Method and apparatus for discovering and synchronizing EAS across multiple EDNs for an application group

Abstract

Embodiments of this disclosure provide a method and apparatus for discovering and synchronizing EAS across EDNs for application groups. A method performed by an Edge Application Server (EAS) may include sending a first request to an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a central repository. The first request may be used to retrieve information about at least one common EAS currently servicing the application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. An application group is a group of UEs using the same application. The first request includes an application group identifier that identifies the application group. The method may further include receiving a first message from the EES or central repository. The first message may include common EAS information for the application group.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Claiming Priority This application claims priority based on PCT International Application No. PCT / CN2023 / 094158 filed on May 15, 2023, and the disclosure of the application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the technical field of communications, and in particular, to methods and apparatuses for discovery and synchronization of edge application servers (EAS) across multiple edge data networks (EDN) for an application group.

Background Art

[0002] This section introduces aspects that help deepen the understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, the description in this section should be read from this perspective and should not be understood as an approval of what is included or not included in the prior art.

[0003] Edge computing is a concept that enables services to be hosted closer to service users, providing advantages such as efficient service provision, such as a significant reduction in end-to-end latency and a reduction in load on the transmission network. The advantages of edge computing enhance the future potential of the fifth generation (5G) and expand the outlook for new and enhanced use cases such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT), industrial IoT, autonomous driving, and real-time multiplayer games.

[0004] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®) Technical Specification (TS) 23.558 V18.2.0 (whose disclosure is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein) specifies the application layer architecture, procedures, and information flows required to realize edge applications on 3GPP networks. This includes the architectural requirements for realizing edge applications, the application layer architecture that satisfies the architectural requirements, and the procedures that enable the deployment of edge applications.

[0005] Figure 1a shows the architectural reference point representation that enables edge applications, which is the same as Figure 6.2-4 in 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0.

[0006] The EDN is the local data network. Edge Application Servers (EAS) and Edge Enabler Servers (EES) are contained within the EDN. Edge Configuration Servers (ECS) may provide configuration related to Edge Enabler Servers (including details of the EDN hosting the Edge Enabler Servers). User Equipment (UE) includes Application Clients (ACs) and Edge Enabler Clients (EECs). Edge Application Servers (EAS), Edge Enabler Servers (EES), and ECS may interact with the 3GPP core network. When the Service Enabler Layer Architecture (SEAL) notification management service is used, the EES and ECS interact with the SEAL notification management server, and the SEAL Edge Enabler Client interacts with the SEAL notification management client.

[0007] Functional entities include the following:

[0008] Edge Enabler Server (EES)

[0009] EES can provide the necessary support functions for EAS and EEC.

[0010] The functionality of EES includes at least one of the following:

[0011] a) Provisioning of configuration information to the EEC and enabling application data traffic exchange with the EAS.

[0012] b) Provision of Application Programming Interface (API) calling and API exposure functions as defined in 3GPP TS23.222 V18.1.0

[0013] c) Access to network function capabilities through interaction with the 3GPP core network (directly (e.g., via Policy Control Function (PCF)) or indirectly (i.e., service capability exposure function / network exposure function / combination of service capability exposure function and network exposure function (SCEF / NEF / SCEF+NEF)));

[0014] d) Expose events related to Application Context Transfer (ACT);

[0015] e) Transfer of EEC context between EESs;

[0016] f) To support the external exposure of 3GPP network and service functions to EAS(s) via EDGE-3;

[0017] g) Registration functionality for EEC(s) and EAS(s) (i.e., registration, renewal, and unregistration);

[0018] h) Triggering EAS instantiation in response to requests; and

[0019] i) Support Application Context Relocation (ACR) related operations (e.g., ACR activation, ACR information notification, Edge Enabler Layer (EEL) management ACR).

[0020] Edge Enabler Client (EEC)

[0021] The EEC can provide the support functions required for the AC.

[0022] The functionality of the EEC includes at least any of the following:

[0023] a) Obtaining configuration information that enables application data traffic exchange with the EAS;

[0024] b) Discovering the EAS available within the EDN; and

[0025] c) Detecting the movement events of the UE.

[0026] Edge Configuration Server (ECS)

[0027] The ECS can provide the support functions necessary for the EEC to connect to the EES.

[0028] The functionality of the ECS includes at least any of the following:

[0029] a) Providing edge configuration information to the EEC. The edge configuration information includes the following:

[0030] 1) Information for the EEC to identify the EES (e.g., EDN service area); and

[0031] 2) Information for establishing a connection with the EES (e.g., Uniform Resource Identifier (URI));

[0032] b) Providing destination EES (T-EES) information to the source EES (S-EES);

[0033] The ECS can be deployed either in the domain of the Mobile Network Operator (MNO) or in a third-party domain by a service provider.

[0034] c) Supporting the registration function of the EES (i.e., registration, update, and deregistration);

[0035] d) Support for API calling and API exposure functions as defined in 3GPP TS23.222 V18.1.0;

[0036] e) Interacting with the 3GPP core network directly (e.g., via PCF) or indirectly (i.e., via SCEF / NEF / SCEF+NEF) to access the capabilities of network functions.

[0037] f) Providing service provisioning information to partner ECS; and

[0038] g) Obtain service provisioning information from partner ECS.

[0039] If an Edge Computing Service Provider (ECSP) needs to support service provisioning for specific EAS (Exploratory Access Services) that are not included in the pre-configured or Operational Management and Maintenance (OAM) configuration, ECS can use the Edge Repository feature to support ECS discovery via the Edge Configuration Server-Edge Repository (ECS-ER). To support the Edge Repository feature, ECS supports the following:

[0040] a) Register and provide edge deployment information to ECS-ER.

[0041] To support edge repository functionality, enhanced ECS (i.e., ECS-ER) has the following features in addition to standard ECS functionality:

[0042] a) Support for ECS (multiple systems) registration functions (registration, update, unregistration);

[0043] b) Receive and store information about edge computing resources from ECS;

[0044] c) Receiving and storing information about edge computing resources from other ECS-ERs; and

[0045] d) Providing information about edge computing resources to other ECS-ERs within the alliance.

[0046] Application Client (AC)

[0047] AC is an application that resides in the UE (Union Engine) that runs client functions. Depending on how ACR (Application Critical Control) is implemented, AC may need to decide whether or not to start ACR.

[0048] Edge Application Server (EAS)

[0049] EAS is an application server that resides on the EDN and performs server functions. AC connects to EAS to use application services that leverage the advantages of edge computing.

[0050] In some cases, the server functionality of an application may only be available as an EAS (Enterprise Application Server).

[0051] However, certain server functions may be available at both the edge and the cloud, provided as application servers residing in the EAS and the cloud, respectively. The server functions provided by the EAS and the corresponding application servers on the cloud may be identical or different. If there are differences in functionality, the application data traffic exchanged with the AC may also differ.

[0052] EAS can consume 3GPP core network functions in the following ways, all of which are optional:

[0053] a) Call 3GPP core network functions via the edge enabler layer through EES

[0054] b) If you are a trusted entity from the 3GPP core network, you can directly call the APIs of 3GPP core network functions (e.g., PCF); and

[0055] c) Calling 3GPP core network capabilities via capability exposure functions (SCEF / NEF / SCEF+NEF).

[0056] EAS can support the processing of ACR-related operations (e.g., ACR status updates, selected target EAS declarations).

[0057] EAS can expose its own service APIs (i.e., EAS service APIs) to other EAS instances by supporting the API provider domain function defined in TS23.222 V18.1.0. Furthermore, EAS can utilize EAS service APIs exposed by other EAS instances by supporting the API invoker function defined in TS23.222 V18.1.0.

[0058] Notification Management Client

[0059] The notification management client entity functions as an application client in the notification management interface. It interacts with the notification management server. The notification management client entity processes notification messages received from the notification management server and delivers them to the corresponding vertical application tier (VAL) clients residing on the VAL UE.

[0060] The Notification Management (NM) client functionality entity is supported by the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) client functionality entity of the Signaling Control Plane.

[0061] Notification management server

[0062] The notification management server is a functional entity that handles notification management functions by interacting with notification management clients and VAL servers. The notification management server receives notification messages from the vertical application layer and delivers them to notification management clients.

[0063] Architectural reference points that enable edge applications may include the following:

[0064] The EDGE-1 reference point enables interaction between the EES and the EEC.

[0065] EDGE-2 reference points enable interaction between EES and 3GPP core network functions and APIs, and facilitate the acquisition of network function information.

[0066] The EDGE-3 reference point enables interaction between the EES and EAS.

[0067] The EDGE-4 reference point enables interaction between the ECS and EEC.

[0068] The EDGE-5 reference point enables interaction between AC(s) and EEC.

[0069] The EDGE-6 reference point enables interaction between the ECS and EES.

[0070] The EDGE-7 reference point enables interaction between EAS and 3GPP core network functions and APIs, and facilitates the acquisition of network function information.

[0071] The EDGE-8 reference point enables interaction between ECS and 3GPP core network functions and APIs for acquiring network function information.

[0072] The EDGE-9 reference point enables interaction between two EESs.

[0073] NM-UU: Interactions related to notification management functions between notification management clients and notification management servers are supported by NM-UU reference points. These reference points utilize the Uu reference points described in 3GPP TS23.401 V18.1.0 and 3GPP TS23.501 V18.0.0.

[0074] Interactions related to notification management functionality between VAL clients and notification management clients within NM-C:VAL UE are supported by the NM-C(client) reference point.

[0075] Interactions related to notification management functions between the NM-S:VAL server and the notification management server are supported by the NM-S(server) reference point.

[0076] In 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0 (the disclosure thereof is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein), Key Issue (KI) #17 is the discovery of a common EAS.

[0077] An Application Service Provider (ASP) can deploy multiple EASs that provide the same service in different locations within the EDN.

[0078] In certain use cases involving real-time communication in multi-user sessions (between ACs and EASs, and between different ACs via EASs), it may be necessary or beneficial to utilize services from a single common EAS to meet stringent latency requirements and avoid the need for synchronization between EASs. Examples of use cases include a team of robots working collaboratively on a manufacturing floor, a team of surgeons performing joint surgery on patients using virtual reality (VR) headsets and robotic surgical devices, or a group of trucks using V2X (vehicle-to-object) for platooning.

[0079] Depending on the use case, EEL may apply different additional criteria to determine this common EAS. For example, it may be desirable to determine the EAS to make the delay of all ACs within a session nearly uniform, or to minimize the delay of a particular AC.

[0080] Figure 1b shows an example of multiple EAS (Same Service) instances deployed in different locations within the same EDN, similar to Figure 4.17-1 in 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0.

[0081] As shown in the diagram, multiple EAS instances for the same service (identified by an EAS identifier (ID)) are deployed on the same EDN1.

[0082] The solution for Common EAS was agreed upon at the 54th meeting of the 3GPP Technical Specification Group - Services and Systems Aspects (TSG-SA) Working Group 6 (WG6) (S6-231648) "Common EAS Discovery" from April 17-26, 2023, and a central repository function was introduced to facilitate the discovery and selection of Common EAS.

[0083] Key issue 13 in TR23.700-98 V18.1.0 is support for the edge enabler layer for EAS synchronization. When UEs connect to the same EAS (i.e., a common EAS) within the corresponding EDN, information needs to be synchronized between the common EASs. For example, in an online multi-user game, players may be dispersed in different locations (e.g., the northern and southern parts of a city, with the northern part having edge coverage via EDN1 and the southern part via EDN2). When these players team up to play a multi-user game, the common EAS selected in the northern part of the city needs to synchronize game data with the common EAS in the southern part of the city that serves the same group of applications.

[0084] Figure 1c shows an example of EAS (same service) deployed to different EDNs by the same ASP, and is the same as Figure 4.13-1 in 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0.

[0085] In some cases, a common EAS within an EDN may provide services to only a single UE. A special case might involve one UE connected to EAS-1X in EDN1 and another UE connected to EAS-2X in EDN2; in this case, data synchronization between EAS-1X and EAS-2X is required (both UEs belong to the same group). [Overview of the Initiative]

[0086] This summary is provided to introduce some of the concepts described in more detail below in a simplified form. This summary is not intended to identify the main or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0087] Some of the solutions in 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0 (e.g., solutions #28-31) address unresolved issues 1 and 2 of critical issue #17 in 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0.

[0088] Unresolved issues for Key Issue #17:

[0089] 1) Whether and how different users' AC / EECs can select or provision the same EAS within the EDN.

[0090] This unresolved issue addresses how different EECs perform EAS discovery to select the same EAS within an EDN. Meanwhile, KI#13 of 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0 addresses the issue of how these EASs synchronize their contexts after different EECs have selected different EASs located in different EDNs.

[0091] 2) If AC / EEC for different users are initially communicating with different EDNs, is it possible to select or provision a common EAS, and how?

[0092] Currently, there is no solution that provides EAS with a service to search for a common EAS selected for an application group. To date, there have been no defined procedures to support inter-EAS synchronization in EEL.

[0093] To overcome or mitigate the above-mentioned problems or other issues, a solution is needed that enables cross-EDN discovery and synchronization of EAS for application groups.

[0094] A first aspect of this disclosure provides a method performed by an edge application server (EAS). The method may include sending a first request to an edge enabler server (EES) or a central repository. The first request may be used to retrieve information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The method may further include receiving a first message from the EES or the central repository. The first message may include common EAS information for the application group.

[0095] In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of user devices (UEs) that use the same application.

[0096] In one embodiment, the first requirement may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0097] In one embodiment, the first requirement may include first information for determining the common EAS information for the application group.

[0098] In one embodiment, the first requirement may include first information for determining the common EAS information for the application group and an event identifier for a change in common EAS availability.

[0099] In one embodiment, the first request may further include an identifier of the requester.

[0100] In one embodiment, the first information may include a first set of characteristics for determining the common EAS information for the application group.

[0101] In one embodiment, the first set of characteristics may include the EAS identifier and the application group identifier.

[0102] In one embodiment, the first request may include at least one of an EAS discovery request or an EAS discovery subscription request.

[0103] In one embodiment, the first message may include at least one EAS discovery response or EAS discovery notification.

[0104] In one embodiment, if the EAS is a first EAS that provides services to the application group and the first request is an EAS discovery request, the common EAS information for the application group may include an empty EAS list.

[0105] In one embodiment, the EAS is providing or is scheduled to provide services to the application group.

[0106] In one embodiment, the method may further include initiating data synchronization with at least one common EAS identified by the common EAS information for the application group.

[0107] In one embodiment, at least one common EAS for the application group may be deployed on the same edge data network or on different edge data networks.

[0108] A second aspect of this disclosure provides a method performed by an edge enabler server (EES). The method may include receiving a first request from an edge application server (EAS). The first request may be used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The method may further include sending a first message to the EAS. The first message may include common EAS information for the application group.

[0109] In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs that use the same application.

[0110] In one embodiment, the first requirement may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0111] In one embodiment, the first requirement may include first information for determining the common EAS information for the application group.

[0112] In one embodiment, the first requirement may include first information for determining the common EAS information for the application group and an event identifier for a change in common EAS availability.

[0113] In one embodiment, the first request may further include an identifier of the requester.

[0114] In one embodiment, the first information may include a first set of characteristics for determining the common EAS information for the application group.

[0115] In one embodiment, the first set of characteristics may include the EAS identifier and the application group identifier.

[0116] In one embodiment, the first request may include at least one of an EAS discovery request or an EAS discovery subscription request.

[0117] In one embodiment, the first message may include at least one EAS discovery response or EAS discovery notification.

[0118] In one embodiment, if the EAS is a first EAS that services the application group and the first request is an EAS discovery request, the common EAS information for the application group included in the first message may include an empty EAS list.

[0119] In one embodiment, the EAS is providing or is scheduled to provide services to the application group.

[0120] In one embodiment, at least one common EAS for the application group may be deployed on the same edge data network or on different edge data networks.

[0121] In one embodiment, the method may further include sending a second request to a central repository. The second request may be used to retrieve the information of at least one common EAS currently servicing the application group, or to subscribe to the common EAS availability events for the application group. In one embodiment, the second request may include the application group identifier that identifies the application group. The method may further include receiving a second message from the central repository. The second message may include the common EAS information for the application group.

[0122] In one embodiment, the second requirement may include second information for determining the common EAS information for the application group.

[0123] In one embodiment, the second requirement may include second information for determining the common EAS information for the application group, and an event identifier for a common EAS availability event.

[0124] In one embodiment, the second requirement may further include at least one identifier or security authentication information of the EES.

[0125] In one embodiment, the second request may further include at least one of the identifier of the EES, security authentication information, or the notified address.

[0126] In one embodiment, the second information may include a second set of characteristics for determining the common EAS information for the application group.

[0127] In one embodiment, the second set of characteristics may include the EAS identifier and the application group identifier.

[0128] In one embodiment, the second request may include at least one of a common EAS information acquisition request or a common EAS information subscription request.

[0129] In one embodiment, the second message may include at least one of a common EAS information acquisition response or a common EAS information notification.

[0130] In one embodiment, if the second message is a common EAS information retrieval response, the common EAS information retrieval response may include an information element indicating whether the second request was successful or unsuccessful, the common EAS information for the application group if the second request was successful, or at least one of the causes of failure if the second request was unsuccessful.

[0131] In one embodiment, if the second message is a common EAS information notification, the common EAS information notification may include at least one of a subscription identifier, an event identifier, or the common EAS information for the application group.

[0132] In one embodiment, if the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the method may further include receiving a common EAS information subscription response from the central repository.

[0133] In one embodiment, the common EAS information subscription response may include an information element indicating whether the second request was successful or unsuccessful, a subscription identifier if the second request was successful, or at least one cause of failure if the second request was unsuccessful.

[0134] A third aspect of this disclosure provides a method performed by a central repository. The method may include receiving a second request from an edge enabler server (EES) or a first request from an edge application server (EAS). The first request and / or the second request may be used to obtain information about at least one common edge application server (EAS) currently serving an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The method may include sending a second message to the EES or the first message to the EAS. The first message and / or the second message may include common EAS information for the application group.

[0135] In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs that use the same application.

[0136] In one embodiment, the first requirement and / or the second requirement may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0137] In one embodiment, the first requirement and / or the second requirement may include information for determining the common EAS information for the application group.

[0138] In one embodiment, the first and / or second request may include information for determining the common EAS information for the application group and an event identifier for a common EAS availability event.

[0139] In one embodiment, the first request and / or the second request may further include at least one of the requester's identifier or security authentication information.

[0140] In one embodiment, the first request and / or the second request may further include at least one of the requester's identifier, security authentication information, or the address to be notified.

[0141] In one embodiment, the information for determining the common EAS information for the application group may include a set of characteristics for determining the common EAS information for the application group.

[0142] In one embodiment, the characteristic set may include the EAS identifier and the application group identifier.

[0143] In one embodiment, the first request and / or the second request may include at least one of the following: an EAS discovery request, an EAS discovery subscription request, a common EAS information acquisition request, or a common EAS information subscription request.

[0144] In one embodiment, the first message and / or the second message may include at least one of an EAS discovery response, an EAS discovery notification, a common EAS information acquisition response, or a common EAS information notification.

[0145] In one embodiment, if the second message is a common EAS information retrieval response or the first request is an EAS discovery response, the common EAS information retrieval response or the EAS discovery response may include at least one information element indicating whether the first request / second request was successful or unsuccessful, the common EAS information for the application group if the first request / second request was successful, or the cause of failure if the first request / second request failed.

[0146] In one embodiment, if the second message is a common EAS information notification or the first message is an EAS discovery notification, the common EAS information notification or the EAS discovery notification may include at least one of a subscription identifier, an event identifier, or the common EAS information for the application group.

[0147] In one embodiment, if the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the method may further include sending a common EAS information subscription response to the EES.

[0148] In one embodiment, the common EAS information subscription response may include an information element indicating whether the second request was successful or unsuccessful, a subscription identifier if the second request was successful, or at least one cause of failure if the second request was unsuccessful.

[0149] In a fourth aspect of this disclosure, an EAS is provided. The EAS includes a processor and memory coupled to the processor. The memory includes instructions executed by the processor. The EAS may be operable to send a first request to an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a central repository. The first request may be used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The EAS may be operable to receive a first message from the EES or the central repository. The first message may include common EAS information for the application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. In one embodiment, the first request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0150] In a fifth aspect of this disclosure, an EES is provided. The EES includes a processor and memory coupled to the processor. The memory includes instructions executed by the processor. The EES may be operable to receive a first request from an edge application server (EAS). The first request may be used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The EES may further be operable to send a first message to the EAS. The first message includes common EAS information for the application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. In one embodiment, the first request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0151] In a sixth aspect of this disclosure, a central repository is provided. The central repository includes a processor and memory coupled to the processor. The memory includes instructions executed by the processor. The central repository may be operable to receive a second request from an edge enabler server (EES) or a first request from an edge application server (EAS). The first request and / or the second request may be used to obtain information about at least one common edge application server (EAS) currently serving an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The central repository may further be operable to send a second message to the EES or a first message to the EAS. The first message and / or the second message may include common EAS information for the application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. The first request and / or the second request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0152] In a seventh aspect of this disclosure, an EAS is provided. The EAS may include a send module configured to send a first request to an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a central repository. The first request may be used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The EAS may further include a receive module configured to receive a first message from the EES or the central repository. The first message may contain common EAS information for the application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. In one embodiment, the first request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0153] In one embodiment, the EAS may further include a start module configured to initiate data synchronization with at least one common EAS identified by the common EAS information for the application group.

[0154] In an eighth aspect of this disclosure, an EES is provided. The EES may include a first receiving module configured to receive a first request from an edge application server (EAS). The first request may be used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The EES may further include a first sending module configured to send a first message to the EAS. The first message may contain common EAS information for the application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. In one embodiment, the first request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0155] In one embodiment, the EES may further include a second sending module configured to send a second request to a central repository. The second request may be used to retrieve the information of at least one common EAS currently servicing the application group, or to subscribe to the common EAS availability events for the application group. In one embodiment, the second request may include the application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0156] In one embodiment, the EES may further include a second receiving module configured to receive a second message from the central repository. The second message may include the common EAS information for the application group.

[0157] In one embodiment, if the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the EES may further include a third receiving module configured to receive a common EAS information subscription response from the central repository.

[0158] In a ninth aspect of this disclosure, a central repository is provided. The central repository may include a receiving module configured to receive a second request from an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a first request from an Edge Application Server (EAS). The first request and / or the second request may be used to retrieve information about at least one common Edge Application Server (EAS) currently serving an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The central repository may further include a first sending module configured to send a second message to the EES or a first message to the EAS. The first message and / or the second message may contain common EAS information for the application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. The first request and / or the second request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0159] In one embodiment, if the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the central repository may further include a second transmission module configured to send a common EAS information subscription response to the EES.

[0160] In a tenth aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product is provided which, when executed by at least one processor, includes instructions causing the at least one processor to perform a method according to any one of the first, second, or third aspects.

[0161] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided for storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to any one of the first, second, or third aspects.

[0162] The embodiments described herein may offer many advantages, some of which are listed below without limitation. In one embodiment of this specification, the proposed solution may support an EAS in finding other EASs that provide the same service to the same group of applications. In one embodiment of this specification, the proposed solution may enable an EAS to initiate data synchronization with a common EAS it has acquired. In one embodiment of this embodiment, a central repository (CR) provides a new service and provides common EAS information available within the CR, so that other network functions such as EAS can use the acquired common EAS information for various purposes. This embodiment is not limited to the features and advantages described above. Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages by reading the detailed description below. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0163] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of various embodiments of this disclosure will be more clearly and illustratively apparent by the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, similar reference numbers or letters are used to indicate similar or equivalent elements. The drawings are provided to facilitate understanding of embodiments of this disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to actual size. In the drawings:

[0164] [Figure 1a] Figure 1a shows the reference point representation of the architecture for edge-enabled applications.

[0165] [Figure 1b] Figure 1b shows an example of multiple EAS (Same Service) instances deployed in different locations within the same EDN;

[0166] [Figure 1c] Figure 1c shows an example of EAS (Same Service) deployed to different EDNs by the same ASP;

[0167] [Figure 2a] Figure 2a schematically shows a high-level architecture in a fifth-generation network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0168] [Figure 2b] Figure 2b schematically shows a high-level architecture in a 4G network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0169] [Figure 3a] Figure 3a shows a flowchart of the method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0170] [Figure 3b] Figure 3b shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0171] [Figure 4a] Figure 4a shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0172] [Figure 4b] Figure 4b shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0173] [Figure 4c] Figure 4c shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0174] [Figure 5a] Figure 5a shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0175] [Figure 5b] Figure 5b shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0176] [Figure 6a] Figure 6a shows a flowchart of the common EAS acquisition procedure according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0177] [Figure 6b] Figure 6b shows a flowchart of the common EAS availability subscription procedure according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0178] [Figure 6c] Figure 6c shows a flowchart of a common EAS availability notice according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0179] [Figure 6d] Figure 6d shows a flowchart for obtaining a common EAS according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0180] [Figure 6e] Figure 6e shows a flowchart for subscribing to common EAS information according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0181] [Figure 6f] Figure 6f shows a common EAS information notification flowchart according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0182] [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an apparatus suitable for carrying out some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0183] [Figure 8a] Figure 8a is a block diagram showing an EAS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0184] [Figure 8b] Figure 8b is a block diagram showing an EES according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0185] [Figure 8c]Figure 8c is a block diagram showing a central repository according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0186] [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0187] [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows UEs according to several embodiments.

[0188] [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows network nodes according to several embodiments.

[0189] [Figure 12] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a host according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0190] [Figure 13] Figure 13 is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment in which functions implemented by several embodiments are virtualized.

[0191] [Figure 14] Figure 14 shows a communication diagram of a host communicating with a UE via a network node, partially wirelessly, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0192] Embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments are discussed solely to enable those skilled in the art to better understand and thus implement this disclosure, and should be understood not to imply any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. References to features, advantages, or similar expressions throughout this specification do not mean that all features and advantages that can be realized by this disclosure should be present in, or exist in, any single embodiment of this disclosure. Rather, expressions relating to features and advantages should be understood to mean that certain features, advantages, or characteristics described in relation to an embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. Furthermore, the features, advantages, and characteristics described herein can be combined in any suitable way in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that this specification can be practiced even if one or more particular features or advantages of a particular embodiment are omitted. In other cases, additional features and advantages that are not present in all embodiments of this specification may be recognized in a particular embodiment.

[0193] In this specification, the term “Network” includes radio networks such as New Radio (NR), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA®), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA). CDMA networks may enable radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). UTRA includes WCDMA and other CDMA variants. TDMA networks may enable radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). OFDMA networks may enable radio technologies such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash OFDMA, Ad Hoc Networks, and Wireless Sensor Networks. In the following description, the terms “network” and “system” may be used interchangeably. Furthermore, communication between two devices within a network may be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to communication protocols defined by standardization bodies such as 3GPP. For example, communication protocols may include first-generation (1G), 2G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G, 6G communication protocols, and / or other protocols that are currently known or will be developed in the future.

[0194] The terms “network device,” “network node,” or “network function” refer to any appropriate function that can be implemented on a network entity (physical or virtual) of a communications network. For example, a network function can be implemented as a network element on dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform (e.g., cloud infrastructure). For example, a 5G system (5GS) consists of Access Mobility Management (AMF), Session Management (SMF), Authentication Service (AUSF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Policy Control (PCF), Application Function (AF), Network Exposure (NEF), User Plane (UPF), Network Repository (NRF), Radio Access Network (RAN), Service Communications Proxy (SCP), Network Data Analysis (NWDAF), Network Slice Selection (NSSF), and Network Slice-Specific Authentication and Authorization (NSSAAF). For example, a 4G system (such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE)) includes a Mobile Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), PCRF (Policy and Billing Rule Function), PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway), PGW Control Plane (PGW-C), Serving Gateway (SGW), SGW Control Plane (SGW-C), E-UTRAN Node B (eNB), and the like. In other embodiments, network functions may consist of different types of NFs, for example, depending on the specific network.

[0195] "Terminal equipment" refers to any end device that can access a communication network and receive services from it. Exemplary examples include, but are not limited to, mobile terminals, user equipment (UEs), or other appropriate devices. A UE may be, for example, a subscriber station (SS), mobile subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Examples of terminal equipment include portable computers, image capture devices such as digital cameras, game terminals, music storage and playback devices, mobile phones, mobile phone terminals, smartphones, VoIP phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable devices, PDAs (personal digital assistants), portable computers, desktop computers, wearable terminals, in-vehicle wireless terminals, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop computers (LEEs), laptop machines (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, and wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs). In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" may be used interchangeably. For example, a terminal device may represent a UE configured to communicate in accordance with one or more communication standards published by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) (e.g., 3GPP LTE and NR standards). In this specification, “user equipment” or “UE” does not necessarily have a “user” in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the equipment in question. In some embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human operation. For example, a terminal device may be designed to transmit information to a network according to a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the communication network. Alternatively, a UE may represent equipment intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but not initially associated with a specific human user.

[0196] In yet another example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a terminal device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results to other terminal devices and / or network devices. In this case, the terminal device is a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, sometimes called a machine-type communication (MTC) device in the 3GPP context. A specific example is a terminal device that is a UE implementing the 3GPP Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices include measuring instruments such as sensors and power meters, industrial machinery, or household or personal appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, and personal wearable devices. In other scenarios, a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other device capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions related to its operation.

[0197] Descriptions in this specification such as "one embodiment" or "one exemplary embodiment" indicate that an embodiment may include a particular function, structure, or feature, but not all embodiments are required to include such a particular function, structure, or feature. Furthermore, such expressions do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, if a particular function, structure, or characteristic is described in relation to an embodiment, it is considered within the knowledge of those skilled in the art that such function, structure, or characteristic will be affected in relation to other embodiments, whether or not it is explicitly described.

[0198] In this specification, terms such as “first” and “second” may be used to describe various elements, but it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are simply used to distinguish one element from another. For example, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. These do not deviate from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. In this specification, the term “and / or” encompasses any combination that includes one or more of the relevant enumerated terms.

[0199] In this specification, the phrases "at least one of A and B" or "at least one of A or B" should be understood to mean "A only, B only, or both A and B." The phrase "A and / or B" should be understood to mean "A only, B only, or both A and B."

[0200] The terms used herein are for the sole purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. In this specification, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are interpreted as including the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "includes," and "including" used herein identify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0201] Please note that the terms used herein are for the sole purpose of describing and distinguishing between nodes, devices, networks, etc. As technology advances, other terms with similar or identical meanings may also be used.

[0202] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as those generally understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0203] The subject matter described herein can be implemented in any suitable type of system with any suitable components, but the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a communication system conforming to the exemplary system architecture shown in Figures 2a-2b. For simplicity, the system architecture in Figures 2a-2b shows only some exemplary elements. In practice, the communication system may further include additional elements suitable for supporting communication between terminal devices or between wireless devices and other communication devices such as fixed telephones, service providers, and other network nodes and terminal devices. The communication system provides communication and various types of services to one or more terminal devices and facilitates the terminal devices' access to and / or use of services provided by or through the communication system.

[0204] Figure 2a schematically shows a high-level architecture in a fifth-generation network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The architecture in Figure 2a is the same as Figure 4.2.3-1 of 3GPPTS23.501V18.0.0, and its disclosure is incorporated here in its entirety by reference. The system architecture in Figure 2a includes, for example, AUSF, AMF, Data Network (DN), NEF, NRF, NSSF, PCF, SMF, UDM, UPF, AF, UE, (R)AN, Service Communication Proxy (SCP), Network Slice-Specific Authentication and Authorization Function (NSSAAF), Network Slice Subscriber Control Function (NSACF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), etc.

[0205] According to an exemplary embodiment, the UE can establish a signaling connection with the AMF via reference point N1, as shown in Figure 2a. This signaling connection enables NAS (Non-Access Layer) signaling exchange between the UE and the core network, and includes a signaling connection between the UE and (R)AN, and an N2 connection between (R)AN and the AMF to this UE. (R)AN can communicate with the UPF via reference point N3. The UE can establish a protocol data unit (PDU) session to the DN (Data Network, e.g., a telecommunications carrier network or the Internet) via reference point N6 through the UPF.

[0206] As further shown in Figure 2a, this exemplary system architecture includes service-based interfaces such as Nnrf, Nnef, Nausf, Nudm, Npcf, Namf, Nnsacf, Neasdf, and Nsmf, provided by NFs such as NRF, NEF, AUSF, UDM, PCF, AMF, NSACF, EASDF, and SMF. Furthermore, Figure 2a also shows reference points such as N1, N2, N3, N4, N6, and N9. These can support interactions between NF services within the NF. For example, these reference points are realized through their corresponding NF service-based interfaces, by specifying several NF service consumers and providers, as well as their interactions, to perform a particular system procedure.

[0207] Figure 2b schematically illustrates the high-level architecture of a 4G network according to embodiments of this disclosure and is identical to Figure 4.2.1-1 of 3GPPTS23.401V18.1.0. Its disclosure is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The system architecture in Figure 2b includes a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), UE, Evolutionary Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN), Mobile Management Entity (MME), Service Gateway (S-GW), Packet Data Network (PDN) gateway, PCRF, etc. UTRAN means Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network. GERAN means Edge Radio Access Network for GSM. IMS means Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem. PSS means Packet Switched Streaming Service (PSS). Gx is a reference point between the PCRF and the PDN gateway, providing the forwarding of QoS policies and billing rules from the PCRF to the Policy and Billing Enforcement Function (PCEF) within the PDN gateway. The network elements and interfaces shown in Figure 2b may be the same as the corresponding network elements and interfaces described in 3GPP TS23.401 V18.1.0.

[0208] Figure 3a shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. This method may be performed as an edge application server (EAS), or by a device implemented in an EAS, or by a device connected to an EAS. Thus, the device may provide means or modules for accomplishing various parts of Method 300, as well as means or modules for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components.

[0209] In block 302, the EAS may send a first request to an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a central repository. The first request is used to retrieve information about at least one common EAS currently servicing the application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group.

[0210] In one embodiment, an application group may be a group of UEs that use the same application.

[0211] In one embodiment, the first request may include an application group identifier that identifies an application group.

[0212] In one embodiment, the EES may be the same as or similar to the EES described in 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0.

[0213] In one embodiment, the EAS may be the same as or similar to the EAS described in 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0.

[0214] A central repository may be a repository function that stores and / or provides common EAS information. In one embodiment, the EES may interact with a central repository to store common EAS information, as described, for example, in S6-231648.

[0215] The central repository may be an independent network function (e.g., a standalone server) or implemented or co-located within a network function such as ECS. For example, ECS can be extended to support the discovery of a common EAS for a set of UEs. Such an extended ECS may have central repository functionality. In one embodiment, the central repository may be similar to the central repository described in S6-231648.

[0216] In one embodiment, the EAS is providing or intending to provide services to an application group. For example, the EAS is or will become a common EAS. In one embodiment, if the EAS is providing or intending to provide services to an application group, the first request is sent to the EAS.

[0217] The first request may be any suitable request, such as an existing request or a new request. In one embodiment, the first request may include at least one of an EAS discovery request or an EAS discovery subscription request. For example, an EAS discovery request or an EAS discovery subscription request is similar to the corresponding requests described in 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0, S6-231648, or 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0, but differs in that it is used to obtain information about at least one common EAS that the EAS is currently servicing to an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for an application group.

[0218] Multiple EASs providing the same service may be located in different locations within the same EDN or in different EDNs. For example, these EASs providing the same service to an application group may be called a common EAS.

[0219] In one embodiment, at least one common EAS for an application group is deployed on the same edge data network or on different edge data networks. The edge data network may be a local data network that supports an architecture that enables edge applications, as described, for example, in 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0.

[0220] In one embodiment, the common EAS may be identical or similar to the common EAS described in 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0.

[0221] An application group may consist of a group of UEs that use the same application. An application group ID may uniquely identify a group of UEs using the same application. This may be assigned by the ASP (dynamically or pre-configured within the AC) and may be unique within the application. ACs supporting the same application on different operating systems (OS) (iOS, Android) may have the same application group ID.

[0222] Application group IDs may be considered unique for each EASID. An application group may be considered to correspond to a single application.

[0223] In one embodiment, the application group may be the same as or similar to the application group described in S6-231648.

[0224] The first request may include any appropriate information that can be used to identify at least one common EAS currently servicing the application group.

[0225] In one embodiment, the first request may include first information for determining common EAS information for an application group. The first information is any suitable information available for determining common EAS information for an application group. For example, the first information may be a common discovery EAS filter. The common discovery EAS filter is any suitable filter, and this disclosure does not limit it. In this embodiment, the first request may be an EAS discovery request.

[0226] In one embodiment, the first request may include first information for determining common EAS information for an application group and an event identifier for a change in common EAS availability. In this embodiment, the first request may be an EAS discovery subscription request. Note that in addition to the event identifier for a change in common EAS availability, other information elements with similar / identical meanings may also be used.

[0227] In one embodiment, the first information may include a first set of characteristics for determining common EAS information for an application group. The first set of characteristics may include any appropriate information available for determining common EAS for an application group. The first set of characteristics may be applicable to common EAS availability change events.

[0228] In one embodiment, the first set of characteristics may include an EAS identifier and an application group identifier. In another embodiment, the first set of characteristics may include any other appropriate information for determining a common EAS for an application group.

[0229] EAS identifiers identify specific applications, such as videos and games. For example, all common EAS applications may share the same EAS identifier. The definition of an EAS identifier can be in any suitable form, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0230] In one embodiment, the EAS identifier may be the same as or similar to the EASID described in 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0, S6-231648, or 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0.

[0231] The application group identifier may be the identity / identifier of a group of UEs using the same application. In one embodiment, the application group identifier may be identical or similar to the application group ID described in S6-231648.

[0232] In one embodiment, the first request may further include a requester identifier. For example, the requester identifier may be a unique identifier of the EAS.

[0233] In block 304, EAS receives a first message from EES or the central repository. The first message contains common EAS information about the application group.

[0234] The first message can be any appropriate message, such as an existing message or a new message.

[0235] In one embodiment, the first message may include at least one of an EAS discovery response or an EAS discovery notification. For example, the EAS discovery response or EAS discovery notification may be similar to the corresponding message described in 3GPP TR23.700-98 V18.1.0, S6-231648, or 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0. For example, if the first request is an EAS discovery request, the first message may be an EAS discovery response. If the first request is an EAS discovery subscription request, the first message may be an EAS discovery notification.

[0236] In one embodiment, if the EAS is a first EAS that provides services to an application group, and the first request is an EAS discovery request, the common EAS information for the application group may include an empty EAS list.

[0237] Common EAS information for an application group can include any appropriate information. For example, common EAS information for an application group can include a list of discovered common EAS. Common EAS information includes at least one of the EAS profile (e.g., as described in Table 8.2.4-1 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0) or the expiration period. In one embodiment, the common EAS profile for an application group can include the EAS endpoint and EASID. The expiration period can indicate the time interval or period during which the information elements in the EAS profile are valid and should be cached in the EEC or EAS (e.g., the expiration value of the EAS endpoint).

[0238] In one embodiment, common EAS information for an application group may include endpoint information for the common EAS for the application group. For example, the endpoint information for the common EAS may include the common EAS URI (Uniform Resource Identifier), FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name), IP address, etc.

[0239] Common EAS information for application groups can be used by EAS for various purposes (such as data synchronization, load balancing, fault tolerance, and disaster recovery), and this disclosure does not limit its use.

[0240] In one embodiment, if the first request is an EAS discovery subscription request, the EAS receives an EAS discovery subscription response from the EES. For example, if the processing of the first request (e.g., authentication) is successful or unsuccessful, the EES sends an EAS discovery subscription response to the EAS.

[0241] Figure 3b shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or in or as an EAS, or by an apparatus communicatively coupled to an EAS. Thus, the apparatus may provide means or modules for accomplishing various parts of Method 310, as well as means or modules for accomplishing other processes in cooperation with other components.

[0242] In block 312, the EAS can initiate data synchronization with at least one common EAS identified by common EAS information for the application group.

[0243] For example, EAS can use common EAS information for an application group to retrieve endpoint information for at least one common EAS, establish a connection with at least one common EAS, and then begin data synchronization with at least one common EAS.

[0244] Figure 4a shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed as an EES, or by a device implemented in or connected to an EES. Thus, the device may provide means or modules for achieving various parts of Method 400, as well as means or modules for achieving other processes in conjunction with other components. Some parts already described in the above embodiments are omitted here for brevity.

[0245] In block 402, the EES receives a first request from the Edge Application Server (EAS). The first request is used to retrieve information about at least one common EAS currently servicing the application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group.

[0246] In one embodiment, an application group may be a group of UEs that use the same application.

[0247] In one embodiment, the first request may include an application group identifier that identifies an application group.

[0248] In one embodiment, the EES may approve a first request. If the first request is approved (for example, the EAS is allowed to communicate with the EES, or is given permission to perform common EAS discovery or subscription), the EES may further process the first request, for example, by retrieving common EAS information for an application group. If the first request is not approved, the EES sends a failure response to the EAS indicating that the first request failed. For example, if the first request is an EAS discovery subscription request and the first request is approved, the EES creates and stores a subscription for common EAS discovery. If a central repository is available, the EES subscribes to the central repository with an event indicating common EAS availability, EASID, and application group ID. If the first request is an EAS discovery request and is approved, the EES retrieves common EAS information for an application group. For example, if a central repository is available, the EES may send a common EAS information retrieval request to the central repository including the EASID and application group ID, and receive a common EAS information retrieval response from the central repository containing common EAS information for the application group. Alternatively, if common EAS information for an application group is stored or cached in the EES, the EES can retrieve that information locally.

[0249] In one embodiment, the first requirement may include first information for determining common EAS information for an application group.

[0250] In one embodiment, the first request may include first information for determining common EAS information for an application group and an event identifier for a change in common EAS availability.

[0251] In one embodiment, the first request may further include an identifier for the requester.

[0252] In one embodiment, the first information may include a first set of characteristics for determining common EAS information for an application group.

[0253] In one embodiment, the first set of characteristics may include an EAS identifier and an application group identifier.

[0254] In one embodiment, the first request may include at least one of an EAS discovery request or an EAS discovery subscription request.

[0255] In block 404, the EES can send a first message to the EAS. The first message may include common EAS information for the application group.

[0256] EES can obtain common EAS information about application groups in various ways, and this disclosure does not limit these. For example, EES can store or cache common EAS information for application groups, in which case the common EAS information for application groups can be obtained locally. Alternatively, EES can obtain common EAS information for application groups from other devices that store it, or from a storage function.

[0257] In one embodiment, the first message may include at least one of an EAS discovery response or an EAS discovery notification.

[0258] In one embodiment, if the EAS is a first EAS that provides services to an application group, and the first request is an EAS discovery request, the common EAS information for the application group included in the first message may include an empty EAS list.

[0259] In one embodiment, the EAS is providing or plans to provide services to an application group.

[0260] In one embodiment, at least one common EAS for an application group may be deployed on the same edge data network or on different edge data networks.

[0261] Figure 4b shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed as an EES, or by a device implemented in or connected to an EES. Thus, the device may provide means or modules for achieving various parts of Method 410, as well as means or modules for achieving other processes in conjunction with other components. Some parts already described in the above embodiments are omitted here for brevity.

[0262] In block 412, the EES may send a second request to the central repository. The second request is used to retrieve information about at least one common EAS currently servicing the application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. In one embodiment, the second request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0263] The second request may be any appropriate request, such as an existing request or a new request. In one embodiment, the second request may include at least one of a common EAS information retrieval request or a common EAS information subscription request.

[0264] The second request may include any suitable information that can be used to determine the common EAS for the application group. In one embodiment, the second request may include second information for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The second information may be any suitable information that can be used to determine the common EAS information for the application group. For example, the second information may be a common discovery EAS filter. The common discovery EAS filter may be any suitable filter, and this disclosure does not limit it. In this embodiment, the second request may be a common EAS information retrieval request.

[0265] In one embodiment, the second request may include second information for determining common EAS information for an application group and an event identifier for a common EAS availability event. In this embodiment, the second request may be a common EAS information subscription request.

[0266] In one embodiment, the second information may include a second set of characteristics for determining common EAS information for an application group. The second set of characteristics may include any appropriate information available for determining common EAS for an application group. The second set of characteristics may be applicable to common EAS availability change events.

[0267] In one embodiment, the second set of characteristics may include an EAS identifier and an application group identifier. In other embodiments, the second set of characteristics may include any other appropriate information for determining a common EAS for an application group.

[0268] In one embodiment, the second request may further include at least one EES identifier or security authentication information. The security authentication information is obtained from successful authentication to the edge computing service. In this embodiment, the second request may be a common EAS information retrieval request.

[0269] In one embodiment, the second request may further include at least one of an EES identifier, security authentication information, or a notification target address. The notification target address may indicate a notification target address to which a notification should be sent. In this embodiment, the second request may be a common EAS information subscription request.

[0270] In block 414, the EES receives a second message from the central repository. This second message contains common EAS information for the application group.

[0271] The second message can be any appropriate message, such as an existing message or a new message.

[0272] In one embodiment, the second message may include at least one of a response to the acquisition of common EAS information or a notification of common EAS information.

[0273] For example, if the second request is a request to retrieve common EAS information, the second message may be a response to the retrieval of common EAS information. If the second request is a request to subscribe to common EAS information, the second message may be a notification of common EAS information.

[0274] In one embodiment, if EAS is a first EAS that provides services to an application group, and the second request is a request to obtain common EAS information, the common EAS information for the application group may include an empty EAS list.

[0275] In one embodiment, when the second message is a common EAS information acquisition response, the common EAS information acquisition response can include at least one of an information element indicating whether the second request was successful or failed, the common EAS information for the application group when the second request was successful, or the cause of failure when the second request failed.

[0276] In one embodiment, when the second message is a common EAS information notification, the common EAS information notification can include at least one of a subscription identifier, an event identifier, or the common EAS information for the application group.

[0277] FIG. 4c shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. This method can be implemented in the EES, and can be executed in the EES, as the EES, or by a device communicatively connected to the EES. Accordingly, this device can provide means or modules for achieving various parts of method 420, as well as means or modules for collaborating with other components to achieve other processes. For some parts already described in the above embodiments, for the sake of brevity, the description thereof is omitted here.

[0278] In block 422, when the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the EES can receive a common EAS information subscription response from the central repository.

[0279] In one embodiment, the common EAS information subscription response can include at least one of an information element indicating whether the second request was successful or failed, the subscription identifier when the second request was successful, or the cause of failure when the second request failed.

[0280] For example, upon receiving a common EAS information subscription request, the central repository approves the request and stores the event subscription. If the common EAS information subscription request is processed successfully, the central repository sends a common EAS information subscription response message back to the EES.

[0281] Figure 5a shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by a device implemented as a central repository, implemented in a central repository, functioning as a central repository, or connected to a central repository in a communicative manner. Thus, the device may provide means or modules for achieving various parts of Method 500, as well as means or modules for achieving other processes in cooperation with other components. Some parts already described in the above embodiments are omitted here for brevity.

[0282] In block 502, the central repository receives a second request from an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a first request from an Edge Application Server (EAS). The first and / or second requests are used to retrieve information about at least one common Edge Application Server (EAS) currently servicing the application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group.

[0283] In one embodiment, an application group may be a group of UEs that use the same application.

[0284] In one embodiment, the first and / or second request may include an application group identifier that identifies an application group.

[0285] In one embodiment, the central repository may approve the first / second request. If the first / second request is approved (for example, if the EAS / EES is authorized to communicate with the central repository or to perform common EAS discovery or subscription), the central repository may further process the first / second request, for example, to retrieve common EAS information for an application group. If the first / second request is not approved, the central repository may send a failure response to the EAS / EES indicating that the first / second request failed. For example, if the first / second request is a subscription request and is approved, the central repository may create and store a subscription for common EAS discovery. If the first / second request is an EAS discovery request or a common EAS information retrieval request and is approved, the central repository retrieves common EAS information for an application group.

[0286] In block 504, the central repository sends a second message to the EES or a first message to the EAS. The first message and / or the second message may contain common EAS information for the application group.

[0287] In one embodiment, the first and / or second requirement may include information for determining common EAS information for an application group.

[0288] In one embodiment, the first and / or second request may include information for determining common EAS information for an application group and an event identifier for a common EAS availability event.

[0289] In one embodiment, the first request and / or the second request may further include at least one of the requester's identifier or security authentication information.

[0290] In one embodiment, the first request and / or the second request may further include at least one of the requester's identifier, security authentication information, or notified address.

[0291] In one embodiment, the information for determining common EAS information for an application group may include a set of characteristics for determining common EAS information for an application group.

[0292] In one embodiment, the characteristic set may include an EAS identifier and an application group identifier.

[0293] In one embodiment, the first request and / or the second request may include at least one of the following: an EAS discovery request, an EAS discovery subscription request, a common EAS information retrieval request, or a common EAS information subscription request.

[0294] In one embodiment, the first message and / or the second message may include at least one of the following: an EAS discovery response, an EAS discovery notification, a common EAS information acquisition response, or a common EAS information notification.

[0295] In one embodiment, if the second message is a common EAS information retrieval response, or if the first request is an EAS discovery response, the common EAS information retrieval response or EAS discovery response may include at least one information element indicating the success or failure of the first / second request, common EAS information for the application group if the first / second request is successful, or the cause of failure if the first / second request fails.

[0296] In one embodiment, if the second message is a common EAS information notification, or if the first message is an EAS discovery notification, the common EAS information notification or EAS discovery notification may include at least one of a subscription identifier, an event identifier, or common EAS information for an application group.

[0297] FIG. 5b shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. This method can be executed by a device implemented as a central repository, installed in a central repository, functioning as a central repository, or communicatively connected to a central repository. Thus, this device can provide means or modules for achieving various parts of method 510, as well as means or modules for achieving other processes in cooperation with other components. For some parts already described in the above embodiments, the description will be omitted here for the sake of brevity.

[0298] In block 512, if the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the central repository can send a common EAS information subscription response to the EES.

[0299] In one embodiment, the common EAS information subscription response can include at least one of an information element indicating whether the second request was successful or failed, a subscription identifier if the second request was successful, or a cause of failure if the second request failed.

[0300] According to various embodiments, the EAS can be enabled to query common EAS information and the common EAS information can be utilized for various purposes such as starting data synchronization using the acquired common EAS.

[0301] According to various embodiments, the central repository (CR) provides a new service for providing the common EAS information available within the CR to various network functions such as the EAS.

[0302] According to various embodiments, procedures for searching for other EASs that provide the same service for the same application group can be added to be supported by the EAS.

[0303] In one embodiment, section 8.5.3.2 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be modified as follows. Note that, in addition to the common discovery EAS filters in Table 8.5.3.2-1, other information elements with similar / identical meanings may also be used. 8.5.3.2 EAS Discovery Request Table 8.5.3.2-1 describes the information elements of the EAS discovery request. Table 8.5.3.2-2 provides details about the information elements of the EAS discovery filter. TIFF2026518578000002.tif187170TIFF2026518578000003.tif144170TIFF2026518578000004.tif34170

[0304] Note that in addition to the list of common EAS information filters listed in Table 8.5.3.2-x, other information elements with similar or identical meanings may also be used. The list of common EAS information filters may consist of other appropriate information elements.

[0305] In one embodiment, clause 8.5.3.3 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 is as follows: 8.5.3.3 EAS Discovery Response Table 8.5.3.3-1 describes the information elements of the EAS discovery response from the EES to the EEC. TIFF2026518578000005.tif102170

[0306] In one embodiment, clause 8.5.3.4 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be modified as follows: Note that in addition to the common EAS availability changes listed in Table 8.5.3.4-1, other event IDs with similar or identical meanings may also be used. 8.5.3.4 EAS Discovery Subscription Request Table 8.5.3.4-1 describes the information elements of the EAS discovery subscription request from the EEC to the EES. TIFF2026518578000006.tif144170 "EAS Instantiation Trigger Display" The consistency between IE and the EAS discovery request procedure will be considered in future discussions (FFS). TIFF2026518578000007.tif94170

[0307] In one embodiment, section 8.X of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 is added as follows: 8.X Common EAS acquisition 8.X.1 Overview The common EAS acquisition procedure allows for the acquisition of a common EAS already selected for an application group, enabling the requesting EAS to initiate communication with the acquired EAS for data synchronization. Note: UEs within an application group may reside within the edge coverage of multiple non-overlapping EDNs. Each EDN has a common EAS that serves the application group. Even for UEs belonging to an application group in overlapping EDN service areas, only one common EAS is still selected to serve the AC within the UE. All common EASs must exchange data to serve the application group.

[0308] In one embodiment, clause 8.X.2 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: 8.X.2 Request Response Model Prerequisites: 1. EAS is aware of providing services to the application group. Figure 6a shows a flowchart of the common EAS acquisition procedure according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 1. The EAS sends an EAS discovery request that includes the EASID and application group ID in the common EAS discovery filter. Including the common EAS discovery filter indicates a request to retrieve the common EAS currently servicing the application group ID with the requested EASID. 2. If a central repository is available, the EES will use the received EASID and application group ID to check the central repository and obtain a list of EAS that service the application group for the desired application service identified by the EASID, as described in Clause 8.Y. Note: If the requesting EAS is the first EAS providing services to the application group, an empty EAS list is returned. 3. In the EAS discovery response, the EES returns common EAS information to the EAS. The EAS profile of the discovered EAS list includes only the EAS endpoint and EASID.

[0309] In one embodiment, clause 8.X.3 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: 8.X.3 Subscribe Notification Model 8.X.3.1 Overview Clauses 8.X.3.2 and 8.X.3.3 together describe the common EAS acquisition procedure based on the Subscribe / Notification model.

[0310] In one embodiment, clause 8.X.3.2 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 is amended as follows: 8.X.3.2 Subscribe Prerequisites: 1. EAS is aware of providing services to the application group in question. Figure 6b shows a flowchart of the common EAS availability subscription procedure according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 1. EAS sends an EAS discovery subscription request to EES. The EAS discovery subscription request includes an event ID indicating a "common EAS availability change" and a common EAS discovery filter. 2. EES approves the subscription request. If approved, EES creates and stores a subscription for common EAS discovery. If the central repository is available, EES subscribes to the central repository with events indicating common EAS availability, EASID, and application group ID as described in Clause 8.Y. 3. If the request is processed successfully, the EES sends an EAS discovery subscription response to the EAS.

[0311] In one embodiment, clause 8.X.3.3 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: 8.X.3.3 Notification Prerequisites: 1. EAS is subscribed to the Common EAS Availability Events as defined in Clause 8.X.3.2. Figure 6c shows a flowchart of a common EAS availability notice according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 1. In the EES, an event occurs that satisfies the trigger conditions for notification to subscribed EAS (i.e., provision of common EAS discovery information). If the central repository is available, the EES receives a notification from the central repository regarding the common EAS discovery information. 2. The EES sends an EAS discovery notification to the EAS, along with the common EAS information determined in step 1. The EAS profile of the discovered EAS list will only include the EAS endpoint and EASID.

[0312] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: 8. Interaction with the Central Repository 8.Y.1 Overview This clause describes the procedures and services provided by the central repository. 8.Y.2 Procedure 8.Y.2.1 Overview Clauses 8.Y.2.2, 8.Y.2.3, and 8.Y.2.4 outline the procedures for obtaining common EAS information.

[0313] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.2.2 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 is amended as follows: 8.Y.2.2 Obtaining the Common EAS Figure 6d shows a flowchart for obtaining a common EAS according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 1. EES sends a common EAS information retrieval request message to the central repository. The request message includes the EASID and application group ID. 2. Upon receiving a request, the central repository checks whether a common EAS selected to serve the application group corresponding to the EASID is stored there. 3. If the request is processed successfully, the central repository returns the common EAS information identified in step 2 to the EES.

[0314] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.2.3 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: 8.Y.2.3 Subscription of Common EAS Information Figure 6e shows a flowchart for subscribing to common EAS information according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 1. EES sends a common EAS information subscription request message to the central repository. The request message includes the common EAS availability event, EASID, and application group ID. 2. Upon receiving a request, the central repository authenticates the request and stores the event subscription. 3. If the request is processed successfully, the central repository sends a common EAS information subscription response message back to the EES.

[0315] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.2.4 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: 8.Y.2.4 Common EAS Information Notification Prerequisites: 1. The EES is subscribed to the central repository for common EAS availability events as defined in Clause 8.Y.2.3. Figure 6f shows a flowchart of a common EAS information notification according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 1. An event occurs in the central repository that satisfies the trigger conditions for notifications to subscribed EAS (e.g., provision of common EAS information). This occurs when the central repository recognizes the common EAS selected for the application group corresponding to the EASID. 2. The central repository sends a common EAS information notification to the EES along with the common EAS information determined in step 1.

[0316] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.3 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: 8.Y.3 Information Flow 8.Y.3.1 General This defines the information flow for the common EAS information service.

[0317] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.3.2 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: Note that in addition to the information elements in Table 8.Y.3.2-1, other information elements having similar / identical meanings may also be used. Table 8.Y.3.2-1 may include other appropriate information elements. 8.Y.3.2 Common EAS information acquisition request Table 8.Y.3.2-1 describes the information elements in a common EAS information retrieval request from the EES to the central repository. TIFF2026518578000008.tif43170

[0318] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.3.3 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: Note that in addition to the information elements in Table 8.Y.3.3-1, other information elements with similar / identical meanings may also be used. Table 8.Y.3.3-1 may include other appropriate information elements. 8.Y.3.3 Common EAS Information Acquisition Response Table 8.Y.3.3-1 describes the information elements of the common EAS information retrieval response from the central repository to the EES. TIFF2026518578000009.tif34170

[0319] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.3.4 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows. Note that in addition to the information elements in Table 8.Y.3.4-1, other information elements with similar / identical meanings may also be used. Table 8.Y.3.4-1 may include other appropriate information elements. 8.Y.3.4 Common EAS Information Subscription Request Table 8.Y.3.4-1 describes the information elements of a common EAS information subscription request from the EES to the central repository. TIFF2026518578000010.tif68170

[0320] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.3.5 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows: Note that in addition to the information elements in Table 8.Y.3.5-1, other information elements having similar or identical meanings may also be used. Table 8.Y.3.5-1 may include other appropriate information elements. 8.Y.3.5 Common EAS Information Subscription Response Table 8.Y.3.5-1 describes the information elements of the common EAS information subscription response from the central repository to the EES. TIFF2026518578000011.tif43170

[0321] In one embodiment, clause 8.Y.3.6 of 3GPP TS23.558 V18.2.0 may be amended as follows. Note that in addition to the information elements in Table 8.Y.3.6-1, other information elements with similar / identical meanings may also be used. Table 8.Y.3.6-1 may include other appropriate information elements. 8.Y.3.6 Common EAS Information Notification Table 8.Y.3.6-1 describes the information elements for common EAS information notification from the central repository to the EES. TIFF2026518578000012.tif43170

[0322] This embodiment offers many advantages, some of which are listed below without limitation. In some embodiments, the proposed solution allows an EAS to assist in finding other EASs that provide the same service to the same group of applications. In some embodiments, the proposed solution allows an EAS to initiate data synchronization with a common EAS it has acquired. In one embodiment of this embodiment, a central repository (CR) provides a new service and provides common EAS information available within the CR, making the common EAS information acquired by other network functions such as an EAS available for various purposes. This embodiment is not limited to the features and advantages described above. Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages by reading the detailed description below.

[0323] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an apparatus suitable for carrying out some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, one of the above EAS, EES, or central repository may be implemented as or through apparatus 700.

[0324] The device 700 includes at least one processor 721 (e.g., a digital processor (DP)) and at least one memory (MEM) 722 connected to the processor 721. The device 700 may further include a transmitter TX and a receiver RX 723 connected to the processor 721. The MEM 722 stores a program (PROG) 724. The PROG 724 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor 721, enable the device 700 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The combination of at least one processor 721 and at least one MEM 722 may form processing means 725 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0325] Various embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented by computer programs, software, firmware, hardware, or combinations thereof that can be executed by one or more processors 721.

[0326] MEM722 is of any type suitable for the local technology environment and can be implemented using any appropriate data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory (as an unspecified example).

[0327] Processor 721 can be any type suitable for the local technological environment and may include, in non-limiting examples, general-purpose computers, dedicated computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multi-core processor architectures.

[0328] In embodiments in which the device is implemented as an EAS, the memory 722 contains instructions that can be executed by the processor 721, thereby causing the EAS to operate in any of the EAS-related methods described above.

[0329] In embodiments in which the device is an EES or implemented in an EES, the memory 722 contains instructions that can be executed by the processor 721, thereby causing the EES to operate in any of the EES-related methods described above.

[0330] In embodiments in which the device is implemented as a central repository, the memory 722 contains instructions that can be executed by the processor 721, thereby causing the central repository to operate according to any of the methods related to the central repository described above.

[0331] Figure 8a is a block diagram showing an EAS according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the EAS 800 includes a send module 801 configured to send a first request to an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a central repository. The first request may be used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for an application group. The EAS 800 may further include a receive module 802 configured to receive a first message from the EES or central repository. The first message may include common EAS information about an application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. In one embodiment, the first request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0332] In one embodiment, the EAS800 may further include a start module 803 configured to initiate data synchronization with at least one common EAS identified by common EAS information for an application group.

[0333] Figure 8b is a block diagram showing an EES according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the EES 810 may include a first receiving module 811 configured to receive a first request from an edge application server (EAS). The first request may be used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The EES 810 may further include a first sending module 812 configured to send a first message to an EAS. The first message may include common EAS information about the application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. In one embodiment, the first request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0334] In one embodiment, the EES 810 may further include a second sending module 813 configured to send a second request to a central repository. The second request is used to retrieve information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for an application group. In one embodiment, the second request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0335] In one embodiment, the EES810 may further include a second receiving module 814 configured to receive a second message from a central repository. The second message may include common EAS information for an application group.

[0336] In one embodiment, if the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the EES 810 may further include a third receiving module 815 configured to receive a common EAS information subscription response from the central repository.

[0337] Figure 8c is a block diagram showing a central repository 820 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the central repository 820 may include a receiving module 821 configured to receive a second request from an edge enabler server (EES) or a first request from an edge application server (EAS). The first request and / or second request is used to obtain information about at least one common edge application server (EAS) currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group. The central repository 820 may further include a first sending module 822 configured to send a second message to an EES or a first message to an EAS. The first message and / or second message may include common EAS information about the application group. In one embodiment, the application group may be a group of UEs using the same application. In one embodiment, the first request and / or second request may include an application group identifier that identifies the application group.

[0338] In one embodiment, if the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the central repository 820 may further include a second transmission module 823 configured to send a common EAS information subscription response to the EES.

[0339] The terms “unit” or “module” have their traditional meanings in the fields of electronics, electrical equipment and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memory, logical solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing each task, procedure, calculation, output and / or display function, as described herein.

[0340] When using functional units, the EAS, EES, or central repository does not require a fixed processor or memory, and any computing and storage resources can be deployed from the EAS, EES, or central repository within the communication system. The introduction of virtualization and network computing technologies can potentially improve the efficiency of network resource utilization and network flexibility.

[0341] Furthermore, an example communication system including terminal devices and network nodes is presented below.

[0342] Figure 9 shows an example of a communication system QQ100 according to several embodiments.

[0343] In this example, the communication system QQ100 includes a telecommunications network QQ102 which includes an access network QQ104 such as a radio access network (RAN) and a core network QQ106 which includes one or more core network nodes QQ108. The access network QQ104 includes one or more access network nodes such as network nodes QQ110a and QQ110b (one or more of which may generally be referred to as network node QQ110), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. Furthermore, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which the radio portion and baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that a network node includes a subdivided implementation or a part thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunications network QQ102 includes one or more open RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node within the telecommunications network QQ102 that supports ORAN standards (e.g., standards published by the O-RAN Alliance or any similar organization) and can operate alone or in conjunction with other nodes to implement one or more functions of any node within the telecommunications network QQ102, including one or more network nodes QQ110 and / or core network node QQ108.

[0344] Examples of ORAN network nodes include open central units (O-CUs) including open radio units (O-RUs), open distributed units (O-DUs), O-CU control planes (O-CU-CPs), or O-CU user planes (O-CU-UPs), RAN intelligent controllers (near-real-time or non-real-time) hosting software or software plugins such as quasi-real-time control applications or non-real-time control applications, or any combination thereof (the adjective "open" specifies support for ORAN standards). Network nodes can support ORAN standards by supporting interfaces defined by ORAN standards, such as A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interfaces, open fronthaul user plane interfaces, or open fronthaul management plane interfaces. Furthermore, ORAN access nodes may be logical nodes within physical nodes. In addition, ORAN network nodes may be implemented in a virtualized environment (described further later) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform organized by a service management and orchestration framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or equivalent technology. Network node QQ110 facilitates direct or indirect connectivity of user equipment (UEs) by connecting UEQQ112a, QQ112b, QQ112c, and QQ112d (one or more of which may generally be referred to as UEQQ112) to the core network QQ106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0345] Exemplary wireless communication on a wireless connection includes transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for carrying information without using wires, cables, or other physical conductors. Furthermore, in various embodiments, the communication system QQ100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals, whether wired or wireless. The communication system QQ100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, wireless network, and / or other similar types of systems.

[0346] UEQQ112 may be any of a broad range of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network node QQ110 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node QQ110 is arranged, can communicate, is configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UEQQ112 and / or other network nodes or devices in telecommunications network QQ102 in order to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as management within telecommunications network QQ102.

[0347] In the illustrated example, core network QQ106 connects network node QQ110 to one or more hosts, such as host QQ116. These connections may be direct or indirect, mediated by one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly connected to hosts. Core network QQ106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node QQ108) structured by hardware and software components. The functions of these components may be substantially the same as those described for the UE, network nodes, and / or hosts, and therefore those descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of core network node QQ108. An exemplary core network node includes one or more of the following functions: Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier Decryption Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protected Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or User Plane Function (UPF).

[0348] Host QQ116 may be owned by or under the control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network QQ104 and / or the telecommunications network QQ102, and may be operated by or on behalf of such service provider. Host QQ116 may host a variety of applications and provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as acquisition and editing of data on various ambient conditions detected by multiple UEs, analytical functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0349] Overall, the QQ100 communication system in Figure 9 enables connectivity between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as certain standards, including but not limited to: GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), LTE (Long Term Evolution), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., 6G), WLAN (wireless local area network) standards such as the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standard (WiFi), and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, NFC (Near Field Communication), ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any LPWAN (low-power wide-area network) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0350] In some examples, the telecommunications network QQ102 is a cellular network that implements functions standardized by 3GPP. Therefore, the telecommunications network QQ102 may support network slicing to provide various logical networks to various devices connected to the telecommunications network QQ102. For example, the telecommunications network QQ102 may provide ultra-high reliability low latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs while providing extended mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or provide massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to further UEs.

[0351] In some examples, UEQQ112 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to transmit information to access network QQ104 on a predetermined schedule, triggered by internal or external events, or in response to a request from access network QQ104. Additionally, the UE may be configured to operate in single or multi-RAT, or multi-standards mode. For example, the UE may be configured to operate in any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0352] In the above example, Hub QQ114 communicates with access network QQ104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UEQQQ112c and / or QQ112d) and a network node (e.g., network node QQ110b). In some examples, Hub QQ114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, Hub QQ114 may be a broadband router that enables the UE to access the core network QQ106. In another example, Hub QQ114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators within the UE. Commands or instructions may be received from the UE or network node QQ110, or accepted by executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions within Hub QQ114. In yet another example, Hub QQ114 may be a data collector acting as temporary storage for the UE's data, and in some embodiments, it may perform analysis or other processing of that data. In another example, the hub QQ114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub QQ114 may acquire media or data related to VR assets, video, audio, or other sensory information via network nodes, in which case the hub QQ114 provides it to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub QQ114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE, in particular when one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0353] Hub QQ114 may have a steady / persistent or intermittent connection to network node QQ110b. Furthermore, Hub QQ114 may enable different communication methods and / or schedules between Hub QQ114 and UEs (e.g., UE QQ112c and / or QQ112d), and between Hub QQ114 and the core network QQ106. In another example, Hub QQ114 is connected to the core network QQ106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Additionally, Hub QQ114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider on the access network QQ104 and / or to other UEs via a direct connection. In some scenarios, a UE may establish a wireless connection with network node QQ110 while still being connected via Hub QQ114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a dedicated hub, i.e., a hub whose primary function is to route communication between the UE and the network node QQ110b. In other embodiments, the hub QQ114 may be a non-dedicated hub, i.e., a device that can operate to route communication between the UE and the network node QQ110b, but in addition to that, can operate as a communication start and / or end point for some data channel.

[0354] Figure 10 shows several embodiments of the UEQQ200. As used herein, UE refers to a device that is capable of, configured, deployed, and / or operating wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cell phones, VoIP (Voice over IP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback appliances, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop-mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), vehicles, in-vehicle or vehicle-embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, Machine Type Communications (MTC) UEs, and / or Enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0355] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for side-link communication, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE does not necessarily have a user in the sense of a person who owns and / or operates the device in question. Instead, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but may not be associated with a particular human user, at least initially. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart power meter) that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user, but may be associated with a user or operated for the benefit of a user.

[0356] The UEQQ200 includes an input / output interface QQ206, a power supply QQ208, a memory QQ210, a communication interface QQ212, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof, and a processing circuit QQ202 operably connected via a bus QQ204. A certain UE may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 10. The level of integration between components may vary between one UE and another. Furthermore, a certain UE may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0357] The processing circuit QQ202 is configured to process instruction sets and data, and may implement some sequential state machine capable of executing instruction sets stored in memory QQ210 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit QQ202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.), programmable logic with appropriate firmware, one or more stored computer programs, a general-purpose processor such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) with appropriate software, or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit QQ202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0358] In the above example, the input / output interface QQ206 may be configured to provide input devices, output devices, or one or more interfaces to one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, emitters, smart cards, other output devices, or any combination thereof. Input devices may allow a user to capture information to the UEQQ200. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, webcams, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional pads, trackpads, scroll wheels, and smart cards. Presence-sensitive displays may include capacitive or resistive touch sensors for sensing user input. Sensors may include, for example, accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt sensors, force sensors, magnetic sensors, optical sensors, proximity sensors, biosensors, or any combination thereof. Output devices may use the same type of interface port as input devices. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide input and output devices.

[0359] In some embodiments, the power supply QQ208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a solar power device, or a battery. The power supply QQ208 may further include a power circuit for transmitting power from the power supply QQ208 itself and / or an external power source to various parts of the UEQQ200 via an interface such as an input circuit or a power cable. Power transmission may be, for example, for charging the power supply QQ208. The power circuit may perform some shaping, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power supply QQ208 to suit the power of each component of the UEQQ200 to which it is supplied.

[0360] Memory QQ210 may be, or may be configured to include, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, and flash drives. In one example, memory QQ210 includes one or more application programs QQ214, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data QQ216. Memory QQ210 may store any of a wide variety of operating systems or combinations of multiple operating systems for use by UEQQ200.

[0361] The QQ210 memory may be configured to include multiple physical drive units such as RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks), flash memory, USB flash drives, external hard disk drives, thumb drives, pen drives, key drives, HD-DVD (High-Density Digital Versatile Disc), optical disc drives, internal hard disk drives, Blu-ray optical disc drives, HDDS (Holographic Digital Data Storage) optical disc drives, external miniDIMM (Dual In-Line Memory Module), SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory), external microDIMM SDRAM, tamper-resistant modules in the form of UICC (universal integrated circuit card) including one or more SIMs (subscriber identity modules) such as USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly known as a "SIM card". Memory QQ210 may enable UEQQ200 to access instruction sets and application programs stored in temporary or non-temporary storage media to offload or upload data. Product items, such as those utilizing communication systems, may be tangibly embodied as or within memory QQ210, which is a device-readable storage medium or may contain one.

[0362] The processing circuit QQ202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface QQ212. The communication interface QQ212 may include one or more communication subsystems, including or communicatively connected to an antenna QQ222. The communication interface QQ212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of other wirelessly communicable devices (e.g., other UEs or network nodes in the access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter QQ218 and / or receiver QQ220 appropriate for providing network communication (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency-allocated, etc.). Furthermore, the transmitter QQ218 and receiver QQ220 may be connected to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna QQ222), and they may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, be implemented separately.

[0363] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication interface QQ212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, near-field communication such as Bluetooth, location-based communication such as the use of GPS (Global Positioning System) for location determination, other similar communication functions, or any combination thereof. The communication may be implemented in accordance with one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMAX, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

[0364] Regardless of the sensor type, the UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensor to a network node via a wireless connection through its own communication interface QQ212. The data captured by the UE's sensor may be communicated to a network node via another UE through a wireless connection. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if reporting sensed temperature), random (e.g., to equalize the load from notifications from multiple sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., moisture is detected and an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or as a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0365] Other examples include actuators, motors, or switches associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. The state of the actuator, motor, or switch may change in response to the received wireless input. For example, the UE may include a motor that adjusts the control surface or rotor of a drone in flight according to the received input, or a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0366] If a UE is in the form of an IoT (Internet of Things) device, it may be a device for use in one or more application domains, which include, but are not limited to, wearable technology in urban environments, augmented industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-exclusive examples of such IoT devices include, or are incorporated into, devices such as, connected refrigerators or freezers, TVs, connected lighting fixtures, electric meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, moisture detectors (flood / moisture sensors), electric door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, autonomous vehicles, surveillance systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smartwatches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearables for haptic enhancement or sensory improvement, water sprinklers, animal or object tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any type of medical device such as heart rate monitors or remotely controlled surgical robots. The UE in the form of an IoT device comprises, in addition to circuitry and / or software that depends on the intended application of the IoT device, other components such as those described in relation to the UEQQ200 shown in Figure 10.

[0367] In another specific example, in an IoT scenario, the UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to other UEs and / or network nodes. In this case, the UE may be an M2M device and may be referred to as an MTC device in the context of 3GPP. In one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, the UE may represent a vehicle such as a passenger car, bus, truck, ship or aircraft, or other equipment capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0368] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together for a single use case. For example, the first UE may be a drone or integrated into a drone and provide speed information of the drone (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes a change from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the drone's throttle (for example, by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first and / or second UE may include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, the UE may include sensors and actuators and handle data communication for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0369] Figure 11 shows network node QQ300 according to several embodiments. As used herein, network node means equipment that is capable of communicating directly or indirectly with the UE and / or other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunications network, and is configured, positioned and / or operational in such a manner. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points) and base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, node Bs, evolved node Bs (eNBs), and NR node Bs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes, and components of O-RAN nodes (e.g., O-RUs, O-DUs, O-CUs).

[0370] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, in other words, their transmit power level), and therefore may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations, depending on the amount of coverage they provide. A base station may also be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay device. Network nodes may also include one or all of the parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit, a distributed unit (e.g., in an O-RAN access node), and / or a remote radio unit (RRU) sometimes called a remote radio head (RRH). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna, such as an antenna-integrated radio. Some parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes within a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0371] Other examples of network nodes include multi-transmitting point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BS, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base station transceivers (BTSs), transmit points, transmit nodes, multi-cell / multicast cooperative entities (MCEs), operation and maintenance (O&M) nodes, operation support system (OSS) nodes, self-organizing network (SON) nodes, and positioning nodes (including, for example, evolved serving mobile location centers (E-SMLCs) and / or drive test minimization (MDTs)).

[0372] Network node QQ300 includes a processing circuit QQ302, memory QQ304, a communication interface QQ306, and a power supply QQ308. Network node QQ300 may consist of multiple physically separate components (e.g., node B component and RNC component, or BTS component and BSC component), each of which may have its own respective components. In a scenario in which network node QQ300 has multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of these separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple node B. In such a scenario, each unique pair of node B and RNC may, in some examples, be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, network node QQ300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be redundant (e.g., separate memory QQ304 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna QQ310 may be shared by multiple different RATs). Furthermore, the network node QQ300 may include multiple sets of diverse exemplified components for various wireless technologies integrated into the network node QQ300, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or sets of chips and other components within the network node QQ300.

[0373] The processing circuit QQ302 may include one or more combinations of microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, central processing units, digital signal processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or other suitable computing devices, resources, or hardware, software, and / or coding logic, which can operate alone or in conjunction with other network node QQ300 components such as memory QQ304 to provide the functionality of the network node QQ300.

[0374] In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 includes a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 includes one or more of the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit QQ312 and the baseband processing circuit QQ314. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit QQ312 and the baseband processing circuit QQ314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), substrates, or units, such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit QQ312 and the baseband processing circuit QQ314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, substrate, or unit.

[0375] Memory QQ304 may include, but is not limited to, any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), large storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile non-temporary device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device, for storing information, data and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit QQ302. Memory QQ304 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including applications, and / or other instructions, which can be executed by the processing circuit QQ302 and are available to the network node QQ300. Memory QQ304 may be used to store any calculation results produced by the processing circuit QQ302 and / or any data received via the communication interface QQ306. In some embodiments, the processing circuit QQ302 and memory QQ304 are integrated.

[0376] The communication interface QQ306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks, and / or UEs. As illustrated, the communication interface QQ306 includes, for example, a port / terminal QQ316 for sending and receiving data to and from the network over a wired connection. The communication interface QQ306 also includes a wireless front-end circuit QQ318, which is connected to or, in some embodiments, part of the antenna QQ310. The wireless front-end circuit QQ318 includes a filter QQ320 and an amplifier QQ322. The wireless front-end circuit QQ318 may be connected to the antenna QQ310 and the processing circuit QQ302. The wireless front-end circuit may be configured to adjust signals communicated between the antenna QQ310 and the processing circuit QQ302. The wireless front-end circuit QQ318 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via the wireless connection. The wireless front-end circuit QQ318 can convert its digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filter QQ320 and / or amplifier QQ322. The radio signal can then be transmitted via antenna QQ310. Similarly, when data is received, antenna QQ310 collects the radio signal, which can then be converted into digital data by the wireless front-end circuit QQ318. The digital data can then be passed to processing circuit QQ302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0377] In one alternative embodiment, network node QQ300 does not include a separate radio front-end circuit QQ318; rather, processing circuit QQ302 includes the radio front-end circuit and is connected to antenna QQ310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit QQ312 are part of the communication interface QQ306. In yet another embodiment, the communication interface QQ306, as part of a radio unit (not shown), includes one or more ports or terminals QQ316, a radio front-end circuit QQ318, and an RF transceiver circuit QQ312, and the communication interface QQ306 communicates with a baseband processing circuit QQ314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0378] Antenna QQ310 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna QQ310 may be connected to the wireless front-end circuit QQ318 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In one embodiment, antenna QQ310 is separate from the network node QQ300 and can be connected to the network node QQ300 through an interface or port.

[0379] The antenna QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuit QQ302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or acquisition operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from the UE, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna QQ310, the communication interface QQ306, and / or the processing circuit QQ302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to the UE, other network nodes, and / or any other network equipment.

[0380] The power supply QQ308 provides power to the various components of the network node QQ300 in a format appropriate for each component (for example, at the voltage and current levels required for each component). The power supply QQ308 may further include, or be connected to, a power management circuit for supplying power to the components of the network node QQ300 to perform the functions described herein. For example, the network node QQ300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as an electrical cable, thereby allowing the external power source to power the power supply QQ308's power circuit. As a further example, the power supply QQ308 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated into the power circuit. The battery may provide backup power in case of failure of the external power source.

[0381] Embodiments of network node QQ300 may include additional components other than those shown in Figure 11 to provide a functional view of the network node, including any functionality necessary to support any of the functionalities described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, network node QQ300 may include user interface equipment that enables input of information to and output of information from network node QQ300. This may enable users to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on network node QQ300.

[0382] Figure 12 is a block diagram of a host QQ400 that may be an embodiment of host QQ116 in Figure 9, relating to the various aspects described herein. Where used herein, host QQ400 may be, or include, a variety of hardware and / or software, including standalone servers, blade servers, cloud-implemented servers, distributed servers, virtual machines, containers, or processing resources within a server farm. Host QQ400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0383] The host QQ400 includes an input / output interface QQ406, a network interface QQ408, a power supply QQ410, and a processing circuit QQ402 operably connected via bus QQ404 to memory QQ412. In other embodiments, other components may be included. The functions of these components may be substantially the same as those described with respect to terminal devices, and thus their descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the host QQ400.

[0384] Memory QQ412 may include one or more computer programs, including one or more host application programs QQ414, and data QQ416, which may include user data, such as data generated by the UE for the host QQ400 or data generated by the host QQ400 for the UE. Embodiments of the host QQ400 may utilize only a subset or all of the illustrated components. The host application program QQ414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., VVC (Versatile Video Coding), HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), AVC (Advanced Video Coding), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). Furthermore, the host application program QQ414 may provide user authentication and license checks, and may periodically report health, route, and content availability to central nodes such as devices within or at the edge of the core network. Thus, host QQ400 may select and / or point to different hosts for over-the-top services for the UE. The host application program QQ414 may support a variety of protocols, such as HLS (HTTP Live Streaming), RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol), RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol), and MPEG-DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP).

[0385] Figure 13 is a block diagram showing a virtualization environment QQ500 in which functions implemented by several embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means generating a device or a virtual version of a device, which may include a virtualization hardware platform, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any of the devices or components thereof described herein and relates to implementation examples in which at least some of its functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented within one or more virtualization environments QQ500 hosted by one or more hardware nodes, such as network nodes, UEs, core network nodes, or hardware computing devices acting as hosts. Furthermore, in embodiments in which the virtual nodes do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes or hosts), the nodes as a whole may be virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment QQ500 includes a set of components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment organized by a service management and orchestration framework via an O-2 interface.

[0386] Application QQ502 (which may alternatively be called a software instance, virtual appliance, network function, virtual node, virtual network function, etc.) runs in a virtualized environment QQ500 to implement some of the features, functions and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0387] The hardware QQ504 includes a processing circuit, memory for storing software and / or instruction sets executable by the hardware processing circuit, and / or hardware devices as described herein, such as network interfaces and input / output interfaces. The software is executed by the processing circuit to instantiate one or more virtualization layers QQ506 (also referred to as a hypervisor or virtual machine monitor (VMM)), provide VMQQ508A and VMQQ508B (one or more of which may generally be referred to as VMQQ508), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described herein in relation to some of the embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer QQ506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to VMQQ508 as networking hardware.

[0388] VMQQ508 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be executed by the corresponding virtualization layer QQ506. Various embodiments of instances of the virtual appliance QQ502 may be implemented in one or more of VMQQ508, and such implementation may be carried out in various ways. Hardware virtualization is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) in several contexts. NFV can be used to consolidate many types of network equipment into industry-standard, high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that can reside in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0389] In the context of NFV, VMQQ508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs a program as if it were running on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VMQQ508, and the portion of hardware QQ504 on which the VM runs, whether dedicated hardware for that VM or hardware shared by that VM with other VMs, forms a separate virtual network element. In the context of NFV, the virtual network function is further responsible for handling the specific network functions running in one or more VMQQ508 operating on hardware QQ504, and corresponds to application QQ502.

[0390] Hardware QQ504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general-purpose or specific components. Hardware QQ504 may implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, Hardware QQ504 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., one in a data center or CPE) in which numerous hardware nodes cooperate and are managed via Management and Orchestration QQ510, which oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of application QQ502. In some embodiments, Hardware QQ504 is coupled to one or more radio units, each including one or more transmitters and one or more receivers, which can be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more suitable network interfaces, or they may be used in combination with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to virtual nodes, such as radio access nodes or base stations. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided in conjunction with the use of a control system QQ512, which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0391] Figure 14 shows a communication diagram of host QQ602 communicating with UEQQ606 via network node QQ604 over a partially wireless connection, according to one of several embodiments. Exemplary implementations of various embodiments of the UE (UEQQ112a in Figure 9), network node (network node QQ110a in Figure 9), and host (host QQ116 in Figure 9 and / or host QQ400 in Figure 12), discussed in the preceding paragraphs, will now be described with reference to Figure 14.

[0392] Similar to host QQ400, embodiments of host QQ602 include hardware such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. Host QQ602 also includes software stored within or accessible by host QQ602, which is executable by the processing circuitry. This software may include a host application that can operate to provide services to remote users, such as UEQQ606 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection QQ650 extending between UEQQ606 and host computer QQ602. While providing services to remote users, the host application may provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection QQ650.

[0393] Network node QQ604 includes hardware that enables communication with hosts QQ602 and UEQQ606. Connection QQ660 can be direct or traverse one or more other intermediate networks, such as a core network (like core network QQ106 in Figure 9) and / or one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the internet.

[0394] UEQQ606 includes hardware and software stored within or accessible by UEQQ606, which is executable by the UE's processing circuitry. This software may include a client application, such as a web browser or a service provider-specific “app,” which, with the support of host QQ602, may operate to provide services to human or non-human users via UEQQ606. On host QQ602, the host application being executed may communicate with the client application being executed via an OTT connection QQ650 terminating at UEQQ606 and host QQ602. While providing services to a user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to that request data. The OTT connection QQ650 may transport both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate user data that it provides to the host application via the OTT connection QQ650.

[0395] The OTT connection QQ650 extends via connection QQ660 between host QQ602 and network node QQ604, and via wireless connection QQ670 between network node QQ604 and UEQQ606, potentially providing connectivity between host QQ602 and UEQQ606. The connections QQ660 and wireless connection QQ670, which may provide the OTT connection QQ650, are abstractly depicted to illustrate communication between host QQ602 and UEQQ606 via network node QQ604, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices or the precise routing of messages through those devices.

[0396] As an example of transmitting data via an OTT connection QQ650, in step QQ608, host QQ602 provides user data, which may be done by running a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user interacting with UEQQ606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UEQQ606 sharing data with host QQ602 without explicit human interaction. In step QQ610, host QQ602 initiates a transmission to UEQQ606 carrying the user data. Host QQ602 may initiate such a transmission in response to a request transmitted by UEQQ606. Such a request may be triggered by human interaction with UEQQ606 or by the operation of a client application running on UEQQ606. Such a transmission may pass through network node QQ604 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described through this disclosure. Accordingly, in step QQ612, network node QQ604 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host QQ602 to UEQQ606, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described through this disclosure. In step QQ614, UEQQ606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be done by a client application running on UEQQ606 associated with a host application running on host QQ602.

[0397] In some examples, UEQQ606 runs a client application, thereby providing user data destined for host QQ602. User data may be provided in reaction to or in response to receiving data from host QQ602. Accordingly, in step QQ616, UEQQ606 may provide user data, which may be done by running a client application. While providing user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via the input / output interface of UEQQ606. Regardless of the specific way in which the user data is provided, in step QQ618, UEQQ606 begins transmitting the user data to host QQ602 via network node QQ604. In step QQ620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described through this disclosure, network node QQ604 receives user data from UEQQ606 and begins transmitting the received user data to host QQ602. In step QQ622, host QQ602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UEQQ606.

[0398] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UEQQ606 using OTT connectivity QQ650, with wireless connectivity QQ670 forming the final segment. More precisely, in one embodiment of this specification, the proposed solution can help an EAS find other EASs that provide the same services to the same application group. In one embodiment of this specification, the proposed solution enables an EAS to initiate data synchronization with a acquired common EAS. In one embodiment of this specification, a new service is provided by a central repository (CR), which provides common EAS information available within the CR, allowing other network functions such as EASs to use the acquired common EAS information for various purposes.

[0399] In an exemplary scenario, the host QQ602 may collect and analyze factory status information. In another example, the host QQ602 may process audio and video data, which may be acquired from the UE, for use in generating maps. In yet another example, the host QQ602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., traffic light control). In yet another example, the host QQ602 may store surveillance video uploaded by the UE. In yet another example, the host QQ602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR that can be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. In yet another example, the host QQ602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads for balancing power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as editing diagrams from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, acquiring, storing, analyzing, and / or transmitting data.

[0400] In some examples, measurement procedures may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors that may be improved by one or more embodiments. Further network functionality may exist as an option for reconfiguring the OTT connection QQ650 between host QQ602 and UEQQ606 in response to variations in the measurement results. The above measurement procedures and / or network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of host QQ602 and / or UEQQ606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with other devices through which the OTT connection QQ650 passes, and these sensors may participate in the measurement procedures by supplying values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above or values ​​of other physical quantities, from which the monitored quantities may be calculated or estimated by software. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection QQ650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration does not need to directly change the operation of network node QQ604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known or in use in the art. In one embodiment, the measurement may include proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the measurement of throughput, propagation time, and latency by the host QQ602. The measurement may be implemented by the software monitoring propagation time, errors, etc., while sending messages that are specifically empty or "dummy" messages using an OTT connected QQ650.

[0401] While the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include combinations of illustrated hardware components, other embodiments may include computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The decisions, calculations, acquisitions, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuits, which may process information by, for example, converting acquired information to other information, comparing acquired or converted information with information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired or converted information, and making decisions as a result of the processing. Furthermore, while components are depicted as single boxes located within larger boxes or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may include multiple different physical components that make up the illustrated single component, and functionality may be separated between distinct components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and the functionality of those components may be separated between the processing circuit and the communication interface. In other examples, computationally intensive functions of any of these components may be implemented in software or firmware, while computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0402] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionalities described herein may be provided by a processing circuit executing a set of instructions stored in memory, which may be a computer program product in the form of a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionalities may be provided by the processing circuit, such as in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored in separate or discrete device-readable storage mediums. In any of these specific embodiments, the processing circuit can be configured to perform the functionalities described, whether or not it executes instructions stored in a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium. The benefits provided by such functionalities are not limited to the processing circuit alone or other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by the end user and the wireless network in general.

[0403] Embodiment 1. A host operating to provide over-the-top (OTT) services in a communication system, the host includes:

[0404] Processing circuits configured to provide user data; and

[0405] A network interface configured to initiate the transmission of user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user device (UE), wherein the network node has a communication interface and processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry of the network node is configured to perform one of the operations performed by the network node described above in order to transmit user data from the host to the UE.

[0406] Embodiment 2. In the host of the preceding embodiment,

[0407] The host processing circuit is configured to run a host application that provides user data; and

[0408] The UE includes processing circuitry configured to run a client application associated with the host application and receive user data transmitted from the host.

[0409] Embodiment 3. A method implemented on a host configured to operate in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UE), the method comprising the following steps:

[0410] Providing user data to the UE; and

[0411] The transmission of user data to the UE is initiated via the cellular network, which includes the aforementioned network nodes. Here, the network nodes perform the network node operations described above to transmit user data from the host to the UE.

[0412] Embodiment 4. A method of a prior embodiment further includes transmitting user data for the UE provided by the host at a network node.

[0413] Embodiment 5. In one of the two preceding embodiments, user data is provided by running a host application on the host that interacts with a client application running on the UE, and the client application is associated with the host application.

[0414] Embodiment 6. A communication system configured to provide over-the-top (OTT) services, wherein the communication system is

[0415] A host, including:

[0416] Processing circuits that provide user data for user equipment (UE), said user data is associated with over-the-top services; and

[0417] A network interface configured to initiate the transmission of user data to a cellular network node equipped with a communication interface and processing circuitry for sending and receiving user data, wherein the processing circuitry of the network node is configured to transmit user data from the host to the UE by performing one of the operations performed by the network node as described above.

[0418] Embodiment 7. A communication system of a prior embodiment, further comprising:

[0419] Network node; and / or

[0420] User equipment.

[0421] Embodiment 8. In the communication systems of the two preceding embodiments,

[0422] The host processing circuit is configured to run the host application and provide user data; and

[0423] The host application is configured to interact with client applications running on the UE, and the client applications are associated with the host application.

[0424] Embodiment 9. A host configured to operate within a communication system to provide over-the-top (OTT) services, the host includes:

[0425] A processing circuit configured to initiate the reception of user data; and

[0426] A network interface configured to receive user data from a network node in a cellular network, wherein the network node has a communication interface and processing circuitry, and the processing circuitry of the network node is configured to receive user data from the UE for the host by performing one of the operations performed by the network node as described above.

[0427] Embodiment 10. A host according to two preceding embodiments, comprising:

[0428] The host processing circuit is configured to run the host application and provide user data; and

[0429] The host application is configured to interact with client applications running on the UE, and the client applications are associated with the host application.

[0430] Embodiment 11. In the two preceding embodiments, the host initiates the reception of user data, which includes a request for user data.

[0431] Embodiment 12. A method performed by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0432] The host begins receiving user data from the UE, which originates from a transmission received by the network node from the UE. The network node then performs the network node operations described above to receive the user data from the UE on behalf of the host.

[0433] Embodiment 13. A method of a prior embodiment, further comprising transmitting the received user data to the host at the network node.

[0434] Embodiment 14. A host that operates in a communication system and provides over-the-top (OTT) services, the host includes:

[0435] Processing circuit that provides user data; and

[0436] A network interface is configured to initiate the transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user device (UE), where the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, and the UE's communication interface and processing circuitry are configured to perform one of the operations performed by the UE described above in order to receive user data from the host.

[0437] Embodiment 15. In the host of the preceding embodiment, the cellular network further includes network nodes configured to communicate with the UE in order to transmit user data from the host to the UE.

[0438] Embodiment 16. The host of the two preceding embodiments,

[0439] The host processing circuit is configured to run the host application and provide user data; and

[0440] The host application is configured to interact with client applications running on the UE, and the client applications are associated with the host application.

[0441] Embodiment 17. A method performed by a host operating in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UE), comprising the following steps:

[0442] Provide user data to the UE; and

[0443] The transmission of user data to the UE begins via the cellular network, which includes the aforementioned network nodes, where the UE performs one of the operations described above to receive user data from the host.

[0444] Embodiment 18. A method of a prior embodiment, further comprising:

[0445] On the host, the host application associated with the client application running on the UE is executed to receive user data from the UE.

[0446] Embodiment 19. A method of a prior embodiment, further comprising:

[0447] On the host, input data provided by the host application is sent to the client application running on the UE.

[0448] Here, user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application.

[0449] Embodiment 20. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide over-the-top (OTT) services, the host includes:

[0450] Processing circuits that utilize user data; and

[0451] A network interface configured to transmit user data to a cellular network and receive it for transmission to a user device (UE).

[0452] Here, the UE includes a communication interface and processing circuitry, and the UE's communication interface and processing circuitry are configured to perform any operations that the UE performs as described above and send user data to the host.

[0453] Embodiment 21. In the host of the preceding embodiment, the cellular network further includes network nodes configured to communicate with the UE and transmit user data from the UE to the host.

[0454] Embodiment 22. The host of the two preceding embodiments,

[0455] The host processing circuit is configured to run the host application and provide user data; and

[0456] The host application is configured to interact with client applications running on the UE, and the client applications are associated with the host application.

[0457] Embodiment 23. A method performed by a host configured to operate in a communication system further including network nodes and user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0458] On the host, the UE receives user data that it has sent to the host via the network node, and the UE then performs one of the operations described above to send the user data to the host.

[0459] Embodiment 24. A method of a prior embodiment, further comprising:

[0460] On the host, the host application associated with the client application running on the UE is executed, and user data is received from the UE.

[0461] Embodiment 25. A method of a prior embodiment, further comprising:

[0462] On the host, input data provided by the host application is sent to the client application running on the UE.

[0463] Here, user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application.

[0464] The terms “unit” or “module” have their conventional meanings in the fields of electronics, electrical equipment and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, memories, logical solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing each task, procedure, calculation, output and / or display function, such as those described herein.

[0465] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided which is physically recorded on a computer-readable storage medium, and which, when executed on at least one processor, includes instructions that cause at least one processor to perform any of the methods described above.

[0466] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores instructions causing at least one processor to perform any of the above methods when executed by at least one processor.

[0467] Furthermore, this disclosure may provide a carrier including the above-mentioned computer program, the carrier being any of the following: an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, an optical disc, or an electronic memory device such as RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory), flash memory, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, or Blu-ray disc.

[0468] The technologies described herein may be implemented by various means. Therefore, an apparatus implementing one or more functions of a corresponding apparatus described in an embodiment may include not only methods of the prior art but also means for implementing one or more functions of the corresponding apparatus described in an embodiment, and may include separate means for each individual function, or means that can be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these technologies may be implemented by hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or a combination thereof. In the case of firmware or software, implementation may be done through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described herein.

[0469] Embodiments in this specification have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flowcharts of methods and apparatus. It is understood that each block in the block diagrams and flowcharts, as well as combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowcharts, can be implemented by various means, including computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be loaded into a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, thereby creating means for instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing device to implement the functions specified in the flowchart blocks or sets of blocks.

[0470] Furthermore, while operations are presented in a specific order, this does not mean that such operations must be performed in a specific or sequential order, or that all illustrated operations must be performed, in order to achieve the desired result. In certain situations, multitasking or parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, the above discussion includes details of several specific embodiments, but these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features specific to those embodiments. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable partial combination in multiple embodiments.

[0471] While this specification includes details of many specific embodiments, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any embodiment or claim, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment of a particular embodiment. Certain features described herein in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable partial combination in multiple embodiments. Furthermore, even if features are described above as acting in a particular combination and are initially claimed as such, one or more features may be removed from the claimed combination, and the claimed combination may be directed towards a partial combination or a variation of a partial combination.

[0472] Those skilled in the art will see that, as the art progresses, the concept of the invention can be implemented in a variety of ways. The embodiments described above are presented for illustrative purposes only and not to limit the scope of the disclosure, and it should be understood that modifications and variations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such modifications and variations shall be deemed to be within the scope of the disclosure and the attached claims. The scope of protection of the disclosure is defined by the attached claims.

Claims

1. A method (300) performed by an edge application server (EAS), Sending a first request to an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a central repository (302), the first request being used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group, the application group being a group of user devices (UEs) using the same application, and the first request including an application group identifier that identifies the application group, Receiving a first message from the EES or the central repository (304), wherein the first message includes common EAS information for the application group, Methods that include...

2. The first request includes first information for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to claim 1.

3. The first request includes first information for determining the common EAS information for the application group, and an event identifier for a change in common EAS availability. The method according to claim 1.

4. The first request further includes an identifier of the requester. The method according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The first information includes a first set of characteristics for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

6. The first set of characteristics includes the EAS identifier and the application group identifier. The method according to claim 5.

7. The first requirement is, EAS discovery request, or EAS Discovery Subscription Request including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The first message mentioned above is, EAS discovery response, or EAS Discovery Notification including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. If the EAS is a first EAS that provides services to the application group and the first request is an EAS discovery request, the common EAS information for the application group includes an empty EAS list. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The aforementioned EAS is providing or is scheduled to provide services to the aforementioned application group. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. (312) further includes initiating data synchronization with at least one common EAS identified by the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. At least one common EAS for the aforementioned application group is deployed on the same edge data network or on different edge data networks. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A method (400) performed by an edge enabler server (EES), Receiving a first request from an edge application server (EAS) (402), the first request being used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group, the application group being a group of user devices (UEs) using the same application, and the first request including an application group identifier that identifies the application group, Sending a first message to the EAS (404), wherein the first message includes common EAS information for the application group, Methods that include...

14. The first request includes first information for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to claim 13.

15. The first request includes first information for determining the common EAS information for the application group, and an event identifier for a change in common EAS availability. The method according to claim 14.

16. The first request further includes an identifier of the requester. The method according to claim 14 or 15.

17. The first information includes a first set of characteristics for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to claim 15 or 16.

18. The first set of characteristics includes the EAS identifier and the application group identifier. The method according to claim 17.

19. The first requirement is, EAS discovery request, or EAS Discovery Subscription Request including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 13 to 18.

20. The first message mentioned above is, EAS discovery response, or EAS Discovery Notification including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 13 to 19.

21. If the EAS is a first EAS that provides services to the application group and the first request is an EAS discovery request, the common EAS information for the application group included in the first message includes an empty EAS list. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 20.

22. The aforementioned EAS is providing or is scheduled to provide services to the aforementioned application group. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 21.

23. At least one common EAS for the aforementioned application group is deployed on the same edge data network or on different edge data networks. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 22.

24. Sending a second request to the central repository (412), the second request being used to obtain the information of at least one common EAS currently servicing the application group, or to subscribe to the common EAS availability events for the application group, the second request including the application group identifier that identifies the application group, Receiving a second message from the central repository (414), wherein the second message includes the common EAS information for the application group, Includes The method according to any one of claims 13 to 23.

25. The second requirement includes second information for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to claim 24.

26. The second request includes second information for determining the common EAS information for the application group, and an event identifier for a common EAS availability event. The method according to claim 24.

27. The second requirement is, The identifier of the aforementioned EES, or, Security credentials Further including at least one of the The method according to claim 25 or 26.

28. The second requirement is, The identifier of the aforementioned EES, Security credentials, or Addresses to be notified Further including at least one of the The method according to claim 25 or 26.

29. The second information includes a second set of characteristics for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to any one of claims 25 to 28.

30. The second set of characteristics includes the EAS identifier and the application group identifier. The method according to claim 29.

31. The second requirement is, Request to obtain common EAS information, or Common EAS Information Subscription Request including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 24 to 30.

32. The second message is, Common EAS information acquisition response, or Common EAS Information Notification including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 24 to 31.

33. If the second message is a common EAS information acquisition response, the common EAS information acquisition response is: An information element indicating whether the second request was successful or unsuccessful, The common EAS information for the application group if the second request is successful, or Failure causes if the second request fails including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 24 to 32.

34. If the second message is a common EAS information notification, the common EAS information notification is: Subscription identifier, Event identifier, or The common EAS information for the application group including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 24 to 33.

35. If the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the method is: The further includes receiving a common EAS information subscription response from the central repository (422). The method according to any one of claims 24 to 34.

36. The aforementioned common EAS information subscription response is: An information element indicating whether the second request was successful or unsuccessful, If the second request is successful, the subscription identifier, or Failure causes if the second request fails including at least one of the The method according to claim 35.

37. A method (500) that is performed by a central repository, Receiving a second request from an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a first request from an Edge Application Server (EAS) (502), wherein the first request and / or the second request is used to obtain information about at least one common Edge Application Server (EAS) currently serving an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group, the application group being a group of user devices (UEs) using the same application, and the first request and / or the second request includes an application group identifier that identifies the application group, Sending a second message to the EES or a first message to the EAS (504), wherein the first message and / or the second message include common EAS information for the application group, Methods that include...

38. The first and / or second requirements include information for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to claim 37.

39. The first and / or second request includes information for determining the common EAS information for the application group, and an event identifier for a common EAS availability event. The method according to claim 37.

40. The first and / or second requirements are: Requester's identifier, or Security credentials Further including at least one of the The method according to claim 38 or 39.

41. The first and / or second requirements are: Requester's identifier, Security credentials, or Addresses to be notified Further including at least one of the The method according to claim 38 or 39.

42. The information for determining the common EAS information for the application group includes a set of characteristics for determining the common EAS information for the application group. The method according to any one of claims 39 to 41.

43. The aforementioned set of characteristics includes the EAS identifier and the application group identifier. The method according to claim 42.

44. The first and / or second requirements are: EAS discovery request, EAS discovery subscription request, Request to obtain common EAS information, or Common EAS Information Subscription Request including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 37 to 43.

45. The first message and / or the second message are, EAS discovery response, EAS discovery notification, Common EAS information acquisition response, or Common EAS Information Notification including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 37 to 44.

46. If the second message is a common EAS information acquisition response or the first request is an EAS discovery response, the common EAS information acquisition response or the EAS discovery response is: Information elements indicating whether the first request / the second request was successful or unsuccessful, The common EAS information for the application group if the first request / second request is successful, or Failure causes if the first request / second request fails including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 37 to 45.

47. If the second message is a common EAS information notification or the first message is an EAS discovery notification, the common EAS information notification or the EAS discovery notification is: Subscription identifier, Event identifier, or The common EAS information for the application group including at least one of the The method according to any one of claims 37 to 46.

48. If the second request is a common EAS information subscription request, the method is: (512) further includes sending a common EAS information subscription response to the aforementioned EES. The method according to any one of claims 37 to 47.

49. The aforementioned common EAS information subscription response is: An information element indicating whether the second request was successful or unsuccessful, If the second request is successful, the subscription identifier, or Failure causes if the second request fails including at least one of the The method according to claim 48.

50. An edge application server (EAS) (700), Processor (721), The memory (722) is coupled to the processor (721), Includes, The memory (722) includes instructions executed by the processor (721), thereby the EAS (700) A first request is sent to an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a central repository, where the first request is used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group, where the application group is a group of user devices (UEs) using the same application, and the first request includes an application group identifier that identifies the application group. A first message is received from the EES or the central repository, wherein the first message includes common EAS information for the application group. EAS operates in this manner.

51. The EAS further operates to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 12. The EAS according to claim 50.

52. Edge Enabler Server (EES) (700), Processor (721), The memory (722) is coupled to the processor (721), Includes, The memory (722) includes instructions executed by the processor (721), thereby the EES (700) The system receives a first request from an edge application server (EAS), where the first request is used to obtain information about at least one common EAS currently servicing an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group, where the application group is a group of user devices (UEs) using the same application, and the first request includes an application group identifier that identifies the application group. A first message is sent to the EAS, wherein the first message includes common EAS information for the application group. EES operates in this manner.

53. The EES further operates to perform the method described in any one of claims 14 to 36. The EES according to claim 52.

54. The central repository (700), Processor (721), The memory (722) is coupled to the processor (721), Includes, The memory (722) includes instructions executed by the processor (721), thereby the central repository (700) The system receives a second request from an Edge Enabler Server (EES) or a first request from an Edge Application Server (EAS), where the first and / or second requests are used to obtain information about at least one common Edge Application Server (EAS) currently serving an application group, or to subscribe to common EAS availability events for the application group, where the application group is a group of user devices (UEs) using the same application, and the first and / or second requests include an application group identifier that identifies the application group. A second message is sent to the EES or a first message is sent to the EAS, wherein the first message and / or the second message include common EAS information for the application group. A central repository that operates in this manner.

55. The central repository further operates to perform the method described in any one of claims 38 to 49. The central repository according to claim 54.

56. A computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions causing at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 49, when executed by at least one processor.

57. A computer program product that, when executed by at least one processor, includes instructions causing the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 49.

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