KR-102964586-B1 - Method for providing Radio Access Network slice service and apparatus therefor

KR102964586B1KR 102964586 B1KR102964586 B1KR 102964586B1KR-102964586-B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for providing a RAN slice service and an apparatus for the same in a communication environment including a next-generation mobile communication network. A method for providing a RAN slice service in a slice management device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a step of verifying slice identification information of a mobile terminal; a step of verifying RAN resources required for a communication service of the mobile terminal based on the slice identification information of the mobile terminal; a step of providing a slice service by slicing the resources of a base station and allocating the required RAN resources to the mobile terminal; and a step of monitoring the quality of the slice service being provided to the mobile terminal and modifying the RAN resources allocated to the mobile terminal if the quality of the slice service deteriorates.

Inventors

김하성
홍성표

Assignees

주식회사 케이티

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20190524

Claims (14)

As a method of providing RAN slice services in a slice management device, A step of verifying slice identification information of a mobile terminal; A step of identifying RAN resources required for the communication service of the mobile terminal based on the slice identification information of the mobile terminal; A step of slicing the resources of a base station and allocating the necessary RAN resources to the mobile terminal to provide a slice service; and The method includes the step of monitoring the quality of the slice service being provided to the mobile terminal, and modifying the RAN resources allocated to the mobile terminal if the quality of the slice service deteriorates; The step of modifying the above RAN resources is, A method for providing a RAN slice service, comprising the step of, when the quality of the slice service deteriorates, slicing the resources of another base station located near the mobile terminal, allocating the necessary RAN resources to the mobile terminal through the other base station, and providing the slice service using the other base station.
In paragraph 1, If the quality of the above slice service deteriorates, the step of providing the slice service using the other base station is If the quality of the slice service deteriorates, a step of determining whether other base stations located near the mobile terminal can support the necessary RAN resources; and A method for providing a RAN slice service, comprising the step of providing the slice service using the other base station if, as a result of the above determination, there exists a supportable other base station.
In paragraph 2, A method for providing a RAN slice service, comprising the step of, if, as a result of the above determination, there exists another base station that supports only a portion of the RAN resources, modifying the RAN resources to include the resources of the base station currently connected to the mobile terminal and the resources of the other base station, and providing the slice service using both the base station currently connected and the other base station.
In paragraph 2, A method for providing a RAN slice service, comprising the step of changing the operational parameters of the base station if, based on the above determination result, there is no other base station capable of supporting the necessary RAN resources.
In paragraph 4, The step of changing the above-mentioned operating parameters is, A method for providing a RAN slice service characterized by changing one or more of the transmission ratio of the uplink bandwidth and downlink bandwidth of the base station, the slot symbol format, the number of cillot symbols, the Modulation Coding Scheme (MCS) level, and the sub-carrier spacing.
In paragraph 5, The step of changing the above parameters is, A method for providing a RAN slice service characterized by controlling the operating mode of the base station to be set to TDD mode, and changing operating parameters to change the transmission ratio of the uplink bandwidth and downlink bandwidth based on link communication information that is relatively frequently used in the mobile terminal.
In paragraph 1, The step of verifying the above-mentioned slice identification information is, A method for providing a RAN slice service characterized by verifying the APN, DCN-ID, QCI, or TEID of the mobile terminal and verifying slice identification information corresponding to the APN, DCN-ID, QCI, or TEID in a management table.
In Paragraph 7, A method for providing a RAN slice service, characterized in that slice identification information and RAN resources are mapped and stored in the above management table, and APN, DNC-ID, QCI, or TEID are additionally mapped and stored with the above slice identification information.
In Paragraph 7, The step of verifying the above-mentioned slice identification information is, In a message received from the mobile terminal connected to the 4th generation base station, the APN, DCN-ID, QCI, or TEID is checked, and The step of providing the above-mentioned slice service is, A method for providing a RAN slice service characterized by identifying a 5G base station capable of utilizing the above-mentioned necessary RAN resources and slicing the resources of the 5G base station.
In a slice management device that provides a RAN slice service, A storage unit that stores a management table in which slice identification information and RAN resource information are mapped; A control unit that checks slice identification information of a mobile terminal, checks RAN resources required for the communication service of the mobile terminal in the management table based on the slice identification information, slices the resources of a base station, and allocates the required RAN resources to the mobile terminal to provide a slice service; and A quality monitoring unit that monitors the quality of the slice service provided to the mobile terminal; is included, The above control unit is, If the quality of the slice service deteriorates as a result of the above monitoring, the RAN resources allocated to the mobile terminal are modified, and The above control unit is, A slice management device characterized by, when the quality of the slice service deteriorates, slicing the resources of another base station located near the mobile terminal, allocating the necessary RAN resources to the mobile terminal through the other base station, and providing the slice service using the other base station.
In Paragraph 10, The above control unit is, A slice management device that, when the quality of the slice service deteriorates, determines whether another base station located near the mobile terminal can support the necessary RAN resources, and if, as a result of the determination, there exists another base station capable of supporting them, provides the slice service using the other base station.
In Paragraph 11, The above control unit is, A slice management device characterized by changing the operation parameters of the base station if, as a result of the above determination, there is no other base station capable of supporting the necessary RAN resources.
In Paragraph 12, The above control unit is, A slice management device characterized by changing one or more of the transmission ratio of the uplink bandwidth and downlink bandwidth of the base station, the slot symbol format, the number of cillot symbols, the MCS (Modulation Coding Scheme) level, and the sub-carrier spacing.
In Paragraph 10, The above control unit is, A slice management device characterized by verifying the APN, DCN-ID, QCI, or TEID of the mobile terminal and verifying slice identification information corresponding to the APN, DCN-ID, QCI, or TEID in a management table.

Description

Method for providing Radio Access Network slice service and apparatus therefor The present invention relates to a method for providing RAN slice services in a communication environment including a next-generation mobile communication network and an apparatus for the same. In existing 4G/LTE systems, dedicated equipment was deployed for each entity to configure the core and access networks. However, since these core and access networks were built in a static form, there were problems such as reduced efficiency in network resource utilization and difficulty in changing the network configuration. Accordingly, the design of network structures to provide efficient network services in next-generation wireless access network (5G) systems is being discussed. In particular, research on network slicing technology is active as a measure to guarantee the quality of end-to-end network services for various terminals. It is expected that through the aforementioned network slicing technology, next-generation communication systems will logically separate the core network and provide specialized services using this logically separated core network. However, current slicing technology is primarily focused on core networks, and methods for configuring, creating, and managing slices for the Radio Access Network (RAN) to which mobile terminals connect are insufficient. The following drawings attached to this specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and serve to further enhance understanding of the technical concept of the present invention along with specific details for implementing the invention; therefore, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited only to the matters described in such drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a Non-Standalone (NSA) network environment in which a 4G/LTE mobile communication system and a 5G mobile communication system are mixed, according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a slice management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for slicing a RAN for a communication service of a mobile terminal in a slice management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for reconstructing a RAN slice of a mobile terminal in a slice management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for changing parameters of a RAN slice of a mobile terminal in a slice management device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned objectives, features, and advantages will become clearer through the following detailed description in conjunction with the attached drawings, and accordingly, a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to easily implement the technical concept of the present invention. Furthermore, in describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the essence of the present invention, such detailed description will be omitted. Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a Non-Standalone (NSA) network environment in which a 4G/LTE mobile communication system and a 5G mobile communication system are mixed, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a RAN (Radio Access Network) includes an LTE eNB (Long Term Evolution evolved NodeB) (310) and a plurality of gNBs (next Generation NodeBs) (320, 330). The LTE eNB (310) is a legacy network device that supports 4G/LTE and includes an LTE RU (Radio Unit) (311) and an LTE DU (Digital Unit) (312). The LTE RU (311) and the LTE DU (312) may be logically or physically separated and included in the LTE eNB (310). The LTE RU (311) is a base station of the LTE communication system and can be wirelessly connected to a mobile terminal (100). The LTE DU (312) is a unit distributed in an LTE-based RAN and can be connected to multiple LTE RUs (311). The LTE DU (312) is designed to be interconnected with the CU (323) of the 5G system. The LTE DU (312) can be interconnected with the CU (323) through an X2 interface defined by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). The first gNB (320) is a next-generation network device that supports 5G communication services and includes a Radio Unit (RU), a Distributed Unit (DU) (322), and a CU (323). Each of the RU (321), DU (322), and CU (323) may be logically or physically separated and included in the first gNB (320). The RU (321) is a 5G base station capable of operating in the 3.5 GHz band, which is a Sub-6 GHz frequency, and can allocate RAN resources sliced by the slice managem