocol data unit session request from the UE101 on said second network slice, using said second network slice to carry traffic of said application.

Referring to fig. 5B, when traffic for the application is associated to the first network slice, the network node uses port 1 to transceive traffic for application a on UE 101. When the traffic of the application is associated to the second network slice, the network node uses port 2 to transceive the traffic of application a on the UE 101.

Therefore, for the same service, the UE101 and the network node use multiple different sets of IP triplets to match different URSP rules, which can meet the requirement for transmitting the same service on different slices. Meanwhile, under the condition that the 5G network and the terminal do not support dynamic issuing/updating of the URSP and the operator 5G network does not support the capability open interface to support dynamic slice acceleration, the terminal application and the background application service are realized through the embodiment of the disclosure, and the functions of application on-demand and dynamic slice acceleration can be met.

Thus, compared to the static slice acceleration scheme (in which static slice acceleration always utilizes acceleration slices to carry the traffic of the application a) and the dynamic slice acceleration scheme (in which URSPs must be dynamically issued/updated by the PCF104 to migrate the traffic of the application a onto acceleration slices/normal slices) in the existing 5G communication system, the network node according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can still dynamically switch and determine the network slice carrying the traffic of the application when transmitting and initiating the traffic of the application without dynamically issuing or updating the URSPs to the UE 101. And further, flexible use and configuration of network slices (especially accelerated slices) are realized, the accelerated use cost of the slices is reduced, and the use value of the slice acceleration is better played.

Furthermore, devices (e.g., terminals, network nodes, etc.) according to embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by means of the architecture of the electronic device shown in fig. 6. Fig. 6 illustrates an architecture of the computing device. As shown in fig. 6, computing device 600 may include a bus 610, one or more CPUs 620, Read Only Memory (ROM)630, Random Access Memory (RAM)640, a communication port 650 connected to a network, input/output components 660, hard disk 670, and the like. Storage devices in the computing device 600, such as the ROM630 or hard disk 660 may store various data or files used in computer processing and/or communications as well as program instructions executed by the CPU. Computing device 600 may also include a user interface 680. Of course, the architecture shown in FIG. 6 is merely exemplary, and one or more components of the computing device shown in FIG. 6 may be omitted when implementing different devices, as desired.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented as a computer-readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has computer readable instructions stored thereon. The computer readable instructions, when executed by a processor, may perform a method according to embodiments of the present disclosure described with reference to the above figures. The computer-readable storage medium includes, but is not limited to, volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory, for example. The volatile memory may include, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory (cache), and/or the like. The non-volatile memory may include, for example, Read Only Memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, etc.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented as a computer program product or computer program comprising computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor of the computer device reads the computer instructions from the computer readable medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to cause the computer device to perform the method provided in the above aspects or various alternative implementations of the above aspects.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure of the present disclosure is susceptible to numerous variations and modifications. For example, the various devices or components described above may be implemented in hardware, or may be implemented in software, firmware, or a combination of some or all of the three.

Furthermore, as used in this disclosure and in the claims, the terms "a," "an," "the," and/or "the" are not intended to be inclusive in the singular, but rather are inclusive in the plural, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The use of "first," "second," and similar terms in this disclosure is not intended to indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but rather is used to distinguish one element from another. Likewise, the word "comprising" or "comprises", and the like, means that the element or item listed before the word covers the element or item listed after the word and its equivalents, but does not exclude other elements or items. The terms "connected" or "coupled" and the like are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect.

Furthermore, flow charts are used in this disclosure to illustrate operations performed by systems according to embodiments of the disclosure. It should be understood that the preceding or following operations are not necessarily performed in the exact order in which they are performed. Rather, various steps may be processed in reverse order or simultaneously. Meanwhile, other operations may be added to the processes, or a certain step or several steps of operations may be removed from the processes.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

While the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present specification. The present disclosure can be implemented as modifications and variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure defined by the claims. Accordingly, the description of the present specification is for the purpose of illustration and is not intended to be in any way limiting of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method performed by a terminal device for dynamically determining a network slice, comprising:

configuring a first user routing strategy rule and a second user routing strategy rule for an application running on the terminal equipment, wherein the first user routing strategy rule is associated with a first network slice, and the second user routing strategy rule is associated with a second network slice;

acquiring the service information of the application;

dynamically determining a network slice for carrying the applied service based on the applied service information, the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule;

associating traffic of the application to a first network slice if the first network slice is a network slice for carrying traffic of the application;

associating traffic of the application to a second network slice if the second network slice is a network slice for carrying traffic of the application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring first and second subscriber routing policy rules for an application running on the terminal device further comprises:

sending a registration request associated with the application to a network side device, an

Receiving, from the network-side device, the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule, where the first user routing policy rule and the second user routing policy rule are generated by the network-side device based on the registration request.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring first and second subscriber routing policy rules for an application running on the terminal device further comprises:

determining a first user routing strategy rule and a second user routing strategy rule based on the applied information and the user local configuration;

sending a message associated with the application to a network side device, wherein the message associated with the application indicates that the traffic of the application can be carried by the first network slice and/or the second network slice.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamically determining a network slice for carrying traffic of the application based on the traffic information of the application, a first user routing policy rule, and a second user routing policy rule comprises:

determining a first network slice as a network slice for carrying the service of the application under the condition that the first network slice meets the requirement of the service of the application; and

determining the second network slice as a network slice for carrying traffic of the application in case the first network slice does not satisfy requirements of the traffic of the application,

the service information of the application comprises the service requirement of the application, and the service processing capacity of the second network slice is higher than that of the first network slice.

5. The method of claim 1 or 4, wherein the dynamically determining a network slice for carrying traffic of the application based on the traffic information of the application, a first user routing policy rule, and a second user routing policy rule further comprises:

determining the service quality of a network slice bearing the service of the application;

associating traffic of the application to a second network slice if the quality of service is below a quality of service requirement of the traffic of the application,

the service information of the application comprises the service quality requirement of the service of the application, and the service processing capacity of the second network slice is higher than that of the first network slice.

6. The method of claim 1 or 4, wherein the dynamically determining a network slice for carrying traffic of the application based on the traffic information of the application, a first user routing policy rule, and a second user routing policy rule further comprises:

determining the load capacity of a network slice for bearing the service of the application, wherein the load capacity indicates the load degree of the network slice;

associating the traffic of the application to a second network slice if the load amount does not satisfy a load amount requirement of the traffic of the application on the network slice,

the service information of the application comprises the load requirement of the service of the application on the network slice, and the load of the second network slice is lower than the load of the first network slice.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the traffic information for the application includes quality of service requirements for traffic for the application, wherein,

the determining the first network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application further comprises, in case that the first network slice satisfies the requirement of the traffic of the application:

determining the first network slice as a network slice for carrying the traffic of the application under the condition that the service quality requirement of the traffic of the application is not higher than the service quality of the first network slice; the determining the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application further comprises, in case that the first network slice does not satisfy the requirement of the traffic of the application:

determining the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application in case that the quality of service requirement of the traffic of the application is higher than the quality of service of the first network slice.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the service information of the application includes a priority of the service of the application, wherein,

determining the first network slice as a network slice for carrying the traffic of the application in the case that the priority of the traffic of the application is not higher than the priority of the first network slice;

the determining the second network slice as the network slice for carrying the traffic of the application further comprises, in case that the first network slice does not satisfy the requirement of the traffic of the application:

determining the second network slice as a network slice for carrying traffic of the application if the priority of the traffic of the application is higher than the priority of the first network slice.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating traffic of the application to a first network slice further comprises:

determining first single network slice selection assistance information based on a first network slice selection policy in the first user routing policy rule;

determining whether there is a matching protocol data unit session applicable to the application based on the first single network slice selection assistance information;

associating the application to a matching protocol data unit session if there is one;

in case there is no matching protocol data unit session, a new protocol data unit session is established.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the associating traffic of the application to a second network slice further comprises:

determining a second single network slice selection assistance information based on a second network slice selection policy in the second user routing policy rule;

determining whether there is a matching protocol data unit session applicable to the application based on the second single network slice selection assistance information;

11. The method of claim 1, wherein,

the first user routing strategy rule is associated with the first IP triple;

the second user routing policy rule is associated with the second IP triplet;

wherein the first IP triplet comprises a first IP address, a first port number, and a protocol identifier; the second IP triplet includes a second IP address, a second port number, and a protocol identifier.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second IP triples satisfy one of:

13. A method performed by a network node of dynamically switching network slices, comprising:

receiving a registration request of an application from a terminal device;

in response to the registration request, sending a first user routing policy rule and a second user routing policy rule for the application to the terminal device, wherein the first user routing policy rule is associated with a first network slice and the second user routing policy rule is associated with a second network slice;

under the condition that a protocol data unit session request from the terminal equipment is received on the first network slice, the first network slice is utilized to bear the service of the application;

and under the condition that a protocol data unit session request from the terminal equipment is received on the second network slice, the second network slice is utilized to bear the service of the application.

14. An electronic device, comprising:

a processor; and

memory, wherein the memory has stored therein a computer-executable program that, when executed by the processor, performs the method of any of claims 1-13.

15. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13.