Apparatus, method, and computer program

Abstract

An apparatus comprising: means for determining that data replication on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Related Applications This patent application claims the benefit of priority from UK Patent Application No. 2211695.8, filed August 10, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference as if reproduced in their entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to apparatus, methods and computer programs, particularly but not exclusively to apparatus, methods and computer programs for use in networks that use multiple communication paths. [Background technology]

[0003] A communication system may be considered as a facility that enables a communication session between two or more entities, such as communication devices, base stations and / or other nodes, by providing carrier between the various entities involved in the communication path.

[0004] The communication system may be a wireless communication system. Examples of wireless systems include public land mobile networks (PLMNs) operating under radio standards such as those provided by 3GPP, satellite-based communication systems, and different wireless local networks, e.g., wireless local area networks (WLANs). Wireless systems may generally be divided into cells and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0005] Communication systems and associated devices generally operate according to a given standard or specification that sets out what various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be accomplished. Also, the communication protocols and / or parameters used for connection are generally defined. An example of a standard is the so-called 5G standard. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to a first aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for determining that data replication on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0007] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine one or more of: for which of the one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended, along which path for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended, and / or by how much for each communication device data replication should be reduced.

[0008] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine for which of the one or more communications devices data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0009] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine on which path for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0010] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine, for each communication device, by how much data replication should be reduced.

[0011] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to network congestion.

[0012] The apparatus may comprise means for determining network congestion.

[0013] The apparatus may comprise means for determining network congestion based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

[0014] The apparatus may comprise means for determining network congestion based on information received by a network entity via a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

[0015] The apparatus may comprise means for determining an indication of the usefulness of the copy.

[0016] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were previously not successfully received on another path.

[0017] The indication of replication availability may be used to determine one or more of network congestion and / or that data replication for the respective communication device should be reduced or suspended.

[0018] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may use the indication of replication availability to determine network congestion.

[0019] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication for the respective communication device should be reduced or suspended based on the indication of replication availability.

[0020] The apparatus may comprise means for receiving a rule with an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0021] The rules may be received from a control plane entity.

[0022] The apparatus may comprise means for causing a message to be sent to each communication device indicating that data replication between that communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0023] The message may include one or more of information indicating the amount of data replication reduction, information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or suspension, and / or information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0024] Messages may be sent to the respective communication devices via the user plane.

[0025] The message may include information indicating the amount of data replication reduction.

[0026] The message may include information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or interruption.

[0027] The message may include information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0028] The apparatus may comprise means for subsequently causing a message to be sent to each communication device to terminate the reducing or suspending data replication.

[0029] The apparatus may be provided in or by a network entity, which may be a user plane function.

[0030] The apparatus may comprise means for receiving, from a decision entity, information used by the determining means to determine that data replication between the communication device and the network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0031] The information from the decision-making entity may include one or more of network area information related to data replication, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, and / or traffic replication change information.

[0032] The apparatus may comprise means for reporting network congestion information to a decision-making entity.

[0033] The apparatus may be provided in or by a decision-making entity.

[0034] According to a second aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: circuitry configured to determine that data replication on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0035] The circuitry configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine one or more of: for which of the one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended, along which path for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended, and / or by how much data replication should be reduced for each communication device.

[0036] The circuitry configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine for which of the one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0037] The circuitry configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine on which path for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0038] The circuitry configured to determine whether data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine, for each communication device, how much data replication should be reduced.

[0039] The circuitry configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to network congestion.

[0040] The apparatus may include circuitry configured to determine network congestion.

[0041] The apparatus may comprise circuitry configured to determine network congestion based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

[0042] The apparatus may comprise circuitry configured to determine network congestion based on information received by a network entity via a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

[0043] The apparatus may include circuitry configured to determine an indication of the usefulness of the replica.

[0044] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were previously not successfully received on another path.

[0045] The indication of replication availability may be used to determine one or more of network congestion and / or that data replication for the respective communication device should be reduced or suspended.

[0046] Circuitry configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended may use the indication of replication availability to determine network congestion.

[0047] The apparatus may comprise circuitry configured to receive a rule having an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0048] The circuitry configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication for the respective communication device should be reduced or suspended based on the received rule having an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0049] The rules may be received from a control plane entity.

[0050] The apparatus may include circuitry configured to cause a message to be sent to each communication device indicating that data replication between that communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0051] The message may include one or more of information indicating the amount of data replication reduction, information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or suspension, and / or information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0052] Messages may be sent to the respective communication devices via the user plane.

[0053] The message may include information indicating the amount of data replication reduction.

[0054] The message may include information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or interruption.

[0055] The message may include information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0056] The apparatus may include circuitry configured to subsequently cause a message to be sent to each communication device to terminate the reduction or suspension of data replication.

[0057] The apparatus may be provided in or by a network entity, said network entity being a user plane function.

[0058] The apparatus may include circuitry configured to receive, from a determination entity, information used by circuitry configured to determine that data replication between the communication device and the network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0059] The information from the decision-making entity may include one or more of network area information related to data replication, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, and / or traffic replication change information.

[0060] The apparatus may comprise circuitry configured to report network congestion information to a decision entity.

[0061] The apparatus may be provided in or by a decision-making entity.

[0062] According to a third aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine that data replication on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0063] The apparatus may be configured to determine for which of one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended, along which paths for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended, and / or by how much data replication should be reduced for each communication device.

[0064] The apparatus may be made to determine for which of one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0065] The apparatus can be made to determine on which paths for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0066] The apparatus may be made to determine, for each communication device, how much data replication should be reduced.

[0067] The apparatus may be caused to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to network congestion.

[0068] The apparatus may be adapted to determine network congestion.

[0069] The apparatus may be caused to determine network congestion based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

[0070] The apparatus may be caused to determine network congestion based on information received by a network entity via a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

[0071] The apparatus may be adapted to determine an indication of the usefulness of the copy.

[0072] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were previously not successfully received on another path.

[0073] The indication of replication availability may be used to determine one or more of network congestion and / or that data replication for the respective communication device should be reduced or suspended.

[0074] The device may be made to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended, and may use the indication of replication availability to determine network congestion.

[0075] The apparatus may be caused to receive a rule having an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0076] The apparatus may be configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended based on received rules having an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities can decide to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0077] The rules may be received from a control plane entity.

[0078] The apparatus may be caused to cause each communication device to send a message indicating that data replication between that communication device and a network entity should be altered to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0079] The message may include one or more of information indicating the amount of data replication reduction, information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or suspension, and / or information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0080] Messages may be sent to the respective communication devices via the user plane.

[0081] The message may include information indicating the amount of data replication reduction.

[0082] The message may include information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or interruption.

[0083] The message may include information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0084] The apparatus may be caused to subsequently cause a message to be sent to each communication device to terminate the reduction or suspension of data replication.

[0085] The apparatus may be provided in or by a network entity, said network entity being a user plane function.

[0086] The apparatus may be caused to receive information from a decision entity to determine that data replication between the communication device and a network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0087] The information from the decision-making entity may include one or more of network area information related to data replication, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, and / or traffic replication change information.

[0088] The apparatus may be caused to report network congestion information to a decision-making entity.

[0089] The apparatus may be provided in or by a decision-making entity.

[0090] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a method that includes determining that data replication on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0091] The method may include determining for which of one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended, along which paths for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended, and / or by how much data replication should be reduced for each communication device.

[0092] The method may include determining for which of the one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0093] The method may include determining on which paths for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0094] The method may include determining, for each communication device, how much data replication should be reduced.

[0095] The method may include determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to network congestion.

[0096] The method may include determining network congestion.

[0097] The method may include determining network congestion based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

[0098] The method may include determining network congestion based on information received by a network entity over a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

[0099] The method may include determining an indication of the usefulness of the replica.

[0100] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were previously not successfully received on another path.

[0101] The indication of replication availability may be used to determine one or more of network congestion and / or that data replication for the respective communication device should be reduced or suspended.

[0102] The method may include determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended, and may use an indication of replication availability to determine network congestion.

[0103] The method may include receiving a rule with an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0104] The method may include determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended based on received rules having an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0105] The rules may be received from a control plane entity.

[0106] The method may include causing a message to be sent to each communication device indicating that data replication between that communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0107] The message may include one or more of information indicating the amount of data replication reduction, information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or suspension, and / or information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0108] Messages may be sent to the respective communication devices via the user plane.

[0109] The message may include information indicating the amount of data replication reduction.

[0110] The message may include information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or interruption.

[0111] The message may include information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0112] The method may include subsequently causing a message to be sent to each communication device to terminate the reducing or suspending data replication.

[0113] The method may be provided by an apparatus. The apparatus may be provided in or by a network entity, said network entity being a user plane function.

[0114] The method can include receiving information from a decision entity to determine that data replication between the communication device and a network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0115] The information from the decision-making entity may include one or more of network area information related to data replication, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, and / or traffic replication change information.

[0116] The method may include reporting network congestion information to a decision-making entity.

[0117] The method may be provided by an apparatus. The apparatus may be provided in or by a decision-making entity.

[0118] According to a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for determining that data replication on one of a plurality of paths between a communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0119] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to the communications device criteria.

[0120] The communication device criteria may include a battery condition.

[0121] The communication device criteria may include network congestion.

[0122] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to information received from the network entity.

[0123] The apparatus may comprise means for determining an indication of the usefulness of the copy.

[0124] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were not previously successfully received at the communication device on another path.

[0125] The apparatus may be provided by or in a communications device.

[0126] According to a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: circuitry configured to determine that data replication on one of a plurality of paths between a communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0127] The circuitry configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to the communication device criteria.

[0128] The communication device criteria may include battery status.

[0129] The communication device criteria may include network congestion.

[0130] The circuitry configured to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to information received from the network entity.

[0131] The apparatus may include circuitry configured to determine an indication of the usefulness of the replica.

[0132] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were not previously successfully received at the communication device on another path.

[0133] The apparatus may be provided by or in a communications device.

[0134] According to a seventh aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine that data replication on at least one of a plurality of paths between a communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0135] The apparatus may be caused to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to communication device criteria.

[0136] The communication device criteria may include battery status.

[0137] The communication device criteria may include network congestion.

[0138] The apparatus may be caused to determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to information received from a network entity.

[0139] The apparatus may be adapted to determine an indication of the usefulness of the copy.

[0140] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were not previously successfully received at the communication device on another path.

[0141] The apparatus may be provided by or in a communications device.

[0142] According to an eighth aspect, there is provided a method that includes determining that data replication on one of a plurality of paths between a communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0143] The method may include determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended, and may determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to communication device criteria.

[0144] The communication device criteria may include battery status.

[0145] The communication device criteria may include network congestion.

[0146] The method may include determining, in response to information received from the network entity, that data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0147] The method may include determining an indication of the usefulness of the replica.

[0148] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were not previously successfully received at the communication device on another path.

[0149] The method may be performed by an apparatus, which may be provided by or in a communications device.

[0150] According to a ninth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for determining that transmission of data on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be changed to reduce the number of paths over which data is transmitted.

[0151] It should be appreciated that one or more of the features described with respect to the first aspect may be modified for use with this aspect, in particular the data replication modifications described with respect to the features of the first aspect would instead reduce the number of paths over which data is transmitted.

[0152] The means for determining that transmission of data over the plurality of respective paths should be altered may determine one or more of for which of the one or more communication devices transmission of data over the plurality of respective paths should be altered, over which paths for each communication device transmission of data over the plurality of respective paths should be altered, and / or by how much for each communication device transmission of data over the plurality of respective paths should be altered.

[0153] The means for determining that transmission of data on each of the plurality of paths should be altered may determine this in response to network congestion.

[0154] The apparatus may comprise means for determining network congestion.

[0155] The apparatus may comprise means for determining network congestion based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

[0156] The apparatus may comprise means for policing network congestion based on information received by a network entity via a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

[0157] The apparatus may comprise means for coordinating an indication of availability of transmission of data over a plurality of respective paths.

[0158] The indication of availability may be based on the number of data packets successfully received on a given path.

[0159] The indication of availability may be used to determine one or more of network congestion and / or that transmission of data over multiple respective paths should be altered.

[0160] The apparatus may comprise means for receiving a rule having an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may be coerced into modifying transmission of data over a plurality of respective paths.

[0161] The rules may be received from a control plane entity.

[0162] The apparatus may comprise means for causing a message to be transmitted to each communication device indicating that transmission of data on each of the plurality of paths should be altered.

[0163] The message may include one or more of information regarding the duration of the change and / or information indicating over which of multiple paths data transmission should be changed.

[0164] Messages may be sent to the respective communication devices via the user plane.

[0165] The apparatus may be provided in or by a network entity, said network entity being a user plane function.

[0166] The apparatus may comprise means for receiving, from a determining entity, information used by the determining means to determine that data replication between the communication device and the network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0167] The information from the decision-making entity may include one or more of network area information, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, and / or information regarding changes to the transmission of data on each of a plurality of paths.

[0168] The apparatus may comprise means for reporting network congestion information to a decision-making entity.

[0169] This can be used for load balancing.

[0170] According to a tenth aspect, a method is provided that includes determining that transmission of data on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be modified to reduce the number of paths over which the data is transmitted.

[0171] It should be appreciated that one or more of the features described with respect to the fourth aspect may be modified for use with this aspect, in particular the data replication modifications described with respect to the features of the fourth aspect would instead reduce the number of paths along which data is transmitted.

[0172] The method may include determining one or more of: for which of the one or more communication devices transmission of data over a plurality of respective paths should be changed; over which paths for each communication device transmission of data over a plurality of respective paths should be changed; and / or by how much for each communication device transmission of data over a plurality of respective paths should be changed.

[0173] The method may include determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to network congestion.

[0174] The method may include determining network congestion.

[0175] The method may include policing network congestion based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

[0176] The method may include determining network congestion based on information received by a network entity over a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

[0177] The method can include determining an indication of availability of sending the data over a plurality of respective paths.

[0178] The indication of availability may be based on the number of data packets successfully received on a given path.

[0179] The indication of availability may be used to address one or more of network congestion and / or that transmission of data over the respective paths should be altered.

[0180] The method may include receiving a rule having an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may be coerced into modifying transmission of data over a plurality of respective paths.

[0181] The rules may be received from a control plane entity.

[0182] The method can include causing a message to be sent to each communication device indicating that transmission of data on each of the plurality of paths should be altered.

[0183] The message may include one or more of information regarding the duration of the change and / or information indicating over which of multiple paths data transmission should be changed.

[0184] Messages may be sent to the respective communication devices via the user plane.

[0185] The method may be provided by an apparatus. The apparatus may be provided in or by a network entity, said network entity being a user plane function.

[0186] The method may include receiving information from a decision making entity for use by the decision making means to determine that data replication between the communication device and the network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0187] The information from the decision-making entity may include one or more of network area information, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, and / or information regarding changes to the sending of data on each of a plurality of paths.

[0188] The method may include reporting network congestion information to a decision-making entity.

[0189] This can be used for load balancing.

[0190] The method may be performed by an apparatus, which may be provided by or in a network entity, which may be a UPF.

[0191] According to an eleventh aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for determining that transmission of data on a plurality of respective paths between a communication device and a network entity should be changed to reduce the number of paths over which data is transmitted.

[0192] It should be appreciated that one or more of the features described with respect to the fifth aspect may be modified for use with this aspect, in particular the data replication modifications described with respect to the features of the fifth aspect would instead reduce the number of paths over which data is transmitted.

[0193] The means for determining that transmission of data on each of the plurality of paths should be altered may be responsive to and incorporate communication device criteria.

[0194] The communication device criteria may include battery status.

[0195] The communication device criteria may include network congestion.

[0196] The means for determining that transmission of data on each of the plurality of paths should be altered may determine this in response to information received from a network entity.

[0197] The apparatus can comprise means for determining an indication of availability of transmitting data over a plurality of respective paths.

[0198] The indication of availability may be based on the number of data packets successfully received on a given path.

[0199] The apparatus may be provided by or in a communications device.

[0200] According to a twelfth aspect, a method is provided that includes determining that transmission of data on a plurality of respective paths between a communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce the number of paths over which data is transmitted.

[0201] It should be appreciated that one or more of the features described with respect to the eighth aspect may be modified for use with this aspect, in particular the data replication modifications described with respect to the features of the eighth aspect would instead reduce the number of paths along which data is transmitted.

[0202] The method may include determining, in response to the communication device criteria, that transmission of data over a plurality of respective paths should be altered.

[0203] The communication device criteria may include battery status.

[0204] The communication device criteria may include network congestion.

[0205] The method may include determining that transmission of data on a plurality of respective paths should be altered, and may determine this in response to information received from a network entity.

[0206] The method can include determining an indication of availability of transmitting data over a plurality of respective paths.

[0207] The indication of availability may be based on the number of data packets successfully received on a given path.

[0208] The method may be performed by an apparatus, which may be provided by or in a communications device.

[0209] The means for determining that transmission of data over the plurality of respective paths should be altered may determine one or more of for which of the one or more communication devices transmission of data over the plurality of respective paths should be altered, over which paths for each communication device transmission of data over the plurality of respective paths should be altered, and / or by how much for each communication device transmission of data over the plurality of respective paths should be altered.

[0210] The means for determining that transmission of data on a plurality of respective paths should be altered may determine for which of the one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0211] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine on which path for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0212] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine, for each communication device, by how much data replication should be reduced.

[0213] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to network congestion.

[0214] The apparatus may comprise means for determining network congestion.

[0215] The apparatus may comprise means for determining network congestion based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

[0216] The apparatus may comprise means for determining network congestion based on information received by a network entity via a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

[0217] The apparatus may comprise means for determining an indication of the usefulness of the copy.

[0218] The indication of replica usefulness may be based on the number of data replicas that were previously not successfully received on another path.

[0219] The indication of replication availability may be used to determine one or more of network congestion and / or that data replication for the respective communication device should be reduced or suspended.

[0220] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may use the indication of replication availability to determine network congestion.

[0221] The means for determining that data replication should be reduced or suspended may determine that data replication for the respective communication device should be reduced or suspended based on the indication of replication availability.

[0222] The apparatus may comprise means for receiving a rule with an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0223] The rules may be received from a control plane entity.

[0224] The apparatus may comprise means for causing a message to be sent to each communication device indicating that data replication between that communication device and a network entity should be modified to reduce or suspend data replication.

[0225] The message may include one or more of information indicating the amount of data replication reduction, information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or suspension, and / or information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0226] Messages may be sent to the respective communication devices via the user plane.

[0227] The message may include information indicating the amount of data replication reduction.

[0228] The message may include information regarding the duration of the data replication reduction or interruption.

[0229] The message may include information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be reduced or suspended.

[0230] The apparatus may comprise means for subsequently causing a message to be sent to each communication device to terminate the reducing or suspending data replication.

[0231] The apparatus may be provided in or by a network entity, said network entity being a user plane function.

[0232] The apparatus may comprise means for receiving, from a determining entity, information used by the determining means to determine that data replication between the communication device and the network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0233] The information from the decision-making entity may include one or more of network area information related to data replication, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, and / or traffic replication change information.

[0234] The apparatus may comprise means for reporting network congestion information to a decision-making entity.

[0235] According to a further aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform any of the methods presented above.

[0236] According to a further aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed, cause any of the methods set out above to be performed.

[0237] According to one aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising computer executable code that causes any of the methods presented above to be performed.

[0238] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided having program instructions stored thereon for performing at least one of the above methods.

[0239] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided comprising program instructions that, when executed by the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform any of the methods presented above.

[0240] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided comprising program instructions that, when executed, cause any of the previously presented methods to be performed.

[0241] According to one aspect, a non-volatile tangible memory medium is provided having program instructions stored thereon for performing at least one of the above methods.

[0242] A number of different aspects have been described above. It will be appreciated that further aspects may be provided by combining any two or more of the above-described aspects.

[0243] Various other aspects are also described in the following detailed description and in the appended claims. List of abbreviations 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project AF Application Features AMF Access and Mobility Management Functions AUSF authentication server function ATSSS Access Traffic Steering, Switching and Splitting CIoT Cellular Internet of Things DCCP Datagram Congestion Control Protocol DL Downlink DN Data Network GBR guaranteed bitrate gNB gNodeB GTP GPRS Tunneling Protocol HPLMN Home PLMN IoT Internet of Things IP Internet Protocol MA PDU Multi-Access Packet Data Unit (MP)TCP Multipath Transmission Control Protocol MS mobile station MTC Machine Type Communication N3IWF Non-3GPP Interworking Function NEF Network Exposure Function NF Network Function NWDAF Network Data Analysis Function PCF Policy Control Function PLMN Public Land Mobile Network PLR Packet Loss Rate PMF performance measurement function PMFP PMF Protocol QoE quality of experience RAM Random Access Memory (R)AN (Radio) Access Network ROM Read Only Memory RTT Round Trip Time SMF Session Management Facility TA Tracking Area TS Technical Specifications TNGF Trusted Non-3GPP Gateway Function UL Uplink UPF User Plane Function UDM Unified Data Management UE User Equipment 5G (5th Generation) 5GC 5G Core 5GS 5G System

[0244] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0245] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a 5G system. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the device. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a user equipment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the signal flow for setting up a subscription. [Figure 5]1 is a schematic diagram of an arrangement in which an external control entity connects to a set of UPFs and controls the UPFs to reduce / eliminate traffic duplication. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing limited traffic duplication; [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of traffic replication being restored or suspended. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 illustrates a first method of some embodiments. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates a second method of some embodiments. [Figure 10] 10 is a schematic diagram of a non-volatile memory medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, enable the processor to perform one or more of the steps of either the method of FIG. 8 or FIG. 9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0246] In the following, some embodiments are described with respect to a mobile communication device, which is capable of communicating via a wireless cellular system and a mobile communication system serving such a mobile communication device. Before describing the exemplary embodiments in detail, some general principles of wireless communication systems, their access systems, and mobile communication devices will be briefly explained with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3 to aid in understanding the technology underlying the described examples.

[0247] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a 5G system (5GS), which may comprise a user equipment (UE), a (radio) access network ((R)AN), a 5G core network (5GC), one or more application functions (AFs), and one or more data networks (DNs).

[0248] A 5G (R)AN may comprise one or more gNodeB (gNB) distributed unit functions connected to one or more gNodeB (gNB) centralized unit functions.

[0249] The 5GC may comprise an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a User Data Management Function (UDM), a User Plane Function (UPF), a Network Data Analysis Function (NWDAF) and / or a Network Exposure Function (NEF).

[0250] In some embodiments, one or more network functions may be responsible for providing network analysis information upon request from one or more other network functions or devices within the network. A network function may subscribe to other network functions to receive information therefrom. Thus, a network function may be configured to receive and store network information from one or more network functions or devices within the network. Data collection by the network may be performed based on at least one subscription to events provided by at least one other network function.

[0251] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus 200. The apparatus may be provided in a network function. The network function may be an intermediate network function, a network function consumer, or a network function producer. The apparatus may have at least one processor and at least one memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause one or more functions to be performed. In this example, the apparatus may include at least one random access memory (RAM) 211 a, and / or at least one read-only memory (ROM) 211 b, and / or at least one processor 212, 213, and / or an input / output interface 214. The at least one processor 212, 213 may be coupled to the RAM 211 a and the ROM 211 b. The at least one processor 212, 213 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 215. The software code 215 may, for example, enable one or more steps for implementing one or more of the present aspects. The apparatus may be provided in one or more network functions.

[0252] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a communication device 300, such as the UE shown in FIG. 1. The communication device 300 may be provided by any device capable of transmitting and receiving wireless signals. Non-limiting examples include user equipment, a mobile station (MS), or a mobile device, such as a mobile phone or what is known as a "smartphone," a computer with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface equipment (e.g., a USB dongle), a personal digital assistant (PDA) or tablet with wireless communication capabilities, a machine-type communication (MTC) device, a cellular internet of things (CIoT) device, or any combination thereof. The communication device 300 may provide communication of data, for example, to carry the communication. The communication may be one or more of voice, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia, data, machine data, etc.

[0253] The communications device 300 may receive signals over an air or wireless interface 307 via suitable equipment for receiving wireless signals and may transmit signals via suitable equipment for transmitting wireless signals. In Figure 3, a transceiver unit is indicated schematically by block 306. The transceiver unit 306 may be provided, for example, by a radio part and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be located internal or external to the mobile device.

[0254] The communication device 300 may comprise at least one processor 301, and / or at least one memory ROM 302a, and / or at least one RAM 302b, and / or other possible components 303 for use in software- and hardware-assisted execution of tasks the communication device 300 is designed to perform, including controlling access to and communication with the access system and other communication devices. The at least one processor 301 is coupled to the RAM 302b and the ROM 302a. The at least one processor 301 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 308. The software code 308 may, for example, enable one or more of the present aspects to be implemented. The software code 308 may be stored in the ROM 302a.

[0255] The processor, storage and other associated control devices may be provided on a suitable circuit board and / or in a chipset, this feature being indicated by reference numeral 304.

[0256] The communication device may optionally have a user interface such as a keypad 305, a touch-sensitive screen or pad, a combination thereof, etc. Optionally, one or more of a display, a speaker, and a microphone may be provided depending on the type of communication device.

[0257] In the following examples, reference is made to a UE as an example of a communications device, it being noted that this is merely an example and any other suitable communications device may be used in embodiments.

[0258] As part of 3GPP Release 18, work extensions to ATSSS will be considered. ATSSS is a 3GPP-defined mechanism aimed at providing more efficient use of 3GPP and non-3GPP access for specific applications. For example, ATSSS relates to traffic steering (i.e., selecting an access network for a new data flow), traffic switching (i.e., moving all traffic of an ongoing data flow from one access network to another and maintaining continuity), and traffic splitting (i.e., splitting the traffic of a data flow across two access networks). One aspect relates to support for redundant traffic steering. This may be to enable the transmitter (UE for UL traffic and UPF for DL ​​traffic) to support redundant traffic steering with duplication criteria. This may be to improve reliability and latency.

[0259] In the current proposal, an MA PDU session is established. One access is selected as the primary access, and a certain percentage of packets are duplicated for the other access. Traffic duplication over multiple paths can reduce end-to-end latency and / or packet loss rate, which can result in better QoE. However, this may come at the expense of utilizing resources on both accesses, which can increase congestion. To reduce duplication overhead, duplication can be applied only when certain criteria are met and can be disabled when the criteria are no longer met.

[0260] The activation of replication may be based on the status of each of the available accesses, i.e., based on RTT and / or PLR measurements on these accesses, but the overall network conditions may not be taken into account for traffic replication. Therefore, it may happen that the network is congested with a heavy load, and activating traffic replication may exacerbate this situation.

[0261] In some embodiments, replication may be suspended and / or limited whenever beneficial for overall network performance, hi some embodiments, traffic replication may be resumed when network performance allows it.

[0262] Some embodiments may be used with other ATSSS steering modes, for example, when load balancing a network, the UE may temporarily steer all traffic to an access that is not currently congested and send no traffic or less traffic to a congested access.

[0263] Therefore, existing proposals for ATSSS with traffic replication may not consider optimal use of available resources. Accordingly, some embodiments may take into account the interplay between load balancing and replication.

[0264] When the user plane in 5G / 6G network areas is becoming congested and traffic replication steering mode is supported, enabling traffic replication may further increase congestion. Although individual UEs may expect an improvement in QoE, the overall QoE for UEs in congested network areas may be worse.

[0265] Therefore, some embodiments may aim to address this. For example, some embodiments may aim to prevent such cases from occurring or to react quickly upon congestion detection. In some embodiments, the network may support suspending and / or limiting traffic replication steering mode operation. This may be for a certain time and / or to a certain extent. For example, this may be per user, a group of users, or all users. This may be in some parts of the network. For example, this may be for one or more cells and / or one or more tracking areas.

[0266] One option may be to allow the SMF (or PCF) to generate updated ATSSS / N4 rules upon detection of congestion.

[0267] As explained, traffic duplication generates redundant packets on selected access(ies). This can cause resource waste, which can be undesirable, for example, when the network is under congestion. The congestion can be due to lack of resource availability in the RAN and / or due to UPF overload. If full duplication is applied, the problem can be amplified. This problem can occur in the case of GBR traffic.

[0268] Currently, replication is not provided on steering modes aimed at throughput maximization, i.e., load balancing and priority-based. This is because replication can generally degrade throughput, as previously explained. In embodiments, instead of simply considering replication inapplicable, the side effects of replication on throughput are determined by detecting congestion.

[0269] In some embodiments, if an indication is received that throughput is degrading due to congestion detected at one of the endpoints, the UPF and / or UE may reduce / stop replication.

[0270] Some embodiments may provide user plane and / or control plane options to i) detect congestion and therefore ii) suspend and resume replication.

[0271] Some embodiments provide a replication steering mode with congestion-based interruption.

[0272] In some embodiments, if the control plane indicates data replication, the UPF may override this on the user plane at runtime. This override by the UPF occurs without control plane involvement. This override may result in data replication being reduced or suspended. The override by the UPF may occur in response to congestion detection. The UPF may provide an indication to the UE via the user plane, without control plane involvement, that data replication is suspended or reduced.

[0273] In some embodiments, ATSSS and N4 rules are distributed to the UE and UPF, for example, respectively. For example, this distribution may be as presented in ATSSS rel-18. The rules may indicate a redundancy steering mode, along with an indication that duplication may be suspended and / or reduced by each of the endpoints. The endpoint may be the UPF for the downlink, and the endpoint may be the UE for the uplink.

[0274] For example, the PCF may provide the UPF (via SMF-N4 rules) with rules that give the UPF the flexibility to determine whether replication should be applied based on local link congestion measurements.

[0275] Some embodiments may detect congestion.

[0276] The entity responsible for detecting congestion may be the UPF. The entity responsible for detecting congestion may determine whether congestion is ongoing in an area based on one or more of the following: 1) Local measurements in the UPF: These can be PMF measurements and / or (MP)TCP measurements on the user plane, and / or QUIC measurements on the user plane, and / or DCCP measurements on the user plane. 2) In the case of 3GPP access, measurement assistance by the RAN. For example, the RAN may provide a congestion indication. This may be provided to the UPF via the N3 interface (e.g., congestion notification in IP or GTP packets). Alternatively, the congestion indication may be provided by the RAN to the AMF via the N2 interface, which forwards the indication to the SMF, which forwards the indication to the UPF. In the latter case, the RAN-indicated congestion is applicable to all UEs served by a base station. This information is provided to the UPF from the SMF. 3) In case of non-3GPP access, measurements may be provided between the UE and the UPF. Alternatively or additionally, measurements may be provided between the UE and other nodes such as the N3IWF and / or the TNGF.

[0277] Some embodiments may provide congestion mitigation.

[0278] When congestion is detected, the UPF may choose to suspend downlink replication for some UEs. The UPF may provide an indication of the suspension of replication to the affected UEs and coordinate uplink replication. The UPF may be assisted by the NWDAF in providing congestion mitigation.

[0279] The UPF can decide which UEs are affected. The UPF can decide how replication for the UEs should be adjusted. In its simplest form, replication is completely suspended for all UEs or for some UEs. The selection can be realized in several different ways.

[0280] The notification is delivered to each UE via a separate message on the user plane via a PMF protocol extension.

[0281] The notification may also include an indication of on which access and for how long replication will be suspended.

[0282] In an alternative embodiment, the UPF may provide an indication of the suspension to the RAN, which may be via the N3 interface or via the SMF-UPF-N2 interface route. The RAN may broadcast the indication to all UEs in its serving area.

[0283] Instead of suspending replication, the notification may include an indication of replication reduction, which indicates either the maximum traffic replication budget that can be maintained (e.g., up to 20% can be replicated) or a reduction in the traffic replication budget (e.g., replication can be reduced by 50%).

[0284] A UE receiving the replication suspension indication update adjusts the uplink replication accordingly.

[0285] The entity that can best measure the effectiveness or usefulness of duplication is the destination, i.e., the UE in the downlink case and the UPF in the uplink case. The destination can calculate how many of the received duplicates were useful, i.e., which duplicates were not successfully received on other accesses. This metric will be referred to herein as the duplication metric. The duplication metric may be provided on any access to the other endpoint. This duplication metric may indicate the importance of duplication for a particular UE.

[0286] This replication metric may be used in some embodiments for congestion detection and / or to guide the selection of UEs for which replication should be discontinued or reduced.

[0287] This replication metric is separate from the packet loss metric, which measures the packet loss measured for each access at the destination, because it also considers whether duplicates from other accesses have been received. For example, if congestion is at the UPF, the observed PLRs on the two accesses will be equivalent, and replication will not be beneficial.

[0288] This replication metric is measured on the actual traffic after replication removal. This metric can be reported similarly to (or as part of) the availability report, or similarly to the per-access PLR measurement.

[0289] It should be appreciated that in some embodiments, packet loss metrics may alternatively or additionally be used for congestion detection and / or to guide selection of UEs for which replication should be discontinued or reduced.

[0290] Some embodiments may use a replication metric as a replication criterion. For example, replication will be implemented only if the replication metric indicates that replication utility is above a given threshold and if congestion is not indicated. For example, replication may be implemented if replication utility is >20% or any other suitable value.

[0291] Reference is made to FIG. 4, which illustrates the signal flow of some embodiments.

[0292] This example focuses on the UPF determining duplication and indicating to the UE how to adjust its uplink duplication. However, it should be appreciated that the same technique can be applied in the opposite direction by the UE, i.e., to indicate to the UPF that duplication applied in the downlink should be adjusted. This may be the case, for example, when the UE has low battery and wants to deactivate one access. For example, the UE may want to deactivate its WiFi access.

[0293] The configuration determines whether it is the UE and / or the UPF that decides the replication coordination.

[0294] The ATSSS and N4 rules may be provisioned with a redundancy steering mode and, optionally, with a steering mode duplication indicator, which, if present, may indicate that duplication adjustment upon congestion detection is allowed. This indicates that upon congestion detection, duplication at either or both endpoints (UPF for downlink, UE for uplink) may be one or more of the following: i) be interrupted; ii) reduced to x% partial replication, and / or iii) Optionally adjusted with an optional indication of maximum duplication, which can be expressed as a percentage of packets to be duplicated.

[0295] This may be achieved similarly to the indication of autonomous load balancing behavior, i.e. with a separate indication as part of the ATSSS container or N4 rules container delivered to the UE and UPF, respectively, as described in TS 23.501 and TS 24.193.

[0296] Note that this can be achieved similarly to the UE assistance provided by the UE to the network in UE assisted operation, with the difference that here it works in the opposite direction, i.e. the network provides guidance to the UE and the UE is forced to follow the provided guidance.

[0297] In operation, the UPF that receives the steering mode duplication indicator is responsible for congestion detection by local means or any other information available.

[0298] Reference is made to Figure 4, which shows the message exchange between the network and the UE. When congestion is detected, the UPF locally selects which UEs should suspend downlink replication. The UPF provides an indication of replication suspension to the affected UEs via the user plane so that they adjust the uplink replication. This is shown in Figure 4, referenced as 401. This can be via the PMF Protocol Replication Adjustment Command.

[0299] The command may include an adjusted percentage replication if partial replication is supported, or may leave it to the UE to decide how much replication should be reduced.

[0300] In the case of a full replication, the command may include an indication on which access the replication is to be suspended.

[0301] Upon receipt, the UE adjusts its uplink replication according to the received indication, which overrides the original replication provided via the ATSSS rules. The UE will provide an indication to the UPF that the adjustment is complete. The UE will send a PMF P Replication Adjustment Complete response to the UPF, referenced 403.

[0302] Once the congestion is resolved, the UPF sends an end command to the UE.

[0303] The PMF protocol may use the replication metric previously described.

[0304] Some embodiments may provide congestion control applied by an external entity on the control plane. In this regard, reference is made to Figure 5, where an external control entity (Entity X) connects to a set of UPFs (UPF-1 and UPF-2) and controls them by instructing them on what to do to reduce / eliminate traffic duplication, ensuring that there are sufficient networking resources available under all load conditions. Entity X is the logical point at which decisions are communicated towards its U-plane counterpart, i.e., the UPF. Entity X may be any suitable entity, such as a PCF, an SMF, any other network NF, or an external AF.

[0305] UPF-1, in this example, controls UE-A and UE-B, and UPF-2 controls UE-C, UE-D, and UE-E. In practice, each UPF will control many more UEs than shown in this example.

[0306] These decisions may include one or more of the following: Area Selection. This defines the area to which the decision applies. This can be one or more cells, one or more TAs, the entire network, and / or any other suitable indication of area. Start / Stop Congestion Monitoring: This defines when congestion monitoring starts and / or ends. Traffic replication adjustment. This may define whether replication should be reduced, and if so, by how much. This may define whether replication should be suspended and / or resumed. This may also include one or more criteria that define when replication should be reduced, suspended and / or resumed. If replication should be reduced, this may include information about by how much. There may be one or more criteria related to the level of replication that should be applied.

[0307] In some embodiments, entity X may have a distributed deployment with each area having a dedicated entity X, which then connects directly to its local UPF. In the example of FIG. 5, entity X has decided to request UPF-1 and UPF-2 to start congestion monitoring by issuing a congestion monitoring request (MonitorCongestion()). In these requests, the first parameter is a list of target UEs or the ALL_UEs wildcard. The second parameter indicates how the information is returned, i.e., as raw data or as an already (pre-)processed aggregate. In the example of FIG. 5, entity X sends a request to the first UPF-1, requesting data for all of the UEs and in aggregated form. UPF-1 will provide a congestion report to entity X along with the requested aggregated data. In the example of FIG. 5, entity X sends a request to the second UPF-2, requesting data for UE-C and UE-D and in raw form. The second UPF-2 will provide a congestion report to entity X along with the requested raw data.

[0308] Reference is made to Figure 6, which illustrates an example in which traffic duplication is limited. In this example, communication between the UPF and the UE may occur over QUIC, i.e., requests from the UPF and their responses may be signaled using an inbound protocol over a QUIC session. QUIC is a protocol defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that operates at the transport layer. Alternatively, out-of-bound signaling may be used to realize that messaging between the UPF and the UE.

[0309] As shown in Figure 6, entity X sends traffic duplication restriction information to UPF-1, which provides information about the UEs to which it applies (UE-A and UE-B in this example) and how to restrict excess duplication traffic by adjusting the relevant traffic duplication budget values ​​and / or relaxing the relevant traffic duplication conditions. This may be provided by a parameter, in this example the RestrictRules parameter, which carries information about how to restrict excess duplication traffic by adjusting the relevant traffic duplication budget values ​​and / or relaxing the relevant traffic duplication conditions.

[0310] If the steps to limit traffic replication fail, traffic replication operations may be disabled until load conditions improve. Based on the obtained congestion reports, entity X, or some other interested entity, may now draw the conclusion that the current load conditions are such that all temporarily disabled traffic replication operations can be restored, and therefore congestion monitoring operations continue to be enabled. In this regard, reference is made to Figure 7, which shows an example in which traffic replication is restored / suspended.

[0311] In this example, communication between the UPF and the UE may occur over QUIC, i.e., requests from the UPF and their responses may be signaled using an inbound protocol over a QUIC session. Alternatively, out-of-bound signaling may be used to realize that messaging between the UPF and the UE.

[0312] As shown in Figure 7, entity X sends traffic duplication restore / suspend information to UPF-1, which provides information about the UEs to which it applies (UE-A and UE-B in this example) and whether the duplicated traffic is restored or suspended. This can be provided by a parameter, Restore / SuspendTrafficDuplication in this example.

[0313] Alternatively, some embodiments may be provided on the control plane. The entity responsible for detecting and indicating congestion may be the NWDAF, or any other suitable control plane network entity, or AF. The control plane entity may collect data from the UPF and publish the data to the PCF. The PCF may update the ATSSS rules accordingly. For example, 3GPP enhanced network automation features (eNA) define a "user data congestion analysis," which may be consumed by the PCF, which can provide the SMF with updated ATSSS and N4 rules that interrupt / reduce duplication.

[0314] This out-of-band mechanism may reuse available mechanisms.

[0315] In the above example, it should be appreciated that the UPF is the termination point for the uplink. It should be appreciated that similar decision-making can be applied by each UE. If permitted by the network (see autonomous load balancing), it can independently decide when to apply replication based on its internal state, e.g., battery state, or it can provide an indication of replication discontinuation to the corresponding UPF.

[0316] Some embodiments implemented on the user plane may be able to immediately mitigate the potential impact of traffic duplication.

[0317] Reference is now made to FIG. 8, which illustrates a first method of some embodiments.

[0318] The method may be performed by an apparatus, which may be in or be a network entity, which may be a UPF or an external entity.

[0319] The apparatus may comprise appropriate circuitry for providing the method.

[0320] Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to provide at least the following methods:

[0321] Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may be as described with respect to FIG.

[0322] The method may be provided by computer program code or computer executable instructions.

[0323] The method may include determining that data replication on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication, as referenced as S1.

[0324] Reference is now made to FIG. 9, which illustrates a second method of some embodiments.

[0325] The method may be performed by an apparatus, which may be in or be a communications device.

[0326] The apparatus may comprise appropriate circuitry for providing the method.

[0327] Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to provide at least the following methods:

[0328] Alternatively or additionally, the apparatus may be as described with respect to FIG. 2 or FIG.

[0329] The method may be provided by computer program code or computer executable instructions.

[0330] The method may include determining that data replication on one of a plurality of paths between the communication device and the network entity, referred to as T1, should be altered to reduce or discontinue data replication.

[0331] It should be appreciated that the methods outlined in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9 may be modified to include any of the features previously described.

[0332] Some embodiments propose that the UPF allows for temporary suspension of replication when necessary, for example under congestion.

[0333] In ATSSS deployments, full replication may be used as the basic configuration for Redundancy Steering Mode (RSM). However, full replication may have the highest cost in terms of network resource utilization and inevitably increases network congestion. When the user plane is becoming congested, blind use of traffic replication may further increase network congestion. Thus, although individual UEs may see improved performance, the overall impact of RSM on overall network performance may be negative. In embodiments, the network may support suspending / reducing replication for a certain period of time and to a certain extent.

[0334] The UPF may identify the impact of replication on the system. Thus, whenever the UPF detects congestion or when the UPF considers that replication is inefficient (e.g., the same packets are being lost on both accesses due to UPF overload, so the same performance can be achieved without replication), it may override the RSM configuration and suspend replication for some UEs. Such adjustments may quickly address congestion issues, especially in the case of full replication.

[0335] When the duplication adjustment operation is approved by the PCF in the PCC rule, the SMF provides an indication for duplication adjustment to the UE in the ATSSS rule and to the UPF in the MAR.

[0336] When the need for replication adjustment is identified, the UPF can easily adapt to such a situation by changing the replication by itself in the downlink. For the uplink, the UE needs to be informed of this necessary adjustment. This can be provided by the UPF over the user plane by extending the PMF protocol with a message. The message can be realized similarly to the UE assistance provided by the UE to the network in UE-assisted operation, with the difference that the network provides guidance to the UE and the UE is obliged to follow the provided guidance.

[0337] The UPF may completely abolish replication or may indicate a partial replication rate as necessary adjustment.

[0338] Once the congestion problem is resolved, the UPF may terminate the replication coordination operation with a PMF protocol termination message.

[0339] The same result can be achieved by updating the ATSSS / N4 rules.

[0340] The ATSSS and N4 rules are extended in some embodiments with new steering mode definitions and with new parameters, including support for traffic replication interruption.

[0341] Based on the PCC rules, the SMF may create ATSSS and N4 rules with new steering mode data including optional traffic replication criteria and an indication that the UE / UPF is allowed to suspend replication if necessary.

[0342] The PCF may provide the SMF with PCC rules that take into account new steering modes, including optional traffic duplication criteria, and may provide an indication that the UE / UPF is enabled to suspend duplication if necessary.

[0343] The UPF may decide when to replicate traffic over the available access paths of the MA PDU session for downlink traffic based on the traffic replication steering mode and optionally available traffic replication criteria. If an indication is received that the UPF is allowed to suspend replication, the UPF may optionally adjust its replication and indicate any updates to the UE to apply the same for the uplink.

[0344] Based on the traffic replication steering mode and optionally available traffic replication criteria, the UE may determine when to replicate traffic over the available access paths of the MA PDU session for uplink traffic. If an indication is received that the UPF is allowed to suspend replication, upon receiving a replication update from the UPF, the UE applies the UPF replication guidance to the uplink, e.g., suspending replication.

[0345] The described embodiments have been in the exemplary context of data replication, where data packets are transmitted over two paths between a network entity and a communication device. The same principles can be used with any other scenario where two or more paths are available between a communication device and a network entity. For example, these principles can be applied to provide load balancing, where the path used between a communication device and a network can be controlled by the UPF or other user plane entity.

[0346] FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a non-volatile memory medium 900a or 900b storing instructions and / or parameters that, when executed by a processor, enable the processor to perform one or more of the steps of the method of FIG. 8 or 9. The non-volatile memory medium may be a computer disk (CD), generally referenced as 900a, or a digital versatile disk (DVD), or a universal serial bus (USB) memory stick, generally referenced as 900b. Computer instructions or code may be downloaded and stored in one or more memories. The memory medium may store instructions and / or parameters 902 that, when executed by the processor, enable the processor to perform one or more of the steps of the method of FIG. 8 or 9.

[0347] The computer program code may be downloaded and stored in one or more memories of the device.

[0348] Although the above has been described as an exemplary embodiment, it should be noted that there are several variations and modifications that can be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0349] Although the above concepts have been described in the context of 5GS, it will be appreciated that one or more of these concepts may be applied to other cellular systems.

[0350] As used herein, "at least one of: " and "at least one of " and similar phrases where a list of two or more elements is joined by "and" or "or" mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0351] Accordingly, embodiments may vary within the scope of the appended claims. In general, some embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. While various embodiments may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be appreciated that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0352] The embodiments may be implemented by computer software stored in memory and executable by at least one data processor of the participating entities or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. It should be further noted in this regard that any procedure may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions, as in, for example, FIG. 8 or FIG. 9. Software may be stored on a physical medium such as a memory chip, or a memory block implemented within a processor, on a magnetic medium such as a hard disk or floppy disk, and on optical media, e.g., DVDs and data variants thereof, CDs. Physical media are non-transitory media.

[0353] As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (ie, tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistence (eg, RAM vs. ROM).

[0354] The memory may be of any type suitable for the local technology environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed and removable memory, etc. The data processor may be of any type suitable for the local technology environment and may include, by way of non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a gate-level circuit, and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0355] Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments may be implemented using circuitry configured to perform one or more of the functions and / or method steps described above, which circuitry may be provided in a base station and / or in a communications device.

[0356] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) a dedicated hardware circuit implementation (e.g., an implementation in analog and / or digital circuitry only); (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as: (I) a combination of one or more analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware; (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(s) that cooperate together to cause an apparatus, such as a communications device or base station, to perform the various functions previously described; and (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessors, that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but that may be absent when it is not required for operation.

[0357] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term "means" in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, the term "circuitry" as used in this application also covers an implementation of simply a hardware circuit or processor (or processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example, integrated devices.

[0358] The above description has provided a complete and informative description of several embodiments by way of illustrative and non-limiting examples. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the above description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings thereof will still fall within the scope defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. at least one processor; at least one memory storing instructions for user plane functions; wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least determining that data replication on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be modified to suspend data replication; sending a message to each of the one or more communication devices, the message including an indication that data replication between the each communication device and the network entity has been modified and that data replication should be suspended; An apparatus for carrying out the above.

2. determining that data replication should be suspended; for which of one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended; On which paths for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended, or How much data replication should be reduced for each communication device The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising determining at least one of:

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein determining that data replication should be suspended comprises determining that data replication should be suspended in response to determining that there is network congestion.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein determining that there is network congestion is based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein determining that there is network congestion is based on information received by a network entity via a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine an indication of the usefulness of data replication.

7. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the indication of the usefulness of the data replica is based on a number of data replicas that were previously not successfully received on another path.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the indication of data replication availability is used to determine at least one of network congestion or that data replication for the respective communication device should be suspended.

9. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to receive a rule having an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to suspend data replication.

10. The message is, Information about the duration of the suspension of data replication, or Information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be suspended 11. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising at least one of:

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the messages are transmitted to the respective communication devices via a user plane.

12. The instructions, when executed by at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: and later detecting a message to each communication device that terminates the interruption of data replication. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

13. 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to receive information from a decision entity, and wherein determining that data replication between the communication device and the network entity has been altered and that data replication should be suspended is further based on the information.

15. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the information received from the decision-making entity includes at least one of network area information related to data replication, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, or traffic replication change information.

16. 1. A communication device, comprising: Means for determining that data replication on one of a plurality of paths between a communication device and a network entity has changed and that data replication should be suspended. A communication device comprising:

17. 17. The communications device of claim 16, wherein the means for determining that data replication should be suspended determines that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to communications device criteria.

18. 20. The communication device of claim 17, wherein the communication device criteria includes a battery condition.

19. 17. The communications device of claim 16, wherein the means for determining that data replication should be suspended determines that data replication should be suspended in response to information received from a network entity.

20. 20. A communications device according to any one of claims 16 to 19, comprising means for determining an indication of the usefulness of data replication.

21. 21. The communications device of claim 20, wherein the indication of the usefulness of the data replicas is determined based on the number of data replicas that were not previously successfully received by the communications device on another path.

22. determining, by a user plane function, that data replication on a plurality of respective paths between one or more communication devices and a network entity should be modified to suspend data replication; sending, by a user plane function, a message to each communication device of the one or more communication devices, the message including an indication that data replication between the each communication device and a network entity has been changed and that the data replication should be suspended; A method comprising:

23. determining, by a user plane function, that data replication should be suspended; for which of one or more communication devices data replication should be reduced or suspended; On which paths for each communication device data replication should be reduced or suspended, or How much data replication should be reduced for each communication device 23. The method of claim 22, comprising determining at least one of:

24. 24. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein determining that data replication should be suspended comprises determining that data replication should be suspended in response to determining that there is network congestion.

25. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein determining that there is network congestion is based on information from one or more communication devices and / or one or more network entities.

26. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein determining that there is network congestion is based on information received by a network entity over a control plane connection or a user plane connection.

27. 27. The method of any one of claims 22 to 26, wherein the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine an indication of the usefulness of data replication.

28. 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the indication of the usefulness of the data replica is based on the number of data replicas that were previously not successfully received on another path.

29. 30. The method of claim 28, wherein the indication of data replication availability is used to determine at least one of network congestion or that data replication for the respective communication device should be suspended.

30. 30. The method of any one of claims 22 to 29, further comprising receiving a rule with an indication that one or more of the one or more communication devices and / or network entities may decide to suspend data replication.

31. The message is, Information about the duration of the suspension of data replication, or Information indicating on which of multiple paths data replication should be suspended 31. The method of any one of claims 22 to 30, comprising at least one of:

32. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the message is transmitted to the respective communication device via a user plane.

33. 33. The method of any one of claims 22 to 32, further comprising detecting a message to each communication device that ends the suspension of data replication.

34. 34. The method of any one of claims 22 to 33, further comprising receiving information from a decision entity, wherein determining that data replication between the communication device and the network entity has been altered and that data replication should be suspended is further based on the information.

35. 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the information received from the decision-making entity includes at least one of network area information related to data replication, monitoring information for monitoring congestion in the network, or traffic replication change information.

36. determining, by the communication device, that data replication on one of a plurality of paths between the communication device and the network entity has been altered to suspend data replication; A method comprising:

37. 37. The method of claim 36, wherein determining, by the communications device, that data replication should be suspended comprises determining, by the communications device, that data replication should be reduced or suspended in response to communications device criteria.

38. 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the communication device criteria includes a battery condition.

39. 37. The method of claim 36, wherein determining, by the communications device, that data replication should be suspended comprises determining, by the communications device, that data replication should be suspended in response to information received from a network entity.

40. 40. The method of any one of claims 36 to 39, further comprising determining, by the communication device, an indication of the availability of data replication.

41. 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the indication of the usefulness of the data replica is determined based on the number of data replicas that were previously not successfully received by the communication device on another path.

42. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 22 to 35.

43. A computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 22 to 35.

44. 42. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communications device, cause the communications device to perform the method of any one of claims 36 to 41.

45. 42. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a communications device, cause the communications device to perform the method of any one of claims 36 to 41.

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