CN106341832B - Network slice management and selection method, system, base station, and routing switching device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a method, a system, a base station and a route switching device for managing and selecting network slice, wherein the method comprises the following steps: receiving a corresponding relation between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control arrangement module, or inquiring the corresponding NF ID according to the slice ID; receiving slice ID information sent by UE, and determining NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE according to the corresponding relation between the slice ID and the NF ID; guiding the data sent by the UE to a corresponding network slice entrance according to the determined NF ID; the method for adding, updating and deleting the network slice is carried out by controlling the arranging module.

Description

Network slice management and selection method, system, base station, and routing switching device

technical field

The invention relates to a network slice technology of a mobile network, in particular to a network slice management and selection method, system, base station, and routing switching device.

Background technique

With the rapid development of mobile Internet and mobile networks, mobile networks need to meet more diverse business scenarios, such as low-power and high-capacity connections, high-capacity hotspots, continuous wide-area coverage, low latency and high reliability, virtual operators, and enterprise networks. , etc. scene. Different scenarios have different requirements for mobile networks (especially mobile packet core networks), such as different requirements for functional characteristics, requirements for signaling and data traffic ratios, and so on. The traditional mobile network design idea is based on a set of logical architecture to serve various application scenarios. Although the mobility management entity (MME, Mobility Management Entity) has certain intelligence capabilities, the MME can select the gateway based on the code number; the base station can select the MME based on the weight of the MME load; the dedicated core network (DCN, Dedicated Core Network) mechanism It is that the base station initially selects an MME, and selects the MME in the target Dedicated core network through redirection. However, none of these mechanisms can isolate the mobile core network serving different scenarios, and it is difficult to adapt to various business scenarios (such as the Internet of Things, high density, low latency, etc.) in the future network. The cost of the mobile core network adapts to diverse network needs; the failure of one network element may affect the operation of other services; through the complete isolation of different mobile core networks, it is conducive to different customization of the functions of the mobile core network to serve different mobile core networks. In different scenarios, different mobile core network functions can be independently expanded.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the above technical problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a method, system, base station, and routing switching device for managing and selecting network slices.

The method for managing and selecting network slices provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes:

The base station receives the correspondence between the slice identifier (slice ID) and the entry identifier (NF ID) sent by the control and arrangement module or the network slice management module;

Receive the slice ID information sent by the terminal (UE), and determine the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID;

According to the determined NF ID, the data sent by the UE is directed to the corresponding network slice entry.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the receiving slice ID information sent by the UE includes:

When the base station establishes a Radio Resource Control (RRC, Radio Resource Control) connection with the UE or the UE attaches or selects a slice ID, receive the slice ID information sent by the UE;

Save the slice ID information sent by the UE.

In the embodiment of the present invention, after the base station receives the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NF ID sent by the control orchestration module or the network slice management module, the method further includes:

According to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, a data forwarding table is added, or deleted, or updated, and the data forwarding table includes more than one corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID.

In the embodiment of the present invention, according to the determined NF ID, the data sent by the UE is directed to the corresponding network slice entry, including:

According to the determined NF ID, determine the IP address of the network slice entry;

The IP address is sent to the IP network, and the IP network forwards the data sent by the UE to the corresponding network slice entry according to the forwarding rule.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the network slice includes a core network serving one or more application scenarios, or a network composed of a core network and an access network.

A method for managing and selecting a network slice provided by another embodiment of the present invention includes:

The routing switching device receives the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control orchestration module;

According to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, the UE data sent by the base station is routed to the corresponding network slice entry;

Wherein, the UE data is encapsulated with slice ID information, and the NF ID is used to indicate the network slice entry.

In the embodiment of the present invention, according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, the UE data sent by the base station is routed to the corresponding network slice entry, including:

Parsing the UE data sent by the base station to obtain slice ID information corresponding to the UE data;

According to the slice ID information, look up the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information in the routing table, and the routing table includes more than one correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID;

According to the found NF ID, the UE data is sent to the corresponding network slice entry.

In the embodiment of the present invention, after the routing switching device receives the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NF ID sent by the control orchestration module, the method further includes:

According to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, a data forwarding table is added, or deleted, or updated, and the data forwarding table includes more than one corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the network slice includes a core network serving one or more application scenarios, or a network composed of a core network and an access network.

The base station provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes:

a receiving unit for receiving the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NF ID sent by the control orchestration module or the network slice management module;

a routing unit, configured to receive the slice ID information sent by the UE, and determine the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID;

The sending unit is configured to guide the data sent by the UE to the corresponding network slice entry according to the determined NF ID.

In the embodiment of the present invention, it is also used to receive the slice ID information sent by the UE when the base station establishes an RRC connection with the UE or when the UE attaches or selects the slice ID;

The base station further includes: a storage unit configured to store the slice ID information sent by the UE.

The encapsulation unit encapsulates the slice ID information into the data of the UE.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the routing unit is further configured to add, or delete, or update a data forwarding table according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, where the data forwarding table includes more than one slice ID and the NF ID corresponding relationship.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the sending unit is further configured to determine the IP address of the network slice entry according to the determined NF ID; send the IP address to the IP network, and the IP network sends the UE to the UE according to the forwarding rule The data is forwarded to the corresponding network slice entry.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the network slice includes a core network serving one or more application scenarios, or a network composed of a core network and an access network.

The routing switching device provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes:

a receiving unit for receiving the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NF ID sent by the control arrangement module;

a routing unit, configured to route the UE data sent by the base station to the corresponding network slice entry according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID;

Wherein, the UE data is encapsulated with slice ID information, and the NF ID is used to indicate the network slice entry.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the routing unit includes:

a parsing subunit, configured to parse the UE data sent by the base station to obtain sliceID information corresponding to the UE data;

Search subunit, for according to described slice ID information, look up the NF ID corresponding to described slice ID information in routing table, and described routing table includes the correspondence of more than one slice ID and NF ID;

The sending subunit is used to send the UE data to the corresponding network slice entry according to the found NF ID.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the routing unit is further configured to add, or delete, or update a data forwarding table according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, where the data forwarding table includes more than one slice ID and the NF ID corresponding relationship.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the network slice includes a core network serving one or more application scenarios, or a network composed of a core network and an access network.

The network slice management and selection system provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes the above-mentioned base station, routing switching device, UE, control and arrangement module, and network slice; wherein,

the UE, for sending slice ID information to the base station;

The base station is used to receive the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control and arrangement module or the network slice management module; after receiving the slice ID information sent by the UE, determine the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID. The NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE; according to the determined NF ID, the data sent by the UE is guided to the corresponding network slice entry;

The routing switching device is used to receive the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control and arrangement module; and route the UE data sent by the base station to the corresponding network slice entry according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID.

In the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID is issued by the control and arrangement module. For the first method, the base station receives the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control and arrangement module or the network slice management module; receives the slice ID information sent by the UE, and determines the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID. The NF ID corresponding to the sliceID information sent by the UE; according to the determined NF ID, the data sent by the UE is directed to the corresponding network slice entry. For the second method, the routing switching device receives the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control orchestration module; and routes the UE data sent by the base station to the corresponding network slice entry according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID. ; wherein, the UE data is encapsulated with slice ID information, and the NF ID is used to indicate the network slice entry. The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention can configure different network slices (sets of some network functions) based on different service scenarios, and can flexibly add, update and delete network slices to adapt to various mobile network requirements in the future; UE can be based on service Different network slices need to be selected flexibly; UE data guidance is implemented by the base station or routing switching device (in the IP network), and UE data in different scenarios is guided to different network slices; different network functions are located in different slices, between each other They are isolated from each other and have higher stability.

Description of drawings

1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for managing and selecting a network slice slice according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for managing and selecting a network slice slice according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

3 is a schematic diagram of a network slice selection mechanism based on base station forwarding according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic diagram of a network slice selection mechanism forwarded by a routing switching device in an IP network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural composition diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural composition diagram of a routing switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a schematic structural diagram of a network slice management and selection system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a slice selection mechanism for base station access network slice management according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In order to understand the features and technical contents of the embodiments of the present invention in more detail, the implementation of the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this embodiment of the present invention, a network slice (slice) or a slice network is a core network serving one or more application scenarios, or a network composed of a core network and an access network. Different application scenarios can be different application scenarios such as enterprise network, Internet of Things, etc., or different terminal types, etc., or different services. Each network slice has a network ingress function. Network slicing is a service network provided to users for different application scenarios.

1 is a schematic flowchart of a method for managing and selecting a network slice according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The method for managing and selecting a network slice in this example is applied to a base station. Updates and deletions of network slices. Selection refers to distinguishing data from different scenarios and directing data from different scenarios to different network slices.

As shown in Figure 1, the management and selection method of the network slice includes the following steps:

Step 101: The base station receives the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control and arrangement module or the network slice management module.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the base station establishes a radio resource control RRC connection with the UE or the UE attaches or selects the slice ID, it receives the slice ID information sent by the UE; and saves the slice ID information sent by the UE.

Specifically, the UE must first select the network silce, and determine the corresponding slice ID. There are three ways for the UE to transmit the silce ID to the base station:

Method 1: When establishing RRC establishment, pass:

When the UE establishes RRC with the base station, the UE uses the slice ID (slice ID can use the original Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN, Public Land Mobile Network) field, or a newly defined field in RRC: when the base station broadcasts, the UE obtains the slice List of IDs The UE selects a slice ID and informs the base station of it when sending an RRC request) and delivers it to the base station. The base station saves the slice ID of the UE to complete the selection process of the slice, and the base station performs the authentication process. After the authentication is successful, the base station sends the RRC establishment confirmation information to the UE to complete the establishment of the RRC; finally, the UE attaches to the base station and the network function. )process. During the attach process, the base station selects the corresponding network slice according to the network slice selection function.

Method 2: Pass at the same time as the attach request:

First, an RRC connection establishment procedure is completed between the UE and the base station. When the UE attaches, the UE informs the base station of the attach request information and slice ID information in the RRC data packet; the base station saves the obtained slice ID information after receiving the UE's RRC data packet; selects the corresponding network according to the slice ID After the authentication is passed, the base station will forward the obtained attach information to the corresponding network entry function to continue the attach process; the network function will complete the attach process after sending the attach confirmation information to the UE.

Method 3: Add a dedicated slice ID selection process:

Add new slice selection process. After the UE and the base station complete the RRC connection, the UE and the base station start the selection process of the dedicated sliceID, the UE initiates a request to access the corresponding slice, the base station sends the request to the network entry function, and the network entry function accesses the HSS to check whether the access is Legal, if legal, the network entry function informs the base station to allow access, and the base station saves the corresponding information and sends a response to the UE that the slice access is successful. Finally, the attachment of the UE is performed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the base station adds, or deletes, or updates a data forwarding table according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, and the data forwarding table includes more than one corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the control and arrangement module is responsible for adding, updating and maintaining the network slice where the entry (NF) is located; it can deliver the corresponding information of the slice ID and the NF ID to the base station or the routing switching device. The slice ID refers to the identification of different network slices. Users can select network slices corresponding to different scenarios by selecting different slice IDs. The NF ID refers to a slice entry identifier, which can be represented by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL, Uniform Resource Locator) or an IP address. A specific network slice entry can be reached according to the NF ID.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the entry point implements the entry function of a specific network slice. The entry point is identified as NF ID, which can be implemented by URL, IP address, etc. The ingress function may be an MME function in an existing packet core network (EPC, Evolved PacketCore) network, or may be a network ingress function designed for a new service scenario.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the network slice management server records the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID.

Step 102: Receive the slice ID information sent by the terminal UE, and determine the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the UE may carry different slice IDs according to the scenario requirements and send them to the base station. The base station receives the slice ID information sent by the terminal UE, and determines the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID.

Here, the Home Subscriber Server (HSS, Home Subscriber Server) stores a list of slice IDs that the UE can access. The HSS authenticates the access of the UE. When the UE accesses the network with a slice ID that is not allowed to access, the access of the UE The request will be rejected. Only when the UE accesses the network with a slice ID that is allowed to access, the access request of the UE is accepted. Then, according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE is determined.

Step 103: According to the determined NF ID, the data sent by the UE is directed to the corresponding network slice entry.

In the embodiment of the present invention, according to the determined NF ID, the IP address of the entrance of the network slice is determined; the IP address is sent to the IP network, and the IP network forwards the data sent by the UE to the corresponding network slice according to the forwarding rule Entrance.

2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for managing and selecting a network slice according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The method for managing and selecting a network slice in this example is applied to a routing switching device. Here, management refers to adding a new network slice , Updates and deletions of existing network slices. Selection refers to distinguishing data from different scenarios and directing data from different scenarios to different network slices.

As shown in FIG. 2, the management and selection method of the network slice slice includes the following steps:

Step 201: The routing switching device receives the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control and arrangement module.

In the embodiment of the present invention, according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, a data forwarding table is added, or deleted, or updated, and the data forwarding table includes more than one corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the base station establishes a radio resource control RRC connection with the UE or the UE attaches or selects a slice ID, the base station receives the slice ID information sent by the UE, and encapsulates the above-mentioned slice ID information into the data of the UE. , and then send the data to the routing switching device.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the preparation and arrangement module is responsible for adding, updating and maintaining the network slice where the entry point (NF) is located; it can deliver the corresponding information of the slice ID and the NF ID to the base station or the routing switching device. The slice ID refers to the identification of different network slices. Users can select network slices corresponding to different scenarios by selecting different slice IDs. The NF ID refers to a slice entry identifier, which can be represented by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL, Uniform Resource Locator) or an IP address. A specific network slice entry can be reached according to the NF ID.

Step 202: According to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, route the UE data sent by the base station to the corresponding network slice entry.

Wherein, the UE data is encapsulated with slice ID information, and the NF ID is used to indicate the network slice entry.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the UE data sent by the base station is parsed to obtain the sliceID information corresponding to the UE data; according to the slice ID information, the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information is searched in the routing table, so The routing table includes more than one correspondence between slice IDs and NF IDs; according to the found NF IDs, the UE data is sent to the corresponding network slice entry.

In the embodiment of the present invention, according to who maintains the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID, it can be divided into three working modes. Mode 1 is based on the network slice selection mechanism forwarded by the base station, Mode 2 is based on the network slice selection mechanism forwarded by the routing switching device in the IP network, and Mode 3 is the slice selection mechanism for the base station to access network slice management. The three working modes are described in further detail below.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a slice selection mechanism based on base station lookup table forwarding according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3 ,

(1) The UE transmits the slice ID to the base station.

(2) The base station maintains a forwarding selection table from slice ID to NF ID. The NF ID points to the corresponding slice entry identifier. When receiving the data of the subsequent UE, the base station queries the forwarding table according to the Slice ID of the UE, sets the destination address as the IP address of the entry function, and then sends it to the IP network.

(3) The IP routing network can forward the data to the entry of the specified slice according to the original forwarding rules.

(4) The control orchestration module maintains the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID.

(5) The control orchestration module issues the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID to the access network control.

(6) The access network control issues the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID to the base station. The base station obtains the latest data and updates its forwarding table.

4 is a schematic diagram of a slice selection mechanism based on a routing table lookup table in an IP network according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4 ,

(1) The UE transmits the slice ID to the base station.

(2) The base station encapsulates the slice ID of the UE into subsequent data packets of the UE and sends it to the IP network.

(3) The routing in the IP network maintains a routing table from slice ID to NF ID. The NF ID points to the corresponding slice entry identifier. After the router obtains the data with the slice ID, it queries the routing table, and then forwards it to the corresponding slice entry.

(4) The control orchestration module maintains the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID.

(5) The control orchestration module issues the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID to the slice control.

(6) The slice control sends the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID to the route in the IP network. The routing gets the latest data and updates its routing table.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a slice selection mechanism for base station access network slice management according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8 , including the following steps:

(1) The UE transmits the slice ID to the base station.

(2) The base station queries the network slice management for the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID of the UE. Network slice management records the correspondence between slice IDs and NF IDs. Network slice management can be implemented by DNS. In this case, slice ID is a URL. The base station maintains the forwarding table of the correspondence between the UE and the NF ID, and after obtaining the NF ID of the UE, the base station updates the forwarding table.

(3) (4) After receiving the data sent by the subsequent UE, the base station queries the forwarding table, and forwards the data to the corresponding slice network entry function.

(5) The control orchestration module maintains the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID.

(6) The control orchestration module issues the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID to the network slice management.

In the embodiment of the present invention, from the consideration of network security, after the UE informs the base station of the slice ID, it is necessary to perform access authentication on the slice ID used by the UE. The network entry function obtains the slice ID and verifies to the HSS whether the UE has the right to access the network corresponding to the slice ID. The following are two methods of access authentication for network function entry points:

Manner 1: First, the base station receives the slice ID sent by the UE, and the base station sends an authentication request to the network function entry point, and the authentication request carries the identifier of the UE and the selected slice ID. The network function entry point then sends an authentication request to the HSS. The HSS queries the list of slice IDs that record UE access, determines whether access is allowed, and sends back an authentication response. The network function entry point sends an authentication response to the base station to complete the authentication process.

Method 2: Extended attach method (only applicable to the second transmission method of slice ID), the UE sends the sliceID and attach request to the base station, the base station saves the slice ID after receiving it, and then sends the slice ID and the attach request to the network function entry. Point, the network function entry point first performs the authentication of the slice ID and the security authentication process in the attach. At this point, the authentication of the slice ID is completed. Then the network function entry point continues the subsequent attach process, and finally sends an attach completion response, which is notified by the base station to the UE to complete the attach process.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when a new service needs to be deployed, the control and arrangement module will add slices. When a service is revoked, the slice will also be deleted.

When adding a slice: firstly, the control orchestration module sends a network slice addition instruction to the network element management system (EMS, network Element Management System), and the instruction contains the NF ID of the network entry used by the newly added network slice. EMS adds and configures a new network slice, and configures the network entry to use the specified NF ID. After the addition is completed, the addition confirmation information is sent to the control orchestration module to complete the addition process of the network slice. (Or do not specify the NF ID in the network slice addition command, EMS adds the network slice, configures the NF ID by itself, and then informs the control orchestration module of the NF ID in the network slice addition confirmation message.)

When the network slice is deleted: firstly, the control orchestration module sends a network slice deletion command to the EMS, and the EMS deletes the specified network slice and deactivates the NF ID of the network slice. After the deletion is completed, the deletion confirmation information is sent to the control and arrangement module to complete the deletion process of the network slice.

In the process of adding/deleting network slices, the information can be sent through the EMS (as shown above), or the control orchestration module can directly send the information to the network entry.

After the addition/deletion of network slices is completed, the control orchestration module sends the new correspondence to the access network control/network slice control, and then sends it to the base station/IP network. The base station/IP network returns the update confirmation information, and the control and arrangement module completes the update process after receiving the update confirmation information.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when a network slice fails or a certain network slice is deleted, or when the corresponding relationship between the network slice ID and the NF ID changes due to other reasons, the control and arrangement module needs to issue the update information to each Network element: delivered to the base station under the control of the access network or delivered to the routing switching device in the IP network under the control of the network slice.

The following describes the implementation of a network slice update in the case that the NF ID can be changed.

The base station/IP network stores the correspondence between the network slice ID and the NF ID. Before the update, the network slice IDx corresponds to the NF ID1.

The EMS of the network function entry point initiates the entry point update event, and informs the control orchestration module of the new NF ID; the control orchestration module changes the NF ID1 corresponding to the network slice IDx to NF ID2, and sends the update confirmation message.

The control orchestration module sends the new corresponding relationship to the access network control/network slice control, and then sends it to the base station/IP network; the base station/IP network updates the corresponding relationship, and the corresponding NF ID1 of the network slice IDx is changed to the network slice IDx Corresponding to NF ID2; finally, the base station/IP network replies with update confirmation information to complete the information update process.

After the update is completed, the data sent by the UE to the base station/IP network is forwarded to the network function entry point corresponding to the updated NF ID2.

In the embodiment of the present invention, before the network establishes a bearer for the UE, the UE must first attach to the network and select a slice. The following describes an implementation manner in which the UE selects a network slice. There are three ways for the UE to select a network slice.

The first is: when the UE establishes RRC with the base station, the UE informs the base station of the network slice ID (the network slice ID may be a newly defined field in RRC). The base station saves the UE's network slice ID to complete the network slice selection process; then the base station sends RRC establishment confirmation information to the UE to complete the RRC establishment; finally, the UE attaches to the base station and network functions to complete the UE attachment process. During the attachment process, the base station selects the corresponding network slice according to the network slice selection function.

The second way is: firstly, an RRC connection is established between the UE and the base station; between the UE and the base station, the attached data is encapsulated in the RRC data packet. When the UE attaches, the UE informs the base station of the attach request information and the network slice ID information in the RRC data packet; the base station decapsulates the RRC data packet of the UE after receiving the RRC data packet, and saves the obtained network sliceID information, and the completion is completed. The acquisition process of the network slice; the corresponding network entry function is selected according to the network slice ID, and the base station forwards the acquired attachment information to the corresponding network entry function to continue the attachment process; the network function completes the attachment process after sending the attachment confirmation information to the UE.

The third way is to add a proprietary slice ID selection process. Add new slice selection process. After the UE and the base station complete the RRC connection, the UE and the base station start the selection process of the dedicated slice ID. The UE initiates a request to access the corresponding slice, and the base station sends the request to the network entry function. The network entry function accesses the HSS and checks the access Whether it is legal or not, if it is legal, the network entry function informs the base station to allow access, and the base station saves the corresponding information and sends a response to the UE that the slice access is successful. Finally, the attachment of the UE is performed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the slice management of using the network slice management entity to select the slice is specifically, wherein the network slice management can be implemented by a Domain Name System (DNS, Domain Name System):

(1) Addition and deletion of slices:

First, the control orchestration module sends a slice addition instruction to the EMS, and the instruction contains the NF ID of the network entry used by the newly added network slice. EMS adds and configures a new network slice, and configures the network function entry point to use the specified NFID. After the addition is completed, the addition confirmation information is sent to the control orchestration module to complete the slice addition process. (Or do not specify the NF ID in the slice addition instruction, EMS adds the network slice, configures the NF ID by itself, and then informs the control orchestration module of the NF ID in the slice addition confirmation message.)

(2) When the slice is deleted: firstly, the control orchestration module sends a slice deletion instruction to the EMS, and the EMS deletes the specified network slice and deactivates the NF ID of the slice. After the deletion is completed, the deletion confirmation information is sent to the control and arrangement module to complete the deletion process of the slice.

(3) In the process of adding/deleting slices, the information can be sent through the EMS, or the control and arrangement module can directly send the information to the network function entry point without going through the EMS.

(4) After the addition/deletion of slices is completed, the control orchestration module issues the new correspondence to the network slice management. The network slice management returns the update confirmation information, and the control orchestration module completes the update process after receiving the update confirmation information.

(5) Slice update: When the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID changes, the control orchestration module needs to issue the update information to each network slice for management. First, the EMS of the network function entry point initiates an entry point update event, and informs the control orchestration module of the new NF ID; the control orchestration module changes the NF ID1 corresponding to the slice IDx to NFID2, and sends an update confirmation message. Then the control and arrangement module sends the new correspondence to the network slice management, and the network slice management replies with update confirmation information to complete the information update process.

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural composition diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5 , the base station includes:

The receiving unit 51 is used to receive the correspondence between the slice identifier sliceID and the entry identifier NF ID sent by the control orchestration module or the network slice management module;

The routing unit 52 is configured to receive the slice ID information sent by the UE, and determine the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID;

The sending unit 53 is configured to guide the data sent by the UE to the corresponding network slice entry according to the determined NF ID.

The receiving unit 51 is further configured to receive the slice ID information sent by the UE when the base station establishes an RRC connection with the UE or the UE attaches or selects the slice ID;

The base station further includes: a storage unit 54, configured to store the slice ID information sent by the UE.

The routing unit 52 is further configured to add, delete, or update a data forwarding table according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, where the data forwarding table includes more than one corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID.

The sending unit 53 is further configured to determine the IP address of the network slice entry according to the determined NF ID; send the IP address to the IP network, and the IP network forwards the data sent by the UE to the corresponding IP network according to the forwarding rule. The network slice entry.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the implementation functions of the above units can be understood with reference to the relevant descriptions of the management and selection methods of the previous network slices. The functions of the above units can be implemented by programs running on the processor, or can be implemented by specific logic circuits.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a routing switching device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6 , the device includes:

The receiving unit 61 is used to receive the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NF ID sent by the control orchestration module;

The routing unit 62 is used to route the UE data sent by the base station to the corresponding network slice entry according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID;

Wherein, the UE data is encapsulated with slice ID information, and the NF ID is used to indicate the network slice entry.

The routing unit 62 includes:

The parsing subunit 621 is configured to parse the UE data sent by the base station to obtain slice ID information corresponding to the UE data;

Searching subunit 622 is used to search the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information in the routing table according to the slice ID information, and the routing table includes a correspondence between more than one slice ID and the NF ID;

The sending subunit 623 is configured to send the UE data to the corresponding network slice entry according to the found NF ID.

The routing unit 62 is further configured to add, delete, or update a data forwarding table according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, where the data forwarding table includes more than one corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the implementation functions of the above units can be understood with reference to the relevant descriptions of the management and selection methods of the previous network slices. The functions of the above units can be implemented by programs running on the processor, or can be implemented by specific logic circuits.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure and composition of a network slice management and selection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7 , the system includes any of the above-mentioned base stations 71 , routing switching equipment 72 , UE 73 , control orchestration module 74 , and network slice 75 ;in,

The UE73 is used to send the slice ID information to the base station 71;

The base station 71 is used to receive the correspondence between the slice ID and the NFID sent by the control orchestration module 74 or the network slice management module; after receiving the slice ID information sent by the UE 73, determine the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID. The NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE73; according to the determined NF ID, the data sent by the UE73 is directed to the corresponding network slice75 entry;

Described route switching equipment 72, is used for receiving the correspondence relation of slice ID and NF ID that control arrangement module 74 sends; According to the correspondence relation of described slice ID and NF ID, the UE73 data that base station 71 sends is routed to corresponding network slice75 entry.

Those skilled in the art should understand that the implementation functions of the above units can be understood with reference to the relevant descriptions of the management and selection methods of the previous network slices. The functions of the above units can be implemented by programs running on the processor, or can be implemented by specific logic circuits.

The above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (18)

1. a management and selection method of network slice slice, is characterized in that, described method comprises: The base station receives the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NFID sent by the control and arrangement module or the network slice management module; Receive the slice ID information sent by the terminal UE, and perform access authentication on the slice ID information, wherein the network slices corresponding to different scenarios correspond to different slice IDs, and the slice ID information is selected by the UE based on the received sliceID list. of, After the authentication is passed, determine the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID; According to the determined NF ID, the data sent by the UE is directed to the corresponding network slice entry. 2. The method for managing and selecting network slices according to claim 1, wherein the receiving slice ID information sent by the UE comprises: When the base station establishes a radio resource control RRC connection with the UE or the UE attaches or selects a message through the slice ID, receive the slice ID information sent by the UE; Save the slice ID information sent by the UE. 3. the management and selection method of network slice according to claim 1, is characterized in that, after described base station receives the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NF ID that the control arrangement module or the network slice management module sends, all The method also includes: According to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, a data forwarding table is added, or deleted, or updated, and the data forwarding table includes more than one corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID. 4. according to the management and selection method of the network slice described in any one of claim 1 to 3, it is characterized in that, described according to the NF ID determined, the data sent by UE is guided to the corresponding network slice entrance, comprising: Determine the IP address of the network slice entry function according to the determined NF ID; The IP address is sent to the IP network, and the IP network forwards the data sent by the UE to the corresponding network slice entry according to the forwarding rule. 5. The method for managing and selecting a network slice according to claim 4, wherein the network slice comprises a core network serving one or more application scenarios, or a network consisting of a core network and an access network . 6. A method for managing and selecting a network slice, wherein the method comprises: The routing switching device receives the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control orchestration module; According to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, the UE data sent by the base station is routed to the corresponding network slice entry; The network slices corresponding to different scenarios have different slice IDs, the UE data is encapsulated with slice ID information, the slice ID information is selected by the UE based on the received slice ID list, and the NF ID is used to indicate Network slice entry, the slice ID information is sent by the base station after the access authentication is passed. 7. the management and selection method of network slice slice according to claim 6, is characterized in that, described according to the corresponding relation of described slice ID and NF ID, the UE data that base station sends is routed to corresponding network slice entrance ,include: Parsing the UE data sent by the base station to obtain slice ID information corresponding to the UE data; According to the slice ID information, look up the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information in the routing table, and the routing table includes more than one correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID; According to the found NF ID, the UE data is sent to the corresponding network slice entry. 8. The management and selection method of network slice slice according to claim 6 or 7, it is characterized in that, after described route switching equipment receives the correspondence relation of slice identifier slice ID and entry identifier NF ID sent by control arrangement module, all The method also includes: According to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, a data forwarding table is added, or deleted, or updated, and the data forwarding table includes more than one corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID. 9. The method for managing and selecting a network slice according to claim 8, wherein the network slice comprises a core network serving one or more application scenarios, or a network consisting of a core network and an access network . 10. A base station, wherein the base station comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NF ID sent by the control orchestration module or the network slice management module; The routing unit is configured to receive the slice ID information sent by the UE, and perform access authentication on the slice ID information, wherein the network slices corresponding to different scenarios correspond to different slice IDs, and the slice ID information is based on the received information of the UE. If the slice ID list is selected, according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, determine the NF ID corresponding to the slice ID information sent by the UE; The sending unit is configured to guide the data sent by the UE to the corresponding network slice entry according to the determined NF ID after the authentication is passed. 11. The base station according to claim 10, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive the slice ID information sent by the UE when the base station establishes an RRC connection with the UE or the UE attaches or selects the slice ID; The base station further includes: a storage unit configured to store the slice ID information sent by the UE. 12. The base station according to claim 10, wherein the routing unit is further configured to add, or delete, or update a data forwarding table according to the corresponding relationship between the sliceID and the NF ID, and the data forwarding table It includes more than one correspondence between slice IDs and NF IDs. 13. The base station according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the sending unit is also used to determine the IP address of the network slice entry according to the determined NF ID; the IP address is sent to IP network, the IP network forwards the data sent by the UE to the corresponding network slice entry according to the forwarding rule. The base station according to claim 13, wherein the network slice comprises a core network serving one or more application scenarios, or a network composed of a core network and an access network. 15. A routing switching device, wherein the device comprises: a receiving unit for receiving the correspondence between the slice identifier slice ID and the entry identifier NF ID sent by the control arrangement module; a routing unit, configured to route the UE data sent by the base station to the corresponding network slice entry according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID; The network slices corresponding to different scenarios have different slice IDs, the UE data is encapsulated with slice ID information, the slice ID information is selected by the UE based on the received slice ID list, and the NF ID is used to indicate Network slice entry, the slice ID information is sent by the base station after the access authentication is passed. 16. The routing switching device according to claim 15, wherein the routing unit comprises: a parsing subunit, configured to parse the UE data sent by the base station to obtain slice ID information corresponding to the UE data; Search subunit, for according to described slice ID information, look up the NF ID corresponding to described slice ID information in routing table, and described routing table includes the correspondence of more than one slice ID and NF ID; The sending subunit is used to send the UE data to the corresponding network slice entry according to the found NF ID. 17. The routing switching device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the routing unit is also used to add, or delete, or update a data forwarding table according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, The data forwarding table includes more than one correspondence between slice IDs and NF IDs. 18. A network slice management and selection system, wherein the system comprises the base station according to any one of claims 10 to 14, the routing switching device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, a UE, a control orchestration module, network slice; among them, the UE, for sending slice ID information to the base station; The base station is used to receive the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control and arrangement module or the network slice management module; receive the slice ID information sent by the UE, and perform access authentication on the slice ID information, wherein different scenarios correspond to The network slice corresponds to a different slice ID, and the slice ID information is selected by the UE based on the received sliceID list. After the authentication is passed, according to the corresponding relationship between the slice ID and the NF ID, it is determined to send the information to the UE. The corresponding NF ID of the slice ID information; according to the determined NF ID, the data sent by the UE is guided to the corresponding network slice entry; The routing switching device is used to receive the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID sent by the control and arrangement module; and route the UE data sent by the base station to the corresponding network slice entry according to the correspondence between the slice ID and the NF ID.

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