Method and apparatus for edge computing services

Abstract

A method and apparatus for edge computing services are provided, and a method for caching data from a service server by an edge data network includes: obtaining information about the location of a terminal from a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, generating movement information of the terminal in an area of ​​interest based on information related to a correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal and a configured area of ​​interest, and caching data from the service server, the data being determined based on the movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest and a configured caching rule.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for edge computing services, such as multi-access edge computing (MEC) services. Background Art

[0002] Recently, edge computing technology for sending data by using an edge server has been discussed. Edge computing technology may include, for example, multi-access edge computing (MEC) or fog computing (FOC). Edge computing technology may refer to a technology for providing data to an electronic device through a separate server (hereinafter referred to as an "edge server" or "MEC server") provided at a location geographically close to the electronic device (e.g., in a base station or near a base station). For example, among at least one application installed in the electronic device, an application requiring low latency can send / receive data through an edge server located at a geographically close location, rather than sending / receiving data through a server located in an external data network (DN) (e.g., the Internet).

[0003] Recently, services using edge computing technology (hereinafter referred to as "MEC-based services" or "MEC services") have been discussed, and research and development of electronic devices have been conducted to support MEC-based services. For example, an application of an electronic device can send / receive edge computing-based data to / from an edge server (or an application of an edge server) at an application layer.

[0004] As research and development for supporting MEC-based services progresses, solutions for shortening the latency of an MEC server providing MEC-based services have been discussed. For example, a method in which an MEC server caches data to be provided from a service server to a terminal has been discussed. Summary of the invention

[0005] Technical Solution

[0006] A method and apparatus for edge computing services are provided, and a method for caching data from a service server by an edge data network includes: obtaining information about the location of a terminal from a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, generating movement information of the terminal in an area of ​​interest based on information related to a correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal and a configured area of ​​interest, and caching data from the service server, the data being determined based on the movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest and a configured caching rule. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0008] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting multi-access edge computing (MEC) based services according to various embodiments;

[0009] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting MEC-based services around a terminal according to various embodiments;

[0010] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting MEC-based services around a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network according to various embodiments;

[0011] Figure 4A is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting MEC-based services around an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0012] Figure 4B is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting MEC-based services according to various embodiments;

[0013] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0014] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for obtaining, by an edge data network, information about a location of a terminal from a 3GPP network according to various embodiments;

[0015] Figure 7 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method of obtaining information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0016] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for triggering a cache service based on movement information of a terminal in an area of ​​interest by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0017] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on caching rules by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0018] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for transmitting data requested by a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0019] Fig.11is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0020] Fig.12 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by an edge enabler server of an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0021] Fig.13 is a diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0022] Fig.14 is a diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0023] Fig.15 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for registering and configuring MEC services by an edge application according to various embodiments;

[0024] Fig.16 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about an event occurring in a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0025] Fig.17 is a diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about an event occurring in a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0026] Fig.18 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server by an edge data network based on radio network information (RNI) associated with a terminal according to various embodiments;

[0027] Fig.19 is a diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on an RNI associated with a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments;

[0028] Fig. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an example edge data network according to various embodiments; and

[0029] Fig.21 is a block diagram illustrating an example terminal according to various embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and apparatus for edge computing services.

[0031] Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description.

[0032] According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for caching data from a service server by an edge data network includes: obtaining information about the location of a terminal from a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network; generating movement information of the terminal in an area of ​​interest based on information related to a correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal and the area of ​​interest; and caching data from the service server, the data being determined based on the movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest and a configured caching rule.

[0033] According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, an edge data network for caching data from a service server includes: a communicator including a communication circuit; a memory storing multiple instructions; and a processor configured to execute the multiple instructions to: obtain information about the location of a terminal from a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, generate movement information of the terminal in an area of ​​interest based on information related to a correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal and the area of ​​interest, and cache data from the service server, the data being determined based on the movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest and a configured caching rule.

[0034] Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] When describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, the description of technical contents that are well known in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs and are not directly related to the present disclosure may be omitted. This is to convey the subject matter of the present disclosure more clearly without obscuring the present disclosure with unnecessary descriptions.

[0036] For the same reason, some components in the drawings may be exaggerated, omitted or schematically shown. In addition, the size of each component may not fully reflect its actual size. In the drawings, the same or corresponding elements may be given the same reference numerals.

[0037] The advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods of achieving them will become apparent from the various example embodiments of the present disclosure described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments of the present disclosure described below; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of non-limiting examples. Throughout the disclosure, the same reference numerals may represent the same elements.

[0038] Throughout the disclosure, the expression "at least one of a, b, or c" means only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, all of a, b, and c, or variations thereof.

[0039] Examples of the terminal may include a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a computer, a multimedia system capable of performing a communication function, and the like.

[0040] In this disclosure, a controller may also be referred to as a processor.

[0041] Throughout the disclosure, a layer (or layer arrangement) may also be referred to as an entity.

[0042] It will be understood that each block of the process flow diagram and the combination of the flow diagram can be performed by computer program instructions. Because these computer program instructions can be installed on a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device can generate components that perform the functions described in the (multiple) flow diagram blocks. Because these computer program instructions can be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory that can be directed to a computer or other programmable data processing device to implement the functions in a specific manner, the instructions stored in the computer-usable or computer-readable memory can also produce products containing instruction components that perform the functions described in the (multiple) flow diagram blocks. Because computer program instructions can also be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing device, the instructions that perform a series of operations on a computer or other programmable data processing device to generate a computer-implemented process executed by a computer or other programmable data processing device can also provide operations for running the functions described in the (multiple) flow diagram blocks.

[0043] In addition, each box can represent a part of a module, a fragment or a code, including one or more executable instructions for running one or more specified logical functions. In addition, it should be noted that in some alternative implementation examples, the functions mentioned in the box can also occur in different orders. For example, two boxes shown in succession can actually be performed substantially simultaneously, or sometimes can be performed in reverse order according to the corresponding function.

[0044] In addition, the term "~ unit" used herein may refer to, for example, a software component or a hardware component, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and the "~ unit" may perform some functions. However, the "~ unit" is not limited to software or hardware. The "~ unit" may be configured in an addressable storage medium, or may be configured to operate one or more processors. Therefore, as an example, the "~ unit" may include components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, and may include processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcodes, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided by the components and "~ units" may be associated with a smaller number of components and "~ units", or may be further divided into additional components and "~ units". In addition, the components and "~ units" may be implemented to operate one or more central processing units (CPUs) in a device or a secure multimedia card. In addition, in an embodiment, the "~ unit" may include one or more processors.

[0045] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting multi-access edge computing (MEC) based services according to various embodiments.

[0046] refer to Figure 1 , the network environment 10 may include a terminal 100, a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network 200, an edge data network 300, and a service server 400. However, the configuration of the network environment 10 is not limited to Figure 1 Configuration.

[0047] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, each of the components included in the network environment 10 may refer to, for example, a physical entity unit, or may refer to a software or module unit capable of performing a separate function. Therefore, the components included in the network environment 10 may be referred to as entities or may be referred to as functions.

[0048] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal 100 may refer to, for example, a device used by a user. For example, the terminal 100 may refer to a user equipment (UE), a remote terminal, a wireless terminal, or a user device. In addition, the terminal 100 may include all types of devices.

[0049] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal 100 may drive (or run) multiple application clients. For example, the terminal 100 may include a first application client 111 and a second application client 112. Multiple application clients may request different network services based on, for example, the data transmission rate of the terminal 100, the delay time (or rate) (latency), reliability, the number of terminals 100 accessing the network, the network access period of the terminal 100, or at least one of the average data usage. Different network services may include, for example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC), or massive machine type communication (mMTC).

[0050] The application client of the terminal 100 may refer to, for example, a basic application pre-installed in the terminal 100 or an application provided by a third party. That is, the application client may refer to a client application program driven in the terminal 100 for a specific application service. Various application clients may be driven in the terminal 100. At least one of the application clients may be used to provide services to the terminal 100 from the edge data network 300. For example, the application client may be an application installed and run in the terminal 100, and may provide a function of sending / receiving data through the edge data network 300. The application client of the terminal 100 may refer to an application software (or module) running on the terminal 100 to use functions provided by one or more specific edge applications.

[0051] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, multiple application clients 111 and 112 of the terminal 100 may perform data transmission with the service server 400 based on the required network service type, or may perform edge computing-based data transmission with the edge data network 300. For example, when the first application client 111 does not require low latency, the first application client 111 may perform data transmission with the service server 400. As another example, when the second application client 112 requires low latency, the second application client 112 may perform MEC-based data transmission with the edge data network 300. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the terminal 100 may determine whether to send / receive data to / from the service server 400 or the edge data network 300 based on various conditions other than latency.

[0052] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the application client of the terminal 100 may be referred to as a UE application (App), an application client, a client application (App) or a UE application. Hereinafter, for convenience, the application client of the terminal 100 will be referred to as an application client.

[0053] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the 3GPP network 200 may be a wireless communication system that complies with the 3GPP standard, and may be connected to the terminal 100 to provide wireless communication services to the terminal 100. The 3GPP network 200 may include a radio access network (RAN) and a core network. The 3GPP network 200 may include a third generation (3G) network, an LTE network, an LTE-A network, and a next generation network (5G or NR). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the 3GPP network 200 of the present disclosure may include a network configured with other communication technologies.

[0054] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge data network 300 may refer to, for example, a server to which the terminal 100 is connected to use the MEC service. The edge data network 300 may be, for example, arranged in a base station of the 3GPP network 200 to which the terminal 100 is connected, or arranged at a location geographically close to the base station, and may provide content that is at least partially the same as that provided by the service server 400. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, MEC may be referred to as multi-access edge computing or mobile edge computing.

[0055] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge data network 300 may be referred to as a MEC server, a MEC host, an edge computing server, a mobile edge host, an edge computing platform, etc.

[0056] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge data network 300 can run multiple edge applications. For example, the edge data network 300 can run a first edge application 311 and a second edge application 312. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, an edge application may refer to an application provided by a third party in an edge data network 300 that provides MEC services. The edge application can be used to establish a data session with an application client in order to send / receive data related to the application client. That is, the edge application can establish a data session with the application client. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a data session may refer to a communication path established by an application client of a terminal 100 and an edge application of an edge data network 300 to send / receive data.

[0057] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the application of the edge data network 300 may be referred to as an edge application, an MEC application (App), an edge application server or an ME (MEC) App and an edge application. Hereinafter, for convenience, the application of the edge data network 300 will be referred to as an edge application.

[0058] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge data network 300 may include an edge enabler server 320. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge enabler server 320 may be referred to as a mobile edge computing (MEC) platform, a mobile edge (ME) platform (mobile edge platform, MEP), a platform, etc. Figure 4A The edge enabler server 320 is described in more detail.

[0059] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the service server 400 may provide content related to the application client of the terminal 100. For example, the service server 400 may provide services or data required by the terminal 100 to drive (or run) the application client, and may provide the edge data network 300 with an edge application capable of providing MEC services to the application client of the terminal 100. In addition, the service server 400 may provide the edge data network 300 with services or data required by the terminal 100 to drive (or run) the application client. The service server 400 may be operated or managed, for example, by a content provider that provides content to the terminal 100.

[0060] although Figure 1 Although not shown in the figure, a data network (DN) may be provided between the 3GPP network 200 and the edge data network 300. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the data network may provide services (e.g., Internet services or IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services) by sending data (or data packets) to / receiving data (or data packets) from the terminal 100 via the 3GPP network 200. For example, the data network may be managed by a communication service provider. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge data network 300 may be connected to the 3GPP network 200 via a data network (e.g., a local DN).

[0061] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, when the first application client 111 or the second application client 112 is running in the terminal 100, the terminal 100 may be connected to the edge data network 300 through the 3GPP network 200 to send / receive data for running the application client. In this case, when data is sent from the terminal 100 to the edge data network 300, or when data is sent from the edge data network 300 to the terminal 100, a transmission delay may occur. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the above transmission delay may be referred to as an end-to-end transmission delay.

[0062] In various embodiments of the present disclosure, when data is transmitted from the edge data network 300 to the terminal 100 through the 3GPP network 200, the edge data network 300 may or may not store only some of the data to be transmitted to the terminal 100. For example, since the MEC services provided to the terminal 100 are diverse, the edge data network 300 may not store all data about all MEC services provided to the terminal 100. As for some MEC services, in order to provide the MEC services, the edge data network 300 may store only some of the data to be transmitted to the terminal 100, and may have to receive other data from the service server 400 and then transmit it to the terminal 100. Therefore, when data that is not stored by the edge data network 300 is received from the service server 400 and then transmitted to the terminal 100, a network transmission delay may occur.

[0063] In the present disclosure, a non-limiting example method for reducing the above network transmission delay will be described. For example, the edge data network 300 can actively cache necessary data by accessing the service server 400 before providing the MEC service to the terminal 100, thereby reducing the network transmission delay.

[0064] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting MEC-based services around a terminal according to various embodiments.

[0065] According to various embodiments, the terminal 100 may include a first application client 111, a second application client 112, an edge enabler client 120, and a 3GPP communication layer 130. The first application client 111 and the second application client 112 may refer to, for example, basic applications pre-installed in the terminal 100 or applications provided by a third party. The first application client 111 and the second application client 112 may perform data transmission with the service server 400 based on the required network service type, or may perform edge computing-based data transmission with the edge data network 300.

[0066] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge enabler client 120 may refer to a layer that performs operations in the terminal 100 to enable the terminal 100 to use MEC services. According to various embodiments, the edge enabler client 120 may also be referred to as a MEC enabling layer (MEC enabling layer, MEL). The edge enabler client 120 may determine which application client can use the MEC service, and connect a network interface so that data of the application client of the terminal 100 may be sent to the edge data network 300 that provides the MEC service.

[0067] In addition, the edge enabler client 120 may perform operations for allowing the terminal 100 to establish a data connection using the MEC service together with the 3GPP communication layer 130. The 3GPP communication layer 130 may refer to a layer that performs modem operations for using a mobile communication system, and may establish a wireless connection for data communication, register the terminal 100 in the mobile communication system, establish a connection for data transmission to the mobile communication system, and perform a function of sending / receiving data.

[0068] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting MEC-based services around a 3GPP network according to various embodiments.

[0069] Figure 3 The structure of the next generation network (5G or NR) is shown as an example of the structure of the 3GPP network 200. The next generation network (NR or 5G) may be referred to as a 5G system and may include a next generation base station (new radio node B (NR gNB) or NR base station) and a next generation radio core network (new radio core network (NR CN)). The terminal 100 can access an external network through the NR gNB and the NR CN.

[0070] However, in this document, the 3GPP network 200 is not limited to the next generation network (5G or NR), and in addition to the next generation network, the 3GPP network 200 may also include a third generation (3G) network, an LTE network, and an LTE-A network. In addition, in this document, the structure of the next generation network is not limited to Figure 3 The structure of the next generation network shown in FIG. 1 may not include Figure 3 Some of the components shown may also include Figure 3 Components not shown.

[0071] In various embodiments, the 3GPP network 200 may include a radio access network (RAN) 210 and a core network 220. In various embodiments of the present disclosure, the RAN 210 of the 3GPP network 200 may be a network directly connected to the terminal 100, and may be an infrastructure that provides wireless access to the terminal 100. The RAN 210 may include a plurality of base stations, and the plurality of base stations may perform communication through interfaces formed therebetween. At least some of the interfaces between the plurality of base stations may be wired or wireless. The base station may be referred to as a gNode B, an eNode B, a Node B, a base station (BS), a radio access unit, a base station controller, a node on a network, or any other term having an equivalent technical meaning thereof.

[0072] In various embodiments, the core network 220 of the 3GPP network 200 may process data and control signals about the terminal 100 transmitted / received through the RAN 210. The core network 220 may perform various functions such as, but not limited to, control of a user plane and a control plane, processing of mobility, management of subscriber information, charging, and interoperation with other types of systems (e.g., a long term evolution (LTE) system). In order to perform the above-mentioned various functions, the core network 220 may include a plurality of functionally separated entities having different network functions (NFs).

[0073] For example, the core network 220 may include a user plane function (UPF) 221, an access and mobility management function (AMF) 222, a session management function (SMF) 223, a policy control function (PCF) 224, a network exposure function (NEF) 225, a user data management (UDM) 226, a network data analysis function (NWDAF) 227, and a gateway mobile location center (GMLC) 228.

[0074] The terminal 100 may be connected to the RAN 210 to access the AMF 222 that performs a mobility management function of the core network 220. The AMF 222 may be an NF that manages the mobility of the RAN 210. The SMF 223 may be an NF that manages a connection to a packet data network for providing packet data to the terminal 100. The connection between the terminal 100 and the SMF 223 may be a PDU session. The AMF 222 may be connected to the SMF 223, and the AMF 222 may route session-related messages to the terminal 100 to the SMF 223. The SMF 223 may be connected to the UPF 221 to allocate user plane resources to be provided to the terminal 100, and to establish a tunnel for transmitting data between the base station and the UPF 221.

[0075] The UPF 221 may provide a data path (or data plane) between the terminal 100 and the edge data network 300. That is, the UPF 221 may function as a gateway for transmitting data (or data packets) transmitted / received by the terminal.

[0076] The terminal 100 and the edge data network 300 may transmit / receive data (or data packets) to each other through the UPF 221. A data network (DN) (not shown) may be provided between the edge data network 300 and the UPF 221. The UPF 221 may be located near the edge data network 300 to support MEC services for the terminal 100, and may transmit data packets of the terminal 100 to the edge data network 300 with low latency, or transmit data packets of the edge data network 300 to the terminal 100 with low latency.

[0077] The UPF 221 may also be connected to a data network (not shown) connected between the terminal 100 and the service server 400 through the Internet. The UPF 221 may route data packets to be transmitted through the Internet among data packets transmitted by the terminal 100 to the data network between the service server 400 and the terminal 100. The PCF 224 may be an NF that applies a policy of a mobile communication service provider (e.g., a service policy, a charging policy, or a policy regarding a PDU session) to the terminal 100 and controls information related to charging.

[0078] The NEF 225 may be an NF that exposes functions (capabilities) and services of NFs of the 3GPP network 200 to the outside. The NEF 225 may be connected to an external server (e.g., the edge data network 300) to send information about events occurring in the internal NFs of the 3GPP network 200 to the external server, or send information about events requested by the external server to the internal NFs. The functions and services exposed to the outside by the NEF 225 may include, for example, a location-related event report of the terminal 100, a session-related event report of the terminal 100, and a mobility management event report of the terminal 100. An external server may subscribe to the functions and services exposed by the NEF 225 to access the corresponding functions and services.

[0079] The UDM 226 may be a NF that performs a function similar to that of a home subscriber server (HSS) of a 4G network and may be a NF that stores information about a subscriber. The UDM 226 may store subscription information of the terminal 100 or a context used by the terminal 100 in the network.

[0080] The NWDAF 227 may be an NF that provides a function of analyzing and providing data collected in the 3GPP network 200. The NWDAF 227 may collect / store / analyze information from the 3GPP network 200 and provide its results to other NFs, and its analysis results may be used independently in each NF.

[0081] The GMLC 228 may be a NF that provides the location of a mobile device (eg, terminal) to support a location based service (LBS). The GMLC 228 may obtain and provide location information of a mobile device recognized in various ways by a global positioning system (GPS) or a base station.

[0082] Figure 4A is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting MEC-based services around an MEC server according to various embodiments.

[0083] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal 100 may include a first application client 111 and a second application client 112. The terminal 100 may be connected to the 3GPP network 200 to transmit / receive data related to the first application client 111 and the second application client 112.

[0084] According to various embodiments, the 3GPP network 200 may be connected to the edge data network 300 to send / receive data related to the MEC service. For example, the NEF 225 of the 3GPP network 200 may be connected to the edge data network 300 to send events or information generated from the internal NF of the 3GPP network 200 to the edge data network 300, or to send events or information requested by the edge data network 300 to the internal NF.

[0085] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the UPF 221 of the 3GPP network 200 may provide a data path (or data plane) between the terminal 100 and the edge data network 300 or the service server 400. That is, the UPF 221 may serve as a gateway for transmitting data (or data packets) transmitted / received by the terminal.

[0086] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge data network 300 may provide an MEC service to the terminal 100. To this end, the edge data network 300 may be arranged, for example, in a base station of the 3GPP network 200 to which the terminal 100 is connected, or arranged at a location geographically close to the base station, and may provide content that is at least partially the same as the content provided by the service server 400.

[0087] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may include a plurality of edge applications (eg, a first edge application 311 and a second edge application 312) and an edge enabler server 320. However, the configuration of the edge data network 300 is not limited thereto.

[0088] According to various embodiments, the edge application may be an application provided by a third party in the edge data network 300 , and may establish a data session with an application client to send / receive data related to the application client.

[0089] According to various embodiments, the edge enabler server 320 may provide functions required to run edge applications. For example, the edge enabler server 320 may provide functions or environments so that edge applications can provide MEC services to the terminal 100, etc., or edge applications can use (consume) MEC services. In addition, the edge enabler server 320 may perform traffic control 341 or perform domain name system (DNS) processing 342.

[0090] According to various embodiments, MEC services may generally refer to process and information-related services required to use edge applications. MEC services may be provided or used (consumed) by an edge enabler server 320 or an edge application. For example, an edge application may provide MEC services to a terminal 100, or may use a MEC service provided by an edge enabler server 320 in order to provide MEC services to the terminal 100. In addition, the edge enabler server 320 may provide MEC services to edge applications, and the edge applications may use the MEC services to provide MEC services to the terminal 100. In the following, MEC services may refer to services provided by an edge data network 300 or an edge application to a terminal 100, or services provided by an edge enabler server 320 and that may be used by an edge application.

[0091] According to various embodiments, the edge enabler server 320 may provide MEC services to edge applications. For example, the edge enabler server 320 may provide various information (data and content, such as information about the location of the terminal, cached data, and information about subscribed services) to edge applications based on the provided MEC services. The edge application may provide MEC services to the terminal 100 by using the MEC services provided by the edge enabler server 320. For example, the edge application may provide MEC services to the terminal 100 based on the information provided as MEC services by the edge enabler server 320. The MEC services provided to the terminal 100 may be services required by the terminal 100 to drive the application client (e.g., data required to drive the application client).

[0092] According to various embodiments, the edge enabler server 320 may include a MEC service 330 and a service registry 340. The MEC service 330 may provide services to edge applications included in the edge data network 300. The MEC service 330 may be implemented as a module or software capable of performing separate functions. The service registry 340 may provide information about services available in the edge data network 300. According to various embodiments, when an instance of an edge application is generated (instantiated), the edge enabler server 320 may register the edge application internally. The edge enabler server 320 may register the edge application and store information related to the edge application. The information related to the edge application stored by the edge enabler server 320 may include, for example, information about the MEC service to be provided to the terminal 100 by the edge application, and information about whether the MEC service is a required service or an optional service for the edge application.

[0093] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge application may register a new MEC service (service registration) in the edge enabler server 320 or search for a MEC service registered in the edge enabler server 320. The edge application may provide information about the MEC service to be registered to the edge enabler server 320 while registering the MEC service in the edge enabler server 320. The edge enabler server 320 may register the MEC service in the service registry 340.

[0094] According to various embodiments, the edge application may update the MEC service registered in the edge enabler server 320. For example, the edge application may send information about the MEC service to be updated to the edge enabler server 320, so as to update the MEC service registered in the edge enabler server 320. In this case, the edge enabler server 320 may update the updated MEC service in the service registration table 340.

[0095] According to various embodiments, the edge enabler server 320 may send information about MEC services registered in the service registry 340 to edge applications in the edge data network 300. For example, the edge enabler server 320 may send a list of MEC services registered in the service registry 340 to the edge application. In addition, the edge enabler server 320 may send information about the availability of MEC services pre-registered or newly registered in the service registry 340 to the edge application.

[0096] According to various embodiments, information indicating that the availability of the MEC service has changed may be sent from the edge enabler server 320 to the edge application in the edge data network 300. For example, when a new MEC service is registered in the service registry 340 or a MEC service registered in the service registry 340 is updated and thus the availability of the MEC service is changed, information indicating that the availability of the MEC service has changed may be sent to the edge application. In this case, the edge enabler server 320 may send information indicating that the availability of the corresponding MEC service has changed to the edge application that has registered the MEC service with the changed availability as a necessary service or an optional service.

[0097] According to various embodiments, the edge application may subscribe to the MEC service 330 registered in the service registry 340. The edge application may subscribe to the MEC service 330 by sending subscription request information about the MEC service 330 to the edge enabler server 320. The edge application subscribing to the MEC service 330 may refer to continuously receiving the MEC service or information about the MEC service from the edge enabler server 320. By subscribing to the MEC service 330 registered in the service registry 340, the edge application may receive the MEC service from the edge enabler server 320, use the MEC service, and provide it to the terminal.

[0098] According to various embodiments, the MEC service 330 may provide various services to edge applications. For example, the MEC service 330 may provide subscription services 331, location services 332, cache services 333, etc. to edge applications.

[0099] According to various embodiments, each of the MEC services (e.g., subscription service, location service, and cache service) provided by the edge enabler server 320 may be provided in units of modules or software capable of performing separate functions. For example, the subscription service 331, the location service 332, and the cache service 333 may be implemented as a subscription service module, a location service module, and a cache service module, respectively.

[0100] In addition, according to various embodiments, the subscription service 331 and the location service 332 may be implemented as one module. For example, one service module may subscribe to events related to the location of the terminal 100 and obtain information about the location of the terminal 100 to provide services related to the location of the terminal 100.

[0101] According to various embodiments, the subscription service 331 may subscribe to an event or a report of an event of the 3GPP network 200 to obtain or provide necessary information. Subscribing to an event or a report of an event may refer to receiving a report of an event when an event occurs in the 3GPP network 200. An event of the 3GPP network 200 may refer to a specific state of the terminal 100 or the like on the 3GPP network 200, a specific situation occurring on the 3GPP network 200, or an event occurring in a specific situation. For example, an event may include an event related to the location of the terminal (e.g., the current location of the terminal, a location change, or the location of the terminal in a specific situation), disconnection of the terminal, access of the terminal, roaming status of the terminal, or communication failure.

[0102] According to various embodiments, the subscription service 331 may subscribe to a report of an event (event report) exposed by the NEF 225 of the 3GPP network 200, and obtain desired information through a report on an event by the NEF 225. For example, the subscription service 331 may send a report request message on an event to the NEF 225, and receive a report message on a subscribed event from the NEF 225. The subscription service 331 may be used to provide the obtained information to the edge application, or to provide other MEC services thereto.

[0103] According to various embodiments, regarding the subscription service 331, a subscription method for event reports to be subscribed may be configured. For example, the number of event reports, the reporting period, the reporting periodicity information, the reporting periodicity, etc. may be configured.

[0104] According to various embodiments, the subscription service 331 may transmit information about an event reporting method to the NEF 225 while requesting the NEF 225 to subscribe to a report of an event related to the location of the terminal 100. The subscription service 331 may receive an event report from the NEF 225 periodically or once according to the event reporting method transmitted to the NEF 225.

[0105] According to various embodiments, the subscription service 331 may include a subscription service for events related to the location of the terminal 100. For example, the subscription service 331 may subscribe to events related to the location of the terminal 100 exposed by the NEF 225 of the 3GPP network 200, and receive a report from the NEF 225 on events related to the location of the terminal 100. The report message received by the subscription service 331 from the NEF 225 may include information about the location of the terminal 100. The subscription service 331 may be used to provide the edge application with the obtained information about the location of the terminal 100, or to provide other MEC services (e.g., location service, cache service, etc.) to the edge application.

[0106] According to various embodiments, the event related to the location of the terminal 100 subscribed by the subscription service 331 may include an event related to the location of the terminal 100 detected by the AMF 222 or the GMLC 228 of the 3GPP network 200. The subscription service 331 may obtain information about the location of the terminal 100 (e.g., the current location of the terminal 100, the most recently identified location of the terminal 100, etc.) through the report of the NEF 225 on the event related to the location of the terminal 100 detected by the AMF 222 or the GMLC 228. The information about the location of the terminal 100 received from the NEF 225 may include GPS information, information about the area where the terminal 100 is located, information about the cell to which the terminal 100 is connected, and the like.

[0107] According to various embodiments, the location service 332 may provide information about the location of the terminal 100, services based on the information about the location of the terminal 100, and the like. The information about the location of the terminal 100 may include information about the current location of the terminal 100, movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest, and the like. In addition, services based on the information about the location of the terminal 100 may include services based on information about the current location of the terminal 100, services based on movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest, and the like. The location service 332 may provide information about the location of the terminal 100 and services based on the information about the location of the terminal 100 to other services (e.g., the subscription service 331 and the cache service 333) of the MEC service 330, edge applications, the terminal 100, the service server 400, and the like.

[0108] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the information about the location of the terminal 100 provided by the location service 332 can be obtained from the 3GPP network 200 by the subscription service 331. By obtaining the information about the location of the terminal 100 via the 3GPP network 200, the location service 332 can obtain the information about the location of the terminal 100 even when the terminal 100 does not turn on the GPS. Therefore, the terminal 100 may not need to turn on the GPS in order to provide the information about the location of the terminal 100 to the location service 332, and the power consumption of the terminal 100 can be reduced. Figure 6 A process in which the edge data network 300 requests the 3GPP network 200 for information on the location of the terminal 100 so that the location service 332 obtains the information on the location of the terminal 100 is described in detail.

[0109] According to various embodiments, the information about the location of the terminal 100 provided by the location service 332 may be a combination of the information about the location of the terminal 100 received from the 3GPP network 200 and the information received from the terminal 100 .

[0110] The information about the location of the terminal 100 may include GPS information of the terminal 100, information about the area where the terminal 100 is located, information about the path through which the terminal 100 moves, information about the cell to which the terminal 100 is connected (or resides), information about the cell to which the terminal 100 is to be switched, etc., but is not limited thereto, and may include all information related to the location of the terminal 100. The location of the terminal 100 may be identified based on the information about the location of the terminal 100, and the location service 332 may provide the identified location of the terminal 100 to other services (e.g., the subscription service 331 and the cache service 333), edge applications, the service server 400, etc.

[0111] According to various embodiments, regarding the region of interest, the location service 332 may provide information about the location of the terminal 100 to other services (e.g., the subscription service 331 and the cache service 333), edge applications, the service server 400, etc., and the region of interest may be preconfigured. The information about the location of the terminal 100 provided by the location service 332 in relation to the region of interest may be information about the relative position of the terminal 100 and the region of interest, and may include, for example, movement information of the terminal 100 in the region of interest.

[0112] Here, the area of ​​interest may include a geographic area related to the MEC service provided by the edge application or the service to be provided through the application client of the terminal 100. For example, the area of ​​interest may be a geographic area including the location of roads, buildings (e.g., restaurants at a specific location), etc. related to the MEC service provided by the edge application or the service to be provided through the application client (e.g., AR / VR games or location-based information provision services), or the location of specific coordinates (e.g., the actual geographic coordinates of the building on the AR / VR game). However, the area of ​​interest is not limited to this, and may also include logical areas divided or defined by services. In addition, the area of ​​interest can be configured for each edge application.

[0113] According to various embodiments, the region of interest may be configured by the edge application based on the services to be provided by the application client of the terminal 100. The services to be provided by the application client of the terminal 100 may include services related to the location of the terminal 100 (e.g., location-based AR / VR games of the terminal 100, location-based information providing services of the terminal 100, etc.).

[0114] According to various embodiments, the region of interest may be configured by the service server 400 based on the service to be provided by the application client of the terminal 100. In this case, when the service server 400 provides the edge enabler server 320 capable of providing the location service 332 to the edge data network 300, the region of interest may be configured in relation to the location service 332.

[0115] According to various embodiments, the location service 332 may generate movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest based on information about the correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal 100 and the configured area of ​​interest. According to various embodiments, the location service 332 may identify information about the correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal 100 and the configured area of ​​interest. The location service 332 may identify information about the correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal 100 and the configured area of ​​interest based on the location (or location change, expected location, or expected location change (path)) of the terminal 100 identified by the information about the location of the terminal 100. For example, based on the identified location (or location change) of the terminal 100, the location service 332 may identify whether the terminal 100 is located in the area of ​​interest, whether the location of the terminal 100 has changed within the area of ​​interest, or whether the terminal 100 has moved outside the area of ​​interest.

[0116] According to various embodiments, the location service 332 may generate movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest based on information about the correspondence between the information about the identified location of the terminal 100 and the configured area of ​​interest. The movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest may be at least one of information about the location of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest, the moving path, the moving distance, or the moving speed thereof, or any combination thereof. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest may include information indicating that the terminal is located in the area of ​​interest, information indicating that the terminal enters the area of ​​interest, information indicating that the terminal exits the area of ​​interest, or information indicating that the terminal moves from a first area of ​​interest to a second area of ​​interest in the area of ​​interest, etc.

[0117] According to various embodiments, the location service 332 may trigger another service based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest. In this case, the location service 332 may determine the service to be triggered based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest, and may request the terminal 100, etc. to provide the determined service, while providing the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest to another service (e.g., cache service 333) that provides the determined service.

[0118] According to various embodiments, a location-based service triggering rule (hereinafter referred to as a service triggering rule) in which the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and a specific service (e.g., a cache service) are mapped may be configured in relation to the location service 332. Based on the service triggering rule, the location service 332 may trigger a service corresponding to the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest. The service triggering rule may be configured for each edge application, and a plurality of mapping information obtained by mapping the movement information of the terminal 100 and a specific service may be configured in the form of a list. The specific service triggered based on the service triggering rule may include an MEC service provided by the MEC service 330 of the edge enabler server 320, an MEC service provided by an edge application, and the like.

[0119] According to various embodiments, the configured service triggering rule may include a cache service triggering rule. The cache service triggering rule may include information obtained by mapping the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and the cache service. For example, when the cache service triggering rule is configured to trigger a specific service when the terminal 100 enters the area of ​​interest, the location service 332 may send information indicating that the terminal 100 enters the area of ​​interest to the cache service 333 in response to the information indicating that the terminal 100 enters the area of ​​interest, and trigger the cache service.

[0120] According to various embodiments, the cache service 333 may cache data from a service server and provide data from the service server 400. Caching may refer to, for example, a technique of providing data with low latency in response to a request for data by pre-obtaining and storing data from a server providing data before there is a request for the data. In this document, caching may refer to a series of processes in which a service server 400 requests data provided by the service server 400 and then pre-stores the data before there is a request from the terminal 100 or an application client. The edge data network 300 may reduce network transmission latency by pre-storing data to be provided to the terminal 100 via caching in the edge data network 300 that is closer to the service server 400.

[0121] According to various embodiments, the cache service 333 may cache data determined based on a configured cache rule from the service server 400. Here, the cache rule may include information obtained by mapping specific information and data to be cached from the service server 400. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the specific information may be information for triggering caching, and may be, for example, movement information of the terminal 100 in an area of ​​interest or information about an event that has occurred or is occurring in the terminal 100 (e.g., call reception, application client termination, user input, etc.).

[0122] According to various embodiments, the caching rule may include information obtained by mapping the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and the data cached from the service server 400. Here, the data to be cached according to the caching rule may be data related to the information mapped to the data to be cached. For example, the data mapped to the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest according to the caching rule may include data about the terminal 100 or a service to be provided to the terminal 100 (or the application client of the terminal 100) according to the movement of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest. The caching rule can be configured for each edge application, and multiple caching rules can be configured in the form of a list.

[0123] According to various embodiments, the caching rules may be configured by the edge application based on the services to be provided by the application client of the terminal 100. The services to be provided by the application client of the terminal 100 may include services related to the location of the terminal 100 (e.g., location-based AR / VR games of the terminal 100, location-based information providing services of the terminal 100, etc.).

[0124] According to various embodiments, the caching rules may be configured by the service server 400 based on the service to be provided by the application client of the terminal 100. In this case, when the service server 400 provides the edge enabler server 320 capable of providing the caching service 333 to the edge data network 300, the caching rules may be configured in relation to the caching service.

[0125] According to various embodiments, based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and the caching rule, the caching service 333 may determine the data to be cached from the service server 400, and cache the determined data from the service server 400. The caching service 333 may identify the data mapped to the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest, and determine the identified data as the data to be cached. According to various embodiments, the data to be cached by the edge data network 300 may include data related to the service provided by the application client of the terminal 100 from the edge data network 300.

[0126] According to various embodiments, the cache service 333 may request the service server 400 for the data determined to be cached. The cache service 333 may send information about the requested data together with the data request message to the service server 400. For example, the data request message may include identification information about the terminal 100 to which the requested data is to be provided, identification information about the application client (e.g., AR / VR game App or location-based information providing App) or service (e.g., AR / VR game service or location-based information providing service) of the terminal 100 in which the requested data is to be used, location information of the terminal 100, etc.

[0127] According to various embodiments, the cache service 333 may receive a response message including requested data in response to the data request message sent to the service server 400 from the service server 400. For example, when the cache service 333 requests content (e.g., images, videos, audio, etc.) related to an AR / VR game, a response message including the requested content may be received from the service server 400.

[0128] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the response message received by the cache service 333 from the service server 400 in response to the data request message may include information about the requested data. For example, the information about the requested data may include identification information of the requested data, a list of the requested data, identification information of the terminal 100, etc.

[0129] According to various embodiments, the cache service 333 may store data received from the service server 400 in a storage space in the edge data network 300 or in a storage space connected to the edge data network 300 .

[0130] According to various embodiments, the cache service 333 may determine a storage period of the data cached from the service server 400. The cache service 333 may dynamically determine the storage period of the cached data. For example, the cache service 333 may dynamically determine the storage period based on the memory usage of the storage space storing the cached data, the movement information of the terminal 100 requesting the cached data in the area of ​​interest related to the cached data, etc. After the cache service 333 caches and stores the data, when the storage period of the cached data has passed, the cached data may be deleted from the storage space.

[0131] According to various embodiments, the cache service 333 may determine the storage period of the cached data based on the capacity of the cached data and the memory usage of the storage space storing the cached data. For example, the cache service 333 may determine the storage period of the cached data in proportion to the memory usage of the storage space storing the cached data. For example, the cache service 333 may determine that the storage period of the cached data is shorter as the memory usage of the storage space increases.

[0132] According to various embodiments, the cache service 333 may determine the storage period of the cached data based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest associated with the cached data. For example, the cache service 333 may determine the storage period of the cached data based on the number of terminals 100 that have activated the application client requesting the cached data and are located in the area of ​​interest associated with the cached data or in an area adjacent to the area of ​​interest. The cache service 333 may determine the weight differently according to the relative distance from the area of ​​interest of the terminal 100 that has activated the application client requesting the cached data (for example, the greater the relative distance, the lower the weight), and determine the storage period of the cached data by multiplying the determined weight by the number of terminals 100.

[0133] According to various embodiments, the edge application may access the storage space of the edge data network 300 through the edge enabler server 320. For example, the edge application may access the storage space of the edge data network 300 through the edge enabler server 320 to provide the MEC service to the terminal 100. The data cached by the cache service 333 from the service server 400 may be stored in the storage space of the edge data network 300.

[0134] According to various embodiments, the edge application may receive a request for data from the terminal 100 and send the requested data to the terminal 100. For example, when the data requested by the terminal 100 is data pre-cached by the edge data network 300, the edge application may send the pre-stored cached data to the terminal 100. In addition, when the data requested by the terminal 100 is non-cached data, the edge application may receive data from the service server 400 and send the received data to the terminal 100.

[0135] According to various embodiments, the service server 400 may provide content related to an application (e.g., an application client or an edge application). For example, the service server 400 may be managed by a content provider that provides content to the terminal 100. The edge data network 300 may send data for providing MEC services to / receive data for providing MEC services from the service server 400, and may pre-cache data from the service server 400.

[0136] Figure 4B is a block diagram illustrating an example network environment for supporting MEC-based services according to various embodiments.

[0137] According to various embodiments, Figure 4B The components can correspond to Figure 4A For example, Figure 4BThe MEC server 350, the first MEC App 361 and the second MEC App 362, and the MEC platform 370 may correspond to Figure 4A The edge data network 300, the first edge application 311 and the second edge application 312, and the edge enabler server 320. Figure 4B In the description of Figure 4A Redundant descriptions of components that overlap.

[0138] refer to Figure 4B , the MEC system may include a MEC server 350, a mobile edge platform manager (MEPM) 392, a virtualization infrastructure manager (VIM) 394, and a mobile edge orchestrator (MEO) 396. However, the configuration included in the MEC system is not limited thereto. Each component included in the MEC system may refer to a physical entity unit, or may refer to a software or module unit capable of performing a separate function. According to various embodiments, the MEC server 350 may include a plurality of MEC Apps (e.g., a first MEC App 361 and a second MEC App 362), a MEC platform 370, and a virtual infrastructure 380. However, the configuration of the MEC server 350 is not limited thereto.

[0139] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the virtual infrastructure 380 may include virtual resources 381 and a data plane 382. The virtual infrastructure 380 may provide the virtual resources 381 to the MEC App. The virtual resources 381 may include, for example, at least one of computing resources, storage resources, or network resources (e.g., network bandwidth) that can be used by the MEC App. The MEC App of the MEC server 350 may be driven as a virtual machine on the virtual infrastructure 380.

[0140] According to various embodiments, the data plane 382 may run traffic rules received by the MEC platform 370 and route traffic between applications, services, DNS servers / proxies, the 3GPP network 200, local networks, and external networks.

[0141] According to various embodiments, MEPM 392 may manage the life cycle of the MEC App operating in the MEC server 350 and send information related to the life cycle to MEO 396. According to other embodiments, MEPM 392 may manage information for operating the MEC App or send the information to the MEC platform 370. The information for operating the MEC App may include, for example, at least one of application rules, requirements, service approvals, or traffic rules.

[0142] According to various embodiments, the VIM 394 may allocate, manage, or release virtual resources 381 of the virtual infrastructure 380 required to run the MEC App in the MEC server 350 .

[0143] According to various embodiments, MEO 396 can manage and maintain the overall functionality of data transmission based on the MEC system. MEO 396 can manage and maintain the overall functionality of data transmission based on MEC based on at least one of the available resources, available MEC services, application rules and requirements, operator policies, or topology in the MEC system. For example, MEO 396 can select a MEC server suitable for the UE App of the terminal 100, or trigger or terminate the instantiation of the UE App.

[0144] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by a MEC server according to various embodiments.

[0145] refer to Figure 5 , in operation 510, the edge data network 300 may obtain information about the location of the terminal 100 from the 3GPP network 200. According to various embodiments, operation 510 may correspond to reference Figure 4A The operation discussed, wherein the edge enabler server 320 (or subscription service 331 or location service 332 ) obtains information about the location of the terminal 100 from the 3GPP network 200 .

[0146] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may request the 3GPP network 200 (or the NEF 225 of the 3GPP network 200 ) for information about the location of the terminal 100 to obtain the information about the location of the terminal 100 from the 3GPP network 200 .

[0147] In operation 520, the edge data network 300 may generate movement information of the terminal 100 in the region of interest based on information about the correspondence relationship between the information about the location of the terminal 100 and the configured region of interest. According to various embodiments, operation 520 may correspond to reference Figure 4AThe operation discussed, wherein the edge enabler server 320 (or location service 332) generates movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest.

[0148] According to various embodiments, the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest may include information indicating that the terminal is located in the area of ​​interest, information indicating that the terminal enters the area of ​​interest, information indicating that the terminal exits the area of ​​interest, or information indicating that the terminal moves from a first area of ​​interest to a second area of ​​interest in the area of ​​interest, etc.

[0149] In operation 530, the edge data network 300 may cache data determined based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and the configured cache rule from the service server 400. According to various embodiments, operation 530 may correspond to reference Figure 4A Operations are discussed in which the edge enabler server 320 (or cache service 333 ) caches data from the service server 400 .

[0150] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may determine the data to be cached from the service server 400 based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and the configured cache rule. The edge data network 300 may request the service server 400 for the data determined to be cached. The edge data network 300 may receive data in response to the request from the service server 400. The edge data network 300 may store the cached data in a storage space in the edge data network 300 or in a storage space connected to the edge data network 300.

[0151] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example method for obtaining information about the location of a terminal from a 3GPP network by an MEC server according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, Figure 6 The operation can correspond to the reference Figure 4A The operation discussed, wherein the edge enabler server 320 (or subscription service 331 ) obtains information about the location of the terminal 100 from the NEF 225 .

[0152] refer to Figure 6 , in operation 610 , the edge data network 300 may request the NEF 225 of the 3GPP network 200 for information about the location of the terminal.

[0153] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may request the NEF 225 to subscribe to a report (event report) of an event related to the location of the terminal 100 provided by the NEF 225 .

[0154] In operation 620 , the edge data network 300 may receive information about the location of the terminal 100 from the NEF 225 .

[0155] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may receive a report of an event including information about the location of the terminal 100 from the NEF 225. The edge data network 300 may obtain the information about the location of the terminal 100 through the report of the NEF 225.

[0156] Figure 7 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method of obtaining information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments.

[0157] refer to Figure 7 In operation 710, the edge data network 300 may request the NEF 225 of the 3GPP network 200 to subscribe to a report of an event related to the location of the terminal 100. The edge data network 300 may send information about an event reporting method to the NEF 225 together with the subscription request for the report of the event.

[0158] In operation 720 , the NEF 225 may request the NF 700 to subscribe to an event related to the location of the terminal 100 , and the NF 700 detects an event related to the location of the terminal 100 in the 3GPP network 200 .

[0159] In operation 730, the NF 700 may send a response message to the event subscription request to the NEF 225. The NF 700 may inform the NEF 225 that the subscription to the event has been started through the response message.

[0160] In operation 740, the NEF 225 may transmit a response message to the subscription request for a report on an event related to the location of the terminal 100 of the edge data network 300. The NEF 225 may inform the edge data network 300 that the subscription has been started through the response message.

[0161] In operation 750, the NF 700 may detect an event related to the location of the terminal 100. In operation 760, the NF 700 may report the detected event to the NEF 225. The report on the event by the NF 700 may include information on the location of the terminal 100.

[0162] In operation 770, the NEF 225 may transmit a report of the event received from the NF 700 to the edge data network 300. The report of the event received by the edge data network 300 may include information about the location of the terminal 100.

[0163] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for triggering a cache service based on movement information of a terminal in an area of ​​interest by an edge data network according to various embodiments.

[0164] refer to Figure 8 In operation 810, the edge data network 300 may generate movement information of the terminal 100 in the region of interest based on information about the correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal 100 and the configured region of interest. According to various embodiments, operation 810 may correspond to reference Figure 4A The operation discussed, wherein the edge enabler server 320 (or location service 332) generates movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest.

[0165] In operation 820, the edge data network 300 may trigger a cache service based on the generated movement information and the configured cache service triggering rule. According to various embodiments, operation 820 may correspond to reference Figure 4A Operations are discussed wherein the edge enabler server 320 (or location service 332 and cache service 333) triggers the cache service.

[0166] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge data network 300 may determine whether to trigger the cache service based on the generated movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest according to the cache service triggering rule. For example, the cache service triggering rule may be configured to trigger the cache service when the terminal 100 enters the area of ​​interest, and when the generated movement information is information indicating that the terminal 100 enters the area of ​​interest, the edge data network 300 may trigger the cache service. When the cache service is triggered, the edge data network 300 may cache data from the service server 400 based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and the configured cache rules.

[0167] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for caching data from a service server by an edge data network based on caching rules according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, Fig. 9 The operation can correspond to the reference Figure 4A Operations are discussed in which the edge enabler server 320 (or cache service 333 ) caches data from the service server 400 .

[0168] refer to Fig. 9 , in operation 910 , the edge data network 300 may identify data mapped to movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest based on a cache rule.

[0169] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may identify data mapped to the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest according to the cache rule, and may determine the identified data as data to be cached.

[0170] In operation 920 , the edge data network 300 may cache the identified data from the service server 400 .

[0171] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may request the identified data from the service server 400. The edge data network 300 may receive the requested data in response to the request from the service server 400. In addition, the edge data network 300 may receive information about the requested data (e.g., identification information of the requested data, a list of the requested data, identification information of the terminal 100, etc.) from the service server 400 together with the requested data.

[0172] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may store the cached data in a storage space in the edge data network 300 or in a storage space connected to the edge data network 300 .

[0173] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for sending data requested by a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments. According to various embodiments, Fig.10 The operation can correspond to the reference Figure 4A The operation discussed, wherein the edge enabler server 320 (or edge application) sends data to the terminal 100.

[0174] In operation 1010 , the edge data network 300 may receive a request for data from the terminal 100 .

[0175] According to various embodiments, the data requested by the terminal 100 may be data required for driving the application client of the terminal 100. The data required for driving the application client of the terminal 100 may include data on a screen, sound, information, etc. required for driving the application client. For example, when the application client of the terminal 100 is an AR / VR game App or a location-based information providing service App, the data requested by the terminal 100 may be data to be displayed on the game screen or data on a service to be provided according to the current location of the terminal 100.

[0176] According to various embodiments, the data requested by the terminal 100 may be data related to a service to be provided to the terminal 100 when the terminal 100 moves in the area of ​​interest. For example, when the application client of the terminal 100 is an AR / VR game App, the data requested by the terminal 100 may be data related to a screen on a game to be provided to the terminal 100 when the terminal 100 moves in an area of ​​interest configured in relation to an AR / VR game (e.g., an area including a specific location on the game).

[0177] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may receive a request for data from the terminal 100 according to a location change of the terminal 100 or receiving a user input related to an application client driven in the terminal 100 .

[0178] According to various embodiments, the request for data by the terminal 100 may be sent to an edge application in the edge data network 300 that provides MEC services to an application client that requires the requested data.

[0179] In operation 1020 , the edge data network 300 may identify whether the data requested by the terminal 100 is cached data.

[0180] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may identify whether the data requested by the terminal 100 is pre-cached. For example, the edge data network 300 may search for a space in which data pre-cached from the service server 400 is stored and identify whether the data requested by the terminal 100 is stored.

[0181] According to various embodiments, whether the data requested by the terminal 100 is pre-cached can be identified by the edge application accessing the cache service 333 in the edge data network 300. When the data requested by the terminal 100 is pre-cached, the edge application can receive the data requested by the terminal 100 from the cache service 333. Alternatively, the edge application can receive information about the location where the requested data is stored from the cache service 333, and access the storage space in which the data requested by the terminal 100 is stored based on the received information.

[0182] In operation 1030 , the edge data network 300 may transmit data to the terminal 100 .

[0183] According to various embodiments, when the data requested by the terminal 100 is cached data, the edge data network 300 may transmit the pre-stored cached data to the terminal 100 .

[0184] According to various embodiments, when the data requested by the terminal 100 is non-cached data, the edge data network 300 may request the service server 400 to transmit the data requested by the terminal 100. The edge data network 300 may receive the data from the service server 400 and transmit it to the terminal 100.

[0185] Fig.11 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments.

[0186] refer to Fig.11In operation 1110, the 3GPP network 200 may transmit information about the location of the terminal 100 to the edge data network 300. In this case, the information about the location of the terminal 100 may be included in a report of the NEF 225 of the 3GPP network 200 about an event related to the location of the terminal 100 and transmitted to the edge data network 300, for example.

[0187] In operation 1120 , the edge data network 300 may generate movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest based on information about a correspondence relationship between information about a location of the terminal 100 and a configured area of ​​interest.

[0188] In operation 1130 , the edge data network 300 may determine data to be cached from the service server 400 based on movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and a configured cache rule.

[0189] In operation 1140 , the edge data network 300 may cache the data determined to be cached from the service server 400 .

[0190] In operation 1150 , the terminal 100 may request data from the edge data network 300 .

[0191] In operation 1160 , the edge data network 300 may identify whether the data requested by the terminal 100 is cached data.

[0192] In operation 1170, when the data requested by the terminal 100 is cached data, the edge data network 300 may transmit the pre-stored cached data to the terminal 100. In addition, when the data requested by the terminal 100 is non-cached data, the edge data network 300 may request the service server 400 to transmit the data requested by the terminal 100, receive the data from the service server 400, and transmit it to the terminal 100.

[0193] Fig.12 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by a MEC platform of an edge data network according to various embodiments.

[0194] As above reference Figure 4AAs described above, the edge data network 300 may include an edge enabler server 320 that provides MEC services to edge applications. The MEC service 330 of the edge enabler server 320 may provide a subscription service 331, a location service 332, and a cache service 333 to the edge application. The subscription service 331, the location service 332, and the cache service 333 provided by the MEC service 330 of the edge enabler server 320 may be implemented, for example, as a subscription service module, a location service module, and a cache service module that perform separate functions, respectively.

[0195] According to various embodiments, Fig.12 In the embodiment, a method for caching data from a service server 400 based on information about a location of a terminal 100 by an edge data network 300 will be described in detail based on the operation of each service provided by an edge enabler server 320 included in the edge data network 300 ( Fig.11 Operations 1110 to 1140).

[0196] refer to Fig.12 In operation 1210, the 3GPP network 200 may report an event related to the location of the terminal 100 to the subscription service 331. The report of the event related to the location of the terminal 100 may include information about the location of the terminal 100.

[0197] In operation 1220 , the subscription service 331 may transmit information on the location of the terminal 100 obtained from the 3GPP network 200 to the location service 332 .

[0198] In operation 1230 , the location service 332 may generate movement information of the terminal 100 in the region of interest based on information about a correspondence relationship between information about the location of the terminal 100 and the configured region of interest.

[0199] In operation 1240, the location service 332 may trigger the cache service based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and the configured cache service triggering rule. Here, the cache service may be triggered by sending the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest from the location service 332 to the cache service 333.

[0200] In operation 1250 , the cache service 333 may determine data to be cached by identifying data mapped to movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest based on the cache rule.

[0201] In operation 1260 , the cache service 333 may cache the data determined to be cached from the service server 400 .

[0202] Fig.13is a diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments.

[0203] refer to Fig.13 , the terminal 100 may include a first application client 111 and a second application client 112. The terminal 100 may run the first application client 111 that provides services for AR or VR games. In a state where the terminal 100 has run the first application client 111, when moving left and right from the current position, different game screens may be displayed on the terminal 100 (screen 1310 in the case of moving left, and screen 1320 in the case of moving right).

[0204] The first edge application 311 providing the MEC service to the first application client 111 may retrieve and subscribe to the subscription service, location service, and cache service in the service registry 340 of the edge enabler server 320, so as to pre-cache the data to be provided to the first application client 111. When at least one of the subscription service, location service, or cache service is not retrieved, the first edge application 311 may newly register the unretrieved service in the edge enabler server 320. The subscription service 331, location service 332, and cache service 333 subscribed by the first edge application 311 may be respectively implemented as modules that perform separate functions.

[0205] The subscription service 331 may request the 3GPP network 200 for information on the location of the terminal 100, and receive information indicating that the terminal 100 is located in a specific area from the 3GPP network 200. The subscription service 331 may transmit the obtained information on the location of the terminal 100 to the location service 332.

[0206] The location service 332 may generate information indicating that the terminal 100 is located in the region of interest based on information about the correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal 100 and the configured region of interest. Here, the region of interest may be pre-configured as a region within a certain distance from a location in the real world corresponding to a specific location on the game run by the first application client 111.

[0207] The location service 332 may trigger the cache service based on information indicating that the terminal 100 is located in the area of ​​interest and a configured cache service triggering rule. In this case, the cache service triggering rule may be preconfigured to trigger the cache service when the terminal 100 is located in the area of ​​interest. According to various embodiments, the cache service triggering rule may include information obtained by mapping the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and the cache service. The cache service may be triggered by sending information indicating that the terminal 100 is located in the area of ​​interest from the location service 332 to the cache service 333.

[0208] Based on the information that the terminal 100 is located in the area of ​​interest and the caching rule, when the terminal 100 moves to the left or right from the current position, the caching service 333 may determine the data to be cached from the service server 400 as data on the game screens 1310 and 1320 to be displayed by the terminal 100. In this case, the caching rule may be preconfigured to cache data on the screen displayed on the terminal 100 as the terminal 100 moves to the left or right from the current position when the terminal 100 is located in the area of ​​interest.

[0209] The cache service 333 may cache data determined to be cached from the service server 400. The cache service 333 may send a message requesting the data determined to be cached to the service server 400. The request message sent by the cache service 333 may include information about the data determined to be cached, information about the terminal 100, and information about the first application client 111 of the terminal 100. The cache service 333 may receive the requested data in response to the sent request message from the service server 400, and store the received data. The cache service 333 may receive identification information of the requested data, a list of the requested data, identification information of the terminal 100, etc. from the service server 400 together with the requested data as information about the requested data.

[0210] When the terminal 100 moves to the right or left, data to be displayed on the screen of the terminal 100 by the service to be provided according to the movement of the terminal 100 may need to be displayed on the screen without delay. When the terminal 100 moves to the right from the current position, the terminal 100 may request the edge data network 300 (or the first edge application 311) for data about the screen 1320 displayed when the terminal 100 moves to the right from the current position.

[0211] The edge data network 300 (or the first edge application 311) can stream (or send) data about the screen 1320 displayed when the terminal 100 moves to the right from the current position to the terminal 100 through the 3GPP network 200, that is, data corresponding to the right movement information of the terminal 100 among the pre-stored cached data (that is, data requested by the terminal).

[0212] For example, the first edge application 311 may receive data requested by the terminal from the edge enabler server 320 (or the cache service 333), and stream it to the terminal 100. In addition, the first edge application 311 may receive information about a location where data requested by the terminal 100 is stored from the edge enabler server 320 (or the cache service 333), obtain the data based on the received information, and stream it to the terminal 100. Thus, while being located close to the terminal 100, the edge data network 300 may pre-cache data about a service to be provided according to the movement of the terminal 100 from a service server 400 located far from the terminal 100, thereby providing the necessary data to the terminal 100 without delay (with reduced delay) according to the movement of the terminal 100.

[0213] Fig.14 is a diagram illustrating an example method for caching data from a service server based on information about a location of a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments. Fig.14 In the description of Figure 4A or Fig.13 Overlapping redundant descriptions.

[0214] refer to Fig.14 , the terminal 100 may be in a state where a second application client (not shown) has been running, and the second application client provides information about convenient facilities (e.g., restaurants, cinemas, convenience stores, etc.) around the terminal 100. The second edge application 312 may provide MEC services to the second application client in relation to the location of the terminal 100.

[0215] refer to Fig.14 , the terminal 100 can move from the first area of ​​interest 1410 to the second area of ​​interest 1420 in the area of ​​interest 1400. The 3GPP network 200 can send information about the position change of the terminal 100 from the first area of ​​interest 1410 to the second area of ​​interest 1420 to the subscription service 331 of the edge enabler server 320 in the edge data network 300.

[0216] The subscription service 331 may be in a state of subscribing to the report of the 3GPP network 200 on the location change event of the terminal 100. The subscription service 331 may send information on the location change of the terminal 100 from the first area of ​​interest 1410 to the second area of ​​interest 1420 to the location service 332.

[0217] The location service 332 may generate information indicating that the terminal 100 enters the second area of ​​interest 1420 based on information about the location change of the terminal 100 and information about the correspondence between the areas of interest. The location service 332 may trigger the cache service based on the information indicating that the terminal 100 enters the second area of ​​interest 1420 and the cache triggering rule.

[0218] Based on the information indicating that the terminal 100 enters the second area of ​​interest 1420 and the cache rule, the cache service 333 may determine the data to be cached from the service server 400 as the second cache data 1425 related to the second area of ​​interest 1420. The cache rule may be pre-configured to cache the first cache data 1415 related to the first area of ​​interest 1410 (e.g., recommended movie trailer images being shown in a movie theater located in the first area of ​​interest 1410) when the terminal 100 enters the first area of ​​interest 1410. In addition, the cache rule may be pre-configured to cache the second cache data 1425 related to the second area of ​​interest 1420 (e.g., images of popular restaurants in the second area of ​​interest 1420, restaurant apps, etc.) when the terminal 100 enters the second area of ​​interest 1420.

[0219] The cache service 333 may cache the second cache data 1425 determined to be cached from the service server 400. In this case, the cache service 333 may cache the information about the second cache data 1425 together with the second cache data 1425.

[0220] When the terminal 100 moves in the second area of ​​interest 1420 and is within a certain radius from a popular restaurant in the second area of ​​interest 1420, the terminal 100 may request the edge data network 300 (or the second edge application 312) for data about the popular restaurant in the second area of ​​interest 1420 (e.g., images of the popular restaurant, restaurant apps, etc.). The edge data network 300 may transmit (or stream) second cache data 1425 (e.g., images of the popular restaurant in the second area of ​​interest 1420, restaurant apps, etc.) among the pre-stored cached data, i.e., data corresponding to the popular restaurant in the second area of ​​interest 1420, to the terminal 100 through the 3GPP network 200.

[0221] Fig.15 is a signal flow diagram illustrating an example method for registering and configuring MEC services by an edge application according to various embodiments.

[0222] refer to Fig.15 , in operation 1510 , the edge application 310 included in the edge data network 300 may request service registration and configuration from the edge enabler server 320 .

[0223] According to various embodiments, the edge application 310 may request registration of the MEC service from the edge enabler server 320. For example, the edge application 310 may request registration of the subscription service, the location service, and the cache service from the edge enabler server 320. Here, the MEC service requested to be registered by the edge application 310 may be a MEC service provided by the edge application to the terminal 100, or a MEC service provided by an application client related to a service to be provided by an application client of the terminal 100.

[0224] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge application 310 may send information related to the MEC service to be registered to the edge enabler server 320. The edge application 310 may send information related to the MEC service to the edge enabler server 320, and request the edge enabler server 320 to configure the MEC service to be registered based on the sent information. In this case, the information sent to the edge enabler server 320 may be information for configuring the MEC service related to the service to be provided by the application client of the terminal 100 (e.g., area of ​​interest, cache rules, etc.).

[0225] According to various embodiments, the edge application 310 may request registration and configuration of a subscription service, and send information about a subscription method for event reports to be subscribed to to the edge enabler server 320 in relation to the subscription service. For example, while requesting registration and configuration of the subscription service, the edge application 310 may send information about the number of event reports, a reporting period, report periodicity information, report periodicity, etc. to the edge enabler server 320.

[0226] According to various embodiments, the edge application 310 may request registration and configuration of the location service, and send information about the area of ​​interest, information obtained by mapping the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and a specific service, etc. to the edge enabler server 320. The information obtained by mapping the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and a specific service may include information obtained by mapping the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and a cache service (i.e., a cache service triggering rule).

[0227] According to various embodiments, the edge application 310 may request registration and configuration of a cache service and transmit information about cache rules to the edge enabler server 320. Here, the cache rules may include information obtained by mapping specific information and data to be cached from the service server 400.

[0228] In operation 1520, the edge enabler server 320 may register the MEC service in the service registry, the registration and configuration of which is requested by the edge application 310. The MEC service registered in the service registry may be configured based on the information related to the MEC service sent by the edge application 310 to the edge enabler server 320.

[0229] For example, the edge enabler server 320 may register a subscription service in the service registry, and a subscription method for event reports to be subscribed may be configured in relation to the subscription service. In addition, the edge enabler server 320 may register a location service in the service registry, and an area of ​​interest and information obtained by mapping the movement information of the terminal 100 in the area of ​​interest and a specific service, etc. may be configured in relation to the location service. In addition, the edge enabler server 320 may register a cache service in the service registry, and a cache rule may be configured in relation to the cache service.

[0230] Fig.16 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about an event occurring in a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments.

[0231] refer to Fig.16 , in operation 1610 , the edge data network 300 may receive information about an event occurring in the terminal 100 from the terminal 100 .

[0232] According to various embodiments, the event occurring in the terminal 100 may mean a specific state of the terminal 100, a specific situation occurring in the terminal 100, or an event occurring in a specific situation. In addition, the event occurring in the terminal 100 may be an event occurring in a state where an application client is running in the terminal 100 or in a state where a service is provided through the application client. For example, the event occurring in the terminal 100 may include an event that a phone call is received in a state where an application client is running in the terminal 100, an event that the running application client is terminated, an input event of the terminal 100 regarding a user related to the running application client, and the like.

[0233] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may receive information about an event occurring in the terminal 100 from the terminal 100 through the UPF 221 of the 3GPP network 200 .

[0234] In operation 1620 , the edge data network 300 may cache data determined based on the information about the event occurring in the terminal 100 and the cache rule from the service server 400 .

[0235] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may determine data to be cached from the service server 400 based on information about an event occurring in the terminal 100 and a configured cache rule. According to various embodiments, the cache rule may include information obtained by mapping information about an event occurring in the terminal 100 and data cached from the service server 400. For example, when an event of receiving a phone call occurs in a state where an application client is running in the terminal 100, the cache rule may be configured to cache data about a service to be provided through the application client after the phone call is terminated.

[0236] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the edge data network 300 may request the service server 400 for data determined to be cached. The edge data network 300 may receive data in response to the request from the service server 400 and store the data. The data cached by the edge data network 300 may be stored in a storage space in the edge data network 300 or in a storage space connected to the edge data network 300.

[0237] For example, the edge data network 300 may cache data about services to be provided through the application client from the service server 400. When the terminal 100 terminates the received phone call, the edge data network 300 that has pre-cached the data may quickly send the requested data to the terminal 100, resume service provision through the running application client, and then request the data.

[0238] Fig.17 is a diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on information about an event occurring in a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments.

[0239] refer to Fig.17 , the call reception event may occur in a state where an application client is running in the terminal 100. The application client running in the terminal 100 may be an application client that receives MEC services from the first edge application 311. The first edge application 311 may provide MEC services (e.g., cache services) to the terminal 100 through an edge enabler server 320 associated with the application client. The first edge application 311 may retrieve and subscribe to a subscription service 331 and a cache service 333 in a service registry 340 of the edge enabler server 320 so as to pre-cache data to be provided to the application client.

[0240] The terminal 100 may send information about a call reception event occurring in the terminal 100 to the edge data network 300 (or the subscription service 331 of the edge enabler server 320). The information about the call reception event may include information indicating that a phone call is received in a state where an application client is running in the terminal 100, information indicating that an application client running by the call reception is stopped, etc. In this case, the information about the call reception event sent by the terminal 100 may be sent to the edge data network 300 through the UPF 221 of the 3GPP network 200.

[0241] The subscription service 331 of the edge enabler server 320 may be in a state of subscribing to a report of the terminal 100 regarding an event occurring in the terminal 100 according to the configuration of the first edge application 311. The subscription service 331 may trigger the cache service based on information regarding a call reception event occurring in the terminal 100 and a configured cache service triggering rule.

[0242] In this case, the cache service triggering rule may be configured such that when a call reception event occurs in the terminal 100, the subscription service 331 may trigger the cache service. The cache service may be triggered by the subscription service 331 sending information indicating that a call reception event has occurred in the terminal 100 to the cache service 333.

[0243] The cache service 333 may determine the data to be cached from the service server 400 based on the information indicating that a call reception event has occurred in the terminal 100 and the configured cache rule. For example, according to the cache rule, when a call reception event occurs in the terminal 100, the cache service 333 may determine the data to be cached as data related to a service to be provided through the application client after the phone call in the terminal 100 is terminated.

[0244] The cache service 333 may cache the determined data from the service server 400. The cache service 333 may send a message to the service server 400 requesting the data determined to be cached. The request message sent by the cache service 333 may include information about the data determined to be cached, information about the terminal 100, and information about the application client of the terminal 100. The cache service 333 may receive the requested data in response to the sent request message from the service server 400, and store the requested data. The cache service 333 may receive identification information of the requested data, a list of information included in the requested data, identification information of the terminal 100, etc. from the service server 400 together with the requested data as information about the requested data.

[0245] When the phone call received in the terminal 100 is terminated, the terminal 100 can re-provide the service through the running application client. When the phone call received in the terminal 100 is terminated, the terminal 100 can request the edge data network 300 (or the first edge application 311) for data required for service provision through the running application client. Among the data cached and pre-stored by the edge data network 300, data on the service to be provided through the application client after the phone call of the terminal 100 is terminated can be sent (or streamed) to the terminal 100 through the 3GPP network 200.

[0246] For example, the first edge application 311 may receive data requested by the terminal from the edge enabler server 320 (or the cache service 333) and stream (or send) it to the terminal 100. In addition, the first edge application 311 may receive information about a location where data requested by the terminal 100 is stored from the edge enabler server 320 (or the cache service 333), obtain the data based on the received information, and send it to the terminal 100.

[0247] Therefore, while being located close to the terminal 100, the edge data network 300 can pre-cache data to be provided to the terminal 100 from a service server 400 located far away from the terminal 100 in response to an event occurring in the terminal 100, thereby providing the necessary data to the terminal 100 without delay (or with reduced delay) in response to the event occurring in the terminal 100.

[0248] Fig.18 is a flow chart illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on radio network information (RNI) associated with a terminal by an edge data network according to various embodiments.

[0249] refer to Fig.18 , in operation 1810 , the edge data network 300 may obtain radio network information (RNI) information related to the terminal 100 .

[0250] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may obtain RNI information related to the terminal 100 through an RNI service provided by an edge enabler server 320 in the edge data network 300. According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may subscribe to reports of events related to RNI exposed by the NEF 225 of the 3GPP network 200, and receive a report including the RNI related to the terminal 100 from the NEF 225.

[0251] According to various embodiments, the RNI related to the terminal 100 may include information about the state of the network to which the terminal 100 is connected, information about the context (UE context) of the terminal 100, information about the bearer of the terminal 100, etc.

[0252] In operation 1820 , the edge data network 300 may cache data from the service server 400 based on the RNI information related to the terminal 100 and the configured cache rule.

[0253] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may determine data to be cached from the service server 400 based on the RNI information related to the terminal 100 and the configured cache rule. Here, the cache rule may include the RNI information related to the terminal 100, or information obtained by mapping information about the network status of the terminal 100 determined based on the RNI information and data cached from the service server 400. For example, the cache rule may be pre-configured to cache different data according to good and bad network statuses of the terminal 100.

[0254] For example, based on the cache rule, when the edge data network 300 determines that the network state of the terminal 100 is good according to the RNI information related to the terminal 100, the edge data network 300 can determine the service requiring a large amount of data (e.g., a sophisticated and complex service) among the services that can be provided by the application client of the terminal 100 as the data to be cached. In addition, based on the cache rule, when the edge data network 300 determines that the network state of the terminal 100 is poor, the edge data network 300 can determine the data about the service (e.g., a simple service) requiring only a small amount of data from the terminal 100 as the data to be cached.

[0255] According to various embodiments, the edge data network 300 may request the service server 400 for data determined to be cached. The edge data network 300 may receive data in response to the request from the service server 400 and store the data. The data cached by the edge data network 300 may be stored in a storage space in the edge data network 300 or in a storage space connected to the edge data network 300.

[0256] Fig.19 is a diagram illustrating an example method of caching data from a service server based on an RNI associated with a terminal by an edge data network 300 according to various embodiments.

[0257] refer to Fig.19, an application client providing a game service may be run in the terminal 100. The application client running in the terminal 100 may be an application client that receives an MEC service from the first edge application 311. The first edge application 311 may provide an MEC service (e.g., a cache service) to the terminal 100 through an edge enabler server 320 associated with the application client. The first edge application 311 may retrieve and subscribe to a subscription service 331 or an RNI service (not shown) and a cache service 333 in a service registry 340 of the edge enabler server 320, so as to pre-cache data to be provided to the application client.

[0258] The subscription service 331 or RNI service of the edge enabler server 320 can obtain the RNI related to the terminal 100. The subscription service 331 or RNI service can trigger the cache service based on the obtained RNI and the configured cache service triggering rule. In this case, the cache service triggering rule can be configured to trigger the cache service according to the network status of the terminal 100 determined based on the RNI. The cache service can be triggered by sending information about the network status of the terminal 100 to the cache service 333 by the subscription service 331 or RNI service.

[0259] The cache service 333 may determine the data to be cached from the service server 400 based on the information about the network status of the terminal 100 and the configured cache rules. For example, when the network status of the terminal 100 is good, the cache service 333 may determine the data to be cached as the first cache data 1910 about the service (e.g., a sophisticated and complex service) that requires a large amount of data among the services that can be provided through the application client of the terminal 100 based on the cache rules. When the network status of the terminal 100 is poor, the cache service 333 may determine the data to be cached as the second cache data 1920 about the service that requires only a small amount of data based on the cache rules.

[0260] The cache service 333 may cache the determined data from the service server 400. The cache service 333 may send a message requesting the data 1910 or 1920 determined to be cached to the service server 400. The request message sent by the cache service 333 may include information about the data determined to be cached, information about the terminal 100, and information about the application client of the terminal 100. The cache service 333 may receive the requested data in response to the sent request message from the service server 400, and store the requested data. The cache service 333 may receive identification information of the requested data, a list of information included in the requested data, identification information of the terminal 100, etc. from the service server 400 together with the requested data as information about the requested data.

[0261] While providing services through the application client, when a specific event occurs (e.g., moving to a new location in the game), the terminal 100 may have to provide services by receiving new data. In this case, the services provided by the terminal 100 may be different corresponding to the specific event depending on the good and bad network status of the terminal 100. For example, for a terminal 100 providing a game service, when the network status is good, the terminal 100 can provide a detailed game screen, and when the network status is poor, the terminal 100 can provide a simple game screen.

[0262] The edge data network 300 can determine that the network status of the terminal 100 is good, and pre-cache the first cache data 1910, which includes data about a delicate and complex game screen. When a specific event occurs in the terminal 100 with a good network status, when the terminal 100 requests data from the edge data network 300 (or the first edge application 311), the edge data network 300 (or the first edge application 311) can directly send (or stream) the first cache data 1910 to the terminal 100 through the 3GPP network 200.

[0263] For example, the first edge application 311 may receive data requested by the terminal from the edge enabler server 320 (or the cache service 333) and stream (or send) it to the terminal 100. In addition, the first edge application 311 may receive information about a location where data requested by the terminal 100 is stored from the edge enabler server 320 (or the cache service 333), obtain the data based on the received information, and send it to the terminal 100.

[0264] Therefore, based on the RNI associated with the terminal 100, according to the network status of the terminal 100, the edge data network 300 can effectively cache data from the service server 400 located away from the terminal 100, thereby providing necessary data without delay (or with reduced delay) according to the network status of the terminal 100 in response to an event occurring in the terminal 100.

[0265] According to various embodiments disclosed above, the edge data network 300 may cache data from the service server 400 based on information about the location of the terminal 100, information about an event occurring in the terminal 100, or an RNI related to the terminal 100. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and may also include any combination of the embodiments.

[0266] For example, the edge data network 300 may cache data from the service server 400 based on each or any combination of information about the location of the terminal 100, information about an event occurring in the terminal 100, or an RNI related to the terminal 100. In addition, the above-mentioned event subscription method, area of ​​interest, service triggering rule, caching rule, etc. may be configured based on the information on which the edge data network 300 for caching is based.

[0267] Fig. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an example edge data network in accordance with various embodiments.

[0268] like Fig. 20 As shown, the edge data network 300 of the present disclosure may include a processor (e.g., including a processing circuit) 2010, a communicator (e.g., including a communication circuit) 2020, and a memory 2030. However, the components of the edge data network 300 are not limited thereto. For example, the edge data network 300 may include more components or fewer components than the above components. In addition, the processor 2010, the communicator 2020, and the memory 2030 may be implemented as a single chip.

[0269] According to various embodiments, the processor 2010 may include various processing circuits and control a series of processes in which the edge data network 300 may operate according to the above disclosed embodiments. For example, the components of the edge data network 300 may be controlled so that the edge data network 300 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may cache data from the service server 400. The processor 2010 may include a plurality of processors, and the processor 2010 may perform the above-mentioned operation of caching data from the service server 400 by running a plurality of instructions (or programs) stored in the memory 2030.

[0270] According to various embodiments, the processor 2010 may control Figure 4A The edge applications 311 and 312 and the edge enabler server 320 of the edge data network 300 shown can perform a series of processes of operation. For example, the edge applications 311 and 312 and the edge enabler server 320 can be implemented as multiple instructions (or programs). The processor 2010 can perform the operations of the edge applications 311 and 312 and the edge enabler server 320 by running multiple instructions (or programs).

[0271] According to various embodiments, the processor 2010 may obtain information about the location of the terminal 100 from the 3GPP network 200. The processor 2010 may generate movement information of the terminal 100 in the region of interest based on information about the correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal 100 and the configured region of interest. The processor 2010 may cache data determined based on the movement information of the terminal 100 in the region of interest and the configured caching rule from the service server 400.

[0272] The communicator 2020 may include various communication circuits, and transmit signals to / receive signals from external devices (e.g., terminal 100), networks (e.g., 3GPP network 200), or servers (e.g., service server 400). The signals transmitted / received by the communicator 2020 may include control information and data. The communicator 2020 may include, for example, an RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying the transmitted signal and an RF receiver for low-noise amplification and down-conversion of the received signal. However, this is only an embodiment of the communicator 2020, and the components of the communicator 2020 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver. In addition, the communicator 2020 may receive a signal through a radio channel and output the signal to the processor 2010, and may transmit a signal output from the processor 2010 through a radio channel.

[0273] According to various embodiments, the communicator 2020 may send / receive data to / from the terminal 100 and the 3GPP network 200. For example, the communicator 2020 may receive a request for data from the terminal 100 through the 3GPP network 200, and send the data requested by the terminal 100 to the terminal 100. In addition, the communicator 2020 may send / receive data about the terminal 100 (e.g., information about the location of the terminal) to / from the 3GPP network 200. According to other embodiments, the communicator 2020 may send / receive data to / from the service server 400. For example, the communicator 2020 may send a data request message to the service server 400 under the control of the processor 2010, and may receive data from the service server 400.

[0274] According to various embodiments, the memory 2030 may store a plurality of instructions (or programs) and data required for the operation of the edge data network 300. In addition, the memory 2030 may store control information or data included in a signal sent / received by the edge data network 300. The memory 2030 may include a storage medium or a combination of storage media, such as a ROM, RAM, hard disk, CD-ROM, and DVD. In addition, the memory 2030 may include a plurality of memories, and according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 2030 may store a plurality of instructions (or programs) for caching data from the service server 400 by the edge data network 300 as an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0275] According to various embodiments, the memory 2030 may store data cached from the service server 400 .

[0276] Fig.21 is a block diagram showing an example structure of a terminal according to various embodiments.

[0277] like Fig.21 As shown, the terminal 100 of the present disclosure may include a processor (e.g., including a processing circuit) 2110, a communicator (e.g., including a communication circuit) 2120, and a memory 2130. However, the components of the terminal 100 are not limited thereto. For example, the terminal 100 may include more components or fewer components than the above components. In addition, the processor 2110, the communicator 2120, and the memory 2130 may be implemented as a single chip.

[0278] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processor 2110 may include various processing circuits and control a series of processes in which the terminal 100 can operate according to the above-mentioned various embodiments. The processor 2110 may include multiple processors, and the processor 2110 may execute the operation of the terminal 100 by running multiple instructions (or programs) stored in the memory 2130.

[0279] According to various embodiments, the processor 2110 may control Figure 2 The application clients 111 and 112, the edge enabler client 120, and the 3GPP communication layer 130 of the terminal 100 shown can perform a series of processes of operation. For example, the edge applications 111 and 112, the edge enabler client (or MEL) 120, and the 3GPP communication layer 130 can be implemented as multiple instructions (or programs). The processor 2110 can perform the operations of the edge applications 111 and 112, the edge enabler server 120, and the 3GPP communication layer 130 by running multiple instructions (or programs).

[0280] The communicator 2120 may include various communication circuits and send / receive signals to / from a network (e.g., 3GPP network 200) or a server (e.g., edge data network 300 or service server 400). The signal sent / received by the communicator 2120 may include control information and data. The communicator 2120 may include, for example, an RF transmitter for up-converting and amplifying the transmitted signal and an RF receiver for low-noise amplification and down-conversion of the received signal. However, this is merely an embodiment of the communicator 2120, and the components of the communicator 2120 are not limited to the RF transmitter and the RF receiver. In addition, the communicator 2120 may receive a signal through a radio channel and output the signal to the processor 2110, and may send a signal output from the processor 2110 through a radio channel.

[0281] According to various embodiments, the communicator 2120 may send / receive data to / from the 3GPP network 200, the edge data network 300, and the service server 400. For example, the communicator 2120 may send a data request to the edge data network 300 or the service server 400 through the 3GPP network 200, and receive the requested data from the edge data network 300 or the service server 400.

[0282] According to various embodiments, the memory 2130 may store a plurality of instructions (or programs) and data required for the operation of the terminal 100. In addition, the memory 2130 may store control information or data included in the signal sent / received by the terminal 100. The memory 2130 may include a storage medium or a combination of storage media, such as ROM, RAM, hard disk, CD-ROM and DVD. In addition, the memory 2130 may include a plurality of memories. According to various embodiments, the memory 2130 may store a plurality of instructions (or programs) for operating the terminal 100 according to the above-disclosed embodiments.

[0283] The method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure described in the specification or claims may be implemented by hardware, software or a combination thereof.

[0284] When these methods are implemented by software, a computer-readable storage medium or a computer program product may be provided to store one or more programs (software modules). One or more programs or computer program products stored in a computer-readable storage medium may be configured to be run by one or more processors in an electronic device. One or more programs may include instructions for causing an electronic device to run a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure described in the specification or claims.

[0285] These programs (software modules or software) may be stored in random access memory (RAM), non-volatile memory including flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), magnetic disk storage devices, compact discs (CD-ROM), digital versatile discs (DVD), other types of optical storage devices, or cassette tapes. Alternatively, the programs may be stored in a memory configured as a combination of some or all of such storage devices. In addition, each of a plurality of memories may be provided.

[0286] In addition, the program can be stored in an attachable storage device, which can be accessed through a communication network such as the Internet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WLAN), or a storage area network (SAN), or through a communication network configured to be any combination thereof. Such a storage device can be connected to the apparatus for performing the embodiments of the present disclosure through an external port. In addition, a separate storage device on a communication network can be connected to the apparatus for performing the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0287] In the present disclosure, the term "computer program product" or "computer readable recording medium" may be collectively referred to as a medium, such as a memory, a hard disk installed in a hard disk drive, and a signal. The "computer program product" or "computer readable recording medium" may be a component provided to a software computer system, which includes instructions for configuring the length of a timer for receiving lost data packets based on a network metric corresponding to a determined event according to the present disclosure.

[0288] In the above-mentioned specific embodiments of the present disclosure, the components included in the present disclosure are expressed in the singular or plural according to the specific embodiments presented in the present disclosure. However, for the convenience of description, the singular or plural expression is appropriately selected according to the presented situation, the present disclosure is not limited to the singular or plural components, and the components expressed in the plural may even be configured in the singular, or the components expressed in the singular may even be configured in the plural.

[0289] The described embodiments of the present disclosure may provide methods and apparatus capable of efficiently executing MEC-based services.

[0290] Although the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the various exemplary embodiments are illustrative rather than restrictive. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the true spirit and full scope of the present disclosure, including the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for caching data from a service server via an edge data network, the method comprising: obtaining information about the location of the terminal from a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network; generating movement information of the terminal in the region of interest based on information about a correspondence relationship between information about a location of the terminal and the region of interest; caching data from a service server, the data being determined based on movement information of the terminal in an area of ​​interest and configured caching rules; as well as determining a storage period of the cached data based at least on movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest, Determining the storage period of cached data includes: Determining the weight according to the relative distance from the region of interest of the terminal; and The storage period of the cached data is determined by multiplying the determined weight by the number of terminals that have activated the application client requesting the cached data and are located in the area of ​​interest related to the cached data or an area adjacent to the area of ​​interest.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Obtaining information about the terminal's location includes: requesting information about the location of the terminal from a network exposure function (NEF) of the 3GPP network; and Information about the location of the terminal is received from the NEF.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: Requesting the NEF for information about the location of the terminal includes: requesting the NEF to subscribe to a report of at least one event related to the location of the terminal provided by the NEF, and Receiving the information about the location of the terminal includes receiving, from the NEF, a report of at least one event including the information about the location of the terminal.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The at least one event related to the location of the terminal includes: at least one event related to the location of the terminal detected by at least one of an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) or a Gateway Mobility Location Center (GMLC) of the 3GPP network.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest includes at least one of the following: information indicating that the terminal is located in the area of ​​interest, information indicating that the terminal enters the area of ​​interest, information indicating that the terminal exits the area of ​​interest, or information indicating that the terminal moves from a first area of ​​interest to a second area of ​​interest in the area of ​​interest.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The cache rule includes information for mapping the movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest and the data cached from the service server, and The data cached from the service server includes data on services to be provided to the terminal according to movement of the terminal in the area of ​​interest.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The cache includes: Based on the cache rule, identifying data mapped to the movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest; as well as Cache identified data from the service server.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The regions of interest and caching rules are configured by a multi-access edge computing (MEC) application based on the services to be provided by the terminal's application.

9. An edge data network for caching data from a service server, the edge data network comprising: Communication circuits; A memory storing a plurality of instructions; as well as A processor configured to execute the plurality of instructions to: obtaining information about the location of the terminal from a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network through a communication circuit, generating movement information of the terminal in the region of interest based on information about the correspondence between the information about the location of the terminal and the region of interest, caching data from the service server via the communication circuit, the data being determined based on movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest and configured caching rules, and determining a storage period of the cached data based at least on movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest, Determining the storage period of cached data includes: Determining the weight according to the relative distance from the region of interest of the terminal; and The storage period of the cached data is determined by multiplying the determined weight by the number of terminals that have activated the application client requesting the cached data and are located in the area of ​​interest related to the cached data or an area adjacent to the area of ​​interest.

10. The edge data network according to claim 9, wherein: The processor is further configured to execute the plurality of instructions to: requesting information about the location of the terminal from a network open function (NEF) of the 3GPP network through a communication circuit, and Information on the location of the terminal is received from the NEF through the communication circuit.

11. The edge data network according to claim 10, wherein: The processor is further configured to execute the plurality of instructions to: requesting, from the NEF through the communication circuit, a subscription to a report of at least one event related to the location of the terminal provided by the NEF, and A report of at least one event including information about a location of the terminal is received from the NEF through the communication circuit.

12. The edge data network according to claim 11, wherein: The at least one event related to the location of the terminal includes: at least one event related to the location of the terminal detected by at least one of an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) or a Gateway Mobility Location Center (GMLC) of the 3GPP network.

13. The edge data network according to claim 9, wherein: The movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest includes at least one of the following: information indicating that the terminal is located in the area of ​​interest, information indicating that the terminal enters the area of ​​interest, information indicating that the terminal exits the area of ​​interest, or information indicating that the terminal moves from a first area of ​​interest to a second area of ​​interest in the area of ​​interest.

14. The edge data network according to claim 9, wherein: The cache rule includes information for mapping the movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest and the data cached from the service server, and The data cached from the service server includes data on services to be provided to the terminal according to movement of the terminal in the area of ​​interest.

15. The edge data network according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is further configured to execute the plurality of instructions to: Based on the cache rule, identifying data mapped to the movement information of the terminal in the area of ​​interest, and The identified data is cached from the service server via the communication circuit.

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