Application-aware and configurable device edge service

Abstract

A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) may include a processor. The WTRU may be configured to receive a configuration request from a multi-access edge computing (MEC) application client. The WTRU may be configured to determine a host on which the service instance is running based on one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier. The WTRU may be configured to send the configuration request to the host for sending to the service instance. The configuration request may include the one or more application characteristics and the configuration information. The WTRU may be configured to receive a configuration response message that indicates a service profile identifier associated with the configured service instance for the application client.

Description

APPLICATION-AWARE AND CONFIGURABLE DEVICE EDGE SERVICECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States Provisional Application No. 63 / 508,365 filed on June 15, 2023, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND

[0002] The capabilities of multi-access edge computing (MEC), also known as mobile edge computing, deployed at the edge of the mobile network may facilitate the efficient and / or dynamic provisioning of services to mobile users. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) industrial specification group (ISG) MEC working group, operative since the end of 2014, intends to specify an open environment for integrating MEC capabilities with service providers' networks, including applications from third parties. These distributed computing capabilities may make available an IT infrastructure, such as a cloud environment, for the deployment of functions in mobile access networks.SUMMARY

[0003] A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) may include a processor. The WTRU may be configured to receive a configuration request from a multi-access edge computing (MEC) application client. The configuration request may include configuration information and one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client. The configuration request may indicate a service uniform resource locator (URL) or a service instance identifier. The one or more application characteristics and the configuration information may enable configuration of a service instance for the application client. The WTRU may be configured to determine a host on which the service instance is running based on one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier. The WTRU may be configured to send the configuration request to the host for sending to the service instance. The configuration request may include the one or more application characteristics and the configuration information.The WTRU may be configured to receive a configuration response message that indicates a service profile identifier associated with the configured service instance for the application client.

[0004] The WTRU may be configured to communicate with the service instance using one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier.

[0005] The WTRU may be configured to receive a query to discover a configurable service. The query may include service-instance specific capability requirements and the one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client. The WTRU may be configured to identify and / or select one or more service instances that match the service-instance specific capability requirements and support the one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client. The serviceinstance specific capability requirements may include requirements for a queried service. The requirements for the queried service may include one or more of a specific host (e.g., a host capability such as a device type, a model number, etc.), a capability to reach a specific domain, and / or a processing capability.

[0006] The WTRU may be configured to send a query to a network node and / or a neighboring multi-access edge platform (MEP) to discover service instances. The query may include one or more capability requirements and the one or more application characteristics. The WTRU may be configured to receive a first response message associated with the query. The first response message may include one or more discovered service instances, service capability information, service configuration information, a MEP ID or a Host ID, and / or a MEC Host location. The service configuration information may indicate if the service needs configuration information from a consuming MEC application. The WTRU may be configured to select one or more service instances from the one or more discovered service instances upon receiving the first response message. The WTRU may be configured to send a second response message to the MEC application client. The second response may include the one or more selected service instances.

[0007] The WTRU may be configured to receive a registration request from a configurable service. The registration request may include application-specific service capability information and one or more configuration requirements. The WTRU may beconfigured to share the application-specific service capability information or the one or more configuration requirements with other WTRUs or a network. The other WTRUs may be constrained MEC hosts (CMHs). The application-specific service capability information may include one or more of a specific host where the configurable service is hosted, a capability to reach a specific domain, a processing capability, other servicespecific capabilities, and / or application-specific service capabilities to indicate the service-consuming application characteristics supported by the configurable service.

[0008] The host on which the service instance is running may be determined by processing the service URL or the service instance identifier.

[0009] The one or more application characteristics may include one or more of an application name, an identifier, an application type, an application priority, a quality of service (QoS), a traffic type, one or more expected traffic characteristics, and / or location information associated with where the MEC application is running.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented.

[0011] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A according to an embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 1 C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an example multi-access edge computing (MEC) infrastructure.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a system diagram illustrating an example European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) multi access edge (MEC) reference architecture.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a system diagram illustrating an example constrained MEC (CMEC) host.

[0017] FIG. 5 is a system diagram illustrating an example smart factory.

[0018] FIG.6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for a configurable service registration.

[0019] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for a relay service registration.

[0020] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for a service discovery query using service capabilities.

[0021] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for a relay service discovery query initiated by a multi access edge (MEC) application.

[0022] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for a service availability notification initiated by a multi access edge platform (MEP).

[0023] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for a service configuration initiated by a MEC application hosted in a constrained MEC host (CMH).

[0024] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure for a relay service configuration initiated by a MEC.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word DFT-Spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a RAN 104 / 113, a CN 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a “station” and / or a “STA”, may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscriptionbased unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a headmounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a WTRU.

[0027] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a gNB, a NR NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0028] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base stationcontroller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 11 b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e. , one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0029] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0030] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 115 / 116 / 117 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed UL Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0031] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE -A Pro).

[0032] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0033] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., a eNB and a gNB).

[0034] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0035] The base station 114b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1 A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection tothe Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0036] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E- UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0037] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT.

[0038] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wirelessnetworks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1 A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0039] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, a speaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any subcombination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0040] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0041] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF andlight signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0042] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1 B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0043] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11 , for example.

[0044] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic lightemitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0045] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134 and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102.For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li- ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0046] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0047] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and / or Augmented Reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0048] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit 139 to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware(e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WRTU 102 may include a halfduplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0049] FIG. 1 C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0050] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0051] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0052] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1 C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (or PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements is depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0053] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attachment of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide acontrol plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0054] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0055] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0056] The ON 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the ON 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0057] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1 A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0058] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0059] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic in to and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered tothe STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to- peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11 e DLS or an 802.11 z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0060] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operation, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0061] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0062] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0063] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11 af and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11 ah relative to those used in 802.11 n, and 802.11ac. 802.11 af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11 ah may support Meter Type Control / Machine-Type Communications, such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0064] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11 n, 802.11 ac, 802.11 af, and 802.11 ah, include a channel that may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11 ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode),transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0065] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0066] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0067] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on the licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0068] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c usingsubframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0069] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non-standalone configuration.In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0070] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0071] The CN 115 shown in FIG. 1 D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoingelements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0072] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different PDU sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for machine type communication (MTC) access, and / or the like. The AMF 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0073] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating WTRU IP addresses, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0074] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets,enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0075] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0076] In view of Figures 1A-1 D, and the corresponding description of Figures 1A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-ab, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and / or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0077] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may perform testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0078] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wirelesscommunication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0079] FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an example multi-access edge computing (MEC) infrastructure 200. The example MEC infrastructure may provide an open environment for integrating MEC capabilities within service provider networks, the service provider networks including third parties.

[0080] FIG. 3 is a system diagram illustrating an example ETSI MEC reference architecture 300. In FIG. 3, an ETSI MEC reference architecture with functional elements that comprise a mobile edge system and the reference points between them is shown.

[0081] There may be different groups of reference points defined between the system entities. As shown in FIG. 3, there may be reference points regarding the mobile edge platform functionality (Mp). There may be management reference points (Mm). There may be reference points connecting to external entities (Mx).

[0082] The mobile edge system may consist of multi access edge hosts and / or multi access edge management necessary to run mobile edge applications within an operator network or a subset of an operator network.

[0083] The multi access edge host may be an entity that contains a multi access edge platform and a virtualization infrastructure that provides computing, storage, and network resources for running multi access edge applications. The multi access edge host is assumed to be deployed in mobile network operator (MNO) or edge service provider data centers in fixed locations. Multi access edge hosts may not be dynamically added to a MEC system via standardized methods.

[0084] The multi access edge platform (MEP) may be a collection of essential functionalities required to run mobile edge applications on a particular virtualization infrastructure and to enable them to provide and consume mobile edge services.

[0085] Multi access edge applications (MEC App) may be instantiated on the virtualization infrastructure of the mobile edge host based on configuration requests validated by the mobile edge management.

[0086] A multi access edge service (MEC service) may be a service provided and consumed either by the MEC platform and / or a MEC application. When provided by a MEC application, it may be registered in the list of services to the MEC platform over the Mp1 reference point. A certain number of MEC services may be necessary, such as RNIS (radio network information service), location service, and traffic management service. The mobile edge management may comprise the mobile edge system level management and / or the mobile edge host level management.

[0087] The mobile edge system level management may include a multi access edge orchestrator (MEO) as its core component, which has an overview of the complete mobile edge system.

[0088] The mobile edge host level management may comprise a multi access edge platform manager (MEPM) and a virtualization infrastructure manager (VIM). The mobile edge host level management may handle the management of the mobile edge specific functionality of a particular mobile edge host and / or the applications running on it.

[0089] There is ongoing work in ETSI MEC (DGR / MEC-0036ConstrainedDevice) titled “MEC in resource constrained terminals, fixed or mobile” that aims at studying how terminal units, mobile hosts, and personal devices may be used to support cloud computing at the edge.

[0090] FIG. 4 is a system diagram illustrating an example constrained MEC (CMEC) host 400.

[0091] ETSI MEC has studied how terminal units, mobile hosts, and personal devices may be used to support cloud computing at the edge. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) MEC study focused on the limited availability of computing resources for running MEC applications and its impact on the life cycle management of VMs, containers, or other forms of virtual instances; the mobility of constrained terminals impacting the reachability of MEC applications, maintenance of reasonable connectivity, device availability, and discovery of appropriate services; the impact of unavailability of reliable high bandwidth backhaulconnectivity (e.g., wired or wireless); and the security and authorization to use a constrained terminal for the privacy of user data.

[0092] There may be different scenarios where it is advantageous to enable a reduced capability MEC platform (constrained MEC, CMEC) for deployment on constrained devices, thus allowing MEC apps to be instantiated on these constrained devices.

[0093] A CMEC host or a constrained MEC host (CMH) may be an ETSI MEC host with a MEC platform (CMEC Platform) supporting reduced functions and features as compared to a full featured telco or infrastructure MEC platform. CMEC Apps, same as MEC App, may use the Mp1 interface to interact with the CMEC platform. In one example, the CMEC may be defined as a host (e.g., CMH) without any MEC platform. The CMEC may have a generic virtualization infrastructure capable of deploying and running MEC applications.

[0094] The CMH may support the ETSI MEC interfaces (e.g., all the ETSI MEC interfaces), such as Mp1 (full standardized interface), Mp3, Mm5, and Mm7, and / or a subset of these interfaces. The Mp3 / Mm5 / Mm7 interfaces may not be specified in ETSI MEC and may be open for implementation. For constrained MEC hosts, an implementer may implement a reduced set of functions for these interfaces. The constrained MEC host may not offer some of the MEC services, e.g., RNIS may be offered while BWM may not be offered. The constrained MEC host may have restrictions on the number of services that may be running at a certain instant of time. The constrained MEC host may have restrictions on the number of requests it may handle and / or it may try to save power by going into sleep mode.

[0095] A MEC and / or CMH implementation may provide benefits to multiple use case scenarios. For example, in a vehicular scenarios, where a CMH embedded in a vehicle might run applications for the vehicle (e.g., onboard processing of sensed data), other neighboring vehicles (e.g., in platooning situations), or for an edge network (for safety and traffic efficiency applications).

[0096] For example, in industry 4.0 scenarios, mobile robots or robot arms and mobile cameras may host MEC applications to minimize the latency required by certain use cases.

[0097] For example, in home gaming scenarios, cloud-based gaming applications using AR / VR may need ultra-low latencies and / or extended computational capabilities that may be provided by CMHs in the same household.

[0098] FIG. 5 is a system diagram illustrating an example smart factory 500. The system shown in FIG. 5 considers constrained MEC hosts that may be mobile, such as a mobile camera or robots fitted with a CMH.

[0099] A production line in the smart factory may be composed of machines that may be fixed or mobile (e.g., robots, robot arms, etc.) acting continuously and / or on-demand. Additional sensors, including video cameras, may be used for real-time monitoring and subsequent intervention by the machines, e.g., to stop the line and / or to remove a defective product. Such intervention by the machines may typically be instructed / commanded by a remote factory worker acting upon real-time data received from the sensors and cameras over a local or wide area network (e.g., through a 5G network).

[0100] The machines and devices in the smart factory may be assumed to have capabilities for networking, computing, and / or storage. The computing capability on the local machines and devices in the factory may support distributed data telemetry and intelligent functionalities locally. Numerous cameras and sensors, with the possibility for some cameras to be on-wheels (e.g., carried by guided vehicles), may continuously monitor the production line. These cameras and sensors may be capable of data storage, and fast data analysis, including extracting and / or capitalizing on the corresponding knowledge in real-time. Federated learning (FL) coupled with advancements in deep learning (DL) across multiple participating end devices opens possibilities for the optimization of manufacturing processes in the smart factory. A smart manufacturing process may demand real-time inference of the data collected to prevent delays, avoid mistakes, and improve efficiency. To provide factory managers with the ability to quickly parse real-time data, make better informed decisions, and recognize potential defects in production, a distributed localized edge computing solution may be leveraged.

[0101] Local device capabilities may be combined with additional (more sophisticated but mostly fixed) capabilities available in the end-to-end infrastructure (e.g., telco edge,distant cloud) connecting the smart factory to the remote digital worker. Running data analysis and detection in these devices may enable real-time detection services. In one example, if data from a smart manufacturing unit is offloaded to a telco edge or any cloud service provider platform, a response may take between 50 to 200 milliseconds.

[0102] Mobile cameras and sensors may include a CMH, which may provide far edge service. The mobile cameras and robots may run FL agents on the CMH and / or update an FL application on telco edge. The mobile constrained MEC host may provide FL local model updates to an FL MEC application on the telco edge. Similarly, an FL MEC application on the telco edge may also provide FL global updates to the FL agent MEC application in CMH.

[0103] The mobile CMH may move around on the factory floor. As a result, a MEC application (e.g., federated learning agent) hosted on the CMH may become unavailable as it goes out of communication coverage and may not be able to communicate with other MEC applications running on the telco edge. If the MEC application in CMH was providing an FL model update to another FL MEC application on the telco edge and vice versa, the FL application may be impacted.

[0104] MEC applications running on CMHs in the far edge may use various edge services developed and / or operated by MNO or third party application developers. Device edge (or far edge) use-cases and applications may need configurable edge services that may be used by many MEC applications (deployed on CMHs in the far edge or in telco edge locations).

[0105] Configurable edge services may need to advertise service specific capabilities (that may not apply to any MEC service) and may require a service consuming application to configure any needed service-specific parameters to utilize the service.

[0106] Examples of configurable edge services may include data cleaning for AI / ML applications, data formatting for FL applications, and / or relay services that relay data from one MEC Application to another MEC Application in cases where the MEC applications are unable to communicate directly.

[0107] There may be a need for MEC applications to discover a configurable service based on service capabilities and MEC application requirements. Service capabilities and MEC application requirements may be different for each service and MECapplication instance. For example, a MEC application may require a data cleaning service capable of understanding visual data and location data or may require a service that can import data from a server.

[0108] There also may be a need for MEC applications to configure the service per its requirement and provide needed application specific information. Configuration may be different for each MEC application instance. For example, a MEC application may need to configure a data cleaning service to remove any visual data between 9 am and 11 am, to remove any location data in a location (e.g., a civic location such as a zip code), and to import data from a specific server (e.g., abc.com).

[0109] To facilitate the discovery of configurable services, there may be a need for services to provide service capabilities and any needed configuration information during service registration with the MEC System. For example, a service may inform the MEC system that it supports importing data from a server. The service may also inform the MEC system about specific configuration information, which needs to be provided by a service consuming MEC application.

[0110] For a MEC application hosted in a mobile CMH to use configurable services, there may be problems that need to be addressed. A problem may be how can a MEC application register as a configurable service by providing service specific capabilities and required configuration information with the MEC system. Another problem may be how can a service consuming MEC application discover a configurable service by providing its needed service specific capabilities and informing custom application requirements. Another problem may be how can a service consuming a MEC application configure a configurable service.

[0111] Relay services may be needed, as an example, when communication between an FL MEC application in a CMH and another FL MEC application in the telco edge is lost. A relay service hosted in another MEC host can be selected to relay the model updates between the CMH and the telco edge. It may be assumed that the CMH that lost connectivity to the telco edge can use a D2D type connection to interact with intermediate CMH hosts or other MEC hosts.

[0112] Relay services may have certain problems. A problem may be how a MEC application may be hosted on a CMH may discover a configurable relay service byproviding desired service capability and application requirements, such as the desired MEC application where data may be relayed.

[0113] Another problem may be how may a MEC application be hosted on a CMH register as a configurable relay service provider by specifying custom capabilities and requirements to use the service, such as the relay service needs to know the destination MEC application where data may be relayed.

[0114] Another problem may be how may a MEC application hosted on a CMH configure the relay service so that application specific requirements is supported.

[0115] Registering a service producing MEC application (e.g., such as a relay service) hosted in CMH (e.g., WTRLI) or other MEC hosts as a configurable service may include the following. The service producing MEC application hosted in CMH or other MEC hosts which want to provide a configurable service may register with the MEP by providing the MEC application’s service capability information and service configuration information. The MEP may verify the registration request and may check for authorization. If the service is authorized to register, MEP may add the registration details in the service registry and may send a response indicating success to the MEC application. The MEP may advertise or update about the configurable service to other MEPs hosted in other CMHs and MEC Hosts. The MEP may also send the advertise message to MEO through MEPM.

[0116] Discovery of a configurable service (e.g., such as a relay service) initiated by a MEC application in a CMH (e.g., WTRLI) may comprise the following. The MEC application hosted in CMH may initiate the discovery of a service by sending a query to MEP in the CMH by providing the MEC application’s service capability requirements and application characteristics. The MEP may identify and / or select service instances that match the requested service capability Information and support the application characteristics. The MEP in the CMH may send the query to one or more other MEPs (e.g., hosted in other CMHs), which can be reached and in close proximity. In one example, the MEP in the CMH may send the query to MEO through MEPM. An MEO or MEP may select one or more services by comparing the service capability requirements and application characteristics. The MEO or MEP may respond to the MEC applicationby sending an OK response message. The response message may include a list of one or more discovered services.

[0117] Notification to a MEC application in CMH (e.g., WTRU) about available configurable service (e.g., such as a relay service) may comprise the following. The MEC application (e.g., in a CMH or in a telco edge node) may create a service availability notification subscription with the MEP by providing service capability requirements and application characteristics. The MEC platform may verify the received subscription request and may create the service availability subscription and may send a success notification to the MEC application. When a service producing MEC application registers a configurable MEC service in the MEC system, the MEC platform may issue a service availability notification to the service consuming MEC application.

[0118] Configuration of a configurable service (e g., such as RELAY service) by the MEC application in CMH (e.g. WTRU) may comprise the following. The MEC application may initiate the configuration of the service by sending a service configuration request message to the MEP by including service configuration Information and application characteristics information. The MEP may forward the configuration information for the service to the MEP (e.g., and / or to the MEC platform manager and MEO). The configuration request may include information (e.g., all information) received in the service configuration request message. The MEP, which hosts the service, may receive the configuration information either from the initiating MEP directly or from the MEO. The MEP may send a configure service message to the selected service instance, which may include service configuration information and / or application characteristics information. The service instance may use the service configuration information and / or application characteristics to configure the service for the requesting MEC application.

[0119] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure 600 for a configurable service registration. This example procedure demonstrates how a configurable service 602 may provide service capabilities and required consuming MEC application configuration information during registration with an MEP 604 (e.g., hosted in a CMH or MEC host) to make the service discoverable by MEC applications (e.g., running on the same or different CMH or MEC host).

[0120] As shown in FIG. 6, at 608, the configurable service 602 may register with the MEP 604 hosted in either a CMH or MEC host. In one example, the configurable service 602 may register with an MEP 604 hosted in a different host than where the service instance is running. The purpose of this registration may be to make the MEP 604 aware of the service, its capabilities, and configuration requirements for operation. As part of registration, the configurable service 602 may become discoverable by other MEC applications in the MEC system via the MEP. A MEC application may discover the service whether the MEC application is running in the same or different host as the registered service.

[0121] The configurable service 602 may register with an MEP 604 by sending a service registration request message to the MEP 604. The service registration request message may include a service name to identify the service; a service instance ID to identify the service instance; a service category to identify the grouping or category of the service; a service version; a service state; a service URL to indicate how other MEC applications and services can reach the service; a service capability information to indicate the service specific capabilities that are offered; and / or a service configuration information to indicate if the service needs any configuration information from a consuming MEC application in order to provide the service.

[0122] The service capability information may be specific to each configurable service and may include a specific host where the service is hosted; a capability to reach a specific domain; a processing capability such as the capability to process certain types of data; other service-specific capabilities; and / or application-specific service capabilities to indicate the service-consuming application characteristics supported by the service.

[0123] The application-specific service capabilities information may include application names and IDs to identify specific MEC application instances supported by the service; application types to indicate application types supported by the service (e.g., FL application, ML application, streaming, interactive, etc.); application priorities and QoS to indicate priorities and quality of service supported by the service; traffic types to indicate application traffic types supported by the service; traffic limits to indicate individual and aggregate thresholds on application data transfer rate, size, latency,packet loss, update interval, and frequency supported by the service; and / or service areas to indicate application locations supported by the service, the service areas may be specified as a set of civic addresses, a set of geographic coordinates, a topological network location, etc.

[0124] An MEP 604 may verify the registration request and may check for authorization. If the configurable service 602 is authorized to register, the MEP 604 may add the registration details in the service registry with the additional information provided in service capability information and service configuration information. If the registration is successful, the MEP 604 may send an OK message with the result to the configurable service 602.

[0125] Returning to FIG. 6, in 610, the MEP 604 may advertise or update about the service to other MEPs 606 hosted in other CMHs and MEC hosts. The advertisement of the configurable service will make the MEPs 606 aware of the configurable service availability and make the service discovery faster by MEC applications. The MEP 604 may send the advertise message to other MEPs 606 (e.g., broadcast, multicast, or to a selected few decided by MEO or MEPM). The MEP 604 may also send the advertise message to an MEO.

[0126] The advertise message may include a service name to identify the service; a service instance ID to identify the service instance; a service category to identify the grouping or category of the service; a service version; a service state; a service URL to indicate how other MEC applications and services may reach the service; an MEP ID / Host ID where the service is available; a location of the MEC host e.g., including CMH), service capability information to indicate the service specific capabilities that are offered; and / or service configuration information to indicate if the service needs any configuration information from a consuming MEC application.

[0127] Location information included in the advertise message may include network location (e.g., point of access ID); geo-location; civic location; indoor location; mobility path(s); and / or location accuracy.

[0128] Service capability information may indicate the service specific capabilities that are offered. The service capability information included in the advertise message may be specific to each configurable service and may include information (e g., allinformation) from the service capability information received in the service registration request message.

[0129] Service configuration information may indicate if the service needs any configuration information from a consuming MEC application. The service configuration information included in the advertise message may include information e.g., all information) from the service configuration information received in the service registration request message. The service configuration information may be omitted from the advertise message to save on traffic bandwidth (for example, if advertisement is sent via broadcast or multicast) and may be communicated during service discovery instead.

[0130] The procedure for a configurable service registration may also be utilized to dynamically update the service parameters if needed by a configurable service producing MEC application. The configurable service producing MEC application may update its registration a full set of parameters or update {e.g., only update) those parameters that may have changes. For example, a service producing a MEC application may add or remove a service specific parameter in the service capability information; add or remove configuration parameters in the service configuration information; and / or change the service state (e.g., active, inactive, suspended, etc.). This procedure may also be used to deregister, remove, and / or delete a configurable service registration.

[0131] In the ETSI MEC framework, the configurable service registration procedure {e.g., including update and deregistration) may be implemented by enhancing the MEC service management API, as specified in GS MEC-011 data model.

[0132] In the MEC-011 data model, the service capability information and service configuration information may be added to the Serviceinfo resource data type. Serviceinfo may be used in the MEC service management API to register and update a service with the MEP.

[0133] Configurable service registration, update, and deregistration may be realized, as shown in Table 1.Table 1

[0134] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure 700 for a relay service registration. This example procedure describes a realization of the configurable service registration in the context of a specific service. The specific service may be a relay service. A relay service (RS) 702 supports transferring application data from one MEC application to another, for example, under connection loss conditions.

[0135] The relay service 702 may transfer data to a specific MEC application instance in a telco edge. The relay service 702 may transfer data to a specific MEC application instance in a CMH. The relay service 702 may transfer data to a requested MEC application type either in a telco edge or other CMH.

[0136] As shown in FIG. 7, in 708, the relay service 702 may register with an MEP 704 hosted in either a CMH or another host. The purpose of this registration is to make MEP 704 aware of the relay service 702 and the service’s capability and requirements for operation. As part of registration, the relay service 702 may become discoverable by other MEC applications in the MEC system. The relay service 702 may register with the MEP 704 by sending a service registration request message to the MEP 704.

[0137] The relay service specific parameters may include service capability information to indicate what the relay service can offer (e.g., relay to a telco edge, relay to CMH1 , relay for FL applications, and / or relay for stream ing / interactive session, etc.). The relay service specific parameters may include service configuration information to indicate if the relay service needs any information to provide the service or any configuration information. For example, the relay service 702 may indicate that it will need information about the destination MEC application, where the data is to be relayed. It may also indicate what information is required about the MEC application that is relaying data,such as application type (e.g., FL application), application data size to be relayed, frequency of data update, and / or updated priority, etc.

[0138] The MEP 704 may verify the registration request and may accept the registration.

[0139] Returning to FIG. 7, in 710, the MEP 704 may advertise or update about the service to other MEPs 706 hosted in other CMHs and MEC hosts.

[0140] The relay service specific parameters may include service capability information to indicate what the relay service can offer (e.g., relay to a telco edge, relay to CMH1 , relay for FL applications, and / or relay for stream ing / interactive session, etc.). The relay service specific parameters may include service configuration information to indicate if the relay service needs any information to provide the service or any configuration information. For example, the relay service may indicate that it will need information about the destination MEC application, where the data is to be relayed. It may also indicate what information is required about the MEC application that is relaying data, such as application type (e.g., FL application), application data size to be relayed, frequency of data update, update priority, etc.

[0141] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure 800 for a service discovery query using service capabilities. This example procedure 800 describes how a MEC application may discover a configurable service using platform services offered by edge platforms, like an MEP, via a query procedure.

[0142] As shown in FIG. 8, in 808, a MEC application 802 may initiate the discovery of a configurable service. The MEC application 802 may also initiate discovery with an MEP 804 in a different MEC host. The MEC application 802 may send a service discovery query message to discover a service.

[0143] The service discovery query may include a service name to identify the service; a service Instance ID to identify the service instance; a service category to identify the grouping or category of the service; a service version; a service state; service capability requirements to indicate requirements for the queried service; and / or application characteristics of the consuming MEC application.

[0144] Service capability requirements may include a specific host where the service is hosted; a host capability e.g., such as a device type, a model number, etc.), thecapability to reach a specific domain; processing capability (e.g., the capability to process certain types of data); and / or other service-specific requirements.

[0145] The application characteristics information may include an application name and ID to identify the MEC application instance and may be used to determine if the application is authorized and capable of using the service; application type (e.g., FL application, ML application, streaming, interactive, etc.); application priority and QoS to indicate the requested application and data transfer priority and quality of service; traffic type (e.g., TCP, UDP, etc.); expected traffic characteristics (e.g., data transfer rate, size, latency, packet loss, update interval, and frequency); and / or location information (e.g., where the source MEC application is running such as a civic address, geo location information, etc.) so that a service may be found, which is in the proximity of the MEC Application.

[0146] The service capability requirements and application characteristics may be used to discover a service, as requested by a MEC application 802.

[0147] In 810, the MEP 804 may identify and / or select service instances that match the requested service capability information and support the application characteristics. The application characteristics may be compared with the application-specific capabilities of a service instance to determine if the service instance supports the requesting MEC application 802.

[0148] The MEP 804 may query the MEO 806 to discover a service. The ETSI MEC may not specify an MEP querying for service information. This interaction may be supported over an Mm5 interface where the MEP sends the query to the MEPM and the MEPM may forward the query to the MEO; and / or a new interface between the MEP 804 and the MEO 806 may be used to support APIs between the MEP 804 and the MEO 806.

[0149] In one example, the MEP 804 may query neighboring MEPs 818 (e.g., over an Mp3 interface).

[0150] The MEP 804 may send a query to the MEO 806 or a neighboring MEP 818 to discover a service. The query may include a service name to identify the service; a service instance ID to identify the service instance; a service category to identify the grouping or category of the service; a service version; a service state; a servicecapability requirements to indicate details about the service; and / or application characteristics of the MEC application.

[0151] The service capability requirements may include information (e.g., all information) from the service capability requirements received in the service discovery query message.

[0152] The application characteristics may include information (e.g., all information) from the application characteristics received in the service discovery query message.

[0153] In 812, the MEO 806 or the neighboring MEP 818 may select one or more services by comparing the service capability requirements and application characteristics received in the discovery query message with the service capability information of the registered services. The MEO 806 may have obtained the service capability information from the MEP 804 where a service is registered. The neighboring MEP 818 may have obtained the service capability information directly during service registration or from another MEP (e.g., MEP 804) where a service is registered.

[0154] The MEO 806 or the neighboring MEP 818 may respond by sending an OK response message. The response message may include a list of one or more discovered services. Discovered service information may include a service name to identify the service; a service instance ID to identify the service instance; a service category to identify the grouping or category of the service; a service version; a service state; a service URL to indicate how other MEC applications and services can reach the service; service capability information to indicate the service specific capabilities that are offered; service configuration information to indicate if the service needs any configuration information from a consuming MEC application; an MEP ID / Host ID identifier where the service is available; and / or a location of the MEC host (including CMH).

[0155] The service capability information may be specific to each configurable service and may include information (e.g., all information) from the service capability information provided by the service during service registration or registration update.

[0156] The service configuration information may include information (e.g., all information) from the service configuration information provided by the service during service registration or registration update.

[0157] The location information may include network location, geo-location, civic location, mobility path(s), and / or location accuracy.

[0158] In 814, the initiating MEP 804 may select a single service from the list of services received or forward the complete list of discovered services to the initiating MEC application 802 by sending an OK response message. The response message may include a list of one or more discovered services. Discovered service information may include information (e.g., all information) from the discovered services information received in the discovery query response message.

[0159] In 816, the service consuming MEC application 802 may select a discovered configurable service instance (e.g., if a list is provided), may configure, and may interact with the selected configurable MEC service instance via its service URL. The MEC host (e.g., CMH) hosting the consuming MEC application 802 may determine (e.g., via MEC application or MEP trigger) that the selected configurable MEC service is available on another MEC host within the D2D range and may establish a D2D connection with this MEC host before interacting with the selected configurable MEC service instance.

[0160] In the ETSI MEC framework, the configurable service discovery query procedure may be implemented by enhancing the MEC Service Management API specified in GS MEC-011 data model.

[0161] In the MEC-011 data model, the service capability requirements and application characteristics may be defined as dedicated resource data types or appended to other data resources defined in MEC-011 data model. The Serviceinfo resource data type may include the service capability information and service configuration information.

[0162] Configurable service discovery query may be realized, as shown in Table 2.Table 2

[0163] FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure 900 for a relay service discovery query initiated by a multi access edge (MEC) application 902. This example procedure 900 describes a realization of the configurable service discovery (e.g., via a query procedure) in the context of a specific configurable service. The specific configurable service may be a relay service.

[0164] This example procedure 900 may be utilized when the MEC application 902 hosted in a CMH is involved in interaction with another MEC application in a telco edge or other CMH. The MEC application 902 in the CMH detects that the communication path (e.g., 5GNR, Wifi, etc.) between the CMH and the telco edge or to other CMH is lost. The MEC application 902 may detect that there is a D2D type connection available with other CMH in the local area. The availability of a D2D connection may trigger the MEC application to discover a relay service, which can forward application data towards the MEC application 902 with which it was interacting before losing connectivity.

[0165] As shown in FIG. 9, at 908, the connectivity between a MEC application 902 in a MEC host or a CMH and a telco edge is lost. The MEC application 902 may detect the availability of direct (e.g., D2D) type connectivity with other CMH and may trigger service discovery of a relay service.

[0166] At 910, the MEC application 902 may query for the relay service with the MEP 904 by sending a service discovery query message to the MEP 904. Relay service specific parameters may include service capability requirements to indicate requirements for the queried relay service and application characteristics of the consuming MEC application 902.

[0167] The service capability requirements information may include a specific host where the relay service is hosted if known by the MEC application; a host capability (e.g., such as a device type, a model number, etc.), capability of the relay service to reach a specific domain (e.g., abc.com, xyz.com); capability to reach a specific host, where the destination MEC application for the relay is hosted; and / or processing capability (e.g., capability to process FL / ML data, forward data at a certain rate).

[0168] The application characteristics for the relay service may include type of application (e.g., FL application); generates data at a certain rate; generated data is of a certain size; tolerable delay in getting a response; and / or location information where the source MEC application is running (e.g., civic address, geo location information, etc.) so that a service may be found, which is in proximity of the MEC application.

[0169] At 912, the MEP 904 may identify and / or select service instances that match the requested service capability information and support the application characteristics.

[0170] The MEP 904 may query the MEO 906 or MEP 920 to find a service and to indicate relay service specific parameters for service capability requirements and / or application characteristics.

[0171] At 914, the MEO 906 or MEP 920 may select one or more relay service instances by comparing the service capability requirements and application characteristics received in the discovery query message. In this case, the comparison is with the relay service capability information of the registered relay services.

[0172] For example, the MEO 906 or MEP 920 may match capability requirements and capabilities if the service supports the requested relay type (e.g., relay to telco edge, relay to CMH1 , relay for FL applications, relay for stream ing / interactive session). For example, the MEO 906 or MEP 920 may match capability requirements and capabilities if the service can reach a domain or a specific application to relay. For example, the MEO 906 or MEP 920 may match capability requirements and capabilities if the service can reach the application hosted in a specific host or domain to relay.

[0173] For example, the MEO 906 or MEP 920 may match application characteristics if the service supports application of type FL / ML, and / or can handle data of specific volume, specific size, and in specific relay frequency.

[0174] At 916, the initiating MEP 904 may select a single service from the list of services received or forward the complete list of discovered services to the initiating MEC application 902 by sending an OK response message.

[0175] At 918, the service consuming MEC application 902 may select a discovered relay service instance (e.g., if a list is provided), may configure (e.g., for example, using the previously described configuration produced), and / or may interact with the selected relay service instance via its service URL.

[0176] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure 1000 for a service availability notification initiated by a multi access edge platform (MEP). The exemplary procedure 1000 describes how a MEC application may asynchronously discover configurable MEC services using a subscription and notification service offered by edge platforms like MEP. The MEP may inform the MEC application when a configurable MEC service fitting specific criteria becomes available.

[0177] As a prerequisite, a MEC application may be interested in consuming a configurable MEC service (e.g., in a CMH device in the far edge or in the telco edge). However, an instance of that service may not be currently available. The MEC application may wish to receive a notification if the configurable service becomes available to the MEC application.

[0178] At 1008 to consume a configurable MEC service, a MEC application 1002 (e.g., in a CMH or in a telco edge node) may create a service availability notification subscription with the MEP 1004. The MEC application 1002 may provide information to the MEC that is needed by the MEP 1004 to evaluate if a configurable MEC service meets the needs of the MEC application 1002.

[0179] This information may include a service name to identify the service; a service instance ID to identify the service instance; a service category to identify the grouping or category of the service; a service version; a service state; service capability requirements to indicate service specific capabilities requested by the MEC application; application characteristics of the consuming MEC application; and / or a notification callback URL for a communication endpoint for the MEP platform to issue the notification, when applicable.

[0180] The service capability requirements may include a specific host where the service is hosted; a host capability (e.g., such as a device type, a model number, etc.), a capability to reach a specific domain; a processing capability (e.g., the capability to process a certain type of data); and / or other service-specific requirements.

[0181] The application characteristics may include an application name and ID to identify the MEC application instance that may also be used to determine if the application is authorized and capable of using the service; an application type (e.g., FL application, ML application, Streaming, Interactive, etc.); an application priority and QoS to indicate the requested application and data transfer priority and quality of service; a traffic type (e.g., TCP, UDP, etc.); expected traffic characteristics (e.g., data transfer rate, size, latency, packet loss, update interval, and frequency); and / or location information, where the source MEC application is running (e.g., civic address, geo location information, etc.) so that a service may be found, which is in proximity of the MEC application.

[0182] At 1010, a MEP 1004 may verify the received subscription request and create the service availability subscription.

[0183] At 1012, the MEP 1004 may return a success indication to the MEC application 1002, including a reference to the created subscription resource. If a configurable MEC service is available, the MEC platform may issue the service availability notification.

[0184] At 1014, a service producing MEC application may register a configurable MEC service in the MEC system that meets the configurable MEC service availability notification subscription criteria and is available to the requesting (e.g., service consuming) MEC application.

[0185] At 1016, the MEP 1004 may issue a service availability notification to the service consuming MEC application 1002 at the callback URL received in the service availability notification subscription request.

[0186] In the notification, the MEP 1004 may provide information about the configurable MEC service, which may be a list of available instances that may include a service name to identify the service; a service instance ID to identify the service instance; a service category to identify the grouping or category of the service; a service version; a service state; a service URL to indicate how other MEC applications and services canreach the service; a service capability information to indicate the service specific capabilities that are offered; service configuration information to indicate if the service needs any configuration information from a consuming MEC application; an MEP ID / Host ID where the service is available; and / or a location of the MEC host (e.g., including CMH).

[0187] The service capability information may be specific to each configurable service and may include information (e.g., all information) from the service capability information provided by the service during service registration or registration update.

[0188] The service configuration information may include information (e.g., all information) from the service configuration information provided by the service during service registration or registration update.

[0189] The location information may include network location, geo-location, civic location, mobility path(s), and location accuracy.

[0190] At 1018, the service consuming MEC application 1002 may select a discovered configurable service instance 1006 (e.g., if a list is provided), may configure (e.g., using the previously described service configuration procedure), and / or may interact with the selected configurable MEC service 1006 instance via its service URL. The MEC host (e.g., CMH) hosting the consuming MEC application may determine (e.g., via MEC application or MEP trigger) that the selected configurable MEC service is available on another MEC host within a D2D range and may establish a D2D connection with this MEC host before interacting with the selected configurable MEC service instance.

[0191] In the ETSI MEC framework, the configurable service discovery subscription / notification procedure may be implemented by enhancing the MEC Service Management API, as specified in GS MEC-011 data model.

[0192] In the MEC-011 data model, the service capability requirements and application characteristics may be defined as dedicated resource data types or appended to other data resources defined in the MEC-011 data model. The Serviceinfo resource data type may include the service capability information and service configuration information.

[0193] Configurable service discovery subscription / notification may be realized, as shown in Table 3.Table 3

[0194] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure 1100 for a service configuration initiated by a MEC application 1102 hosted in a CMH. The exemplary procedure 1100 describes how a MEC application 1102 may configure a configurable service using platform services offered by edge platforms like MEP. This procedure 1100 may allow a MEC application 1102 to provide requirements and specific configuration information to a configurable service.

[0195] At 1112, a MEC application client 1102, which wants to use a discovered configurable service, may initiate the configuration of the service. Configuration of a service by an application may be required so that the MEC application client 1102 may use the service as per its intended use. For example, the MEP 1104 may receive, at 1112, a configuration request from the MEC application client 1102.

[0196] The request (e.g., the configuration request) to initiate the configuration of the service may include a service to configure that indicates which service the application is requesting to configure; configuration information (e.g., service configuration information) to configure the service; and / or application characteristics associated with the consuming MEC application client 1102. The one or more application characteristics and the configuration information may enable configuration of a service instance for the MEC application client 1102.

[0197] The configuration request may indicate a service URL or a service instance ID. For example, the service configuration information may include the service URL or the service instance ID. The MEP 1104 may reach the service based on the URL or service instance ID.

[0198] The MEP 1104 may receive a query to discover a configurable service. The query may include service-instance specific capability requirements and one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client 1102. The service configuration information may include information (e.g., all information) from the service configuration information received in the service discovery query response or in the service discovery notification. The service-instance specific capability requirements may include requirements for the queried service. The requirements for the queried service may include one or more of a host capability (e.g., such as a device type, a model number, etc.), a capability to reach a specific domain, and / or a processing capability. The MEP 1104 may further identify and / or select one or more service instances that match the service-instance specific capability requirements and support the one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client 1102.

[0199] The one or more application characteristics may include an application name and ID to identify the MEC application instance and may be used to determine if the application is authorized and capable of using the service; application type (e.g., FL application, ML application, streaming, interactive, etc.); application priority and QoS to indicate the requested application and data transfer priority and quality of service; a traffic type (e.g., TCP, UDP, etc.); expected traffic characteristics (e.g., data transfer rate, size, latency, packet loss, update interval and frequency); and / or location information where the source MEC Application is running (e.g., civic address, geolocation information, etc.) so that a service can be found, which is in the proximity of the MEC application.

[0200] The application characteristics and the service configuration information may enable configuration of a service instance for the MEC application client 1102.

[0201] In the ETSI MEC framework, the service configuration request message may be implemented as a new API (e.g., Service_Configuration_Request over Mp1 ); and / or extending MEC application registration message over Mp1 by including the configuration information.

[0202] At 1114, the MEP 1104 may process the service URL or the service instance ID to determine the selected service and to determine how to reach the service instance. For example, the MEP 1104 may determine a host on which the service instance is running based on one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier. The MEP 1104 may send, at 1114, the configuration request to the MEP 1106 (e.g., the determined host). It is possible that MEP 1104 may determine (e.g., only determine) the correct MEP 1106 to reach and will allow the MEP to forward the configuration information to the correct service instance. The MEP 1104 may forward the configuration information for the service to the MEP 1106 (or to the MEC platform manager and the MEO). The configuration request may include information (e.g., all information) received in the service configuration request message.

[0203] In the ETSI MEC architecture, the message may be forwarded over Mp3 directly to another MEP, Mm5 interface towards MEPM, and the MEPM forwards it to MEO and / or a new interface between the MEPM and the MEO.

[0204] The MEP 1104 may send a query to a network node or a neighboring MEP to discover service instances. The query to the network or the neighboring MEP may include one or more capability requirements and one or more application characteristics. The MEP 1104 may receive a first response message associated with the query. The response may include one or more discovered service instances, service capability information, service configuration information, a MEP ID or a Host ID, and / or a MEC Host location. The service configuration information may indicate if the service needs configuration information from a consuming MEC application. The MEP 1104 may select one or more service instances from the one or more discovered serviceinstances upon receiving the first response message. The MEP 1104 may send a second response message to the MEC application client 1102. The second response may include the one or more selected service instances.

[0205] At 1116, the MEP 1106 that hosts the service may receive the configuration information either from the initiating MEP directly or from the MEO.

[0206] The MEP 1106 may process the Service Instance ID to determine the service instance where the configuration information must be sent. After the service instance is identified, the MEP 1106 may forward the configuration information to the service instance 1108.

[0207] The MEP 1106 may send, at 1116, a configure service message to the selected service instance 1108. The message may include service configuration information to configure the service and application characteristics of the MEC application client 1102.

[0208] The service configuration Information may include information (e.g., all information) from the service configuration information received in the configuration request from the initiating MEP 1104 directly or from the MEO.

[0209] The application characteristics may include information (e.g., all information) from the application characteristics received in the configuration request from the initiating MEP 1104 directly or from the MEO.

[0210] At 1118, the service instance 1108 may use the service configuration information and application characteristics to configure the service for the requesting MEC application client 1102. For example, the service may create an application context or service profile for each requesting MEC application name and application ID. The service may store the service profile or configuration information for each requesting MEC application. The service may create a PROFILEJD or SERVICEJD related to each profile and send it back to the requesting MEC application. The SERVICEJD may be used by the requesting MEC application to send a future request to the service with the SERVICEJD. The service may retrieve the service profile and may use it according to application needs.

[0211] The service may accept the configuration and may send an OK response message with the SERVICEJD to the MEP 1106.

[0212] At 1120 and 1122, the OK response message with configuration may be accepted and the SERVICEJD may be forwarded to the MEC application client 1102 that initiated the configuration of the selected service. For example, the MEP 1104 may receive, at 1120, a configuration response (e.g., from the MEP 1106) that indicates a service profile identifier associated with the configured service instance for the MEC application client 1102. A service profile identifier may identify a service profile. The service profile may be a set of information that describes the service configuration details, such as, the consuming MEC applications, service configuration details like allocated compute, storage, connectivity, connectivity to a remote MEC app, applied filter for sensing, and / or application characteristics, which can be supported. For example, the service profile identifier may be the SERVICEJD and / or PROFILEJD.

[0213] The MEP 1104 may receive a service configuration request from the MEC application client 1102. The MEP 1104 may receive a registration request from the configurable MEC service instance 1108. The registration request may include application-specific service capability information and one or more configuration requirements. The MEP 1104 may share the application-specific service capability information and / or the one or more configuration requirements with other WTRUs or a network. In one example, the other WTRUs may be constrained MEC hosts (CMHs). The application-specific service capability information may include one or more of a specific host where the configurable service is hosted, a capability to reach a specific domain, a processing capability, other service-specific capabilities, and / or applicationspecific service capabilities to indicate the service-consuming application characteristics supported by the configurable service.

[0214] At 1124, the service consuming MEC application client 1102 may interact with the configured MEC service instance 1108 via its service URL. For example, the MEP 1104 may communicate, at 1124, with the service instance using one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier. A service instance identifier may identify a deployed running service instance. For example, in a cloud system, an application package (e.g., application software) may be available to an orchestrator. The orchestrator may deploy and / or instantiate the application software in one or morelocations as virtual machines (VMs) or containers. Therefore, each VM may be identified by a unique service instance identifier.

[0215] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating an example procedure 1200 for a relay service configuration initiated by a MEC. The example procedure describes a realization of the configurable service “configuration” in the context of a specific configurable service. The specific configurable service may be a relay service.

[0216] As shown in FIG. 12, at 1212, the MEC application 1202 may initiate the configuration of the relay service.

[0217] Relay service configuration information may include a TargetMECApp parameter that indicates a target MEC application where data is to be relayed. The relay service may store this information for relaying application data to the target MEC application.

[0218] Relay service configuration information may include a TargetHost parameter that indicates the host where the target MEC application may be hosted.

[0219] Relay service configuration information may include a CallbackURL parameter that indicates how to reach the MEC application for information and notification related to the service.

[0220] Relay service configuration information may include a ApplicationDataSize parameter that indicates the size of the data the relay service can expect from the MEC application so that sufficient buffer and storage may be allocated to process application data.

[0221] Relay service configuration information may include an AppUpdatelnterval parameter that indicates the frequency of relay data updates the Relay Service can expect.

[0222] Relay service configuration information may include an ApplicationRelayData parameter that indicates a current snapshot of the application data to relay, if available. For example, that indicates the last known state / profile for FL data update of the MEC application that needs to be relayed.

[0223] At 1214, the MEP 1204, after receiving a configuration request, may process the relay service URL or Relayinstance ID to determine the relay service and how to reach the service instance for configuration.

[0224] The MEP 1204 may forward the relay service configuration information to another MEP 1206 (or to a platform manager and the MEO) and may include the relay service configuration information previously initiated at step 1212.

[0225] At 1216, the MEP 1206, which hosts the relay service, may receive the relay configuration information either from the initiating MEP 1204 directly or from the MEO.

[0226] The MEP 1206 may send a configure service message to the selected relay service instance 1208, including the relay Service configuration information.

[0227] At 1218, the relay service instance 1208 may receive the configuration information (e.g., all the configuration information) and create a service profile for each requesting MEC application name and application ID.

[0228] A relay service profile may be created for each application ID. A relay service profile may include a TargetMECApp parameter that indicates a target MEC application where data is to be relayed. The relay service may store this information for relaying application data to the target MEC application.

[0229] A relay service profile may include a TargetHost parameter that indicates the host where the target MEC application is hosted.

[0230] A relay service profile may include a CallbackURL parameter that indicates how to reach the MEC application for information and notification related to the service.

[0231] A relay service profile may include a ApplicationDataSize parameter that indicates the size of the data the relay service can expect from the MEC application so that sufficient buffer and storage can be allocated to process application data.

[0232] A relay service profile may include an AppUpdatelnterval parameter that indicates the frequency of relay data updates that the relay service can expect.

[0233] A relay service profile may include an ApplicationRelayData parameter that indicates a current snapshot of the application data to relay, if available. For example, that indicates the last known state / profile for FL data update of the MEC application that needs to be relayed.

[0234] The relay service may store the relay service profile or configuration information for each requesting MEC application. The relay service may create a PROFILEJD or SERVICEJD related to each profile and may send it back to a requesting MEC application. The SERVICEJD may be used by the requesting MEC application to senda future request to the service with the SERVICEJD. The service may retrieve the relay service profile and may use it to forward application data to the target MEC application hosted in a target host.

[0235] The relay service 1208 may accept the configuration and may send an OK message with the SERVICEJD to the MEP 1206.

[0236] At 1220 and 1222, the OK message with configuration accept and the SERVICEJD may be forwarded to the MEC application 1202, which initiated the configuration of the desired relay service.

[0237] At 1224, the service consuming MEC application 1202 may interact with the configured MEC relay service instance 1208 via its service URL.

Claims

CLAIMS:1 . A method implemented by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving a configuration request from a multi-access edge computing (MEC) application client, the configuration request comprising configuration information and one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client , the configuration request indicating a service uniform resource locator (URL) or a service instance identifier, wherein the one or more application characteristics and the configuration information enable configuration of a service instance for the MEC application client; determining a host on which the service instance is running based on one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier; sending the configuration request to the host for sending to the service instance, wherein the configuration request comprises the one or more application characteristics and the configuration information; and receiving a configuration response message that indicates a service profile identifier associated with the configured service instance for the MEC application client.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising communicating with the service instance using one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a query to discover a configurable service, the query comprising service-instance specific capability requirements and the one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client; and identifying one or more service instances that match the service-instance specific capability requirements and support the one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the service-instance specific capability requirements comprise requirements for a queried service, and wherein the requirements for the queried service comprise one or more of a host capability, a capability to reach a specific domain, or a processing capability.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: sending a query to a network node or a neighboring multi-access edge platform (MEP) to discover service instances, wherein the query comprises one or more capability requirements and the one or more application characteristics; receiving a first response message associated with the query, the first response message comprising one or more discovered service instances, service capability information, service configuration information, a MEP ID or a Host ID, and a MEC Host location, wherein the service configuration information indicates if the service needs configuration information from a consuming MEC application; selecting one or more service instances from the one or more discovered service instances upon receiving the first response message; and sending a second response message to the MEC application client, wherein the second response message comprises the one or more selected service instances.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a registration request from a configurable service, the registration request comprising application-specific service capability information and one or more configuration requirements; and sharing the application-specific service capability information or the one or more configuration requirements with other WTRUs or a network.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the other WTRUs are constrained MEC hosts (CMHs).

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the application-specific service capability information comprises one or more of a specific host where the configurable service ishosted, a capability to reach a specific domain, a processing capability, other servicespecific capabilities, or application-specific service capabilities to indicate the serviceconsuming application characteristics supported by the configurable service.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the host on which the service instance is running is determined by processing the service URL or the service instance identifier.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more application characteristics comprises one or more of an application name, an identifier, an application type, an application priority, a quality of service (QoS), a traffic type, one or more expected traffic characteristics, or location information associated with where the MEC application is running.

11. A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) comprising a processor configured to: receive a configuration request from a multi-access edge computing (MEC) application client, the configuration request comprising configuration information and one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client , the configuration request indicating a service uniform resource locator (URL) or a service instance identifier, wherein the one or more application characteristics and the configuration information enable configuration of a service instance for the MEC application client; determine a host on which the service instance is running based on one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier; send the configuration request to the host for sending to the service instance, wherein the configuration request comprises the one or more application characteristics and the configuration information; and receive a configuration response message that indicates a service profile identifier associated with the configured service instance for the MEC application client.

12. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the WTRU is further configured to communicate with the service instance using one or more of the service URL or the service instance identifier.

13. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the WTRU is further configured to: receive a query to discover a configurable service, the query comprising serviceinstance specific capability requirements and the one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client; and identify one or more service instances that match the service-instance specific capability requirements and support the one or more application characteristics associated with the MEC application client.1 . The WTRU of claim 13, wherein the service-instance specific capability requirements comprise requirements for a queried service, and wherein the requirements for the queried service comprise one or more of a host capability, a capability to reach a specific domain, or a processing capability.

15. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the WTRU is further configured to: send a query to a network node or a neighboring multi-access edge platform (MEP) to discover service instances, wherein the query comprises one or more capability requirements and the one or more application characteristics; receive a first response message associated with the query, the first response message comprising one or more discovered service instances, service capability information, service configuration information, a MEP ID or a Host ID, and a MEC Host location, wherein the service configuration information indicates if the service needs configuration information from a consuming MEC application; select one or more service instances from the one or more discovered service instances upon receiving the first response message; and send a second response message to the MEC application client, wherein the second response message comprises the one or more selected service instances.

16. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the WTRU is further configured to: receive a registration request from a configurable service, the registration request comprising application-specific service capability information and one or more configuration requirements; and share the application-specific service capability information or the one or more configuration requirements with other WTRUs or a network.

17. The WTRU of claim 16, wherein the other WTRUs are constrained MEC hosts (CMHs).

18. The WTRU of claim 16, wherein the application-specific service capability information comprises one or more of a specific host where the configurable service is hosted, a capability to reach a specific domain, a processing capability, other servicespecific capabilities, or application-specific service capabilities to indicate the serviceconsuming application characteristics supported by the configurable service.

19. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the host on which the service instance is running is determined by processing the service URL or the service instance identifier.

20. The WTRU of claim 11 , wherein the one or more application characteristics comprises one or more of an application name, an identifier, an application type, an application priority, a quality of service (QoS), a traffic type, one or more expected traffic characteristics, or location information associated with where the MEC application is running.

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