WO2021098824A1

WO2021098824A1 - Network slice creation method, basic network controller, system, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2021098824A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/130427
Authority: WO
Inventors: 蒋志强; 胡鹏
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2019-11-20
Filing date: 2020-11-20
Publication date: 2021-05-27
Also published as: CN112825502A

Abstract

Disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are a network slice creation method, a basic network controller, a system, and a storage medium. The method comprises: parsing user network slice data to obtain link topology data of the user network slice data in multiple different types of networks of a hosted network, the link topology data comprising splicing nodes between the multiple different types of networks, and the splicing nodes being used to connect the multiple different types of networks; performing network configuration on the link topology data in the multiple different types of networks to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network; and using the connection configuration information of each type of network to create a network slice of the user network slice data in each type of network.

Description

Network slice creation method, basic network controller, system and storage medium

Technical field

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a method for creating a network slice, a basic network controller, a system, and a storage medium.

Background technique

The 5th Generation Mobile Networks (5G) bearer network is a basic network that provides network connections for the 5G wireless access network and the core network, and provides flexible scheduling, networking protection, and management control functions for the network connection.

The 5G bearer network supports network slicing service capabilities. Network slicing divides the existing physical network to form multiple independent logical networks to provide customized services for differentiated services. Network slicing involves terminals, wireless access networks, bearer networks, and core networks, and requires end-to-end collaborative management and control.

In actual application scenarios, the network slices required by users in the bearer environment may span multiple underlying bearer networks of different technologies. The usual method of creating network slices is to provide slices of the same network technology through virtualization, which cannot provide A network slice that traverses the underlying bearer network of different network technologies.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a network slice creation method, a basic network controller, a system, and a storage medium, which can provide user network slices in a heterogeneous bearer network environment that uses different technologies at the bottom layer.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method for creating a network slice, including: parsing user network slice data to obtain link topology data of the user network slice data in multiple different types of networks of the bearer network, wherein the link topology The data includes splicing nodes between multiple different types of networks. The splicing nodes are used to connect multiple different types of networks; network configuration is performed on the link topology data of multiple different types of networks to obtain the connection configuration information of each type of network; use The connection configuration information of each type of network creates a network slice of user network slice data in each type of network.

In the second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a basic network controller, including: a network analysis module configured to analyze user network slice data in a bearer network to obtain user network slice data in multiple different types of networks in the bearer network Link topology data, where the link topology data includes multiple splicing nodes between different types of networks, and the splicing nodes are used to connect multiple different types of networks; the network configuration module is configured to configure the link topology of multiple different types of networks The data performs network configuration to obtain the connection configuration information of each type of network; the slice creation module is configured to use the connection configuration information of each type of network to create network slices of user network slice data in each type of network.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a network management system, including an orchestrator and a basic network controller, wherein the basic network controller is configured to receive user network slice data from the orchestrator, and perform the aforementioned network slice creation method

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a network slice creation system, including: a memory and a processor; the memory is configured to store a program; the processor is configured to read the executable program code stored in the memory to execute the aforementioned network Slice creation method.

In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer executes the network slice creation methods of the foregoing aspects.

According to the network slice creation method, basic network controller, system and storage medium of the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to create user network slices in a heterogeneous bearer network environment supporting different types of network configurations, so as to make full use of the low latency of the bearer network. Technical advantages in key features such as high bandwidth and large bandwidth.

Description of the drawings

The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the following specific embodiments, they are used to explain the present disclosure, but do not constitute a limitation to the present disclosure.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic structural diagram of a basic network controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for creating a user network slice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a network scenario according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for creating a network slice according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a basic network controller provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows a structural diagram of an exemplary hardware architecture of a computing device that can implement the method and apparatus according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed ways

The specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present disclosure, and are not used to limit the present disclosure. For those skilled in the art, the present disclosure can be implemented without some of these specific details. The following description of the embodiments is only to provide a better understanding of the present disclosure by showing examples of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that in this article, the terms "include", "include" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements not only includes those elements, It also includes other elements that are not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to the process, method, article, or equipment. If there are no more restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "including..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or equipment that includes the elements.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, network slicing is an on-demand networking method, which can separate multiple virtual end-to-end networks on the unified infrastructure of operators, and each network slice can be connected to the wireless access network. , The bearer network and the core network are logically isolated to adapt to multiple types of network applications. In other words, a network slice can form an end-to-end logical network, and one or more network services can be flexibly provided according to the needs of the slice demander.

In one embodiment, the network slicing uses Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technology to separate the hardware and software parts from the traditional network, which has been adapted to the requirements of multiple network environments and realized the requirements of flexible assembly of network services. Network function virtualization may include, for example, Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN), Virtual Private Network (Virtual Private Network, VPN), and virtual router (Virtual Router etc., VR).

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the bearer network is a basic network through which the radio access network and the core network provide network connections. In actual deployment, the bearer network may be a heterogeneous network (Heterogeneous Network, HetNets) including different types of networks. Heterogeneous networks can be formed by splicing different types of networks, and can provide different types of network services. For example, a heterogeneous network may contain different types of network equipment and related application systems to meet the different service requirements of network terminals.

In an embodiment, the construction of the bearer network can be completed based on different network technologies. For example, it can be constructed based on network technologies such as flexible Ethernet technology (Flex Ethernet, FlexE), microwave transmission technology, Internet Protocol (IP) technology, and optical transport network (Optical Transport Network, OTN). When multiple network technologies are used to construct a bearer network, a bearer network containing multiple different types of networks is obtained.

From the perspective of the technology adopted by the bearer network, there are many ways to provide network slicing. For example, it can be provided from different dimensions such as the technical type of the network slicing, the switching type, the operation isolation method of the management control system, and the resource provisioning method of the network slicing. Network slicing of different service types.

At the user level, the slice network can include Type I and Type II implementations. In Type I, the client layer network management does not care about the implementation of the service layer bearer network, and can be directly mapped to the user network slice through the VPN; in Type II, the network slice can have its own corresponding logical slice in the basic bearer network. And users can configure and manage the nodes and links in the assigned logical slices.

In one embodiment, 5G service types may include: Ultra Reliable & Low Latency Communication (uRLLC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), and Massive Machine Type of Communication, mMTC) and other sliced service types. Each slice can carry multiple service instances of the same type. As the service layer network, the bearer network can meet the requirements of multiple types of slice network implementation methods in Types I and II. Application requirements for slice business types.

In some application scenarios, methods for providing network slicing services based on the bearer network are generally based on the same type of network in the bearer network, that is, providing virtual network slicing of the same technology through different virtualization methods in the original network layer.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, if a 5G bearer network based on Software Defined Network (SDN) is used, the underlying bearer network may include different types of networks using multiple different types of network technologies. In other words, when the end-to-end network slice required by network users spans a heterogeneous bearer network formed by multiple different types of networks, it is necessary to provide an end-to-end user network slice in the heterogeneous bearer network.

In order to simplify the description, the following multiple embodiments of this document take FlexE and OTN as examples to illustrate how to create user network slices based on a heterogeneous bearer network. However, this description cannot be interpreted as limiting the scope or implementation possibilities of this solution. The processing methods of other network technologies besides FlexE and OTN are consistent with those based on FlexE and OTN.

As shown in FIG. 1, the architecture may include: a user network slice management module 110, network function modules of different types of networks, such as a type A network function module 120 of a type A network and a type B network function module 130 of a type B network. In FIG. 1, the type A network function module 120 and the type B network function module 130 can be connected to the user network slice management module 110 in an embedded or external manner. Type A networks and Type B networks represent different types of networks in heterogeneous bearer networks, such as any two of a FlexE-based bearer network, an OTN-based bearer network, a microwave bearer network, and an IP bearer network.

In one embodiment, the user network slice management module 110 is configured to receive user network slice data from upper-layer entities in the software-defined network through the northbound interface, and perform topology analysis on the received user network slice data to obtain the data distributed in the Class A network Link topology data and the link topology data distributed in the type B network; the type A network function module 120 is set to perform topology calculation and network configuration on the link topology data of the type A network to obtain the network connection configuration information of the type A network ; B-type network function module 130 is set to perform topology calculation and network configuration on the link topology data of the B-type network to obtain the network connection configuration information of the B-type network; the user network slice management module 110 is also set to be the A-type network The network connection configuration information of the network connection configuration information and the network connection configuration information of the Class B network are sent to the upper entity through the northbound interface. The upper entity can create user network slice data slices in different types of networks according to the network connection configuration information of the A network and the network connection configuration information of the B network, and use the slices in the different types of networks to form user network slice data across the different types of networks. Construct a network slice of the bearer network.

Among them, the northbound interface is an interface between the user network slice management module 110 and an upper-layer entity, and the northbound interface can perform data access based on the restconf protocol. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the restconf protocol may provide a HyperText Transfer Protocol ((HyperText Transfer Protocol, HTTP) programming interface.

Among them, the southbound interface is a technical means to achieve communication interaction between the basic network controller and the underlying network equipment in the SDN environment. It uses a programmable interface to send instructions to the underlying equipment through the basic network controller to perform network topology data and resources Data collection, resource management and business configuration.

In one embodiment, the southbound interface may include an interface based on the network configuration netconf protocol, an interface based on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), and an interface based on the open protocol openflow protocol. The southbound interface can also include a command line interface. The command line interface can be a text-based configuration utility that supports the input of keyboard commands and parameters to configure and manage the connected network devices.

It should be understood that the number of network function modules of different types of networks and the number of southbound interfaces in FIG. 1 are merely illustrative. It can be adjusted flexibly according to actual application needs. Specifically, it can be flexibly configured according to requirements, and there is no restriction on this aspect.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for creating a user network slice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 2, the method includes the following steps S210-S230.

S210: Analyze the user network slice data to obtain link topology data of the user network slice data in multiple different types of networks carrying the network, where the link topology data includes splicing nodes between multiple different types of networks, and the splicing nodes are used for Connect multiple different types of networks.

S220: Perform network configuration on link topology data in multiple different types of networks to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network.

S230: Use the configuration information of each type of network connection to create a network slice of the user network slice data in each type of network.

In one embodiment, the multiple different types of networks in step S210 may include: multiple different types of networks including at least one of a microwave bearer network, an IP bearer network, a bearer network based on an optical transport network, and a bearer network based on flexible Ethernet Two different types of networks.

In an embodiment, before step S210, it may further include: user network slice data from the orchestrator received through the northbound interface. In this embodiment, the orchestrator can use the northbound interface through the basic network controller to send the user network slice data defined by the unified data modeling language to the basic network controller.

The unified coding language in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a next-generation data modeling language (Yet Another Next Generation data modeling language, YANG) model language. The YANG model language is a data modeling language that can be used to operate on the NETCONF protocol. Model the data of NETCONF, such as the configuration data and status data of the NETCONF protocol, NETCONF remote call and NETCONF notification operation. The modeling process, for example, includes: using the syntax and semantic relationship of the YANG model itself to provide a custom data representation method for the configuration data and status data.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the basic network controller and orchestrator can use the YANG model language to model the data to be processed, and convert the configuration data to be processed into the YANG model language without changing the content of the data. The data type and data structure. The unified coding language can be used between different types of networks to keep the methods of defining data and manipulating data consistent and uniform.

According to the network slice creation method of the embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible to create user network slices in a heterogeneous bearer network environment supporting different types of networks, and realize cross-layer coordination from the slice network to the underlying bearer network in the heterogeneous bearer network to make full use of The technical advantages of the bearer network in key features such as low latency and large bandwidth.

In an embodiment, the above step S210 may include the following steps S211-S212.

S211: Using splicing nodes between multiple different types of networks, divide user network slice data into slice data packets of each type of network.

S212: Perform topology analysis on the slice data packets of each type of network to obtain link topology data of each type of network.

In this embodiment, the basic network controller can receive user network slice data through the northbound interface, and parse out the topology data groups distributed in multiple different types of networks in the underlying bearer network, and can generate each group of topology data in the corresponding The link topology in the network.

In the above step S211, the splicing node is a node that can establish a connection between any of multiple different types of networks. Therefore, in order to ensure that different types of networks in a heterogeneous bearer network provide slicing network services cooperatively, it is necessary to obtain the splicing nodes between the networks when analyzing user network slicing data.

In the above step S212, the user network slice management module can map the user network slice data to different types of networks in the bearer network through topology analysis, to obtain the link of each type of network in the topology data packets of multiple different types of networks Topology.

In this embodiment, the above step S220 may specifically include the following steps S221 and S222.

S221: Using pre-collected topology data and resource data of each type of network, perform path calculation on the link topology data of each type of network to obtain available path data and resource allocation data of each type of network.

S222: Perform network configuration on network devices corresponding to each type of network according to available path data and resource allocation data, to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network.

In an embodiment, step S221 may include S221-01 and S221-02.

S221-01: Generate path calculation request data according to preset interface definition information, where the interface definition information is used to define interfaces between multiple different types of networks.

In S221-02, using pre-collected topology data and resource data, path calculation and resource allocation are performed on the path calculation request data to obtain available path data and resource allocation data for each type of network.

In the above step S221-01, the interface definition information may at least include: network slice identification, link definition information, path creation time, and path maintenance time in each type of network. Further, the interface definition information may also include information items such as protection switching attributes, links with specified Shared Risk Link Groups (SRLG) values that need to be excluded in each type of network.

In an embodiment, the link definition information in the interface definition information may include information such as: Headend of the link head end, Tailend of the link tail end, link bandwidth Bandwidth, and maximum link delay. Further, the connection attribute information may also include information items such as nodes that need to be included in the corresponding type of network, nodes that need to be excluded in the corresponding type of network, and minimum link delay.

In an embodiment, step S222 may include S222-01-S222-03.

S222-01: According to the network equipment corresponding to each type of network, determine the configuration parameters corresponding to the network equipment defined by the preset data modeling language.

S222-02: Perform network configuration on network devices corresponding to each type of network according to available path data and resource allocation data, to obtain configuration values of configuration parameters.

S222-03: Configure the configuration value of the configuration parameter to the corresponding network device to obtain the connection configuration information of each type of network.

In this embodiment, the configuration models of network devices corresponding to different types of networks are different. The configuration model of the network device can be used for network configuration and deployment of the network device. In addition, the data modeling language does not change the configuration content of the network equipment, but the configuration content of different network equipment needs to be converted into the form of the YANG model language to obtain the configuration data defined by the YANG model language.

In one embodiment, after the configuration values of the configuration parameters are configured to the corresponding network device, the connection configuration information of each type of network can be sent to the basic network controller, and returned to the upper entity through the northbound interface of the basic network controller.

The network slice creation method of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to a 5G bearer network, and the bearer network is a heterogeneous environment formed by a variety of different types of networks. The wireless user-defined network slice is submitted to the bearer network, and the network slice traverses different bearer networks. Next, the basic network controller is used to coordinate between different types of networks to obtain network slicing of user network slice data in each type of network, and realize end-to-end user network slicing in a heterogeneous bearer network environment.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a network scene of an embodiment of the present disclosure. The same numbers in FIG. 3 and FIG. 1 may indicate the same or equivalent structures. As shown in FIG. 3, this embodiment can describe the process of implementing user network slicing using a basic network controller in combination with a heterogeneous network scenario of a FlexE-based bearer network and an OTN-based bearer network in a 5G bearer network.

In the 5G bearer network, basic network controllers and orchestrators can be deployed, and type A network function modules based on FlexE technology and type B network function modules based on OTN/DWDM technology can be built into the basic network controller.

In practical applications, the component deployment of network function modules based on different technologies can be implemented in multiple ways. For example, the network function module of each technology can be integrated in the basic network controller as a component of the basic network controller, or it can be external Placed in the basic network controller.

Suppose that a type A network based on FlexE technology includes three physical nodes A, B, M and FlexE line connections between nodes in a type A network, and a type B network based on OTN technology includes three physical nodes M, C The OTN line connection between nodes in Class Z and Class B networks.

As shown in FIG. 3, the type A network function module 120 may include a type A network topology unit 121, a type A network path calculation and resource allocation unit 122, and a type A network configuration unit 123; the type B network function module 130 may include a type B network The topology unit 131, the type B network path calculation and resource allocation unit 132, and the type B network configuration unit 133.

As shown in S0a and S0b in FIG. 3, the basic network controller can use the type A network topology unit 121 and the type B network topology unit 131 to pre-collect the topology data and resource data of the type A network and the topology data and resources of the type B network. data.

As shown in S1 in FIG. 3, the user slice network management 110 receives the user network slice data issued by the orchestrator through the northbound interface. The user slice network management 110 maps user network slice data to different types of networks in the underlying bearer network to obtain actual user network slice topologies in different types of networks.

Exemplarily, as shown in FIG. 3, the user network from the device node A'to the node Z'can be defined in the user network slice data, and the network slice spans a type A network based on FlexE and a type B network based on OTN/DWDM. When determining the user network slicing topology, the node M'corresponding to the splicing node M between different types of networks must be selected, and the splicing point M is used to connect the type A network and the type B network.

Through topology analysis, it can be determined that the actual user network slice topology includes: node A', node M', node Z', the connection attribute parameter of the uL1 connection between node A'and node M'(Link1 connection attribute parameter), node M' The connection attribute parameter (Link2 connection attribute parameter) of the connection uL2 with the node Z', where the connection uL1 is a connection in a type A network, and the connection uL2 is a connection in a type B network.

In one embodiment, the orchestrator sends the user network slice data to the user slice network management 110. The user network slice data may include, for example: {A', M', Z', uL1 (A', M', Link1 attributes Parameter), uL2 (M', Z', Link2 attribute parameter)}.

The user slice network management 110 performs topology analysis on user network slice data packets to obtain link topology data in different types of networks, for example, it may include: A type of network, node A corresponding to node A', corresponding to node M' Node M, and the path attribute parameter between node A and node M (Path1 path attribute parameter); in type B network, node M corresponding to node M', node Z corresponding to node Z', and node M and The path attribute parameter between nodes Z (Path2 path attribute parameter).

Exemplarily, the link topology data in the Type A network and the Type B network include: {A, M, FlexE path1 (A, M, Path1 path attribute parameter)}, the mapping relationship of the OTN network {M, Z, otn path1 (M, Z, Path2 path attribute parameters)}.

As shown in S2a and S2b in FIG. 3, the user network slice management module 110 generates path calculation request data corresponding to different types of networks according to the link topology data obtained by the above topology analysis, and sends the path calculation data corresponding to different types of networks to Corresponding type of network path calculation and resource allocation unit. At this time, the user network slice management module can enter the waiting state.

As shown in S3a and S3b in FIG. 3, the type A network path calculation and resource allocation unit 122 receives the path calculation request corresponding to the link topology data in the type A network, and according to the type A network topology unit 121 pre-collected The topology data of the network and the resource database perform path calculation to obtain the available paths and resource allocation information in the type A network; the path calculation and resource allocation unit 132 of the type B network may correspond to the received link topology data in the type B network In the path calculation request, the path calculation is performed according to the topology data and resource database of the type B network pre-collected by the type B network topology unit 131 to obtain the available path and resource allocation information in the type B network.

As shown in S4a and S4b in FIG. 3, the type A network configuration unit 123 may use the received available path and resource allocation information in the type A network to generate YANG model configuration data of related nodes in the available paths in the type A network; The type B network configuration unit 133 may use the received available path and resource allocation information in the type B network to generate YANG model configuration data of related nodes in the available paths in the type B network.

Taking a type A network as an example, after receiving the calculation request data, the type A network path calculation and resource allocation unit 122 performs path calculation according to the topology data and resource database of the type A L2 network pre-collected by the type A network topology unit 121, if the path If the calculation is successful, the result data is generated in the {A, B, M} nodes in the A network and the path configuration parameters corresponding to each node based on the flexible Ethernet technology. Similar to the processing process in the A-type network, {M, C, Z} nodes in the B-type network and the corresponding path configuration parameter generation of each node based on the optical transport network technology can be obtained.

In one embodiment, when the type A network is a network based on FlexE technology, the source node to the destination node in the type A network may be the end point of a shim-to-shim connection based on FlexE technology, configure FlexE crossover and other related configurations and parameter. Flexible Ethernet technology FlexE can use the Flexible Ethernet Shim (FlexE Shi) technology, based on the time division multiplexing distribution mechanism and time slot cross technology, to schedule and distribute the data of multiple data interfaces to multiple different sub-interfaces according to the time slot method. The channel realizes data flow forwarding based on the physical layer.

In this embodiment, each type of network configuration unit can generate network connection configuration information of the network device according to the corresponding network device.

As an example, the type A network configuration unit 123 can define and assemble the FlexE technology-based configuration of the device nodes in the type A network using the YANG model language to obtain the FlexE technology-based YANG model configuration parameters of the device nodes in the type A network. And send the YANG model configuration parameters to the network device in the type A network through the southbound interface for configuration.

As an example, the type B network configuration unit 133 can define and assemble the OTN technology-based configuration of the network equipment in the type B network using the YANG model language to obtain the OTN technology-based YANG model configuration parameters of the equipment nodes in the type B network. And send the YANG model configuration parameters to the network equipment in the type B network through the southbound interface for configuration.

As shown in S5a and S5b in FIG. 3, the type A network configuration unit 123 can return the network connection configuration information of the type A network to the user network slice management module 110, and the type B network configuration unit 133 can report to the user network slice management module 110 Returns the network connection configuration information of the type B network.

In this embodiment, as shown in S6 in Figure 3, the user network slice management module can determine that the connection in each type of network is successfully created after receiving the network connection configuration information in different types of networks, and then the user slice can be determined The network is successfully created. The user network slice management module 110 records and stores connection configuration information and status data in each type of network, and returns the connection configuration information in each type of network and a notification message that the slice network is successfully created to the orchestrator through the northbound interface.

According to the method for creating user network slices in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the basic network controller uses the splicing nodes between different types of networks to connect according to the user network topology of the user network in each type of network. The synergy between networks forms a user bearer network that traverses the underlying heterogeneous bearer network to obtain user network slices in the heterogeneous bearer network.

The technical solution of the present disclosure can break through the technical limitation of providing the same type of network slicing, and can provide end-to-end user network slicing on a heterogeneous bearer network composed of different types of networks, and different types of networks can be adapted according to the present disclosure. And expansion to realize the end-to-end user slicing network service provision of heterogeneous bearer networks, shield the upper-layer user network from the diversity of the lower-layer bearer network, achieve the purpose of decoupling, and make full use of the characteristics of the network to ensure the bandwidth required by the user network Key features such as delay and time delay.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flowchart of a method for creating a network slice according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the network slice creation method may include the following steps.

As shown in step ① in Figure 4, the orchestrator delivers the user network slice data to the basic network controller.

As shown in steps ②a and ②b in Figure 4, after the user network slice management module receives user network slice data, it analyzes the user-defined network slice and the underlying bearer network. When there is a user network slice topology that spans two types of networks, The splicing nodes between different types of networks are the boundaries, and the user network topology data packets corresponding to different types of networks are sorted out, and the topology links corresponding to different types of networks are sorted out.

In this step, the unified interface definition information is used to assemble the topology calculation request data in each type of network, and initiate a coordination request message or call process to the path calculation module of the corresponding network, and enter the waiting state.

As shown in steps ③a and ③b in FIG. 4, after receiving the corresponding path calculation request message or call, the network path calculation and resource allocation unit performs path calculation according to the prepared network topology and resource data. If it fails, it is directly returned to the user's network slice management module; if it succeeds, the calculated path data and its resource allocation data are sent to the network configuration module in the corresponding type of network.

As shown in

steps

④a and ④b in Figure 4, after the network configuration unit receives the path data and its resource allocation data, according to the configuration model of the corresponding network device, it assembles the configuration data of the path-related nodes based on the YANG model language through the netconf protocol The southbound interface, such as the interface, is delivered to the device.

In this step, as shown in steps ⑤a and ⑤b, if the assembly configuration data is successful, it will be directly returned to the user network slice management module; if the assembly configuration data fails, it will be returned to the path calculation module.

As shown in step ⑥ in Figure 4, after completing the network configuration of all user network slice data in different types of networks, the user network slice management module can collect and store node and link data and status data in different types of networks, and return For the orchestrator, create network slices of user network slice data in different types of electrical layers.

Through the technical solution of the present disclosure, end-to-end user network slicing can be provided on different types of networks, realizing the end-to-end user slicing network service provision of heterogeneous bearer networks, shielding the upper-layer user network from the diversity of the underlying bearer network, and achieving a solution The purpose of coupling. It breaks through the traditional method of providing network slicing in the same type of network, so as to use the characteristics of the network to ensure the bandwidth and delay required by the user's network.

The basic network controller according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 5 shows a schematic structural diagram of a basic network controller provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the basic network controller may include: a network analysis module 510, a network configuration module 520, and a slice creation module 530.

The network analysis module 510 is configured to analyze user network slice data to obtain link topology data of the user network slice data in multiple different types of networks carrying the network, wherein the link topology data includes multiple splicing nodes between different types of networks , Splicing nodes are used to connect multiple different types of networks.

The network configuration module 520 is configured to perform network configuration on link topology data in multiple different types of networks to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network.

The slice creation module 530 is configured to use the connection configuration information of each type of network to create a network slice of user network slice data in each type of network.

In one embodiment, the multiple different types of networks include at least two different types of networks among a microwave bearer network, an IP bearer network, an optical transport network-based bearer network, and a flexible Ethernet-based bearer network.

In an embodiment, the network analysis module 510 may include: a data grouping unit configured to use splicing nodes between multiple different types of networks to divide user network slice data into slice data groups for each type of network; a topology analysis unit, It is configured to perform topology analysis on the slice data packets of each type of network to obtain link topology data of each type of network.

In one embodiment, the network configuration module 520 may include: a path calculation unit configured to use pre-collected topology data and resource data of each type of network to perform path calculation on the link topology data of each type of network to obtain each type of network. Available path data and resource allocation data of each type of network; the network configuration module 520 is also configured to perform network configuration on the network equipment corresponding to each type of network according to the available path data and resource allocation data to obtain the connection configuration of each type of network information.

In one embodiment, the interface definition information includes at least: network slice identification, connection attribute information, path creation time, and path maintenance time in each type of network; connection attribute information includes at least: source node and destination in each type of network Node, link bandwidth, maximum link delay.

In one embodiment, the path calculation unit may be specifically configured to define link creation parameters between different types of electrical layers according to preset interface definition rules; according to network topology data and electrical layer resource data, link topology The path calculation is performed on the data, and the available path data and resource allocation data corresponding to the link creation parameters are obtained.

In an embodiment, the network configuration module 520 may further include: a model language definition unit configured to determine configuration parameters corresponding to the network equipment defined by a preset data modeling language according to the network equipment corresponding to each type of network; The parameter determination unit is configured to perform network configuration on the network equipment corresponding to each type of network according to the available path data and resource allocation data to obtain the configuration value of the configuration parameter; the configuration issuing unit is configured to configure the configuration value of the configuration parameter to The corresponding network device obtains the connection configuration information of each type of network.

According to the basic network controller of the embodiment of the present disclosure, user network slices can be created in a heterogeneous bearer network environment supporting different types of network configurations. In a heterogeneous bearer network, cross-layer coordination from the slice network to the underlying bearer network is realized to make full use of the network's technical advantages in key features such as low latency and large bandwidth.

It should be clear that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific configuration and processing described in the above embodiments and shown in the figures. For the convenience and brevity of the description, detailed descriptions of known methods are omitted here, and the specific working processes of the systems, modules, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram showing an exemplary hardware architecture of a computing device capable of implementing the method and apparatus for creating a network slice according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 6, the computing device 600 includes an input device 601, an input interface 602, a central processing unit 603, a memory 604, an output interface 605, and an output device 606. Wherein, the input interface 602, the central processing unit 603, the memory 604, and the output interface 605 are connected to each other through the bus 610, and the input device 601 and the output device 606 are connected to the bus 610 through the input interface 602 and the output interface 605, respectively, and then to the computing device 600 The other components are connected.

Specifically, the input device 601 receives input information from the outside (for example, an orchestrator), and transmits the input information to the central processing unit 603 through the input interface 602; the central processing unit 603 inputs the input information based on the computer executable instructions stored in the memory 604 The information is processed to generate output information, the output information is temporarily or permanently stored in the memory 604, and then the output information is transmitted to the output device 606 through the output interface 605; the output device 606 outputs the output information to the outside of the computing device 600 for the user use.

In one embodiment, the computing device 600 shown in FIG. 6 may be implemented as a network slice creation system. The network slice creation system may include: a memory configured to store a program; a processor configured to run in the memory A stored program to execute the network slice creation method described in the above embodiment.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a network management system, including an orchestrator and a basic network controller, where the basic network controller is configured to receive user network slice data from the orchestrator, and execute the network slice creation described in the above embodiment method.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the process described above with reference to the flowchart may be implemented as a computer software program. For example, an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a computer program product, which includes a computer program tangibly embodied on a machine-readable medium, and the computer program includes program code for executing the method shown in the flowchart. In such an embodiment, the computer program may be downloaded and installed from the network, and/or installed from a removable storage medium.

A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand that all or some of the steps, functional modules/units in the system, and apparatus in the methods disclosed above can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and appropriate combinations thereof. In the hardware implementation, the division between functional modules/units mentioned in the above description does not necessarily correspond to the division of physical components; for example, a physical component may have multiple functions, or a function or step may consist of several physical components. The components are executed cooperatively. Some physical components or all physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, or a microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, such as an application specific integrated circuit . Such software may be distributed on a computer-readable medium, and the computer-readable medium may include a computer storage medium (or non-transitory medium) and a communication medium (or transitory medium). As is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, the term computer storage medium includes volatile and non-volatile data implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Sexual, removable and non-removable media. Computer storage media include but are not limited to RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tapes, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or Any other medium used to store desired information and that can be accessed by a computer. In addition, as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, communication media usually contain computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms, and may include any information delivery media. .

It can be understood that the above implementations are merely exemplary implementations used to illustrate the principle of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For those of ordinary skill in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and essence of the present disclosure, and these modifications and improvements are also deemed to be within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

A method for creating network slices, including:

Parse the user network slice data to obtain link topology data of the user network slice data in a plurality of different types of networks of the bearer network, wherein the link topology data includes splicing nodes between the plurality of different types of networks, The splicing node is used to connect the multiple networks of different types;

Performing network configuration on the link topology data in the multiple different types of networks to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network;

Using the connection configuration information of each type of network, create a network slice of the user network slice data in each type of network.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

The multiple different types of networks include at least two different types of networks among a microwave bearer network, an IP bearer network, an optical transport network-based bearer network, and a flexible Ethernet-based bearer network.
The method according to claim 1, wherein said parsing user network slice data in a bearer network to obtain link topology data of said user network slice data in a plurality of different types of networks of said bearer network comprises:

Dividing the user network slice data into slice data packets of each type of network;

Perform topology analysis on the slice data packets of each type of network to obtain link topology data of each type of network.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the performing network configuration on the link topology data in the multiple different types of networks to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network comprises:

Using the pre-collected topology data and resource data of each type of network, path calculation is performed on the link topology data of each type of network to obtain the available path data and resource allocation data of each type of network;

According to the available path data and the resource allocation data, network configuration is performed on the network device corresponding to each type of network to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network.
4. The method according to claim 4, wherein the pre-collected topology data and resource data of each type of network are used to perform path calculation on the link topology data of each type of network to obtain the Available path data and resource allocation data of the network, including:

Generating path calculation request data according to preset interface definition information, where the interface definition information is used to define interfaces between the multiple different types of networks;

Using the pre-collected topology data and the resource data, path calculation and resource allocation are performed on the path calculation request data to obtain the available path data and resource allocation data of each type of network.
The method of claim 5, wherein:

The interface definition information includes at least: network slice identification, connection attribute information, path creation time, and path maintenance time in each type of network;

The connection attribute information includes at least: the source node, the destination node, the link bandwidth, and the maximum link delay in each type of network.
The method according to claim 4, wherein the network configuration is performed on the network device corresponding to each type of network according to the available path data and the resource allocation data to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network ,include:

According to the network equipment corresponding to each type of network, determine the configuration parameters corresponding to the network equipment defined by a preset data modeling language;

Perform network configuration on the network device corresponding to each type of network according to the available path data and the resource allocation data to obtain the configuration value of the configuration parameter;

Configure the configuration value of the configuration parameter to the corresponding network device to obtain the connection configuration information of each type of network.
A basic network controller, including:

The network analysis module is configured to analyze user network slice data in the bearer network to obtain link topology data of the user network slice data in multiple different types of networks of the bearer network, wherein the link topology data includes A splicing node between the plurality of different types of networks, where the splicing node is used to connect the plurality of different types of networks;

The network configuration module is configured to perform network configuration on the link topology data in the multiple different types of networks to obtain connection configuration information of each type of network;

The slice creation module is configured to use the connection configuration information of each type of network to create a network slice of the user network slice data in each type of network.
A network management system, including: an orchestrator and a basic network controller,

The basic network controller is configured to receive user network slice data from the orchestrator, and execute the network slice creation method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
A network slice creation system, including a memory and a processor;

The memory is configured to store executable program code;

The processor is configured to read the executable program code stored in the memory to execute the network slice creation method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
A computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, when the instructions run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the network slice creation method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.