NETWORK NODE FOR FACILITATING NETWORK CAPABILITY DISCOVERY AND METHOD THEREIN - Patent application

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method (200) in a first network function (NF), including sending (210) a subscription request to a second NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF, the subscription request including a URI of an NF Repository Function (NRF) used to discover an alternative NF for notifications or information regarding a network slice to which the first NF belongs.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to PCT International Application No. PCT / CN2021 / 109869, entitled "NETWORK NODES AND METHODS FOR FACILITATING NETWORK FUNCTION DISCOVERY," filed July 30, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to communications technologies, and more particularly, to a network node and a method therein for facilitating network function (NF) discovery. [Background technology]

[0003] In a fifth generation (5G) system, NFs such as Session Management Function (SMF), Policy Control function (PCF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Short Message Service Function (SMSF), and Unified Data Management (UDM) may subscribe to Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) state change events via the AmfStatusChangeSubscribe operation, and the NFs may provide a callback Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) for receiving notifications in accordance with 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Standard (TS) 29.518, V17.2.0, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. In particular, Table 6.1.6.2.2-1 in TS 29.518 gives the following definition of type SubscriptionData: TIFF0007682372000001.tif50154

[0004] According to 3GPP TS 29.500, V17.3.0, which is incorporated herein in its entirety, an NF may provide a binding indication, which indicates that the AMF may send a notification to an alternative endpoint in a binding resource, for example, if the NF is no longer available or reachable.

[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates an example procedure for AMF status change notification. As shown, in 1.1, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. In 1.2, the AMF responds with a subscription response (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Response). In 1.3, the AMF detects a failure of the NF or a failure in delivery of notifications to the NF (e.g., no response is received from the NF for a predefined length of time, or the NF is not available or reachable). In this case, the AMF needs to discover an alternative NF to receive notifications based on the binding indication. Specifically, at 1.4, the AMF sends a discovery request (Nnrf_NFDiscover Request) to the NF Repository Function (NRF) with the target NF set ID set to set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc30. At 1.5, the NRF responds with one or more NF profiles of one or more NF instances in the target NF set. The AMF may then select an alternative NF from the one or more NF instances and send a notification to the alternative NF.

[0006] However, some NFs may be network slice specific or shared between network slices depending on the network deployment. For example, in a network deployment with three network slices (slice #1, slice #2, and slice #3), the AMF may be shared between all three network slices, while an NRF (NRF #1) is dedicated to slice #1 and another NRF (NRF #2) is shared between slice #2 and slice #3. In this case, in the above step 1.4 of FIG. 1, the AMF may not know which of the NRFs (NRF #1 and NRF #2) should be used for NF discovery, because the AMF may not know which NRF the NF belongs to. Summary of the Invention

[0007] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a network node and a method in the network node that can solve the above problems.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided in a first NF, the method including sending a subscription request to a second NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF, the subscription request including a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for the notification or information regarding a network slice to which the first NF belongs.

[0009] In one embodiment, the URI or information may be included in the message body of the subscription request.

[0010] In one embodiment, the URI or information may be included in a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) custom header in the subscription request.

[0011] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF Application Programming Interface (API) URI for an NF discovery service, or the information may be Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI).

[0012] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF.

[0013] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0014] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0015] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided in a second NF, the method including receiving a subscription request from a first NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF, the subscription request including a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternate NF for notifications.

[0016] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in the message body of the subscription request or in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request.

[0017] In one embodiment, the method may further include sending an NF discovery request to the NRF using the URI to discover an alternative NF, receiving an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF, and sending a notification to the alternative NF.

[0018] In one embodiment, the NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF.

[0019] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be for discovering an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0020] In one embodiment, the method may further include sending a notification including the URI to a service communication proxy (SCP) between the first NF and the second NF.

[0021] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in an HTTP custom header in the notification.

[0022] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the notification may further include the binding indication.

[0023] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0024] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0025] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0026] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided in a second NF, the method including receiving, from a first NF, a subscription request for subscribing to notifications from the second NF, the subscription request including information regarding a network slice to which the first NF belongs.

[0027] In one embodiment, the information may be included in the message body of the subscription request or in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request.

[0028] In one embodiment, the method may further include using the information to obtain a URI of an NRF associated with the network slice from a network slice selection function (NSSF).

[0029] In one embodiment, the method may further include sending an NF discovery request to the NRF using the URI to discover an alternative NF for the notification, receiving an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF, and sending the notification to the alternative NF.

[0030] In one embodiment, a URI may be obtained and / or an NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF.

[0031] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be for discovering an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0032] In one embodiment, the method may further include sending a notification including the URI to an SCP between the first NF and the second NF.

[0033] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in an HTTP custom header in the notification.

[0034] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0035] In one embodiment, the method may further include sending a notification including the information to an SCP between the first NF and the second NF.

[0036] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the notification may further include the binding indication.

[0037] In one embodiment, the information may be an S-NSSAI.

[0038] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0039] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0040] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method in an SCP between a first NF and a second NF, the method comprising: No. The method includes receiving a notification from a second NF including information regarding a network slice to which one NF belongs, using the information to obtain a URI of an NRF associated with the network slice from an NSSF, using the URI to send an NF discovery request to the NRF to discover an alternative NF for the notification, receiving an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF, and sending the notification to the alternative NF.

[0041] In one embodiment, a URI may be obtained and / or an NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure in delivery of the notification to the first NF.

[0042] In one embodiment, the notification may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be to discover an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0043] In one embodiment, the information may be an S-NSSAI and / or the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0044] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0045] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0046] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a network node comprising a communication interface, a processor, and a memory, the memory including instructions executable by the processor such that the network node is operative to perform a method according to the first aspect when implementing a first NF, or to perform a method according to the second or third aspect when implementing a second NF, or to perform a method according to the fourth aspect when implementing an SCP.

[0047] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a processor of a network node, configure the network node to perform a method according to the first aspect above when implementing a first NF, or to perform a method according to the second or third aspect above when implementing a second NF, or to perform a method according to the fourth aspect above when implementing a SCP.

[0048] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first NF may send a subscription request to a second NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF. The subscription request may include a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for the notification, or information about the network slice to which the first NF belongs. In this way, a suitable NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF may be found, for example, for NF reselection when the first NF is no longer available or reachable. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0049] The above and other objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the following drawings.

[0050] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram showing an example procedure for AMF status change notification. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method in a first NF according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method in a second NF according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method in a second NF according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method in an SCP according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an exemplary procedure for AMF status change notification according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an exemplary procedure for AMF status change notification according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an exemplary procedure for AMF status change notification according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an exemplary procedure for AMF status change notification according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an exemplary procedure for AMF status change notification according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a network node according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a network node according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a network node according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a network node according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0051] In this disclosure, a network function (or NF) may be implemented as a network element on dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on a suitable platform (e.g., on a cloud infrastructure).

[0052] References herein to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," and the like indicate that the embodiment being described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments need to include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0053] Terms such as "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various elements, but it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element can be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element can be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It is further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "includes," and / or "including," as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, and / or components, or combinations thereof.

[0054] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0055] 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 200 may be performed by a first NF (e.g., an NF consumer).

[0056] At block 210, the first NF sends a subscription request to the second NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF. The subscription request includes a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for notifications. Alternatively or additionally, the subscription request includes information about the network slice to which the first NF belongs (hereinafter referred to as "slice information").

[0057] Here, the second NF may be an NF producer (e.g., an AMF), and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer that is assumed to belong to the same network slice as the first NF.

[0058] In one example, the URI may be an NRF API URI for an NF discovery service. The slice information may be Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI).

[0059] In one example, the URI or slice information may be included in a message body (e.g., a Java Script Object Notation (JSON) body) of the subscription request. For example, the URI may be included in a type SubscriptionData. In this case, the definition of type SubscriptionData in Table 1 may be extended to include the attribute "nrfDiscUri", as shown in Table 2 below: TIFF0007682372000002.tif58154

[0060] In another example, the URI or slice information can be included in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request. For example, a new HTTP custom header "3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback" can be introduced. In particular, Table 5.2.3.2.1-1 in TS 29.500 can be extended to include the 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback header, as shown in Table 3 below: TIFF0007682372000003.tif35154

[0061] Additionally, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF. In one example, the slice information may be included in a 3gpp-Sbi-Binding header or a newly defined header.

[0062] 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 300 may be performed in a second NF, such as an NF producer (which may be, for example, an AMF).

[0063] At block 310, the second NF receives a subscription request from the first NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF, the subscription request including a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternate NF for notifications.

[0064] Here, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be a NF consumer.

[0065] In one example, the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service. The URI may be included in the message body of the subscription request (e.g., see Table 2 above) or in an HTTP custom header within the subscription request (e.g., the "3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback" header, see Table 3 above).

[0066] In one example, for example, in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF (e.g., if no response is received from the first NF for a predetermined amount of time or if the NF is not available or reachable), the second NF may send an NF discovery request to the NRF to discover an alternative NF using the URI, and may then receive an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF and send a notification to the alternative NF, where the subscription request received in block 310 may further include a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be used to discover the alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0067] In another example, in case of indirect communication between the first NF and the second NF (i.e., via an SCP), the second NF may send a notification to the SCP between the first NF and the second NF. The notification may include a URI of the NRF, where the URI may be included in an HTTP custom header (e.g., a 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri header as specified in Table 5.2.3.2.1-1 of TS 29.500) in the notification. Furthermore, the subscription request received in block 310 may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the notification may further include the binding indication.

[0068] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be performed in a second NF, such as an NF producer (which may be, for example, an AMF).

[0069] At block 410, the second NF receives a subscription request from the first NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF, the subscription request including information about a network slice to which the first NF belongs (hereinafter referred to as "slice information").

[0070] Here, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be a NF consumer.

[0071] In one example, the slice information may be an S-NSSAI. The slice information may be included in a message body of the subscription request (e.g., a JSON body or SubscriptionData) or in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request (e.g., a 3gpp-Sbi-Binding header or a newly defined header).

[0072] In one example, the second NF may use the slice information (e.g., by using Nnssf_NSSelection_Get) to obtain a URI of an NRF associated with the network slice from the NSSF, where the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0073] In one example, the second NF may send an NF discovery request to the NRF to discover an alternative NF using the URI, and then receive an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF and send a notification to the alternative NF, where the subscription request received in block 410 may further include a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be used to discover the alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0074] Here, in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF (e.g., if no response is received from the first NF for a predetermined amount of time or if the NF is not available or reachable), a URI may be obtained and / or an NF discovery request may be sent.

[0075] In another example, in case of indirect communication between the first NF and the second NF (i.e., via an SCP), the second NF may send a notification to the SCP between the first NF and the second NF. The notification may include the URI of the NRF, where the URI may be included in an HTTP custom header (e.g., a 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri header as defined in Table 5.2.3.2.1-1 of TS 29.500) in the notification. Alternatively, the notification may include slice information. Further, the subscription request received in block 410 may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the notification may further include the binding indication.

[0076] 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 500 may be performed in an SCP between a first NF (e.g., an NF consumer) and a second NF (e.g., an NF producer, which may be an AMF).

[0077] At block 510, the SCP receives a notification from the second NF to be forwarded to the first NF, the notification including information of a network slice to which the first NF belongs (hereinafter referred to as "slice information"), where the slice information may be an S-NSSAI.

[0078] At block 520, the SCP may use the slice information to obtain a URI of an NRF associated with the network slice from the NSSF (e.g., by using Nnssf_NSSelection_Get), where the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0079] In block 530, the SCP sends an NF discovery request to the NRF by using the URI to discover alternative NFs (eg, NF consumers) for the notification.

[0080] Here, the notification received in block 510 may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be used to discover an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0081] In one example, the operations at block 520 and / or the operations at block 530 may be performed, for example, in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF (e.g., if no response is received from the first NF for a predetermined amount of time or if the NF is unavailable or reachable).

[0082] At block 540, the SCP receives the NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF.

[0083] In block 550, the SCP sends a notification to the alternate NF.

[0084] In the following, the above methods 200 to 500 are further described with reference to exemplary procedures of AMF status change notification as shown in Figures 6 to 10. In these procedures, the NF (as an NF consumer) subscribes to AMF status change notifications from the AMF (as an NF producer). It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to AMF status change notifications, but are applicable to subscriptions to other AMF notifications, such as the AMF event publication service using AmfEventSubscription defined in Section 6.2.6.2.2 of TS 29.518, or more generally, subscriptions to any notification from any NF producer.

[0085] FIG. 6 illustrates an example procedure for AMF status change notification using direct communication between the NF and the AMF. As illustrated, in 6.1a, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. The request further includes in its message body (e.g., nrfDiscUri) the URI of the NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for notification. Alternatively, in 6.1b, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. teeth, It further includes in an HTTP custom header (e.g., 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback) the URI of the NRF (e.g., nnrf-disc: "https: / / nrf1.operator.com / nnrf-disc / v1 / ") used to discover an alternative NF for the notification.

[0086] In 6.2, the AMF responds with a subscription response (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Response). In 6.3, the AMF detects an NF failure or a failure in delivering notifications to the NF. In 6.4, the AMF sends a discovery request (nrf_NFDiscover Request) to the NRF using the URI with the target NF set ID set to set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc30. In 6.5, the NRF responds with one or more NF profiles of one or more NF instances in the target NF set. The AMF may then select an alternative NF from the one or more NF instances and send the notification to the alternative NF.

[0087] FIG. 7 illustrates an example procedure of AMF status change notification using direct communication between NF and AMF. As illustrated, in 7.1a, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating a binding level bl=nf-set and an NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. The request further includes information about the network slice to which the first NF belongs (hereinafter referred to as slice information, e.g., S-NSSAI) in its message body (e.g., sliceInfo). Alternatively, in 7,1b, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. The request further includes slice information (e.g., S-NSSAI) in an HTTP custom header (e.g., Slice-Info).

[0088] In 7.2, the AMF responds with a subscription response (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Response). In 7.3, the AMF detects an NF failure or a failure in delivering notifications to the NF. In 7.4, the AMF sends a request (Nnssf_NSSelection_Get) to the NSSF for the URI of the NRF associated with the slice information. In 7.5, the NSSF responds with the URI (e.g., nrfDiscUri) in the Nnssf_NSSelection_Get Response. In 7.6, the AMF sends a discovery request (nrf_NFDiscover Request) to the NRF using the URI, with the target NF set ID set to set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc30. In 7.7, the NRF responds with one or more NF profiles of one or more NF instances in the target NF set. The AMF may then select an alternative NF from the one or more NF instances and send a notification to the alternative NF. Note that step 7.4 may be performed before the failure is detected in 7.3, and step 7.6 may be performed in response to the detection of the failure.

[0089] FIG. 8 illustrates an example procedure for AMF status change notification using indirect communication between the NF and the AMF via an SCP. As illustrated, in 8.1a, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF via an SCP. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. The request further includes in its message body (e.g., nrfDiscUri) the URI of the NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for notification. Alternatively, in 8.1b, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF via an SCP. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. teeth, It further includes in an HTTP custom header (e.g., 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback) the URI of the NRF (e.g., nnrf-disc: "https: / / nrf1.operator.com / nnrf-disc / v1 / ") used to discover an alternative NF for the notification.

[0090] In 8.2, the AMF responds with a subscription response (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Response) via the SCP. In 8.3, the AMF sends a notification to the SCP. The notification includes a binding indication and a URI (e.g., in 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri). In 8.4, the SCP detects a failure of an NF or a failure in delivering the notification to the NF. In 8.5, the SCP sends a discovery request (nrf_NFDiscover Request) to the NRF using the URI with the target NF set ID set to set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc30. In 8.6, the NRF responds with one or more NF profiles of one or more NF instances in the target NF set. The SCP may then select an alternative NF from the one or more NF instances and send the notification to the alternative NF.

[0091] FIG. 9 illustrates an example procedure of AMF status change notification using indirect communication via an SCP between the NF and the AMF. As illustrated, in 9.1a, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF via an SCP. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating a binding level bl=nf-set and an NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. The request further includes information about the network slice to which the first NF belongs (hereinafter referred to as slice information, e.g., S-NSSAI) in its message body (e.g., sliceInfo). Alternatively, in 9.1b, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF via an SCP. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. The request further includes slice information (e.g., S-NSSAI) in an HTTP custom header (e.g., Slice-Info).

[0092] In 9.2, the AMF responds with a subscription response (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Response) via the SCP. In 9.3, the AMF sends a request (Nnssf_NSSelection_Get) to the NSSF for the URI of the NRF associated with the slice information. In 9.4, the NSSF responds with the URI (e.g., nrfDiscUri) in the Nnssf_NSSelection_Get Response. In 9.5, the AMF sends a notification to the SCP. The notification includes a binding indication and a URI (e.g., in 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri). In 9.6, the SCP detects a failure of the NF or a failure in delivering the notification to the NF. In 9.7, the SCP sends a discovery request (nrf_NFDiscover Request) to the NRF using the URI with the target NF set ID set to set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc30. In 9.8, the NRF responds with one or more NF profiles of one or more NF instances in the target NF set. The SCP may then select an alternate NF from the one or more NF instances and send a notification to the alternate NF.

[0093] FIG. 10 illustrates an example procedure of AMF status change notification using indirect communication between NF and AMF via SCP. As illustrated, in 10.1a, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF via SCP. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. The request further includes information about the network slice to which the first NF belongs (hereinafter referred to as slice information, e.g., S-NSSAI) in its message body (e.g., sliceInfo). Alternatively, in 10.1b, the NF sends a subscription request (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Request) to the AMF via SCP. The request includes a callback URI (amfStatusUri) and a binding indication (in 3gpp-Sbi-Binding) indicating binding level bl=nf-set and NF set ID nfset=set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc300. The request further includes slice information (e.g., S-NSSAI) in an HTTP custom header (e.g., Slice-Info).

[0094] In 10.2, the AMF responds with a subscription response (Namf_Communication_AMFStatusChangeSubscribe Response) via the SCP. In 10.3, the AMF sends a notification to the SCP. The notification includes the binding indication and slice information (e.g., S-NSSAI). In 10.4, the SCP detects an NF failure or a failure in delivering the notification to the NF. In 10.5, the SCP sends a request (Nnssf_NSSelection_Get) to the NSSF for the URI of the NRF associated with the slice information. In 10.6, the NSSF responds with the URI (e.g., nrfDiscUri) in the Nnssf_NSSelection_Get Response. In 10.7, the SCP sends a discovery request (nrf_NFDiscover Request) to the NRF using the URI with the target NF set ID set to set1.xxxset.5gc.mnc012.mcc30. At 10.8, the NRF responds with one or more NF profiles for one or more NF instances in the target NF set. The SCP may then select an alternative NF from the one or more NF instances and send a notification to the alternative NF.

[0095] Corresponding to the above-mentioned method 200, a network node is provided. Figure 11 is a block diagram of a network node 1100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The network node 1100 may be configured to implement a first NF.

[0096] The network node 1100 is operative to perform the method 200 described above in relation to Fig. 2. The network node 1100 comprises a sending unit 1110 configured to send a subscription request to the second NF for subscribing to notifications from the second NF. The subscription request includes a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for the notification or information about the network slice to which the first NF belongs.

[0097] In one embodiment, the URI or information may be included in the message body of the subscription request.

[0098] In one embodiment, the URI or information may be included in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request.

[0099] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF API URI for an NF discovery service or the information may be an S-NSSAI.

[0100] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF.

[0101] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0102] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0103] The unit 1110 may be implemented as a pure hardware solution or as a combination of software and hardware, for example by one or more of a processor or microprocessor, appropriate software and memory for storing the software, and a programmable logic device (PLD) or other electronic component(s) or processing circuitry configured to perform the operations described above and shown, for example, in FIG. 2.

[0104] A network node is provided corresponding to the above-mentioned method 300 or 400. Figure 12 is a block diagram of a network node 1200 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The network node 1200 may be configured to implement a second NF.

[0105] The network node 1200 may be operable to perform the method 300 described above in relation to Figure 3. The network node 1200 may comprise a receiving unit 1210 configured to receive a subscription request from a first NF to subscribe to notifications from a second NF, the subscription request including a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for notifications.

[0106] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in the message body of the subscription request or in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request.

[0107] In one embodiment, the network node 1200 may further comprise a sending unit configured to send an NF discovery request to the NRF using the URI to discover an alternative NF. The receiving unit 1210 may further be configured to receive an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF. The sending unit may further be configured to send a notification to the alternative NF.

[0108] In one embodiment, the NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF.

[0109] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be for discovering an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0110] In one embodiment, the network node 1200 may further comprise a sending unit configured to send a notification including the URI to a service communication proxy (SCP) between the first NF and the second NF.

[0111] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in an HTTP custom header in the notification.

[0112] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the notification may further include the binding indication.

[0113] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0114] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0115] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0116] Alternatively, the network node 1200 may be operable to perform the method 400 described above in relation to Figure 4. The network node 1200 may comprise a receiving unit 1210 configured to receive a subscription request from a first NF for subscribing to notifications from a second NF. The subscription request includes information regarding the network slice to which the first NF belongs.

[0117] In one embodiment, the information may be included in the message body of the subscription request or in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request.

[0118] In one embodiment, the network node 1200 may further comprise an obtaining unit configured to use the information to obtain from the NSSF a URI of an NRF associated with the network slice.

[0119] In one embodiment, the network node 1200 may further comprise a sending unit configured to send an NF discovery request to the NRF using the URI to discover an alternative NF for the notification. The receiving unit 1210 may be further configured to receive an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF. The sending unit may be further configured to send the notification to the alternative NF.

[0120] In one embodiment, a URI may be obtained and / or an NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF.

[0121] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be for discovering an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0122] In one embodiment, the network node 1200 may further comprise a sending unit configured to send a notification including the URI to an SCP between the first NF and the second NF.

[0123] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in an HTTP custom header in the notification.

[0124] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0125] In one embodiment, the network node 1200 may further comprise a sending unit configured to send a notification including the information to an SCP between the first NF and the second NF.

[0126] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the notification may further include the binding indication.

[0127] In one embodiment, the information may be an S-NSSAI.

[0128] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0129] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0130] Unit 1210 may be implemented as a pure hardware solution or as a combination of software and hardware, for example by one or more of a processor or microprocessor, appropriate software and memory for storing the software, and a programmable logic device (PLD) or other electronic component(s) or processing circuitry configured to perform the operations described above and shown, for example, in FIG. 3 or 4 .

[0131] Corresponding to the above-mentioned method 500, a network node is provided. Figure 13 is a block diagram of a network node 1300 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The network node 1300 may be configured to implement an SCP between a first NF and a second NF.

[0132] The network node 1300 may be operable to perform the method 500 described above in relation to FIG. 5. The network node 1300 comprises a receiving unit 1310 configured to receive a notification from a second NF to be forwarded to the first NF. The notification includes information regarding a network slice to which the first NF belongs. The network node 1300 further comprises an obtaining unit 1320 configured to obtain, from the NSSF, a URI of an NRF associated with the network slice using the information. The network node 1300 comprises a sending unit 1330 configured to send an NF discovery request to the NRF using the URI to discover an alternative NF for the notification. The receiving unit 1310 is further configured to receive, from the NRF, an NF profile of the alternative NF. The sending unit 1330 is further configured to send the notification to the alternative NF.

[0133] In one embodiment, a URI may be obtained and / or an NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure in delivery of the notification to the first NF.

[0134] In one embodiment, the notification may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be to discover an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0135] In one embodiment, the information may be an S-NSSAI and / or the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0136] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0137] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0138] Units 1310 and 1330 may be implemented as a pure hardware solution or as a combination of software and hardware, for example by one or more of a processor or microprocessor, appropriate software and memory for storing the software, and a programmable logic device (PLD) or other electronic component(s) or processing circuitry configured to perform the operations described above and shown, for example, in FIG. 5 .

[0139] FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a network node 1400 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0140] The network node 1400 comprises a communication interface 1410, a processor 1420, and a memory 1430.

[0141] The memory 1430 may include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that the network node 1400, when implementing a first NF, operates to perform operations of a procedure, e.g., as described above in relation to FIG. 2. In particular, the memory 1430 may include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that the network node 1400, when implementing a first NF, operates to send a subscription request to the second NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF. The subscription request includes a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for the notification, or information regarding the network slice to which the first NF belongs.

[0142] In one embodiment, the URI or information may be included in the message body of the subscription request.

[0143] In one embodiment, the URI or information may be included in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request.

[0144] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF API URI for an NF discovery service or the information may be an S-NSSAI.

[0145] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF.

[0146] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0147] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0148] Alternatively, the memory 1430 may include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that the network node 1400, when implementing a second NF, operates to perform operations of a procedure, e.g., as described above in relation to FIG. 3. In particular, the memory 1430 may include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that the network node 1400, when implementing a second NF, operates to receive a subscription request from the first NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF. The subscription request includes a URI of an NRF to be used to discover an alternative NF for notifications.

[0149] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in the message body of the subscription request or in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request.

[0150] In an embodiment, the memory 1430 may further include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that, if the network node 1400 implements a second NF, it operates to send an NF discovery request to the NRF seeking to discover an alternative NF using the URI, receive from the NRF an NF profile of the alternative NF, and send a notification to the alternative NF.

[0151] In one embodiment, the NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF.

[0152] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be for discovering an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0153] In one embodiment, memory 1430 may include instructions executable by processor 1420, such as instructions executable by the processor. Yo The method may further include instructions that operate to cause the network node 1400, when implementing the second NF, to send a notification including the URI to an SCP between the first NF and the second NF.

[0154] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in an HTTP custom header in the notification.

[0155] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the notification may further include the binding indication.

[0156] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0157] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0158] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0159] Alternatively, the memory 1430 may include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that the network node 1400, when implementing a second NF, operates to perform operations of a procedure, e.g., as described above in relation to FIG. 4. In particular, the memory 1430 may include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that the network node 1400, when implementing a second NF, operates to receive a subscription request from the first NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF. The subscription request includes information regarding the network slice to which the first NF belongs.

[0160] In one embodiment, the information may be included in the message body of the subscription request or in an HTTP custom header in the subscription request.

[0161] In one embodiment, the memory 1430 may further include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that, when the network node 1400 implements a second NF, the instructions operate to use the information to obtain, from the NSSF, a URI of an NRF associated with the network slice.

[0162] In one embodiment, the memory 1430 may further include instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that, if the network node 1400 implements a second NF, it operates to send an NF discovery request to the NRF using the URI to discover an alternative NF for the notification, receive an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF, and send the notification to the alternative NF.

[0163] In one embodiment, a URI may be obtained and / or an NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivering a notification to the first NF.

[0164] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be for discovering an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0165] In one embodiment, memory 1430 may include instructions executable by processor 1420, such as instructions executable by the processor. Yo The method may further include instructions that operate to cause the network node 1400, when implementing the second NF, to send a notification including the URI to an SCP between the first NF and the second NF.

[0166] In one embodiment, the URI may be included in an HTTP custom header in the notification.

[0167] In one embodiment, the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0168] In one embodiment, memory 1430 may include instructions executable by processor 1420, such as instructions executable by the processor. YoThe method may further include instructions that operate the network node 1400 to, if implementing the second NF, send a notification including the information to an SCP between the first NF and the second NF.

[0169] In one embodiment, the subscription request may further include a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the notification may further include the binding indication.

[0170] In one embodiment, the information may be an S-NSSAI.

[0171] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0172] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0173] Alternatively, the memory 1430 includes instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that the network node 1400 operates to perform the operations of a procedure, such as those described above in relation to FIG. 5, when implementing an SCP. In particular, the memory 1430 includes instructions executable by the processor 1420 such that the network node 1400 operates to perform the operations of a procedure, such as those described above in relation to FIG. 、 When implementing an SCP between a first NF and a second NF, a notification to be forwarded to the first NF, No. The method may include instructions that operate to receive a notification from a second NF including information regarding a network slice to which one NF belongs, use the information to obtain a URI of an NRF associated with the network slice from an NSSF, use the URI to send an NF discovery request to the NRF to discover an alternative NF for the notification, receive an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF, and send the notification to the alternative NF.

[0174] In one embodiment, a URI may be obtained and / or an NF discovery request may be sent in response to detecting a failure in delivery of the notification to the first NF.

[0175] In one embodiment, the notification may further include a binding indication for reselection of an alternative NF, and the NF discovery request may be to discover an alternative NF based on the binding indication.

[0176] In one embodiment, the information may be an S-NSSAI and / or the URI may be an NRF API URI for the NF discovery service.

[0177] In one embodiment, each of the first NF and the alternative NF may be an NF consumer, and the second NF may be an NF producer.

[0178] In one embodiment, the second NF may be an AMF.

[0179] The present disclosure further provides at least one computer program product in the form of a non-volatile memory or a volatile memory (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, and a hard drive). The computer program product includes a computer program. The computer program 、 The code / computer readable instructions, when executed by the processor 1420, cause the network node 1400 to perform operations of the procedures discussed above in relation to, for example, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4 or FIG.

[0180] The computer program product may be structured as computer program code structured in computer program modules. The modules may perform the operations of the procedures described above in connection with FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4 or FIG. 5. .

[0181] The processor may be a single CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also comprise two or more processing units. For example, the processor may include a general-purpose microprocessor, a special-purpose microprocessor, such as an instruction set processor and / or associated chipset and / or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The processor may also include on-board memory for cache purposes. The computer program may be carried in a computer program product coupled to the processor. The computer program product may include a non-transitory computer readable storage medium on which the computer program is stored. For example, the computer program product may be a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), or an EEPROM, and the above computer program modules may be distributed in the form of memory in various computer program products in alternative embodiments.

[0182] The present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments thereof. It should be understood that those skilled in the art can make various modifications, changes and additions without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but is defined only by the appended claims.

[0183] The present disclosure further provides the following embodiments based on 3GPP TS 29.500. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.2.3.2.1 General 3GPP NF services shall support the HTTP custom headers specified in Table 5.2.3.2.1-1 below, which also provides a description of each custom header and normative requirements regarding when they shall be included. TIFF0007682372000004.tif46154 5.2.3.2.x 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback This header contains the NRF API URI for the NF discovery service, see section 6.5.3.2. The header encoding follows the ABNF as specified in IETF RFC 7230

[12] . 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback= "3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback" ":" parameter * (OWS ";" parameter) parameter = parametername ":" RWS parametervalue parametername = "nnrf-disc" / token Note: The token is provided for future expansion. parametervalue = DQUOTE URI DQUOTE The URI must conform to the URI definition in IETF RFC 3986

[14] . Example: Header with NRF NF Discovery Service: 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback: nnrf-disc: "https: / / nrf1.operator.com / nnrf-disc / v1 / " -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.5.3.2 Stateless NF as a service consumer 1. When an NF service consumer subscribes (explicitly or implicitly) to notifications from another NF service producer, the NF service consumer, in addition to providing a callback URI in the subscription resource, may provide a binding indication to the NF service producer as specified in clause 6.3.1.0 of 3GPP TS 23.501 [3] and clause 4.17.12.4 of 3GPP TS 23.502 [4] to enable related notifications to be sent to alternative NF service consumers in the NF (service) set. The NF consumer may provide an NRF API URI in the 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback header to be used for reselection of the NF service consumer. 2. An NF service producer or SCP may use the Nnrf_NFDiscovery service to discover NF service consumers within a NF (service) set. If an NRF API URI is received in the 3gpp-Sbi-Nrf-Uri-Callback header in bullet 1, the NRF API URI shall be used for reselection. 3. The NF service producer may learn of a change in the NF service consumer via receiving updated binding information in an HTTP request message (i.e. if the binding entity corresponding to the binding level has changed), or via an error response to a notification, via a link level failure (e.g. no response from the NF), or via a notification from the NRF that the NF service consumer has been deregistered. The HTTP error response may be a 3xx redirect response pointing to the new NF service consumer. Note 1: If a binding entity other than the one corresponding to the binding level is changed, it indicates that the resilience information of the session has changed, that is, to some extent, the consumer instance is capable of processing the notification / callback request message, and the NF service producer is not expected to change the notification / callback URI. Note 2: If a Binding Indication is included in the acknowledgment response message, the NF service producer saves the binding indication but does not check it to determine whether there is a change in the NF service consumer. Therefore, the NF service producer continues to use its current notification / callback URI for subsequent requests until it knows of a change in the NF service consumer, at which point the NF service producer uses the last received binding information to reselect a different instance. 4. When the NF service producer knows of a change in the NF service consumer and there is no new NF service consumer known, the NF service producer shall select a new NF service consumer as specified in Section 6.6 of 3GPP TS 23.527

[38] . If binding information is available and the binding mechanism is supported by the NF service producer, the reselection shall be based on the binding information as specified in Section 6.6.2 of 3GPP TS 23.527

[38] , Section 6.3.1.0 of 3GPP TS 23.501 [3], and Section 4.17.12.4 of 3GPP TS 23.502 [4]. If the binding information is not available or the binding mechanism is not supported by the NF service producer, the reselection shall be performed as specified in Section 6.6.3 of 3GPP TS 23.527

[38] . 5. Upon learning of a change in the NF service consumer, the NF service producer or SCP shall replace the authority part of the notification / callback URI with the new NF service consumer information, as specified in clause 6.6 of 3GPP TS 23.527

[38] , and shall use that URI in subsequent communications. 6. If the NF service consumer is changed, and if the new NF service consumer does not support handling notifications as specified in bullet 5 above, the new NF service consumer shall update the NF service producer with the new notification URI. In case of explicit subscriptions, this is achieved by updating an existing subscription or by creating a new subscription, depending on the NF service producer's API. In case of implicit subscriptions, this is performed via a Service Update Request message. 7. The new NF service consumer may include the updated binding indication in a service request or notification response message to the NF service producer. 8. Each NF service consumer in the NF (service) set shall be prepared to receive notifications from NF service producers, either by handling notifications to a notification URI constructed according to bullet 5 above with its own address as the authority part, by handling notifications to a notification URI advertised in bullet 6 above, or by replying with an HTTP 3xx redirect or another HTTP error pointing to the new NF service consumer. 9. An NF service producer shall be ready to receive resource updates of its associated services from any NF service consumer in its NF (service) set. 10. If the SCP detects that the target NF service consumer for a notification / callback request is not available, the SCP may select a new NF service consumer based on the routing binding indication if available and supported by the SCP, or by relying on the 3gpp - Sbi - Discovery header when provided by the NF service producer. See clause 6.6 of 3GPP TS 23.527

[38] . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.10.7 Notifications and callback requests sent in indirect communication Notifications and callback requests sent using indirect communication shall include the 3gpp - Sbi - Callback header containing the name of the notification or callback service operation (see Annex B) and, if greater than 1, the API major version. The SCP may derive from the presence of this header that the service request is a notification or callback request. Note: This may be used by the SCP to apply differentiated processing to notifications and callback requests compared to other service requests, for example for authorization (access tokens are not used in notifications / callbacks, see clause 6.7.3). If previously received from the NF consumer in the 3gpp - Sbi - Nrf - Uri - Callback header (see clause 6.5.3.2), the NF producer shall include the NRF API URI for NF consumer reselection in the 3gpp - Sbi - Nrf - Uri header. The SCP shall use the NRF API URI to discover an alternative NF consumer if reselection is required. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Claims

1. A method in a first NF (Network Function), comprising: sending a subscription request to a second NF for subscribing to notifications from the second NF, the subscription request comprising: The method includes a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) ​​of an NRF (NF Repository Function) used to discover an alternative NF for the notification for callback if the original NF is no longer available.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the URI is included in a message body of the subscription request.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the URI is included in an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) custom header in the subscription request.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subscription request further includes a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF.

5. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the first NF and the alternative NF is a NF consumer and the second NF is a NF producer.

6. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second NF is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

7. A method in a second Network Function (NF), comprising:

1. A method comprising: receiving a subscription request from a first NF to subscribe to notifications from the second NF, the subscription request including a uniform resource identifier (URI) of an NF repository function (NRF) used to discover an alternative NF for the notification for callback if the original NF is no longer available.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the URI is included in a message body of the subscription request or in an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) custom header within the subscription request.

9. 8. The method of claim 7, sending an NF discovery request to the NRF using the URI to discover the alternative NF; receiving an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF; sending said notification to said alternative NF; The method further comprises:

10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the NF discovery request is sent in response to detecting a failure of the first NF or a failure in delivery of the notification to the first NF.

11. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the subscription request further includes a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the NF discovery request is for discovering the alternative NF based on the binding indication.

12. 8. The method of claim 7, The method further comprises sending the notification including the URI to a service communication proxy (SCP) between the first NF and the second NF.

13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the URI is included in a HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) custom header in the notification.

14. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the subscription request further includes a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the notification further includes the binding indication.

15. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the URI is an NRF API (Application Programming Interface) URI for a NF discovery service.

16. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the first NF and the alternative NF is a NF consumer and the second NF is a NF producer.

17. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second NF is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

18. 1. A method in a service communication proxy (SCP) between a first network function (NF) and a second NF, the method comprising: receiving a notification from the second NF to be forwarded to the first NF, the notification including information about a network slice to which the first NF belongs; Using the information, obtain a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) ​​of an NRF (NF Repository Function) associated with the network slice from an NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function); sending an NF discovery request to the NRF by using the URI to discover an alternative NF for the notification; receiving an NF profile of the alternative NF from the NRF; sending said notification to said alternative NF; A method comprising:

19. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the URI is obtained and / or the NF discovery request is sent in response to detecting a failure in delivery of the notification to the first NF.

20. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the notification further includes a binding indication for reselection of the alternative NF, and the NF discovery request is for discovering the alternative NF based on the binding indication.

21. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the information is a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) and / or the URI is an NRF API (Application Programming Interface) URI for an NF discovery service.

22. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein each of the first NF and the alternative NF is a NF consumer and the second NF is a NF producer.

23. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the second NF is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

24. 7. A network node comprising a communications interface, a processor and a memory, the memory comprising instructions executable by the processor such that the network node is operative to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 when implementing a first Network Function (NF).

25. A network node comprising a communications interface, a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor, the instructions being executable by the processor such that the network node operates to perform a method according to any one of claims 7 to 17 when implementing a second NF.

26. A network node comprising a communications interface, a processor and a memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor, the instructions being executable by the processor such that the network node operates to perform a method as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 23 when implementing a service communication proxy (SCP).

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