KR20190108371A - Communication method for selecting a network slice / service and a communication device performing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a communication method for selecting a network slice/service, which selects and combines logical network slices in accordance with service characteristics to provide various services; and a communication device executing the same. According to the present invention, a communication method of a radio access network (RAN) node comprises the steps of: receiving, from user equipment (UE), a registration request for all services supported by the UE; when it is determined that the UE can use a service type based on the service type requested by the UE and subscriber contract information of the UE, comparing service characteristics of the service type with service characteristics registered in subscriber contract information to determine the service characteristics to be provided to the UE; and transmitting, to the UE, a registration complete message including ID information of a RAN slice/service and a CN slice/service which are selected as a slice/service corresponding to the service type and the determined service characteristics.

Description

COMMUNICATION METHOD FOR SELECTING A NETWORK SLICE / SERVICE AND A COMMUNICATION DEVICE PERFORMING THE SAME}

The following description relates to a communication method for selecting a network slice / service and a communication apparatus for performing the same. More specifically, the mobile terminal UE selects an appropriate RAN slice and a CN slice / service according to a service characteristic required by a user. And an apparatus for efficiently establishing a PDU session for transmitting specialized communication service data over a connection with a selected RAN and CN slice / service.

The mobile communication network constructs and operates the system to operate at the peak performance required in peak time, but the mobile communication network generally wastes resources while using only a part of the performance. Skill is needed.

Future networks require a wide variety of services, from voice and broadband communications to high-speed and high-bandwidth multimedia services, device-to-device communications services, vehicle communications services, and tactile communications services, to provide these services efficiently and quickly. There is a need for a resource-efficient network technology that shares resources and provides services using spare resources measured in real time.

In the conventional mobile communication network technology, base stations determined according to service characteristics were developed to be optimized for specific services (voice service and data service), and new HW and SW were added to provide services with different characteristics. . Such a technology has a problem in that it cannot increase the cost of CAPEX / OPEX while efficiently using the network's free resources in future mobile communication, and cannot provide user-oriented services that require various characteristics in the next generation network in a short time.

The present invention can be flexibly used according to service characteristics by sharing network resources to quickly provide a service having various characteristics in a future network.

According to the present invention, a single physical network infrastructure is divided into a plurality of logical network slices having various characteristics in order to efficiently use network resources in a network structure, thereby allowing a user to select and combine logical network slices according to service characteristics. RAN and core network slicing techniques that can provide services can be applied.

In order to flexibly provide a service using a network slicing technology that shares resources in a future mobile communication network, an operator registers a newly created slice / service in a network through an OAM, and a user requests a service characteristic ( Select the appropriate RAN slice / service and CN slice / service according to the high-speed data transfer service, low latency service, and large connectivity service), and efficiently establish a PDU session that connects the selected slice / service to transmit data of a specialized service. Can be.

According to an embodiment, a communication method of a RAN node includes: receiving a registration request for all services supported by a UE from a user equipment (UE); If it is determined that the service type is available to the UE based on the service type requested by the UE and the subscriber agreement information of the UE, a service characteristic for the service type and a service characteristic registered in the subscriber contract information are compared. Determining a service characteristic to provide to the UE; And transmitting to the UE a registration complete message including ID information of the RAN slice / service and ID information of the CN slice / service selected as corresponding to the service type and the determined service characteristic.

According to an embodiment, a communication method may include requesting a RAN slice information store for selecting a RAN slice / service that satisfies the service type and the determined service characteristic; And requesting the CN slice information store to select a CN slice / service that satisfies a service characteristic supporting the selected RAN slice / service.

In the communication method according to an embodiment, the UE having received the registration completion message may store the received RAN slice / service ID and the selected CN slice / service ID therein.

According to an embodiment, a communication method includes storing a RAN slice / service ID and a CN slice / service selection ID at a UE for all services supported by a UE in the same manner as a service registration process; Establishing, by the UE, a radio bearer and a selected RAN slice / service through a UE registration process to start a specific communication service; And establishing a wire bearer between the RAN slice / service and the CN slice / service, establishing a PDU session connecting the UE-RAN-CN and performing a data communication service.

The communication method according to an embodiment may further include receiving ID information of the RAN slice / service selected as satisfying the service type by the RAN slice information store from the RAN slice information store.

The communication method according to an embodiment may further include receiving ID information of the CN slice / service selected by the CN slice information store from the CN slice information store.

According to an embodiment, a communication service method may include: transmitting, by the UE, a connection request to a RAN based on ID information of logical slices / services selected during registration according to a service characteristic to be performed; Setting up a radio bearer between the UE and the RAN, and requesting a wired bearer session establishment with a CN slice / service corresponding to the access request service; Receiving a CN connection response message from the CN slice / service after mutual authentication between the UE and the subscriber authentication device is completed; In response to receiving the CN connection response message, sending a connection response message to the UE; The method may further include transmitting service data from the UE to the network through a PDU session established between the UE and the CN through the above procedure.

According to an embodiment, in order to effectively provide a service having various characteristics in a future communication network, resources may be efficiently used by sharing network resources and providing a service using only necessary resources according to service characteristics.

According to an embodiment, in the process of applying a network slicing technology to flexibly provide various services and reduce costs in a next generation mobile communication network, a service type (eg, eMBB, mMTC, URLLC, etc.) possessed by the mobile terminal UE DU slice / service ID and CN slice / service ID, which are suitable for the UE, are selected and stored in the UE registration process, and when a service is required, a PDU that satisfies service characteristics quickly by utilizing the RAN slice / service and CN slice / service stored in the UE By establishing a session, you can reduce service startup time and reduce maintenance costs.

1 is a diagram illustrating an MGMN network slicing structure according to an embodiment.
2 illustrates a network slice / service configuration according to an embodiment.
3 is a diagram for describing a process of registering slices / services to a repository, according to an exemplary embodiment;
4 illustrates an example of a service type and a service characteristic stored in a slice information repository, according to an exemplary embodiment.
5 is a diagram illustrating a service registration process of a UE, according to an embodiment.
6 is a diagram illustrating an example of characteristics of selected service types and selected RAN / CN slice information stored in a UE according to an embodiment.
FIG. 7 illustrates a slice / service path for each service type of a UE, according to an embodiment.
8 illustrates a PDU session establishment process of a UE according to an embodiment.
9 is a diagram for describing a communication device, according to an exemplary embodiment.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments are disclosed for purposes of illustration only, and may be practiced in various forms. Accordingly, the embodiments are not limited to the specific disclosure, and the scope of the present specification includes changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the technical idea.

Terms such as first or second may be used to describe various components, but such terms should be interpreted only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. For example, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" to another component, it should be understood that there may be a direct connection or connection to that other component, but there may be other components in between.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate that the described feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof exists, but includes one or more other features or numbers, It is to be understood that it does not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of steps, actions, components, parts or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and are not construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined herein. Do not.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific structural to functional descriptions below are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limited to the scope of the embodiments described herein. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations from this description. Also, like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements, and well-known functions and structures are omitted.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network slicing structure according to an embodiment.

The present invention is a network slice / service required while applying the application of network slicing technology to share resources to provide a service that requires a variety of characteristics in the next generation mobile communication network in a short time by utilizing the spare resources of the existing network without adding new hardware The present invention proposes a method and apparatus for performing PDU session establishment that connects slice / service selection and slice / service flow to provide registration and specialized services.

Referring to FIG. 1, an example of a network slice proposed by Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) for a next generation mobile communication network service is shown.

The physical resources of access nodes, cloud nodes, and networking nodes are logically separated to form multiple slices (5G slice 1, 5G slice 2, 5G slice 3, etc.), and each slice can support its own specialized service. Can be. In other words, 5G slice 1 supporting smart phone service supports smartphone service, 5G slice 2 supports autonomous driving service, and 5G slice supports various features such as massive IoT (massive IoT). The required service can be supported.

2 is a diagram for describing a network slice and a service configuration, according to an exemplary embodiment.

According to an embodiment, a network slice is composed of one or more services that provide similar service characteristics, and the service may be composed of network functions (NFs) supporting various characteristics. In FIG. 2 an example is shown in which a slice / service is composed of a combination of multiple network functions to support a particular service. The network slice 1 / service 1 210 illustrated in FIG. 2 exemplarily has a mobility management function (MMF) function and data for controlling network mobility to provide a mobile broadband (MBB) service requiring high-speed data transmission and mobility. Session Management Function (SMF) to control packet sessions, network function, UPF (User Plane Function) to control user traffic transmission, and Authentication Server Function (AUSF) to provide user contract information and authentication .

In addition, the slice 1 / service 2 220 provides a premium service than the service characteristics of the service 1 (for example, processing speed 100Mbps, delay: 5msec discrimination, HO processing time: 10msec, etc.) according to the user agreement It can be configured with network functions to provide differentiated quality of service (eg, processing speed 500Mbps, delay: 2msec differential, HO processing time: 2mse, etc.).

3 is a diagram for describing a process of registering slices / services to a repository, according to an exemplary embodiment;

Referring to FIG. 3, a process of creating slices / services and registering a service including a service type and a service characteristic to a slice information store is illustrated. This process can be applied to RAN slice / service and CN slice / service registration.

In operation 310, when a new slice / service is created, operations, administration and management (OAM) may allocate a slice / service ID and request to register a service ID, a service type, and a service characteristic as a slice information store. Service registration requests include service type (e.g. eMBB, mMCT, URLLC, etc.) and service characteristic information (e.g., maximum baud rate, user experience data rate, mobility level, number of concurrent users, ultra low latency, high reliability, low power, coverage, etc.). ) May be included. The information on the service characteristic elements may be determined according to the operator policy.

In step 320, The RAN / CN slice information repository may store service type and service characteristic information in an internal slice / service catalog. The stored example may be the same as FIG. 4.

In step 330, the RAN / CN slice information repository may notify the OAM of the completion of service registration.

4 illustrates an example of a service type and a service characteristic stored in a slice information repository, according to an exemplary embodiment.

4, an example of a service type and service characteristics associated with a slice / service ID stored in a slice information store is shown. In the UE registration process, a slice / service ID may be selected to provide a service held by the UE.

5 is a diagram for describing a service registration process supported by a UE, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, a process in which a UE selects necessary RAN slices / services and CN slices / services according to a service type possessed by a UE in a UE registration in a specific region is illustrated. Through this process, the UE may determine and store RAN slice / service ID and CN slice / service ID information for each service.

In step 501, the UE may transmit a service registration request including subscriber information and supporting service type to the RAN node (ie, base station) having the largest signal strength in the vicinity.

In step 502, the RAN node may identify the type of service required at the UE.

In step 503, the RAN node may request subscriber agreement information from the subscriber information management device in order to determine availability for the service type requested by the UE.

In step 504, the subscriber information management device may notify the RAN node of subscriber contract information for the requested service type. At this time, the RAN node may determine whether to use the service type, compared to the subscriber agreement information.

If it is determined in step 504 that the service type is available, then in step 505 the RAN node compares the service characteristic for the service type requested in the UE with the service characteristic registered in the subscriber contract conditions to obtain an appropriate service characteristic. After the determination, a selection for the RAN slice / service that satisfies the service type and the newly determined service characteristic may be requested to the RAN slice information store.

In step 506, the RAN slice information store may retrieve the RAN slice / service that satisfies the requested service type and service characteristics and select the corresponding ID information. If there are a plurality of service types required by the UE, an appropriate RAN slice / service may be found for each service type. If no suitable RAN slice / service is found for the service type in the RAN slice information store, the RAN slice information store may abort the associated slice / service search and retrieve the RAN slice / service of another service type.

In step 507, the RAN slice information store may notify the RAN node of the ID information of the retrieved RAN slice / service. The RAN node may store ID information of the received RAN slice / service.

In step 508, the RAN node may request to the CN slice information store for a search for a CN slice / service that satisfies the service characteristics supported by the RAN slice / service for all service types requested by the UE. At this time, the service type for which the search is stopped in step 506 is not included in the search target requested by the CN slice information store.

In step 509, the CN slice information store may connect to the RAN slice / service and may search for the CN slice / service that satisfies the service characteristics supported by the RAN slice / service to select corresponding ID information. If there are a plurality of service types required in the UE, a suitable CN slice / service may be found for each service type. If a suitable CN slice / service for the service type is not found in the CN slice information store, the CN slice information store may stop searching for the associated slice / service and retrieve a RAN slice / service of another service type.

In step 510, the CN slice information store may inform the RAN node of the ID information of the CN slice / service of the retrieved service type. The RAN node may store ID information of the received CN slice / service.

In step 511, the RAN node may transmit ID information of the RAN slice / service and ID information of the CN slice / service to the UE by including the registration completion message for each service type.

In step 512, the UE may store the performance possessed by the terminal for each service type, ID information of RAN slice / service for each service type transmitted from RAN, and ID information of CN slice / service. The stored information may be used when establishing a PDU session of a service type.

If a RAN slice / service suitable for a particular service type is not found in step 506, the OAM may request to create and build a slice / service consisting of network functions.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of characteristics of service types and selected RAN / CN slices / services stored in a UE according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6, after the UE service registration is completed, characteristics of service types stored in UE 1, ID information of a selected RAN slice / service, and ID information of CN slice / service are shown. At this time, the ID may be allocated from a service characteristic and a network determined according to UE capability.

FIG. 7 illustrates a slice / service path for each service type of a UE, according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, after a UE registration is completed, a path between a UE-RAN slice / service-CN slice / service-data network configured to provide a service according to the service type of the UE is shown. Such a path may transmit service data when a packet data unit (PDU) session establishment between the UE and the CN is completed.

UE1 illustrated in FIG. 7 exemplifies RAN slice / service ID information and CN slice / service ID information for Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) service and Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) service through UE registration. The UE2 stores ID information of the RAN slice / service and ID information of the CN slice / service for the mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communication) service.

In this case, the UE1 may perform the service by connecting the RAN slice 1 / service 1 and CN slice 1 / service 1 composed of functions that provide high-speed data transmission and mobility in order to proceed with the eMBB service, and proceeds with the URLLC service. In order to perform the service, the RAN slice 3 / service 1 and the CN slice 2 / service 1, which are configured to provide high reliability and low latency, may be connected. The UE may simultaneously perform eMBB service supporting video and URLLC service supporting telemedicine in the next generation network using the route registered in the above process.

In addition, UE2 connects RAN Slice4 / Service1 and CN Slice5 / Service1, which include many devices connected and provide device low power capability but do not include mobility functionality (MMF), to perform the mMTC service. To perform the service.

8 illustrates a PDU session establishment process of a UE according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, an attach process of establishing a PDU session by connecting slices / services logically configured at a UE is illustrated. At this time, physical resources shared by the RAN and the CN may be allocated.

In step 801, If the user wants to watch the video via the web, the UE may decide to access the eMBB service using a logical slice / service connected through UE registration. The UE may send an Attach request (eg, service type: including eMBB, CN slice 1 / service 1) message to establish a PDU session with the selected RAN slice 1 / service 1 for the eMBB service.

In step 802, the RAN slice 1 / service 1 checks whether the required physical resource is available and, if possible, sets up a radio bearer with the UE and uses the information transmitted from the UE to slice CN 1 You can request to establish a wire bearer as / service1. At this time, CN slice 1 / service 1 checks whether the required physical resource is available and proceeds to the next step if possible. If there is not enough physical resources in this situation, it refuses to establish a wired bearer.

In step 803, mutual authentication for eMBB service usage between the UE and the subscriber authenticator may be performed and an encryption key may be generated.

In step 804, CN slice1 / service1 may send a CN connect response message to the RAN slice / service1.

In step 805, the RAN slice / service 1 may send an Attach Response message to the UE. Through this process, the UE establishes a radio bearer between RAN slice 1 and service 1 to support an eMBB service, establishes a wired bearer between RAN slice 1 and service 1 and CN slice 1 and service 1, and performs eMBB service at the terminal. A PDU session for data transmission generated at may be established.

In step 806, the UE may send all user data generated in a particular service eMBB via the generated PDU session.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the following steps may be further performed to create an URCC PDU session for additionally using the URLLC service while the user performs the eMBB service.

At step 807, the user may attempt to establish a new PDU session that supports the URLLC feature. The UE registers an additional attach request (eg, service type: URLCC) to establish a session with the RAN slice 3 / service 1 to establish a PDU session using the slice / service selected for the URLLC service through UE registration. , CN slice 2 / service 1) may be transmitted.

In step 808, the RAN slice 3 / service 1 may establish a radio bearer with the UE and request a wired session establishment with the CN slice 3 / service 1 using the CN information transmitted from the UE.

In step 809, CN slice 3 / service 1 may send a CN connect response message to the RAN slice.

In step 810, the RAN slice 3 / service 1 may send an Additional Attach Response message to the UE. Through this process, the UE establishes a radio bearer between the RAN slice 3 / service 1 and establishes a wired bearer between the RAN slice 3 / service 1 and the CN slice 2 / service 1 to support the URLLC service, and the URLLC at the terminal. A PDU session for data transmission generated in the service may be created.

In step 811, the UE may transmit all user data generated in a particular service type (eg, URLLC) via the generated PDU session.

9 is a diagram for describing a communication device, according to an exemplary embodiment.

9, a communication device 900 according to an embodiment includes a memory 910, a processor 920, and a communication unit 930. The memory 910, the processor 920, and the communicator 930 may communicate with each other through a bus 940. Here, the communication device 900 may be any one of a RAN node (eg, a base station), a UE, a RAN slice information store, a CN slice information store, a subscriber information management device, and a subscriber authentication device.

The memory 910 may include instructions that can be read by a computer. The processor 920 may perform the aforementioned operations as the instructions stored in the memory 910 are executed in the processor 920. The memory 910 may be a volatile memory or a nonvolatile memory.

The processor 920 may be a device that executes instructions or programs or controls the communication device 900. The communication unit 930 may transmit data to another communication device or receive data from another communication device.

When the communication device 900 is a RAN node, the processor 920 receives a registration request from a user equipment (UE), and the UE uses the service type based on the service type required by the UE and the subscriber contract information of the UE. If this is determined to be possible, the service characteristics for the service type and the service characteristics registered in the subscriber contract information are compared to determine the service characteristics to be provided to the UE, and the selection for the RAN slice / service satisfying the service type and the determined service characteristics is performed. Request to the CN slice information store for the CN slice / service that satisfies the RAN slice / service characteristic selected by the RAN slice information store, the ID information of the selected RAN slice / service and the selected information. The registration complete message including the ID information of the CN slice / service is transmitted to the UE.

In addition, the communication device 900 may receive from the RAN slice information store ID information of the RAN slice / service selected as satisfying the service type by the RAN slice information store.

In addition, the communication device 900 may receive ID information of the CN slice / service selected by the CN slice information store from the CN slice information store.

In addition, the communication device 900 receives a connection request from the UE based on ID information of a logical slice / service connected by registration of the UE, sets up a radio bearer with the UE, and corresponds to a CN slice / corresponding to the connection request. After requesting the establishment of a wired bearer as a service, after mutual authentication between the UE and the subscriber authentication device is completed, a CN connection response message is received from the CN slice / service node, and in response to receiving the CN connection response message, a connection response message to the UE. Can be transmitted.

In addition, the above-described operation can be processed with respect to the communication device 900.

The embodiments described above may be implemented as hardware components, software components, and / or combinations of hardware components and software components. For example, the devices, methods, and components described in the embodiments may include, for example, processors, controllers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs), digital signal processors, microcomputers, field programmable gates (FPGAs). It may be implemented using one or more general purpose or special purpose computers, such as an array, a programmable logic unit (PLU), a microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications running on the operating system. The processing device may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to the execution of the software. For convenience of explanation, one processing device may be described as being used, but one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processing device includes a plurality of processing elements and / or a plurality of types of processing elements. It can be seen that it may include. For example, the processing device may include a plurality of processors or one processor and one controller. In addition, other processing configurations are possible, such as parallel processors.

The software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of the above, and configure the processing device to operate as desired, or process it independently or collectively. You can command the device. Software and / or data may be any type of machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device in order to be interpreted by or to provide instructions or data to the processing device. Or may be permanently or temporarily embodied in a signal wave to be transmitted. The software may be distributed over networked computer systems so that they may be stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored on one or more computer readable recording media.

The method according to the embodiment may be embodied in the form of program instructions that can be executed by various computer means and recorded in a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the embodiments, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

The components described in the embodiments are programmable logic devices such as one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Processors, Controllers, Controllers, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Logic Element), other electronic devices, and a combination of hardware components (hardware components) including one or more of these. At least some of the functions or processes described in the embodiments may be implemented by software, and the software may be recorded on a recording medium. The components, functions, and processes described in the embodiments may be implemented by a combination of hardware and software.

Although the embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art may apply various technical modifications and variations based on the above. For example, the described techniques may be performed in a different order than the described method, and / or components of the described systems, structures, devices, circuits, etc. may be combined or combined in a different form than the described method, or other components Or even if replaced or substituted by equivalents, an appropriate result can be achieved.

Claims (1)

In a communication method of a RAN node (Radio Access Network Node),
Receiving a registration request for all services supported by the UE from a user equipment (UE);
If it is determined that the service type is available to the UE based on the service type requested by the UE and the subscriber agreement information of the UE, a service characteristic for the service type and a service characteristic registered in the subscriber contract information are compared. Determining a service characteristic to provide to the UE; And
Sending a registration complete message to the UE, the registration complete message including ID information of the RAN slice / service and ID information of the CN slice / service selected as corresponding to the service type and the determined service characteristic;
Communication method comprising a.

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