JP7107671B2 - Resource allocation device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a resource allocation device that allocates resources in a radio access network (hereinafter referred to as "RAN").

In this specification, "service" or "network service" refers to network resources such as communication services (dedicated line services, etc.) and application services (video distribution, services using sensor devices such as embedded devices). means a service that is processed using A "slice" is a virtual network that is logically created on the network infrastructure, and the services are allocated to the slice and processed using the network resources of the allocated slice.

A method based on PF (Proportional Fairness) is known as a conventional resource allocation method in RAN (see Patent Document 1). This method calculates the ratio between the instantaneous throughput of each user and the average throughput in a certain interval, compares them, and allocates resources in descending order of the ratio value. As the above-mentioned "throughput", for example, a reception signal power to interference plus noise power ratio (reception SINR (Signal-to-Interference plus Noise power Ratio)) in a terminal is used.

JP 2013-229727 A

On the other hand, a slicing technology is known that separates virtual network resources for each service and guarantees resource allocation. However, the application of the above slicing technology to resources in the RAN has not been studied much, for example, it is difficult to properly separate the resources in the RAN and guarantee the resource allocation amount according to the slice requirements. Met. If a fixed resource allocation method were simply adopted for each service in order to guarantee the resource allocation amount, there would be a large loss in dividing resources, and the resource utilization efficiency of the entire network would decrease. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to improve the resource utilization efficiency of the entire network while securing the required number of resource allocations and suppressing division loss.

In order to achieve the above object, a resource allocation device according to one aspect of the present invention is a resource allocation device that performs resource allocation in a radio access network, wherein service requirements including slice priority, services used by terminals, and an acquisition unit for acquiring usage service information related to and terminal location information; a determination unit for determining the maximum resource allocation number for each slice and the weight value for each slice according to the priority of the slice corresponding to the service to be used; and the maximum resource allocation number and weight for each slice determined by the determination unit. and a resource allocation unit that allocates resources based on the values.

In the above resource allocation device, the acquisition unit acquires service requirements including priority of slices, used service information related to services used by the terminal, and terminal location information, and the determination unit acquires the acquired service request Determining the maximum number of resource allocations for each slice according to the service requirements and the weight value for each slice according to the priority of the slice corresponding to the service to be used, based on the conditions, the service information and the location information, Then, the resource allocation unit allocates resources based on the determined maximum resource allocation number and weight value for each slice. In this way, the maximum allocation number of resources for each slice determined according to the service requirements including the priority of the slice, and the weight value for each slice according to the priority of the slice corresponding to the service used by the terminal. By performing resource allocation based on this, it is possible to improve the resource utilization efficiency of the entire network (for example, the frequency utilization efficiency in the radio access network) while securing the required number of resource allocations and suppressing the division loss. .

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the resource utilization efficiency of the entire network while securing the required number of resource allocations and suppressing division loss.

1 is a configuration diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing sequence performed in a communication system; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of service requirements notified from a service operating device; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the maximum number of allocated RBs, weight values, etc. determined by a base station; (a) is a diagram illustrating an example of resource allocation based on conventional PF index values, and (b) is a diagram illustrating an example of resource allocation based on PF index values according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example process performed by a base station; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example hardware configuration of a base station;

One embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a communication system 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a communication system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a terminal (User Equipment) 10, a base station 20, a session management function (hereinafter referred to as "SMF") 30, and a service operation device. 40, and provides network services to terminals 10 using data communication.

The communication system 1 provides network services to terminals 10 by allocating services to slices, which are virtual networks logically generated on the network infrastructure. More specifically, the above slice is a virtualized network or service network that virtually divides network resources, combines the divided resources, and is logically generated on the combined resources. do not interfere with each other because their resources are isolated. In the present embodiment, "RB", which is an abbreviation for Resource Block, is used as the name of the resource.

Hereinafter, each component of the communication system 1 will be outlined in order.

The terminal 10 is a terminal used by a terminal user, and includes, for example, mobile terminals in general such as smartphones and tablet terminals.

The base station 20 is a device that manages location information and the like of the terminal 10 in the RAN, and corresponds to eNodeB (evolved Node B), etc., which is a radio base station that supports LTE radio communication, for example. In this embodiment, the resource allocation device according to the present invention is configured by the base station 20, and the base station 20 has the following function units as the resource allocation device. That is, the base station 20 includes an acquisition unit 21 that acquires service requirements including priority of slices, used service information related to services used by the terminal, and location information of the terminal 10, and the service acquired by the acquisition unit 21. Based on the requirements, service usage information, and location information, the maximum resource allocation number for each slice (referred to as "maximum number of allocated RBs" in this embodiment) according to the service requirements and the slice corresponding to the service to be used and a resource allocation unit 23 that allocates resources based on the maximum number of allocated RBs and the weight value for each slice determined by the determination unit 22. Prepare.

The service operation device 40 is a device managed by a service provider or the like, and has a function of notifying the SMF 30 of service requirements. FIG. 3 shows an example of service requirements notified from the service operation device 40. As shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 3, the service requirements include slice priority, slice name, name of service associated with the slice (service name), amount of data per unit of processing, and average arrival interval of data. including information such as

The SMF 30 has a function of determining service requirements including the priority of slices based on the service requirements from the service operating device 40 and notifying the base station 20 of the determination. The function as the SMF 30 can be installed in, for example, an NFVO (NFV Orchestrator) defined as a MANO (Management and Orchestration) architecture. Note that the functions related to the SMF 30 and the service operation device 40 may each be implemented by a plurality of devices.

Next, an overview of the processing performed in the communication system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, when the service operation device notifies the SMF of the service requirements (step S1), the SMF determines the service requirements including the slice priority based on the received service requirements (step S2), and notifies the base station of the content of the determination (step S3). On the other hand, the terminal notifies the base station of the used service information regarding the service used by the terminal (step S4).

The base station acquires the service requirements including the priority of the slices notified in step S3, the service information to be used notified in step S4, and the terminal location information obtained by the conventional method (step S5), Based on the acquired service requirements, service information and location information, the maximum number of allocated RBs for each slice according to the service requirements and the weight for each slice according to the priority of the slice corresponding to the service to be used A value is determined (step S6). FIG. 4 shows an example of the maximum number of allocated RBs, weight values, etc. determined by the base station. For example, the base station calculates the data flow rate per unit time (for example, one second) by dividing the "data amount" shown in FIG. The maximum number of allocated RBs for each slice is obtained based on the totaled data flow rate and the number of terminals obtained, and the weight value for each slice is determined according to the priority of the slice corresponding to the service. Furthermore, the base station allocates resources based on the maximum number of allocated RBs and weight values for each slice determined in step S6 (step S7).

The above steps S1 to S7 constitute a series of processes up to resource allocation. Of these, the processing of steps S5 to S7 executed by the base station will be described in detail later using FIG.

After that, data communication is performed between the terminal and the base station, and the user of the terminal uses the desired service (step S8). The service to be used changes due to the end of service use and the occurrence of a request for new service use. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the processes of steps S5 to S7 are executed again at predetermined time intervals or with the arrival of a predetermined update timing as a trigger. As a result, it is possible to appropriately allocate resources according to the latest situation based on the latest service information, the latest location information, and the like.

Next, an example of resource allocation will be described with reference to FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b). FIG. 5(a) shows an example of resource allocation using a technique based on conventional PF (Proportional Fairness), and FIG. An example of resource allocation using the improved method based on Here, “user 1 who uses the service using slice A (denoted as “Slice#A-User1”)” and “user 2 who uses the service using slice A (denoted as “Slice#A-User2”)” )” and “user 1 who uses the service using slice B (denoted as “Slice#B-User1”)”, resources (RBindex(k) (k=0, 1, 2, …)) respectively An example of assigning individually will be explained.

First, as in the conventional resource allocation method based on PF (Proportional Fairness), the ratio between the instantaneous throughput of each user and the average throughput in a certain interval is calculated. Assume that the PF index values (proportional fairness index values) shown in FIG. 5(a) are obtained as a result .
Conventionally , as shown in FIG. 5(a), resources (RBindex(k) (k=0, 1, 2, . RBs are assigned to users hatched in FIG. 5(a). In this case, radio resource allocation cannot be performed based on the priority of slices, and there arises the inconvenience that RBs cannot be allocated to “user 2 who uses the service using slice A”.

On the other hand, in resource allocation based on the PF index value according to the present embodiment, the PF index value is multiplied by a weight value according to the priority of the slice (that is, weighting is performed), and the PF index value after multiplication (this (referred to in the embodiment as a "weighted PF index value") .
Here , as exemplified in FIG. 4, assuming that a weight value of "5" is obtained for slice A and a weight value of "4" is obtained for slice B, slice A in FIG. The relevant PF index value is multiplied by a weight value of "5", and the PF index value of slice B is multiplied by a weight value of "4", resulting in the weighted PF index values shown in FIG. 5(b). In this embodiment, as an example of weighting based on the weight value, an example of multiplying the PF index value by the weight value is shown, but weighting based on the weight value may be performed by a method other than multiplication.

Then, resource allocation is performed based on the weighted PF index value. Specifically, resources (RBindex(k) (k = 0, 1, 2, ...)) are allocated from users with large weighted PF index values, and the users hatched in Fig. 5 (b) RB is assigned. In this example, RBs are also allocated to "user 2 who uses the service using slice A", and radio resource allocation can be performed based on slice priority.

Next, an example of processing executed by the base station 20 of FIG. 1 will be described using FIG. Fig. 6 shows a diagram of "a weight value for each slice according to the priority of the slice, while ensuring that the number of RBs allocated to each slice does not exceed the maximum number of RBs allocated for each slice determined according to the service requirements." resource allocation based on the weighted PF index values obtained using

In the description of FIG. 6, individual units to which RBs are allocated are referred to as "users" following the convention in the technical field. Also, the “number of allocated RBs” for each slice for counting the number of RBs (actual number) allocated to each slice is initially set to “0”.

First, the acquisition unit 21 in FIG. 1 acquires service requirements including the priority of slices from the SMF 30 (step T1), and acquires used service information related to services used by the terminal 10 and location information of the terminal 10. (Step T2). Note that steps T1 and T2 may be executed in the opposite order, or may be executed concurrently.

Next, the determination unit 22 determines the maximum number of allocated RBs for each slice and the weight value for each slice (step T3), and transfers them to the resource allocation unit 23 . Here, for example, the determination unit 22 obtains the "data flow rate" in FIG. 4 for each slice by dividing the "data amount" in FIG. 4 is calculated for each slice by totalizing the location information, and the maximum number of allocated RBs for each slice is determined based on the obtained data flow rate and the number of terminals for each slice. The determination unit 22 also determines a weight value for each slice based on the priority of the slices included in the service requirements. At that time, a weight value that strictly adheres to the priority relationship between slices is determined.

Next, the resource allocation unit 23 calculates, for all users, a PF index value, which is the ratio of the instantaneous throughput of each user to the average throughput in a certain interval, in the same manner as in the conventional resource allocation method based on PF (Proportional Fairness). (Step T4) Then, for all users, the PF index value of each user is multiplied by the weight value corresponding to the slice to which each user belongs, based on the weight value for each slice determined in Step T3 (Step T5). The PF index value obtained here after multiplication is called a “weighted PF index value”.

Next, the resource allocation unit 23 sorts the weighted PF index values of all users in descending order to generate a set N composed of the weighted PF index values sorted in descending order (step T6).

Next, the resource allocation unit 23 determines whether or not resource allocation processing has been completed for all weighted PF index values (all users) constituting the set N (step T7). Since the users processed in steps T11 and T13, which will be described later, are deleted from the set N, in step T7, the resource allocation process ends depending on whether or not unprocessed users (weighted PF index values) remain in the set N. It is determined whether or not

In step T7, if users remain in the set N, that is, if resource allocation processing for all users has not yet been completed, the resource allocation unit 23 assigns the highest weight PF The index value (that is, the highest user) is set as the RB allocation candidate (step T8).

Next, the resource allocation unit 23 determines whether or not the number of allocated RBs for the slice to which the user (the corresponding user), which is a candidate for RB allocation (applicable user), has reached the maximum number of allocated RBs (step T9).

If the number of RBs allocated to the slice to which the user belongs has not reached the maximum number of allocated RBs in step T9, RBs can be allocated to the user. implemented (step T10). Furthermore, in order to prevent redundant RB allocation to the same user, the corresponding user (RB-allocated user) to whom RB allocation was performed is deleted from the set N (step T11), and the number of allocation RBs of the slice to which the RB-allocated user belongs is reduced to one. Count up (step T12). Thereafter, the process returns to step T7 and repeats the process.

On the other hand, in step T9, when the number of allocated RBs for the slice to which the user belongs has reached the maximum number of allocated RBs, the allocation of RBs to the user cannot be performed. is deleted from the set N (step T13). Thereafter, the process returns to step T7 and repeats the process.

The processing of steps T7 to T13 as described above is repeated until there are no users left in the set N, that is, until the resource allocation processing is completed for all users. Then, if there are no users left in the set N (the resource allocation process has been completed for all users), affirmative determination is made in step T7, and the process of FIG. 6 ends.

By the above processing, the weight of each slice according to the priority of the slice is set while preventing the number of RBs allocated to each slice from exceeding the maximum number of RBs allocated to each slice determined according to the service requirements. Resource allocation is made based on the weighted PF index values obtained using the values. By this means, it is possible to improve the resource utilization efficiency of the entire network (for example, the frequency utilization efficiency in the radio access network) while suppressing the division loss while securing the required number of resource allocations.

Further, in the above embodiment, the resource allocation unit 23 calculates the PF index value for each service used by the terminal by a method based on PF (Proportional Fairness), and assigns the obtained PF index value to the service to be used. Weighting is performed based on the weight value for the corresponding slice, and resource allocation is performed based on the weighted PF index value obtained by the above weighting while preventing the resource allocation number for each slice from exceeding the maximum resource allocation number. In this way, the advantage is that processing can be achieved relatively simply by adding a little ingenuity (weighting based on the weight value for slices) to the conventional PF-based method, rather than making major improvements or modifications. There is

Further, in the above embodiments, an example in which the resource allocation apparatus according to the present invention is configured by a base station in the RAN has been described, but this is not an essential requirement, and the resource allocation apparatus according to the present invention can may be configured by the device of In this way, when the resource allocation apparatus according to the present invention is configured by a device other than the base station, for example, the base station provides the other device with information necessary for resource allocation, and performs resource allocation processing. can be realized by instructing (or requesting)

The type of network of the communication system 1 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, an EPC (Evolved Packet Core) network or a so-called next generation network (NGN). .

The block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiments show blocks for each function. These functional blocks (components) are implemented by any combination of hardware and/or software. Further, means for realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be implemented by one device physically and/or logically coupled, or may be implemented by two or more physically and/or logically separated devices directly and/or indirectly. These multiple devices may be connected together (eg, wired and/or wirelessly).

For example, the base station 20 in the embodiment described above may function as a computer that performs the processing of the base station 20 described above. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the base station 20. As shown in FIG. The base station 20 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, and the like. Note that devices other than the base station 20 in FIG. 1 may have the same configuration as the base station 20 . The base station 20 will be described below as an example.

Note that in the following description, the term "apparatus" can be read as a circuit, device, unit, or the like. The hardware configuration of the base station 20 may be configured to include one or more of each device shown in the figure, or may be configured without some of the devices.

Each function in the base station 20 is performed by loading predetermined software (programs) on hardware such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 , the processor 1001 performs calculations, communication by the communication device 1004 , memory 1002 and storage 1003 . It is realized by controlling the reading and/or writing of data in the .

The processor 1001, for example, operates an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured with a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic device, registers, and the like. For example, each functional unit of base station 20 may be implemented including processor 1001 .

The processor 1001 also reads programs (program codes), software modules, and data from the storage 1003 and/or the communication device 1004 to the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to them. As the program, a program that causes a computer to execute at least part of the operations described in the above embodiments is used. For example, each functional unit of base station 20 may be implemented by a control program stored in memory 1002 and operated by processor 1001, and other functional blocks may be similarly implemented. Although it has been described that the above-described various processes are executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed by two or more processors 1001 simultaneously or sequentially. Processor 1001 may be implemented with one or more chips. Note that the program may be transmitted from a network via an electric communication line.

The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and is composed of at least one of, for example, ROM (Read Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and RAM (Random Access Memory). may be The memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory (main storage device), or the like. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program code), software modules, etc. to perform a method according to an embodiment of the invention.

The storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, for example, an optical disc such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disc, a magneto-optical disc (for example, a compact disc, a digital versatile disc, a Blu-ray disk), smart card, flash memory (eg, card, stick, key drive), floppy disk, magnetic strip, and/or the like. Storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. The storage medium described above may be, for example, a database, server, or other suitable medium including memory 1002 and/or storage 1003 .

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating between computers via a wired and/or wireless network, and is also called a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, or the like. For example, each functional unit of base station 20 described above may be implemented including communication device 1004 .

The input device 1005 is an input device (for example, keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.) that receives input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (eg, display, speaker, LED lamp, etc.) that outputs to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated (for example, a touch panel).

Devices such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 are connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be composed of a single bus, or may be composed of different buses between devices.

The base station 20 also includes hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). may be configured, and a part or all of each functional block may be realized by the hardware. For example, processor 1001 may be implemented with at least one of these hardware.

Although the present embodiments have been described in detail above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present embodiments are not limited to the embodiments described herein. This embodiment can be implemented as modifications and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description in this specification is for the purpose of illustration and explanation, and does not have any restrictive meaning with respect to the present embodiment.

The procedures, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described herein may be permuted so long as there is no inconsistency. For example, the methods described herein present elements of the various steps in a sample order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

Input/output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or managed in a management table. Input/output information and the like may be overwritten, updated, or appended. The output information and the like may be deleted. The entered information and the like may be transmitted to another device.

The determination may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a true/false value (Boolean: true or false), or by numerical comparison (for example, a predetermined value).

Each aspect/embodiment described herein may be used alone, may be used in combination, or may be switched between implementations. In addition, the notification of predetermined information (for example, notification of “being X”) is not limited to being performed explicitly, but may be performed implicitly (for example, not notifying the predetermined information). good too.

Software, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language or otherwise, includes instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, and software modules. , applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, and the like.

Software, instructions, etc. may also be sent and received over a transmission medium. For example, the software can be used to access websites, servers, or other When transmitted from a remote source, these wired and/or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

Information, signals, etc. described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may refer to voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or photons, or any of these. may be represented by a combination of

In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in this specification may be represented by absolute values, may be represented by relative values from a predetermined value, or may be represented by corresponding other information. .

Mobile communication terminals are defined by those skilled in the art as subscriber stations, mobile units, subscriber units, wireless units, remote units, mobile devices, wireless devices, wireless communication devices, remote devices, mobile subscriber stations, access terminals, mobile terminals, It may also be called a wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client or some other suitable term.

As used herein, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Judgement", "determining" are, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., table , searching in a database or other data structure), regarding ascertaining as "determining" or "determining". Also, "judgment" and "determination" are used for receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., transmitting information), input, output, access (accessing) (for example, accessing data in memory) may include deeming that a "judgment" or "decision" has been made. In addition, "judgment" and "decision" are considered to be "judgment" and "decision" by resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. can contain. In other words, "judgment" and "decision" may include considering that some action is "judgment" and "decision".

As used herein, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly specified otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

Wherever "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in the specification or claims, these terms are synonymous with the term "comprising." are intended to be inclusive. Furthermore, the term "or" as used in this specification or the claims is not intended to be an exclusive OR.

In this specification, plural devices shall be included unless the context or technicality clearly dictates that there is only one. Throughout this disclosure, the plural shall be included unless the context clearly indicates the singular.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Communication system 10... Terminal 20... Base station 21... Acquisition part 22... Determination part 23... Resource allocation part 30... SMF 40... Service operation apparatus 1001... Processor 1002... Memory 1003... Storage 1004 Communication device 1005 Input device 1006 Output device 1007 Bus.

Claims (3)

A resource allocation device that allocates resources in a radio access network,
an acquisition unit that acquires service requirements including priority of slices, used service information related to the service currently being used by the terminal, and location information related to the terminal in communication ;
Based on the data amount and arrival interval included in the service requirement acquired by the acquisition unit, for each of the services in use, the data amount is divided by the arrival interval to obtain a data flow rate per unit time. Resources for each slice according to the service requirements based on the calculated and obtained data flow rate per unit time and the number of terminals in communication obtained from the in-range information about the terminal in communication. a determination unit that determines the maximum number of allocations and determines the weight value for each slice according to the priority of the slice corresponding to the service to be used;
a resource allocation unit that allocates resources based on the maximum resource allocation number for each slice and the weight value for each slice determined by the determination unit;
A resource allocation device comprising: The resource allocation unit
calculating a proportional fairness index value for each service used by the terminal by a method based on proportional fairness;
Weighting the obtained proportional fairness index value based on the weight value for the slice corresponding to the service to be used,
Allocating resources based on the weighted proportional fairness index value obtained by the weighting while ensuring that the number of resource allocations for each slice does not exceed the maximum number of resource allocations;
The resource allocation device according to claim 1, characterized by: The resource allocation device
configured by a base station in said radio access network;
3. The resource allocation device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by:

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