Network functionality and method for enhancing user segment management using NF group ID

Abstract

Techniques for enhancing user segment management using an NF group ID are provided. A method (100) in a first NF may include receiving (S102), from a second NF, a notification regarding a change in a mapping between an NF group ID and a UE identification stored in the second NF. The method (200) in the second NF may comprise, when a mapping change occurs in the second NF, sending (S202) a notification to the first NF regarding a change in a mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identification stored in the second NF.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of communication networks, and more specifically, to techniques for enhancing user segment management using Network Function (NF) group ID. BACKGROUND

[0002] According to the description in 3GPP TS 23.501 V17.5.0, for some network functions with access to subscription data (e.g., HSS (Home Subscriber Server), UDM (Unified Data Management)), the NRF (NF Repository Function) can need to resolve the NF group ID corresponding to a subscriber identifier. If the NRF has not locally stored the configuration mapping the set / range of identities to NF group IDs, the NRF can retrieve the NF group ID corresponding to a specific subscriber identifier from the UDR (User Data Repository) using the Nudr_GroupIDmap_Query service operation.

[0003] Therefore, the NF consumer can first perform a discovery operation using the UE identity, and if the UDR provides the mapping of UE identity and NF group ID, the NRF will only return the NF group ID in the discovery result. Then, the NF consumer can perform discovery of target NF producers (e.g., UDM, PCF (Policy Control Function), AUSF (Authentication Service Function)) using the NF group ID instead of the UE identity (e.g., SUPI (Subscription Permanent Identifier)). The corresponding NF group ID can also be transferred between specific NF consumers (e.g., source AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) and target AMF).

[0004] For delegated discovery, the SCP (Service Communication Proxy) can interact with the NRF to perform discovery and obtain the discovery result with the NF group ID corresponding to the UE identifier retrieved from the UDR as the discovery input.

[0005] REFERENCES

[0006] 3GPP TS 29.510 V17.7.0;

[0007] 3GPP TS 23.501 V17.5.0;

[0008] 3GPP TS 23.502 V17.5.0;

[0009] 3GPP TS 29.504 V17.8.0. SUMMARY

[0010] Based on current 3GPP specifications, e.g., 3GPP TS 29.504 V17.8.0, the Nudr_GroupIDmap service allows NF consumers of the UDR (i.e., NRF or SCP) to retrieve the mapping between a given subscriber ID and the NF Group ID (NF Type + Group ID) handling that subscriber ID. However, currently, the NF consumers cannot subscribe or be notified of any changes to such mapping in the UDR. Moreover, when the UDR provides the mapping of UE identity and NF Group ID, the NRF provides the NF Group ID to the NF consumer in the discovery result without providing the UE identity (e.g., SUPI) range. If there is any change to the mapping of UE identity and NF Group ID in the UDR (which can be triggered by the operator’s O&M (Operation and Maintenance)), the change to the mapping cannot be notified to the NRF or SCP, nor can it be further updated to the NF consumer via the NRF or other NFs. As a result, the NF consumer / SCP will send service requests to the wrong NF producers.

[0011] There is a need for a mechanism to notify the NF consumer / NRF / SCP of changes to the mapping in the UDR, but this is not specified in current 3GPP standards. For example, it would be useful for the NF consumer to subscribe to such mapping with the UDR, so that when the mapping changes, the UDR sends a notification of the change to the mapping to the NF consumer.

[0012] In some embodiments, a method in a first NF can include at least one of: receiving, from a second NF, a notification of a change to a mapping between NF Group IDs and UE identities stored in the second NF; and / or updating, in response to receiving, from the second NF, the notification of the change to the mapping between NF Group IDs and UE identities stored in the second NF, mapping information stored in the first NF.

[0013] In some embodiments, a method in a first NF can include sending, to a second NF, a subscription request to subscribe to notifications of changes to a mapping between NF Group Identifiers (IDs) and UE identities stored in the second NF.

[0014] In some embodiments, a method in a second NF can include sending, to a first NF, a notification of a change to a mapping between NF Group IDs and UE identities stored in the second NF when the change to the mapping occurs in the second NF.

[0015] In some embodiments, a method in a second NF can include receiving, from a first NF, a subscription request to subscribe to notifications of changes to a mapping between NF Group Identifiers (IDs) and UE identities stored in the second NF.

[0016] In some embodiments, a method in a NF consumer can include sending, to an NRF, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from a UE; and receiving, from the NRF, a discovery response including a NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information. The additional information can indicate a mapping source providing a mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

[0017] In some embodiments, a method in an NRF can include receiving, from a NF consumer, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from a UE; and sending, to the NF consumer, a discovery response including a NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information.

[0018] In some embodiments, a network function (NF) can be implemented to include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory can contain instructions executable by the processor, whereby the NF is operable to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods described above.

[0019] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a NF, cause the NF to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods described above.

[0020] In some embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of a NF, cause the NF to carry out operations corresponding to any of the methods described above.

[0021] In some embodiments, a carrier containing the above computer program wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable medium.

[0022] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide the NF consumer / SCP / NRF with the possibility to subscribe or be notified by the UDR of changes in the mapping, so the previously stored UE identity and NF group ID can be updated. The NF consumer / SCP can then perform discovery with the new mapping to find the correct target NF producer to handle the service request. Otherwise, the NF consumer / SCP has to perform discovery using the UE identity to find the correct NF instance for each service request or do so after the NF consumer receives a failure response with additional implementation logic. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent in light of the following detailed description of the disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 1A flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method in a first NF of a communication network (e.g., 5GC) in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] FIG. 2 A flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method in a second NF of a communication network (e.g., 5GC) in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] FIG. 3 A flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method in a NF consumer of a communication network (e.g., 5GC) in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] FIG. 4 A flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method in a NRF of a communication network (e.g., 5GC) in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] FIG. 5 A flow of an exemplary subscription / notification procedure in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] FIG. 6 A flow of an exemplary discovery procedure in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] FIG. 7A And FIG. 7B A flow of an exemplary direct communication procedure between a NF consumer, a NRF, and a UDR in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] FIG. 8A And FIG. 8B A flow of an exemplary indirect communication procedure between a NF consumer, a SCP, a NRF, and a UDR in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0032] FIG. 9 A schematic block diagram of a network node implementing a NF of a communication network (e.g., 5GC) in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0033] FIG. 10 A communication system in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0034] FIG. 11 A UE in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0035] FIG. 12 A network node in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0036] FIG. 13 A host computing system in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] FIG. 14is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure can be virtualized.

[0038] FIG. 15 Communication between a host computing system, a network node, and a UE via multiple connections in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The embodiments briefly summarized above will now be described more fully in connection with the attached drawings, which are depicted at a schematic level. These descriptions, which are given as examples only, are not intended to limit the scope of the subject matter in any way. More specifically, examples showing operation of various embodiments in accordance with the advantages set forth above are provided below.

[0040] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field of the disclosure, unless a different meaning is explicitly given and / or clearly contradicted by the context in which it is used. All references to a / an / the [element, device, component, means, step, etc.] are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of said element, device, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly otherwise specified. The steps of any methods and / or processes described herein need not be performed in the exact order detailed herein unless explicitly specified. Any of the embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to any other embodiments unless explicitly stated otherwise. Likewise, any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to any of the other embodiments, wherever it makes technical sense to do so. Aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, including particular features thereof, can be all combinations, permutations and sub-combinations of one or more other aspects or features. Other objects, features and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the description of the embodiments that follows.

[0041] Furthermore, the following terms are used throughout the description given below:

[0042] • Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” or “radio network node” or “radio access network node” is any node of a radio access network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and / or receive signals. Some examples of radio access nodes include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high- power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, etc.), a relay node, a network node that implements part of the functionality of a base station (e.g., a network node that implements a gNB central unit or a network node that implements a gNB distributed unit), or a network node that implements part of the functionality of some other type of radio access node.

[0043] • Core network node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of core network nodes include, e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (P-GW), etc. A core network node can also be a node implementing a specific core network function (NF) such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a service capability exposure function (SCEF), etc.

[0044] • Network node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is part of a core network (e.g., a core network node discussed above) of a telecommunication network. Functionally, a network node is a device that is capable of, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless or wireline device and / or with other network nodes or devices within the telecommunication network to enable and / or provide wireless or wireline access to the telecommunication network, and / or to perform other functions (e.g., management functions) within the telecommunication network.

[0045] • Node: As used herein, the term “node” (without any prefix) can be any type of node capable of operating in or with a telecommunication network (including a RAN and / or a core network), including a radio access node (or equivalent term), a core network node, or a telecommunication device.

[0046] Note that the description given herein focuses on 3GPP telecommunication systems and thus often uses 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to 3GPP systems. Other wireless systems, including but not limited to Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), can also benefit from these concepts, principles, and / or embodiments described herein.

[0047] In addition, functions and / or operations described herein as being performed by a telecommunication device or network node can be distributed over a plurality of telecommunication devices and / or network nodes.

[0048] There is no mechanism specified in current 3GPP standards to inform NF consumers / NRF / SCP about changes in the mapping in UDR. Therefore, if any mapping change has occurred in UDR, the NF consumer / SCP will send service requests to the wrong NF producer by using the outdated mapping previously learned from UDR. For example, a UE can send a 5GC initial registration to an AMF, and the AMF can discover (via NRF) the UDM that serves the UE. When the NRF receives the UDM discovery for the UE, the NRF can check the UDM NF profile, which contains only the UDM GID (group identifier) without the UE scope. Therefore, the NRF queries the UDR to get the UDM GID provided for the UE. When the UDR returns the requested UDM GID for the UE, the NRF can search for the UDM profile whose GID (in udmInfo) matches the GID obtained from UDR. The NRF can then respond to the AMF using the UDM profile found for the GID. The AMF can store the UDM profile and its GID as part of the UE mobility management context created after registering the UE in the UDM selected according to the GID. After that, the operator can change the GID provided for the UE in UDR, and then the UDR mapping UE -> UDM GID has been changed. The new UDM GID is identifying a different UDM pool to serve the UE. When the AMF needs to update the UE registration in the UDM, it selects the UDM according to the UDM GID stored in the UE context. The selected UDM belongs to the UDM pool (previous UDM GID) that no longer serves the UE, because the UE has moved to another UDM pool / GID, i.e., the mapping UE -> GID stored in UDR has been changed, but neither the NRF nor the AMF are aware of this. Therefore, for example, service requests can be sent to the wrong NF producer, and the UE can need to retry the service request, resulting in longer latency and poor user experience.

[0049] It can be observed that there is no UDR group ID change in any of the UDM / UDR NF profiles stored in NRF, and therefore no notification from NRF that the UE -> UDM GID mapping has been changed. In fact, there is currently no mechanism to inform about the change in the mapping (provided per UE) to let, for example, the NF consumer (e.g., AMF) know that the UE is now served by a different UDM pool. The same can happen for PCF GID mapping, HSS GID mapping, etc., because the mapping provided by UDR (data provided per UE) is actually per UE + NF type -> GID (for the requested UE + NF type), and the Nudr_GroupIDmap service in UDR only provides a query operation.

[0050] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, techniques are provided to enhance user segment management using NF Group ID. For example, a subscription / notification service operation can be added to the Nudr_GroupIDmap service specified in 3GPP TS 29.504 V17.8.0. Then, the UDR can provide a notification to NF consumers / SCPs / NRFs about changes in the mapping of UE identities to NF Group IDs in the UDR. The NF consumers / SCPs / NRFs can use the notification to update the previously stored UE identity to NF Group ID mapping. Then, the NF consumers / SCPs can utilize the new mapping to perform discovery to find the correct target NF producer to handle service requests. Otherwise, the NF consumers / SCPs have to perform discovery using UE identities to find the correct NF instance for each service request or do so after the NF consumer receives a failure response with additional implementation logic.

[0051] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are flow diagrams illustrating exemplary methods in a first NF and a second NF of a communication network (e.g., 5GC) according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively.

[0052] Referring to FIG. 1 , the method 100 in the first NF can comprise an operation S102 of receiving, from the second NF, a notification about a change in a mapping between NF Group IDs and UE identities stored in the second NF. In this way, the first NF can know that the mapping between NF Group IDs and UE identities has been changed and can then inform other NF consumers of the change in the mapping. Additionally or alternatively, the method 100 can further comprise an operation S104 of updating, in response to receiving, from the second NF, the notification about the change in the mapping between NF Group IDs and UE identities stored in the second NF, mapping information stored in the first NF, as indicated by the dashed box.

[0053] For example, the first NF can comprise an NF consumer, an NRF, or an SCP, and the second NF can comprise a UDR.

[0054] In some embodiments, the change can comprise one or more changes in one or more mappings between NF Group IDs and UE identities for one or more NF types. For example, the UDR can aggregate multiple mapping changes into one notification.

[0055] In some embodiments, the notification can comprise:

[0056] - a list of UE identities or UE identity ranges for which the mapping is changed;

[0057] - a NF Group ID for which the mapping is changed; and

[0058] - the NF type for which the mapping is changed.

[0059] In some embodiments, the first NF can send a subscription request to the second NF for subscribing to a notification about changes to the mapping stored in the second NF. The subscription request can comprise:

[0060] - a callback URI at which the first NF receives the notification from the second NF;

[0061] - a subscription condition indicating changes to one or more mappings between NF group IDs and UE identities to be monitored for one or more NF types.

[0062] The subscription condition can comprise one or more of the following:

[0063] - a NF group ID for which changes to the mapping between NF group IDs and UE identities are to be monitored;

[0064] - a list of UE identity ranges for which changes to the mapping with the NF group ID are to be monitored; and

[0065] - a list of subscription identifiers.

[0066] In some embodiments, the subscription request further comprises one or more of the following:

[0067] - a NF instance ID of the first NF;

[0068] - a subscription ID of the newly created resource, which is set to non-existent in the subscription request; and

[0069] - a validity time indicating a time after which the subscription becomes invalid.

[0070] Additionally, for example, the NF consumer / NRF / SCP can aggregate multiple mappings between NF group IDs and UE identities for one or more NF types into one subscription to avoid creating a large number of subscriptions in the UDR.

[0071] In some embodiments, the first NF can receive a subscription response to the subscription request from the second NF, wherein the subscription response can comprise a subscription ID of the newly created resource. In some embodiments, the subscription response can further comprise a validity time indicating a time after which the subscription becomes invalid. With reference to the subscription ID and the validity time, for example, the first NF can perform a subscription update, refresh, deletion, etc. if the NF group ID in the subscribed mapping is changed, or if the validity time has been reached.

[0072] In some embodiments, the method 100 can further comprise an operation of sending, to the NRF, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from the UE; and an operation of receiving, from the NRF, a discovery response comprising a NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information. The additional information can indicate a mapping source providing the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

[0073] In some embodiments, the mapping source can indicate one of:

[0074] - the NRF if the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity is provided locally by the NRF; and

[0075] - a UDR ID if the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity is provided by a UDR.

[0076] In some embodiments, upon receiving the discovery response, the first NF can send, by using the indicated UDR ID, a subscription request to the UDR as the second NF for subscribing to a notification about changes to the mapping stored in the UDR, wherein, in the discovery response, the mapping source indicates a UDR ID of the UDR providing the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

[0077] In some embodiments, if the notification indicates that the UE identity is moved to a mapping with another NF group ID, another subscription request is sent to the second NF for subscribing to a notification about changes to the mapping for the other NF group ID.

[0078] With reference to FIG. 2 , the method 200 in the second NF can comprise an operation S202 of sending, to the first NF, a notification about changes to the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity stored in the second NF when the mapping changes occur in the second NF.

[0079] In some embodiments, the second NF can receive, from the first NF, a subscription request for subscribing to a notification about changes to the mapping stored in the second NF, and send, to the first NF, a subscription response to the subscription request. The subscription response can comprise a subscription ID of a newly created resource. In some embodiments, the subscription response can further comprise a validity time indicating a time instant after which the subscription becomes invalid.

[0080] In some embodiments, if the notification indicates that the UE identity is moved to a mapping with another NF group ID, another subscription request is received, from the first NF, for subscribing to a notification about changes to the mapping for the other NF group ID.

[0081] FIG. 3 and FIG. 4are flow diagrams illustrating exemplary methods in a NF consumer and a NRF of a communication network (e.g., 5GC) according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0082] Reference is made to FIG. 3 The method 300 in the NF consumer can include an operation S302 of sending, to the NRF, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from a UE, and an operation S304 of receiving, from the NRF, a discovery response including a NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information. The additional information can indicate a mapping source providing a mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

[0083] In some embodiments, the mapping source can indicate one of:

[0084] - the NRF if the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity is locally provided by the NRF; and

[0085] - a UDR ID if the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity is provided by the UDR.

[0086] In some embodiments, upon receiving the discovery response, the NF consumer can send, to the UDR, a subscription request for subscribing to notifications about changes in the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity stored in the UDR, by using the indicated UDR ID, wherein in the discovery response, the mapping source indicates a UDR ID of the UDR providing the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

[0087] Reference is now made to FIG. 4 The method 400 in the NFR (which corresponds to the method 300) can include an operation S402 of receiving, from the NF consumer, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from a UE, and an operation S404 of sending, to the NF consumer, a discovery response including a NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information.

[0088] So far, methods in the NF consumer / SCP, the NRF and the UDR have been described. In the following, exemplary flows of their interactions according to various embodiments of the disclosure will be described in connection with FIG. 5 to FIG. 8B

[0089] FIG. 5 A flow of an exemplary subscription / notification procedure according to various embodiments of the disclosure is illustrated. Although FIG. 5 The procedure is illustrated as being performed between the NF consumer and the UDR, but it is also applicable to the procedure between the NRF or SCP and the UDR.

[0090] As FIG. 5 ​As shown, at step 1, the NF consumer can send a subscription request Nudr_GroupIDmap_Subscribe (NotificationUri, {NF Type, {NF Group ID, [UE Identity]}}) to the UDR for subscribing to the notification of changes on the mapping information stored in the UDR. The subscription request can also be referred to as a subscription creation request. More specifically, if the mapping is provided by the UDR, the NF consumer can send a subscription request with an information element SubData to the UDR to request to be notified of the mapping update using the newly introduced service operation. Here, the SubData can be defined as follows.

[0091] Type: SubData

[0092] Table 1: Definition of Type SubData

[0093]

[0094] Type: NfGroupIDMap

[0095] Table 2: Definition of Type NfGroupIDMap

[0096]

[0097] Type: MappingIdentity

[0098] Table 3: Definition of Type MappingIdentity

[0099]

[0100] At step 2, in response to the subscription request, the UDR can send a subscription response Nudr_GroupIDmap_Subscribe Response to the NF consumer, which can include the subscription ID and the validity time defined in Table 1. With reference to the subscription ID and the validity time, the NF consumer can perform subscription update, refresh, deletion, etc. for example, if the NF Group ID in the subscribed mapping is changed, or if the validity time has arrived.

[0101] At step 3, if the mapping of UE identity and NF Group ID corresponding to the NF producer is changed in the UDR, for example, due to the operator’s O&M, the UDR can update the mapping information. Then, at step 4, the UDR can send a notification on the mapping change to the NF consumer. The notification can be in the form of Nudr_GroupIDmap_Notify ({NF Type, {UE Identity, NF Group ID}}). The information element NfGroupIdMapNotification included in the notification can be defined as follows.

[0102] Type: NfGroupIdMapNotificaiton

[0103] Table 4: Definition of Type NfGroupIdMapNotification

[0104]

[0105] At step 5, upon receiving the notification about the mapping change from the UDR, the NF consumer can refresh / update the corresponding mapping information of UE identity and NF group ID locally stored in the NF consumer.

[0106] Optionally, at step 6, the NF consumer can send a notification response to the UDR. For example, the notification response can inform the UDR that the notification about the mapping change has been successfully / unsuccessfully received. In another example, the notification response can inform that the mapping update has been completed at step 5.

[0107] In this way, the subscription / notification operation can be introduced into the Nudr_GroupIDmap service, thus the mapping change occurred in the UDR can be notified to the SCP / NRF / NF consumer, and the corresponding context can be updated.

[0108] Please note that the NF consumer / NRF / SCP can aggregate more than one mapping between NF group ID and UE identity for one or more NF types into one subscription to avoid creating a large number of subscriptions in the UDR. In addition, the UDR can aggregate multiple mapping changes into one notification to reduce signaling overhead.

[0109] FIG. 6 A flow of an exemplary discovery procedure between the NF consumer and the NRF according to various embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Unlike the conventional discovery procedure (in which the NRF only returns the NF group ID in the discovery response if the UDR provides the mapping of UE identity and NF group ID), the NRF can include additional information in the discovery response to let the NF consumer know the mapping source that provides the mapping information. Specifically, as FIG. 6As shown, at step 1, the NF consumer can send a discovery request Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request to the NRF with a UE identity corresponding to the request from the UE. Then, at step 2, the NRF can send a discovery response Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Requestrespond(…, groupMappingInfo) to the NF consumer, which includes the NF group ID in the NF Profile of the NF instance and additional information groupMappingInfo indicating, for example, the corresponding UDR instance as the source providing this mapping information. The additional information groupMappingInfo can be added and defined in SearchResult in 3GPP TS 29.510 V17.7.0, clause 6.2.6.2.2.

[0110] Type: SearchResult

[0111] Table 6.2.6.2.2-1: Definition of type SearchResult

[0112]

[0113] Type: GroupIdMappingInfo

[0114] Table 5: Definition of type GroupIdMappingInfo

[0115]

[0116] Table 6: Definition of type MappingSource

[0117] Enumeration: MappingSource

[0118]

[0119] By including such additional information in the NF discovery response from the NRF to the NF consumer, the NF consumer can know that the mapping of the UE identity and the NF group ID is provided by the UDR and the corresponding UDR instance. This can allow the NF consumer to subscribe to the notification about the mapping change as introduced above in FIG. 5 clause. Thus, the NF consumer can know the mapping change of the UE identity and apply the corresponding update.

[0120] More details will be given with reference to FIG. 7A to FIG. 8B two different scenarios, FIG. 7A to FIG. 8B which can be divided into:

[0121] - Direct communication between NF consumer, NRF and UDR according to various embodiments of the disclosure, where the mapping of UE identity range and NF group ID is provided by the UDR; Note that this also applies to indirect communication without delegated discovery, which is similar to the scenario of direct communication, therefore not depicted in the figure.

[0122] - Indirect communication between NF consumer, SCP, NRF and UDR according to various embodiments of the disclosure, where delegated discovery including the use of SCP is included. In addition, the UDR provides the mapping of UE identity and NF group ID.

[0123] The prerequisite for these figures is that the NF producer (nf-instance-1) registers itself in the NRF using NF group ID 1 (as step 0) and the UDR provides the mapping of UE identity and NF group ID. It will be described first by referring to FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B Scenario 1 of direct communication will be described.

[0124] Scenario 1: Direct communication

[0125] At step 1, the NF consumer receives a request from a UE.

[0126] At step 2, the NF consumer performs discovery for the NF producer via the NR by sending an Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request with the UE identity (e.g. SUPI) corresponding to the received UE request as the query factor.

[0127] At step 3, the NRF retrieves the NF group ID mapping for the requested UE and corresponding NF type from the UDR.

[0128] At step 4, the UDR provides the NF group ID to the NRF in response according to the input UE identity and NF type.

[0129] At step 5, the NRF returns the NF Profile of the NF producer (nf-instance-1) to the NF consumer, which includes the NF group ID 1 corresponding to the NF producer (nf-instance-1). The NRF also provides additional information to the NF consumer about the repository of the mapping of UE identity and NF group ID from the UDR. The corresponding UDR instance (e.g. UDR ID) is also included. The case of including additional information has been described above in connection with FIG. 6 Scenario 2 of indirect communication will be described.

[0130] At step 6, the NF consumer subscribes to the NFR for changes to the NFProfile of the NF producer (nf-instance-1).

[0131] At step 7, the NF consumer performs discovery based on the UDR instance returned in step 5 to find the UDR instance that provides the mapping of UE identity and NF group ID.

[0132] At step 8, the NF consumer subscribes to the UDR for notification of changes to the mapping information for NF group ID 1 stored in the UDR. This subscription has been described above in connection with FIG. 5 .

[0133] The NF consumer then proceeds with processing subsequent requests. At step 9, the NF consumer receives a subsequent request from a UE.

[0134] At step 10, the NF consumer sends an Nnrf_NFDiscovery_Request message to the NRF using the NF group ID (i.e., NF group ID 1).

[0135] At step 11, the NRF responds to the NF consumer using the NFProfile of the target NF producer (nf-instance-1).

[0136] If there is a locally available cache of the NFProfile of the target NF producer (nf-instance-1) in the NF consumer, steps 10 and 11 can be skipped.

[0137] At step 12, the NF consumer selects the target NF producer (nf-instance-1) based on the discovery result and sends a service request to this NF producer (nf-instance-1) and receives a service response from this NF producer (nf-instance-1).

[0138] At step 13, the operator updates the network deployment by adding a new NF producer (nf-instance-2) of the same type with NF group ID 2 to which UE identities are mapped instead of the previous NF group ID 1.

[0139] At step 14, the mapping information provided in the UDR is updated to provide new mappings of UE identity and NF group ID for subsequent requests from the NRF.

[0140] At step 15, since the NF consumer has subscribed to the UDR at step 8 for notification of changes to the mapping information stored in the UDR, the UDR notifies the NF consumer of the mapping change that the UE identity has been removed from the previously subscribed NF Group ID 1 and moved to NF Group ID 2 via Nudr_GroupIDmap_Notify.

[0141] At step 16, upon receiving the notification, the NF consumer updates its mapping of UE identity and NF Group ID according to the information elements included in the notification.

[0142] Then, at step 17, the NF consumer receives a new request from the UE.

[0143] At step 18, if there is no subscription to the UDR to know the new NF Group ID (i.e. NF Group ID 2) that the UE moved to, the NF consumer sends a new discovery request to the NRF still with the UE identity.

[0144] At step 19, the NRF retrieves the NF Group ID mapping for the requested UE and corresponding NF type from the UDR.

[0145] At step 20, the UDR provides the NF Group ID to the NRF in response according to the input UE identity and NF type.

[0146] Here, if the synchronization is achieved through the subscription / notification operation between the NRF and the UDR (as referred to in FIG. 5 , or through local caching the corresponding mapping information is cached in the NRF, then steps 19 and 20 can be skipped.

[0147] At step 21, the NRF returns the NF Profile of the NF producer (nf-instance-2) to the NF consumer, which includes the NF Group ID 2 in the NF Profile.

[0148] At step 22, the NF consumer subscribes to the UDR for notification of changes to the mapping information of the new NF Group ID (i.e. NF Group ID 2 in the UDR).

[0149] At step 23, the NF consumer sends a service request to the NF producer (nf-instance-2) based on the discovery result instead of the previous NF producer (nf-instance-1 with NF Group ID 1).

[0150] After that, at steps 24 to 27, the NF consumer finds the target NF producer (nf-instance-2) for the corresponding UE using the NF Group ID 2 and communicates with the target NF producer (nf-instance-2). Steps 24 to 27 are similar to steps 9 to 12, except that NF Group ID 1 is changed to NF Group ID 2 and NF producer (nf-instance-1) is replaced by NF producer (nf-instance-2).

[0151] Now, the indirect communication scenario 2 with delegated discovery will first be described by referring to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B .

[0152] Scenario 2: Indirect communication with delegated discovery

[0153] At step 1, the NF consumer receives a request from the UE.

[0154] At step 2, the NF consumer sends a service request to the SCP with the UE identity corresponding to the UE request.

[0155] At step 3, the SCP queries the mapping of NF Group ID and UE identity from the UDR based on the UE identity received in the service request.

[0156] At step 4: The UDR returns the mapping information corresponding to the UE identity to the SCP.

[0157] At step 5, while or upon receiving this mapping information, the SCP subscribes to the UDR for notification of changes to the mapping information in the UDR for the current NF Group ID (i.e., NF Group ID 1). This can be similar to the subscription described above with reference to FIG. 5 .

[0158] At step 6, the SCP performs discovery to find the target NF producer with the NF Group ID (i.e., NF Group ID 1) mapped from the UE identity.

[0159] At step 7, the NRF returns the NF Profile of the target NF producer (nf-instance-1) to the SCP.

[0160] At step 8, the SCP forwards the service request to the target NF producer (nf-instance-1). The target NF producer (nf-instance-1) processes the service request and sends a service response to the SCP.

[0161] At step 9, the SCP forwards the service response to the NF consumer that initiated the service request.

[0162] The NF consumer then continues to process the subsequent request from the UE. At step 10, the NF consumer receives the subsequent request from the UE.

[0163] At step 11, the NF consumer sends the service request to the SCP.

[0164] Here, if the corresponding information of the target NF producer (nf-instance-1) does not exist in the cache of the SCP, the SCP performs discovery for the target NF producer at steps 12 and 13. Otherwise, if the corresponding information of the target NF producer (nf-instance-1) is cached in the SCP, steps 12 and 13 can be skipped.

[0165] At step 12, the SCP sends a discovery request for the target NF producer to the NRF using the NF Group ID (i.e., NF Group ID 1).

[0166] At step 13, the NRF returns the NF Profile of the NF producer (nf-instance-1) to the SCP.

[0167] At step 14, the SCP forwards the service request to the target NF producer (nf-instance-1). The target NF producer (nf-instance-1) then processes the service request and sends a service response.

[0168] At step 15, the SCP forwards the service response to the NF consumer that initiated the service request.

[0169] At step 16, the operator updates the network deployment by adding a new NF producer (nf-instance-2) of the same type with NF Group ID 2, to which the UE identity is newly mapped, instead of the previous NF Group ID 1.

[0170] At step 17, the provided mapping information in the UDR is also updated.

[0171] At step 18, since the SCP has subscribed to the notification of changes to the mapping information stored in the UDR at step 5, the UDR notifies the SCP of the mapping change via Nudr_GroupIDmap_Notify.

[0172] At step 19, according to the notification from the UDR, the SCP updates the mapping of the UE identity and the NF Group ID.

[0173] At step 20, the NF consumer receives a subsequent request from the UE.

[0174] At step 21, the NF consumer sends a subsequent service request to the SCP.

[0175] If there is no subscription to the UDR to know the new NF Set ID (i.e., NF Set ID 2) that the UE moves to, steps 22 to 24 are performed.

[0176] At step 22, the SCP queries the mapping information of NF Set ID and UE identity from the UDR based on the UE identity received in the subsequent service request.

[0177] At step 23: The UDR returns the mapping information corresponding to the UE identity to the SCP.

[0178] At step 24, the SCP subscribes to the notification about the change of the mapping information in the UDR for the new NF Set ID (i.e., NF Set ID 2) at the same time or upon receiving the mapping information.

[0179] At step 25, the SCP sends a discovery request for target NF producer using the new NF Set ID (i.e., NF Set ID 2) returned from step 23 to the NRF.

[0180] At step 26, the NRF returns the NF Profile of the NF producer (nf-instance-2) to the SCP.

[0181] At step 27, the SCP forwards the service request to the target NF producer. The target NF producer processes the service request and sends a service response.

[0182] At step 28, the SCP forwards the service response to the NF consumer that initiates the service request.

[0183] After that, at steps 29 to 34, the SCP uses the NF Set ID 2 to forward the target NF producer for the corresponding UE and communicates with the target NF producer (nf-instance-2). Steps 29 to 34 are similar to steps 10 to 15, except that NF Set ID 1 is changed to NF Set ID 2 and NF producer (nf-instance-1) is replaced by NF producer (nf-instance-2).

[0184] FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a network node implementing a NF of a communication network (e.g., 5GC) according to various embodiments of the disclosure. The network node 900 includes a processor 910 and a memory 920 coupled to the processor 910. The memory 920 can contain instructions executable by the processor 910, whereby the network node 900 is operable to perform, for example, the previously FIG. 1 and FIG. 5The operations of the processes described. Specifically, the memory 920 can include instructions executable by the processor 910 whereby the network node 900 implementing a first NF is operable to receive, from a second NF (e.g., a UDR), a notification of a change in a mapping between NF group IDs and UE identities stored in the second NF.

[0185] Alternatively, the memory 920 can include instructions executable by the processor 910 whereby the network node 900 is operable to perform, when implementing a second NF (e.g., a UDR), the operations of the processes described previously in connection with FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 The operations of the processes described. Specifically, the memory 920 can include instructions executable by the processor 910 whereby the network node 900 implementing a second NF is operable to send, to a first NF, a notification of a change in a mapping between NF group IDs and UE identities stored in the second NF when the mapping change occurs in the second NF.

[0186] Alternatively, the memory 920 can include instructions executable by the processor 910 whereby the network node 900 is operable to perform, when implementing an NF consumer, the operations of the processes described previously in connection with FIG. 3 and FIG. 6 The operations of the processes described. Specifically, the memory 920 can include instructions executable by the processor 910 whereby the network node 900 implementing an NF consumer is operable to: send, to an NRF, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from a UE; and receive, from the NRF, a discovery response including an NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information. The additional information indicates a mapping source providing the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

[0187] Alternatively, the memory 920 can include instructions executable by the processor 910 whereby the network node 900 is operable to perform, when implementing an NRF, the operations of the processes described previously in connection with FIG. 4 and FIG. 6 The operations of the processes described. Specifically, the memory 920 can include instructions executable by the processor 910 whereby the network node 900 implementing an NRF is operable to: receive, from an NF consumer, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from a UE; and send, to the NF consumer, a discovery response including an NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information. The additional information indicates a mapping source providing the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

[0188] The processor 910 can be a single CPU (Central Processing Unit), but can include two or more processing units. For example, the processor can include a general-purpose microprocessor, an instruction set processor, and / or a related chip set and / or a specialized

[0189] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product in the form of a non-volatile or volatile memory, such as, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, and a hard disk drive. The computer program product further comprises a computer program. The computer program comprises code / computer readable instructions, which, when executed by the processor 910, causes the network node 900 to perform operations of the processes described, for example, previously in connection with FIG. 1 to FIG. 8B

[0190] The computer program described above can be contained in a medium, for example, a carrier, which can be one of an electrical signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable medium.

[0191] So far, various embodiments have been described. With the proposed solution, when the mapping of UE identity and NF group ID is changed in the UDR, the NF consumer / SCP / NRF can receive a notification about the mapping change, apply the corresponding update to the mapping information, and perform discovery with the updated mapping of UE identity and NF group ID, which is not possible in the current 3GPP specifications. In addition, the NF consumer can send the NF service request directly to the correct NF producer, i.e., without retrying the NF service request by:

[0192] - Additional discovery to the NRF using UE identity, if there is no corresponding notification about the new mapping, discovery to the UDR;

[0193] - Additional failure handling based on application error responded from the NF producer serving the UE before the change.

[0194] Generally speaking, with the proposed solution, the corresponding use cases can be supported and the UE experience can be improved, e.g., without increasing the latency of the procedure (general registration or intra-5GC handover procedure).

[0195] Although various embodiments have been described above in terms of methods, apparatus, devices, computer-readable media, and receivers, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily comprehend that such methods can be implemented by various combinations of hardware and software, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, etc., in various systems.

[0196] ​FIG. 10 An example of a communication system 1000 is shown in accordance with some embodiments. The concepts of the present disclosure can be applied in the communication system 1000. In this example, the communication system 1000 includes a telecommunication network 1002, including an access network 1004, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 1006, including one or more core network nodes 1008. The access network 1004 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1010a and 1010b (one or more of which can be commonly referred to as network nodes 1010), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. The network nodes 1010 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE) to the core network 1006, for example, by one or more wireless connections to UEs 1012a, 1012b, 1012c, and 1012d (one or more of which can be commonly referred to as UEs 1012).

[0197] Example wireless communication over a wireless connection includes the transmission and / or reception of wireless signals using electromagnetic, radio, infrared, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information over a carrier wave without the use of wiring, cabling, or other material conductors. Further, in different embodiments, the communication system 1000 can include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other component or system that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via wired or wireless communication) between and among each other. The communication system 1000 can include any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system, and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0198] The UEs 1012 can be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1010 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1010 are arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1012 and / or with other network nodes or devices in the telecommunication network 1002, to enable and / or provide network access (e.g., wireless network access) and / or to perform other functions of the telecommunication network 1002 (e.g., management).

[0199] In the depicted example, core network 1006 connects network nodes 1010 to one or more hosts, such as host 1016. These connections can be direct or indirect, such as through one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes can be directly coupled to hosts. Core network 1006 includes one or more core network nodes, such as core network node 1008, which together form a core network. These components can be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UE, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that their description can generally apply to corresponding components of core network node 1008. Example core network nodes include functionality for one or more of: a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier de-concealing function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection proxy (SEPP), a network exposure function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF). SMFs and AMFs and methods therein according to various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in core network nodes.

[0200] Host 1016 can be owned and / or controlled by a service provider other than the operator or provider of access network 1004 and / or telecommunication network 1002, and can be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. Host 1016 can host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include real-time and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieving and compiling data about various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analytics functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by servers.

[0201] In various embodiments, core network node 1008 can implement a network function (NF) of communication system or network 900. In other words, NFs can be located in or coupled to core network 1006. Such NFs can be configured to perform operations corresponding to the example methods described above.

[0202] As a whole, FIG. 10The communication system 1000 enables connectivity between the UEs, the network nodes, and the host computer. In this regard, the communication system can be configured to operate in accordance with predefined regulatory standards or processes, such as particular standards including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE); and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near-Field Communication (NFC), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standard such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0203] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1002 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP-standardized features. Thus, the telecommunication network 1002 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunication network 1002. For example, the telecommunication network 1002 can provide Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or providing massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) / massive IoT services to yet other UEs.

[0204] In some examples, the UEs 1012 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE can be designed to transmit information to the access network 1004, according to a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1004. In addition, UEs can be configured to operate in single-RAT mode or multi-RAT mode or multi-standard mode. For example, UEs can be configured to operate utilizing any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRA (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0205] In this example, hub 1014 communicates with access network 1004 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UEs 1012c and / or 1012d) and a network node (e.g., network node 1010b). In some examples, hub 1014 can be a controller, router, content source and analyzer, or any other communication device described herein with respect to a UE. For example, hub 1014 can be a broadband router that enables a UE to access core network 1006. As another example, hub 1014 can be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators of a UE. The commands or instructions can be received from the UE, network node 1010, or by executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions in hub 1014. As another example, hub 1014 can be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage device for UE data, and in some embodiments, can perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, hub 1014 can be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, hub 1014 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which hub 1014 then provides directly to the UE after performing local processing and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, hub 1014 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for a UE, especially if one or more UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0206] Hub 1014 can have a persistent / permanent or intermittent connection to network node 1010b. Hub 1014 can also allow for different communication schemes and / or schedules between hub 1014 and UEs (e.g., UEs 1012c and / or 1012d) and between hub 1014 and core network 1006. In other examples, hub 1014 is connected to core network 1006 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Further, hub 1014 can be configured to connect to an M2M service provider through access network 1004, and / or to another UE through a direct connection. In some scenarios, a UE can establish a wireless connection with network node 1010 while still connecting through hub 1014 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 1014 can be a dedicated hub - i.e., a hub whose primary function is to route communications from network node 1010b to UEs / route communications from UEs to network node 1010b. In other embodiments, hub 1014 can be a non-dedicated hub - i.e., a device that is capable of operating to route communications between UEs and network node 1010b but additionally capable of operating as a communication origin and / or endpoint for certain data channels.

[0207] FIG. 11A UE 1100 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, a UE refers to a device that is capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with a network node and / or other UEs. Examples include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, IP phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop-mounted embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted installment equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle-embedded / installed wireless equipment, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including Narrow- Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, Machine Type Communication (MTC) UEs, and / or Enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0208] The UE may, for example, support device-to-device (D2D) communication through implementation of 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-anything (V2X). In other examples, UEs can not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user that owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE can represent a device that is intended for sale to the end user or operation by the end user but can not or initially can not be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE can represent a device that is not intended for sale or operation by an end user but can be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0209] The UE 1100 includes processing circuitry 1102 that is operatively coupled to input / output interface 1106, power source 1108, memory 1110, communication interface 1112, and / or any other component or any combination thereof, via bus 1104. Some of the components of UE 1100, or all of them, can be integrated on a chipset. Similarly, some of the components, or all of them, can be implemented with one or more ASICs, FPGAs, and / or other hardware. Further, some of the components, or all of them, can be implemented in the form of code (e.g., software or firmware) that is stored on and executed by processing circuitry 1102 or other hardware devices. The bus 1104 can be one or more buses (e.g., bus systems) that enable communication between the components of UE 1100. FIG. 11 All or a subset of the components shown in the example of UE 1100 can be included in the UE 1100. The level of integration between the components can vary from implementation to implementation. Further, the UE 1100 in some cases can include additional components not shown in the example of FIG. 11, and / or different arrangements of the components shown.

[0210] The processing circuit 1102 is configured to process instructions and data, and can be configured as any sequential state machine operative to read instructions such as those stored in the memory 1110 and execute them in the order found. The processing circuit 1102 can be implemented with one or more hardware implemented state machines, for example, in discrete logic, field programmable gate array (FPGA), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc., programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs)) together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 1102 can include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0211] In an example, the input / output interface 1106 can be configured to provide one or more interfaces to input devices, output devices, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. The input devices can allow a user to capture information into the UE 1100. Examples of input devices include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital still or motion camera), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and so forth. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor, for example, can be an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, and so forth, or any combination thereof. The output devices can use the same types of interfaces as the input devices. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port can be used to provide input to the

[0212] In some embodiments, the power supply 1108 is configured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power supplies, such as an external power supply (e.g., a power cord that connects to an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a connection to an electrical grid can also be used. The power supply 1108 can also include a power supply circuit that is used to deliver power from the power supply 1108 and / or an external power source to the various components of the UE 1100 via an input circuit or interface, such as a power cable. The power supply circuit can perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power supply 1108 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1100 to which power is supplied.

[0213] Memory 1110 can be or include the memory such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disk drives, floppy disks, flash memory devices, or other memory devices. In one example, memory 1110 includes one or more applications 1114, such as an operating system, a web browser application, widgets, a widget engine, or other applications, and corresponding data 1116. Memory 1110 can store any of a variety of various operating systems that are used by UE 1100, alone or in combination.

[0214] Memory 1110 can be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drives, external hard drives, thumb drives, pen drives, key drives, High-Density Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) optical drives, internal hard disk drives, Blu-Ray optical drives, Hypertape®magnetic disk drives, external mini-dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMMs, smart card memory such as that typically used in a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) format including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may, for example, be an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card." Memory 1110 can allow UE 1100 to access instructions, application programs, etc. stored on transitory or non-transitory storage media for off-site backup or uploading. An article of manufacture, such as of a communication system, can be tangibly embodied in or transmuted into memory 1110, which can be or include a device readable storage medium.

[0215] The processing circuit 1102 can be configured to communicate with an access network or other networks using the communication interface 1112. The communication interface 1112 can include one or more communication subsystems and can include the antenna 1122 or be communicatively coupled to the antenna 522. The communication interface 1112 can include one or more transceivers for communicating with other devices, such as one or more remote transceivers of another UE or of an access network node. Each transceiver can include a transmitter 1118 and / or a receiver 1120 adapted to provide network communications, such as optical, electrical, and / or frequency domain communications. Moreover, the transmitter 1118 and receiver 1120 can be coupled to one or more antennas, such as the antenna 1122, and can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively can be implemented separately.

[0216] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functionality of the communication interface 1112 can include cellular communications, Wi-Fi communications, LPWAN communications, data communications, voice communications, multimedia communications, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communications, location-based communications (e.g., using the global positioning system (GPS) to determine location), another type of communication functionality, or any combination thereof. The communications can be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0217] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE can provide an output of data captured by its sensors via its communication interface 1112 over a wireless connection with a network node. Data captured by the sensors of the UE can be transmitted via another UE over a wireless connection with a network node. The output can be periodic (e.g., every 15 minutes if it reports sensed temperature), random (e.g., to balance the load of reports from several sensors), responsive to a triggering event (e.g., sending an alert when moisture is detected), responsive to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a real-time video feed of a patient).

[0218] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch can change. For example, the UE can include a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight according to the received input, or adjusts a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0219] When the UE is in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, the UE can be a device for use in one or more application domains, including but not limited to smart cities, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are or are embedded in: a networked refrigerator or freezer, a television, a networked lighting device, an electricity meter, a robotic vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / water level sensor, an electronic door lock, a networked doorbell, an air conditioning system (e.g., a heat pump), an autonomous vehicle, a monitoring system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), a wearable device for tactile or sensory augmentation, a sprinkler, an animal tracking or item tracking device, a sensor for monitoring plants or animals, an industrial robot, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor or a teleoperated surgical robot). In addition to other components as described with respect to the UE 1100 shown in FIG. 11 In addition to other components as described with respect to the UE 1100 shown in

[0220] As yet another particular example, in an IoT scenario, the UE can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. In this case, the UE can be a M2M device, which in a 3GPP context can be referred to as a MTC device. As one particular example, the UE can implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE can represent a vehicle (e.g., an automobile, a bus, a truck, a boat, and an airplane), or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0221] In practice, any number of UEs can be used together for a single use case. For example, a first UE can be or be integrated in a drone, and provide speed information of the drone (obtained by a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller that operates the drone. When the user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE can adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the speed of the drone. The first UE and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the above-mentioned functions. For example, a UE can include both a sensor and an actuator, and handle data communication for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0222] FIG. 12 A network node 1200 is shown in accordance with some embodiments. The RAN nodes of the present disclosure can be implemented with network node 1200. A network node can refer to a device that is able to, configured to, arranged to, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices within a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)).

[0223] Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage that they provide (or in other words, their transmission power level), and thus depending on the amount of coverage provided, a base station can be referred to as a femto, pico, micro, or macro base station. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling relays. Network nodes can also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized, digital, and / or remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). These remote radio units can or can not be integrated with antennas into antenna-integrated radios. The parts of the distributed radio base station can also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0224] Other examples of network nodes include multi-Transmission Point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-Standard Radio (MSR) devices (e.g., MSR BSs), network controllers (e.g., radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs)), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), operation and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operations support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC)), and / or minimization of drive testing (MDT).

[0225] The network node 1200 includes processing circuitry 1202, memory 1204, communication interface 1206, and power source 1208. The network node 1200 can be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., NodeB component and RNC component, BTS component and BSC component, and so on), which can have their own respective

[0226] The processing circuitry 1202 can comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other processing circuit, as well as any

[0227] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 comprises a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1202 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214 can be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1212 and baseband processing circuitry 1214 can be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0228] Memory 1204 can include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that can be used with processing circuitry 1202. Memory 1204 can store any

[0229] Communication interface 1206 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As illustrated, communication interface 1206 includes a port / transceiver 1216 to send and receive data, for example, to and from a network over a wired connection. Communication interface 1206 also includes radio-front end circuitry 1218 that can be coupled to, or in some embodiments a part of, antenna 1210. Radio-front end circuitry 1218 comprises filters 1220 and amplifiers 1222. Radio-front end circuitry 1218 can be connected to antenna 1210 and processing circuitry 1202. Radio-front end circuitry 1218 can be configured to condition signals

[0230] In certain alternative embodiments, network node 1200 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1218, instead, processing circuitry 1202 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 1210. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 1212 is a part of communication interface 1206. In yet another embodiment, communication interface 1206 includes one or more ports or terminals 1216 that are part of a radio (not shown), radio front-end circuitry 1218, and RF transceiver circuitry 1212, and communication interface 1206 is in communication with baseband processing circuitry 1214 that is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0231] Antenna 1210 can include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1210 can be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 1218 and can be any type of antenna and / or antenna array capable of

[0232] Antenna 1210, communication interface 1206, and / or processing circuitry 1202 can be configured to perform any of the receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signals can be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, antenna 1210, communication interface 1206, and / or processing circuitry 1202 can be configured to perform any of the transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signals can be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0233] Power source 1208 provides power to various components of network node 1200 in a form suitable for use by each respective component (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed by each respective component). Power source 1208 can also include, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply, and control power supplied to, the components of network node 1200 for performing the functions described herein. For example, network node 1200 can be connected to an external power source (e.g., an electricity grid, an electrical outlet), via an input circuitry or interface (e.g., an electrical cable) that allows power to be supplied to the power source circuitry of the power source 1208 from the external power source. As a further example, power source 1208 can comprise a power supply unit, such as a battery or battery pack, that is connected to, or integrated in, the power source circuitry. If the external power source fails, the battery can provide ready power.

[0234] Embodiments of network node 1200 can include additional components not shown in FIG. 12 that can be useful for particular applications of network node 1200. For example, network node 1200 can include various FIG. 12Additional components, not shown, of the illustrated components can be used in providing certain aspects of functionality of the network node (including any functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein). For example, the network node 1200 can include user interface devices to allow input of information into the network node 1200 and to allow output of information from the network node 1200. This can allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions in relation to the network node 1200.

[0235] In various embodiments, the network node 1200 can be configured to perform operations performed by network nodes, network functions (NFs), and application functions (AFs) in the example methods or procedures described above.

[0236] FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a host 1300 that can be a host 1016 of FIG. 10 embodiments described above. As used herein, the host 1300 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software (including processing resources in standalone servers, blade servers, cloud-implemented servers, distributed servers, virtual machines, containers, or groups of servers). The host 1300 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0237] The host 1300 includes processing circuitry 1302 that is operatively coupled to an input / output interface 1306, a network interface 1308, a power source 1310, and memory 1312 via a bus 1304. Other components can be included in other embodiments. Features of these components can be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of the previous figures (e.g., the host 1016 of FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 the network node 1200), such that their description can generally apply to the corresponding components of the host 1300.

[0238] Memory 1312 can include one or more computer programs, including data 1316, which can include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for host 1300 or data generated by host 1300 for a UE, and one or more host applications 1314. Embodiments of host 1300 can utilize only a subset of the shown components or all of them. Host applications 1314 can be implemented in a container-based architecture and can provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for a variety of different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., cellphones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). Host applications 1314 can also provide user authentication and permission checks and can periodically report health, routing, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in a core network or on the edge of a core network. Thus, host 1300 can select and / or indicate different hosts for over-the-top services for UEs. Host applications 1314 can support various protocols, e.g., HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0239] FIG. 14 FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1400 in which functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means the creation of virtual versions of apparatuses or devices, which can include virtualization of hardware platforms, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any of the apparatuses described herein or components thereof, and involves the implementation of at least a portion of the functionally of those apparatuses as a virtual component or components. Some or all of the functionality described herein can be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1400 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes (e.g., a hardware computing device operating as a network node, UE, core network node, or host). Further, in embodiments where the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or a host), then the node can be entirely virtualized.

[0240] Application 1402, which can alternatively be referred to as a software instance, virtual application, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc., runs in virtualization environment 1400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0241] Hardware 1404 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions that can be executed by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices that can be described herein, such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc. The software can be executable by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1406 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), provide VMs 1408a and 1408b (one or more of which can be referred to generally as VM 1408), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1406 can present a virtual operating platform to the VMs 1408 that appears like network hardware.

[0242] VMs 1408 include virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual network or interfaces, and virtual storage, and can be operated on by a corresponding virtualization layer 1406. Different embodiments of the instance of virtual appliance 1402 can be implemented on one or more of VMs 1408, and these embodiments can be made available in different ways. In some contexts, the virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many types of network equipment into industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment (CPE).

[0243] In the context of NFV, a VM 1408 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that programs operate as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1408, along with the portion of the hardware 1404 that executes that VM (whether it is hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others) forms an individual virtual network element. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for processing for a particular network function that is operating in one or more VMs 1408 on top of hardware 1404 and corresponding to application 1402.

[0244] Hardware 1404 can be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1404 can implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1404 can be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., in a data center or CPE), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed through management and orchestration 1410, which oversees, among other things, the life cycle management of applications 1402. In some embodiments, hardware 1404 is coupled with one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that can be coupled with one or more antennas. Radio units can communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and can be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node (e.g., a radio access node or a base station) with radio capabilities. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided by using control system 1412 which can alternatively be used for communication between the hardware nodes and the radio units.

[0245] In various embodiments, virtualization environment 1400 can be configured to host the various network functions (NFs) and application functions (AFs) described above. In other words, these NFs and AFs can be implemented in respective virtual nodes 1402 based on the underlying hardware 1404. These respective virtual nodes 1402 can be configured to perform the various exemplary methods or processes described above.

[0246] FIG. 15 A communication diagram illustrating a host 1502 communicating through a network node 1504 with a UE 1506 over a partial wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments is shown. Reference will now be made to FIG. 15 described above with reference to the UEs (e.g., FIG. 10 UE 1012a and / or FIG. 11 UE 1100 of FIG. 13), network nodes (e.g., FIG. 10 network node 1010a and / or FIG. 12 network node 1200 of FIG. 14), and hosts (e.g., FIG. 10 host 1016 and / or FIG. 13 host 1300 of FIG. 15) in accordance with various embodiments.

[0247] Like the host computer 1300, embodiments of the host computer 1502 include hardware such as a communication interface, a processing circuitry and a memory. The host computer 1502 also includes software, which is stored in or is otherwise accessible by the host computer 1502 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application, which is operable to provide service(s) to a remote user, such as a UE 1506, over an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1550 that stretches between the UE 1506 and the host computer 1502. In providing the service(s) to the remote user, the host application can provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1550.

[0248] The network node 1504 includes hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuitry and a memory. The network node 1504 also includes software, which is stored in or is otherwise accessible by the network node 1504 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a network node application, which is operable to provide the service(s) to the remote user, such as a UE 1506, over an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1550 that stretches between the UE 1506 and the host computer 1502. In providing the service(s) to the remote user, the network node application can provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1550. FIG. 10 FIG. 13 FIG. 10 The network node 1504 includes hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuitry and a memory. The network node 1504 also includes software, which is stored in or is otherwise accessible by the network node 1504 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a network node application, which is operable to provide the service(s) to the remote user, such as a UE 1506, over an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1550 that stretches between the UE 1506 and the host computer 1502. In providing the service(s) to the remote user, the network node application can provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1550.

[0249] The UE 1506 includes hardware and software. The software is stored in or otherwise accessible by the UE 1506 and is executable by the UE's processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, which is operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user at the host computer 1502, via the UE 1506. In providing the service to the user, the client application can receive request data from the host computer 1502 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1550 can carry the request data and the user data. The client application can interact with the user to generate user data responsive to the request data.

[0250] The OTT connection 1550 can stretch across many physical links across the networks 1508, the core network 1506, and possibly other networks, such as the Internet, to provide connectivity from the host computer 1502 to the UE 1506. The connections 1560 and the wireless connection 1570 collectively form the OTT connection 1550.

[0251] As an example of transmitting data via OTT connection 1550, in step 1508, host computer 1502 provides user data, which can be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user who interacts with UE 1506. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE 1506, which transmits the data to host computer 1502 without explicit human interaction beyond the initial activation of the UE 1506 to send the data. In step 1510, host computer 1502 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to UE 1506. Host computer 1502 can initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by UE 1506. The request can be caused by a human user interacting with UE 1506 or by an execution of a client application at UE 1506. In accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission can be transmitted via network node 1504. Thus, in step 1512, network node 1504 transmits to UE 1506 the user data carried in the transmission that was initiated by host computer 1502, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1514, UE 1506 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which can be performed by a client application executing at UE 1506 that is associated with a host application executing at host computer 1502.

[0252] In some examples, UE 1506 executes a client application that provides user data to host computer 1502. The user data can be provided in reaction to the data received from host computer 1502 or in response to other user input. Thus, in step 1516, UE 1506 can provide user data, which can be performed by executing a client application. In providing the user data, the client application can also take into account user input received from a user via an input / output interface of UE 1506. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, in step 1518, UE 1506 initiates a transmission of the user data to host computer 1502 via network node 1504. In step 1520, network node 1504 receives the user data from UE 1506 and initiates a transmission of the received user data to host computer 1502, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1522, host computer 1502 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 1506.

[0253] One or more of the various embodiments improve performance of OTT services provided to UE 1506 using OTT connections 1550 in which wireless connection 1570 forms the last segment. More specifically, the embodiments described herein can provide a new service operation by which a NEF can request a UDM to remove an authorization related to a service specific parameter provisioning request, e.g., before the expiration of the authorization’s validity period. Upon receiving such a request, the UDM can release and stop monitoring the updates of the resources related to the authorization. This avoids wastage of UDM resources (e.g., signaling, processing, storage, etc.) and facilitates more efficient operation of the 5GC. These improved efficiencies improve the delivery of OTT services via the 5GC, thereby increasing the value of such OTT services to both end users and service providers.

[0254] In an example scenario, host computer 1502 can collect and analyze factory status information. As another example, host computer 1502 can process audio and video data that can have been retrieved from a UE for creating a map. As another example, host computer 1502 can collect and analyze real-time data to help control vehicular congestion (e.g., control traffic lights). As another example, host computer 1502 can store monitoring videos uploaded by UEs. As another example, host computer 1502 can store or control access to media content, such as video, audio, VR, or AR, which can be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to UEs. As other examples, host computer 1502 can be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electric power loads to balance electricity demand, positioning services, rendering services (e.g., compiling graphs from data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other functions that collect, retrieve, store, analyze, and / or transmit data.

[0255] In some embodiments, a measurement procedure can be provided for the purpose of monitoring one or more improved data rates, latency, and other factors of the embodiments. There can also be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1550 between the host computer 1502 and the UE 1506, in response to measurements results. The measurement procedure and / or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection can be implemented in software and hardware of the host computer 1502 and / or the UE 1506. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) can be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1550 passes; the sensors can participate in the measurement procedure by providing values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or other physical quantities from which software can compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1550 can include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly involve the network nodes 1504, and the network nodes 1504 need not be aware that the OTT connection 1550 is being reconfigured. Such procedures and functionalities can be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements can involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer’s 1502 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, etc.

[0256] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. The drawings are for purposes of illustration only and the concepts can be applied to other systems, persons, and animals, and methods that perform the same or similar functions. The above description is the only complete explanation of the principles of the disclosure. Therefore, it should be understood that various modifications and changes can be made to the embodiments described and illustrated herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0257] The term unit, as used herein, can have conventional meaning in the electronic, electrical, and / or computer hardware arts, and can include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid-state and / or discrete electronic hardware, computer program instructions, and / or commands that can be programmed to perform various tasks, processes, computations, outputs, and / or displays, as described herein.

[0258] Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein can be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus can comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units can be implemented by processing circuitry, which can include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which can include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose computer chips, application- specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other controllers. The processing circuitry can be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which can include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for implementing at least the functions of one or more of the embodiments described herein, as well as other

[0259] As described herein, devices and / or apparatuses can be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a device or apparatus, instead of being physically integrated in such chip or chipset, can be implemented by an apparatus operating as software module, e.g., computer program or a computer program product, being executed by a processor. Furthermore, it would be appreciated that functions of a device or apparatus can be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus can also be regarded as a combination of several devices and / or apparatuses, working together and / or independently of each other. Moreover, devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributed fashion throughout a system, e.g., an apparatus being spread over a number of several machines. Such a principle and similar principles are to be taken as a further example of the teachings herein.

[0260] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in disclosing elements of the disclosure, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0261] In addition, certain terms used in the disclosure including the specification and drawings, can be used synonymously in certain instances (e.g., data and information). It will be understood that, while these terms can be used synonymously in some instances, there can be instances when these terms are not used synonymously. Further, to the extent some of the terms used herein are not explicitly defined, it is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure to only that which can be explicitly claimed unless otherwise specifically stated. To the extent certain details have not been described, no inference should be drawn that the details are not considered relevant to the embodiments of the disclosure. Rather, it is within the knowledge of skilled addressees to incorporate such details as can be required for the practice of the disclosure. All publications mentioned in this disclosure are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

Claims

1. A method (100) in a first network function, NF, comprising at least one of the following operations: receiving (S102), from a second NF, a notification about a change in a mapping between NF group identifiers, IDs, and UE identities stored in the second NF; and updating (S104) mapping information stored in the first NF in response to receiving, from the second NF, the notification about a change in the mapping between NF group IDs and UE identities stored in the second NF.

2. The method (100) of claim 1, wherein The change comprises one or more changes in one or more mappings between NF group IDs and UE identities for one or more NF types.

3. The method (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein The notification comprises: - a UE identity or a list of UE identity ranges for which the mapping is changed; - a NF group ID for which the mapping is changed; and - a NF type for which the mapping is changed.

4. A method in a first network function, NF, comprising: sending, to a second NF, a subscription request for subscribing to a notification about a change in a mapping between NF group identifiers, IDs, and UE identities stored in the second NF.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The subscription request comprises: - a callback URI at which the first NF receives the notification from the second NF; - a subscription condition indicating changes in one or more mappings between NF group IDs and UE identities to be monitored for one or more NF types.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The subscription condition comprises one or more of the following: - a NF group ID for which changes in the mapping between NF group IDs and UE identities are to be monitored; - a list of UE identity ranges for which changes in the mapping with NF group IDs are to be monitored; and - a list of subscription identifiers. The subscription request further comprises one or more of the following:

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein, - a NF instance ID of the first NF; - a subscription ID of a newly created resource, the subscription ID being set to non-existent in the subscription request; and - a validity time indicating a time instant after which the subscription becomes invalid.

8. The method of any one of claims 4 to 7, further comprising: receiving, from the second NF, a subscription response to the subscription request, wherein the subscription response comprises a subscription ID of a newly created resource. The subscription response further comprises a validity time indicating a time instant after which the subscription becomes invalid.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The first NF comprises a NF consumer, a NRF or a service communication proxy, SCP, and the second NF comprises a UDR.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, 11. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising: if the notification indicates that a UE identity is moved to a mapping with another NF group ID, sending, to the second NF, another subscription request for subscribing to a notification about a change in the mapping for the other NF group ID.

12. A method (200) in a second network function, NF, comprising: sending (S202), to a first NF, a notification about a change in a mapping between NF group identifiers, IDs, and UE identities stored in the second NF when a mapping change occurs in the second NF. The notification comprises:

13. The method (200) of claim 12, wherein, ​ - a UE identity or a UE identity range list for which the mapping is changed; - an NF group ID for which the mapping is changed; or - an NF type for which the mapping is changed.

14. A method in a second network function, NF, comprising: receiving, from a first NF, a subscription request for subscribing to a notification about changes of a mapping between NF group identifiers, IDs, and UE identities stored in the second NF.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: sending, to the first NF, a subscription response to the subscription request, wherein the subscription response comprises a subscription ID of a newly created resource.

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein, The subscription response further comprises a validity time indicating a time after which the subscription becomes invalid.

17. The method of any one of claims 11 to 16, further comprising: receiving, from the first NF, a further subscription request for subscribing to a notification about changes of a mapping for a further NF group ID, if the notification indicates that a UE identity is moved to a mapping with the further NF group ID.

18. The method of any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein, The first NF comprises a NF consumer, a NRF or a service communication proxy, SCP, and the second NF comprises a UDR.

19. A method (300) in a NF consumer, comprising: sending (S302), to a NF repository function, NRF, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from a UE; and receiving (S304), from the NRF, a discovery response comprising a NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information, wherein the additional information indicates a mapping source providing a mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

20. The method (300) of claim 19, wherein The mapping source indicates one of: - the NRF, if the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity is provided locally by the NRF; and - a UDR ID, if the mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity is provided by a user data repository, UDR.

21. The method (300) of claim 20, wherein Upon receiving (S304) the discovery response, the NF consumer sends, to the UDR, a subscription request for subscribing to a notification about changes of a mapping between NF group IDs and UE identities stored in the UDR by using the indicated UDR ID, if the mapping source in the discovery response indicates a UDR ID of the UDR providing a mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

22. A method (400) in a NF repository function, NRF, comprising: receiving (S402), from a NF consumer, a discovery request with a UE identity corresponding to a UE request from a UE; and sending (S404), to the NF consumer, a discovery response comprising a NF group ID mapped to the UE identity and additional information, wherein the additional information indicates a mapping source providing a mapping between the NF group ID and the UE identity.

23. The method (400) of claim 22, wherein the mapping source indicates one of: - if the mapping between the NF Group ID and the UE identity is locally provided by the NRF, instruct the NRF; and - if the mapping between the NF Group ID and the UE identity is provided by a User Data Repository, UDR ID.

24. A first Network Function, NF (900), comprising: a processor (910); and a memory (920) coupled to the processor (910), the memory (900) containing instructions executable by the processor (910), whereby the first NF (900) is operable to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-11.

25. A second Network Function, NF (900), comprising: a processor (910); and a memory (920) coupled to the processor (910), the memory (920) containing instructions executable by the processor (920), whereby the second NF (900) is operable to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 12-18.

26. A NF Consumer (900), comprising: a processor (910); and a memory (920) coupled to the processor (910), the memory (920) containing instructions executable by the processor (910), whereby the NF Consumer (900) is operable to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 19-21.

27. A NF Repository Function, NRF (900), comprising: a processor (910); and a memory (920) coupled to the processor (910), the memory (920) containing instructions executable by the processor (910), whereby the NRF (900) is operable to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 22 or 23.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor (910) of a first Network Function, NF, or a second NF, or a NF Consumer, or a NF Repository Function, NRF, cause the first NF, or the second NF, or the NF Consumer, or the NF Repository Function, NRF, to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-11, any of the methods of claims 12-18, any of the methods (300) of claims 19-21, or any of the methods (400) of claims 22 or 23.

29. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor (910) of a first network function, NF, a second NF, a NF consumer, or a NF repository function, NRF, causes the first NF, the second NF, the NF consumer, or the NRF to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-11, any of the methods of claims 12-18, any of the methods (300) of claims 19-21, or any of the methods (400) of claims 22 or 23.

30. A carrier containing the computer program of claim 29, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio frequency signal or a computer readable storage medium. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable medium.

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