WO2024074086A9

WO2024074086A9 - Policy configuration method and apparatus, and related device

Info

Publication number: WO2024074086A9
Application number: PCT/CN2023/115917
Authority: WO
Inventors: 李嘉慧; 黄昌正; 陈卓怡; 刘柳; 龙彪
Original assignee: 中国电信股份有限公司
Priority date: 2022-10-08
Filing date: 2023-08-30
Publication date: 2024-05-23
Also published as: CN117896805A; WO2024074086A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a policy configuration method and apparatus, and an electronic device, a computer-readable storage medium and a computer program product. When being applied to an NWDAF, the method comprises: acquiring historical data corresponding to a ProSe analytics ID; generating a data analysis result according to the historical data; and sending the data analysis result to a PCF, such that the PCF configures a ProSe-related policy according to the data analysis result. When being applied to a PCF, the method comprises: receiving a data analysis result sent by an NWDAF; and configuring a ProSe-related policy according to the data analysis result. A data analysis capability of an NWDAF network element is used to provide support for a PCF network element to configure a ProSe-related policy, such that the generated ProSe-related policy can flexibly match a dynamically changing network environment, and the execution of the ProSe-related policy can improve the rationality of network resource allocation. (FIG. 2)

Description

Policy configuration method, device and related equipment

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present disclosure claims priority to a Chinese patent application with application number 202211223432.X filed on October 8, 2022 and entitled “Policy configuration method, device, electronic device and computer-readable storage medium”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a policy configuration method, device, electronic device, computer-readable storage medium, and computer program product.

Background technique

In the field of communication technology, ProSe (proximity-services) can assist remote UE (Remote UE) that is not within the network coverage or has poor network coverage to connect to the 5G network through the relay UE (Relay UE). The communication quality and experience of the remote UE and the relay UE when performing ProSe services are affected by the ProSe-related strategies used.

In the related technology, when an operator deploys a PCF (Policy Control function) network element, the operator pre-configures some ProSe policies in the PCF network element. When the remote UE and the relay UE perform ProSe services, the PCF sends the pre-configured ProSe policies to the remote UE and the relay UE.

However, the pre-configured ProSe policies have poor flexibility in application and are difficult to adapt to dynamically changing network environments.

It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field.

Summary of the invention

The present disclosure provides a policy configuration method, device, electronic device, computer-readable storage medium and computer program product, which at least to some extent overcome the problem that the pre-configured ProSe policy in the related art has poor flexibility when applied and is difficult to adapt to the dynamically changing network environment.

Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, or may be learned in part by the practice of the present disclosure.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a policy configuration method is provided, which is applied to a network data analysis function NWDAF, including: obtaining historical data corresponding to a proximity service ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID; generating data analysis results based on the historical data; and sending the data analysis results to a policy control function PCF, so that the PCF configures ProSe related policies based on the data analysis results.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the historical data includes: user ID or user group ID, application ID, Internet protocol IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, data network name DNN corresponding to the application, relay service code Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and one or more of service quality Qos parameters.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the ProSe Analytics ID includes a target Analytics ID; the historical data corresponding to the target Analytics ID includes: user ID or user group ID, application ID, IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, DNN corresponding to the application, relay service code Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and one or more of quality of service (Qos) parameters.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the ProSe Analytics ID includes one or more of slice load level information Slice Load level information, network performance Network Performance, observed service experience related network data analytics, and user data congestion analytics User Data Congestion Analytics.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, obtaining historical data corresponding to a proximity service ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID includes: sending a corresponding data request message to a network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID; and receiving a feedback message sent by the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID, wherein the feedback message includes the historical data.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the network elements involved in the ProSe Analytics ID include one or more of the direct discovery name management function DDNMF network element, the access and mobility management function AMF network element, the user equipment UE, the application function AF, and the operation management and maintenance OAM.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, obtaining historical data corresponding to the proximity service ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID includes: sending a data request message to the DDNMF; receiving a feedback message sent by the DDNMF, and the feedback message includes one or more of Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, and slice identifier S-NSSAI.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, it also includes: receiving an analysis request sent by the PCF, wherein the analysis request includes the ProSe Analytics ID; or receiving a subscription request sent by the PCF, wherein the subscription request includes the ProSe Analytics ID.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a policy configuration method is provided, which is applied to a policy control function PCF, including: receiving a data analysis result sent by a network data analysis function NWDAF, wherein the data analysis result is obtained by performing statistics and/or prediction on historical data corresponding to a proximity service ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID; and configuring ProSe related policies according to the data analysis result.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, configuring ProSe related policies according to the data analysis results includes: configuring corresponding parameters in the proximity service policy ProSe Policy according to the data analysis results; and/or configuring ProSe related parameters in the user equipment routing selection policy URSP according to the data analysis results.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the ProSe related parameters include ProSe Layer-3UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: sending the configured ProSe-related policy to the user equipment UE.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a policy configuration device is provided, which is applied to a network data analysis function NWDAF, including: an acquisition module, configured to acquire historical data corresponding to a proximity service ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID; a generation module, configured to generate a data analysis result based on the historical data; and a first sending module, configured to send the data analysis result to a policy control function PCF, so that the PCF can configure ProSe related policies according to the data analysis result.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition module is configured to send a corresponding data request message to the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID; and receive a feedback message sent by the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID, wherein the feedback message includes the historical data.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition module is configured to send a data request message to the DDNMF; and receive a feedback message sent by the DDNMF, wherein the feedback message includes one or more of a Relay Service Code, a ProSe usage location, a ProSe usage time, and a slice identifier S-NSSAI.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition module is further configured to receive an analysis request sent by the PCF, wherein the analysis request includes the ProSe Analytics ID; or, to receive a subscription request sent by the PCF, wherein the subscription request includes the ProSe Analytics ID.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a policy configuration device is provided, which is applied to a policy control function PCF, including: a receiving module, configured to receive data analysis results sent by a network data analysis function NWDAF, wherein the data analysis results are obtained by statistics and/or prediction of historical data corresponding to a proximity service ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID; and a configuration module, configured to configure ProSe related policies according to the data analysis results.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the configuration module is configured to configure corresponding parameters in the proximity service policy ProSe Policy according to the data analysis results; and/or, to configure ProSe related parameters in the user equipment routing selection policy URSP according to the data analysis results.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes: a second sending module, configured to send a configured ProSe-related policy to a user equipment UE.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute any of the above-mentioned policy configuration methods by executing the executable instructions.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, any of the above-mentioned policy configuration methods is implemented.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising a computer program or computer instructions, the computer program or the computer instructions being loaded and executed by a processor so that a computer implements any of the above-mentioned policy configuration methods.

The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes at least the following beneficial effects:

In the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the NWDAF network element obtains the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID, generates a data analysis result based on the historical data, and then sends the data analysis result to the PCF network element. After receiving the data analysis result, the PCF network element configures the ProSe-related policies according to the data analysis result. By using the data analysis capability of the NWDAF network element to provide support for the PCF network element to configure ProSe-related policies, the generated ProSe-related policies can be flexibly adapted to the dynamically changing network environment, and the execution of the ProSe-related policies can improve the rationality of network resource allocation.

It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a policy configuration system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG2 shows a flow chart of a policy configuration method in one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG3 shows a flow chart of a policy configuration method in another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG4 shows a flow chart of a policy configuration method in another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a policy configuration device in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG6 shows a schematic diagram of a policy configuration device in another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a structural block diagram of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed ways

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, example embodiments can be implemented in a variety of forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be more comprehensive and complete and to fully convey the concepts of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

In addition, the accompanying drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the figures represent the same or similar parts, and thus their repeated description will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically independent entities. These functional entities can be implemented in software form, or implemented in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or implemented in different networks and/or processor devices and/or microcontroller devices.

It should be understood that the various steps described in the method embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in different orders and/or in parallel. In addition, the method embodiments may include additional steps and/or omit the steps shown. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

It should be noted that the concepts such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the present disclosure are only used to distinguish different devices, modules or units, and are not used to limit the order or interdependence of the functions performed by these devices, modules or units.

It should be noted that the modifications of "one" and "plurality" mentioned in the present disclosure are illustrative rather than restrictive, and those skilled in the art should understand that unless otherwise clearly indicated in the context, it should be understood as "one or more".

For ease of understanding, several terms involved in the present disclosure are explained below:

NWDAF: Network Data Analytics Functional, network data analysis function;

PCF: Policy Control function, policy control function;

Analytics ID: analysis ID, each analysis ID specifies the data input to NWDAF, the data analysis results output by NWDAF, and the process of NWDAF data analysis;

ProSe Analytics ID: Analytics ID associated with ProSe data;

ProSe data: data generated during the implementation and execution of ProSe services;

ProSe-related strategies: strategies involved in the implementation of ProSe services;

S-NSSAI: Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, slice identification;

DNN: Data Network Name, data network name;

DDNMF: Direct Discovery Name Management Function, direct discovery name management function;

AMF: Access and Mobility Management Function, access and mobility management function;

AF：Application Function, application function;

OAM: Operation Administration and Maintenance, operation management and maintenance;

URSP: UE Route Selection Policy, user equipment routing selection policy.

The PCF network element in the 5GC (5G core network) provides relevant policies for ProSe service provision. Usually, when the PCF network element is deployed, the ProSe related policies that the PCF network element can generate are configured. The configured PCF network element cannot configure and/or adjust the ProSe related policies according to the actual network conditions and user experience, nor can it pre-configure more reasonable ProSe related policies according to possible network conditions and user experience. In this regard, the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a policy configuration method, which can use the data analysis capability of the NWDAF network element to provide support for the PCF network element to configure ProSe related policies, so that the PCF network element can configure and/or adjust the ProSe related policies according to the network conditions and user experience. The configured and/or configured ProSe related policies can flexibly adapt to the dynamically changing network environment, and the execution of the ProSe related policies can improve the rationality of network resource allocation.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a policy configuration system in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system can apply the policy configuration method or policy configuration device in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the policy configuration system architecture may include: a PCF network element 101 , an NWDAF network element 102 , a ProSe-related network element 103 , and a user equipment 104 .

Among them, the PCF network element 101 can generate an analysis request message or a subscription request including the ProSe Analytics ID, and can send the analysis request or subscription request to the NWDAF network element 102. The NWDAF network element 102 can receive the analysis request and subscription request sent by the PCF network element 101, and according to the ProSe Analytics ID included in the analysis request or subscription request, request the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID from the ProSe-related network element 103. The NWDAF network element 102 can also perform data analysis on the historical data to obtain a data analysis result, and can send the data analysis result to the PCF network element 101.

The PCF network element 101 can configure ProSe-related policies according to the data analysis results, and can send the configured ProSe-related policies to the user equipment 104 .

The PCF network element 101, the NWDAF network element 102, the ProSe-related network element 103, and the user equipment 104 are connected to each other through a network, which may be a wired network or a wireless network.

In some embodiments, the wireless network or wired network described above uses standard communication technologies and/or protocols. The network is typically the Internet, but may be any network, including but not limited to a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a mobile, wired or wireless network, a private network or any combination of virtual private networks. In some embodiments, technologies and/or formats including Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), etc. are used to represent data exchanged over the network. In addition, conventional encryption technologies such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), Virtual Private Network (VPN), and Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) may be used to encrypt all or some links. In other embodiments, customized and/or dedicated data communication technologies may be used to replace or supplement the above-mentioned data communication technologies.

The user device 104 may be a variety of electronic devices, including but not limited to smartphones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wearable devices, augmented reality devices, virtual reality devices, etc. In some embodiments, the client of the application installed in different user devices 104 is the same, or the client of the same type of application based on different operating systems. Based on different terminal platforms, the specific form of the client of the application may also be different, for example, the application client may be a mobile client, a PC client, etc.

The ProSe-related network elements 103 are network elements involved in the implementation of the ProSe service, such as DDNMF network elements, AMF network elements, AF, OAM, etc.

The present exemplary implementation is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

The embodiment of the present disclosure provides a policy configuration method, which can be executed by any electronic device with computing and processing capabilities. For example, the electronic device is a NWDAF network element.

FIG2 shows a flow chart of a policy configuration method in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG2 , the policy configuration method provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following steps S201 to S203 .

S201, NWDAF network element obtains historical data corresponding to ProSe Analytics ID.

Among them, ProSe Analytics ID is an Analytics ID related to ProSe data. In some embodiments, ProSe Analytics ID is an Analytics ID in which the input data specified by Analytics ID in multiple Analytics IDs includes part and/or all of the ProSe data. ProSe data includes data generated during the implementation and progress of ProSe services. For example, ProSe data includes: slice identifier S-NSSAI, QoS (Quality of Service) parameters, etc. .

Each Analytics ID specifies corresponding input data, and the input data specified by the Analytics ID is the data involved in the Analytics ID. Analytics ID is used to instruct the NWDAF network element to obtain the data involved in the Analytics ID and to perform data analysis on the data involved in the Analytics ID to obtain data analysis results. ProSe is a service that can assist remote UEs that are not within the network coverage or have poor network coverage to connect to the 5G network through relay UEs.

The historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID is the input data specified by the ProSe Analytics ID.

In some embodiments, the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID may include: user ID or user group ID, application ID, IP triplet (Internet Protocol), slice identifier S-NSSAI, DNN corresponding to the application, Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and one or more of the quality of service (Qos) parameters. Among them, user experience refers to the data generated by UE (user equipment) when using Relay Service. For example, user experience includes QoE (Quality of Experience), MOS (Mean Opinion Score), Video MOS (Video Mean Opinion Score), etc.

In some embodiments, the ProSe Analytics ID may include one or more Analytics IDs. For example, the Analytics IDs included in the ProSe Analytics ID include one or more of: Slice Load level information, Network Performance, Observed Service Experience related network data analytics, and User Data Congestion Analytics.

In some embodiments, the ProSe Analytics ID includes a target Analytics ID, and the input data specified by the target Analytics ID may include: a user ID or a user group ID, an application ID, an IP triplet, a slice identifier S-NSSAI, a DNN corresponding to the application, a Relay Service Code, a ProSe usage location, a ProSe usage time, a user experience, and one or more of a quality of service (Qos) parameter. In some embodiments, the target Analytics ID may be any Analytics ID, for example, the target Analytics ID may be an enhanced Slice Load level information, and the input data specified by the enhanced Slice Load level information includes a ProSe usage location and a ProSe usage time.

For another example, the target Analytics ID may be an enhanced Network Performance, and the input data specified by the enhanced Network Performance may include: user ID or user group ID, application ID, IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, DNN corresponding to the application, Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and one or more of the quality of service (Qos) parameters.

For another example, the target Analytics ID may be a new predefined Analytics ID. The specific name of the new predefined Analytics ID is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the name of the new predefined Analytics ID is ProSe Service Experience. In one embodiment, the input data and output corresponding to the ProSe Service Experience are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

In other embodiments, the number of target Analytics IDs is multiple, and the input data specified by the multiple target Analytics IDs all include one or more of user ID or user group ID, application ID, IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, DNN corresponding to the application, Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and quality of service (Qos) parameters, and the input data specified by the multiple target Analytics IDs include all of user ID or user group ID, application ID, IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, DNN corresponding to the application, Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and quality of service (Qos) parameters. In some embodiments, the multiple target Analytics IDs include a new predefined Analytics ID.

Before the NWDAF network element obtains the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID, it needs to first obtain the ProSe Analytics ID. In some embodiments, the analysis request sent by the PCF network element to the NWDAF network element carries the ProSe Analytics ID. After the NWDAF network element receives the analysis request, it obtains the ProSe Analytics ID from the analysis request. Then, the NWDAF network element obtains the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID. In other embodiments, the subscription request sent by the PCF network element to the NWDAF network element carries the ProSe Analytics ID. After the NWDAF network element receives the subscription request, it obtains the ProSe Analytics ID from the subscription request. Then, the NWDAF network element obtains the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID.

Correspondingly, the way in which the NWDAF network element obtains the ProSe Analytics ID includes: receiving an analysis request sent by the PCF, which includes the ProSe Analytics ID; or, receiving a subscription request sent by the PCF, which includes the ProSe Analytics ID.

Among them, the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID exists in the ProSe-related network elements. The ProSe-related network elements are the network elements involved in the implementation and implementation of ProSe services. For example, AMF network elements, DDNMF network elements, etc. In some embodiments, the NWDAF network element obtains the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID, which may include: sending a corresponding data request message to the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID; receiving a feedback message sent by the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID, and the feedback message includes historical data. The network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID is the ProSe-related network element.

Taking the ProSe related network elements including the NWDAF network element as an example, the NWDAF network element obtains the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID, which may include: sending a data request message to the DDNMF; receiving a feedback message sent by the DDNMF, the feedback message includes one or more of the Relay Service Code, the ProSe use location, the ProSe use time, and the slice identifier S-NSSAI. Among them, the ProSe use location includes the location where the remote UE and/or the relay UE uses the ProSe service; the ProSe use time includes one or more of the start time, end time, and duration of the use of the ProSe service when the remote UE and/or the relay UE uses the ProSe service.

It should be noted that the ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, and slice identifier S-NSSAI involved in the feedback message sent by the DDNMF network element can also be obtained from other ProSe-related network elements other than the DDNMF network element, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this. For example, the NWDAF network element can also request the ProSe usage location and/or ProSe usage time from the AF. For another example, the NWDAF network element can also request the slice identifier S-NSSAI from the AMF network element.

In some embodiments, the NWDAF network element can obtain the user ID or user group ID from the PCF network element, the NWDAF network element can obtain the application ID and user experience from the AF, the NWDAF network element can obtain the IP triplet from the AMF network element, and the NWDAF network element can obtain QoS parameters from the UPF (user plane function) network element or OAM.

S202: The NWDAF network element generates data analysis results based on historical data.

After the NWDAF network element obtains the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID, it processes the historical data according to the predefined functions and generates the corresponding data analysis results, which include the statistical results and/or prediction results of the historical data. If the analysis request or subscription request sent by the PCF network element to the NWDAF network element includes a request for statistical results, the data analysis results include the statistical results of the historical data; if the analysis request or subscription request sent by the PCF network element to the NWDAF network element includes a request for prediction results, the data analysis results include the prediction results obtained by analyzing the historical data; if the analysis request or subscription request sent by the PCF network element to the NWDAF network element includes a request for prediction and statistical results, the data analysis results include the prediction results and statistical results obtained by analyzing the historical data.

S203, the NWDAF network element sends the data analysis result to the policy control function PCF, so that the PCF configures ProSe related policies according to the data analysis result.

After the NWDAF network element generates the data analysis result, it feeds back the data analysis result to the PCF network element. After receiving the data analysis result, the PCF network element configures the ProSe related policies according to the data analysis result.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a policy configuration method, which can be executed by any electronic device with computing capability. For example, the electronic device is a PCF network element.

As shown in FIG. 3 , a policy configuration method provided in another embodiment of the present disclosure includes S301 to S302 .

S301, the PCF network element receives the data analysis result sent by NWDAF, which is obtained by statistics and/or prediction of the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID.

After the PCF network element sends an analysis request or subscription request to the NWDAF network element, the NWDAF network element obtains the corresponding historical data according to the ProSe Analytics ID carried in the analysis request or subscription request, and generates corresponding data analysis results according to the historical data. After that, the NWDAF network element feeds back the data analysis results to the PCF network element. The data analysis results may include statistical results of historical data and/or prediction results obtained after analyzing historical data. The specific content of the data analysis results can be determined according to the analysis request or subscription request sent by the PCF network element to the NWDAF network element.

S302: The PCF network element configures ProSe related policies according to the data analysis result.

ProSe-related policies are policies related to ProSe services. For example, ProSe-related policies include at least one of ProSe Policy (proximity service policy) and URSP.

After receiving the data analysis result, the PCF network element configures the ProSe-related policies according to the data analysis result. In some embodiments, the PCF network element configures the ProSe-related policies according to the data analysis result, which may include: configuring the corresponding parameters in the ProSe Policy according to the data analysis result; and/or configuring the ProSe-related parameters in the URSP according to the data analysis result. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit how the PCF network element configures the corresponding parameters in the ProSe Policy according to the data analysis result, and the corresponding parameters in the ProSe Policy may be configured according to the configuration method predefined in the PCF network element.

The ProSe related parameters in the URSP refer to the parameters related to the ProSe service in the parameters included in the URSP. In some embodiments, the ProSe related parameters in the URSP include ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication. Regarding how the PCF network element configures the ProSe related parameters in the URSP according to the data analysis results, the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit it, and the configuration can be performed according to the configuration method predefined in the PCF network element.

In some embodiments, after configuring the ProSe-related policies according to the data analysis results, the PCF network element sends the configured ProSe-related policies to the UE, where the UE may include at least one of a relay UE and a remote UE.

For example, when the remote UE is in a location with poor or no wireless signal coverage and meets the conditions for ProSe services, the NWDAF network element predicts through the collected ProSe data that the experience of the remote UE using ProSe services at the current time and location is better than the user experience of directly accessing the 5GS (5G system). The PCF network element can configure ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication in the URSP based on the prediction result of the NWDAF network element, and send the configured URSP to the remote UE to instruct the remote UE to perform relay communication.

For another example, the NWDAF network element predicts through the collected ProSe data that the load of the slice accessed by the relay UE is high in a certain period of time. The PCF network element configures the slice parameters in the ProSe Policy based on the prediction results of the NWDAF network element, and sends the configured ProSe Policy to the remote UE to instruct the remote UE to access the slice with a smaller load.

In some embodiments, the ProSe-related policies configured according to the data analysis results and sent by the PCF network element to the relay UE and/or the remote UE can be used to instruct the relay UE and/or the remote UE to start the ProSe service, and can also be used to update the parameters in the ongoing ProSe service of the relay UE and/or the remote UE.

The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can, to a certain extent, avoid the need to pre-configure ProSe-related policies for PCF network elements when deploying PCF network elements. In addition, the ProSe-related policies configured by PCF according to the data analysis results take into account the user experience, so that the configured ProSe-related policies can effectively improve the user experience after execution. Furthermore, the ProSe-related policies are configured according to the data analysis results, which improves the flexibility of configuring ProSe-related policies. The ProSe-related policies generated according to the ProSe data take into account the occupancy of resources such as slice load in the network, so that after the configured ProSe-related policies are executed, the utilization rate of network resources can be effectively improved.

The following will describe a policy configuration method provided in another embodiment of the present disclosure in conjunction with the embodiments corresponding to Figures 2 and 3. As shown in Figure 4, the policy configuration method provided in another embodiment includes S401 to S406.

S401, the PCF network element sends an analysis request or a subscription request to the NWDAF network element. The analysis request or the subscription request carries the ProSe Analytics ID and filter information. In some embodiments, the analysis request or the subscription request carries the necessary UE ID in addition to the ProSe Analytics ID and filter information.

S402, NWDAF network element collects historical data corresponding to ProSe Analytics ID from ProSe related network elements including DDNMF.

S403, NWDAF network element performs data analysis on the historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID to obtain the data analysis results.

S404, the NWDAF network element provides the data analysis result to the PCF network element.

S405, the PCF network element configures ProSe related policies according to the data analysis results.

S406, the PCF network element sends the updated configured ProSe related policies to the UE (remote UE and/or relay UE).

Regarding the implementation of each step in the embodiment corresponding to FIG4 , reference may be made to the embodiments corresponding to FIG2 and FIG3 , which will not be described in detail here.

In the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, the data analysis capability of the NWDAF network element is used to provide support for the PCF network element to configure ProSe related policies, so that the generated ProSe related policies can be flexibly adapted to the dynamically changing network environment, and the execution of the ProSe related policies can improve the rationality of network resource allocation.

Based on the same inventive concept, the present disclosure also provides two policy configuration devices, as described in the following embodiments. Since the principle of solving the problem in the device embodiment is similar to that in the above method embodiment, the implementation of the device embodiment can refer to the implementation of the above method embodiment, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of a policy configuration device in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the device is applied to NWDAF, including: an acquisition module 501, configured to obtain historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID; a generation module 502, configured to generate data analysis results based on historical data; a first sending module 503, configured to send the data analysis results to the PCF, so that the PCF can configure ProSe related policies according to the data analysis results.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, historical data includes: user ID or user group ID, application ID, IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, data network name DNN corresponding to the application, Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and one or more of QoS parameters.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the ProSe Analytics ID includes a target Analytics ID; the historical data corresponding to the target Analytics ID includes: user ID or user group ID, application ID, IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, DNN corresponding to the application, Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and one or more of QoS parameters.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, ProSe Analytics ID includes one or more of Slice Load level information, Network Performance, Observed Service Experience related network data analytics, and User Data Congestion Analytics.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition module 501 is configured to send a corresponding data request message to the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID; and receive a feedback message sent by the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID, wherein the feedback message includes historical data.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the network elements involved in the ProSe Analytics ID include one or more of DDNMF network elements, AMF network elements, UE, AF, and OAM.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition module 502 is configured to send a data request message to the DDNMF; receive a feedback message sent by the DDNMF, and the feedback message includes one or more of a Relay Service Code, a ProSe usage location, a ProSe usage time, and a slice identifier S-NSSAI.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the acquisition module 503 is further configured to receive an analysis request sent by the PCF, where the analysis request includes the ProSe Analytics ID; or, to receive a subscription request sent by the PCF, where the subscription request includes the ProSe Analytics ID.

Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of another policy configuration device in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the device is applied to PCF, including: a receiving module 601, configured to receive data analysis results sent by NWDAF, where the data analysis results are obtained by statistics and/or prediction of historical data corresponding to the ProSe Analytics ID; a configuration module 602, configured to configure ProSe related policies according to the data analysis results.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the configuration module 602 is configured to configure corresponding parameters in the ProSe Policy according to the data analysis results; and/or, to configure ProSe related parameters in the URSP according to the data analysis results.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, ProSe related parameters include ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes: a second sending module 603, configured to send a configured ProSe-related policy to the UE.

It should be noted that the examples and application scenarios implemented by the above modules and the corresponding method steps (S201-S203 correspond to 501-503, S301-S302 correspond to 601-602) are the same, but are not limited to the contents disclosed in the above method embodiments. It should be noted that the above modules as part of the device can be executed in a computer system such as a set of computer executable instructions.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented as systems, methods or program products. Therefore, various aspects of the present disclosure may be specifically implemented in the following forms, namely: complete hardware implementation, complete software implementation (including firmware, microcode, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software implementations, which may be collectively referred to herein as "circuits", "modules" or "systems".

The electronic device 700 according to this embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to Fig. 7. The electronic device 700 shown in Fig. 7 is only an example and should not bring any limitation to the functions and scope of use of the embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in Fig. 7, the electronic device 700 is in the form of a general computing device. The components of the electronic device 700 may include but are not limited to: at least one processing unit 710, at least one storage unit 720, and a bus 730 connecting different system components (including the storage unit 720 and the processing unit 710).

The storage unit stores program codes, which can be executed by the processing unit 710, so that the processing unit 710 executes the steps according to various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure described in the above “Specific Implementation Methods” section of this specification.

The storage unit 720 may include a readable medium in the form of a volatile storage unit, such as a random access memory unit (RAM) 7201 and/or a cache memory unit 7202 , and may further include a read-only memory unit (ROM) 7203 .

The storage unit 720 may also include a program/utility 7204 having a set (at least one) of program modules 7205, such program modules 7205 including but not limited to: an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, each of which or some combination may include an implementation of a network environment.

Bus 730 may represent one or more of several types of bus structures, including a memory unit bus or memory unit controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, a processing unit, or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.

The electronic device 700 may also communicate with one or more external devices 740 (e.g., keyboards, pointing devices, Bluetooth devices, etc.), may also communicate with one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the electronic device 700, and/or communicate with any device that enables the electronic device 700 to communicate with one or more other computing devices (e.g., routers, modems, etc.). Such communication may be performed via an input/output (I/O) interface 750. Furthermore, the electronic device 700 may also communicate with one or more networks (e.g., local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and/or public networks, such as the Internet) via a network adapter 760. As shown in FIG. 7 , the network adapter 760 communicates with other modules of the electronic device 700 via a bus 730. It should be understood that, although not shown in the figure, other hardware and/or software modules may be used in conjunction with the electronic device 700, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems, etc.

Through the description of the above implementation, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example implementation described here can be implemented by software, or by software combined with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the implementation of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, including several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a terminal device, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementation of the present disclosure.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is also provided, which may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A program product capable of implementing the above-mentioned method of the present disclosure is stored thereon. In some possible implementations, various aspects of the present disclosure may also be implemented in the form of a program product, which includes a program code, and when the program product is run on a terminal device, the program code is used to cause the terminal device to execute the steps according to various exemplary implementations of the present disclosure described in the above “Specific Implementation Methods” section of this specification.

More specific examples of computer-readable storage media in the present disclosure may include, but are not limited to, an electrical connection having one or more conductors, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

In the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium may include a data signal propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, wherein a readable program code is carried. Such propagated data signals may take a variety of forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination of the above. A readable signal medium may also be any readable medium other than a readable storage medium, which may send, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

In some embodiments, the program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wired, optical cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

In a specific implementation, the program code for performing the operations of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages such as Java, C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages such as "C" or similar programming languages. The program code may be executed entirely on the user computing device, partially on the user device, as a separate software package, partially on the user computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device (e.g., using an Internet service provider to connect through the Internet).

It should be noted that, although several modules or units of the device for action execution are mentioned in the above detailed description, this division is not mandatory. In fact, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above can be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above can be further divided into multiple modules or units to be embodied.

In addition, although the steps of the method in the present disclosure are described in a specific order in the drawings, this does not require or imply that the steps must be performed in this specific order, or that all the steps shown must be performed to achieve the desired results. Additionally or alternatively, some steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and/or one step may be decomposed into multiple steps, etc.

Through the description of the above implementation modes, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the example implementation modes described here can be implemented by software or by combining software with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the implementation mode of the present disclosure can be embodied in the form of a software product, which can be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which can be a CD-ROM, a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, etc.) or on a network, and includes several instructions to enable a computing device (which can be a personal computer, a server, a mobile terminal, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method according to the implementation mode of the present disclosure.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the invention disclosed herein. The present disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses or adaptations of the present disclosure, which follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or customary technical means in the art that are not disclosed in the present disclosure. The description and examples are to be regarded as exemplary only, and the true scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the appended claims.

Claims

A policy configuration method, applied to a network data analysis function NWDAF, includes:

Get the historical data corresponding to the ProSe analysis ID;

generating data analysis results based on the historical data;

The data analysis result is sent to a policy control function PCF so that the PCF configures ProSe related policies according to the data analysis result.
According to the method according to claim 1, the historical data includes: user ID or user group ID, application ID, Internet protocol IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, data network name DNN corresponding to the application, relay service code Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, one or more of service quality Qos parameters.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the ProSe Analytics ID includes a target Analytics ID;

The historical data corresponding to the target Analytics ID includes: user ID or user group ID, application ID, IP triplet, slice identifier S-NSSAI, DNN corresponding to the application, relay service code Relay Service Code, ProSe usage location, ProSe usage time, user experience, and one or more of service quality Qos parameters.
According to the method according to claim 1, wherein the ProSe Analytics ID includes one or more of Slice Load level information, Network Performance, Observed Service Experience related network data analytics, and User Data Congestion Analytics.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining of historical data corresponding to the ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID comprises:

Send a corresponding data request message to the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID;

Receive a feedback message sent by the network element involved in the ProSe Analytics ID, and the feedback message includes the historical data.
According to the method according to claim 5, the network elements involved in the ProSe Analytics ID include one or more of the direct discovery name management function DDNMF network element, the access and mobility management function AMF network element, the user equipment UE, the application function AF, and the operation management and maintenance OAM.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining of historical data corresponding to the ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID comprises:

Send a data request message to DDNMF;

Receive a feedback message sent by the DDNMF, where the feedback message includes one or more of a Relay Service Code, a ProSe usage location, a ProSe usage time, and a slice identifier S-NSSAI.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

Receive an analysis request sent by the PCF, wherein the analysis request includes the ProSe Analytics ID;

Alternatively, receive a subscription request sent by the PCF, wherein the subscription request includes the ProSe Analytics ID.
A policy configuration method, applied to a policy control function PCF, includes:

Receive a data analysis result sent by a network data analysis function NWDAF, wherein the data analysis result is obtained by performing statistics and/or prediction on historical data corresponding to a proximity service ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID;

ProSe related strategies are configured according to the data analysis results.
The method according to claim 9, wherein configuring the ProSe-related policy according to the data analysis result comprises:

Configure corresponding parameters in the proximity service policy ProSe Policy according to the data analysis results;

and / or,

The ProSe related parameters in the user equipment routing policy URSP are configured according to the data analysis result.
The method according to claim 10, wherein the ProSe related parameters include ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication.
The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising:

Send the configured ProSe related policies to the user equipment UE.
A policy configuration device, applied to a network data analysis function NWDAF, comprising:

An acquisition module is used to obtain historical data corresponding to the ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID;

A generating module, used for generating data analysis results according to the historical data;

The first sending module is used to send the data analysis result to the policy control function PCF, so that the PCF configures ProSe related policies according to the data analysis result.
A policy configuration device, applied to a policy control function PCF, comprising:

A receiving module, used for receiving a data analysis result sent by a network data analysis function NWDAF, wherein the data analysis result is obtained by performing statistics and/or prediction on historical data corresponding to a proximity service ProSe analysis identifier Analytics ID;

A configuration module is used to configure ProSe related strategies according to the data analysis results.
An electronic device, comprising:

Processor; and

A memory, configured to store executable instructions of the processor;

The processor is configured to execute the policy configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 by executing the executable instructions.
A computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the policy configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
A computer program product, comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program implements the policy configuration method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 when executed by a processor.