WO2020182272A1 - Entities, systems and methods for exposing management services in a 5g communication network - Google Patents

Entities, systems and methods for exposing management services in a 5g communication network Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2020182272A1
WO2020182272A1 PCT/EP2019/055836 EP2019055836W WO2020182272A1 WO 2020182272 A1 WO2020182272 A1 WO 2020182272A1 EP 2019055836 W EP2019055836 W EP 2019055836W WO 2020182272 A1 WO2020182272 A1 WO 2020182272A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
exposure
entity
configuration
exposure configuration
domain
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2019/055836
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Ishan Vaishnavi
Emmanouil Pateromichelakis
Original Assignee
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. filed Critical Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority to PCT/EP2019/055836 priority Critical patent/WO2020182272A1/en
Publication of WO2020182272A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020182272A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/50—Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements
    • H04L41/5041—Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements characterised by the time relationship between creation and deployment of a service
    • H04L41/5045—Making service definitions prior to deployment
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/08—Configuration management of networks or network elements
    • H04L41/085—Retrieval of network configuration; Tracking network configuration history
    • H04L41/0853—Retrieval of network configuration; Tracking network configuration history by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L63/00—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security
    • H04L63/14—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security for detecting or protecting against malicious traffic
    • H04L63/1433—Vulnerability analysis
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/08—Configuration management of networks or network elements
    • H04L41/0803—Configuration setting
    • H04L41/0813—Configuration setting characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
    • H04L41/0816—Configuration setting characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to communication networks. More specifically, the present invention relates to entities, systems and methods for exposing management entities, such as management services, data, interfaces and/or end points in a
  • a communication network in particular a 5G communication network.
  • the next generation of mobile and wireless communications namely, the fifth generation (5G) envisions the ability of third parties (vertical companies and or other network operators) to instantiate and use their own services and slices in the communication network operated by a network operator.
  • Management exposure which can comprise (i) exposure to management entities, such as management services, capabilities, end points or interfaces or (ii) exposure to management data, is required to enable that the third parties can manage their own services.
  • 3GPP SA5 TS 28.533 the Exposure Governance Management Function, EGMF, consumes the internal management service and re-exposes them as a new service.
  • EGMF Exposure Governance Management Function
  • a communication network in particular a 5G communication network.
  • embodiments provide a dynamic exposure model-based approach for exposing management entities, in particular services in a communication network.
  • the exposure can be extended to particular capabilities, operations and even end points of the service.
  • Embodiments of the invention enable the operator of a mobile communications network to configure which management services and which management data are exposed to a third party entity. According to
  • a first aspect relates to an exposure configuration entity in a
  • the exposure configuration entity is configured to: obtain an exposure configuration; and determine based on the exposure configuration the exposure of at least one management entity towards a third party entity.
  • the at least one management entity can be at least one of a management service and/or at least one management data and/or at least one management interface and/or management service capability and/or an management service end-point.
  • the exposure configuration entity can be configured to interpret the obtained exposure configuration based on an exposure model, wherein the exposure model is being used to interpret the exposure configuration.
  • the exposure configuration entity is adapted to implement an exposure configuration service for a domain in a communication network, in particular a 5G communication network, wherein the communication network comprises a least one network service and/or at least one management service for managing the at least one network service and/or providing management data relating to the at least one network service and/or the at least one management service.
  • the exposure configuration entity can be adapted to configure an exposure of the at least one management entity, e.g. management service and/or management data towards a third party entity on the basis of an exposure model.
  • the exposure configuration entity could be any one of: a monolithic or distributed software implementation; one of more network functions; one or more hardware implementations (for instance on one or more network nodes); and/or one or more services in a service based architecture.
  • the exposure configuration entity may be implemented on a single server or in distributed fashion on multiple servers of the communication network, located, for instance, in the core: user, data, control or management planes of the communication network.
  • the exposure configuration entity may be implemented as a network function operated by the communication network.
  • the at least one network service and the at least one management service can be implemented as a single composite service.
  • a network service is anything that runs within a domain.
  • a domain is any group of resources bundled together typically under a single administrator. This could be for geographical, legal, business, administrative or other reasons for the grouping. Any entity outside the domain is a third party entity. A domain therefore could be any such group of resources in the communication network and could in some cases may also refer to the entire communication network.
  • the network entity is configured to manage the exposure model, e.g. to create, adjust, activate, de-activate and/or delete an existing exposure model or new exposure models.
  • the exposure model is a level- based exposure model comprising a plurality of exposure levels, where each exposure level defines a different subset of management entities, and the exposure configuration entity is configured to determine the exposure to the third party by selecting at least one exposure level.
  • the exposure configuration entity may be further adapted to change the determined exposure of the at least one management entity towards the third party entity by changing an exposure level.
  • the exposure model is a string-based exposure model, for example a binary string-based exposure model, defining at least one string, wherein one or more elements of the at least one string are associated with one or more management entities and wherein the exposure configuration entity is configured to determine the exposure by combining the obtained exposure configuration with the at least one string.
  • the exposure configuration entity may be further adapted to configure the exposure of the at least one management entity, e.g. management service and/or management data by changing the one or more elements of the at least one string.
  • the exposure configuration entity is adapted to obtain the exposure configuration in response to a notification, in particular a request, from the third party entity.
  • the notification could be directly sent to the entity or can be obtained somewhere and could include the exposure configuration.
  • the exposure configuration service is adapted to obtain the exposure configuration in response to a change of the at least one network service associated to the at least one management entity.
  • the at least one network service comprises at least one network function and/or at least one network slice operable and/or a communication service and/or an end-to-end, E2E service (as defined in ZSM) and/or transport network link in the domain or any combination thereof.
  • the network service maybe operable, owned and/or managed by a third party entity.
  • a method for operating an exposure configuration entity in a communication network comprises the steps of: obtaining an exposure configuration;
  • an exposure configuration storage entity for a domain in a communication network is provided.
  • the exposure configuration storage entity is configured to: receive an exposure configuration from an administrator of the domain or an operator of the domain or a third party entity external to the communication network, wherein the exposure configuration includes information to determine one or more management entities that can be exposed to the third party entity.
  • the exposure configuration entity is further configured to provide the received exposure configuration to the exposure configuration entity according to the first aspect of the invention.
  • a third party entity which is adapted to use at least one management entity of a communication network.
  • the third party entity is configured to provide a notification to the communication network, the notification being used as a trigger to obtain an exposure configuration by the communication network.
  • an exposure configuration can be defined as a possible change in management entity exposure.
  • a domain in a communication network in particular a 5G communication network is provided.
  • the communication network comprises an exposure configuration entity according to the first aspect of the invention and/or an exposure configuration storage entity according to the third aspect of the invention.
  • a computer program product comprising program code for performing the method according to the second aspect when executed on a computer.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating different aspects of the operation of an exposure service in a communication network according to an embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 2 is a table illustrating aspects of an exposure service implemented according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Fig. 3 is a table illustrating aspects of a level-based exposure model of an exposure service according to an embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 4 is a table illustrating further aspects of a level-based exposure model of an exposure service according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Fig. 5 is a table illustrating aspects of a string based exposure model of an exposure service according to an embodiment of the invention
  • Fig. 6 is a table illustrating further aspects of a string based exposure model of an exposure service according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Fig. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating an exposure configuration entity according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • a corresponding device may include one or a plurality of units, e.g. functional units, to perform the described one or plurality of method steps (e.g. one unit performing the one or plurality of steps, or a plurality of units each performing one or more of the plurality of steps), even if such one or more units are not explicitly described or illustrated in the figures.
  • a corresponding method may include one step to perform the functionality of the one or plurality of units (e.g.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating different aspects of the operation of an exposure service implemented by an exposure configuration entity 103 and an exposure configuration storage entity in a communication network 100 according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • the communication network 100 can be a communication network according to any ETSI or 3GPP standard or a future standard evolved therefrom.
  • the communication network 100 comprises an operator entity 105 in addition to the exposure configuration entity 103 adapted to implement an exposure configuration service in the communication network 100.
  • the communication network 100 may comprise one or more network services, such as a network function or a network slice, and/or at least one management entity, e.g. a management service for managing the at least one network service and/or providing management data relating to the at least one network service and/or the at least one management service.
  • the at least one management entity can be at least one of a management service and/or at least one management data and/or at least one management interface and/or management service capability and/or an management service end-point.
  • At least some of the one or more network services can be operated in the communication network 100 by a third party entity 101 external to the domain or associated with the third party entity 101 in another way, such as by receiving notifications from the one or more network services, owning and/or managing the one or more network services.
  • the exposure configuration entity 103 is configured to obtain an exposure configuration, and determine based on the exposure configuration the exposure of the at least one management entity.
  • the at least one management entity may for instance be a management service, interface, end point and/or management data towards the third party entity 101 , i.e. any entity external to the domain of the communication network 100 (see step 1 of figure 1 ).
  • the exposure configuration entity 103 can be configured to interpret the obtained exposure configuration based on an exposure model, wherein the exposure model defines a plurality of exposure configurations.
  • the communication network comprises an exposure configuration storage entity configured to receive an exposure configuration from an administrator/operator entity 105 of the communication network 100 or the third party entity 101 , wherein the exposure configuration includes information to determine one or more management entities, e.g. management service, data and/or end point that can be exposed to the third party entity 101.
  • the exposure configuration storage may be further configured to provide the received exposure configuration to the exposure configuration entity 103 of the communication network 100.
  • the third party entity 101 is adapted to use at least one management entity, e.g.
  • the third party entity 101 is configured to provide a notification, in particular a request to the communication network 100 or domain in the communication network, wherein the notification is a trigger to obtain an exposure configuration by the communication network 100 or by the domain in the communication network, in particular by the exposure configuration entity 103 (see step 3 of figure 1 ).
  • the third party entity 101 can use the management services defined by its current exposure configuration, until there is a change with respect to the third party service it is using from the domain, i.e. the communication network 100 or until it requires new management entities, e.g. services, interfaces, end points and/or data to be exposed.
  • the third party entity 101 may then request this change to the exposure service (or the domain).
  • the change request may be done by requesting to configure one or more new management entities, such as for instance a new
  • the third party entity 101 may only publish a notification of change in the third party service that is hosted in this domain, but not an explicit request for change.
  • the operator entity 105 may authorize a new exposure configuration for the third party entity 101.
  • the change in exposure is activated by the operator entity 105.
  • a new exposure configuration i.e. a new set of exposed management entities is provided to the third party entity 101 (step 6 of figure 1 ).
  • the changes may be reported internally to the operator’s other management systems, such as charging and billing (step 7 of figure 1 ).
  • the change request is reported to the operator entity 105 and/or other management service(s) in the operator’s domain (step 8 of figure 1 ).
  • the operator entity 105 and/or the other management service(s) may configure a new exposure of management entities (step 9 of figure 1 ). If this is the case, the new exposure of management entities is reported to the third party entity 101 (step 10 of figure 1 ).
  • the exposure configuration service implemented by the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity is adapted to configure an exposure of the at least one management entity, e.g. management service and/or the management data and/or management end points towards the third party entity 101 on the basis of an exposure model.
  • the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity may be implemented on a single server of the communication network 100 or in distributed fashion on multiple servers of the
  • communication network 100 located, for instance, in the core network of the
  • the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity may be implemented as a network function operated by the communication network 100.
  • the at least one network service and the at least one management service can be implemented as a single composite service.
  • the table shown in figure 2 illustrates exemplary capabilities of the exposure service implemented by the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity according to an embodiment.
  • These exemplary capabilities comprise: the capability to manage exposure models (including the capability to create, read, update, delete, and/or list possible exposure models and/or to activate/deactivate a particular exposure model for the third party entity 101 for a particular network service); the capability to configure the exposure; and/or the capability to request a new exposure (e.g. by the third party entity 101 as illustrated in figure 1 ).
  • each capability of an exposure service may be exposed via a set of operations or end points.
  • an exposure model which can be used by the exposure service implemented by the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity, namely a level based exposure model (illustrated by the tables shown in figures 3 and 4) and string exposure model, such as a binary string based exposure model (illustrated by the tables shown in figures 5 and 6).
  • the operator entity 105 and/or the third party entity 101 may specify levels of exposure. Each level may correspond to a group of capabilities. The operator entity 105 may choose that some capabilities can never be exposed outside the operator domain. The operator entity 105 may then configure the change of levels based on: a request of change of use case; a request of change of level by the third party entity 101 ; an addition of a new domain and configuration of the exposure level for that domain; and/or an upgrade of the network service of the third party reflecting a change in exposure levels.
  • the third party entity 101 can request a change concerning the network service that triggers a change in the exposure; and/or a direct change in the exposure level.
  • An example of the levels for management service capabilities is shown in the table of figure 3. Each capability of the table shown in figure 3 is associated with a level:
  • capabilities 1 and 2 are at level 1 ; capabilities 3 and 4 are at level 2 and capability 5 is internal to the operator i.e. the operator entity 105 never allows this capability to be exposed.
  • the operator entity 105 and/or the third party entity 101 may request a change in exposure by indicating the new level to be exposed to the authorized third party entity 101 .
  • a capability could be further composed of multiple operations.
  • each operation is available on multiple end points and the exposure corresponds to end points.
  • the string based model will be described with reference to a binary string.
  • the string based model may also be more precisely called binary string based model.
  • the use of binary strings in not essential and any other string may be used for the same purpose.
  • the exposure can be configured as a set of ordered binary strings.
  • an ordered binary string 1 ,1 ,1 ,1 , 0 is defined.
  • the binary value ⁇ ” indicates that the service can be exposed,“0” implies that the service is internal to the operator, i.e. is not to be exposed. Multiple binary strings can be defined.
  • a request to the exposure configuration service to change the exposure would be another binary string for example: 1 ,1 ,0,0,1 for capabilities 1 to 5, respectively.
  • the binary values in this string are combined, for example with an AND operation (AND-ed), with the binary values in the table resulting in the final binary string of 1 ,1 ,0,0,0. This then implies that capabilities 1 and 2 are exposed to the third party entity 101.
  • a request (1 ,0, 1 ,1 ,1 ) would result in an exposure (1 ,0,1 ,1 ,0).
  • the exposure configuration entity 103 is adapted to configure the exposure of the at least one management service and/or the management data by changing the at least one element of the binary string.
  • a capability could be further composed of operations, which is illustrated in the table shown in figure 6 for the string based exposure model.
  • a request (1 ,0, (1 ,0,1 ), 0,1 ) could result in an exposure (1 ,0,(1 ,0,0), 0,0).
  • operations could be over multiple end-points.
  • Figure 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 700 of operating the exposure
  • the method 700 comprises the steps of: obtaining 701 an exposure configuration; and determining 703 based on the exposure configuration the exposure of at least one management entity, e.g. management service, data and/or end point towards the third party entity 101 .
  • management entity e.g. management service, data and/or end point towards the third party entity 101 .
  • embodiments of the invention provide a generic exposure configuration functionality to access services in a domain.
  • the exposure management service may be used by the operator (or administrator) 105 of the domain to configure the exposure of other network and/or management services.
  • the exposure management service may be used by the third party (vertical) entity 101 to request a change in exposure levels.
  • the exposure service may be implemented on the basis of different exposure models, such as a level based exposure model, a string based exposure model or another kind of exposure model.
  • the ability to manage exposure models may comprise the ability to create, read, update, delete, activate, and/or deactivate the exposure model(s) by the operator entity 105 and/or the third party entity 101.
  • the operator entity 105 can automatically change the exposure based on the change in use case, slice or service requested by the third party entity 101 .
  • the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners.
  • the described apparatus embodiment is merely exemplary.
  • the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation.
  • a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed.
  • the indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.
  • the units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.
  • functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

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

Abstract

The invention relates to an exposure configuration entity (103) for a domain in a communication network (100), wherein the exposure configuration entity (103) is configured to: obtain an exposure configuration; and determine based on the exposure configuration the exposure of at least one management entity towards a third party entity (101).

Description

DESCRIPTION
ENTITIES, SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR EXPOSING MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN A 5G COMMUNICATION NETWORK
TECHNICAL FIELD
Generally, the present invention relates to communication networks. More specifically, the present invention relates to entities, systems and methods for exposing management entities, such as management services, data, interfaces and/or end points in a
communication network, in particular a 5G communication network.
BACKGROUND
The next generation of mobile and wireless communications, namely, the fifth generation (5G) envisions the ability of third parties (vertical companies and or other network operators) to instantiate and use their own services and slices in the communication network operated by a network operator. Management exposure, which can comprise (i) exposure to management entities, such as management services, capabilities, end points or interfaces or (ii) exposure to management data, is required to enable that the third parties can manage their own services.
However, for every new functionality or service that is to be exposed a new
interface/service replicating this functionality needs to be implemented over the interface. In this case it would be advantageous to reuse existing management services and configure which are exposed to the third party.
In 3GPP SA5 TS 28.533 the Exposure Governance Management Function, EGMF, consumes the internal management service and re-exposes them as a new service.
SUMMARY
The problem in the current prior art approach is that every time a new service is exposed this function needs to be modified. In addition, the management service itself cannot see who the service consumer is. This could lead to security issues. Furthermore, there is no way of in the current on how this re-exposure could be changed over the course of time or an ability for an external 3rd party consumer to request a change in the same. The ability, in particular the interfaces, to perform these change in exposure may be vital to for the realization of an autonomous domain in a communication network or the autonomous service provided by the domain in a communication network.
In light of the above, there is a need for entities, methods and systems for exposing management services in a communication network, in particular a 5G communication network, addressing at least some of the problems mentioned above.
It is an object to provide improved entities, systems and methods for exposing
management services in a communication network, in particular a 5G communication network.
The foregoing and other objects are achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Further implementation forms are apparent from the dependent claims, the description and the figures.
Generally, embodiments provide a dynamic exposure model-based approach for exposing management entities, in particular services in a communication network. According to embodiments of the invention the exposure can be extended to particular capabilities, operations and even end points of the service. Embodiments of the invention enable the operator of a mobile communications network to configure which management services and which management data are exposed to a third party entity. According to
embodiments of the invention different exposure models can be used.
More specifically, a first aspect relates to an exposure configuration entity in a
communication network, wherein the exposure configuration entity is configured to: obtain an exposure configuration; and determine based on the exposure configuration the exposure of at least one management entity towards a third party entity. The at least one management entity can be at least one of a management service and/or at least one management data and/or at least one management interface and/or management service capability and/or an management service end-point. The exposure configuration entity can be configured to interpret the obtained exposure configuration based on an exposure model, wherein the exposure model is being used to interpret the exposure configuration. In other words, the exposure configuration entity is adapted to implement an exposure configuration service for a domain in a communication network, in particular a 5G communication network, wherein the communication network comprises a least one network service and/or at least one management service for managing the at least one network service and/or providing management data relating to the at least one network service and/or the at least one management service. The exposure configuration entity can be adapted to configure an exposure of the at least one management entity, e.g. management service and/or management data towards a third party entity on the basis of an exposure model.
Thus, advantageously a dynamic exposure model-based approach for exposing management services in a domain is provided. The exposure configuration entity could be any one of: a monolithic or distributed software implementation; one of more network functions; one or more hardware implementations (for instance on one or more network nodes); and/or one or more services in a service based architecture. In other words, the exposure configuration entity may be implemented on a single server or in distributed fashion on multiple servers of the communication network, located, for instance, in the core: user, data, control or management planes of the communication network. Moreover, the exposure configuration entity may be implemented as a network function operated by the communication network. The at least one network service and the at least one management service can be implemented as a single composite service.
As used herein, a network service is anything that runs within a domain. A domain is any group of resources bundled together typically under a single administrator. This could be for geographical, legal, business, administrative or other reasons for the grouping. Any entity outside the domain is a third party entity. A domain therefore could be any such group of resources in the communication network and could in some cases may also refer to the entire communication network.
In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the network entity is configured to manage the exposure model, e.g. to create, adjust, activate, de-activate and/or delete an existing exposure model or new exposure models.
In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the exposure model is a level- based exposure model comprising a plurality of exposure levels, where each exposure level defines a different subset of management entities, and the exposure configuration entity is configured to determine the exposure to the third party by selecting at least one exposure level. The exposure configuration entity may be further adapted to change the determined exposure of the at least one management entity towards the third party entity by changing an exposure level.
In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the exposure model is a string-based exposure model, for example a binary string-based exposure model, defining at least one string, wherein one or more elements of the at least one string are associated with one or more management entities and wherein the exposure configuration entity is configured to determine the exposure by combining the obtained exposure configuration with the at least one string. The exposure configuration entity may be further adapted to configure the exposure of the at least one management entity, e.g. management service and/or management data by changing the one or more elements of the at least one string.
In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the exposure configuration entity is adapted to obtain the exposure configuration in response to a notification, in particular a request, from the third party entity. The notification could be directly sent to the entity or can be obtained somewhere and could include the exposure configuration.
In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the exposure configuration service is adapted to obtain the exposure configuration in response to a change of the at least one network service associated to the at least one management entity.
In a further possible implementation form of the first aspect, the at least one network service comprises at least one network function and/or at least one network slice operable and/or a communication service and/or an end-to-end, E2E service (as defined in ZSM) and/or transport network link in the domain or any combination thereof. The network service maybe operable, owned and/or managed by a third party entity.
According to a second aspect a method for operating an exposure configuration entity in a communication network, in particular a 5G communication network is provided. The method comprises the steps of: obtaining an exposure configuration; and
determining based on the exposure configuration the exposure of at least one
management entity towards a third party entity. According to a third aspect an exposure configuration storage entity for a domain in a communication network is provided. The exposure configuration storage entity is configured to: receive an exposure configuration from an administrator of the domain or an operator of the domain or a third party entity external to the communication network, wherein the exposure configuration includes information to determine one or more management entities that can be exposed to the third party entity.
In a further possible implementation form of the third aspect the exposure configuration entity is further configured to provide the received exposure configuration to the exposure configuration entity according to the first aspect of the invention.
According to a fourth aspect a third party entity is provided, which is adapted to use at least one management entity of a communication network. The third party entity is configured to provide a notification to the communication network, the notification being used as a trigger to obtain an exposure configuration by the communication network. As used herein, an exposure configuration can be defined as a possible change in management entity exposure.
According to a fifth aspect a domain in a communication network, in particular a 5G communication network is provided. The communication network comprises an exposure configuration entity according to the first aspect of the invention and/or an exposure configuration storage entity according to the third aspect of the invention.
According to a sixth aspect a computer program product is provided comprising program code for performing the method according to the second aspect when executed on a computer.
Details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following embodiments of the invention are described in more detail with reference to the attached figures and drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating different aspects of the operation of an exposure service in a communication network according to an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2 is a table illustrating aspects of an exposure service implemented according to an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 3 is a table illustrating aspects of a level-based exposure model of an exposure service according to an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 4 is a table illustrating further aspects of a level-based exposure model of an exposure service according to an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 5 is a table illustrating aspects of a string based exposure model of an exposure service according to an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 6 is a table illustrating further aspects of a string based exposure model of an exposure service according to an embodiment of the invention; and
Fig. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating an exposure configuration entity according to an embodiment of the invention.
In the following identical reference signs refer to identical or at least functionally equivalent features.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying figures, which form part of the disclosure, and which show, by way of illustration, specific aspects of embodiments of the invention or specific aspects in which embodiments of the present invention may be used. It is understood that embodiments of the invention may be used in other aspects and comprise structural or logical changes not depicted in the figures. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims. For instance, it is to be understood that 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. For example, if one or a plurality of specific method steps are described, a corresponding device may include one or a plurality of units, e.g. functional units, to perform the described one or plurality of method steps (e.g. one unit performing the one or plurality of steps, or a plurality of units each performing one or more of the plurality of steps), even if such one or more units are not explicitly described or illustrated in the figures. On the other hand, for example, if a specific apparatus is described based on one or a plurality of units, e.g. functional units, a corresponding method may include one step to perform the functionality of the one or plurality of units (e.g. one step performing the functionality of the one or plurality of units, or a plurality of steps each performing the functionality of one or more of the plurality of units), even if such one or plurality of steps are not explicitly described or illustrated in the figures. Further, it is understood that the features of the various exemplary embodiments and/or aspects described herein may be combined with each other, unless specifically noted otherwise.
In ETSI - Zero touch Network & Service Management, GS ZSM002 - Reference
Architecture vO.9.2 section 6 in particular 6.3.2.2.5, reference is made to an exposure service. The section mentions that there is an exposure service that can expose other services.
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating different aspects of the operation of an exposure service implemented by an exposure configuration entity 103 and an exposure configuration storage entity in a communication network 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. According to an embodiment the communication network 100 can be a communication network according to any ETSI or 3GPP standard or a future standard evolved therefrom.
As illustrated in figure 1 , the communication network 100 comprises an operator entity 105 in addition to the exposure configuration entity 103 adapted to implement an exposure configuration service in the communication network 100. Moreover, the communication network 100 may comprise one or more network services, such as a network function or a network slice, and/or at least one management entity, e.g. a management service for managing the at least one network service and/or providing management data relating to the at least one network service and/or the at least one management service. Thus, according to embodiments of the invention, the at least one management entity can be at least one of a management service and/or at least one management data and/or at least one management interface and/or management service capability and/or an management service end-point. According to an embodiment of the invention, at least some of the one or more network services can be operated in the communication network 100 by a third party entity 101 external to the domain or associated with the third party entity 101 in another way, such as by receiving notifications from the one or more network services, owning and/or managing the one or more network services.
As will be described in more detail below, the exposure configuration entity 103 is configured to obtain an exposure configuration, and determine based on the exposure configuration the exposure of the at least one management entity. The at least one management entity may for instance be a management service, interface, end point and/or management data towards the third party entity 101 , i.e. any entity external to the domain of the communication network 100 (see step 1 of figure 1 ). The exposure configuration entity 103 can be configured to interpret the obtained exposure configuration based on an exposure model, wherein the exposure model defines a plurality of exposure configurations.
Moreover, the communication network comprises an exposure configuration storage entity configured to receive an exposure configuration from an administrator/operator entity 105 of the communication network 100 or the third party entity 101 , wherein the exposure configuration includes information to determine one or more management entities, e.g. management service, data and/or end point that can be exposed to the third party entity 101. The exposure configuration storage may be further configured to provide the received exposure configuration to the exposure configuration entity 103 of the communication network 100.
The third party entity 101 is adapted to use at least one management entity, e.g.
management service, data and/or end point of the communication network 100, wherein the third party entity 101 is configured to provide a notification, in particular a request to the communication network 100 or domain in the communication network, wherein the notification is a trigger to obtain an exposure configuration by the communication network 100 or by the domain in the communication network, in particular by the exposure configuration entity 103 (see step 3 of figure 1 ). As illustrated in step 3 figure 1 , the third party entity 101 can use the management services defined by its current exposure configuration, until there is a change with respect to the third party service it is using from the domain, i.e. the communication network 100 or until it requires new management entities, e.g. services, interfaces, end points and/or data to be exposed.
As illustrated in step 4 of figure 1 , the third party entity 101 may then request this change to the exposure service (or the domain). The change request may be done by requesting to configure one or more new management entities, such as for instance a new
management service and/or new management data, etc... Alternatively, the third party entity 101 may only publish a notification of change in the third party service that is hosted in this domain, but not an explicit request for change.
As illustrated in step 5 of figure 1 , in response to a reception of a corresponding request or notification, the operator entity 105 may authorize a new exposure configuration for the third party entity 101. In case of a notification of change in the third party service, the change in exposure is activated by the operator entity 105.
If the authorization succeeds (at least partially), a new exposure configuration, i.e. a new set of exposed management entities is provided to the third party entity 101 (step 6 of figure 1 ). The changes may be reported internally to the operator’s other management systems, such as charging and billing (step 7 of figure 1 ).
Alternatively, i.e. if the authorization fails completely, the change request is reported to the operator entity 105 and/or other management service(s) in the operator’s domain (step 8 of figure 1 ). The operator entity 105 and/or the other management service(s) may configure a new exposure of management entities (step 9 of figure 1 ). If this is the case, the new exposure of management entities is reported to the third party entity 101 (step 10 of figure 1 ).
As described above, the exposure configuration service implemented by the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity is adapted to configure an exposure of the at least one management entity, e.g. management service and/or the management data and/or management end points towards the third party entity 101 on the basis of an exposure model. The exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity may be implemented on a single server of the communication network 100 or in distributed fashion on multiple servers of the
communication network 100, located, for instance, in the core network of the
communication network 100. Moreover, the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity may be implemented as a network function operated by the communication network 100. The at least one network service and the at least one management service can be implemented as a single composite service.
The table shown in figure 2 illustrates exemplary capabilities of the exposure service implemented by the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity according to an embodiment. These exemplary capabilities comprise: the capability to manage exposure models (including the capability to create, read, update, delete, and/or list possible exposure models and/or to activate/deactivate a particular exposure model for the third party entity 101 for a particular network service); the capability to configure the exposure; and/or the capability to request a new exposure (e.g. by the third party entity 101 as illustrated in figure 1 ). According to embodiments of the invention, each capability of an exposure service may be exposed via a set of operations or end points.
In the following two exemplary embodiments of an exposure model will be described, which can be used by the exposure service implemented by the exposure configuration entity 103 and/or the exposure configuration storage entity, namely a level based exposure model (illustrated by the tables shown in figures 3 and 4) and string exposure model, such as a binary string based exposure model (illustrated by the tables shown in figures 5 and 6).
As illustrated by the tables shown in figures 3 and 4 relating to the level based exposure model, according to embodiments of the invention, the operator entity 105 and/or the third party entity 101 may specify levels of exposure. Each level may correspond to a group of capabilities. The operator entity 105 may choose that some capabilities can never be exposed outside the operator domain. The operator entity 105 may then configure the change of levels based on: a request of change of use case; a request of change of level by the third party entity 101 ; an addition of a new domain and configuration of the exposure level for that domain; and/or an upgrade of the network service of the third party reflecting a change in exposure levels. Alternatively or additionally, the third party entity 101 can request a change concerning the network service that triggers a change in the exposure; and/or a direct change in the exposure level. An example of the levels for management service capabilities is shown in the table of figure 3. Each capability of the table shown in figure 3 is associated with a level:
capabilities 1 and 2 are at level 1 ; capabilities 3 and 4 are at level 2 and capability 5 is internal to the operator i.e. the operator entity 105 never allows this capability to be exposed. The operator entity 105 and/or the third party entity 101 may request a change in exposure by indicating the new level to be exposed to the authorized third party entity 101 .
According to a variant illustrated by the table shown in figure 4, a capability could be further composed of multiple operations. According to another variant, each operation is available on multiple end points and the exposure corresponds to end points.
As an example, the string based model will be described with reference to a binary string. In this case the string based model may also be more precisely called binary string based model. It should be however clear that the use of binary strings in not essential and any other string may be used for the same purpose. As illustrated by the tables shown in figures 5 and 6 relating to the string based exposure model, according to embodiments of the invention the exposure can be configured as a set of ordered binary strings. In the table shown in figure 5 an ordered binary string 1 ,1 ,1 ,1 , 0 is defined. The binary value Ί” indicates that the service can be exposed,“0” implies that the service is internal to the operator, i.e. is not to be exposed. Multiple binary strings can be defined. These can be defined, for example, on a per offered service and/or a per third party basis. A request to the exposure configuration service to change the exposure would be another binary string for example: 1 ,1 ,0,0,1 for capabilities 1 to 5, respectively. The binary values in this string are combined, for example with an AND operation (AND-ed), with the binary values in the table resulting in the final binary string of 1 ,1 ,0,0,0. This then implies that capabilities 1 and 2 are exposed to the third party entity 101. Similarly, a request (1 ,0, 1 ,1 ,1 ) would result in an exposure (1 ,0,1 ,1 ,0). Thus, according to embodiments of the invention, the exposure configuration entity 103 is adapted to configure the exposure of the at least one management service and/or the management data by changing the at least one element of the binary string.
As in the level based exposure model a capability could be further composed of operations, which is illustrated in the table shown in figure 6 for the string based exposure model. In this case, a request (1 ,0, (1 ,0,1 ), 0,1 ) could result in an exposure (1 ,0,(1 ,0,0), 0,0). Moreover, operations could be over multiple end-points.
Figure 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 700 of operating the exposure
configuration entity 103 according to an embodiment of the invention. The method 700 comprises the steps of: obtaining 701 an exposure configuration; and determining 703 based on the exposure configuration the exposure of at least one management entity, e.g. management service, data and/or end point towards the third party entity 101 .
Thus, embodiments of the invention provide a generic exposure configuration functionality to access services in a domain. According to embodiments of the invention, the exposure management service may be used by the operator (or administrator) 105 of the domain to configure the exposure of other network and/or management services. Alternatively or additionally, the exposure management service may be used by the third party (vertical) entity 101 to request a change in exposure levels. According to embodiments of the invention, the exposure service may be implemented on the basis of different exposure models, such as a level based exposure model, a string based exposure model or another kind of exposure model. According to embodiments of the invention, the ability to manage exposure models may comprise the ability to create, read, update, delete, activate, and/or deactivate the exposure model(s) by the operator entity 105 and/or the third party entity 101. Alternatively or additionally, the operator entity 105 can automatically change the exposure based on the change in use case, slice or service requested by the third party entity 101 .
The person skilled in the art will understand that the "blocks" ("units") of the various figures (method and apparatus) represent or describe functionalities of embodiments of the invention (rather than necessarily individual "units" in hardware or software) and thus describe equally functions or features of apparatus embodiments as well as method embodiments (unit = step).
In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may be implemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatus embodiment is merely exemplary. For example, the unit division is merely logical function division and may be other division in actual implementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutual couplings or direct couplings or
communication connections may be implemented by using some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections between the apparatuses or units may be implemented in electronic, mechanical, or other forms.
The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments.
In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of the units may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

Claims

1. An exposure configuration entity (103) for a domain in a communication network (100), wherein the exposure configuration entity (103) is configured to:
- obtain an exposure configuration, and
- determine based on the exposure configuration the exposure of at least one
management entity towards a third party entity (101 ).
2. The exposure configuration entity of claim 1 , wherein the exposure configuration entity interprets the obtained exposure configuration based on an exposure model, the exposure model being used for interpreting the exposure configuration.
3. The exposure configuration entity (103) of claim 1 , wherein the exposure configuration entity (103) is configured to manage the exposure model.
4. The exposure configuration entity (103) of claim 2 or 3
- wherein the exposure model is a level-based exposure model comprising a plurality of exposure levels, where each exposure level defines a different subset of management entities and
- wherein the exposure configuration entity is configured to determine the exposure to the third party by selecting at least one exposure level.
5. The network entity (103) of claim 4, wherein the exposure configuration entity (103) is adapted to change the determined exposure of the at least one management entity towards the third party entity (101 ) by changing an exposure level.
6. The exposure configuration entity (103) of claim 2 or 3,
- wherein the exposure model is a string-based exposure model defining at least one string wherein one or more elements of the at least one string are associated with one or more management entities;
- wherein the exposure configuration entity is configured to determine the exposure by combining the obtained exposure configuration with the at least one string.
7. The exposure configuration entity (103) of claim 6, wherein the exposure configuration entity (103) is adapted to configure the exposure by changing the one or more elements of the at least one string.
8. The exposure configuration entity (103) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the exposure configuration entity (103) obtains the exposure configuration in response to a notification from the third party entity (101 ).
9. The exposure configuration entity (103) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the exposure configuration entity (103) is adapted to obtain the exposure configuration in response to a change of at least one network service associated to the at least one management entity.
10. The exposure configuration entity (103) of claim 9, wherein the at least one network service comprises at least one network function operable by or associated with the third party entity (101 ) and/or at least one network slice and/or a communication service and/or an end-to-end, E2E, service and/or transport network link operable by or associated with the third party entity (101 ).
1 1 . A method (700) for operating an exposure configuration entity (103) for a domain in a communication network (100), wherein the method comprises the steps of:
- obtaining (701 ) an exposure configuration; and
- determining (703) based on the exposure configuration the exposure of at least one management entity towards a third party entity (101 ).
12. An exposure configuration storage entity for a domain in a communication network (100) configured to:
- receive an exposure configuration from an administrator of the domain or an operator of the domain or a third party entity (101 ) external to the communication network (100) or the domain;
- wherein the exposure configuration includes information to determine one or more management entities that can be exposed to the third party entity (101 ).
13. The exposure configuration storage entity of claim 12 further configured to provide the received exposure configuration to an exposure configuration entity (103) for the domain in the communication network (100).
14. A third party entity (101 ) adapted to use at least one management entity of a domain, the third party entity (101 ) configured to provide a notification to the domain, the notification being used as a trigger to obtain an exposure configuration by the domain.
15. A communication network (100) or a domain, in particular a 5G communication network, wherein the communication network (100) or the domain comprises an exposure configuration entity (103) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 and/or an exposure configuration storage entity according to claims 12 or 13.
16. A computer program product comprising program code for performing the method (700) of claim 1 1 , when executed on a computer or a processor.
PCT/EP2019/055836 2019-03-08 2019-03-08 Entities, systems and methods for exposing management services in a 5g communication network WO2020182272A1 (en)

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