Detection and execution of application context relocation using ACI.

Description

1 / 50 “DETECTION AND EXECUTION OF APPLICATION CONTEXT RELOCATION USING ACI” Reference to related deposit requests

[001] This application claims the benefit of US provisional patent application No. 63 / 457,956, filed April 7, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FUNDAMENTALS

[002] An application layer can be used to support edge services. An Application Client (AC) can be a user application that resides in a WTRU and communicates with an EAS. A WTRU can use one or more (e.g., multiple) ACs simultaneously.

[003] An Edge Application Server (EAS) can be an application server residing in an Edge Data Network (EDN). The EAS can be a software server running on generic hardware located at the edge and / or providing a service to the AC. In the context of a mobility and / or relocation example, the Source EAS (S-EAS) can be an instance of an EAS in an initial location and / or serving the AC (e.g., before the mobility / relocation occurs). The Target EAS (T-EAS) can be an instance of an EAS in a destination location and / or serving the AC (e.g., after the mobility and / or relocation has occurred). There can be one or more (e.g., multiple) EAS instances per EDN. One or more (e.g., each) EDN can include a different set of EAS instances of different types (e.g., different EASIDs). An EAS can serve one or more AC instances that may reside in different WTRUs.

[004] An Edge Enabler Client (EEC) can provide edge support for one or more CA instances in the WTRU. There can be one or more EECs per WTRU. One or more (e.g., each) ACs can use (e.g., only) one EEC.

[005] An Edge Enablement Server (EES) can provide one or more Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 10 / 80 2 / 50 support functions included by the EAS and / or EEC. In the context of a mobility and / or relocation example, the Source EES (S-EES) may be the EES used before the mobility and / or relocation occurs, and / or the Target EES (T-EES) may be the EES used after the mobility / relocation has occurred. There may be one or more EES instances per EDN (e.g., or per DNN). There may be one or more (e.g., multiple) EDN instances in the network.

[006] An Edge Configuration Server (ECS) can provide one or more support functions for an EEC and / or EES in order to discover one or more EES instances that provide a certain EAS. There may be one or more ECS for the network.

[007] A Notification Management Client (NMC) may provide one or more support functions to an EEC in order to create a notification channel between the NMC and the Notification Management Server (NMS) to receive one or more notifications from the ECS and / or EES. One or more (e.g., each) EEC may use (e.g., only) one NMC.

[008] One or more continuity of service procedures may be included in the EEL to transfer an application context from an S-EAS to a TEAS. The context transfer may be triggered, for example, by the movement of the WTRU, as well as by one or more events unrelated to mobility (e.g., EAS server maintenance, overload, etc.). One purpose of continuity of service may be to minimize edge service disruption for ACs running on the WTRU.

[009] Service continuity for applications that include context relocation can be specified by the EEL in one or more (e.g., five) different application context relocation (ACR) scenarios. The one or more (e.g., each) scenario can include one or more (e.g., four) different phases: detection, decision, execution, and / or post-execution. One or more ACR scenarios can specify one or more different EEL entities (e.g., EEC, EES, EAS) for Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 11 / 80 3 / 50 the detection and / or determination (e.g., decision) phases (e.g., a detection entity and / or a decision-making entity), and / or one or more different sets of interactions between one or more EEL entities for the execution phase.

[010] A user session can be represented by a logical connection between a WTRU AC and an edge node application server (AS) (e.g., EAS) and / or a cloud node AS (e.g., CAS). Application data can be exchanged between the AC and the AS over the logical connection. A WTRU AC and / or EEC can use one or more Edge Enablement Layer (EEL) services to discover one or more EDNs where edge services are available, establish connectivity with one or more EDNs, discover one or more EAS instances within an EDN, select one or more EAS instances, and / or configure one or more EEL parameters (e.g., ACR, traffic influence, etc.) related to the user session between the AC and one or more EASs. The AC can connect and / or begin exchanging user application data with the selected EAS. SUMMARY

[011] The systems, methods, and devices described herein serve to enable application context migration between edge application servers (EAS) and cloud application servers (CAS). Cloud relocation information (CRI) may include the capabilities, requirements, and / or service continuity information of the application layer included by the Edge Enabler Client (EEC) and / or EAS for Application Context Relocation (ACR) scenario selection. ACR configuration information (ACI) may include the ACR detection and / or execution configuration (e.g., derived from the CRI) required for the EEC and / or Edge Enabler Server (EES) and / or EAS for ACR detection and / or execution to the cloud. The procedures described herein may include functionality for provisioning application layer CRI to the EEC and / or EES, for selection of Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 12 / 80 4 / 50 ACR scenarios using the CRI, and / or for distributing ACI to ACR detection and / or execution entities (e.g., EEC and / or EES and / or EAS). The procedures described herein may include functionality for configuring ACR detection and / or execution in the EEC and / or EES and / or EAS to detect an ACR need for a CAS and / or to migrate the application context to the CAS.

[012] Systems, methods, and devices are described in relation to the selection of an Application Context Relocation (e.g., Edge-to-Cloud) scenario based on cloud relocation information (CRI) provided by the application client (AC).

[013] A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) can be configured to perform an EAS discovery procedure for a user session. The WTRU can be configured to determine, based on the EAS discovery procedure, that there are no target EAS instances (T-EAS) available for the user session. The WTRU can be configured to determine if the user session supports ACR for a CAS using ACI. The WTRU can be configured to establish a connection to the CAS based on ACI. The WTRU can be configured to send a notification to one or more ACR entities indicating that ACR for the CAS has been initiated.

[014] The WTRU can be configured to obtain CAS details using the ACI. The WTRU can be configured to initiate the transfer of a user session context from an EAS to the CAS based on the ACI. The WTRU can be configured to perform DNS resolution for the CAS based on the ACI. The WTRU can be configured to determine that there are no T-EAS instances available for the user session based on one or more ACR triggers in the ACI or the WTRU moving to a location where no T-EAS instance meets the requirements associated with the user session. A change in the WTRU location triggers the need to switch EAS. The ACI may include the CRI indicating the Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 13 / 80 5 / 50 CAS information, application layer capabilities, or application layer requirements, wherein the CAS information comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) address, Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), Universal Resource Identifier (URI), Data Network Name (DNN), Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI), or Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) to achieve the CAS. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[015] Figure 1A is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system, in which one or more disclosed modalities can be implemented.

[016] Figure 1B is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that can be used in the communication system illustrated in Figure 1A according to one embodiment.

[017] Figure 1C is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary radio access network (RAN) and an exemplary main network (CN) that can be used in the communication system illustrated in Figure 1A according to one modality.

[018] Figure 1D is a system diagram illustrating an additional example of RAN and an additional example of CN that can be used in the communication system illustrated in Figure 1A according to one embodiment.

[019] Figure 2 illustrates a system diagram of an exemplary Architecture to enable edge application(s).

[020] Figure 3 illustrates a high-level overview exemplifying application context relocation (ACR).

[021] Figure 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an ACR configuration provisioned by an edge enabler client (EEC) with cloud relocation information (CRI) provided by the application client (AC).

[022] Figure 5 illustrates a flow diagram of one or more ACR scenarios. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 14 / 80 6 / 50 selected by EEC exemplifiers with CRI provided by the edge application server (EAS).

[023] Figure 6 illustrates a flow diagram of one or more ACR scenarios selected by the edge enabler server (EES) with CRI provided by EAS.

[024] Figure 7 illustrates an example re-selection flow diagram of ACR detection, ACR execution and / or ACR scenario using ACI. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[025] Figure 1A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed modalities can be implemented. The communications system 100 can be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcasting, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 can enable multiple wireless users to access this content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth.For example, communication systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zerotail single-word DFT spread OFDM (ZT-UW-DTS-S-OFDM), single-word OFDM (UW-OFDM), feature block filtered OFDM, filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), and the like.

[026] As shown in Figure 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a RAN 104 / 113, a CN 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110 and other networks 112, although it should be recognized that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. As an example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 15 / 80 7 / 50 one of which may be called a “station” and / or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, an access point or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a wristwatch or other wearable device, a virtual reality headset (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and its applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and its applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), a consumer electronic device,A device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and similar systems. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and 102d may interchangeably be referred to as a WTRU.

[027] Communication systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110 and / or other networks 112. By way of example, base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home NodeB, a gNB, an NR NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router and the like. Although each of the base stations 114a and 114b is shown as a single element, it should be considered that base stations 114a and 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[028] Base station 114a may be part of RAN 104 / 113, which may include Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 16 / 80 8 / 50 also other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. Base station 114a and / or base station 114b can be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be called a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographic area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may also be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell.In one embodiment, base station 114a can employ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology and can use multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming can be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[029] Base stations 114a, 114b can communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d through an air interface 116, which can be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 can be established through the use of any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[030] More specifically, as indicated above, communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and the like. For example, base station 114a in RAN 104 / 113 and WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as terrestrial access. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 17 / 80 Universal 9 / 50 radio (UTRA) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), which can establish the 116 air interface through the use of Wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA) and / or evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed ​​Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed ​​UL Packet Access (HSUPA).

[031] In one embodiment, base station 114a and WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology, such as evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 with the use of long-term evolution (LTE) and / or advanced LTE (LTE-A) and / or advanced LTE Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[032] In one embodiment, base station 114a and WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can implement a radio technology, such as NR radio access, which can establish the 116 air interface using New Radio (NR) technology.

[033] In one embodiment, base station 114a and WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, base station 114a and WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for example, using dual connectivity (DC) principles. In this way, the air interface used by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[034] In other embodiments, base station 114a and WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi)), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), enhanced data rates for evolution Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 18 / 80 10 / 50 GSM (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and similar.

[035] Base station 114b in Figure 1A can be a wireless router, a source node B, a source eNodeB, or an access point, for example, and can use any suitable RAT to facilitate wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a workplace, a residence, a carrier, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a highway, and the like. In one embodiment, base station 114b and WTRUs 102c, 102d can implement a radio technology, such as IEEE 802.11, to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In another embodiment, base station 114b and WTRUs 102c, 102d can implement a radio technology, such as IEEE 802.15, to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another mode, base station 114b and WTRUs 102c, 102d can use a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell.As shown in Figure 1A, base station 114b can have a direct connection to the 110 Internet. Therefore, base station 114b may not be necessary to access the 110 Internet via CN 106 / 115.

[036] RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications and / or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying Quality of Service (QoS) requirements, such as different processing capacity requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data processing capacity requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, location-based mobile services, prepaid calling, internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions such as user authentication. Although not shown in Figure 1A, it should be considered that the RAN Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 19 / 80 11 / 50 104 / 113 and / or CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT, such as RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to RAN 104 / 113, which may use NR radio technology, CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) that employs GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, EUTRA, or Wi-Fi radio technology.

[037] CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access PSTN 108, the Internet 110 and / or other networks 112. PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide conventional telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and the Internet Protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP Internet protocol suite. Networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communication networks owned by, and / or operated by, other service providers. For example, 112 networks may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT, such as RAN 104 / 113, or a different RAT.

[038] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in communications system 100 may include multimode capabilities (for example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communication with different wireless networks via different wireless links). For example, WTRU 102c shown in Figure 1A may be configured to communicate with base station 114a, which may employ a cellular network-based radio technology, and with base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[039] Figure 1B is a system diagram illustrating an exemplary WTRU 102. As shown in Figure 1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a screen / touchpad 128, a Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 20 / 80 12 / 50 non-removable memory 130, a removable memory 132, a power supply 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136 and / or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be recognized that the WTRU 102 may include any subcombination of the aforementioned elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[040] Processor 118 may be a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate array circuits (FPGAs), any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. Processor 118 may perform signal encoding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. Processor 118 may be coupled to transceiver 120, which may be coupled to transmit / receive element 122.Although Figure 1B depicts processor 118 and transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be recognized that processor 118 and transceiver 120 can be integrated together in an electronic package or electronic circuit.

[041] The transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., base station 114a) via the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be a transmitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be recognized that the transmit / receive element 122 can be configured to transmit and / or receive any Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 21 / 80 13 / 50 wireless signal combination.

[042] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is represented in Figure 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 can include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 can employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 can include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) to transmit and receive wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[043] Transceiver 120 can be configured to modulate signals intended to be transmitted by transmit / receive element 122, and to demodulate signals received by transmit / receive element 122. As indicated above, WTRU 102 can have multimode capabilities. Thus, transceiver 120 can include multiple transceivers to enable WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[044] The WTRU 102 processor 118 can be coupled to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126 and / or the screen / touchpad 128 (for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit) and can receive user input data from these devices. The processor 118 can also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keyboard 126 and / or the monitor / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 can access information from, and store data in, any suitable type of memory, such as non-removable memory 130 and / or removable memory 132. Non-removable memory 130 can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk or any other type of memory storage device.Removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory card, a secure digital memory (SD) card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located in the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a user computer. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 22 / 80 14 / 50 domestic (not shown).

[045] Processor 118 can receive power from power source 134, and can be configured to distribute and / or control power to the other components in WTRU 102. Power source 134 can be any device suitable for powering WTRU 102. For example, power source 134 can include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[046] Processor 118 can also be coupled to GPS chipset 136, which can be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of WTRU 102. In addition to, or instead of, information from the GPS electronic circuitry 136, WTRU 102 can receive location information via the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of signals received from two or more nearby base stations. It should be considered that WTRU 102 can capture location information by any suitable location determination method and still remain compatible with a mode.

[047] The processor 118 may also be coupled with other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional wireless or wired features, functionality and / or connectivity. For example, peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an electronic compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands-free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a virtual reality and / or augmented reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker and Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 23 / 80 15 / 50 similar. Peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, which may be one or more of the following: a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a Hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor and / or a humidity sensor.

[048] The WTRU 102 may include a full-duplex radio for which the transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with a specific subframe for both UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full-duplex radio may include an interference management unit and substantially reduce or eliminate self-interference through hardware (e.g., a shutter) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with specific subframes for the UL (e.g., for transmission) or for the downlink (e.g., for reception)) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous.

[049] Figure 1C is a system diagram illustrating RAN 104 and CN 106, according to one embodiment. As noted above, RAN 104 can employ E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c via air interface 116. RAN 104 can also be in communication with CN 106.

[050] RAN 104 may include eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c, although it should be considered that RAN 104 may include any number of eNodeBs and still remain consistent with a mode. Each of the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c may include one or more transceivers for communication with WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c via air interface 116. In a mode, the eNodeBs 160a, Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 24 / 80 16 / 50 160b and 160c can implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNodeB 160a, for example, can use multiple antennas to transmit and / or receive wireless signals from the WTRU 102a.

[051] Each of the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c can be associated with a specific cell (not shown) and can be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, user scheduling in the UL and / or DL, and similar tasks. As shown in Figure 1C, the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c can communicate with each other via an X2 interface.

[052] The CN 106 shown in Figure 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a server gateway (SGW) 164 and a packet data network gateway (PDN) (or PGW) 166. Although each of the aforementioned elements is shown as part of CN 106, it will be recognized that any of these elements may belong to, and / or be operated by, an entity other than the CN operator.

[053] MME 162 can be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in RAN 104 via an S1 interface and can serve as a control node. For example, MME 162 can be responsible for authenticating users of WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, for carrier activation / deactivation, for selecting a specific server gateway during an initial connection of WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and similar. MME 162 can provide a control plane function for switching between RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

[054] The SGW 164 can be connected to each of the eNodeBs 160a, 160b, 160c in RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SWH 164 can generally route and forward user data packets destined for / from WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 can perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during handovers between eNodeBs, initiating radio fetching when DL data is available for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 25 / 80 17 / 50 store contexts of WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and similar.

[055] SGW 164 can be connected to PGW 166, which can provide WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[056] CN 106 can facilitate communications with other networks. For example, CN 106 can provide WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional terrestrial communications devices. For example, CN 106 can include, or communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between CN 106 and PSTN 108. In addition, CN 106 can provide WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other 112 networks, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[057] Although the WTRU is described in Figures 1A to 1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that, in certain representative embodiments, such a terminal may use (for example, temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[058] In representative modalities, the other 112 network may be a WLAN.

[059] A WLAN in Basic Services Set (BSS) mode may have one Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more Stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access to, or an interface with, a Distribution System (DS) or other type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic into and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs originating outside a BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to the respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the originating STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 26 / 80 18 / 50 Destination STA. Traffic between STAs within a BSS can be considered and / or referred to as point-to-point traffic. Point-to-point traffic can be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a Direct Link System (DLS) configuration. In certain representative modes, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z Tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an independent BSS mode (IBSS) may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS communication mode may sometimes be referred to here as an “ad hoc” communication mode.

[060] When using the 802.11ac operating mode or a similar operating mode of 802.11ac infrastructure, the AP can transmit a signal on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel can have a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz bandwidth) or a dynamically defined width through signaling. The primary channel can be the BSS's operating channel and can be used by STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, carrier-sensing multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) can be implemented, for example, in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, STAs (e.g., each STA), including the AP, can sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed and / or determined / detected as being occupied by a particular STA, that specific STA can back off. An STA (e.g., only one station) can transmit at any given time on a given BSS.

[061] High-capacity processing (HT) STAs can use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, by combining the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or non-adjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[062] Very high processing capacity (VHT) STAs can support channels 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz and / or 160 MHz wide. The 40 MHz and / or 80 MHz channels can be formed by combining 20 MHz channels. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 27 / 80 19 / 50 contiguous. A 160 MHz channel can be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which can be called an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, can be passed through a segment analyzer that can split the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing and time-domain processing can be performed, for example, on each stream separately. The streams can be mapped to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data can be transmitted by a transmit STA. At the receiver of the receive STA, the operation described above for the 80+80 configuration can be reversed, and the combined data can be sent to the medium access control (MAC).

[063] Sub-1 GHz operating modes are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. Channel operating bandwidths and carriers are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah compared to those used in 802.11n and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports bandwidths of 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz in the TV white space spectrum (TVWS), and 802.11ah supports bandwidths of 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz using the non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah can support meter-type control / machine-type communications, such as MTC (MTC) devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities that include support (e.g., support only for) certain bandwidths and / or limited bandwidths. MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a certain limit (e.g., to maintain a long battery life).

[064] WLAN systems, which can support multiple channels and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11af, and 802.11ah, include a channel that can be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have, for example, a bandwidth equal to the highest commonly supported operational bandwidth. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 28 / 80 20 / 50 across all STAs in the BSS. The primary channel bandwidth can be defined and / or limited by an STA, among all STAs operating in a BSS, that supports the lowest bandwidth operating mode. In the 802.11ah example, the primary channel might be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC-type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sense and / or network allocation vector (NAV) settings may depend on the primary channel state. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to the transmission of an STA (which only supports a 1 MHz operating mode) to the AP, all available frequency bands can be considered occupied even if most frequency bands remain idle and could be available.

[065] In the United States, the available frequency bands that can be used by 802.11ah range from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is from 6 MHz to 26 MHz, depending on the country code.

[066] Figure 1D is a system diagram illustrating RAN 113 and CN 115, according to one embodiment. As noted above, RAN 113 may employ NR radio technology to communicate with WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c via air interface 116. RAN 113 may also be in communication with CN 115.

[067] RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, although it is recognized that RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs, remaining consistent with a modality. gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may include one or more transceivers for communication with WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c via air interface 116. In some modality, gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 102b may use beamforming to transmit. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 29 / 80 21 / 50 signals to and / or receive signals from gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, gNB 180a, for example, can use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals and / or receive wireless signals from WTRU 102a. In one embodiment, gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c can implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, gNB 180a can transmit multi-component carriers to WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be in the unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be in the licensed spectrum. In one embodiment, gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c can implement coordinated multipoint (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a can receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180C).

[068] WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with scalable numerology. For example, OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing can vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using scalable time intervals (TTIs) of various lengths (e.g., containing a variable number of OFDM symbols and / or variable absolute time durations).

[069] gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c can be configured to communicate with WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c in a standalone and / or non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c can communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c can use one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c as a mobility docking point. In a standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c can communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, and 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 30 / 80 22 / 50 102c can communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to other RANs such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160C. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in a substantially simultaneous manner. In the non-autonomous configuration, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c can serve as a mobility anchor for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c can provide additional coverage and / or processing capacity for maintaining the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[070] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c can be associated with a specific cell (not shown) and can be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, connection transfer decisions, user scheduling in UL and / or DL, network slicing support, dual connectivity, interoperability between NR and E-UTRA, user plane data routing to the user plane function (UPF) 184a, 184b, control plane information routing to the access and mobility management (AMF) function 182a, 182b, and similar. As shown in Figure 1D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c can communicate with each other via an Xn interface.

[071] The CN 115 shown in Figure 1D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one session management function (SMF) 183a, 183b and possibly a data network (DN) 185a, 185b. Although each of the aforementioned elements is shown as part of the CN 115, it will be recognized that any of these elements may belong to, and / or be operated by, an entity other than the CN operator.

[072] AMF 182a, 182b can be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in RAN 113 via an N2 interface and can serve as a control node. For example, AMF 182a, 182b can be responsible for authenticating users of WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network splitting (e.g., Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 31 / 80 23 / 50 handling different PDU sessions with different requirements), selection of a specific SMF 183a, 183b, log area management, no-access stratum signaling interruption (NAS), mobility management and the like. Network slicing can be used by AMF 182a, 182b to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services used by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices can be established for different use cases such as services that rely on ultra-reliable low-latency access (URLLC), services that rely on mass mobile broadband access (eMBB), services for machine-type communication access (MTC) and / or similar. The AMF 162 can provide a control plane function to switch between RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as Wi-Fi.

[073] SMF 183a, 183b can be connected to AMF 182a, 182b on CN 115 via an N11 interface. SMF 183a, 183b can also be connected to UPF 184a, 184b on CN 115 via an N4 interface. SMF 183a, 183b can select and control UPF 184a, 184b and configure traffic routing through UPF 184a, 184b. SMF 183a and 183b can perform other functions such as managing and allocating WTR|U IP addresses, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy and QoS enforcement, providing downlink data notifications, and similar functions. A PDU session type can be IP-based, non-IP-based, Ethernet-based, and similar.

[074] UPF 184a, 184b can be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in RAN 113, via an N3 interface, which can provide WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, for example, in order to facilitate communications between WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. UPF 184 and 184b can perform other functions, such as packet routing and forwarding, application of user plane policies, Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 32 / 80 24 / 50 support for PDU sessions with multiple bases, user plane QoS handling, temporary DL packet storage, mobility anchoring provision, and similar features.

[075] CN 115 can facilitate communications with other networks. For example, CN 115 can include, or communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between CN 115 and PSTN 108. In addition, CN 115 can provide WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to other 112 networks, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c can be connected to a local data network (DN) 185a, 185b via UPF 184a, 184b through interface N3 to UPF 184a, 184b and via an interface N6 between UPF 184a, 184b and DN 185a, 185b.

[076] In view of Figures 1A to 1D and the corresponding description of Figures 1A to 1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described in the present invention in relation to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, base station 114a-b, eNode B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-ab, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b and / or any other devices described herein may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[077] Emulation devices can be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a laboratory environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, one or more emulation devices can perform one or more, or all, of the functions while being wholly or partially implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. One or more emulation devices can perform one or more, or all, of the functions. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 33 / 80 25 / 50 of the functions are temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device can be directly coupled to another device for testing purposes and / or can perform tests using wireless communications over the air.

[078] One or more emulation devices may perform one or more, including all, of the functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, emulation devices may be used in a test scenario in a test laboratory and / or in a wired and / or wireless communication network (e.g., test) to implement the testing of one or more components. One or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuits (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[079] The terms ACR Scenario and ACR Procedure may be used interchangeably as described herein.

[080] A WTRU can be configured to run the application layer to support one or more edge services.

[081] Figure 2 illustrates a system diagram of an example 200 architecture (e.g., high-level architecture) to enable edge applications. One or more components of the architecture are described here.

[082] An Application Client (AC) can be a user application that resides in a WTRU and communicates with an EAS. A WTRU can use one or more (e.g., multiple) ACs simultaneously.

[083] An Edge Application Server (EAS) can be an application server residing on an Edge Data Network (EDN). The EAS can be a software server running on generic hardware located at the edge and / or providing a service to the AC. In the context of a mobility example and / or Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 34 / 80 26 / 50 relocation, the Source EAS (S-EAS) can be an instance of an EAS in an initial location and / or serving the AC (e.g., before mobility / relocation occurs). The Target EAS (T-EAS) can be an instance of an EAS in a destination location and / or serving the AC (e.g., after mobility and / or relocation have occurred). There can be one or more (e.g., multiple) EAS instances per EDN. One or more (e.g., each) EDNs can include a different set of EAS instances of different types (e.g., different EASIDs). An EAS can serve one or more AC instances that may reside in different WTRUs.

[084] An Edge Enabler Client (EEC) can provide edge support for one or more CA instances in the WTRU. There can be one or more EECs per WTRU. One or more (e.g., each) ACs can use (e.g., only) one EEC.

[085] An Edge Enabler Server (EES) can provide one or more supporting functions included by the EAS and / or EEC. In the context of a mobility and / or relocation example, the Source EES (S-EES) can be the EES used before the mobility and / or relocation happens, and / or the Target EES (T-EES) can be the EES used after the mobility / relocation has happened. There can be one or more EES instances per EDN (e.g., or per DNN). There can be one or more (e.g., multiple) EDN instances in the network.

[086] An Edge Configuration Server (ECS) can provide one or more support functions for an EEC and / or EES in order to discover one or more EES instances that provide a certain EAS. There may be one or more ECS for the network.

[087] A Notification Management Client (NMC) may provide one or more support functions for an EEC in order to create a notification channel between the NMC and the Notification Management Server (NMS) to receive one or more notifications from the ECS and / or EES. One or more (e.g., each) EEC may use (e.g., only) one NMC. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 35 / 80 27 / 50

[088] A Notification Management Server (NMS) can provide one or more support functions for an ECS and / or EES in order to send one or more notifications to an EEC via a notification channel created between the NMC and the NMS. There may be one or more NMS for the network.

[089] The systems, methods, and devices described herein can provide continuity of service. One or more continuity of service procedures may be included in the EEL to transfer an application context from an S-EAS to a TEAS. Context transfer may be triggered, for example, by the movement of the WTRU, as well as by one or more events unrelated to mobility (e.g., EAS server maintenance, overload, etc.). Continuity of service can reduce and / or minimize edge service disruption for ACs running on the WTRU.

[090] Service continuity for applications that include context relocation can be specified by the EEL in one or more (e.g., five) different application context relocation (ACR) scenarios. One or more (e.g., each) scenario can include one or more (e.g., four) different phases: detection, decision, execution, and / or post-execution. One or more ACR scenarios can specify one or more different EEL entities (e.g., EEC, EES, EAS) for the detection and / or determination (e.g., decision) phases, and / or one or more different sets of interactions between one or more EEL entities for the execution phase.

[091] Figure 3 provides a high-level overview of an example 300 ACR procedure. A detection entity can monitor the location and / or movement of the WTRU and / or can inform the decision-making entity. The decision-making entity can determine if an ACR is included (e.g., required) and / or can command the execution entity to perform the ACR. The execution entity can execute one or more ACR procedures as described herein (e.g., described in service continuity scenarios) to Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 36 / 80 28 / 50 Transfer the application context from S-EAS to T-EAS. When the ACR execution is complete, for example, ACR cleanup can be performed. For example, in 302, a detection entity (e.g., such as an EEC, an EES, or an EAS) can detect that ACR may be needed. The detection entity can inform one or more decision-making entities (e.g., such as an EEC, an EES, or an EAS) that ACR is needed. In 304, the decision-making entity can decide whether ACR is needed, for example, based on being informed by a detection entity. In 306, executing entities (e.g., such as an EEC, an EES, or an EAS) can execute ACR. In 308, the executing entity can perform one or more post-ACR actions, as described here.

[092] The systems, methods, and devices described herein may be related to the user session. A user session may be represented by a logical connection between a WTRU AC and an application server (AS) of an edge node (e.g., as an EAS) and / or an AS of a cloud node (e.g., as a CAS). Application data may be exchanged between the AC and the AS over the logical connection. A WTRU AC and / or EEC may use one or more Edge Enablement Layer (EEL) services to discover the EDN(s) where edge services are available, may establish connectivity to the EDN(s), may discover one or more EAS instances within an EDN, may select one or more EAS instances, and / or may configure one or more EEL parameters (e.g., ACR, traffic influence, etc.) related to the user session between the AC and the EAS(s). The AC can connect to and / or begin exchanging user application data with the selected EAS.

[093] An edge enablement service layer can support application context relocation between one or more edge application servers. One or more system enhancements can provide application service in one or more areas where edge coverage is not available. One or more enhancements can include support for continuity of service for ACs. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 37 / 80 29 / 50 while switching between edge and cloud application servers (CAS).

[094] To migrate an application context from an EAS to a CAS, the EEC and / or S-EES may know if the CAS is supported and / or the EEC and / or S-EES may have CAS information (e.g., IP address, FQDN, URI, DN information) to perform the migration. For one or more ACR scenarios where the AC and / or S-EAS select the target application server, the AC and / or S-EAS may have CAS capability and / or pre-configured information. The AC and / or S-EAS may use the pre-configured CAS information when initiating the ACR to the CAS. For one or more ACR scenarios where the EEC and / or S-EES select the target application server, the EEC and / or S-EAS may not have CAS capabilities or CAS information to initiate the ACR to CAS. For example, one or more (e.g., certain) ACR procedures may not support continuity of service from an EAS to a CAS.The EEC and / or S-EES may not have CAS capabilities or CAS information to select ACR scenarios according to CAS requirements and / or initiate ACR for CAS.

[095] Application context migration to a CAS may be triggered when there is no edge coverage (e.g., EAS discovery may not find available EES and / or EAS). Migration to CAS may not be permitted in some applications (e.g., as edge-native applications). Additionally or alternatively, migration to CAS may be triggered based on one or more factors (e.g., service agreements, cost, etc.) that differ from existing ACR detection and / or decision criteria. The EEL may not be aware of one or more of these application layer restrictions for application context migration between edge and cloud. For example, one or more edge-cloud ACR procedures may not be aware of restrictions related to migrating an edge application context to the cloud and / or may not detect if such restrictions are present.

[096] One or more system procedures for migrating the edge application context from one EAS to a second EAS may not be applied to Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 38 / 80 30 / 50 Migrate the edge application context from an EAS to a CAS. One or more system procedures may not be sufficient because the system procedure(s) do not allow the detection and / or discovery of one or more available cloud servers and / or may not allow the detection of one or more events that would trigger the migration to a cloud server.

[097] The systems, methods, and devices described herein relate to supporting application context migration between edge and cloud application servers (e.g., one or more enhancements to EEL 3GPP). A cloud application server (CAS) may refer to an application server deployed on a data network (DN) that is different from an edge data network (EDN) where edge application servers (EAS) are deployed. Context migration between a CAS and an EAS may involve migrating from a first DN to a second DN. Provision of application layer capabilities, requirements, and / or service continuity information on the EEC and / or EES may be provided.The EEC and / or EES can use the provisioned information to select ACR scenarios for a user session and / or to configure one or more ACR detection triggers and / or ACR execution behavior to enable application context migration between the edge and one or more cloud application servers.

[098] Systems, methods, and devices are described here with respect to cloud relocation information (CRI). One or more EEL service continuity capabilities, requirements, and / or information may be provided by the application layer, for example, to enable ACR scenario selection and / or configuration for context migration from an EAS to a CAS. ACR configuration information (ACI) may be derived from the CRI. ACI may be used to configure ACR detection and / or execution for migration from an EAS to a CAS.

[099] Systems, methods, and devices can be configured with respect to the selection of one or more Application Context Relocation procedures. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 39 / 80 31 / 50 (ACR) to the cloud. One or more issues may arise whereby one or more Edge Enablement Layer (EEL) participants (e.g., Edge Enabler Client (EEC), Edge Enabler Server (EES), Edge Application Server (EAS), and / or Edge Configuration Server (ECS)) may not have the appropriate (e.g., necessary) information to determine whether Application Context Relocation (ACR) to the cloud is possible and / or how ACR can be performed. When transitioning to a target Edge Data Network (EDN), for example, this information may be provided by one or more EEL participants.When transitioning to the cloud, information may be missing (e.g., when an application context can be transferred to the cloud, how one or more available cloud application servers are discovered, under what circumstances an ACR can be performed to the cloud, which ACR procedure(s) can be used to support the ACR to the cloud, etc.). The systems, methods, and devices described herein relate to the provision of relocation information to the cloud (CRI) in one or more EEL participants and / or to the derivation and / or determination (e.g., decision) of “ACR configuration”.

[0100] A WTRU (e.g., an EEC) can determine an ACR configuration for cloud relocation. The WTRU can determine the Cloud Relocation Information (CRI). The CRI can be pre-configured in the EEC and / or provided by an AC. The CRI can indicate an AC's cloud migration capability, information about one or more cloud servers, one or more conditions for cloud relocation, and / or configuration information for one or more ACR procedures. Provided that the cloud migration capability indicated by the CRI indicates that the AC is capable of migrating to a cloud application server, the WTRU can perform one or more of the following actions. The WTRU can send a service provision request to an ECS. The service provision request can include the CRI, for example, the CRI Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 40 / 80 32 / 50 determined (e.g., if it was obtained by the EEC). The WTRU may receive a service provision response from the ECS. The service provision response may include one or more EES instances capable of supporting relocation to the cloud. The WTRU may send an EAS discovery request to an EES. The EAS discovery request may include the determined CRI (e.g., if it was obtained by the EEC). The WTRU may receive an EAS discovery response from the EES. The EAS discovery response may include one or more EAS instances that are capable of supporting relocation to the cloud. The EAS discovery response may include the determined CRI (e.g., if it was obtained by the EES). For example, the EAS discovery response may include the determined CRI if the EEC does not have the CRI pre-provisioned or has not received the CRI from the AC (e.g., the EEC may receive the CRI from the EES in the EAS discovery procedure).

[0101] WTRU may select an EAS instance and / or one or more ACR scenarios, for example, based on cloud migration capability. WTRU may determine the ACR Configuration Information (ACI) based on one or more Application Client (AC) ACR capabilities, one or more EEC ACR capabilities, one or more EES ACR capabilities, one or more EAS ACR capabilities, and / or the determined CRI. WTRU may send an EAS information provision request to EES. The EAS information provision request may include the selected EAS instance, one or more ACR scenarios, and / or the determined ACI. WTRU may receive an EAS information provision response from EES. The EAS information provision response may include an indication that the selected EAS instance, one or more ACR scenarios, and / or the determined ACI have been accepted. WTRU can initiate ACR detection processing based on the determined ACI.

[0102] Alternatively, the EES may receive the CRI from the EAS. The EES may provide the CRI to the EEC (for example, as shown in FIG. 5). When the EES receives the CRI from the EAS, the EEC may delegate the scenario selection to Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 41 / 80 33 / 50 ACR for the EES. For example, the EES can determine the ACI when the EEC delegates the ACR scenario selection to the EES.

[0103] One or more EEL service continuity capabilities may include an indication that service continuity is required, a list of supported ACR scenarios, and / or a list of preferred ACR scenarios. EEL service continuity capabilities may be provided by the AC, EAS, EEC, and / or EES. Service continuity capabilities may be used during ACR scenario selection to determine one or more ACR procedures that can be used for service continuity of a user session between an AC and an EAS.

[0104] To enable application context migration between the edge and one or more cloud application servers, one or more enhancements to service continuity capabilities, and / or one or more enhancements to one or more ACR management procedures (e.g., ACR scenario selection and / or ACR execution) may be provided.

[0105] The service continuity capability(s) provided by the application layer may be enhanced with cloud relocation information (CRI). CRI may include CAS information for CAS discovery and / or user session establishment with a CAS (e.g., an IP address, FQDN, URI, DNN, DNAI, SNSSAI to reach a cloud application server). Additionally or alternatively, CRI may include one or more application layer capabilities and / or requirements for application context migration between the edge and one or more cloud application servers.For example, the CRI might include whether an application can be migrated to the cloud, one or more Key Performance Indicator (KPI) requirements for cloud migration, one or more service areas for cloud migration, one or more edge service SLA limits (e.g., edge usage limits) for cloud migration, a timeframe for cloud migration, and a cloud service provider. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 42 / 80 34 / 50 supported, a supported application service provider, a CAS provisioning modality to specify how the EEL can obtain CAS information (e.g., provided by the application layer and / or determined by the EEL), and / or one or more other requirements.

[0106] CAS information can be provisioned in the EEL to inform the EEC and / or EES about CAS connectivity. CAS information can be used in the EEL to inform the EEC and / or EES how to obtain additional CAS information, for example, the CAS endpoint (e.g., IP address, FQDN, URI, etc.).

[0107] One or more CRI resources and / or requirements may be provisioned in the EEL to inform the EEC and / or EES about the application layer resources and / or requirements for application context migration between the edge and one or more cloud application servers. One or more CRI resources and / or requirements may be used by the EEC and / or EES to select one or more ACR scenarios compatible with cloud migration. One or more CRI capabilities and / or requirements may be used by the EEC and / or EES to derive and / or configure ACR detection and / or one or more ACR enforcement rules in the EEC, EES, and / or EAS.

[0108] The EEC and / or EES can use the provisioned CRI to derive ACR configuration information (ACI). The ACI can include a configuration for the selected ACR scenario(s). The configuration can include an ACR detection configuration to trigger cloud migration, an ACR execution configuration, and / or (e.g., any) CRI information. The ACR detection configuration can include ACR detection priority and / or detection trigger criteria, such as edge service KPI limits, SLA limits (e.g., edge usage limits), time, and / or edge and / or cloud service areas. The ACR execution configuration can include one or more actions to be taken when no T-EAS is available during ACR, one or more actions Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 43 / 80 35 / 50 to be taken when ACR is triggered by ACR detection configuration criteria (e.g., ignore discovered EAS), and / or one or more ACR procedures to be omitted during cloud migration.

[0109] ACI can be used to configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution behavior in EEC, EES, and / or EAS. For example, EEC, EES, and / or EAS can define one or more ACR detection triggers and / or execution rules to identify and / or perform migration to a CAS.

[0110] An ACR can be selected and / or configured for the cloud. The EEC can receive the CRI from the AC. The EEC can use the CRI for ACR scenario selection. The EEC can derive and / or distribute the ACI to the EES (e.g., and / or indirectly to the EAS) for ACR scenario configuration. When the EEC selects ACR scenarios for a user session and / or has received the CRI from the AC, the EEC can use the CRI to determine the ACI for the selected ACR scenario(s) and / or can provide the determined ACI to the selected EES and / or EAS.

[0111] Figure 4 illustrates an example EEC 400-provisioned ACR configuration procedure when the CRI is provided by an AC 402. As a precondition, the AC 402 may have created and / or received the CRI. For example, the CRI may be pre-provisioned on the AC 402 and / or received from an application server. The CRI may include CAS information, application context cloud migration capability, one or more conditions for cloud relocation, a configuration for ACR procedures, application layer capabilities associated with cloud ACR, and / or application layer requirements associated with cloud ACR.

[0112] In 420, AC 402 can register with EEC 404, for example, using the EDGE-5 interface. AC 402 can include the CRI in the registration request to inform EEC 404 about the capabilities and / or requirements of the application layer for ACR for the cloud, and / or about CAS information. For example, EEC 404 can obtain, in 420, the CRI associated with AC 402. EEC 404 can determine if a Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, page 44 / 80 The 36 / 50 user session supports ACR for a CAS based on the CRI. Alternatively, the AC 402 can receive the CRI from an application server (AS). The AS could be running in the cloud, for example. The interaction between the AC 402 and the AS can occur at the application layer.

[0113] In 422, EEC 404 can perform one or more service provisioning procedures with ECS 406 to obtain EDN configuration information and / or a list of available EESs. EEC 404 can send a service provisioning request to ECS 406. The service provisioning request can include the CRI, for example, to indicate to ECS 406 that EEC 404 wants to discover (e.g., only) EES(es) that support ACR-compliant ACR scenarios for a CAS. ECS 406 can send a service provisioning response to EEC 404. Upon receiving the service provisioning response, EEC 404 can use the capabilities and / or requirements of the CRI to select an EES (e.g., such as EES 408) that supports ACR scenarios between edge and cloud application servers. For example, if the CRI indicates a desire to support ACR for CAS, EEC 404 can select an EES (for example, EES 408) that supports ACR-compatible scenarios for a CAS.For example, if the CRI indicates a desire for application layer CAS resolution in AC 402, EEC 404 can select an EES (for example, EES 408) that supports ACR scenarios where EEC 404 and / or AC 402 determine the target EAS.

[0114] In 424, EEC 404 may perform one or more EAS discovery procedures for a user session, for example, to obtain a list of one or more available EAS instances in the selected EES 408. The EAS discovery request may include CRI. EES 408 may consider the CRI as a discovery filter to provide one or more EAS instances that meet the capabilities and / or requirements of the CRI in the EAS discovery response.

[0115] In 426, upon receiving the EAS discovery response, for example, EEC 404 can select the EAS instance(s) from the list of EAS instances. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 45 / 80 37 / 50 findings provided in the response. EEC 404 may select, from 426, (e.g., based on the cloud migration capabilities of AC 402 and / or CRI) one or more ACR scenarios to be used to provide service continuity for the user session. For example, the cloud migration capabilities of AC 402, EEC 404, selected EES 408, and / or selected EAS 410 may be considered when selecting ACR scenarios. For example, EEC 404 may select, from 426, one or more ACR scenarios for the user session based on the CRI. EEC 404 may consider the capabilities and / or requirements of the CRI for EAS selection and / or ACR scenario selection to select EAS (e.g., such as EAS 410) and / or ACR scenarios that meet the CRI requirements. EEC 404 can determine, based on the EAS discovery performed in 424, that there are no target EAS (T-EAS) instances available for the user session.For example, if the CRI indicates a desire to support application context migration to a CAS and / or CAS resolution in the EAS (e.g., such as EAS 410), the EEC 404 can select one or more ACR scenarios where the EAS 408 and / or EAS (e.g., such as EAS 410) determines the target EAS.

[0116] EEC 404 can derive an ACI for the selected ACR scenario(s) based on the capabilities and / or requirements of the CRI provided with one or more (e.g., each) selected EAS instance. The ACI can include ACR detection configuration and / or ACR execution for EEC 404, EES 408, and / or EAS (e.g., as EAS 410). For example, if the CRI capabilities and / or requirements indicate that relocation to the cloud is included in a specific service area, EEC 404 can include in the ACI one or more (e.g., several) ACR detection triggers based on the WTRU location and / or a desire to monitor the WTRU location. For example, if the CRI capabilities and / or requirements indicate CAS resolution in AC 402, EEC 404 may include in the ACI one or more (e.g., several) ACR execution rules to resolve CAS in AC 402 when no T-EAS is discovered and / or available. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 46 / 80 38 / 50

[0117] In 428, EEC 404 can send an EAS information provision request to EES 408. The EAS information provision request can include the ACI associated with the CRI (e.g., derived from the CRI capabilities and / or requirements). EES 408 can use the ACI provided in the EAS information provision request to determine whether ACR detection can be performed in EES 408 and / or to configure ACR processing according to the provided ACI.

[0118] If the EAS selection, in 426, selects one or more (e.g., multiple) EAS instances based on the AC requirement(s), for example, EEC 404 can provision ACI in EES 408 and / or EAS (e.g., as EAS 410) by sending one or more (e.g., multiple) EAS information provisioning requests to the same and / or to one or more different EESs, and / or by sending a single EAS information provisioning request including ACI to one or more (e.g., multiple) user sessions.

[0119] In 430, the EES 408 can send an ACR management event to the selected EAS 410. The ACR management event can include the ACI derived from the CRI capabilities and / or requirements. The EAS 410 can use the ACI provided in the ACR management event to determine if ACR detection can be performed on the EAS 410 and / or to configure ACR processing according to the provided ACI.

[0120] In 432, EES 408 can send an EAS information provision response to EEC 404. For example, EEC 404 can receive the EAS information provision response from EES 408. The EAS information provision response can include a status of the EAS provision request (for example, a result indicating whether the ACI was provisioned correctly).

[0121] In 434A, EEC 404 can configure ACR detection and ACR execution according to the selected ACR scenario(s) and / or ACI. EEC 404 can configure ACR detection and ACR execution at any time after receiving the EAS information provision response from EES 408. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 47 / 80 39 / 50

[0122] In 434B, EES 408 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution according to one or more selected ACR scenarios, as described herein and / or the ACI. EES 408 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution (e.g., at any time) after sending the EAS information provision response to EEC 404.

[0123] In 434C, the EAS 410 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution according to the selected ACR scenario(s), as described herein, and / or the ACI. The EAS 410 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution (e.g., at any time) after receiving the ACR management event from the EAS 408.

[0124] An EEC can select one or more ACR scenarios using the CRI provided by an EAS. If the EEC selects the ACR scenario(s) for a user session and / or the EAS provides the CRI, the EEC can use the CRI to derive the ACI in the selection of ACR scenario(s), and / or can provision the ACI in the EES, and / or in the selected EAS instance(s) to configure the ACR procedures performed in the EES and / or EAS.

[0125] Figure 5 describes an example procedure 500 for EEC-selected ACR scenario(s) with the CRI provided by an EAS 508. As a precondition for the example procedure for EEC-selected ACR scenarios with the CRI provided by an EAS 508, the EAS 508 may have created and / or obtained the CRI. For example, the CRI may be pre-provisioned in the EAS 508 and / or obtained from an application server.

[0126] In 520, EAS 508 can register with EES 506. EAS 508 can include the CRI in a registration request to inform EES 506 about one or more application layer capabilities and / or one or more requirements for application context migration to the cloud, and / or to provide CAS information to EEL.

[0127] In 522, EEC 502 can perform one or more procedures of Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 48 / 80 40 / 50 service provision with ECS 504, for example, to obtain EDN configuration information and / or a list of one or more available EES instances.

[0128] In 524, EEC 502 can perform one or more EAS discovery procedures, for example, to obtain a list of one or more available EAS instances in the selected EES 506. For example, EEC 502 can send, in 524, an EAS discovery request to EES 506.

[0129] In 526, EES 506 can send an EAS discovery response to EEC 502. The EAS discovery response can include a list of one or more discovered EAS instances and / or can include the CRI for one or more (e.g., each) EAS instance.

[0130] In 528, upon receiving the EAS discovery response, for example, EEC 502 may select one or more EAS instances and / or one or more ACR scenarios to be used for user session continuity of service. EEC 502 may consider one or more CRI capabilities and / or one or more requirements provided with one or more (e.g., each) EAS instances to select one or more EAS instances and / or one or more ACR scenarios that support ACR between edge and cloud application servers. For example, if the CRI indicates a desire to support application context migration to a CAS and / or CAS resolution in the AC, EEC 502 may select, in 528, one or more ACR scenarios where EEC 502 and / or AC determine the T-EAS.

[0131] EEC 502 can derive an ACI for the selected ACR scenario(s) based on one or more capabilities and / or one or more CRI requirements provided with one or more (e.g., each) selected EAS instances. The ACI can include ACR detection configuration and / or ACR execution for EEC 502, EES 506, and / or EAS 508. For example, if one or more capabilities and / or one or more CRI requirements indicate that relocation to the cloud is necessary within a specific service area, EEC 502 can include in the ACI one or more (e.g., several) ACR detection triggers based on the Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 49 / 80 41 / 50 WTRU location. For example, if one or more capabilities and / or one or more CRI requirements indicate that relocation to the cloud is necessary within a specific service area, EEC 502 may include in the ACI a desire to monitor the WTRU location. For example, if one or more capabilities and CRI requirements indicate CAS resolution at the AC, EEC 502 may include in the ACI one or more (e.g., several) ACR execution rules to resolve CAS at the AC when no T-EAS is discovered and / or available.

[0132] EEC 502 can provision ACI in EES and / or EAS to configure ACR detection and / or execution. In 530, EEC 502 can send an EAS information provisioning request (e.g., including ACI) to EES 506. In 532, EES 506 can send an ACR Management Event (e.g., including ACI) to EAS 508. In 534, EES 506 can send an EAS information provisioning response to EEC 502.

[0133] In 536A, EEC 502 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution according to the selected ACR scenario(s), as described herein, and / or the ACI. EEC 502 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution (e.g., at any time) after receiving the EAS information provision response from EES 506.

[0134] In 536B, EES 506 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution according to one or more selected ACR scenarios, as described herein and / or the ACI. EES 506 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution (e.g., at any time) after sending the EAS information provision response to EEC 502.

[0135] In 536C, the EAS 508 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution according to the selected ACR scenario(s), as described herein and / or the ACI. The EAS 508 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution (e.g., at any time) after receiving the ACR management event from the EAS 506. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 50 / 80 42 / 50

[0136] An EES can be configured to select one or more ACR scenarios using the CRI provided by an EAS. The EES can receive the CRI from an EAS. The EES can use the CRI for ACR scenario selection. The EES can derive and / or distribute the ACI to the EEC and / or EAS for ACR scenario configuration.

[0137] If the EES selects one or more ACR scenarios for a user session and / or the EAS provides the CRI, the EES can use the CRI to derive an ACI in one or more selections of ACR scenarios and / or can provision the ACI in the EEC and / or in one or more selected EAS instances to configure the ACR procedure performed in the EEC and / or EAS.

[0138] Figure 6 illustrates an example procedure 600 for ACR scenario(s) selected by EES with the CRI provided by an EAS 608. As a precondition, for example, the EAS 608 may have created and / or obtained the CRI. For example, the CRI may be pre-provisioned in the EAS 608 and / or obtained from an application server.

[0139] In 620, EAS 608 can register with EES 606. EAS 608 can include the CRI in the registration request to inform EES 606 about one or more application layer capabilities and / or requirements for application context migration to the cloud, and / or to provide CAS information to EEL.

[0140] In 622, EEC 602 can perform one or more service provisioning procedures with ECS 604, for example, to obtain EDN configuration information and a list of one or more available EES instances.

[0141] In 624, EEC 602 can perform one or more EAS discovery procedures with the selected EES 606 to obtain a list of one or more available EAS instances. Upon receiving the EAS discovery response, for example, EEC 602 can select one or more EAS instances for the user session.

[0142] In 626, EEC 602 can send an EAS information provision request to EES 606. The EAS information provision request can indicate that EES 606 wants to select one or more EAS instances (by Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 51 / 80 43 / 50 example, if not selected as described here) and / or you can select one or more ACR scenarios for the user session.

[0143] In 628, upon receiving the request for EAS information provision, for example, EES 606 may select one or more EAS instances and / or one or more ACR scenarios to be used for user session continuity of service. EES 606 may consider one or more CRI capabilities and / or requirements obtained during EAS registration to select one or more EAS instances and / or one or more ACR scenarios that support ACR between edge application servers and one or more cloud application servers. For example, if the CRI indicates a desire to support application context migration to a CAS and / or CAS resolution in the AC, EES 606 may select, in 628, one or more ACR scenarios where EEC 602 and / or AC determine the target EAS.

[0144] EES 606 can derive an ACI for the selected ACR scenario(s) based on one or more CRI capabilities and / or requirements provided with each selected EAS instance. The ACI can include ACR detection configuration and / or ACR execution for EEC 602, EES 606, and / or EAS 608. For example, if one or more CRI capabilities and / or requirements indicate that relocation to the CAS is included in a specific service area, EEC 602 can include in the ACI one or more (e.g., several) ACR detection triggers based on the WTRU location and / or a desire to monitor the WTRU location. For example, if one or more CRI capabilities and / or requirements indicate CAS resolution at the AC, EEC 602 may include in the ACI one or more (e.g., several) ACR execution rules to resolve CAS at the AC when no T-EAS is discovered and / or available.

[0145] In 630, EES 606 can send an ACR management event to the selected EAS 608. The ACR management event can include the ACI to inform EAS 608 how to configure ACR processing accordingly. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 52 / 80 44 / 50 with the ACI provided.

[0146] In 632, EES 606 can send an EAS information provision response to EEC 602. The EAS information provision response can include the ACI to inform EEC 602 how to configure ACR processing according to the provided ACI.

[0147] In 634A, EEC 602 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution according to one or more selected ACR scenarios, as described herein and / or the ACI. EEC 602 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution (e.g., at any time) after receiving the EAS information provision response from EES 606.

[0148] In 634B, EES 606 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution according to one or more selected ACR scenarios, as described herein and / or the ACI. EES 606 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution (e.g., at any time) after sending the EAS information provision response to EEC 602.

[0149] In 634C, the EAS 608 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution according to one or more selected ACR scenarios, as described herein and / or the ACI. The EAS 608 can configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution (e.g., at any time) after receiving the ACR management event from the EAS 606.

[0150] ACR can be configured, detected, and / or executed for the cloud. One or more ACR procedures may expect EEL support on (e.g., both) the source and / or target Edge Data Network. Therefore, supporting ACR for a cloud with insufficient EEL support (e.g., none) may involve configuring ACR procedures that alters the operation of one or more ACR procedures for cloud migration. The ACR configuration can be distributed to one or more ACR detection entities and / or one or more ACR execution entities (e.g., EEC, EES, EAS, etc.). The configuration of Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 53 / 80 45 / 50 ACR can be used in one or more ACR detection entities and / or in one or more execution entities.

[0151] A WTRU (e.g., as an EEC) may perform one or more of the following actions to configure and / or execute an ACR for relocation to the cloud. The WTRU may select one or more ACR scenarios to achieve service continuity for a WTRU AC and / or an EAS that has been discovered. The ACR scenario selection may be based on ACI information and / or service continuity capabilities of the AC, EEC, EES, and / or EAS. A WTRU may send an EAS information provisioning request to the EES. The EAS information provisioning request may indicate the selected ACR scenarios and / or provide the ACI information. The WTRU may receive an EAS information provisioning response indicating that the provisioned information has been accepted by the EES.Provided that the selected ACR scenario requires ACR detection in the EEC and / or that the ACI indicates a capability to perform ACR with the cloud, WTRU may include information about cloud servers and / or may include one or more conditions (e.g., ACR detection conditions) for cloud migration. WTRU may initiate ACR detection in the EEC. The detection condition(s) may include detecting that an ACR is required based on one or more conditions and / or triggers provided in the ACI. Provided that an ACR condition is detected, WTRU may assess whether an ACR to the cloud is required. For example, WTRU may detect if a target EAS is available and / or assess one or more cloud migration rules provided in the ACI.

[0152] When an ACR need has been detected, for example, WTRU can determine if an ACR to the cloud is needed based on ACI (e.g., if T-EAS is not available and / or if one or more other cloud migration rules have been triggered). WTRU can send an ACR request to EES indicating that a cloud migration is needed (e.g., if one of the ACR conditions is met and / or if one or more of the triggers Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 54 / 80 46 / 50 are received or identified). When a cloud migration rule is triggered and / or an ACR condition is met, WTRU can send an ACR request to EES. The ACR request may indicate that a cloud migration is required. Additionally or alternatively, the selected ACR scenario may require ACR detection in EES and / or EAS.

[0153] The EEC, EES, and / or EAS can use ACI for ACR scenario configuration. ACI can be used during ACR detection and / or ACR execution to enable application context migration between edge and cloud application servers. A WTRU can perform ACR detection and / or execution using ACI. After ACI provisioning, for example, the EEC, EES, and / or EAS may have sufficient information to configure ACR detection triggers to initiate ACR to the cloud; the EEC, EES, and EAS also have sufficient information to determine the necessary actions during ACR execution to migrate an application context between edge and cloud application servers.

[0154] Figure 7 illustrates an example of ACR detection, ACR execution, and / or ACR scenario reselection 700 using ACI. For example, one or more responsibilities can be distributed between the application layer 702 and the EEC, EES, and / or EAS 704 for configuration, detection, and / or execution of ACR for the cloud, and / or ACR scenario reselection using ACI.

[0155] In 720, application layer 702 may have provisioned the CRI in the EEC and / or EES. The CRI may be associated with an application context. Alternatively, the CRI may have been pre-provisioned in 720 in the EEC and / or EAS. For example, the EEC may obtain the CRI associated with an application context. The EEC and / or EAS may have selected an EAS and / or one or more ACR scenarios for a user session. The EEC and / or EAS may have derived an ACI from the CRI and / or may have distributed the ACI to one or more ACR detection entities (e.g., EEC, EES, and / or EAS) and / or ACR execution entities (e.g., EEC, EES, and / or EAS). Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 55 / 80 47 / 50

[0156] In 722, one or more ACR 704 detection entities may receive the ACI from the EEC and / or EES. The ACI may include the CRI indicating CAS information, application layer capabilities, and / or application layer requirements. CAS information may include an IP address, FQDN, URI, DNN, DNAI, and / or SNSSAI to reach the CAS. In 724, one or more ACR 704 detection entities may configure ACR detection and / or ACR execution rules using the ACI. One or more ACR 704 detection entities (e.g., EEC, EES, and / or EAS) may determine whether the user session supports ACR for a CAS using the ACI. The one or more configured detection triggers may include triggers from the ACR detection criteria in the ACI.For example, ACR detection criteria may require the EEC and / or EES to monitor the WTRU location and / or trigger application context migration to a CAS if the WTRU moves to a location where CAS connectivity is preferred and / or where edge connectivity is not permitted for the application. For example, detection criteria may require one or more ACR detection entities to trigger application context migration to a CAS based on one or more SLA thresholds such as edge service KPIs and / or edge usage limits being reached.

[0157] In 726, one or more ACR 704 detection entities may detect a desire for ACR according to the ACI detection triggers configured for ACR with the cloud, and / or may determine to proceed with the execution of ACR. For example, one or more ACR 704 detection entities may determine that one or more of the ACI detection triggers may be activated. For example, when a change in the location of the WTRU (e.g., the EEC) may trigger the need to change EAS.

[0158] In 728, one or more ACR executing entities may perform one or more EAS discovery procedures and / or may not find an available T-EAS instance for the user session. For example, in 728, a WTRU (e.g., the EEC) may perform a discovery procedure of Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 56 / 80 48 / 50 EAS for a user session. For example, WTRU might move to a location where there is no target EDN, EES, and / or EAS that meets the user session requirements.

[0159] If ACR was triggered using ACI's ACR detection criteria, for example, the ACI ACR execution configuration may require that the EAS discovery procedure be ignored (e.g., completely) and / or that the T-EAS obtained from the EAS discovery be ignored. For example, if the ACI ACR detection configuration indicates that a relocation to the cloud is required within a designated service area, for example, a WTRU entering this service area may trigger ACR execution for the user session, and / or the ACI ACR execution configuration may require that the ACR execution entity ignore the T-EAS discovery and / or (e.g., immediately) continue with ACR to the cloud.

[0160] The WTRU (e.g., the EEC) may determine, based on the EAS discovery procedure, that there are no target EAS instances (T-EAS) available for the user session. For example, the WTRU may determine that there are no T-EAS instances available for the user session based on one or more ACR triggers in the ACI or the WTRU moving to a location where no T-EAS instances meet the requirements associated with the user session. If EAS discovery returns no available T-EAS instances and / or if the triggered user session and / or ACR scenario does not support application context migration to a CAS, the ACR scenario execution may be terminated and / or ACR cleanup may begin. One or more ACR execution entities may use the provisioned CRI capabilities to determine whether the user session supports context migration to a CAS.

[0161] In 730, the EEC, EES and / or EAS 704 may obtain one or more CAS details (e.g., CAS IP address, DNN and / or DNAI) to establish connectivity with the CAS. The CAS details may be obtained using ACI. As Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 57 / 80 49 / 50 CAS endpoint information can be included in the ACI, and / or you can include the EEC, EES, and / or EAS to perform an endpoint resolution procedure to obtain the CAS endpoint information. The EEC, EES, and / or EAS can use the ACI's CAS resolution mode to determine whether the CAS endpoint information can be resolved (e.g., respectively) by the EEC, EES, and / or EAS and / or can be resolved by the application layer. When CAS endpoint resolution is performed by the EEC, EES, and / or EAS, for example, the EEC, EES, and / or EAS can use the CAS FQDN and / or URI of the CAS information in the ACI to perform DNS resolution. For example, the EEC can perform DNS resolution to CAS based on the ACI.If CAS endpoint resolution is configured to run at the application layer, for example, EEC, EES, and / or EAS can invoke an endpoint provided by an application that may have subscribed to EEC, EES, and / or EAS to notify the application that CAS resolution is included at the application layer. The notification may include the CAS endpoint information to be resolved, and / or may include (for example, any) ACI information for the user session migrating to the cloud. The application may resolve the CAS endpoint information and / or provide this information to EEC, EES, and / or EAS in the notification response and / or using one or more CRI provisioning procedures. Additionally or alternatively, the application may determine that a different CAS endpoint may be used (for example, instead).

[0162] When the selected target is a CAS, for example, the selection entity (e.g., EEC, EES, and / or EAS) can inform one or more other ACR execution entities about the decision to migrate the application context to a CAS. This can be achieved using one or more (e.g., enhanced) ACR procedures that include a CAS Profile. A CAS Profile can include CAS information and / or can be similar to an EAS Profile with an indication that the profile is for CAS. For example, a CAS Profile can be included in Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 58 / 80 50 / 50 target information notification sent from S-EES to EEC. For example, the CAS Profile can be included in the selected target EAS statement request sent from S-EAS to EES.

[0163] In 732, ACR execution can transfer the user session context between the edge and one or more cloud application servers based on, for example, the ACR execution configuration and / or CAS information available in the ACI. The WTRU (e.g., an application context in the EEC) can establish a connection to the CAS based on the ACI. The WTRU (e.g., the EEC) can initiate the transfer of the user session context from an EAS to a CAS based on the ACI. When the transfer is complete, for example, one or more ACR scenario cleanup procedures can be performed, in 734. During ACR cleanup, the EEC, EES, and / or EAS 704 can determine that one or more (e.g., certain) procedures can be skipped if the ACR target is a CAS (e.g., the CAS Profile can be used to determine that the target is a CAS).

[0164] In 736, the EEC and / or EES may (re)evaluate whether the selected ACR scenarios should be updated. One or more CRI capabilities and / or requirements may be used to determine which one or more ACR scenarios to select. The selected one or more ACR scenarios may change and / or may be provisioned in the EEC, EES, and / or EAS 704. For example, after migrating an application context from an EAS to a CAS, the selected one or more ACR scenarios may be limited to the ACR scenario executed by EEC via T-EES, for example, because this scenario may not have a dependency on an EES that may not be available in a cloud environment. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 59 / 80

Claims

1 / 4 CLAIMS 1. Wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises: a processor configured to: perform a procedure; determine, through a WTRU Edge Enabler Client (EEC), that there is no target Edge Enabler Server (T-EES) available based on the procedure; determine, through the WTRU EEC, perform Application Context Relocation (ACR) to a Cloud Application Server (CAS) based on the ACR for the supported CAS, wherein the EEC has been provisioned with ACR configuration information (ACI), and wherein the ACI comprises CAS information; perform, through the WTRU EEC, Domain Name System (DNS) resolution for the CAS based on the ACR for the supported CAS; and send a notification to a source EES indicating that the ACR for the CAS has been initiated, wherein the notification comprises a CAS address obtained from the CAS's DNS resolution.

2. WTRU, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the procedure comprises a service provisioning procedure.

3. WTRU, according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED in that the processor is configured to determine that there is no T-EES available based on the service provisioning procedure.

4. WTRU, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the notification comprises a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) obtained from the CAS DNS resolution.

5. WTRU, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the notification comprises a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) obtained from the CAS DNS resolution. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 77 / 80 2 / 4 6. WTRU, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the notification comprises a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) associated with a target edge application server (T-EAS).

7. WTRU, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the processor is configured to determine, through the WTRU EEC, that the ACR for the CAS is supported based on CAS information.

8. WTRU, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the processor is configured to perform the procedure based on a change in the location of the WTRU.

9. WTRU, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the processor is configured to establish a connection with the CAS.

10. WTRU, according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the processor is configured to perform DNS resolution for the CAS based on there being no T-EES target available and based on ACR for the CAS being supported.

11. Method implemented by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method CHARACTERIZED by the fact that it comprises: performing a procedure; determining, through a WTRU edge enabler client (EEC), that there is no target edge enabler server (T-EES) available based on the procedure; determining, through the WTRU EEC, performing application context relocation (ACR) to a cloud application server (CAS) based on the ACR for the supported CAS, wherein the EEC has been provisioned with ACR configuration information (ACI), and wherein the ACI comprises CAS information; performing, through the WTRU EEC, domain name system (DNS) resolution for the CAS based on the ACR for the supported CAS; and sending a notification to a source EES indicating that the ACR for the CAS was Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, p. 78 / 80 3 / 4 initiated, where the notification includes a CAS address obtained from the CAS DNS resolution.

12. Method, according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the procedure comprises a service provisioning procedure.

13. Method, according to claim 12, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises: determining that there is no T-EES available based on the service provisioning procedure.

14. Method, according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the notification comprises a Universal Resource Identifier (URI) obtained from the DNS resolution of the CAS.

15. Method, according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the notification comprises a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) obtained from the CAS DNS resolution.

16. Method, according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the notification comprises a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) associated with a target edge application server (T-EAS).

17. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises determining, through the WTRU EEC, that the ACR for the CAS is supported based on CAS information.

18. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises: performing the procedure based on a change in the location of the WTRU.

19. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises: establishing a connection with the CAS.

20. Method according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that it further comprises: Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 79 / 80 4 / 4 performing DNS resolution to CAS based on the absence of a target T-EES and based on the ACR for the CAS being supported. Petition 870250087531, dated 09 / 26 / 2025, pp. 80 / 80

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