CN114172951A

CN114172951A - MEC sharing method, communication device and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN114172951A
Application number: CN202111488472.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈杲; 黄蓉; 黄倩; 高功应; 王志会
Original assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Current assignee: China United Network Communications Group Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-07
Filing date: 2021-12-07
Publication date: 2022-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 2041-12-07
Also published as: CN114172951B

Abstract

The application provides an MEC sharing method, a communication device and a storage medium, relates to the technical field of communication, and can solve the problem that the prior art cannot realize service sharing among MEC systems of different operators. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a first request message; the first request message is used for requesting to deploy the MEC application in the first MEC system to the second MEC system; determining configuration information required by a second MEC system to deploy MEC applications; instantiating an MEC application in a first network device of a first MEC system according to configuration information; sending instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of a second MEC system. The embodiment of the application can realize service sharing among the MECs.

Description

MEC sharing method, communication device and storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to an MEC sharing method, a communication apparatus, and a storage medium.

Background

Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) can effectively reduce the service delay of a terminal by providing computing power to the terminal by setting computing equipment at an edge node of a communication network. The shared construction and sharing of the MEC means that multiple operators jointly construct and share the MEC equipment resources, so that the operation and maintenance cost of the MEC construction is reduced, and the working efficiency of the MEC is improved.

In the technical scheme of the current MEC co-construction and sharing, a User Profile Function (UPF) agent and a Data Network (DN) controller are arranged in an MEC system to realize network communication connection between the MEC and core networks of a plurality of operators.

Although the scheme achieves the effect of network communication connection between the MEC and the core networks of a plurality of operators, the method can only realize that the terminal sends a service request to the MEC of the operator signed with the terminal through the core networks of other operators so as to acquire the MEC service. That is, in the related art, only network sharing between the MEC and the operator core network is realized, but service sharing between MECs of different operators is not realized, and terminals of other operators cannot acquire MEC service resources of operators other than the operator.

Therefore, the prior art still has network sharing among communication networks of different operators, and cannot realize service sharing among MEC systems of different operators.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides an MEC sharing method, a communication device and a storage medium, which can realize service sharing among MECs.

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

in a first aspect, the present application provides an MEC sharing method, including: receiving a first request message; the first request message is used for requesting to deploy the MEC application in the first MEC system to the second MEC system; determining configuration information required by a second MEC system to deploy MEC applications; instantiating an MEC application in a first network device of a first MEC system according to configuration information; sending instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of a second MEC system.

The scheme at least has the following beneficial effects: the communication device determines configuration information required by the second MEC system to deploy the MEC application after receiving a first request message requesting deployment of the MEC application in the second MEC system, and instantiates the MEC application in the first network device of the first MEC system according to the configuration information. After that, the communication means sends instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of the second MEC system. In this way, the second MEC system to be deployed with the MEC application can call the MEC application instance instantiated in the first MEC system according to the configuration information of the second system through the instantiation information, so that the technical effect that the first MEC system shares the service resources of the first MEC system is achieved, and the service sharing of the MEC is achieved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending a first synchronization message to the second network equipment according to the first request message; wherein the first synchronization message is used for requesting configuration information; receiving a first synchronization response message sent by second network equipment; the first synchronization response message includes configuration information; configuration information is determined from the first synchronization response message.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving a second synchronization response message sent by the second network equipment; the second synchronization response message is used for refusing to deploy the MEC application; and stopping the deployment of the MEC application according to the second synchronous response message.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first request message includes a first identifier; the first identification is used for characterizing the MEC application; the method further comprises the following steps: determining a second identifier according to the first identifier; the second identifier is an identifier of the MEC application in the second MEC system; sending a first synchronization message to a second network device; the first synchronization message includes the second identification.

With reference to the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending a first indication message to a first network device; the first indication information is used for indicating the first network equipment to instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information; receiving a first indication response message sent by first network equipment; the first indication response message includes instantiation information of the MEC application.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication device comprising: a communication unit and a processing unit; a communication unit for receiving a first request message; the first request message is used for requesting to deploy the MEC application in the first MEC system to the second MEC system; the MEC system comprises a processing unit, a first MEC system and a second MEC system, wherein the processing unit is used for determining configuration information required by the deployment of the MEC application of the second MEC system; a processing unit further configured to instantiate an MEC application in a first network device of a first MEC system according to the configuration information; the communication unit is further configured to send instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of the second MEC system.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send a first synchronization message to the second network device according to the first request message; wherein the first synchronization message is used for requesting configuration information; the communication unit is also used for receiving a first synchronization response message sent by the second network equipment; the first synchronization response message includes configuration information; and the processing unit is also used for determining the configuration information according to the first synchronization response message.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to receive a second synchronization response message sent by the second network device; the second synchronization response message is used for refusing to deploy the MEC application; and the processing unit is further used for stopping the deployment of the MEC application according to the second synchronous response message.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the first request message includes a first identifier; the first identification is used for characterizing the MEC application; the processing unit is further used for determining a second identifier according to the first identifier; the second identifier is an identifier of the MEC application in the second MEC system; a communication unit, further configured to send a first synchronization message to a second network device; the first synchronization message includes the second identification.

With reference to the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send a first indication message to the first network device; the first indication information is used for indicating the first network equipment to instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information; the communication unit is further used for receiving a first indication response message sent by the first network equipment; the first indication response message includes instantiation information of the MEC application.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication apparatus, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is coupled to a processor for executing a computer program or instructions for implementing the MEC sharing method as described in the first aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, when executed on a terminal, cause the terminal to perform the MEC sharing method as described in the first aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions that, when run on a communication apparatus, cause the communication apparatus to perform the MEC sharing method as described in the first aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions to implement the MEC sharing method as described in the first aspect and any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

In particular, the chip provided herein further comprises a memory for storing computer programs or instructions.

It should be noted that all or part of the above computer instructions may be stored on the first computer readable storage medium. The first computer readable storage medium may be packaged with or separately from a processor of the apparatus, which is not limited in this application.

Reference may be made to the detailed description of the first aspect for the description of the second to sixth aspects of the invention; in addition, for the beneficial effects described in the second to sixth aspects, reference may be made to the beneficial effect analysis of the first aspect, and details are not repeated here.

In the present application, the names of the above-mentioned communication means do not limit the devices or functional modules themselves, which may appear by other names in actual implementations. Insofar as the functions of the respective devices or functional blocks are similar to those of the present invention, they are within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a co-construction and sharing of a 5G network according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an MEC provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an MEC sharing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of an MEC sharing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 is a flowchart of another MEC sharing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 is a flowchart of another MEC sharing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of another MEC sharing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of an MEC application instantiation method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, 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 application.

The term "and/or" herein is merely an association describing an associated object, meaning that three relationships may exist, e.g., a and/or B, may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone.

The terms "first" and "second" and the like in the description and drawings of the present application are used for distinguishing different objects or for distinguishing different processes for the same object, and are not used for describing a specific order of the objects.

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

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present concepts related in a concrete fashion.

In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

Hereinafter, terms related to the embodiments of the present application are explained for the convenience of the reader.

(1) Co-construction sharing

The co-construction sharing refers to that multiple operators jointly construct network facilities and share network services of the network facilities. The co-construction sharing scheme can greatly reduce the operation and maintenance cost of network construction and improve the working efficiency of network facilities. At present, the co-establishment sharing is mainly applied to the co-establishment sharing of communication networks, for example, the co-establishment sharing of a fifth-generation mobile communication (5th-generation mobile communication technology, 5G) network includes two modes of heterogeneous network roaming and access network sharing.

Under the condition of the different network roaming, the basic network facility is the same as the normal construction scheme, and the terminal accesses the 5G network through the access network equipment and the core network equipment of other operators. This approach is not described in great detail in this application.

Under the condition of access network sharing, as shown in fig. 1, a schematic structural diagram of co-construction and sharing of a 5G network provided by the present application is provided. The access network equipment is built by a construction operator and can be accessed to core networks of a plurality of operators. The terminal accesses the core network of the operator signed by itself through the access network device of the operator. Terminal 101 signs a contract with operator a, and terminal 102 signs a contract with operator B. The terminal 101 may access the core network of the operator a through the access network device a established by the operator a to perform network communication, or may access the core network of the operator a through the access network device B established by the operator B to perform network communication. The terminal 102 may access the core network of the operator B through the access network device B established by the operator B to perform network communication, or may access the core network of the operator B through the access network device a established by the operator a to perform network communication.

(2) Mobile Edge Computing (MEC)

Mobile edge computing, also called multi-access edge computing (MEC), refers to a scheme that a device with computing capability is disposed at a node of a communication network, so that a terminal can obtain required service resources through the MEC device disposed at the network node to reduce service delay.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an MEC provided in the present application. The MEC includes an MEC system level (MEC system level), an MEC host level (MEC host level), and an MEC network level (MEC networks level).

The MEC system level includes an Operator Support System (OSS) and a MEC organizer (MEO). The OSS is a management entity that supports the operation of the system in the MEC. A user terminal application (UE app) or a client-facing service portal (CFS portal) sends a service request to an OSS in the MEC through Mx2 and Mx1 interfaces, respectively. And the OSS checks the configuration information such as authorization and integrity of the corresponding MEC application according to the service request, and indicates the MEO to carry out MEC application instantiation or termination operation.

The MEO is responsible for invoking the business resources of each MEC host (MEC host). The MEO may trigger an instantiation or termination operation of the MEC application according to the indication of the OSS and send instantiation or termination information to the OSS.

The MEC host is a device for specifically executing MEC service processing, and is responsible for creating an MEC application instance and providing resources such as calculation, storage, network communication and the like for the MEC application instance.

At present, in an existing technical scheme for sharing the MEC in the co-construction process, a User Profile Function (UPF) agent and a Data Network (DN) controller are arranged in an MEC system to implement network communication connection between the MEC and core networks of multiple operators.

Therefore, the prior art still has network sharing among communication networks of different operators, and cannot realize service sharing among MECs of different operators.

In order to solve the problem that the MEC service sharing cannot be implemented in the prior art, as shown in fig. 3, a schematic structural diagram of an MEC sharing system 30 provided by the present application is provided, where the MEC sharing system 30 includes: a communication device 301 and OSS302 of a plurality of MEC systems.

Wherein the communication device 301 is connected with each of the OSS302 of the plurality of MEC systems by a communication link. The communication device 301 is configured to receive a request message sent by any OSS of OSS302 of a plurality of MEC systems. The request message is for requesting deployment of the MEC application.

The communication means 301 is also used to determine configuration information required to deploy the MEC application.

The communication device 301 is further configured to instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information and send instantiation information of the MEC application to the corresponding OSS.

It should be noted that the multiple MEC systems include an MEC system of a contractor and an MEC system of a shared operator. The carrier is an operator responsible for building the network facility, i.e., an owner of the network facility, and the sharing operator is another operator capable of using the network facility. The OSS in the MEC system of the carrier is connected to the MEO, and the communication device 301 is also connected to the MEO. The MEO is used to instruct the MEC host to create an application instance of the MEC application.

In one possible implementation, the communication device 301 directly instructs the MEO to instantiate the MEC application.

In another possible implementation, the communication device 301 instructs the MEO to instantiate the MEC application by setting up an OSS in the operator's MEC system.

Secondly, the MEC system to which the OSS that sends the request message belongs may be an MEC system to which the MEC application is to be deployed, or may be another MEC system.

Illustratively, the MEC shared system includes 3 OSSs, OSS-1, OSS-2 and OSS-3. The request message sent by OSS-1 to the communication device may request to deploy the MEC application in the MEC system of OSS-1, may request to deploy the MEC application in the MEC system of OSS-2, or may request to deploy the MEC application in the MEC system of OSS-3.

In addition, the same operator can also deploy multiple sets of MEC systems, and the technical scheme provided by the application can also solve the problem that the multiple sets of MEC systems in the same operator cannot realize service sharing.

Through the above scheme, a plurality of MEC systems in the MEC sharing system 30 can instantiate the MEC application in the MEC system of the contractor through the communication device 301, thereby implementing service sharing between MECs.

As an example, the MEC sharing system may be applied to the communication system 40 shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system 40 provided in the present application. The communication system 40 includes a network system 401 of a contractor, a network system 402 of a shared operator, and an MEC system 403. The network system 401 of the carrier, the network system 402 of the shared carrier, and the MEC system 403 all include UPFs, and the UPFs are communicatively connected through an N9 interface. The MEC system 403 is communicatively connected to the carrier network system 401 and the shared carrier network system 402 via the UPF.

The MEC system 403 may send the local data flow filtering rule to the UPF included therein, so that the UPF may filter and forward data flows of different operators.

Because the communication between the MEC system and the core networks of multiple operators is realized by sending the local data stream filtering rule to the UPF, the technical scheme provided by the application can be applied to a scheme of coupling deployment of the MEC and the UPF and a scheme of separating deployment of the MEC and the UPF, and has better universality.

It should be noted that, for convenience of description, the above example takes an MEC co-established sharing scenario of two operators as an example, and the technical solution provided in the present application is also applicable to application scenarios of more than two operators.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application may be referred to or referred to with respect to each other, for example, the same or similar steps, method embodiments, system embodiments, and apparatus embodiments may be referred to with respect to each other, without limitation.

As shown in fig. 5, a flowchart of an MEC sharing method provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown, where the method includes the following steps:

s501, the communication device receives the first request message.

The first request message is used for requesting the MEC application in the first MEC system to be deployed to the second MEC system.

In one possible implementation, the first request message includes a first identifier. The first identifier is used to characterize the MEC application. The first request message may further include an identification characterizing the second MEC system.

It should be noted that the first MEC system is an MEC system of a contractor. The second MEC system is an MEC system to be deployed with the MEC application. The second MEC system may be an MEC system of a contractor or an MEC system of another operator.

It should be noted that, at present, compatible interworking cannot be achieved between multiple MEC systems provided by different MEC system providers, so that the technical solution of the present application is also applicable to a scenario in which a same operator deploys multiple sets of MEC systems provided by different MEC system providers. Similarly, the technical scheme of the application is also suitable for mixed scenes of multiple operators and the same operator deploying multiple sets of different MEC systems. The embodiment of the application mainly takes two operators (one contractor operator and one sharing operator) as an example, and details the technical scheme provided by the application.

In addition, the sender of the first request message is not limited in this application. The first request message may be sent by any MEC system of any one of the plurality of operators.

It should be noted that the sender of the first request message may be an MEC system (i.e. the second MEC system) to be deployed with the MEC application, or may be another MEC system. Reference may be made to the above embodiments, which are not described herein again.

An example of a communication device described in this application is an OSS federation (OSS-subscription) network element.

S502, the communication device determines configuration information required by the second MEC system to deploy the MEC application.

It should be noted that, as shown in step S501, the sender of the first request message may be an MEC system (i.e., the second MEC system) to be deployed with the MEC application, or may be another MEC system. Therefore, after sending a first request message to the communication device, which requests deployment of the MEC application in the second MEC system, to a customer service portal (CFS portal) or an end application (UE app), the communication device also needs to determine configuration information required by the second MEC system to deploy the MEC application.

Illustratively, the configuration information may include coverage area, quality of service (QoS) parameters, and charging information. For details, reference is made to the prior art, which is not limited in this application.

S503, the communication device instantiates the MEC application in the first network device of the first MEC system according to the configuration information.

Wherein the first network device includes any one of an OSS of the first MEC system and an MEO of the first MEC system.

Illustratively, the communication device interfaces with the OSS of the first MEC system via MmO, and the OSS of the first MEC system interfaces with the MEO of the first MEC system via Mm 1. The communication device may instantiate the MEC application in the OSS of the first MEC system via the MmO interface. The OSS of the first MEC system instructs the MEOs to perform MEC application instantiation.

The communication device is connected with the MEO of the first MEC system through an Mm1 interface, and the communication device may instantiate an MEC application in the MEO of the first MEC system through an Mm1 interface.

S504, the communication device sends instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of the second MEC system.

Wherein the second network device comprises an OSS of the second MEC system.

When the instantiation of the MEC application is completed, the communication device may send instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of a second MEC system, so that the second MEC system completes the deployment of the MEC application. The related terminal may call the MEC application according to the instantiation information to acquire the required service resource.

Illustratively, the instantiation information of the MEC application includes the URL address of the application instance. The second MEC system may retrieve an application instance of the MEC application from the URL address.

Hereinafter, a method for determining configuration information required for deploying the MEC application by the communication device will be specifically described with reference to step S502.

As a possible embodiment of the present application, with reference to fig. 5, as shown in fig. 6, the step S502 may be specifically implemented by the following steps S601 to S603:

s601, the communication device sends a first synchronization message to the second network equipment according to the first request message. Accordingly, the second network device receives the first synchronization message sent by the communication apparatus.

Wherein the first synchronization message is used to request configuration information.

In one possible implementation, the first request message includes an identification characterizing the second MEC system. The communication device determines a second network device of the second MEC system based on the identification.

For example, the identifier for characterizing the second MEC system may be a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier. The identifier may also be other identifiers used for characterizing the second MEC system, and the application is not limited thereto.

In another possible implementation manner, a correspondence list between the MEC application requirement and the MEC system is prestored in the communication device, and the communication device determines, according to the correspondence list, a second MEC system corresponding to the MEC application and determines a second network device in the second MEC system.

S602, the second network device sends a first synchronization response message to the communication apparatus. Accordingly, the communication device receives the first synchronization response message sent by the second network device.

Wherein the first synchronization response message includes configuration information.

Specifically, the second network device may determine, from the first synchronization message, configuration information required to deploy the MEC application, and send a first synchronization response message including the configuration information to the communication apparatus. Accordingly, the communication device receives the first synchronization response message sent by the second network device.

S603, the communication device determines the configuration information according to the first synchronization response message.

Through the technical scheme, the communication device can send the first synchronization message to the second network equipment, and determine the configuration information required by the second MEC system to deploy the MEC application according to the received first synchronization response message, so that the communication device can deploy the MEC application in the second MEC system according to the configuration information.

Optionally, after the step S601, the following steps S604 to S606 may be specifically included:

and S604, the second network equipment judges whether the MEC application needs to be deployed.

In a possible implementation manner, the second network device may determine whether the MEC application needs to be deployed according to a preset application protocol.

If the second network device determines that the MEC application needs to be deployed, the step S602 is executed.

If the second network device determines that the MEC application does not need to be deployed, step S605 is executed.

S605, the second network device sends a second synchronization response message to the communication apparatus. Accordingly, the communication device receives a second synchronization response message sent by the second network device.

Wherein the second synchronization response message is for denying deployment of the MEC application.

And S606, the communication device stops deploying the MEC application according to the second synchronous response message.

Through the technical scheme, the communication device stops deploying the MEC application according to the received second synchronous response message, so that the occupation of extra MEC resources is reduced.

It should be noted that, in the present application, the second network device may first determine whether the MEC application needs to be deployed, and select to send the first synchronization response message or the second synchronization response message to the communication apparatus according to the determination result. The scheme may reduce the signalling overhead between the communication device and the second network device.

In this application, the second network device may further determine, according to the first synchronization message, configuration information required for deploying the MEC application, send a first synchronization response message including the configuration information to the communication apparatus, and then determine whether the MEC application needs to be deployed, so that the communication apparatus may obtain the configuration information more timely, so as to deploy the MEC application in the second MEC system more quickly.

That is, in the present application, step S604 may be in parallel with step S602, or may be executed after step S602. The method and the device can be set according to actual conditions.

Hereinafter, a method for determining configuration information required for deploying the MEC application by the communication device will be specifically described with reference to step S601.

As a possible embodiment of the present application, with reference to fig. 5 to 6, as shown in fig. 7, the step S601 may be specifically implemented by the following steps S6011 to S6012:

s6011, the communication device determines the second identifier according to the first identifier.

Wherein the second identifier is an identifier of the MEC application in the second MEC system.

As can be seen from the foregoing embodiments, in the present application, a sender of a first request message may be sent by any MEC system, and therefore, a first identifier in the first request message may be the same as an identifier applied by the MEC in a second MEC system, or may be different from an identifier in the second MEC system.

In a possible implementation manner, multiple MEC systems may set the same application identifier for the MEC application in advance. In this way, the second identifier determined by the communication device is the same identifier as the first identifier.

In another possible implementation manner, the communication device may determine a mapping relationship of the identifiers of each MEC application in the plurality of MEC systems, so that through the mapping relationship, the communication device may determine the second identifier according to the first identifier.

S6012, the communication apparatus sends the first synchronization message to the second network device. Accordingly, the second network device receives the first synchronization message sent by the communication apparatus.

Wherein the first synchronization message comprises the second identity.

Through the technical scheme, the communication device determines the second identifier according to the first identifier and sends the first synchronization message comprising the second identifier to the second network equipment, so that the second network equipment can determine the MEC application to be deployed according to the first synchronization message.

Hereinafter, a method for instantiating the MEC application by the communication device will be specifically described in conjunction with the step S503.

As a possible embodiment of the present application, referring to fig. 5 to 7, as shown in fig. 8, the step S503 may be specifically implemented by the following steps S5031 to S5032:

s5031, the communication device sends a first indication message to the first network device.

The first indication information is used for indicating the first network equipment to instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information.

In conjunction with the content of S503, the first network device includes any one of an OSS of the first MEC system and an MEO of the first MEC system.

In the application, two communication devices are in communication connection with each other, the OSS of the first MEC system and the MEO of the first MEC system. Therefore, in the present application, the communication device may directly instruct the MEO of the first system to instantiate the MEC application, or may instruct the OSS of the first system, and the OSS requests the MEO to instantiate the MEC application.

The manner of instantiating the MEC application can refer to the prior art, and the following briefly describes the instantiation of the MEC application by taking the first network device as the OSS of the first MEC system as an example.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart of an MEC application instantiation method provided by the present application. The method comprises the following steps:

step a, the OSS sends an MEC application instantiation request to the MEO according to the first indication information. Accordingly, the MEO receives an MEC application instantiation request sent by the OSS.

Step b, the MEO sends an MEC application instantiation request to an MEC platform manager (MEPM) according to the MEC application instantiation request. Accordingly, the MEPM receives an MEC application instantiation request sent by the MEO.

Step c, the MEPM sends a resource allocation request to a Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM) according to the MEC application instantiation request. Accordingly, the VIM receives the resource allocation request sent by the MEPM.

And d, the VIM determines required calculation, storage and network resources according to the resource allocation request, and sends a resource allocation response to the MEPM. Accordingly, the MEPM receives the resource allocation response sent by the VIM.

And e, the MEPM sends an MEC application deployment request to an MEC platform (MEP) according to the allocated resources. Correspondingly, the MEP receives an MEC application deployment request sent by the MEPM.

And f, the MEP creates an MEC application instance according to the MEC application deployment request.

And step g, the MEP sends an MEC application deployment request response to the MEPM. Correspondingly, the MEPM receives an MEC application deployment request response sent by the MEP.

And h, the MEPM sends an MEC application instantiation request response to the MEO according to the MEC application deployment request response. Accordingly, the MEO receives the MEC application instantiation request response sent by the MEPM.

Step i, the MEO forwards the MEC application instantiation request response to the OSS, and correspondingly, the OSS receives the MEC application instantiation request response sent by the MEO.

For the scenario in which the first network device is an MEO, similar to the above scheme, details are not repeated in this application.

The MEC application instantiation in the present application can also be implemented according to other ways, which is not limited in the present application.

S5032, the communication device receives the first indication response message sent by the first network device.

Wherein the first indication response message includes instantiation information of the MEC application.

Through the technical scheme, the communication device can send the first indication message to the first network equipment, so that the first network equipment is indicated to instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information. Wherein, when the first network device is an OSS of the first MEC system, the OSS may execute the MEC application instantiation process according to the prior art. When the first network device is an MEO of the first MEC system, the communication apparatus may directly instruct the MEO to perform MEC application instantiation, thereby reducing signaling overhead upon instantiation. Through the scheme, the communication device in the application can instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information required by the deployment of the MEC application by the second MEC system, so that the service sharing of the first MEC system is facilitated.

In the embodiment of the present application, the communication device may be divided into the functional modules or the functional units according to the above method examples, for example, each functional module or functional unit may be divided according to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module may be implemented in a form of hardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional module or a functional unit. The division of the modules or units in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

As shown in fig. 10, a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown, where the device includes:

a communication unit 1002 is configured to receive a first request message.

The processing unit 1001 is configured to determine configuration information required by the second MEC system to deploy the MEC application.

The processing unit 1001 is further configured to instantiate the MEC application in the first network device of the first MEC system according to the configuration information.

The communication unit 1002 is further configured to send instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of the second MEC system.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 1002 is further configured to send a first synchronization message to the second network device according to the first request message; wherein the first synchronization message is used for requesting configuration information; a communication unit 1002, further configured to receive a first synchronization response message sent by a second network device; the first synchronization response message includes configuration information; the processing unit 1001 is further configured to determine configuration information according to the first synchronization response message.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 1002 is further configured to receive a second synchronization response message sent by a second network device; the second synchronization response message is used for refusing to deploy the MEC application; the processing unit 1001 is further configured to stop deploying the MEC application according to the second synchronization response message.

In one possible implementation, the first request message includes a first identifier; the first identification is used for characterizing the MEC application; the processing unit 1001 is further configured to determine a second identifier according to the first identifier; the second identifier is an identifier of the MEC application in the second MEC system; a communication unit 1002, further configured to send a first synchronization message to a second network device; the first synchronization message includes the second identification.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 1002 is further configured to send a first indication message to the first network device; the first indication information is used for indicating the first network equipment to instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information; a communication unit 1002, further configured to receive a first indication response message sent by a first network device; the first indication response message includes instantiation information of the MEC application.

When implemented by hardware, the communication unit 1002 in the embodiment of the present application may be integrated on a communication interface, and the processing unit 1001 may be integrated on a processor. The specific implementation is shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram of another possible structure of the communication device according to the above embodiment. The communication device includes: a processor 1102, and a communication interface 1103. The processor 1102 is configured to control and manage the operation of the communication device, e.g., to perform the steps performed by the processing unit 1001 described above, and/or to perform other processes for the techniques described herein. The communication interface 1103 is used to support communication between the communication device and other network entities, for example, to perform the steps performed by the communication unit 1002. The communication device may further comprise a memory 1101 and a bus 1104, the memory 1101 for storing program codes and data of the communication device.

The memory 1101 may be a memory in a communication device or the like, and the memory may include a volatile memory such as a random access memory; the memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory, flash memory, a hard disk, or a solid state disk; the memory may also comprise a combination of memories of the kind described above.

The processor 1102 may be any means that may implement or execute the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein. The processor may be a central processing unit, general purpose processor, digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others.

The bus 1104 may be an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus or the like. The bus 1104 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 11, but this is not intended to represent only one bus or type of bus.

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 120 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Chip 120 includes one or more (including two) processors 1210 and a communication interface 1230.

Optionally, the chip 120 further includes a memory 1240, and the memory 1240 may include both read-only memory and random access memory and provide operating instructions and data to the processor 1210. A portion of memory 1240 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).

In some embodiments, memory 1240 stores elements, execution modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an expanded set thereof.

In the embodiment of the present application, by calling an operation instruction stored in the memory 1240 (the operation instruction may be stored in an operating system), a corresponding operation is performed.

The processor 1210 may implement or execute various exemplary logical blocks, units and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may be a central processing unit, general purpose processor, digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, units, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. The processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., comprising one or more microprocessors, DSPs, and microprocessors, among others.

Memory 1240 may include volatile memory, such as random access memory; the memory may also include non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory, flash memory, a hard disk, or a solid state disk; the memory may also comprise a combination of memories of the kind described above.

The bus 1220 may be an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus or the like. Bus 1220 may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one line is shown in FIG. 12, but this does not represent only one bus or one type of bus.

Through the above description of the embodiments, it is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity of description, the foregoing division of the functional modules is merely used as an example, and in practical applications, the above function distribution may be completed by different functional modules according to needs, that is, the internal structure of the device may be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above described functions. For the specific working processes of the system, the apparatus and the unit described above, reference may be made to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and details are not described here again.

The present application provides a computer program product containing instructions, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the MEC sharing method in the above method embodiments.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the MEC sharing method in the method flow shown in the foregoing method embodiment.

The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), a register, a hard disk, an optical fiber, a portable Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, any suitable combination of the above, or any other form of computer readable storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium may also be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). In embodiments of the present application, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the MEC sharing method as described in figures 5 to 8.

Since the communication apparatus, the computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program product in the embodiments of the present invention may be applied to the method described above, for technical effects that can be obtained by the method, reference may also be made to the method embodiments described above, and details of the embodiments of the present invention are not repeated herein.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical functional division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

The above is only an embodiment of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present disclosure should be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) sharing method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

receiving a first request message; the first request message is used for requesting the MEC application in the first MEC system to be deployed to the second MEC system;

determining configuration information required by the second MEC system to deploy the MEC application;

instantiating the MEC application in a first network device of the first MEC system in accordance with the configuration information;

sending instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of the second MEC system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining configuration information required by the second MEC system to deploy the MEC application comprises:

sending a first synchronization message to the second network equipment according to the first request message; wherein the first synchronization message is used to request the configuration information;

receiving a first synchronization response message sent by the second network equipment; the first synchronization response message includes the configuration information;

and determining the configuration information according to the first synchronous response message.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein after the sending the first synchronization message to the second network device according to the first request message, the method further comprises:

receiving a second synchronization response message sent by the second network equipment; the second synchronization response message is for denying deployment of the MEC application;

and stopping deploying the MEC application according to the second synchronous response message.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first request message comprises a first identifier; the first identification is used for characterizing the MEC application;

the sending a first synchronization message to the second network device according to the first request message includes:

determining a second identifier according to the first identifier; the second identifier is an identifier of the MEC application in the second MEC system;

sending a first synchronization message to the second network device; the first synchronization message includes the second identification.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein instantiating the MEC application in the first network device of the first MEC system based on the configuration information comprises:

sending a first indication message to the first network device; the first indication information is used for indicating the first network equipment to instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information;

receiving a first indication response message sent by the first network equipment; the first indication response message includes instantiation information of the MEC application.

6. A communication apparatus, comprising a communication unit and a processing unit;

the communication unit is used for receiving a first request message; the first request message is used for requesting the MEC application in the first MEC system to be deployed to the second MEC system;

the processing unit is configured to determine configuration information required by the second MEC system to deploy the MEC application;

the processing unit is further configured to instantiate the MEC application in a first network device of the first MEC system according to the configuration information;

the communication unit is further configured to send instantiation information of the MEC application to a second network device of the second MEC system.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the communication unit is further configured to send a first synchronization message to the second network device according to the first request message; wherein the first synchronization message is used to request the configuration information;

the communication unit is further configured to receive a first synchronization response message sent by the second network device; the first synchronization response message includes the configuration information;

the processing unit is further configured to determine the configuration information according to the first synchronization response message.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the communication unit is further configured to receive a second synchronization response message sent by the second network device; the second synchronization response message is for denying deployment of the MEC application;

the processing unit is further configured to stop deploying the MEC application according to the second synchronization response message.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first request message comprises a first identifier; the first identification is used for characterizing the MEC application;

the processing unit is further configured to determine a second identifier according to the first identifier; the second identifier is an identifier of the MEC application in the second MEC system;

the communication unit is further configured to send a first synchronization message to the second network device; the first synchronization message includes the second identification.

10. The apparatus according to any of claims 6-9, wherein the communication unit is further configured to send a first indication message to the first network device; the first indication information is used for indicating the first network equipment to instantiate the MEC application according to the configuration information;

the communication unit is further configured to receive a first indication response message sent by the first network device; the first indication response message includes instantiation information of the MEC application.

11. A communications apparatus, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface is coupled to the processor for executing a computer program or instructions for implementing the MEC sharing method as claimed in any one of claims 1-5.

12. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that instructions are stored therein, which when executed by a computer, the computer performs the MEC sharing method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims 1 to 5.