Apparatus, method and computer program

Abstract

A computer program, method and apparatus are provided for receiving an indication that a user equipment is to or has been handed over from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determining that the user plane function can perform a second congestion control mechanism; and sending a request to the user plane function to perform a second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet sent between the user equipment and the second access network node.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Examples described herein relate generally to apparatus, methods and computer programs, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to apparatus, methods and computer programs for apparatus. BACKGROUND

[0002] A communication system can be seen as a facility that enables communication sessions between two or more entities such as communication devices, base stations and / or other nodes by providing carriers for carrying the communication sessions over the communication path(s) involving various entities.

[0003] The communication system can be a wireless communication system. Examples of wireless systems include public land mobile networks (PLMN) operating based on wireless standards such as those provided by 3GPP, satellite based communication systems and different wireless local networks, e.g. wireless local area networks (WLAN). Wireless systems can typically be divided into cells and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] Communication systems and associated devices typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. The standards or specifications also typically define the communication protocols and / or parameters to be used for connections. An example includes the so-called 5G standard. SUMMARY

[0005] According to a first example, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving an indication that a user equipment is to be or has been handed over from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determining that a user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism; and sending a request to the user plane function to perform the second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

[0006] The apparatus can comprise means for: sending an instruction to the second access network node to provide congestion information about the at least one packet to the user plane function, the congestion information indicating whether the at least one packet experiences congestion.

[0007] Determining that the user plane function is capable of performing the second congestion control mechanism can comprise receiving an indication from the user plane function that the user plane function is capable of performing the second congestion control mechanism.

[0008] The first congestion control mechanism and the second congestion control mechanism can both comprise marking the at least one packet as being congested.

[0009] The apparatus can comprise means for determining that the user plane function is unable to perform the second congestion control mechanism.

[0010] Both the first congestion control mechanism and the second congestion control mechanism can comprise marking at least one packet as congested.

[0011] The apparatus can comprise means for performing a function of a session management function.

[0012] The apparatus can comprise means for implementing a virtual network function instance of the session management function.

[0013] The apparatus can comprise means for maintaining session information for a session between an application function or application server and a user equipment via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0014] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0015] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0016] The first congestion control mechanism can comprise the access network node explicitly marking packets as congested when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0017] The second congestion control mechanism can comprise the user plane function explicitly marking packets as congested when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0018] The third congestion control mechanism can comprise the access network node sending explicit congestion information to an application function or application server via one of a control plane or a user plane when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0019] The first congestion control mechanism and / or the second congestion control mechanism can comprise a low latency, low loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanism.

[0020] According to a second example, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: receiving an indication that a user equipment is to be or has been handed over from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determining that the second access network node is able to perform a third congestion control mechanism; and sending an instruction to the second access network node to perform the third congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the second access network node and the user equipment.

[0021] The apparatus can comprise means for determining that the user plane function is unable to perform the second congestion control mechanism.

[0022] Both the first congestion control mechanism and the second congestion control mechanism can comprise marking at least one packet as congested.

[0023] The apparatus can comprise means for performing a function of a session management function.

[0024] The apparatus can comprise means for implementing a virtual network function instance of a session management function.

[0025] The apparatus can comprise means for maintaining session information for a session between an application function or application server and a user equipment via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0026] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0027] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0028] The first congestion control mechanism can comprise the access network node explicitly marking packets as congested when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0029] The second congestion control mechanism can comprise the user plane function explicitly marking packets as congested when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0030] The third congestion control mechanism can comprise the access network node sending explicit congestion information to an application function or application server via one of a control plane or a user plane when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0031] The first congestion control mechanism and / or the second congestion control mechanism can comprise a low latency, low loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanism.

[0032] According to a third example, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: determining that a user equipment is to be or has been handed over from a first access network node to the apparatus; determining that the apparatus does not support a first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node; sending, to a core network node, an indication that the apparatus does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and receiving, from the core network node, an instruction to provide congestion information to a user plane function, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0033] The first congestion control mechanism can comprise the access network node explicitly marking packets as congested when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0034] The second congestion control mechanism can comprise the user plane function explicitly marking packets as congested when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0035] The third congestion control mechanism can comprise the access network node sending explicit congestion information to an application function or an application server via one of a control plane or a user plane when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0036] The first congestion control mechanism and / or the second congestion control mechanism can comprise a low latency, low loss and scalable throughput congestion control mechanism.

[0038] According to a fourth example, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: determining that a user equipment is to be or has been handed over from a first access network node to the apparatus; determining that the first access network node does not support a first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node; sending, to a core network apparatus, an indication that the apparatus does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and receiving, from the core network apparatus, an instruction to provide congestion information to an application function or an application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0039] The apparatus can comprise means for explicitly sending the congestion information to the application function or the application server by using one of a user plane or a control plane.

[0040] The apparatus can comprise means for performing the functions of the second access network node.

[0041] The apparatus can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0042] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be comprised in a handover request acknowledgement.

[0043] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be comprised in a path switch request.

[0044] The first congestion control mechanism can comprise the access network node explicitly marking packets as congested when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0045] The second congestion control mechanism can comprise the user plane function explicitly marking packets as congested when it is determined that there is congestion between a cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment.

[0046] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0047] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0048] According to the fifth example, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus including components for: determining that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first cell provided by a first access network node to a second cell provided by a second access network node; and providing the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node.

[0049] The device may include components for performing the functions of the first access network node.

[0050] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0051] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0052] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0053] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0054] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0055] According to a sixth example, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus including at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions (e.g., computer program code) that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receive an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determine that a user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism; and send a request to the user plane function for performing the second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

[0056] The device can be made to perform: send an instruction to a second access network node to provide congestion information to the user plane function regarding the at least one packet, the congestion information indicating whether the at least one packet is experiencing congestion.

[0057] Determining that a user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism may include receiving an indication from the user plane function that the user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism.

[0058] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0059] The device can be configured to: determine that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0060] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0061] This device can be enabled to perform: session management functions.

[0062] This device can be made to perform: a virtual network function instance that implements session management functions.

[0063] The device can be made to perform: maintain session information for a session between an application function or application server and a user device via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0064] Indications that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0065] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0066] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0067] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0068] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0069] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0070] According to the seventh example, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus including at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions (e.g., computer program code), which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receive an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determine that the second access network node is capable of implementing a third congestion control mechanism; and send instructions to the second access network node to implement the third congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the second access network node and the user equipment.

[0071] The device can be configured to: determine that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0072] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0073] This device can be enabled to perform: session management functions.

[0074] This device can be made to perform: a virtual network function instance that implements session management functions.

[0075] The device can be made to perform: maintain session information for a session between an application function or application server and a user device via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0076] Indications that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0077] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0078] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0079] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0080] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0081] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0082] According to an eighth example, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus including at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions (e.g., computer program code) that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: determine that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched to the apparatus from a first access network node; determine that the apparatus does not support a first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node; send an indication to a core network node that the apparatus does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and receive from the core network node an instruction to provide congestion information to user plane functions, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0083] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0084] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0085] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0086] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0087] According to the ninth example, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus including at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions (e.g., computer program code) that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: determine that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched to the apparatus from a first access network node; determine that the access network node does not support a first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node; send an indication to a core network device that the apparatus does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and receive from the core network device an instruction to provide congestion information to an application function or application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0088] The device can be made to explicitly send congestion information to an application function or application server by using either the user plane or the control plane.

[0089] This device can be made to perform the functions of a second access network node.

[0090] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0091] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the handover request confirmation.

[0092] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the path switching request.

[0093] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0094] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0095] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0096] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0097] According to the tenth example, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus including at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions (e.g., computer program code) that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: determine that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first cell provided by a first access network node to a second cell provided by a second access network node; and provide the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node.

[0098] The device can be made to perform the functions of a first access network node.

[0099] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0100] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0101] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0102] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0103] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0104] According to Example 11, a method for an apparatus is provided, the method comprising: receiving an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determining that a user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism; and sending a request to the user plane function for performing the second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

[0105] The method may include sending an instruction to a second access network node to provide congestion information to the user plane function regarding the at least one packet, the congestion information indicating whether the at least one packet is experiencing congestion.

[0106] Determining that a user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism may include receiving an indication from the user plane function that the user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism.

[0107] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0108] This method may include determining that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0109] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0110] This method may include functionality for performing session management.

[0111] This method may include virtual network function instances that implement session management functionality.

[0112] The method may include maintaining session information for a session between an application function or application server and a user device via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0113] Indications that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0114] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0115] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0116] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0117] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0118] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0119] According to the twelfth example, a method for an apparatus is provided, the method comprising: receiving an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determining that the second access network node is capable of performing a third congestion control mechanism; and sending an instruction to the second access network node to perform the third congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the second access network node and the user equipment.

[0120] This method may include determining that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0121] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0122] This method may include functionality for performing session management.

[0123] This method may include virtual network function instances that implement session management functionality.

[0124] The method may include maintaining session information for a session between an application function or application server and a user device via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0125] Indications that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0126] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0127] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0128] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0129] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0130] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0131] According to Example XIII, a method for an apparatus is provided, the method comprising: determining that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to the apparatus; determining that the apparatus does not support a first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node; sending an indication to a core network node that the apparatus does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and receiving from the core network node an instruction to provide congestion information to user plane functions, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0132] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0133] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0134] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0135] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0137] According to the fourteenth example, a method for an apparatus is provided, the method comprising: determining that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched to the apparatus from a first access network node; determining that the access network node does not support a first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node; sending an indication to a core network apparatus that the apparatus does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and receiving from the core network apparatus an instruction to provide congestion information to an application function or application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0138] This method may include explicitly sending congestion information to an application function or application server by using either the user plane or the control plane.

[0139] This method may include performing the functions of a second access network node.

[0140] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0141] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the handover request confirmation.

[0142] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the path switching request.

[0143] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0144] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0145] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0146] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0147] According to Example Fifteen, a method for an apparatus is provided, the method comprising: determining that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first cell provided by a first access network node to a second cell provided by a second access network node; and providing the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node.

[0148] This method may include performing the functions of the first access network node.

[0149] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0150] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0151] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0152] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0153] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0154] According to the sixteenth example, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a receiving circuitry for receiving an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; a receiving circuitry for receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; a determining circuitry for determining that a user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism; and a transmitting circuitry for sending a request to the user plane function to perform the second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

[0155] The apparatus may include a transmission circuitry for sending instructions to a second access network node to provide congestion information to the user plane function regarding the at least one packet, the congestion information indicating whether the at least one packet is experiencing congestion.

[0156] The determining circuitry for determining that a user plane function is capable of executing a second congestion control mechanism may include a receiving circuitry for receiving an indication from the user plane function that the user plane function is capable of executing the second congestion control mechanism.

[0157] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0158] The device may include a determination circuitry for determining that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0159] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0160] The device may include an execution circuitry system for performing session management functions.

[0161] The device may include an implementation circuitry for virtual network function instances that implement session management functions.

[0162] The device may include a maintenance circuitry system for maintaining session information relating to a session between an application function or application server and a user equipment via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0163] Indications that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0164] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0165] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0166] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0167] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0168] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0169] According to the seventeenth example, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a receiving circuit system for receiving an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; a receiving circuit system for receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; a determining circuit system for determining that the second access network node is capable of performing a third congestion control mechanism; and a transmitting circuit system for transmitting instructions to the second access network node to perform the third congestion control mechanism in response to at least one packet transmitted between the second access network node and the user equipment.

[0170] The device may include a determination circuitry for determining that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0171] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0172] The device may include an execution circuitry system for performing session management functions.

[0173] The device may include an implementation circuitry for virtual network function instances that implement session management functions.

[0174] The device may include a maintenance circuitry system for maintaining session information relating to a session between an application function or application server and a user equipment via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0175] Indications that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0176] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0177] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0178] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0179] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0180] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0181] According to the eighteenth example, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a determining circuit system for determining whether a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to the apparatus; a determining circuit system for determining that the apparatus does not support a first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node; a transmitting circuit system for transmitting an indication to a core network node that the apparatus does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and a receiving circuit system for receiving from the core network node an instruction to provide congestion information to user plane functions, the congestion information being directed to at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0182] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0183] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0184] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0185] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0187] According to the nineteenth example, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a determining circuit system for determining whether a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to the apparatus; a determining circuit system for determining that the access network node does not support a first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node; a transmitting circuit system for transmitting an indication to a core network device that the apparatus does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and a receiving circuit system for receiving from the core network device an instruction to provide congestion information to an application function or application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0188] The device may include a transmission circuitry for explicitly sending congestion information to an application function or application server using either a user plane or a control plane.

[0189] The device may include an execution circuitry system for performing the functions of a second access network node.

[0190] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0191] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the handover request confirmation.

[0192] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the path switching request.

[0193] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0194] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0195] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0196] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0197] According to the twentieth example, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a determining circuit system for determining whether a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first cell provided by a first access network node to a second cell provided by a second access network node; and a providing circuit system for providing the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node.

[0198] The device may include an execution circuitry system for performing the functions of the first access network node.

[0199] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0200] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0201] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0202] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0203] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0204] According to Example 21, a non-transient computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium including program instructions for causing a device to perform: receiving: receiving an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determining that a user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism; and sending a request to the user plane function for performing the second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

[0205] The device can be made to perform: send an instruction to a second access network node to provide congestion information to the user plane function regarding the at least one packet, the congestion information indicating whether the at least one packet is experiencing congestion.

[0206] Determining that a user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism may include receiving an indication from the user plane function that the user plane function is capable of performing a second congestion control mechanism.

[0207] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0208] The device can be configured to: determine that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0209] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0210] This device can be enabled to perform: session management functions.

[0211] This device can be made to perform: a virtual network function instance that implements session management functions.

[0212] The device can be made to perform: maintain session information for a session between an application function or application server and a user device via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0213] Indications that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0214] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0215] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0216] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0217] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0218] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0219] According to the twenty-second example, a non-transient computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium including program instructions for causing a device to perform: receiving an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism; receiving an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism; determining that the second access network node is capable of performing a third congestion control mechanism; and sending instructions to the second access network node to perform the third congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the second access network node and the user equipment.

[0220] The device can be configured to: determine that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0221] Both the first and second congestion control mechanisms can include marking at least one group as congested.

[0222] This device can be enabled to perform: session management functions.

[0223] This device can be made to perform: a virtual network function instance that implements session management functions.

[0224] The device can be made to perform: maintain session information for a session between an application function or application server and a user device via one of a first access network node or a second access network node.

[0225] Indications that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node.

[0226] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received via a session update request.

[0227] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0228] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0229] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0230] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0231] According to Example 23, a non-transient computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium including program instructions for causing a device to perform: determining that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched to the device from a first access network node; determining that the device does not support a first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node; sending an indication to a core network node that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and receiving from the core network node an instruction to provide congestion information to user plane functions, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0232] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0233] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0234] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0235] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0236] According to Example 24, a non-transient computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium including program instructions for causing a device to perform: determining that a user equipment is about to be or has been switched to the device from a first access network node; determining that the access network node does not support a first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node; sending an indication to a core network device that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism; and receiving from the core network device an instruction to provide congestion information to an application function or application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and a second access network node.

[0237] The device can be made to explicitly send congestion information to an application function or application server by using either the user plane or the control plane.

[0238] This device can be made to perform the functions of a second access network node.

[0239] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0240] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the handover request confirmation.

[0241] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the path switching request.

[0242] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0243] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0244] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0245] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0246] According to Example 25, a non-transient computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium including program instructions for causing a device to perform: determining that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first cell provided by a first access network node to a second cell provided by a second access network node; and providing the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node.

[0247] The device can be made to perform the functions of a first access network node.

[0248] The device can be implemented as the first access network node.

[0249] The first congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0250] The second congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

[0251] The third congestion control mechanism may include: when it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

[0252] The first and / or second congestion control mechanisms may include low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanisms.

[0253] According to the twenty-sixth aspect, a computer program product stored on a medium is provided, which enables a device to perform any of the methods described herein.

[0254] According to the twenty-seventh aspect, an electronic device is provided that may include means as described herein.

[0255] According to the twenty-eighth aspect, a chipset is provided that may include the means as described herein. Attached Figure Description

[0256] Some examples will now be described by way of illustration only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0257] Figure 1 An example representation of a 5G system is shown;

[0258] Figure 2 An example representation of a network device is shown;

[0259] Figure 3 An example representation of a user device is shown;

[0260] Figure 4 An example network is shown;

[0261] Figures 5 to 7 Example signaling is shown; and

[0262] Figures 8 to 12 Example operations that can be performed by the device are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0263] The following describes example operations that can be performed in a radio access network in relation to mobility events such as cell changes.

[0264] In some examples, it is disclosed how to continue providing support for indicating when packets sent by the user equipment are transmitted in a congested radio access network environment during a user equipment switch from a first cell provided by a first radio access network node to a second cell provided by a second radio access network node, wherein the first radio access network node and the second radio access network node do not have the same congestion control capabilities.

[0265] In the following text, certain examples are explained with reference to devices that typically communicate via wireless cellular systems and mobile communication systems serving such mobile communication devices. For the sake of brevity, such examples are described below with reference to 5G wireless communication systems. However, it should be understood that such examples are not limited to 5G wireless communication systems and, for example, can be applied to other wireless communication systems (e.g., current 6G proposals, IEEE 802.11, etc.).

[0266] Before describing the example in detail, refer to Figures 1 to 3 Briefly explain some general aspects of 5G wireless communication systems.

[0267] Figure 1 An example representation of a 5G system (5GS) 100 is shown. The 5GS may include a user equipment (UE) 102 (which may also be referred to as a communication device or terminal), a 5G access network (AN) (which may be a 5G radio access network (RAN) or any other type of 5G AN, such as a non-3GPP interoperability function (N3IWF) / trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF) for untrusted / trusted non-3GPP access, or a wired access gateway function (W-AGF) for wired access) 104, a 5G core (5GC) 106, one or more application functions (AF) 108, and one or more data networks (DN) 110.

[0268] Figure 2 Examples of control devices for communication systems are shown, such as those coupled to and / or used to control access systems, such as RAN nodes (e.g., base stations, gNBs), central units of cloud architectures, or core network nodes (e.g., AMFs or UPFs), scheduling entities (e.g., spectrum management entities), or servers or hosts (e.g., devices hosting NRFs, NWDAFs, AMFs, SMFs, UDMs / UDRs, etc.). The control device may be integrated with or located externally to nodes or modules in the core network or RAN. In some examples, the base station includes a separate control device unit or module. In other examples, the control device may be another network element, such as a radio network controller or a spectrum controller. Control device 200 may be configured to provide control over communications within the service area of ​​the system. Device 200 includes at least one memory 201, at least one data processing unit 202, 203, and an input / output interface 204. Through this interface, the control device may be coupled to a receiver and transmitter of the device. The receiver and / or transmitter may be implemented as a wireless front-end or a remote wireless head-end. For example, control device 200 or processor 201 may be configured to execute appropriate software code to provide control functions. The term "code" as used in this article should be understood to refer to software code, and vice versa.

[0269] The sites accessing the system can be divided into two different types: Distributed Units (DUs) and Centralized Units (CUs).

[0270] A DU provides access network node support for the lower layers of the protocol stack, such as Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC), and / or the physical layer protocol layer. Each DU can support one or more cells, and each cell can support one or more beams.

[0271] Now refer to Figure 3 A more detailed description of the example wireless communication device, Figure 3 A schematic partial cross-sectional view of a communication device 300 is shown. Such a communication device is generally referred to as a user equipment (UE) or terminal. Suitable mobile communication devices can be provided by any device capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals. Non-limiting examples include mobile stations (MS) or mobile devices, such as mobile phones or so-called "smartphones," computers equipped with wireless interface cards or other wireless interface facilities (such as USB dongles), personal data assistants (PDAs) or tablets equipped with wireless communication capabilities, or virtual reality devices, augmented reality devices, mixed reality devices, or other extended reality devices (such as virtual reality headsets), or any combination of these devices. Mobile communication devices can provide, for example, communication for carrying data such as voice, email, text messages, multimedia, extended reality media, etc. Therefore, users can be given and provided with a variety of services via their communication devices. Non-limiting examples of these services include two-way or multiplexed calls, data communication or multimedia services, or simply access to data communication network systems (such as the Internet). Users can also be provided with broadcast or multicast data. Non-limiting examples of content include downloads, television and radio programs, videos, announcements, various alarms, and other information.

[0272] Wireless communication devices can be, for example, mobile devices, i.e., devices not fixed to a specific location; they can also be fixed devices. Wireless devices can communicate using human interaction or without human interaction. As described herein, the term UE or “user” is used to refer to any type of wireless communication device.

[0273] Wireless device 300 can receive signals via air or wireless interface 307 through appropriate means for receiving, and can transmit signals via appropriate means for transmitting wireless signals. Figure 3 In the diagram, the transceiver device is schematically represented by block 306. The transceiver device 306 can be provided, for example, via a wireless section and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement can be configured inside or outside the wireless device.

[0274] Wireless devices typically include at least one data processing entity 301, at least one memory 302, and other possible components 303 for software code and hardware-assisted execution of tasks they are designed to perform, including controlling access to and communication with access systems and other communication devices. Data processing, storage devices, and other associated control devices may be provided on a suitable circuit board and / or in a chipset. This feature is indicated by reference numeral 304. Users can control the operation of the wireless device using a suitable user interface such as a keypad 305, voice commands, a touch-sensitive screen or touchpad, or combinations thereof. A display (e.g., virtual reality headset / glasses) 308, speakers, and microphones may also be provided. Furthermore, wireless communication devices may include suitable connectors (wired or wireless) for connecting to other devices and / or for connecting external accessories (e.g., hands-free devices).

[0275] Figure 3 The wireless device may include a user equipment (UE). A UE may include a wireless or mobile device, a device having a wireless interface for interacting with a RAN (Radio Access Network), a smartphone, an in-vehicle device, an IoT device, an M2M device, etc. Such a UE or device may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions (e.g., computer program code) that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least some operations, such as an RRC connection with the RAN. The UE may be configured, for example, to generate messages (e.g., including a cell ID) for wireless transmission to the RAN (e.g., to reach and communicate with the serving cell). The UE may generate, transmit, and receive RRC messages containing one or more RRC PDUs (Packet Data Units).

[0276] The UE may have different states (e.g., according to Sections 42.1 and 4.4 of 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.5.0 (2021-06), which are incorporated herein by reference).

[0277] When an RRC connection has been established, the UE is in, for example, the RRC_CONNECTED state or the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0278] In the RRC_CONNECTED state, the UE can: • Store the AS context; • Transmit unicast data to / from the UE; • Monitor the control channel associated with the shared data channel to determine whether it is data channel scheduling data; • Provides channel quality and feedback information; • Perform neighboring cell measurements and measurement reports.

[0279] The RRC protocol includes, for example, the following main functions: •RRC connection control; • Measurement configuration and reporting; • Create / modify / release measurement configurations (e.g., intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT measurements); • Establishment and release of the measurement gap; • Measurement report.

[0280] 3GPP has released several Releases (Rel.) to define operational communication protocols related to communication networks. Currently, goals and work are being developed related to Release 18 (Rel.18).

[0281] One of the options currently under consideration involves low-latency, low-loss scalable throughput (L4S) services.

[0282] The L4S service is designed to enable a class of congestion control that includes explicit congestion signaling from the network.

[0283] L4S is described in a draft by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). L4S uses a mechanism similar to Active Queue Management (AQM), which, instead of dropping packets, uses link state indications and rate adjustment proportional to the determined queue latency.

[0284] The L4S service allows network administrators to configure their routers' AQM scheme to tag packets based on experienced congestion (CE) when a queuing delay threshold defined in the AQM scheme is exceeded. CE is an encoding mechanism that can be used to indicate and / or identify which packets in an IP flow are sent according to L4S. CE (and L4S) are further described in IETF RFC 9331 and IETF RFC 19330.

[0285] The L4S-compatible transmission and / or higher layers in the transmitting device can infer congestion levels by the ratio of the number of ready normal packets to the number of ready CE-tagged packets. The device can then reduce the transmission rate accordingly. During normal operation, this method avoids packet loss caused by congestion and maintains high utilization and low latency.

[0286] More specifically, L4S is an evolution of ECN (Explicit Congestion Notification). ECN will be described in more detail below, but in general, ECN aims to provide low queuing latency and low overhead in congested nodes at a range of bit rates, including high bit rates. This can be useful for certain applications, such as real-time applications, including augmented reality / virtual reality (AR / VR) applications. L4S traffic can be distinguished from classic (e.g., non-L4S) traffic by including bits at the Internet Protocol (IP) layer that explicitly indicate congestion is occurring. These bits are referred to as ECN bits in this document. The ECN mechanism does not use any deep packet inspection for identification.

[0287] The L4S architecture has three main components: the AQM mechanism in the network, congestion control on the host, and the communication protocol between them.

[0288] ECN involves an algorithm whose goal is to notify the sender about congestion at the router. Therefore, ECN can be considered a congestion notification or congestion signaling algorithm. ECN was introduced in RFC 3168. ECN notifies the sender of congestion so that appropriate measures can be taken to avoid it. ECN can be used as part of an L4S scheme. The ECN algorithm notifies the sender about congestion at the router. To enable ECN bit tagging for L4S, existing or separate Quality of Service (QoS) flows can be used for L4S services.

[0289] To support Extended Reality (XR) in 3GPP networks, research objectives in Rel-18 have pointed to mechanisms that enable codec and / or rate adaptation to meet service constraints (e.g., XR media services). This adaptation can be based on (e.g., in response to) congestion detection, where information indicating network congestion (e.g., congestion information) is transmitted from the network to an application configured to send information through the congested network.

[0290] Specifically, two methods for sending congestion information back to the application to adapt to the transmission rate have been identified. These will be discussed further below.

[0291] In the first example option, the 5G system can use ECN marking for L4S purposes targeting uplink and / or downlink Quality of Service (QoS) flows. For the second example option, the 5G system can support the opening of congestion level information to the AF (Automatic Front-End) via an Application Programming Interface (API). API-based opening (e.g., notification) can be performed via the control plane (C-plane) and / or user plane (U-plane) and can be considered an alternative congestion notification mechanism for L4S-based ECN marking. These two options will be discussed sequentially.

[0292] For the first example option, network-based entities can explicitly mark packets experiencing congestion. This marking can be performed by radio access network nodes (Option 1, Method 1) and / or user plane functions (Option 1, Method 2).

[0293] For Option 1, Method 1, NG-RAN may allow ECN tags to be included in uplink and / or downlink signaling (e.g., in the Internet Protocol (IP) layer of received packets). The criteria used by the RAN to determine its congestion level when performing tagging may depend on the RAN implementation.

[0294] For options 1 and 2, the PSA user plane function can perform ECN marking on the uplink and downlink transmissions of received packets (e.g., at the IP layer) based on the latest reported congestion information. The latest reported congestion information can be obtained from the NG-RAN (e.g., via the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol-User Plane (GTP-U) header). The PSA UPF can stop ECN marking when there is no congestion / congestion has ended. Furthermore, when uplink packets are not provided when congestion reporting is required (e.g., for downlink congestion), the NG-RAN can generate virtual uplink packets for such reports.

[0295] Further research may be needed to develop specifications for mobility scenarios using these two methods.

[0296] For methods 1 and 2, the ECN tag for L4S can be applied to each QoS flow. To map packet flows that can be tagged with ECN for L4S to QoS flows with ECN tag support for L4S, traffic detection can be used at the UPF. For traffic detection, the packet filter can reuse either an existing IP-5 tuple or an ECN-capable transport (ECT). The IP-5 tuple can include the set (source IP address, source port, destination IP address, destination port, transport protocol).

[0297] When a network operator wants to apply ECN marking for L4S, the operator can guarantee that any sender requesting classic ECN congestion control (whether UE or server) will not use ECT marking on its packets to avoid conflicting use of ECT in L4S. If this backward compatibility cannot be guaranteed, L4S is not supported in the network.

[0298] The two mechanisms used for this option can support L4S, and the openness of congestion information depends on the RAN WG's feedback on the feasibility of the RAN's judgment and / or the openness of corresponding information (e.g., congestion information for each QoS flow).

[0299] For the second example option, the 5G system can also support the opening of congestion level information to the AF based on the application programming interface (API), as shown below.

[0300] First, the RAN can open the following information: - Quality of Service (QoS) Notification Control (QNC) for Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) QoS streams: Data rate cannot be guaranteed. - The RAN provides uplink and downlink congestion information to the PSA UPF, enabling the PSA UPF to perform API opening to Application Functions (AF) and / or ECN marking for L4S. - AF uses Nnef_AFSessionWithQoS to subscribe to the above NEF / PCF open, which is the same as the local open mechanism defined in TS 23.548

[61] . The open paths for network opening as defined in Section 6.4 of TS 23.548 are reused together with extensions to the GTP-U header and UPF / NEF service to open the aforementioned information. - It also supports open paths for RAN / UPF to report congestion level information via SMF / PCF / NEF.

[0301] Network deployment may not be uniform in terms of node support for L4S. For example, L4S implementation may result in routers (and hosts) having L4S capabilities or requiring upgrades to L4S capabilities.

[0302] The L4S capabilities in a node may include at least one of the following: ECN tagging capability, ECT identification, L4S-AQM algorithm deployment, optional dual queues (one for L4S services and one for other services) or special computing capabilities.

[0303] Because network deployment may be uneven in terms of node L4S support capabilities, it's possible that not all nodes in the network (e.g., RAN nodes and / or UPF nodes) have L4S enabled. Examples can be found in... Figure 4 The diagram in the middle is shown.

[0304] Figure 4 The illustration shows a UE 401 connected to a source RAN node 402 that allows L4S tagging. The source RAN can communicate with the core portion of the 5G network via AMF 403 and / or UPF 404. The 5G core also includes SMF 405 and NEF 406, which can interface with application functions 407 outside the 5GC. Figure 4The diagram also illustrates target RAN node 408, where the UE is triggered to switch from source RAN node 402 to this target RAN node. Target RAN node 408 may not have L4S capabilities. It is assumed that 5G core network components (e.g., SMF / AMF / NEF) are capable of managing requests for processing L4S services. Furthermore, enabling L4S-based labeling at both the RAN and UPF (at least for the same QoS flow) may result in higher resource consumption (e.g., computation) and further latency.

[0305] When a UE moves from a source RAN that supports L4S to a target RAN node that does not support L4S, a series of problems may occur.

[0306] For example, even if congestion exists, the sending application can assume that there is no more congestion in the network (and therefore can avoid any rate adaptation). Furthermore, the target RAN node may delay or drop packets due to congestion, and the queue may become full without informing the sender. Whenever congestion exists in the transmission path, the user experience can be hampered by jitter.

[0307] Although the impact of ECN tagging on L4S requires further investigation, some mechanisms have been proposed to mitigate these effects.

[0308] For example, when the service UPF or NG-RAN changes, the opening method can be retained or modified based on its capabilities. When the congestion opening method changes, application functions can be notified. The entity that notifies application functions requires further research.

[0309] None of these proposals describe whether or how to manage congestion in 5GC, or how to handle situations where a node is unable to perform L4S.

[0310] As mentioned above, 3GPP TR 23.700-60 outlines two options for transmitting congestion information back to the application layer, which can then be used for rate adaptation.

[0311] Option 1 involves enabling L4S services for uplink and / or downlink QoS flows using ECN marking. Under this option, there are two methods for implementing ECN marking. Method 1 (First Congestion Mechanism) involves the NG-RAN performing ECN marking on uplink and downlink packets at the IP layer of received packets, but the criteria for when to perform marking depend on the RAN implementation. Method 2 (Second Congestion Mechanism) involves the PSA UPF performing ECN marking based on the latest congestion information reported from the NG-RAN via the GTP-U header, and marking stopping when there is no congestion or when congestion ends. Additionally, an explicit QoS flow level indication can be provided to the PSA UPF to enable ECN marking for L4S purposes.

[0312] Option 2 (the third congestion mechanism) involves supporting the opening of congestion level information to the AF via an API, which allows the AF to receive and utilize congestion level information from the 5G system.

[0313] However, because these options are resource-intensive (e.g., the additional signaling itself may cause more service congestion) and computationally processor unit (CPU) / hardware intensive (due to the deployment of L4S in the RAN), the following recommendation is to use only one of these options at a given time. To facilitate this, mechanisms for ensuring that these options are used in series (i.e., not in parallel) are also proposed below.

[0314] It should be understood that although examples of congestion control marking related to the above "three congestion mechanisms" are described below, similar mechanisms described below also apply to other congestion marking mechanisms.

[0315] Figures 5 to 7 Example signaling used to illustrate the mechanism described herein is depicted. Specifically, Figure 5 and Figure 6 An example related to the N2 handover scenario is depicted. The N2 interface is the control plane interface between the access network node and the 5GC. Therefore, Figure 5 and Figure 6 This involves scenarios where handover is triggered by core network entities. In comparison, Figure 7 The example depicts an Xn-based handover scenario where handover is controlled at the RAN-level entity and / or UE.

[0316] Figures 5 to 7 These examples further assume that congestion occurs at the RAN. In particular, even if the UPF is capable of performing congestion marking for the L4S scheme, the UPF will not perform marking unless the 5GC entity instructs the UPF to mark on behalf of the RAN node.

[0317] Figure 5 The diagram illustrates UE 501, source RAN node (S-RAN) 502, target RAN node (T-RAN) 503, AMF 504, SMF 505, UPF 506, and application function (AF) 507.

[0318] During 5001, UE 501 exchanges data via AF 507. This is described by signaling that extends from UE 501 to S-RAN 502 and then through the core network, which includes AMF 504, SMF 505 and UPF 506, before passing through AF 507 (e.g., via NEF (not shown)).

[0319] During 5002, S-RAN determines that S-RAN is configured to support L4S. In this example, S-RAN is configured to apply method 1 of option 1 (i.e., to have entities in the RAN perform congestion marking on packets). Therefore, S-RAN is configured to perform L4S-based ECN marking on packets when congestion is detected by S-RAN (e.g., based on congestion detected by S-RAN).

[0320] During period 5003, the S-RAN determines that the UE will be handed over from the cell provided by S-RAN 502 to the cell provided by T-RAN 503. The handover decision can be based on any of a variety of different congestion methods. For example, the handover decision can be based on Layer 3 (e.g., network layer) measurement reports sent by UE 501 and / or Layer 1 (e.g., physical layer) measurement reports sent by UE 501, and / or on network decisions based on the current state of (multiple) RAN networks capable of providing services to UE 501.

[0321] During period 5004, UE 501, S-RAN 502, T-RAN 503 and / or AMF 504 may initiate (e.g., trigger) a handover procedure to allow the UE to be handed over from the cell provided by S-RAN 502 to T-RAN 503.

[0322] During 5005, AMF 504 sends a signal to T-RAN 503. This signaling may include a handover request regarding handover triggering during 5004.

[0323] During 5006, T-RAN 504 determined that T-RAN 504 does not support L4S-based ECN marking. T-RAN 504 can also determine (e.g., based on context shared from S-RAN) that S-RAN 503 supports L4S-based ECN marking.

[0324] The T-RAN can obtain information indicating whether the S-RAN supports L4S-based ECN tags in at least one of several different ways. For example, during the current handover process, the source RAN service for the UE is transmitted to the T-RAN. Therefore, the T-RAN can be provided with information indicating whether the S-RAN provides L4S services before handover to the T-RAN, and this information pertains to the source RAN service. As another example, the information indicating whether the S-RAN provides L4S services before handover to the T-RAN can be provided via different (e.g., separate) signaling mechanisms.

[0325] During 5007, T-RAN 504 signals to AMF 505. This signaling acknowledges 5005's handover request. This signaling may include an explicit indication that T-RAN 504 does not support L4S-based ECN tags. It should be understood that although this explicit indication is illustrated as being included in the handover acknowledgment, it may also be included in any of the multiple alternative signals. For example, the explicit indication may be received in response to a request for this information sent from AMF to T-RAN. It is understood that for... Figure 6 and Figure 7 The same applies to examples.

[0326] During signaling 5008, AMF 505 signals to SMF 506. This signaling may include a request to update the session context associated with UE 501 to reflect changes in the cell used by UE 501. This signaling may include an indication that T-RAN 504 does not support L4S-based ECN tags. This signaling may include N smf PDUSessionUpdate is a service operation that requests a service within the SM context.

[0327] During 5009, the SMF determined to switch from marking packets at the RAN nodes (when congestion occurs) to marking them at the UPF (e.g., switching from the first method to the second method).

[0328] During period 5010, SMF 505 signals to UPF 506. This signaling may include an indication to trigger UPF to initiate L4S marking. This indication may be referred to herein as the L4S enable indication. This signaling may include an N4 session modification request service operation carrying this indication. This signaling may be executed when SMF 505 determines that UPF 506 is not currently performing L4S congestion marking, although it is understood that SMF 505 may not necessarily execute this determination.

[0329] During 5011, SMF 505 signals T-RAN 503. This signaling can instruct T-RAN 503 to initiate congestion relief for UPF 506 in the GTP-U header information (e.g., to provide congestion information to UPF 506).

[0330] During period 5012, T-RAN 503 sends congestion information to UPF 506. For example, this congestion information may be sent in the GTP-U header. This congestion information can indicate whether congestion exists in T-RAN 503.

[0331] During period 5013, UPF uses the congestion information provided during period 5012 to initiate the execution of L4S congestion marking (e.g., ECN marking).

[0332] Therefore, in Figure 5 In this example, the device is used to switch an entity performing the ECN marking mechanism from a RAN entity to a core network entity (e.g., a UPF).

[0333] In this scenario, the target RAN node can notify entities in the 5GC (e.g., SMF and / or PCF) that it does not support L4S. The 5GC entity can then instruct the target RAN node to initiate the transmission of congestion information to the UPF, allowing the UPF to initiate ECN marking. The target RAN node can then begin reporting congestion information to the UPF (e.g., in the GTP-U header to the UPF).

[0334] It should be understood that when it is determined that UPF also lacks L4S capabilities, SMF can instead enable the execution of a third congestion method (e.g., an API-based method). The following section combines... Figure 6 The mechanism is illustrated.

[0335] As Figure 5 A variant of the example, instead of the target RAN directly sending an indication to the SMF that it does not provide support for L4S ECN tags, the target RAN may alternatively send the indication to the source RAN node, which then provides it to the SMF.

[0336] In the event of a change in UPF expectations Figure 5 The above examples (and their variations) can provide certain advantages because the same operation applies.

[0337] Figure 6 The illustration shows an example related to congestion method 3 (e.g., a case where neither the target RAN nor the UPF supports L4S congestion labeling, while the S-RAN does support L4S congestion labeling).

[0338] Figure 6 The diagram illustrates UE 601, source RAN node (S-RAN) 602, target RAN node (T-RAN) 603, AMF 604, SMF 605, UPF 606, and application function (AF) 607.

[0339] During 6001, UE 601 exchanges data via AF 607. This is described by signaling that extends from UE 601 to S-RAN 602 and then through the core network, including AMF 604, SMF 605 and UPF 606, before passing through AF 607 (e.g., via NEF (not shown)).

[0340] During 6002, S-RAN determines that S-RAN is configured to support L4S. In this example, S-RAN is configured to apply method 1 of option 1 (e.g., perform congestion marking on packets at S-RAN). Therefore, S-RAN is configured to perform L4S-based ECN marking on packets when congestion is detected by S-RAN (e.g., based on congestion detected by S-RAN).

[0341] During 6003, the S-RAN determines that the UE will be handed over from the cell provided by S-RAN 602 to the cell provided by T-RAN 603. The handover decision can be based on any of a variety of different congestion methods. For example, the handover decision can be based on Layer 3 (e.g., network layer) measurement reports sent by UE 601 and / or Layer 1 (e.g., physical layer) measurement reports sent by UE 601, and / or on a network decision based on the current state of (multiple) RAN networks capable of providing services to UE 601.

[0342] During 6004, UE 601, S-RAN 602, T-RAN 603 and / or AMF 604 may initiate (e.g., trigger) a handover procedure to allow the UE to be handed over from the cell provided by S-RAN 602 to T-RAN 603.

[0343] During 6005, AMF 604 signals to T-RAN 603. This signaling may include a handover request during 6004 regarding (e.g., based on) a handover trigger.

[0344] During 6006, T-RAN 604 determined that T-RAN 604 does not support L4S-based ECN marking. T-RAN 604 can also determine (e.g., based on context shared from S-RAN) that S-RAN 603 supports L4S-based ECN marking.

[0345] The T-RAN can obtain information indicating whether the S-RAN supports L4S-based ECN tags in at least one of several different ways. For example, during the current handover process, the source RAN service for the UE is transmitted to the T-RAN. Therefore, the T-RAN can be provided with information indicating whether the S-RAN provides L4S services before handover to the T-RAN, and this information pertains to the source RAN service. As another example, the information indicating whether the S-RAN provides L4S services before handover to the T-RAN can be provided via different (e.g., separate) signaling mechanisms.

[0346] During 6007, T-RAN 604 signals to AMF 605. This signaling acknowledges 6005's handover request. This signaling may include an explicit indication that T-RAN 604 does not support L4S-based ECN tags.

[0347] It should be understood that although the explicit indication is illustrated as being included in the handover confirmation, it may alternatively be included in any of the multiple alternative signals. For example, the explicit indication may be received in response to a request for this information sent from the AMF to the T-RAN. It is understood that for... Figure 5 and Figure 7 The same applies to examples.

[0348] During 6008, AMF 605 signals to SMF 606. This signaling may include a request to update the session context associated with UE 601 to reflect changes in the cell used by UE 601. This signaling may include an indication that T-RAN 604 does not support L4S-based ECN tags. This signaling may include N smf PDUSessionUpdate is a service operation that requests a service within the SM context.

[0349] During 6009, SMF 605 determined to switch from Option 1 (e.g., L4S-based congestion marking) to Option 2 (e.g., API-based congestion opening). This action can be performed when SMF 605 can determine that UPF also does not support L4S for ECN marking. It should be understood that although this description pertains to SMF making this decision, some other network entity (e.g., 5GC network entity) could make this decision (e.g., PCF and / or application functions).

[0350] During 6010, the SMF can signal to the T-RAN 603. This signaling may include (or otherwise indicate) instructions for the T-RAN to initiate the transmission of congestion information to the application function (not shown) via the C plane (i.e., SMF 605) or via the U plane (i.e., the user plane function).

[0351] Subsequently, during 6011, T-RAN 603 sent congestion information to SMF 605.

[0352] During 6012, SMF 605 notifies AF 607 of congestion in the network. The signaling from 6011 to 6012 collectively represents an explicit indication that T-RAN 603 is sending congestion information to the application function using at least one of user plane signaling and / or control plane signaling. Therefore, in Figure 6In the example, T-RAN does not mark data packets experiencing congestion as congested. Instead, T-RAN provides a separate signal to notify application functions of congestion.

[0353] exist Figure 6 In the example, the SMF can switch the congestion notification mechanism from ECN marking for L4S-based systems to API-based open systems (e.g., from option 1 to option 2). The SMF can instruct the target NG-RAN to switch to control plane congestion notification. The SMF can then instruct the NG-RAN to initiate the transmission of congestion information to the SMF. The SMF can then provide the congestion information to the AF (e.g., via the NEF).

[0354] In its variants, the SMF can instruct the UPF that the UPF will provide API-based congestion labeling (e.g., the system will switch from option 1 to option 2 for congestion notification). The SMF can also instruct the target NG-RAN that a switch to congestion notification via the UPF (U-plane) will be performed. The UPF can then provide congestion information to the AF (e.g., via the NEF).

[0355] SMF 605 can execute based on whether the API is control-plane or user-plane based. Figure 6 This is a variant of the signaling.

[0356] For example, for control plane-based API opening, the SMF can instruct the T-RAN to initiate the transmission of congestion information to the AF via the SMF (e.g., during 6010). In contrast, for user plane-based opening, the SMF does not execute the signaling of 6010. Instead, instead of executing the signaling of 6011-6012 (which, for U-plane-based API opening, is executed in the case of control plane-based API opening), the SMF instructs the UPF to open the congestion directly to the AF via the application programming interface (API) (e.g., via the NEF, not shown).

[0357] The frequency of sharing congestion information from T-RAN to AF can be specific to the implementation.

[0358] As Figure 6 A variant of the example, instead of the target RAN directly sending an indication to the SMF that it does not support the L4S ECN tag, the target RAN may instead send the indication to the source RAN node, which then provides it to the SMF.

[0359] In the event of a change in UPF expectations Figure 6 The examples above (and their variations) can provide certain advantages because the same operation can be applied.

[0360] As mentioned above,Figure 7 The example involves a scenario where a RAN-level entity determines when a handover should be triggered, and this does not depend on signaling via the core network (for...). Figure 5 and Figure 6 (Example). Therefore, Figure 7 and Figure 5 and Figure 6 The main difference lies in the signaling mechanism by which T-RAN indicates its ECN marking capability to the AMF.

[0361] Figure 7 The diagram illustrates UE 701, source RAN node (S-RAN) 702, target RAN node (T-RAN) 703, AMF 704, SMF 705, UPF 706, and application function (AF) 707.

[0362] During 7001, UE 701 exchanges data via AF 707. This is described by signaling that extends from UE 701 to S-RAN 702 and then through the core network, which includes AMF 704, SMF 705 and UPF 706, before passing through AF 707 (e.g., via NEF (not shown)).

[0363] During 7002, S-RAN determines that S-RAN is configured to support L4S. In this example, S-RAN is configured to apply method 1 of option 1 (e.g., perform congestion marking on packets at S-RAN). Therefore, S-RAN is configured to perform L4S-based ECN marking on packets when congestion is detected by S-RAN.

[0364] During 7003, the S-RAN determines that the UE will be handed over from the cell provided by S-RAN 702 to the cell provided by T-RAN 703. The handover decision can be based on any of several different schemes. For example, the handover decision can be based on Layer 3 (e.g., network layer) measurement reports sent by UE 701 and / or Layer 1 (e.g., physical layer) measurement reports sent by UE 701, and / or on network decisions based on the current state of (multiple) RAN networks capable of providing services to UE 701.

[0365] During 7004, UE 701, S-RAN 702, and T-RAN 703 can prepare for handover. For example, this can be applied to conditional handover scenarios, where a cell is prepared at the target RAN node, and at the UE, at least one condition is provided for the cell, which, when met, will cause the UE to initiate a handover to one of the prepared cells.

[0366] During 7005, the UE is handed over from a cell provided by S-RAN 702 to a cell provided by T-RAN 703. During 7005, T-RAN 504 can determine that T-RAN 504 does not support L4S-based ECN marking. T-RAN 504 can also (e.g., based on context shared from S-RAN) determine that S-RAN 503 supports L4S-based ECN marking.

[0367] During 7006, T-RAN 703 signals to AMF 704. This signaling may include an indication that T-RAN is unable to provide congestion markers to support L4S. This signaling may be provided, for example, in an N2 path switching request message.

[0368] From 7007, based on the capabilities of UPF 706, operations can be performed according to either 5008 or 6008.

[0369] Figures 8 to 12 The features described above are illustrated. Therefore, it can be understood that these features correspond to those described above, which can be used to provide example implementations.

[0370] Figure 8 Examples could involve a change from the congestion method 1 to the congestion method 2 described above after the UE has switched from the source cell to the target cell.

[0371] Figure 8 The illustration depicts operations that can be performed by a device such as a network-based device. This device may include the functions of a core network device. This device may include session management functions.

[0372] During 801, the device receives an indication that the user equipment is about to be or has been switched from the first access network node to the second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism.

[0373] During 802, the device receives an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism.

[0374] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be executed in any of a variety of different ways.

[0375] For example, an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node. This indication can also be received via a session update request. Furthermore, the indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion information can be received via another network entity.

[0376] During step 803, the device determines that the user plane function is capable of executing the second congestion control mechanism. The user plane function can be a user plane function that maintains the session between the user equipment and the application function or application server via the first access network node. The user plane function can be any other user plane function besides the one that maintains the session between the user equipment and the application function or application server via the first access network node.

[0377] During period 804, the device sends a request to the user plane function to perform a second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

[0378] It should be understood that the first congestion control mechanism and the second congestion control mechanism may include different actions.

[0379] It should be understood that the first and second congestion control mechanisms may include the same or similar actions, performed by different means (e.g., a radio access node and a user plane function, respectively). For example, both mechanisms may include performing ECN marking on packets provided to user equipment (or performing some pre-agreed explicit marking of packets to indicate that the packet is being transmitted in a congested network environment). The main difference between the first and second congestion control mechanisms may involve how the means performing their respective mechanisms obtain information about which packets(s) are marked as congested. For example, in the first congestion control mechanism, the entity performing the marking may directly identify the congestion itself and mark (multiple) packets(s) accordingly. In contrast, in the second congestion control mechanism, the entity performing the marking may receive congestion indications for packets from another entity (e.g., the user plane function may receive congestion indications from a second access node and use the received information to mark (multiple) packets(s).

[0380] The tagged packets can then be sent to the user equipment in the downlink (e.g., in a congested network environment).

[0381] The device can send instructions to a second access network node to provide congestion information to the user plane function regarding the at least one packet, the congestion information indicating whether the at least one packet is experiencing congestion (e.g., whether the at least one packet has been or will be transmitted and / or received in a congested wireless environment).

[0382] Determining that a user plane function is capable of performing the first congestion control mechanism may include receiving an indication from the user plane function that it is capable of performing the first congestion control mechanism. Determining that a user plane function is capable of performing the first congestion control mechanism may also include obtaining an indication from the network repository function that it is capable of performing the first congestion control mechanism.

[0383] Before the user equipment is switched from the first access network node, the device can maintain session information for sessions between the application function or application server and the user equipment via the first access network node, and / or after the user equipment is switched to the second access network node, the device can maintain session information for sessions between the application function or application server and the user equipment via the second access network node.

[0384] Figure 8 The device can implement virtual network function instances for session management.

[0385] Figure 9 Examples could involve a change from the congestion method 1 to the congestion method 3 described above after the UE has switched from the source cell to the target cell.

[0386] Figure 9 The illustration depicts operations that can be performed by a device such as a network-based device. This device may include the functions of a core network device. This device may include session management functions.

[0387] During 901, the device receives an indication that the user equipment is about to be or has been switched from the first access network node to the second access network node, the first access network node being configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism.

[0388] During period 902, the device receives an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism.

[0389] The indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be executed in any of a variety of different ways.

[0390] For example, an indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be received from the second access network node. This indication can also be received via a session update request. Furthermore, the indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion information can be received via another network entity.

[0391] During 903, the device determined that the second access network node was capable of implementing the third congestion control mechanism.

[0392] During period 904, the device sends instructions to the second access network node to execute a third congestion control mechanism for at least one packet sent between the second access network node and the user equipment.

[0393] It should be understood that the first and third congestion control mechanisms may include different actions.

[0394] For example, a first congestion control mechanism might involve an access network node that detects congestion in the network and uses that detection to explicitly mark (multiple) packets being transmitted in the network as congested. In contrast, a third congestion control mechanism might involve an access network node that provides information to another entity (e.g., application functions and / or application servers using user plane and / or control plane signaling) about whether (multiple) packets are being transmitted in a congested network. A third congestion control mechanism may not include any explicit marking of packets by the access network node implementing the third congestion control mechanism.

[0395] This device can determine that the user plane function cannot execute the second congestion control mechanism.

[0396] It should be understood that the first congestion control mechanism and the second congestion control mechanism may include different actions.

[0397] It should be understood that the first and second congestion control mechanisms may include the same or similar actions, performed by different means (e.g., a radio access node and a user plane function, respectively). For example, both mechanisms may include performing ECN marking on packets provided to user equipment (or performing some pre-agreed explicit marking of packets to indicate that the packet is being transmitted in a congested network environment). The main difference between the first and second congestion control mechanisms may involve how the means performing their respective mechanisms obtain information about which packets(s) are marked as congested. For example, in the first congestion control mechanism, the entity performing the marking may directly identify the congestion itself and mark (multiple) packets(s) accordingly. In contrast, in the second congestion control mechanism, the entity performing the marking may receive congestion indications for packets from another entity (e.g., the user plane function may receive congestion indications from a second access node and use the received information to mark (multiple) packets(s).

[0398] The tagged packets can then be sent to the user equipment in the downlink (e.g., in a congested network environment).

[0399] Before the user equipment is switched from the first access network node, the device can maintain session information for sessions between the application function or application server and the user equipment via the first access network node, and / or after the user equipment is switched to the second access network node, the device can maintain session information for sessions between the application function or application server and the user equipment via the second access network node.

[0400] Figure 9 The device can implement virtual network function instances for session management.

[0401] Figure 10Examples could involve a change from the congestion method 1 to the congestion method 2 described above after a UE hands over from the source cell to the target cell.

[0402] Figure 10 The diagram illustrates operations that can be performed by the device. The device may include the functions of an access network node. For example, the device may include the functions of a first access network node and / or a second access network node. The second access network node may correspond to the functions described above regarding... Figure 8 The second access network node under discussion. The first access network node can correspond to the one described above. Figure 8 The first access network node under discussion.

[0403] During 1001, the device determines that the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first access network node to the device.

[0404] During period 1002, the device determines that it does not support the first congestion control mechanism performed by the first access network node.

[0405] During 1003, the device sends an indication to the core network node that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism.

[0406] The signaling of 1003 can be executed in response to a query sent from a network node (e.g., access and mobility functions and / or from a core network device). The signaling of 1003 can also be executed autonomously in response to a handover triggered at the radio access network level (e.g., by an access network node and / or user equipment). Therefore, the signaling of 1003 can be executed regardless of whether a request for this information is received from the core network device.

[0407] During 1004, the device receives from the core network node an instruction to provide congestion information to the user plane function, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

[0408] As described above, the device can perform the functions of a second access network node.

[0409] This device can perform the functions of the first access network node.

[0410] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the handover request confirmation.

[0411] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the path switching request.

[0412] Core network nodes can include the above-mentioned components. Figure 8 The aforementioned apparatus (e.g., an apparatus including a session management function).

[0413] It should be understood that the first and second congestion control mechanisms may include the same or similar actions, performed by different means (e.g., a radio access node and a user plane function, respectively). For example, both mechanisms may include performing ECN marking on packets provided to user equipment (or performing some pre-agreed explicit marking of packets to indicate that the packet is being transmitted in a congested network environment). The main difference between the first and second congestion control mechanisms may involve how the means performing their respective mechanisms obtain information about which packets(s) are marked as congested. For example, in the first congestion control mechanism, the entity performing the marking may directly identify the congestion itself and mark (multiple) packets(s) accordingly. In contrast, in the second congestion control mechanism, the entity performing the marking may receive congestion indications for packets from another entity (e.g., the user plane function may receive congestion indications from a second access node and use the received information to mark (multiple) packets(s).

[0414] The tagged packets can then be sent to the user equipment in the downlink (e.g., in a congested network environment).

[0415] Figure 11 Examples could involve a change from the congestion method 1 to the congestion method 3 described above after the UE has switched from the source cell to the target cell.

[0416] Figure 11 The diagram illustrates operations that can be performed by the device. The device may include the functions of an access network node. For example, the device may include the functions of a first access network node and / or a second access network node. The second access network node may correspond to the functions described above regarding... Figure 9 The second access network node under discussion. The first access network node can correspond to the one described above. Figure 9 The first access network node under discussion.

[0417] During 1101, the device determines that the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first access network node to the device.

[0418] During 1102, the device determines that the access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node.

[0419] During 1103, the device sends an indication to the core network device that it does not support the first congestion control mechanism.

[0420] The signaling of 1103 can be executed in response to a query sent from a network node (e.g., access and mobility functions and / or from a core network device). The signaling of 1103 can also be executed autonomously in response to a handover triggered at the radio access network level (e.g., by an access network node and / or user equipment). Therefore, the signaling of 1103 can be executed regardless of whether a request for this information is received from the core network device.

[0421] During 1104, the device receives an instruction from the core network device to provide congestion information to the application function or application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

[0422] The device can explicitly send congestion information to the application function or application server using either user plane or control plane signaling.

[0423] As described above, the device can perform the functions of a second access network node.

[0424] This device can perform the functions of the first access network node.

[0425] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the handover request confirmation.

[0426] An indication that the second access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism can be included in the path switching request.

[0427] Figure 12 The diagram illustrates operations that can be performed by the device. For example, the device can be implemented as a first access network node, and / or perform the functions of a first access network node. The first access network node can be as described above... Figures 8 to 11 The first access network node as described by any one of them.

[0428] During 1201, the device determines that the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first cell provided by a first access network node to a second cell provided by a second access network node.

[0429] During step 1202, the device provides the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node. This indication may be provided in response to the first access network node performing the determination in step 1201.

[0430] exist Figures 8 to 12In all the examples above, the first congestion control mechanism may include: when congestion is determined to exist between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested. The first congestion control mechanism may include an ECN-based mechanism. For example, the first congestion control information may include a low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanism.

[0431] The above description provides a complete and informative description of some examples by way of non-limiting examples. However, various modifications and adaptations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims, given the above description. Nevertheless, all such and similar modifications to these teachings will still fall within the scope of the examples described herein.

[0432] For example, although the above example is provided in the context of inter-DU cell handover, similar signaling can also be performed for inter-CU cell handover.

[0433] Furthermore, in one approach, L4S services can be rerouted via different L4S-enabled paths, or a handover decision can be made based on target RAN L4S support information. In this case, network access network nodes can send their capabilities to the network, and the network should take appropriate measures to ensure that nodes do not cause congestion in the network.

[0434] In another approach, instead of transmitting congestion markers to another network node, the target network node can be configured to use a different congestion control mechanism supported by the target network node.

[0435] In the foregoing, radio access architectures based on Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A, LTE-A) or New Radio (NR, 5G) were used as examples of access architectures to which the described technologies could be applied to describe different examples; however, the examples are not limited to such architectures. These examples can also be applied to other types of communication networks with appropriate components by appropriately adjusting parameters and processes. Some examples of other options for suitable systems are Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN or WiFi), Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX), Bluetooth®, Personal Communication Services (PCS), ZigBee®, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), systems using Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET), and Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), or any combination thereof.

[0436] As described herein, various examples are depicted in the specific implementation. Typically, some examples may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software code, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some examples may be implemented in hardware, while others may be implemented in firmware or software code that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the examples are not limited thereto. While various examples may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it is well understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software code, firmware code, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0437] For example, these examples can be implemented by instructions (e.g., program instructions of computer software code) stored in memory and executable by at least one data processor of the entity involved, or by hardware, or by a combination of software code and hardware.

[0438] The memory referred to in this document can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory.

[0439] The (data) processor referred to herein can be any type suitable for the local technical environment, and by way of non-limiting example, can include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA, a gate-level circuit, and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0440] Furthermore, it should be noted in this regard that any process (e.g., such as...) Figure 8 and / or Figure 9 and / or Figure 10 and / or Figure 11 and / or Figure 12 The term "(as previously described)" can represent the operation of a computer program deployed by at least one processor included in the device (where the computer program includes instructions for causing the device to perform at least one action, the instructions being represented as software code stored on at least one memory), or can represent interconnected logic circuits, blocks, and functions, or can represent a combination of the operation of a computer program deployed by at least one processor included in the device with logic circuits, blocks, and functions. The software code can be stored on physical media such as memory chips or memory blocks implemented within a processor, magnetic media (such as hard disks or floppy disks), and optical media (such as DVDs and their data variants, CDs).

[0441] The memory can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The data processor can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and, by way of non-limiting example, can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), gate-level circuits, and processors based on multi-core processor architectures.

[0442] Alternatively or additionally, some examples may be implemented using a circuit system. This circuit system may be configured to perform one or more of the previously described functions and / or method steps. This circuit system may be provided in base stations and / or communication equipment and / or core network entities.

[0443] As used herein, the terms “circuit system” or “component” may refer to one or more of the following: (a) Pure hardware circuit implementation (such as implementations only in analog and / or digital circuit systems); (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software code, such as: (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware code, and (ii) Any portion of the hardware processor(s) having software code (including (multiple) digital signal processors), the software code, and (multiple) memories(s), working together to enable an apparatus (such as a communication device or base station) to perform the various functions previously described; and (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software code (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software code may be absent when operation is not required.

[0444] This definition of circuit system applies to all uses of the term herein (including in any claim). As another example, as used in this application, the term circuit system also covers only hardware circuitry or a processor (or processors) or a portion of hardware circuitry or a processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware code. The term circuit system also covers, for example, integrated devices.

[0445] Implementations of this disclosure can be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is largely a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools can be used to transform logic-level designs into semiconductor circuit designs ready to be etched and formed on semiconductor substrates.

[0446] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording (where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of these elements, or at least any two or more of these elements, or at least all of these elements.

[0447] The term “non-transient” as used in this article refers to a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signal), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0448] The independent claims define the scope of protection sought by the various examples of this disclosure. Examples and features described in this specification that are not within the scope of the independent claims, if any, shall be interpreted as examples helpful in understanding this disclosure.

[0449] The foregoing description provides a complete and informative description of exemplary implementations of this disclosure by way of non-limiting examples. However, various modifications and adaptations will become apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims, given the foregoing description. Nevertheless, all such and similar modifications to the teachings of this disclosure will still fall within the scope of the examples described herein. Indeed, there is another implementation that includes one or more examples in combination with any other examples previously discussed.

[0450] The following provides examples of how the above principles can be reflected in 3GPP, with underlined portions corresponding to the examples above. These portions may correspond to the parts currently included in 3GPP TS 23.501. 5.37.3.1 Overview L4S (Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable Throughput) is described in IETF RFC 9330

[159] , IETF RFC 9331

[160] , and IETF RFC 9332

[161] . It triggers application-layer rate adaptation by marking congestion information in the IP header of user IP packets between the UE and the application server. In 5G systems, ECN marking for L4S can be supported. ECN marking for L4S is enabled on a per-QoS flow basis in the uplink and / or downlink directions and can be used for both GBR and non-GBR QoS flows. ECN marking for L4S in the IP header is supported in NG-RAN (see Clause 5.37.3.2 of TS38.300

[27] ) or PSA UPF (see Clause 5.37.3.3). Note 1: Whether to use ECN tags for L4S based on NG-RAN or PSA UPF is determined by the SMF based on the operator's network configuration and policies. When ECN marking for L4S is performed by UPF, NG-RAN is instructed to perform congestion information monitoring. Note 2: For any QoS flow, the QoS rules in the UE and the PDR in the PSA UPF control which packets are bound to the QoS flow that enables L4S. The set of packet filters in the QoS rules or PDR can use the packet filters (e.g., ECT(1) and / or IP 5-tuple) in Section 5.7.6.2 to direct traffic to the QoS flow that enables L4S. Note 3: QoS flows can be enabled by ECN tag requests for L4S, for example, by statically enabling when establishing a PDU session based on configuration in SMF or PCF, or by dynamically enabling based on detection of L4S services, for example via ECT(1) and / or IP 5-tuple in the IP header, where SMF or FCF triggers the establishment of QoS flows enabled for L4S, or by requests from AF. Note 4: To support this feature, the UE can support L4S feedback as described in IETF RFC 9330

[159] , which is not within the scope of 3GPP. NOTE X: During UE mobility, e.g. NG-RAN handover or local PSA UPF relocation, when the target NG-RAN and / or PSA UPF is not capable of L4S, the SMF / PCF can decide how to manage the congestion method in 5GC. Version 5.37.3.2 supports ECN tagging for L4S in NG-RAN. According to TS 38.300

[27] , ECN tags for L4S can be supported in NG-RAN. To enable support for ECN tags for L4S in NG-RAN, multiple dedicated QoS flows are used to carry IP services that enable L4S. SMF can be configured to provide indications for ECN tags for L4S to NG-RAN for the multiple corresponding QoS flows based on PCC rules; however, without such configuration, the use of L4S on QoS flows is controlled by the coordinated configuration in NG-RAN and 5GC. In case of UE handover or roaming, if the target NG-RAN does not support L4S, the SMF can switch to ECN marking in PSA UPF defined in 5.37.3.3 for L4S [NOTE: second congestion control mechanism]. If the PSA UPF does not support L4S either, the SMF can enable network exposure for congestion information defined in 5.37.4 [NOTE: third congestion control mechanism]. In case of UE roaming, if the target UPF does not support L4S, the SMF can switch to ECN marking or L4S in the target NG-RAN as per 5.37.3.2. [NOTE: first congestion control mechanism]. If the target NG-RAN does not support L4S either, the SMF can enable network exposure for congestion information defined in 5.37.4 [NOTE: third congestion control mechanism]. If the PSA UPF does not support L4S, the SMF can enable ECN marking for L4S over NG-RAN (as per 5.37.3.2), or enable network exposure for congestion information defined in 5.37.4. [NOTE, first and third congestion control mechanisms respectively]. The standard upon which NG-RAN decides to label the ECN bits for L4S is NG-RAN implementation-specific. Version 5.37.3.3 supports ECN tags for L4S in PSA UPF. To enable the PSA UPF to perform ECN marking for L4S, the SMF can send a QoS flow-level L4S ECN marking indicator to the PSA UPF via N4. The SMF also instructs the NG-RAN to report congestion information for QoS flows in the UL and / or DL ​​directions to the PSA UPF via GTP-U header extension (i.e., the percentage of packets the UPF uses for L4S ECN marking). If no UL packets are available when reporting for DL ​​and / or UL is required, the NG-RAN can generate UL virtual GTP-U packets for such reporting. Following successful activation of congestion information reporting for UL and / or DL, the PSA UPF performs ECN bit marking for L4S in the corresponding direction using information sent by NG-RAN in the GTP-U header extension (see TS 38.415

[116] and TS 38.300

[27] ). ​ ​ ​ 5.8.2.7 PDU Session and QoS Flow Policing ARP is used for admission control (i.e., reservation and preemption of new QoS flows). The value of ARP does not need to be provided to UPF. For each QoS flow, the SMF can determine the Transport Class Packet Tag value (e.g., DSCP in the external IP header) based on 5QI, priority (if explicitly sent), and optional ARP priority, and provide the Transport Class Packet Tag value to the UPF. SMF can provide UPF with the session AMBR value of the PDU session so that UPF can enforce the session AMBR of the PDU session across all non-GBRQoS flows of the PDU session. The SMF can provide the UPF with the GFBR and MFBR values ​​for each GBR QoS flow used in a PDU session. The SMF can also provide the UPF with the average window if it is not configured at the UPF, or if it differs from the default value configured at the UPF. The SMF may decide to activate an ECN tag for L4S for the QoS flow via the PSA UPF (see Clause 5.37). In this case, the SMF may send an ECN tag indicator for L4S to the UPF. ​ ​ ​

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising components for: The system receives an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, wherein the first access network node is configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism. Receive an indication from the second access network node that it does not support the first congestion control mechanism; It was determined that the user plane function was capable of executing the second congestion control mechanism; as well as A request is sent to the user plane function to perform the second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the apparatus comprising a component for: sending an instruction to the second access network node to provide congestion information to the user plane function regarding the at least one packet, the congestion information indicating whether the at least one packet is experiencing congestion.

3. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein determining that the user plane function is capable of executing the second congestion control mechanism comprises: Receive from the user plane function an instruction that the user plane function is capable of executing the second congestion control mechanism.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein both the first congestion control mechanism and the second congestion control mechanism include marking the at least one group as congested.

5. An apparatus comprising components for: The system receives an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, wherein the first access network node is configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism. Receive an indication from the second access network node that it does not support the first congestion control mechanism; Determine that the second access network node is capable of executing the third congestion control mechanism; as well as Send instructions to the second access network node to execute the third congestion control mechanism for at least one packet sent between the second access network node and the user equipment.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a component for determining that the user plane function cannot perform the second congestion control mechanism.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein both the first congestion control mechanism and the second congestion control mechanism include marking the at least one packet as congested.

8. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a component for performing session management functions.

9. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, comprising a component for implementing a virtual network function instance of the session management function.

10. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising components for maintaining session information relating to a session between an application function or application server and the user equipment via one of the first access network node or the second access network node.

11. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second access network node does not support the instruction of the first congestion control mechanism, which is received from the second access network node.

12. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second access network node does not support the indication of the first congestion control mechanism and is received via a session update request.

13. An apparatus comprising components for: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first access network node to the device; It is determined that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node; Send an indication to the core network node that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism; as well as The instruction to provide congestion information to the user plane function is received from the core network node, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

14. An apparatus comprising components for: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first access network node to the device; It is determined that the access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node; Send an indication to the core network device that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism; as well as The core network device receives an instruction to provide congestion information to an application function or application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a component for explicitly sending the congestion information to the application function or application server by means of a user plane or a control plane.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15, comprising a component for performing the functions of a second access network node.

17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the apparatus is implemented as the first access network node.

18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the second access network node does not support the indication of the first congestion control mechanism, and is included in the handover request confirmation.

19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the second access network node does not support the indication of the first congestion control mechanism, and is included in the path switching request.

20. An apparatus comprising components for: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been handed over from a first cell provided by a first access network node to a second cell provided by a second access network node; and Provide the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising a component for performing the functions of the first access network node.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 20 to 21, wherein the apparatus is implemented as the first access network node.

23. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the first congestion control mechanism comprises: When it is determined that there is congestion between the cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment, the access network node explicitly marks the packet as congested.

24. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the second congestion control mechanism comprises: When it is determined that there is congestion between the cell provided by the access network node and the user equipment, the user plane function explicitly marks the packet as congested.

25. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the third congestion control mechanism comprises: When it is determined that there is congestion between the cell and the user equipment provided by the access network node, the access network node sends explicit congestion information to the application function or application server via either the control plane or the user plane.

26. The apparatus according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein the first congestion control mechanism or the second congestion control mechanism comprises a low-latency, low-loss, and scalable throughput congestion control mechanism.

27. A method for an apparatus, the method comprising: The system receives an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, wherein the first access network node is configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism. Receive an indication from the second access network node that it does not support the first congestion control mechanism; It was determined that the user plane function was capable of executing the second congestion control mechanism; as well as A request is sent to the user plane function to perform the second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

28. A method for an apparatus, the method comprising: The system receives an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, wherein the first access network node is configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism. Receive an indication from the second access network node that it does not support the first congestion control mechanism; Determine that the second access network node is capable of executing the third congestion control mechanism; as well as Send instructions to the second access network node to execute the third congestion control mechanism for at least one packet sent between the second access network node and the user equipment.

29. A method for an apparatus, the method comprising: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first access network node to the device; It is determined that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node; Send an indication to the core network node that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism; as well as The instruction to provide congestion information to the user plane function is received from the core network node, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

30. A method for an apparatus, the method comprising: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first access network node to the device; It is determined that the access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node; Send an indication to the core network device that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism; as well as The core network device receives an instruction to provide congestion information to an application function or application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

31. A method for an apparatus, the method comprising: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first cell provided by the first access network node to the second cell provided by the second access network node; as well as Provide the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node.

32. A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform: The system receives an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, wherein the first access network node is configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism. Receive an indication from the second access network node that it does not support the first congestion control mechanism; It was determined that the user plane function was capable of executing the second congestion control mechanism; as well as A request is sent to the user plane function to perform the second congestion control mechanism for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

33. A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform: The system receives an indication that a user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from a first access network node to a second access network node, wherein the first access network node is configured to provide a first congestion control mechanism. Receive an indication from the second access network node that it does not support the first congestion control mechanism; Determine that the second access network node is capable of executing the third congestion control mechanism; as well as Send instructions to the second access network node to execute the third congestion control mechanism for at least one packet sent between the second access network node and the user equipment.

34. A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first access network node to the device; It is determined that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node; Send an indication to the core network node that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism; as well as The instruction to provide congestion information to the user plane function is received from the core network node, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

35. A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been switched from the first access network node to the device; It is determined that the access network node does not support the first congestion control mechanism executed by the first access network node; Send an indication to the core network device that the device does not support the first congestion control mechanism; as well as The core network device receives an instruction to provide congestion information to an application function or application server, the congestion information being for at least one packet transmitted between the user equipment and the second access network node.

36. A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform: Determine whether the user equipment is about to be or has already been handed over from a first cell provided by a first access network node to a second cell provided by a second access network node; and Provide the second access network node with an indication that the first access network node supports a first congestion control mechanism provided by the first access network node.

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