WO2018072824A1 - Entité de réseau et procédé destiné à un réseau de communication ayant des tranches de réseau d'infrastructure et des tranches de réseau d'accès - Google Patents

Entité de réseau et procédé destiné à un réseau de communication ayant des tranches de réseau d'infrastructure et des tranches de réseau d'accès Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2018072824A1
WO2018072824A1 PCT/EP2016/075133 EP2016075133W WO2018072824A1 WO 2018072824 A1 WO2018072824 A1 WO 2018072824A1 EP 2016075133 W EP2016075133 W EP 2016075133W WO 2018072824 A1 WO2018072824 A1 WO 2018072824A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
network
access
slices
entity
slice
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PCT/EP2016/075133
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English (en)
Inventor
Xueli AN
Ishan Vaishnavi
Chenghui Peng
Riccardo Trivisonno
Jianjun Wu
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Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
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Application filed by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. filed Critical Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority to PCT/EP2016/075133 priority Critical patent/WO2018072824A1/fr
Publication of WO2018072824A1 publication Critical patent/WO2018072824A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
    • H04W48/18—Selecting a network or a communication service
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L45/00—Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks
    • H04L45/302—Route determination based on requested QoS
    • H04L45/306—Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L45/00—Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks
    • H04L45/58—Association of routers
    • H04L45/586—Association of routers of virtual routers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to communication networks. More specifically, the present invention relates to a network entity for a communication network comprising a core network having one or more core network slices and an access network having one or more access network slices for providing communication services to an end device.
  • the Core Network has a static architecture.
  • Network Control Plane (CP) and User Plane (UP) functions are provided by the fixed network elements of the CN, such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Serving Gateway (SGW), a PDN Gateway (PGW) and the like.
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • SGW Serving Gateway
  • PGW PDN Gateway
  • EPC Evolved Packet Core
  • 5G 5 th Generation mobile technology
  • 5G 5 th Generation mobile technology
  • NS Network Slicing
  • a network slice is composed of a collection of logical network functions that supports the communication services of particular use case(s).
  • NS allows networks to be logically separated with each slice providing customized connectivity, and all slices can share the same functional components.
  • NS thus significantly increases flexibility and dynamicity of the core network and allows an access-agnostic core.
  • NS will be one of the main features for 5G developments and enable provision of service-tailored network functions, aiming especially at vertical integration of industries.
  • DCN Dedicated Core Networks
  • PLMN Public Land Mobile Network
  • Different DCNs may provide different characteristics and functions, and there should be a common core network, which is assigned to end devices when a DCN is not available.
  • the specific dedicated core network that serves an end device or user equipment (UE) is selected based on subscription information and operator configuration, without requiring the UE to be modified.
  • DECOR design of DECOR has a major limitation: the network resources of DECOR fail to be shared among different CNs within the same PLMN. Although it can allow resource isolation and separation for different types of service, the architecture of DECOR is still inefficient with respect to providing network functions.
  • DECOR DECOR
  • eDECOR Enhancement of DECOR
  • 3GPP TR 23.71 1 VO.5.0 "Enhancements of Dedicated Core Networks selection mechanism” wherein assistance from the UE is added to improve the DCN selection.
  • RAN radio access network
  • eDECOR the UE is expected to provide some assistance information to help the RAN nodes select an appropriate DCN.
  • the assistance information from the UE is intended to reduce signaling required to select a DCN associated with the UE.
  • the enhancement can also improve the separation between DCNs by avoiding re-directions between themselves, i.e. preventing the UE from accessing a DCN wherein it is not allowed.
  • a possible embodiment in eDECOR is that a RAN node uses a DCN selection parameter, which is stored in the UE per PLMN ID in a persistent memory to select a CN slice.
  • the DCN selection assistance parameter is assigned by the operator to a type of DCN the operator is using. For example, one DCN selection assistance value may indicate a CloT (Cellular Internet of Things) DCN, whereas another value may indicate a MBB (Mobile Broadband) DCN.
  • the assistance values of DCN selections are specific to operator/PLMN and reflect different DCNs with specific
  • eDECOR does not provide sufficient flexibility because they rely either on hard-coded information or on IDs that need to be understood by the user equipment, access network and core network, meaning that the IDs must be standardized. Moreover, eDECOR does not apply to scenarios, where the access network can also be sliced as the core network. In other words: it focuses on those solutions that are applicable only when the mapping relationship between the access network and core network is one to many slices.
  • anetwork entity for a communication network comprising a core network and an access network for providing communication services to an end device, wherein the network entity allows for a more dynamic coupling of the core network and the access network.
  • the invention relates to a network entity for a communication network, wherein the communication network comprises a core network and an access network for providing communication services to an end device.
  • the network entity comprises: a communication interface configured to communicate with a set of core network slices provided by the core network, the set of core network slices including at least one core network slice, and a set of access network slices provided by the access network, the set of access network slices including at least one access network slice; and a processor unit configured to dynamically couple the set of core network slices with the set of access network slices by routing control plane messages between the set of core network slices and the set of access network slices.
  • a network entity for a communication network comprising a core network and an access network is implemented, enabling a dynamic coupling between the core network and access network.
  • the network entity is a control plane entity of the communication network.
  • a network slice or slice is composed of a collection of logical network functions that supports the communication service requirements of particular use case(s).
  • An end to end (E2E) feature of a network slice contains access network(s) (AN) slice(s) and core network(s) (CN) slice.
  • a CN slice contains one or more than one network functions that process messages in a control plane of the CN, and a AN slice contains one or more access related functions that provide access related services in the access network and/or control plane network functions comprising at least one control plane network function.
  • the network entity allows the dynamicity and prog ram m ability of the control plane, as the access network and core network can be independently developed and further expanded if necessary.
  • the access network slice is associated with an unique access network slice identifier and the core network slice is associated with a unique core network slice identifier
  • the processor is configured to route control plane messages between the set of core network slices and the set of access network slices on the basis of the access network slice identifier and the core network slice identifier.
  • the access network slice is configured to provide a first set of access network functions for providing access related services in the access network and/or control plane network functions comprising at least one control plane network function and/or the core network slice is configured to provide a second set of control plane network functions comprising at least one control plane network function.
  • the network entity is implemented as an access point of the access network or as a part thereof, wherein the access point is configured to provide the end device access to the access network.
  • the network entity can be an independent entity located between the access network(s) and the core network, for instance, in the form of a control plane anchor, or the network entity can be part of the core network.
  • the processor unit is further configured to control the access of the core network slice to the access network slice.
  • the network entity further comprises a storage unit configured to store access control policy data, wherein the access control policy data defines access rights of the core network slice for accessing the access network slice.
  • a respective priority is assigned to each core network slice of the set of core network slices and/or each access network slice of the set of access network slices and the processor is configured to route control plane messages between the set of core network slices and the set of access network slices in an order depending on the respective priorities. For instance, a control plane message intended for a core network slice or access network slice with a higher priority can be sent out by the network entity prior to a control plane message intended for an access network slice or a core network slice with a lower priority.
  • the network entity further comprises a storage unit configured to store a control-flow table defining at least one control- flow rule, and the processor is configured to route control plane messages between the set of core network slices and the set of access network slices on the basis of the at least one control-flow rule defined in the control-flow table.
  • the at least one control-flow rule defined in the control-flow table comprises a match entry, an instruction entry, a timeout entry and/or a counter entry, wherein the match entry defines condition(s) and the instruction entry defines action(s) to be performed if the condition(s) defined by the match entry is/are met.
  • control-flow rules in the control-flow table allowing a flexible management of network functions and an overall improvement of the customized services.
  • control of the access right to the access network can also be formulated and enforced by utilizing the instruction entry.
  • the network entity further comprises a control interface, wherein the control interface is configured to be accessed by a network control entity for configuring the network entity.
  • control interface is configured to be accessed by the network control entity for installing, modifying and/or delete a control-flow rule of the network entity.
  • the invention relates to a network control entity for configuring a network entity for a communication network, wherein the communication network comprises a core network and an access network for providing communication services to an end device.
  • the control network entity is configured to configure the network entity for coupling a set of core network slices provided by the core network with a set of access network slices provided by the access network by routing control plane messages between the set of core network slices and the set of access network slices.
  • the network control entity is provided or shared by one or more core network slices of the set of core network slices.
  • the network control entity is configured to install, modify or delete a control-flow rule of the network entity.
  • the invention relates to a method of operating a network entity of a communication network, wherein the communication network comprises a core network and an access network for providing communication services to an end device.
  • the method comprises the step of communicating between a set of core network slices provided by the core network, the set of core network slices including at least one core network slice, and a set of access network slices provided by the access network, the set of access network slices including at least one access network slice, by routing control plane messages between the set of core network slices and the set of access network slices.
  • the invention relates to a computer program comprising program code for performing the method of the third aspect when executed on a computer.
  • the invention can be implemented in hardware and/or software.
  • Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the architecture of a communication network with a core network and an access network
  • Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the architecture of a radio access network comprising a set of radio access network slices
  • Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the architecture of a communication network with a core network comprising a set of core network slices and an access network comprising a set of access network slices
  • Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a network entity for a communication network with a core network comprising a set of core network slices and an access network comprising a set of access network slices according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an entry in a control-flow table of a network entity according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a communication network comprising a network entity according to an embodiment and a network control entity according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a communication network comprising a network entity according to an embodiment implemented in the form of a control plane anchor and a network control entity according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a communication network comprising a network entity according to an embodiment implemented as an access point of the communication network or a part thereof and a network control entity according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a communication network comprising a network entity according to an embodiment implemented in the core network of the communication network and a network control entity according to an embodiment
  • Fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a first procedure for handling an unmatched control plane message in a communication network comprising a network entity according to an embodiment and a network control entity according to an embodiment;
  • Fig. 1 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a second procedure for handling an unmatched control plane message in a communication network comprising a network entity according to an embodiment and a network control entity according to an embodiment;
  • Figs. 12a and 12b show schematic diagrams illustrating procedures for updating a network entity on the changes of the core network slices in a communication network with a core network comprising a set of core network slices and an access network comprising a set of access network slices according to embodiments of the invention.
  • Fig. 13 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a method of operating a network entity for a communication network according to an embodiment.
  • a disclosure in connection with a described method may also hold true for a corresponding device or system configured to perform the method and vice versa.
  • a corresponding device may include a unit to perform the described method step, even if such unit is not explicitly described or illustrated in the figures.
  • embodiments with different functional blocks or processing units are described, which are connected with each other or exchange signals. It will be appreciated that the present invention covers embodiments as well, which include additional functional blocks or processing units that are arranged between the functional blocks or processing units of the embodiments described below.
  • Embodiments of the invention can be implemented in a communication network 100, which has a general architecture as shown in figure 1 .
  • the communication network 100 comprises a core network 104 (herein also referred to as CN) and an access network 103 (herein also referred to as AN).
  • the access network 103 is configured to provide an exemplary user equipment 105 (herein also referred to as end device 105) access to the core network 104 of the communication network 100.
  • the core network 104, the access network 103 and the end device 105 can communicate via a control plane 101 (herein also referred to as C-Plane or CP) and a user or data plane 102 (herein also referred to as U-Pane or UP), i.e. in the communication network 100 there is a separation between the control plane 101 and the user plane 102.
  • the control plane 101 consists of protocols to control and support the user plane 102 functions.
  • a set of access functions 106-1 , 106-2 (also referred to as AF herein) is implemented to operate in the control plane 101 of the access network 103 and a set of network functions 107-1 , 107-2 and 107-3 (also referred to as NF or NFc herein) is implemented to operate in the control plane 101 of the core network 104.
  • the communication network 100 shown in figure 1 can be considered as a reference model, which forms the basis for different embodiments of the invention.
  • This reference model describes the interconnectivity model between UE 105, AN 103 and CN 104 and it prescribes a separation between the control plane 101 and the user plane 102.
  • embodiments of the invention make use of control plane network slices, which include AN slices and CN slices.
  • the network architecture for supporting embodiments of the invention may be either realized according to Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networks (SDN) paradigms or may rely on dedicated hardware appliances or entities.
  • NFV Network Function Virtualization
  • SDN Software Defined Networks
  • the CP 101 and the UP 102 for mobile telecommunication networks may be built upon virtual and/or physical infrastructures, including wireless Access Points (APs), Data Centers, Edge Data Centers or Points of Presence, interconnected by a transport network realized either by legacy connectivity methods or by virtual links, virtual switches and virtual routers controlled by SDN controllers.
  • APs wireless Access Points
  • Data Centers Data Centers
  • the CP 101 of a communication network is generally composed of a set of control applications, i.e. access network functions 106-1 , 106-2 and core network functions 107-1 , 107-2 and 107-3, for Access and Non-Access Stratum (NAS) control, respectively.
  • access network functions 106-1 , 106-2 and the network functions 107-1 , 107-2, 107-3 can be interconnected via logical interconnections.
  • the access functions 106-1 , 106-2 can be either implemented as SDN control applications, for instance, by means of an interaction with an SDN controller via dedicated APIs, or they can be implemented as software running on virtual machines in Data Centers (DC), edge Data Centers or Points of Presence (PoP) environment or other entities, which provide computing and/or storage resources.
  • DC Data Centers
  • PoP Points of Presence
  • the access functions 106-1 , 106-2 can perform access related
  • connection management actions including connection management actions, and possibly access network selection related actions.
  • the basic components of the access functions 106-1 , 106-2 can be defined analyzing the key functionalities of legacy mobile networks. Referring to 4G systems, they could be associated to Mobility, Security and Session Management functions and related protocols, e.g. as specified in 3GPP TS 36.300 R13, "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E- UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2". Also, a number of transmission functions can be performed at the physical layer.
  • E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access
  • E- UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
  • the core network functions 107-1 , 107-2, 107-3 can be, for instance, connection
  • management functions such as performing radio connection management, forwarding path management, DNS address resolution, or address allocation to end devices; mobility management functions, such as checking user reachability, tracking area management, paging and handover management, or relaying; forwarding management functions, such as performing packet routing configuration for a user plane 102 of the communication network 100; authentication and authorization functions, such as performing authentication and authorization of a user device; or security functions, such as performing access network security management.
  • the orchestration of radio resources as well as the management and sharing of the available spectrum can greatly benefit from softwarization.
  • the following functions should be considered in terms of softwarization in the RAN, e.g. asynchronous functions to the radio interface, in LTE these are packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) and radio resource control (RRC) functions related to measurement control and reporting, handover preparation and execution, dual connectivity, random access, RRC state transition, and the like, because these are most suitable to be implemented as virtual network functions (VNFs).
  • PDCP packet data convergence protocol
  • RRC radio resource control
  • VNFs virtual network functions
  • the complexity of the access layer (which, for instance, in LTE comprises the RLC, MAC and PHY layer) comes from the strong need to handle inter-cell radio resource management, e.g. such as scheduling, link adaptation, power control, interference coordination, etc. Nevertheless, these layers can be differentiated via parameterization.
  • FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture of a radio access network comprising a set of access network (AN) slices.
  • An AN slice consists of a set of logical AFs.
  • AN slices can be built through different functions and protocols (e.g. different MAC protocols) which on top are fully parameterizable (e.g. RRC, PDCP), as illustrated by the exemplary architecture shown in figure 2.
  • the AN slice design can be triggered by different access performance requirements from different use cases, e.g. Vehicle to
  • the access network 103 can provide a plurality of AN slices.
  • each AN slice can be uniquely identified by an AN slice ID.
  • a CN slice consists of a set of logical NFs and related logical interconnections among NFs. These NFs together build the control plane to support the communication services for a particular cluster of services having homogenous functional and performance requirements.
  • the C-plane procedures can be slice-dependent.
  • the definition of CN slices can be performance driven (e.g. V2X slices can contain different NF functions as well as different NF placements compared to MTC slices) and business driven (e.g. the slice that operates the service of a first party contains exactly the same NFs as the slice of a second party). Therefore, the number of CN slices can be more dynamic than the number AN slices.
  • the core network 104 can provide a plurality of CN slices.
  • CN slices can be dynamically added or removed from the CN 104.
  • each CN slice can be identified by a unique CN slice ID, which can be a standardized value or dynamically assigned by an operator.
  • a CN slice may have one or several entry point NFs to serve the control plane traffic originating from the AN 103.
  • a Connection Management (CM) network function could be the entry point NF for a CN slice, which provides the function like access control for an attach request from an end device 105.
  • a CN slice can also relay the control plane traffic to other NFs, e.g. a Mobility Management (MM) network function, and/or a Flow Management (FM) network function.
  • MM Mobility Management
  • FM Flow Management
  • a CN slice has more than one entry point NF to serve the control plane traffic originating from the AN 103.
  • the CM can be used as the entry point to serve all the control plane traffic related to attachment, session management, and the like
  • MM is used as the entry point to serve all the control plane traffic related to mobility events, like handover, location management, and the like.
  • the access network of a communication network may support only a limited number of AN slices (e.g. ⁇ 10). This can be for the reason mentioned above, i.e. that the motivation to provide slices in the AN can be more performance driven, e.g. latency, capacity, etc., whereas the motivation to provide slices in the CN can be performance driven, e.g. latency, capacity, as well as business driven, e.g. party A (providing V2X service) and party B (providing V2X service) may share the same AN slices but require different CN slices.
  • party A providing V2X service
  • party B providing V2X service
  • the number of CN slices can be higher than the amount of AN slices.
  • mapping relationship between AN slice(s) and CN slice(s) can be 1 :m, n:1 .
  • End devices according to the 5G standard can be classified in two categories according to their capabilities: single-slice capable end devices and multi-slice capable end devices.
  • a single-slice capable end device is capable to connect and attach to one specific slice only. Normally, such end devices have limited capability, for instance sensors that can only connect to an MTC slice are single-slice capable end devices.
  • a multi- slice capable end device is capable to connect and attach to multiple slices.
  • Such end devices normally have high capability in terms computing and storage resources, hence they can access services with diverse requirements, e.g. ranging from best effort (e.g. mobile broadband) to ultra-high reliability and low latency for life critical type of services (e.g.
  • Embodiments of the invention can work with both kinds of end device, i.e. single-slice capable end devices and multi-slice capable end devices.
  • FIG. 1 An overall structure of the communication network 100 that supports modularization and slicing of network functions is shown in figure 3. Embodiments of the invention are designed to be implemented in the communication network 100 shown in figure 3. As the
  • the communication network 100 shown in figure 3 comprises a core network 104 and an access network 103.
  • the access network 103 is configured to provide an exemplary user equipment 105 access to the core network 104 of the communication network 100.
  • a set of access network slices 108a-n (also referred to as AN slices) is implemented to operate in the control plane 101 of the access network 103, wherein the AN slices 108a-n are configured to provide a set of access network functions 106-1 , 106-2.
  • a set of core network slices 109a-m (also referred to as CN slices herein) is implemented to operate in the control plane 101 of the core network 104, wherein the CN slices 109a-m are configured to provide a set of core network functions 107- 1 , 107-2, 107-3.
  • the configuration of the access network 103 is driven by performance with respect to latency, capacity, etc.
  • the number of AN slices 108a-n might be limited, for instance, up to ten AN slices.
  • the design of the core network 104 can be driven by performance with respect to latency, capacity, etc., or can also be driven by business, e.g., requirements from different companies. As different companies might have different demands on network functions, the number of CN slices 109a-m is more flexible than that of the AN slices 108a-n and can vary between different implementation scenarios, as already mentioned above.
  • the access network 103 can support a set of AN slices 108a-n, and each AN slice 108a-n can be identified by a unique identifier.
  • An access network slice 108a-n can consist of a set of AFs 106-1 , 106-2 and can be built through different functions and protocols (e.g. different MAC protocols) which are parameterizable (e.g. radio resource control, packet data convergence protocol).
  • the design of access network slices 108a-n can be influenced by different performance requirements from various use cases, such as Vehicle to Everything (V2X), massive Internet-of-Things (mloT), enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), and the like.
  • Softwarization and virtualization are the key technologies that make network slicing possible. Softwarization can benefit the access network 103, especially Radio Access Network (RAN), in terms of radio resource orchestration and spectrum management. Asynchronous functions to the radio interface in RAN are strongly suggested to be softwarized in 5G network deployment. Referring to 4G LTE systems, they could be packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) and radio resource control (RRC) functions associated to measurement control and reporting, handover preparation and execution, dual connectivity, random access, RRC state transition etc. The functions above are also suitable to be implemented as virtualized network functions.
  • PDCP packet data convergence protocol
  • RRC radio resource control
  • the complexity of the access layers results from a strong need for handling inter-cell radio resource management, such as scheduling, link adaptation, power control, interference coordination, etc. Nevertheless, these layers can be differentiated via parameterization.
  • FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a network entity 401 for the communication network 100 shown in figures 1 and 3.
  • the communication network 100 has a core network 104 comprising a set of core network slices 109a-m and an access network 103 comprising a set of access network slices 108a-n for providing communication services to the end device 105.
  • the network entity 401 is referred to as a CMSF (Control plane Module Selection Function) entity 401 .
  • CMSF Control plane Module Selection Function
  • the CMSF 401 is configured to interface with the set of core network slices 109a-m and with the set of access network slices 108a-n via logical connections and to route control plane messages between the set of core network slices 109a-m and the set of access network slices 108a-n.
  • the CMSF 401 comprises a communication interface 401 a and a processor unit 401 b, as can be taken from the detailed view of the CMSF 401 shown in figure 4.
  • the communication interface 401 a of the CMSF 401 is configured to communicate with the set of core network slices 109a-m provided by the core network 104, wherein this set includes at least one core network slice 109a-m, and the set of access network slices 108a-n provided by the access network 103, wherein this set includes at least one access network slice 108a-m.
  • the processor unit 401 b of the CMSF 401 is configured to dynamically couple the set of core network slices 109a-m with the set of access network slices 108a-n by routing control plane messages between the set of core network slices 109a-m and the set of access network slices 108a-n. In this way, the processor unit 401 b defines end-to-end connections between the set of core network slices 109a-m and the set of access network slices 108a-n and the control planes thereof. Differently put, the CMSF 401 can enable a modularized control plane 101 of the communication network 100.
  • the CMSF 401 can perform the following additional functions.
  • each access network slice 108a-n is associated with a unique access network slice identifier and each core network slice 109a-m is associated with a unique core network slice identifier and the processor 401 b is configured to route the control plane messages between the set of core network slices 109a-m and the set of access network slices 108a-n on the basis of the respective access network slice identifiers and core network slice identifiers.
  • the CMSF 401 can control the access rights for configuring the access network 103 and its set of access network slices 108a-n.
  • multiple CN slices 109a-m can access the same AN slice 108a-n. Granting all core network slices 109a- m access to configure the access network slices 108a-n might cause a configuration conflict, as different core network slices 109a-m might try to impose different requirements on the same access network slice108a-n.
  • such a configuration conflict can be prevented by specifying control policies for the access to the access network 103 in the CMSF 401 , for instance in a storage unit 401 c thereof.
  • the CMSF 401 can assign messages from the C-Plane 101 to different access network slices 108a-n in order of a priority assigned to each access network slice 108a-n and, thus, can support the quality of service for processing C-Plane messages.
  • the CMSF 401 enables the dynamicity and programmability of the C-Plane 101 , as the access network 103 and the core network 104 can be independently developed by expanding, removing, or modifying AN slices 108a-n and/or CN slices 109a-m separately.
  • allowing dynamicity might lead to an instable system due to frequent updates of the CN slices109a-m and/or the AN slices 108a-n
  • embodiments of the invention allow preventing such a possibly instable situation by restricting system changes to the CMSF 401 , i.e. only the CMSF 401 has the capability to make these system changes.
  • FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary entry 500 of a control-flow table stored in the storage unit 401 c of the CMSF 401 according to an embodiment.
  • the CMSF 401 is configured to route the control plane messages between the set of CN slices 109a-m and the set of AN slices 108a-n on the basis of the entries of the control-flow table stored in its storage unit 401 c.
  • the entry 500 of the control-flow table can define a control-flow rule comprising a match entry 501 , an instruction entry 502, a timeout entry 503 and a counter entry 504.
  • the match entry 501 defines a condition to be met by a control plane message
  • the instruction entry 502 defines an action to be performed if the condition defined by the match entry 501 is met
  • the timeout entry 503 defines an expiry time period for which the entry 500 is valid or a maximum idle time after which the entry 500 will be removed from the control-flow table
  • the counter entry 504 counts the number of matched C- Plane messages.
  • the counter entry 504 can be used for rate limiting purpose for the C-plane messages. For instance, for a certain AN slice, if the C-plane message rate (e.g. counting over certain time) is higher than a threshold, then the following incoming C-plane message could be dropped if the system does not enough resource to process them. Because multiple slices' C-plane message may use the same CMSF. Therefore, this counter entry 504 can be used to guarantee the fairness, or performance of certain slice, or prevent some slices are misbehaving. This counter entry 504 can be also used for accounting purpose. However, this counter entry 504 could be also optional if such feature is not required by the system.
  • the C-plane message rate e.g. counting over certain time
  • this counter entry 504 can be used to guarantee the fairness, or performance of certain slice, or prevent some slices are misbehaving.
  • This counter entry 504 can be also used for accounting purpose. However, this counter entry 504 could be also optional if such feature is not required by the system.
  • the processor unit 401 b of the CMSF 401 is configured to access the control-flow table in response to receiving a control plane message via its communication interface 401 a.
  • a table lookup is conducted to match certain rules defined in the match entry 501 that can be formulated by utilizing packet headers (e.g., IP header, C-Plane protocol defined header) or a PLMN ID, a C-Plane message type, an AN/CN slice ID, and the like.
  • packet headers e.g., IP header, C-Plane protocol defined header
  • PLMN ID e.g., a PLMN ID
  • C-Plane message type e.g., a C-Plane message type
  • an AN/CN slice ID e.g., AN/CN slice ID
  • the CMSF 401 can forward the current C-Plane message according to the address of the entry point NF 107 of the CN slice 109a-m (e.g. IP and/or non-IP), the CMSF 401 can forward the current C-Plane message according to the address of the entry point network function of an AN slice 108a-n (e.g. IP and/or non-IP), or the CMSF 401 can rewrite the destination address as the IP of the entry point NF 107 of the CN slice 109a-m, if the C-Plane 101 is IP based.
  • the address of the entry point NF 107 of the CN slice 109a-m e.g. IP and/or non-IP
  • the CMSF 401 can forward the current C-Plane message according to the address of the entry point network function of an AN slice 108a-n (e.g. IP and/or non-IP)
  • the CMSF 401 can rewrite the destination address as the IP of the entry point NF 107 of the
  • access rights to the configuration of the access network 103 can also be enforced in the instruction entry 502.
  • Control policies of the access to the access network slices 108a-m can be defined in the actions of the instruction entry 502 to prevent configuration conflicts between different CN slices 109a-m trying to configure the same AN slice(s) 108a-n. For instance, if a CN slice 109a-m with an identifier 1 has a high priority, a matching rule can be specified as "CN slice identifier not equal to 1 ", and the corresponding action could comprise that the C-Plane message is dropped, rejected, or sent back to the CN slice 109 for a further decision.
  • the CN slice 109 with the identifier one can thus have the priority to configure the AN 103.
  • the priority of a CN slice 109 can be defined by the requirement of service performance. For instance, a V2X CN slice 109 can have a higher priority than a mobile broadband CN slice 109.
  • a slice of the set of CN slices 109a-m can consist of or define a plurality of network functions 107, for instance, network functions 107 to manage connectivity/session (CM) or network functions 107 to manage mobility (MM), and the like.
  • CM connectivity/session
  • MM mobility
  • a slice of the set of CN slices 109a-m can operate according to different operational modes: firstly, a CN slice can operate in a single entry NF mode, wherein the CN slice has a single NF 107 that receives the C-Plane traffic from the AN 103; secondly, a CN slice can operate in a multiple entry NFs mode, wherein the CN slice has multiple NFs 107 as entry points of the slice(s). For instance, C-Plane messages related to session management can be forwarded to the CM directly, and C-plane messages related to mobility events can be forwarded to the MM directly.
  • the C-Plane messages that are not intended for the entry NF 107 will be further forwarded to other NFs 107 within the CN slice.
  • C-Plane messages originating from the same end device 105 are forwarded to the same NFs 107 in a CN slice.
  • C-Plane messages originating from the same end device 105 will be forwarded to different NFs 107 in a CN slice, according to different types of the C-Plane messages as well as other information (e.g., the end device 105, AN slice 108a-n, and the like).
  • FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a further embodiment of the network entity or CMSF 401 being arranged within the communication network 100.
  • the CMSF 401 is configured to connect with access functions 106 of the access network slice 108a via an interface B (IF B) and the network functions 107 of the core network slice 109 via an interface C (IF C).
  • the CMSF 401 is further connected to a network control entity 601 via a control interface A (IF A).
  • the network control entity 601 is implemented in form of a network control function (cNF), which can be provided and/or shared by one or more of the core network slices 109a- m.
  • the control interface A can be implemented using an extended OpenFlow protocol with GTP-C extension.
  • the network control entity 601 shown in figure 6 is configured to perform one or more of the following functions.
  • the network control entity 601 is configured to install, modify and/or delete a control-flow table in the CMSF 401 via the control interface IF A.
  • the network control entity 601 is configured to provide services regarding configuration and management for NFs 107 in the CN slices 109a-m, as the network control entity 601 can interface with the CN slices 109a-m implemented in the core network 104 via an interface IF D, as shown in figure 6. Once a new CN slice is instantiated or an existing CN slice 109a-m is modified, the network control entity 601 can be updated about the new status of the set of CN slices 109a-m.
  • the network control entity 601 is configured to maintain slice-related information and provide the connection map between the AN slices 108a-n and the CN slices 109a-m. Such information can be used by the CMSF 401 to route C-Plane traffic between the access network 103 and the core network 104.
  • the network control entity 601 can also perform and/or participate in selections of the AN slices 108a-n and the CN slices 109a-m, as will be described in more detail below.
  • the AN slices 108a-n may discover the CMSF 401 , for instance, using the DNS mechanism or any network function discovery protocol.
  • the CN slices109a-m can be discovered in a similar way by the CMSF 401 , e.g. via the DNS mechanism or any network function discovery protocol.
  • the network control entity 601 can directly configure the connectivity related information on the CMSF 401 and the CN slice entry NF directly.
  • FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a further embodiment of the network entity or CMSF 401 implemented in the communication network 100.
  • the CMSF 401 is implemented as an AN/CN slice independent network entity.
  • the AFs 106 from multiple Access Points (APs) within the AN 103 can connect to the CMSF 401 .
  • the CMSF 401 can be located, for instance, at a network edge Data Center or PoP.
  • the AFs 106 can interconnect to the CMSF 401 in an IP based or a non IP based way.
  • the APs shown in figure 7 can discover the CMSF 401 upon instantiation, for instance, on the basis of the DNS mechanism.
  • the CMSF can be considered as a control plane anchor between the AN 103 and the CN 104.
  • Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a further embodiment of the network entity or CMSF 401 implemented in the communication network 100.
  • the network entity or CMSF 401 is implemented as or on an access point (e.g.
  • the CMSF 401 in the form of or as part of an AP can maintain a direct interface with the network control entity 601 , which is used to configure the CMSF 401 within the AP.
  • the network control entity 601 which is used to configure the CMSF 401 within the AP.
  • two CMSFs 401 are implemented in the communication network 100.
  • FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a further embodiment of the network entity or CMSF 401 implemented in the communication network 100.
  • the network entity or CMSF 401 is implemented within the core network 104.
  • the CMSF 401 can constitute or provide the entry point NF for the entire CN CP in that, in response to receiving C-plane traffic, the CMSF 401 dispatches this traffic within the CN 104 to other CN NFs 107.
  • the selection of an AN slice 108a-n can be triggered by an end device 105 or the communication network 100.
  • an AN slice108a-n can be selected by the end device 105 and verified by the core network 104.
  • the end device 105 can have access to slicing- related information and perform the AN slice selection on the basis of the given information.
  • the end device 105 can receive the slice information in two different ways. Firstly, information about the AN slices 108a-n can be pre-configured in the end device 105 (e.g. hard-coded in the device hardware). In such a case, the end device 105 only uses its pre- configured slice-related information to access the corresponding AN slice(s) 108a-n.
  • APs can broadcast slicing information via a system information (SI) scheme.
  • the slice information can comprise performance and/or functional information of the available AN slices 108a-n.
  • This embodiment allows the end device 105 to maintain a list of available AN slices 108a-n with the related performance and functional characteristics so that the end device 105 can decide which AN slice(s) 108a-n to select and attach to accordingly.
  • the AN slice selection process can be independent from the CN slice selection process, which will be described in more detail in the following.
  • the CN 104 can have the capability to verify, whether the AN slice selection result is appropriate, e.g. meets certain predefined requirements. If this is not the case, the CN 104 can suggest another AN slice 108a-n to the end device 105.
  • the end device 105 might not have access to slice related information, i.e. information about the available AN slices 108a-n.
  • the AP can be configured to support a default access procedure provided by a default AN slice.
  • the AP can be configured to broadcast information about the default access procedure provided by the default AN slice to end devices for performing an initial access.
  • this C-Plane message is forwarded to the CMSF 401 . If the CMSF 401 does not find any matching entries for this C-Plane message, the C-Plane message can be further forwarded to the network control entity 601 , as will be described in more detail further below.
  • the network control entity 601 (or another NF 107 of the core network 104) can trigger an authentication process and perform the AN slice selection.
  • C-Plane messages can be forwarded from the AN 103 to the CMSF 401 .
  • the CMSF 401 can access the control-flow table (CFT) stored in its storage unit 401 d.
  • CFT control-flow table
  • the CMSF 401 processes the C-Plane message according to the actions defined in the instruction 502 entry.
  • a default CFT entry can be installed, which specifies the actions, when the received C-Plane message does not match any entry.
  • the actions in a default CFT entry can be defined in various ways based on features of the CN slices 109a-m. Such default rules can be implemented once the CMSF 401 has been instantiated, or it can also be modified by the network control entity 601 according to features of the CN slices 109a-m. Three preferred basic actions of a default CFT entry are described in the following.
  • the C-Plane messages without any matched entry can be forwarded to the network control entity 601 .
  • a possible procedure for such a case is shown in figure 10 and comprises the following steps:
  • Step 1 The AF 106 of the AN 103 sends a CP message to the CMSF 401 .
  • Step 2 The CMSF 401 performs a CFT lookup and does not find any matched entry.
  • Step 3 The CMSF 401 forwards the CP message without any matched entry to the network control entity 601 .
  • Step 4 The network control entity 601 checks the credentials of the end device 105, which has triggered the C-Plane message; for instance, the network control entity 601 can contact a user subscription database 1001 (US DB) for authentication and can obtain further information therefrom that may describe the end device 105, service requirements, and slice related information associated with the subscription of the end device 105.
  • US DB user subscription database 1001
  • Step 5 On the basis of the above information, the network control entity 601 selects a CN slice 109a-m for the end device 105.
  • Step 6 The network control entity 601 installs a CFT entry which matches the C-Plane message associated with this end device 105 in the entry point NF 107 of the selected CN slice 109a-m.
  • Step 7 (a) According to a first option the network control entity 601 forwards the C-Plane message to the corresponding entry point NF 107 of the CN slice 109a-m. (b) According to a second option the network control entity 601 keeps a copy of the C-Plane message obtained in step 3 or the network control entity 601 returns the C-Plane message together with the rule installed in step 6. The CMSF 401 forwards the C-Plane message according to the new CFT entry in step 7b.
  • the network control entity 601 can verify the AN slice selection on a basis of the end device 105, service requirement, and slice related information associated with the subscription in step 5 of figure 10. For instance, if a C-Plane message is tagged with AN slice "0 "(e.g. representing the default AN slice), and the end device 105 is subscribed as a loT device, the network control entity 601 may select AN slice "2" (e.g. an loT AN slice) and CN slice "15" (e.g. for company X).
  • AN slice "2" e.g. an loT AN slice
  • CN slice "15" e.g. for company X
  • the network control entity 601 can maintain an interface towards the AN 103 and send the above mentioned information back to the AN 103 for enabling the end device 105 to directly access the corresponding AN slice.
  • Such information can also be installed on the CMSF 401 , e.g. match: IP address, AN slice ID; action: forward to NF from CN slice with IP address xx.xx.xx.xx.
  • the end device 105 is associated with the exemplary AN slice "2" and the exemplary CN slice "15".
  • the end device 105 may support different sessions that may require different AN slices 108a-n and different CN slices 109a-m. For instance, the end device 105 may use V2X related AN and CN slices for automatic drive and use mobile broadband related slices for web-browsing. Therefore, several slice selection rounds may happen for a single end device 105. If there is no suitable slice that can be selected to handle the unmatched C-Plane message, the network control entity 601 can drop the C-Plane message. Alternatively, the network control entity 601 can reject the C-Plane message and send a response back to the CMSF 401 . In an embodiment, the CMSF 401 is configured to forward the response to the AF 106 of the AN 103, from which it has received the original C-Plane message.
  • the CMSF 401 is configured to forward a C-Plane message to the entry point NF of a CN slice 109a-m. More specifically, in an embodiment, C-plane messages without any matched entry can be forwarded by the CMSF 401 to the entry point NF of a CN slice 109a-m according to the following two scenarios.
  • the CMSF 401 can be configured to forward all un-matched C-Plane messages to the entry point NF of the default CN slice 109a- m for further processing. All the end devices 105 with a sufficient credibility (e.g. authorized by the CN 104) can use this default CN slice 109a-m.
  • the default CN slice 109a-m cannot provide specific performance guarantees as dedicated CN slices 109a-m, such as CN slices 109a-m for ultra-low latency, ultra-high reliability, or massive amount of device communication, but it can provide basic connectivity for the end device(s) 105.
  • the CMSF 401 can be configured to forward the C-Plane messages without any matched entry to the entry point NF of a pre-selected or randomly selected CN slice 109a-m (e.g. eMBB slice).
  • a pre-selected or randomly selected CN slice 109a-m e.g. eMBB slice.
  • the corresponding NF 107 in the pre-selected or randomly selected slice performs authentication for the C-Plane messages. If the corresponding slice is not the suitable slice to serve this end device 105, this CN slice can reject to serve this end device 105 or suggest another CN slice 109a-m for this end device 105 (e.g. according to the subscription information of the end device 105). In the latter case, the CN slice 109a-m can contact the network control entity 601 to install a CFT entry in the CMSF 401 to handle the C-Plane messages from this end device 105.
  • Step 1 The AF 106 of the AN 103 sends a CP message to the CMSF 401 .
  • Step 2 The CMSF 401 performs a CFT lookup and does not find any matched entry.
  • Step 3 The CMSF 401 forwards the unmatched C-Plane message to the entry point NF of the default/pre-selected CN slice 107-1 , which is referred to as "Default/pre-selected CP NF" in figure 1 1 (this pre-selection can also include a random selection).
  • Step 4 The default/pre-selected CP NF 107-1 checks the credential of the user device 105 that C-Plane message is generated for, e.g. the CP NF 107-1 contacts the user subscription database 1001 (US DB) for authentication and obtains further information that may describe the end device 105, service requirement, and slice related information associated with the subscription of the end device 105.
  • US DB user subscription database 1001
  • Step 5 On the basis of the above information, the CP NF 107-1 selects a CN slice 109a-m for the end device 105.
  • Step 6 The CP NF 107-1 sends a request to the network control entity 601 to install a CFT entry on the CMSF 401 .
  • Step 7 The network control entity 601 installs a CFT entry which matches the C-Plane message(s) related to this end device 105 in the entry point NF of the selected CN slice 109a-m.
  • Step 8 If the selected CN slice 109a-m is different from the CP slice used in step 3, the default/pre-selected CP NF 107-1 forwards the CP message to the entry point NF of the re- selected CN slice 107-2. Afterwards, the CP procedure 1002 continues.
  • the default/pre-selected CP NF 107-1 can also verify the AN slice selection based on the end device 105, service requirement, and slice-related information associated with the subscription of the end device 105.
  • the CN NF 107-1 may drop the C-Plane message. Alternatively, it can reject the C-Plane message and send a response back to the CMSF 401 .
  • the CMSF 401 can forward the response to the AF 106 from which it has received the C-Plane message.
  • C-Plane messages without any matched entry can be simply dropped by the CMSF 401 .
  • the CMSF 401 can be configured to send a response to the AF 106 from which it has received the C-Plane message and notify the AF 106 of the message drop.
  • C-Plane messages can also be sent from the CN 104 to the CMSF 401 . If the CMSF 401 can match the message with any entry in its control-flow table, the C-Plane message will be routed to the AN slice 108a-n according to the actions defined by the matching entry in the control-flow table.
  • slices can be instantiated or removed according to service requirements.
  • slices in particular CN slices 109a-m, can be set up temporarily for special events, such as a marathon event, to provide services with critical performance requirements (e.g., highly dense end devices, critical communication related to eHealth), New Year's Eve to support traffic surge, or a carnival to provide optimized video streams, etc.
  • critical performance requirements e.g., highly dense end devices, critical communication related to eHealth
  • New Year's Eve to support traffic surge
  • a carnival to provide optimized video streams, etc.
  • FIGS 12a and 12b The related procedures provided by embodiments of the invention, which allow handling such a dynamicity of CN slices 109a-m, is shown in Figures 12a and 12b.
  • the corresponding NF 107 in the CN slice 109a-m keeps the network control entity 601 updated via a slice association/update procedure. If such an update requires a corresponding update of the CMSF 401 , the network control entity 601 installs a new CFT entry or updates an existing CFT entry on the CMSF, as illustrated in figure 12a.
  • the CN slice 109a-m performs a slice dissociation procedure with the network control entity 601 .
  • the network control entity 601 deletes the related CFT entries of the CMSF 401 .
  • the entries can be removed automatically from the CMSF 401 by setting the timeout field of the entries, which specifies the usage duration of a Control-Flow Table entry.
  • one AN slice 108a-n can be mapped to multiple CN slices 109a-m.
  • the CN 104 may provide configuration parameters related to the AN 103.
  • a CN C-plane network function could distribute the addresses of DNS servers to the access network(s) 103.
  • configuration information could be the RAT/Frequency Selection Priority (RFSP) Index sent from the MME to the eNBs.
  • RFSP Radio Resource Selection Priority
  • device connectivity information can be maintained in the CN C-plane network function, which can be used to understand network congestion situations (C-plane and/or D-plane load).
  • FIG. 13 shows a schematic diagram illustrating a method 1300 of operating the network entity 401 of the communication network 100 for providing communication services to the end device 105.
  • the method 1300 comprises the step 1301 of communicating with the set of core network slices 109a-m provided by the core network 104, including at least one core network slice, and the set of access network slices 108a-n provided by the access network 103, including at least one access network slice, by routing control plane messages between the set of core network slices 109a-m and the set of access network slices 108a-n.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne une entité de réseau (401) destinée à un réseau de communication (100), le réseau de communication (100) comprenant un réseau d'infrastructure et un réseau d'accès servant à fournir des services de communication à un dispositif terminal (105). L'entité de réseau (401) comprend : une interface de communication (401a) configurée pour communiquer avec un ensemble de tranches de réseau d'infrastructure (109a-m) fournies par le réseau d'infrastructure, comprenant au moins une tranche de réseau d'infrastructure (109a-m), et un ensemble de tranches de réseau d'accès (108a-n) fournies par le réseau d'accès, comprenant au moins une tranche de réseau d'accès (108a-n) ; une unité de processeur (401b) conçue pour coupler l'ensemble de tranches de réseau d'infrastructure (109a-m) à l'ensemble de tranches de réseau d'accès (108a-n) par routage de messages de plan de commande entre l'ensemble de tranches de réseau d'infrastructure (109a-m) et l'ensemble de tranches de réseau d'accès (108a-n).
PCT/EP2016/075133 2016-10-19 2016-10-19 Entité de réseau et procédé destiné à un réseau de communication ayant des tranches de réseau d'infrastructure et des tranches de réseau d'accès WO2018072824A1 (fr)

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