CN1595887A - A next generation network system and resource management method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a next-generation network architecture model, function decomposition and resource control method, and provides a system architecture that can meet the business requirements and open requirements of the next-generation network. The next-generation network is divided into providing business logic The application layer for controlling capabilities, the switching and routing layer for signaling addressing, switching, and routing functions, the transport layer for maintaining end-to-end link connections, and the resource layer for unified, coordinated allocation and control of network resources. The next-generation network is composed of multiple functional entities, and these functional entities communicate through interfaces to complete functions such as user access, authentication, services, and service-related network resource management.

Description

A next generation network system and resource management method

technical field

The invention relates to network technology, in particular to a next-generation network system and resource management method.

Background technique

Next Generation Network (NGN) is a comprehensive network that combines various existing network environments and surrounding access devices and terminal products. Modules, each module can develop independently without interfering with each other, and can be organically combined into a whole. The difference between NGN and the traditional PSTN network is that NGN is mainly based on packet switching, that is, the separation of switching and control. The heavy load of IP technology increases and enhances many old and new services. That is to say, NGN is the product of the integration of TDM-based PSTN voice network and IP/ATM-based packet network. It combines the advantages of fixed telephone network, mobile telephone network and IP network, making analog users, digital users, mobile users, ADSL Users, ISDN users, IP narrowband network users, IP broadband network users and even users accessing through satellites can communicate with each other as a member of the next generation network.

With the development of informatization, the NGN network of the triple play mode has become a common development direction, but for how to build an NGN network, what is the general network architecture? However, there has been no definition, and there is a lack of guiding materials in the process of functional decomposition and subsequent network construction. The current network architecture often simply defines layers, such as the transport layer, switching routing layer, and application layer, or the management plane, transport plane, control plane, application plane, etc., but for the functional components in each layer/plane Interrelationships, etc., are lacking in definition.

The basic architecture of the current NGN system is shown in Figure 1: this layered architecture divides the horizontal direction into three layers and the vertical direction into three planes, in which the transport layer mainly maintains end-to-end link connections, switching, The routing layer completes signaling addressing, switching and routing functions, etc., and the application layer mainly provides business logic control capabilities. In each functional layer, it is divided into three planes. The user plane is mainly reflected in the user interface part. When the control plane needs to provide services, it needs to complete the basic control functions at this level. The management plane mainly completes the configuration management function of the corresponding level. .

Although there is a framework description for NGN, it is still relatively simple, there are not many contents that can be used for reference, and resources and other aspects are not considered. Due to the integration of various networks in the NGN network, the following problems such as resource management and coordination are gradually increasing, and in most cases, resource sharing and coordinated allocation are required, and it is required in relatively large Consistency is maintained in the geographical space, so the traditional resource management model can no longer meet the requirements, and no clear solution has been given in the current framework system.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a system architecture model and a method for functional decomposition and resource control, and provide a system architecture that can meet the service requirements and open requirements of the next generation network, so as to meet the complex service provision and resource requirements of NGN. Manage and coordinate assignment requirements.

Realize the technical scheme of the present invention:

A next-generation network system, including the following functional entities:

Media Gateway Control Function entity (MGCF), used to control the state of the session call;

Access Media Gateway Functional Entity (AMFG), and convert media between access networks under the control of MGCF;

Media Gateway Functional Entity (MGF), which terminates media streams and performs bidirectional media conversion under the control of MGCF;

Service Gateway Functional Entity (SGF), which communicates with MGCF, is used to receive and send traditional signaling between the IP network and traditional telecommunication signaling network, and forward high-level application signaling to MGCF, or send it to MGCF after protocol conversion; Complete the two-way signaling conversion function;

Service Control Proxy Functional Entity (SCPF), which communicates with MGCF, is used to link with application layer control/resource entities, and triggers corresponding resource allocation functions according to business logic; and has routing and addressing capabilities;

Application Provider Function Entity (APF): communicates with SCPF to execute application control logic and provide application services to end users;

Application Provider Gateway Functional Entity (APGF): communicates with SCPF, is used to perform the gateway function with other application provision systems, and provides third-party interfaces;

Border Gateway Control Function Entity (BGCF), which receives and processes addressing requests from SCPF to non-local domains and other networks, and is mainly used for the intercommunication function of the control plane between multiple network domains;

User Service Attribute Functional Entity (USPF), which communicates with SCPF, is used to store user authentication data and service subscription information, and execute service subscription functions;

Register functional entities (REGF), communicate with SCPF, and at least maintain information such as the binding relationship between user identification and user accessible addresses;

A multimedia resource control function entity (MRCF), which communicates with the SCPF, is used to control the transmission of multimedia resources in the transport network;

Multimedia Resource Delivery Functional Entity (MRDF), which sends multimedia content or provides special resources under the control of MRCF;

Resource Control Function (RCF), which controls the resource allocation and scheduling of the transport plane;

The Transport Policy Enforcement Function (TPEF) executes quality of service (QoS)-related processing under the control of the RCF;

The transmission resource management function entity (TRMF) collects the current network resource situation and allocation situation from the RCF, maintains network resource status information, and performs unified coordination and arbitration when receiving a resource allocation request;

User Control Proxy Functional Entity (UCPF), which cooperates with SCPF to complete business processing, cooperates with TRMF to allocate business-related resources, is used for user session layer service access request control application layer gateway (proxy), and executes session layer interfaces from users Proxy function;

User Attribute Database Functional Entity (UPDF), which manages and stores user attribute information;

The user attribute management function entity (UPMF) is used to process the management request generated by access, obtain user information from UPDF, and decide to reject or accept the user's request based on the information from TRMF at the same time;

The customer premise management agent function entity (CMPF) interacts with the management plane through the interface to implement the management agent function;

Access relay function entity (ARF), receive user/terminal request and forward it to UPMF or CMPF;

A firewall function entity (FWF), communicates with UPMF and RCF, and is used to enable or refuse to forward messages;

Network Address Translation Functional Entity (NAPTF), communicates with UPMF and RCF for network address and port allocation and storage of binding information.

A next-generation network access verification, business processing and related resource management method, the next-generation network is divided into an application layer that provides business logic control capabilities, a switching routing layer that completes signaling addressing, switching, and routing functions, and maintains terminal The transport layer connected by the end-to-end link, and the resource layer for uniformly coordinated allocation and control of network resources; the method is:

The registration request message initiated by the user terminal is received by the access relay function entity (ARF), and forwarded to the user attribute management function entity (UPMF) after processing the message;

UPMF obtains the relevant configuration information of the user terminal from the user attribute database functional entity (UPDF) and allocates corresponding resources to complete the registration;

The call initiated by the user terminal using the session protocol is directly sent to the User Control Proxy Function (UCPF) through the session layer interface, and the UCPF cooperates with the Service Control Proxy Function (SCPF) to complete the service processing, and communicates with the Transport Resource Management Cooperate with business-related resource allocation.

According to the method above:

When the called user needs addressing, the described implementation of the session layer control by the UCPF according to the business strategy includes steps:

UCPF forwards the session control information (such as: addressing request) to the service control proxy function entity (SCPF);

The SCPF finds the corresponding Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF) through the User Service Attribute Function (USPF), and addresses the end user by the Service Gateway Function (SGF) under the control of the MGCF;

UCPF directly negotiates a call session with the MGCF designated by SCPF; and

After the negotiation is completed, the UCPF and the corresponding MGCF notify the corresponding Transport Resource Management Function (TRMF) and Media Gateway Function (MGF) to allocate resources for the end-to-end call and complete the call establishment.

When the called party uses the session protocol user, the described implementation of the session layer control by the UCPF according to the business policy includes steps:

UCPF at the calling end forwards the session message to SCPF, and SCPF responds with the UCPF address of the called end;

The UCPF at the calling end establishes a session with the UCPF at the called end and performs session negotiation; and

After the negotiation is completed, the UCPF controls the TRMF to allocate resources for the user terminal and establish a call.

The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

1. As a supplement and refinement of the existing model system, it can be used as the basis of the next-generation network architecture, which is conducive to network planning;

2. Through the independent resource module, the complexity of the close coupling between resource management and other layers in the previous model is reduced, and it can meet the complex resource management requirements of the next generation network.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is the existing layered NGN framework architecture;

Fig. 2 is the layered NGN frame architecture of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of NGN functional entities and their associated relationships in the present invention.

Detailed ways

Referring to Fig. 1, in the NGN management system of the present invention, in addition to dividing the horizontal direction into three levels and the vertical direction into three planes, the layered architecture also abstracts an independent resource layer, which exists side by side with other layers. Complete the coordinated allocation and control function of resources to meet the complex and diverse resource management requirements in the NGN network, especially the resource control requirements for end-to-end service quality of service (QoS) and other services.

Referring to Fig. 2, on the basis of the architecture shown in Fig. 1, management functions such as allocation and control of NGN network resources are implemented by various functional entities and their interrelated relationships. in:

Referring to Fig. 3, the relationship and functions of each functional entity are as follows (the connection in the figure indicates that each functional entity is physically connected or communicated through an interface):

Access Media Gateway Function (AMGF): Under the control of the Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF), it provides media conversion between the IP core network and the analog subscriber line/ISDN access network Function. AMGF supports bearer control and related processing capabilities, such as encoding, echo suppression, and conference bridge.

Application Providing Function (Application Providing Function, APF): The application providing function receives and processes application requests and application control messages from SCPF, provides application services for end users, and executes application control logic (generally completed by the currently defined application server this function).

Application Providing Gateway Function (Application Providing Gateway Function, APGF): Executes the gateway function with other application providing systems, receives and processes application requests and application control messages from SCPF, and provides third-party interfaces to other application providing systems; such as Parlay Gateway and so on.

Access Relay Function (ARF): After receiving the request initiated by the user/terminal, convert it, insert location information and other content as needed, and forward it to the User Attribute Management Function (UPMF); or After receiving the configuration request from the user/terminal (such as requesting software update, etc.), it is forwarded to the customer premises equipment management proxy function entity (CMPF) for processing. The function of the ARF is closely related to the selected access method and process.

Border Gateway Control Function (BGCF): Receive pathfinding requests from the Service Control Proxy Function (SCPF) in the case of some business needs (for example, when it is found that the destination party does not belong to the local management domain) , and find out the peer-to-peer Border Gateway Control Function entity (BGCF) according to routing and other information, which is mainly used for the intercommunication of multiple network domain control planes.

Customer Premise Management Proxy Function (CPAD Management Proxy Function, CMPF): An entity that implements the management proxy function when there are a large number of Customer Premise Devices (CPAD) that need to be managed in NGN. Receive management requests from the ARF or management commands from the management plane, and perform a bidirectional proxy function.

Firewall Function Entity (Firewall Function, FWF): belongs to the gateway function, which can enable or deny the function of forwarding packets according to the classification of some packets and some preset conditions. The forwarding policy may come from the User Attribute Management Function (UPMF), Resource Control (RCF) or some local data configurations.

Media Gateway Control Function entity (Media Gateway Control Function, MGCF): controls the state of the session call, and correspondingly controls the media channel in the media gateway function (MGF) and the access media gateway function (AMGF).

Media Gateway Function entity (Media Gateway Function, MGF): terminates the media flow from the bearer channel of the point-to-point switching network or the packet network, and implements the bidirectional media conversion function under the control of the media gateway control function (MGCF).

Multimedia Resource Control Function entity (Multimedia Resource Control Function, MRCF): receives resource allocation requests from SCPF, and controls the transmission of multimedia resources in the transmission network.

Multimedia Resource Delivery Function entity (Multimedia Resource Delivery Function, MRDF): Under the control of the Multimedia Resource Control Function (MRCF), it executes the delivery function of multimedia content (such as video, files or pages, etc.) or provides special resources ( For example, prompt tones, announcements, speech recognition resources or meeting resources, etc.).

Network address translation function entity (NAPT Function, NAPTF): performs the function of network address and port allocation and storage of binding information. It can be mainly used between two address domains according to the combination of source address information and destination address information. The address port mapping function of an address domain.

Resource Control Function (Resource Control Function, RCF): Control the resource situation of the transmission plane to ensure that network resources can be used effectively and correctly. This function may also cooperate with FWF and NAPTF to complete resource coordination and allocation.

Registration Function Entity (Registration Function, REGF): maintains information such as the binding relationship between the user ID and the user's accessible address.

Service Control Proxy Function entity (Service Control Proxy Function, SCPF): service proxy feature, associated with the application layer control/resource entity, implements corresponding resource allocation triggered according to business needs (such as: business processes need to send e-mail, etc.), etc. functions, and forward application requests and application service packets to corresponding application service functional entities.

Service Gateway Function (Service Gateway Function, SGF): The signaling gateway is a proxy function, located between the IP network and the traditional telecommunication signaling network, can receive/send traditional signaling, terminate SS7, DSS.1 and other signaling, and Forward high-level signaling to the corresponding processing entity-MGCF in the IP network or perform protocol conversion, such as transmitting MTP2/MTP3 messages through M2UA/M3UA relays, or converting DSS.1 signaling to MGCP protocol, etc.; complete two-way signaling conversion function.

Transport Policy Enforcement Function (TPEF): Under the control of the resource control function, it performs QoS processing, including message labeling, resource application, release, resource reservation, and queue scheduling.

Transport Resource Management Function entity (Transport Resource Management Function, TRMF): collects the current network resource situation and allocation situation from RCP, maintains network resource status information, and after receiving the request from the User Control Agent Function (UCPF), rejects or Send control information to the resource control function (RCF) to implement related control, and can provide resource situation information for the user attribute management function UPMF.

User Control Proxy Function entity (User Control Proxy Function, UCPF): It cooperates with SCPF to complete business processing, cooperates with TRMF to allocate business-related resources, and is used for the application layer gateway (proxy) of user session layer business access request control. The user's session layer interface proxy function.

User Profile Database Function (UPDF): Manage/store each user's attribute information, including address information, security information, location information, business quality of service (QoS) related information, authentication information and some network Terminal configuration information, etc.

User Profile Management Function entity (User Profile Management Function, UPMF): process the management request generated by access, and obtain user information from the user profile database function (UPDF), and decide according to the information from the transmission resource management function (TRMF) at the same time Deny or accept the user's request.

User Service Profile Function (USPF): Contains each user's authentication data and service subscription information, and executes the service subscription function.

In NGN, each of the above-mentioned functional entities may be multiple, and multiple identical functional entities are connected through interfaces for mutual control. Multiple functional entities can be implemented in one physical device, and each functional entity can have multiple instances.

Assuming that the user's equipment configuration and service configuration have been completed in advance, the process from the start of the E-Phone to the establishment of a basic NGN call service with the traditional phone is as follows:

1. Registration verification process:

After the E-Phone is started, it will initiate a user registration request (including user ID or device ID, password and other authentication required information). After receiving the message, ARF inserts some additional information (such as user access port information) and forwards it to UPMF, UPMF Query UPDF according to the user's identity and additional information, obtain relevant configuration information, and allocate resources such as addresses; if there are security and address translation configurations, it may also send commands to FWF and NAPTF to implement relevant policy configurations; during the device registration process , the user terminal (E-Phone) can also send verification information as needed. After UPMF receives the verification request, it will also query UPDF through the user ID, and judge whether to accept or reject the user's acceptance according to the network situation (applying to TRMF) and the user's business type. enter.

2. Business process:

Suppose the E-Phone uses the Session Initial Protocol (Session Initial Protocol, SIP) user to initiate a call request, the user directly interfaces with UCPF through the user session layer interface, UCPF implements service control according to the service policy, and finds that the destination needs to be addressed (the target address is traditional user on the telephone side), then forward it to SCPF. SCPF may find the corresponding MGCF through routing signaling or local pre-configuration information. Subsequent sessions of the user will be relayed (proxy) by UCPF to MGCF for call-related negotiation (MGCF needs After the SGF addresses the end user); after completing the session of the call negotiation phase, the call connection establishment phase is entered, and the MGCF notifies the corresponding entities such as MGF and TRMF to allocate resources for the end-to-end call, and the call establishment is completed.

If the E-Phone uses SIP to call other SIP users, UCPF forwards the session message to SCPF (which can be understood as a SIP Proxy function), SCPF responds to the peer UCPF address, UCPF establishes a session with the peer UCPF, conducts session negotiation and controls TRMF Resources are allocated and the call is established.

Those skilled in the art can easily make some changes according to the above technical solutions, such as the combination and addition of functional entities, but these changes do not depart from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims (20)

1. A next-generation network system, characterized in that the network system includes the following functional entities: Media Gateway Control Function entity (MGCF), used to control the state of the session call; Access Media Gateway Functional Entity (AMFG), and convert media between access networks under the control of MGCF; Media Gateway Functional Entity (MGF), which terminates media streams and performs bidirectional media conversion under the control of MGCF; Service Gateway Functional Entity (SGF), which communicates with MGCF, is used to receive and send traditional signaling between the IP network and traditional telecommunication signaling network, and forward high-level application signaling to MGCF, or forward it to MGCF for processing after protocol conversion ;Complete the two-way signaling conversion function; Service Control Proxy Functional Entity (SCPF), which communicates with MGCF, is used to link with application layer control/resource entities, and triggers corresponding resource allocation functions according to business logic; and has routing and addressing capabilities; Application Provider Function Entity (APF): communicates with SCPF to execute application control logic and provide application services to end users; Application Provider Gateway Functional Entity (APGF): communicates with SCPF, is used to perform the gateway function with other application provision systems, and provides third-party interfaces; Border Gateway Control Function Entity (BGCF), which receives and processes addressing requests from SCPF to other networks not in its own domain, and is mainly used for the intercommunication function of the control plane between multiple network domains; User Service Attribute Functional Entity (USPF), which communicates with SCPF, is used to store user authentication data and service subscription information, and execute service subscription functions; Register functional entities (REGF), communicate with SCPF, and at least maintain information such as the binding relationship between user identification and user accessible addresses; A multimedia resource control function entity (MRCF), which communicates with the SCPF, is used to control the transmission of multimedia resources in the transport network; Multimedia Resource Delivery Functional Entity (MRDF), which sends multimedia content or provides special resources under the control of MRCF; Resource Control Function (RCF), which controls the resource allocation and scheduling of the transport plane; The Transport Policy Enforcement Function (TPEF) executes quality of service (QoS)-related processing under the control of the RCF; The transmission resource management function entity (TRMF) collects the current network resource situation and allocation situation from the RCF, maintains network resource status information, and performs unified coordination and arbitration when receiving a resource allocation request; User Control Proxy Functional Entity (UCPF), which cooperates with SCPF to complete business processing, cooperates with TRMF to allocate business-related resources, is used for user session layer service access request control application layer gateway (proxy), and executes session layer interfaces from users Proxy function; User Attribute Database Functional Entity (UPDF), which manages and stores user attribute information; The user attribute management function entity (UPMF) is used to process the management request generated by access, obtain user information from UPDF, and decide to reject or accept the user's request based on the information from TRMF at the same time; The customer premise management agent function entity (CMPF) interacts with the management plane through the interface to implement the management agent function; Access relay function entity (ARF), receive user/terminal request and forward it to UPMF or CMPF; A firewall function entity (FWF), communicates with UPMF and RCF, and is used to enable or refuse to forward messages; Network Address Translation Functional Entity (NAPTF), communicates with UPMF and RCF for network address and port allocation and storage of binding information. 2. The next-generation network system according to claim 1, wherein each functional entity can be multiple, and multiple identical functional entities are connected through interfaces for mutual control. 3. The next generation network system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the multiple functional entities can be implemented in one physical device. 4. The next generation network system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each functional entity may have multiple instances. 5. A next-generation network access verification, business processing and related resource management method, the next-generation network is divided into an application layer that provides business logic control capabilities, and a switching and routing layer that completes signaling addressing, switching and routing functions, The transport layer that maintains end-to-end link connections, and the resource layer that uniformly coordinates the allocation and control of network resources; the methods are: (1) The registration request message initiated by the user terminal is received by the access relay function entity (ARF), and forwarded to the user attribute management function entity (UPMF) after processing the message; (2) UPMF obtains the relevant configuration information of the user terminal from the user attribute database functional entity (UPDF) and allocates corresponding resources to complete registration and verification functions; (3) The call initiated by the user terminal using the session protocol is directly sent to the user control proxy function entity (UCPF) through the session layer interface, and the UCPF cooperates with the service control proxy function entity (SCPF) to complete the service processing, and communicates with the transport resource management function entity (TRMF) cooperates in business-related resource allocation. 6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that when the called user needs to address, the step (3) comprises: UCPF forwards the session control information (for example: addressing request, etc.) to the service control proxy function entity (SCPF); The SCPF finds the corresponding Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF) through the User Service Attribute Function (USPF), and addresses the end user by the Signaling Gateway Function (SGF) under the control of the MGCF; UCPF directly negotiates a call session with the MGCF designated by SCPF; and After the negotiation is completed, the UCPF and the corresponding MGCF notify the corresponding Transport Resource Management Function (TRMF) and Media Gateway Function (MGF) to allocate resources for the end-to-end call and complete the call establishment. 7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that when the called party uses the session protocol user, the step (3) comprises: UCPF at the calling end forwards the session message to SCPF, and SCPF responds with the UCPF address of the called end; The UCPF at the calling end establishes a session with the UCPF at the called end and performs session negotiation; and After the negotiation is completed, the UCPF controls the TRMF to allocate resources for the user terminal and complete the call establishment. 8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, if the user terminal in the related configuration information has security and/or address translation related configurations, UPMF then transfers to the firewall function entity (FWF) and/or network address translation The functional entity (NAPTF) sends commands to implement relevant policy configurations. 9. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, during the registration process, when UPMF receives the verification information sent by the user terminal, it queries UPDF through the user identification, and according to the network conditions obtained from TRMF and the user's application service, Determines whether to allow user access. 10. The method according to claim 5, wherein when the ARF receives the configuration request from the user/terminal, it forwards it to the Customer Premises Equipment Management Proxy Function (CMPF) for processing by the CMPF. 11. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that when the user service has a quality of service (QoS) requirement, the resource control function entity (RCF) controls the transmission policy function entity (TPEF) to process it. 12. The method according to claim 7, wherein the SCPF triggers corresponding resource allocation according to the business logic customized by the user, and forwards the application request and the application service message to the corresponding application providing function (APF) or application A gateway (APGF) is provided, wherein the APGF can also provide third-party interfaces to other application provisioning systems. 13. The method according to claim 7 or 12, wherein the SCPF also sends a resource request to a multimedia resource control function entity (MRCF) according to business logic requirements, and the MRCF sends and sends multimedia resources in the transport network media flow control. 14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that the MRCF controls the Media Resource Delivery Function (MRDF) to send multimedia content or provide special resources according to service requirements. 15. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the USPF executes the service subscription function. 16. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that after the user registers, the registration functional entity (REGF) maintains the binding relationship information between the user ID and the user's accessible address. 17. The method according to claim 5, wherein when the called user is not a user in the local domain, SCPF sends an addressing request to the border gateway control function entity (BGCF), and the BGCF finds an addressing request based on relevant routing information. Peer to BGCF, and complete session negotiation and control functions. 18. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 17, wherein the state of the session call is controlled by the MGCF, and correspondingly controls the media channel between the MGF and the AMGF; the MGF terminates the bearer channel from the circuit switching network or The media flow of the packet network is implemented, and the two-way media conversion function is implemented under the control of the MGCF. 19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, under the control of the MGCF, the AMGF provides the media conversion function between the IP network and the analog subscriber line/ISDN access network; 20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the SGF receives/sends traditional signaling, and forwards the high-level signaling to the corresponding MGCF in the IP network or sends it to the MGCF after protocol conversion, so as to complete two-way signaling. command conversion function.

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