Method and device for supporting edge computing traffic routing in wireless communication system

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting higher data transmission rates. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a method performed by a session management function (SMF) entity in a mobile communication system may comprise the steps of: receiving, from a policy control function (PCF) entity, information about a session management policy including an indicator indicating consecutive steering; and determining at least one user plane function (UPF) entity for the consecutive steering on the basis of the information about the session management policy, wherein the at least one UPF entity is for edge computing traffic routing between one or more application servers (ASs).

Description

Method and device for supporting edge computing traffic routing in a wireless communication system

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication system, and more specifically, to a method for controlling routing of edge computing traffic in consideration of service characteristics in a mobile communication system.

[0002] 5G mobile communication technology defines a wide frequency band to enable fast transmission speeds and new services, and can be implemented not only in the sub-6GHz frequency band such as 3.5 gigahertz (3.5GHz), but also in the ultra-high frequency band called millimeter wave (mmWave) such as 28GHz and 39GHz ('Above 6GHz'). In addition, for 6G mobile communication technology, which is called the system after 5G communication (Beyond 5G), implementation in the terahertz (THz) band (for example, 3 THz band at 95GHz) is being considered to achieve a transmission speed that is 50 times faster than 5G mobile communication technology and an ultra-low latency time that is reduced to one-tenth.

[0003] In the early stages of 5G mobile communication technology, the goal is to support services and satisfy performance requirements for enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC). These include beamforming and massive MIMO to mitigate path loss of radio waves in ultra-high frequency bands and increase the transmission distance of radio waves, support for various numerologies (such as operation of multiple subcarrier intervals) and dynamic operation of slot formats for efficient use of ultra-high frequency resources, initial access technology to support multi-beam transmission and wideband, definition and operation of BWP (Bidth Part), new channel coding methods such as LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) codes for large-capacity data transmission and Polar Code for reliable transmission of control information, and L2 pre-processing (L2). Standardization has been made for network slicing, which provides dedicated networks specialized for specific services, and pre-processing.

[0004] Currently, discussions are underway to improve and enhance the initial 5G mobile communication technology in consideration of the services that 5G mobile communication technology was intended to support, and physical layer standardization is in progress for technologies such as V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) to help autonomous vehicles make driving decisions and increase user convenience based on their own location and status information transmitted by vehicles, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) for the purpose of system operation that complies with various regulatory requirements in unlicensed bands, NR terminal low power consumption technology (UE Power Saving), Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN), which is direct terminal-satellite communication to secure coverage in areas where communication with terrestrial networks is impossible, and Positioning.

[0005] In addition, standardization of wireless interface architecture / protocols is in progress for technologies such as intelligent factories (Industrial Internet of Things, IIoT) to support new services through linkage and convergence with other industries, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) that provides nodes for expanding network service areas by integrating wireless backhaul links and access links, Mobility Enhancement technology including Conditional Handover and Dual Active Protocol Stack (DAPS) handover, and 2-step random access (2-step RACH for NR) that simplifies random access procedures. Standardization is also in progress for system architecture / services such as 5G baseline architecture (e.g., Service-based Architecture, Service-based Interface) for grafting Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) that provides services based on the location of the terminal.

[0006] Once these 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, an explosive increase in connected devices will be connected to the communication network, necessitating enhanced functionality and performance of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operation of these connected devices. To this end, new research will be conducted on improving 5G performance and reducing complexity, supporting AI services, supporting metaverse services, and drone communications by utilizing eXtended Reality (XR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) to efficiently support Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR).

[0007] In addition, the development of these 5G mobile communication systems includes new waveforms to ensure coverage in the terahertz band of 6G mobile communication technology, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), Array Antenna, and Large Scale Antenna, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas to improve the coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional spatial multiplexing technology using Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM), Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) technology, as well as full duplex technology to improve the frequency efficiency and system network of 6G mobile communication technology, satellite, AI (Artificial Intelligence) from the design stage and AI-based communication technology that realizes system optimization by internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources to provide services with complexity that exceeds the limits of terminal computing capabilities. It can serve as a basis for the development of next-generation distributed computing technologies that can be realized by utilizing them.

[0008] As communication systems evolve, the need for more efficient management of edge computing traffic is increasing.

[0009] The present invention proposes a method for routing edge computing traffic between parts of different data networks. More specifically, it proposes a procedure for routing traffic transmitted by a terminal to an edge application server within a nearby data network, and then rerouting it to a central cloud server.

[0010] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, in a mobile communication system, a session management function (SMF) entity may include a transceiver; and a controller coupled to the transceiver, wherein the controller is configured to receive, from a policy control function (PCF) entity, information about a session management policy including an indicator indicating continuous steering, and determine at least one user plane function (UPF) entity for the continuous steering based on the information about the session management policy, wherein the at least one UPF entity is for routing edge computing traffic between one or more application servers (AS).

[0011] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, in a mobile communication system, a method performed by a session management function (SMF) entity comprises the steps of: receiving, from a policy control function (PCF) entity, information about a session management policy including an indicator indicating continuous steering; and determining, based on the information about the session management policy, at least one user plane function (UPF) entity for the continuous steering, wherein the at least one UPF entity is for routing edge computing traffic between one or more application servers (AS).

[0012] Through embodiments of the present disclosure, a device and method capable of effectively providing a service in a wireless communication system are provided.

[0013] The effects that can be obtained from the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects that are not mentioned can be clearly understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs from the description below.

[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the structure of a 5G core network according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of a system supporting edge computing roaming services according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates various types of routing of edge computing traffic along transmission paths between different servers in a data network, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates a signal flow for setting up edge computing routing according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates a signal flow for setting a UP (user plane) path according to a type of local consecutive steering / routing according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 6 illustrates the structure of a terminal according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 7 illustrates the structure of a base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 8 illustrates the structure of a network function (or network entity) according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] The operating principles of the present invention are described in detail with reference to the attached diagram. The terms described below are defined based on their functions within the present invention. These terms may vary depending on the intent or custom of the user or operator, and therefore their definitions should be determined based on the overall content of this specification.

[0023] The terms used in this publication, such as "network entities," "network functions," and "edge computing system objects," "terms referring to messages," and "terms referring to identification information," are provided for convenience of explanation. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms that refer to objects with equivalent technical meanings may be used.

[0024] For convenience, the present invention uses terms and names defined in the 5G system standards, but is not limited by the terms and names, and can be equally applied to systems conforming to other standards.

[0025] The present disclosure will now describe preferred embodiments of the present disclosure in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, where possible, identical components are represented by identical reference numerals throughout the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may obscure the gist of the present disclosure will be omitted.

[0026] In describing the embodiments herein, descriptions of technical details that are well known in the technical field to which the present disclosure pertains and are not directly related to the present disclosure will be omitted. This is to avoid obscuring the gist of the present disclosure by omitting unnecessary explanations and to convey the gist more clearly.

[0027] For the same reason, some components in the attached drawings are exaggerated, omitted, or schematically depicted. Furthermore, the dimensions of each component do not entirely reflect its actual size. Identical or corresponding components in each drawing are assigned the same reference numbers.

[0028] The advantages and features of the present disclosure, and methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. These embodiments are provided solely to ensure that the disclosure is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the disclosure, and the present disclosure is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the specification.

[0029] At this time, it will be understood that each block of the processing flowchart drawings and combinations of the flowchart drawings can be performed by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be installed in a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment create a means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). These computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer-available or computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement the functions in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-available or computer-readable memory can also produce a manufactured item that includes an instruction means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). Since the computer program instructions may be installed on a computer or other programmable data processing device, a series of operational steps may be performed on the computer or other programmable data processing device to create a computer-executable process, and the instructions that cause the computer or other programmable data processing device to perform the steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s) may also provide steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0030] Additionally, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that contains one or more executable instructions for performing a specific logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative embodiments, the functions described in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks depicted in succession may actually be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on their respective functions.

[0031] Here, the term '~ part' used in this embodiment means software or hardware components such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and the '~ part' performs certain roles. However, the '~ part' is not limited to software or hardware. The '~ part' may be configured to be on an addressable storage medium or may be configured to play one or more processors. Therefore, as an example, the '~ part' includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, processes, functions, properties, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided within the components and '~ parts' may be combined into a smaller number of components and '~ parts' or further separated into additional components and '~ parts'. Additionally, the components and '~parts' may be implemented to activate one or more CPUs within a device or secure multimedia card. In addition, in an embodiment, the '~parts' may include one or more processors.

[0032] The terms used in the following description to identify connection nodes, terms referring to network entities, terms referring to messages, terms referring to interfaces between network entities, and terms referring to various identification information are provided as examples for convenience of explanation. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the terms described below, and other terms referring to objects with equivalent technical meanings may be used.

[0033] For convenience of explanation, this disclosure uses terms and names defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP) LTE (Long Term Evolution) standard or the New Radio (NR) standard. However, this disclosure is not limited to these terms and names and can be equally applied to systems conforming to other standards.

[0034] Hereinafter, a base station (BS) is an entity that performs resource allocation of a terminal, and may be at least one of a radio access network (RAN) node, a next generation node B (gNB), an evolved node B (eNB), a Node B, a wireless access unit, a base station controller, or a node on a network. In the present disclosure, eNB may be used interchangeably with gNB for convenience of explanation. That is, a base station described as an eNB may represent a gNB.

[0035] Hereinafter, a terminal may include a UE (User Equipment), an MS (Mobile Station), a cellular phone, a smartphone, a computer, or a multimedia system capable of performing communication functions. Of course, the above examples are not limited thereto.

[0036] In particular, the present disclosure is applicable to 3GPP NR (the 5th generation mobile communications standard). Furthermore, the present disclosure may be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart or connected cars, healthcare, digital education, retail, security, and safety-related services) based on 5G communication technology and IoT (Internet of Things)-related technologies. Furthermore, the term "terminal" may refer to not only mobile phones, NB-IoT devices, and sensors, but also other wireless communication devices.

[0037] Wireless communication systems are evolving from providing voice-oriented services in the early days to broadband wireless communication systems that provide high-speed, high-quality packet data services, such as communication standards such as 3GPP's HSPA (High Speed ​​Packet Access), LTE (Long Term Evolution or E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access)), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Pro, 3GPP2's HRPD (High Rate Packet Data), UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), and IEEE's 802.16e.

[0038] As a representative example of a broadband wireless communication system, the LTE system adopts the OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) method in the downlink (DL) and the SC-FDMA (Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access) method in the uplink (UL). The uplink refers to a wireless link in which a terminal (or UE) transmits data or control signals to a base station (or eNB, gNB), and the downlink refers to a wireless link in which a base station transmits data or control signals to a terminal. The above multiple access method distinguishes the data or control information of each user by allocating and operating the time-frequency resources to be transmitted to each user so that they do not overlap, that is, so as to achieve orthogonality.

[0039] As a future communications system beyond LTE, 5G communications systems must be able to freely reflect the diverse needs of users and service providers. Therefore, they must support services that simultaneously satisfy these diverse requirements. Services being considered for 5G communications systems include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC).

[0040] In one embodiment, eMBB may aim to provide data transmission rates that are significantly higher than those supported by existing LTE, LTE-A, or LTE-Pro. For example, in a 5G communication system, eMBB should be able to provide a peak data rate of 20 Gbps in the downlink and a peak data rate of 10 Gbps in the uplink from the perspective of a single base station. Furthermore, a 5G communication system may need to provide both the peak data rate and the increased user-perceived data rate of a terminal. To meet these requirements, a 5G communication system may require improvements in various transmission and reception technologies, including improved multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmission technology. Furthermore, while current LTE transmits signals using a maximum 20 MHz transmission bandwidth in the 2 GHz band, a 5G communication system can use a wider frequency bandwidth than 20 MHz in the 3-6 GHz or higher 6 GHz band, thereby meeting the data transmission rates required by the 5G communication system.

[0041] At the same time, mMTC is being considered to support application services such as the Internet of Things (IoT) in 5G communication systems. To efficiently provide the IoT, mMTC may require support for large-scale terminal connections within a cell, improved terminal coverage, improved battery life, and reduced terminal costs. The IoT requires the ability to support a large number of terminals (e.g., 1,000,000 terminals / km^2) within a cell, as it provides communication capabilities through the attachment of various sensors and devices. Furthermore, due to the nature of the service, terminals supporting mMTC are likely to be located in shadow areas not covered by cells, such as basements, which may require wider coverage than other services provided by 5G communication systems. Terminals supporting mMTC should be comprised of low-cost terminals, and since frequent battery replacement is unlikely, very long battery lifespans, such as 10 to 15 years, may be required.

[0042] Finally, URLLC is a cellular-based wireless communication service used for specific purposes (mission-critical), such as remote control of robots or machinery, industrial automation, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remote health care, and emergency alerts. Therefore, the communication provided by URLLC may need to provide very low latency (ultra-low latency) and very high reliability (ultra-reliability). For example, a service supporting URLLC may have to satisfy an air interface latency of less than 0.5 milliseconds and may also have a requirement of a packet error rate (PER) of 10^-5 or less. Therefore, for services supporting URLLC, 5G systems may be required to provide a smaller transmission time interval (TTI) than other services, while simultaneously allocating a wide range of resources in the frequency band to ensure the reliability of the communication link.

[0043] The three services considered in the aforementioned 5G communication system—eMBB, URLLC, and mMTC—can be multiplexed and transmitted in a single system. To meet the differing requirements of each service, different transmission and reception techniques and parameters may be used between services. However, the aforementioned mMTC, URLLC, and eMBB are merely examples of different service types, and the service types applicable to this disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned examples.

[0044] Furthermore, while embodiments of the present disclosure are described below using LTE, LTE-A, LTE Pro, 5G (or NR), or 6G systems as examples, the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to other communication systems with similar technical backgrounds or channel types. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to other communication systems with some modifications, as determined by a person skilled in the art, without significantly departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the structure of a 5G core network according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0046] According to one embodiment, a 5G system architecture supporting an edge computing system may include various network functions (NFs) or network entities. FIG. 1 illustrates examples of such network functions or network entities, including an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), an application function (AF), a unified data management (UDM), a data network (DN), a user plane function (UPF), and a location management function (LMF), in addition to a (radio) access network (R)AN and user equipment (UE) of a 5G core network.

[0047] The NFs illustrated in Figure 1 support the following functions.

[0048] - AMF: AMF provides functions for access and mobility management at the UE level, and one UE can be connected to one AMF by default.

[0049] - DN: DN refers to a network outside of the 5GS (5G system), where, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services exist. DN transmits downlink protocol data units (PDUs) to the UPF or receives uplink PDUs transmitted from the UE from the UPF.

[0050] - PCF: PCF receives information about packet flows from application servers and provides the function to determine policies such as mobility management and session management. Specifically, PCF supports functions such as supporting a unified policy framework for controlling network operations, providing policy rules so that control plane functions(e.g., AMF, SMF, etc.) can enforce the policy rules, and implementing a front end to access relevant subscription information for policy decision within the user data repository (UDR).

[0051] - SMF: SMF provides session management functions, and when a UE has multiple sessions, each session can be managed by a different SMF.

[0052] - UDM: UDM stores user subscription data, policy data, etc.

[0053] - UPF: UPF delivers downlink PDUs received from DN to UE via (R)AN, and delivers uplink PDUs received from UE via (R)AN to DN.

[0054] - AF: AF interacts with the 3GPP core network to provide services (e.g., application influence on traffic routing, access to network capability exposure, and interaction with the policy framework for policy control).

[0055] - LMF: LMF supports functions related to terminal location measurement and location-related information provision in conjunction with AMF, UDM, NEF (network exposure function), etc.

[0056] The network functions or network entities illustrated in FIG. 1 are some of the nodes that constitute the 5G core network, and the 5G core network may include more network functions or network entities than these examples.

[0057] FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of a system supporting edge computing roaming services according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The system of FIG. 2 may include the structure of the 5G core network of FIG. 1 as part of the system.

[0058] The 5G system architecture supporting edge computing services may include various network functions (NFs), and FIG. 2 illustrates some of them, including an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), a unified data management (UDM), a data network (DN) or a local part of a DN that enables local access to the data network, a user plane function (UPF), a (wireless) access network ((R)AN), and a terminal (UE).

[0059] Each of the NFs illustrated in FIG. 2 can provide substantially the same functions as those described in FIG. 1. In addition, additional NFs for supporting edge computing roaming services support the following functions.

[0060] - Local part of DN: The local part of DN is a part of the DN, and can refer to a data network that is locally accessible and has a short data transmission path. The local part of DN can also refer to a DN where an edge application server (EAS) supporting edge computing services is deployed. An edge data network (EDN) can refer to a data network where an edge computing server is deployed. The local part of DN can be considered a local part of a data network or a local data network (local DN).

[0061] - ULCL (uplink classifier): ULCL can refer to a UPF that has the function of classifying and transmitting uplink signals.

[0062] - L-UPF (local UPF): L-UPF can perform the termination role (e.g., PDU Session Anchor) of a session transmitted to the local part of DN.

[0063] - EASDF (Edge Application Server Discovery Function): EASDF can process DNS (domain name system) queries transmitted from terminals according to rules provided by SMF. For example, EASDF can forward DNS queries transmitted by terminals to a DNS server, receive DNS responses, transmit related reports to SMF, and provide DNS responses to terminals.

[0064] FIG. 3 illustrates various types of routing for edge computing traffic along transmission paths between different servers in a data network, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. More specifically, FIG. 3 illustrates examples of types of routing for edge computing traffic along transmission paths between different application servers in a data network.

[0065] Type 1 (310) of FIG. 3 illustrates a method of routing uplink / downlink traffic to different locations within the same data network, or between servers within different data networks, using a single UPF. In one embodiment, Type 1 (310) uses only a single UPF, which may result in a longer transmission path between the UPF and the application server on the actual transmission path.

[0066] In the case of Type 2 (320) of FIG. 3, a method of routing traffic between servers located at different locations in the same data network or between servers within different data networks is illustrated by using multiple UPFs, and configuring one of the UPFs to perform the role of an uplink classifier (ULCL) or a branch point (BP). According to one embodiment, a UPF performing the ULCL or BP role may be located at a short distance along the transmission path from a portion of the data network where one application server (e.g., App 1) is located, and may be configured to perform the role of a PDU session anchor. In addition, a UPF may also be configured close to a portion of the data network where another application server (e.g., App 2) is located, so that a transmission path connected between this UPF and the UPF performing the ULCL role may be provided. In this case, traffic transmission between two application servers may be routed via the UPF performing the ULCL role.

[0067] In the case of Type 3 (330) of Fig. 3, multiple UPFs are used like in Type 2 (320), and each UPF can be located close to application servers that are traffic routing targets (e.g., targets), but there is a feature that traffic transmitted or received by one server can be transmitted through another separate UPF. For example, Type 3 (330) may differ from Type 2 (320) in that when a server transmits or receives traffic, it transmits it to another UPF or another server through the same UPF.

[0068] FIG. 4 illustrates the signal flow for establishing edge computing routing according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, various NFs may represent NF entities corresponding to each NF.

[0069] In step (401), the AF may generate an AF request to transmit continuous routing / steering application information to the NEF. According to one embodiment, the continuous routing / steering application information may include information on at least one of an uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) traffic correlation indication or a continuous steering group identifier (ID), a continuous steering rule, locations of applications belonging to the consecutive steering application group, internet protocol (IP) addresses of applications of the consecutive steering application group, steering order (UL / DL), or inter AS latency requirement. In one embodiment, the AF may generate an AF request by including the above-described information in the continuous routing / steering information, or may include each of the above-described pieces of information as separate pieces of information in the AF request.

[0070] In step (402), the AF can transmit the AF request generated in step (401) to the NEF. According to one embodiment, the AF request includes at least one of a local consecutive steering / routing indication (e.g., a request indication for routing traffic locally between application servers), a traffic category, a traffic correlation indication, an application group ID, a list of application identifiers, a list of application fully qualified domain names (FQDNs), a consecutive steering rule, Locations of applications belonging to the consecutive steering application group (e.g., a list of data network access identifiers (DNAIs) of consecutive steering / routing targets), an IP address of applications of the consecutive steering application group, a steering order / direction (UL / DL), N6 routing information, N6 tunnel information, or an Inter AS latency requirement (or a local consecutive steering / routing requirement). It may contain information about.In one embodiment, if the AF wishes to perform only local routing between two application servers, the AF may provide information about at least one of a local consecutive steering / routing indication, a target application FQDN, a target IP address, a local consecutive steering / routing target DNAI, a steering order / direction, or an Inter AS latency requirement (or a local consecutive steering / routing requirement), and may not define and provide a consecutive steering application group.

[0071] In step (403a), NEF can store information received from AF in UDR.

[0072] At step (403b), the NEF may send a response to the AF request to the AF.

[0073] In step (404), the UDR may transmit a notification message to a PCF that has subscribed to a notification service for information related to the AF request, providing the corresponding information.

[0074] In step (405), the PCF may generate a session management policy including at least one of a local consecutive steering / routing policy or a local consecutive steering / routing rule based on the information received from the UDR, and may provide the same to the SMF. In one embodiment, the local consecutive steering / routing policy or the local consecutive steering / routing rule included in the session management policy may include information on at least one of a local consecutive steering / routing indicator, a target application FQDN, a target IP address, a DNAI of a local consecutive steering / routing target, a steering order / direction, or an inter-AS delay requirement (or a local consecutive steering / routing requirement).

[0075] In step (406), the SMF, which has received the local continuous steering / routing policy or local continuous steering / routing rule from the PCF, may determine the type of local continuous steering / routing. For example, the SMF may determine the type (or the type or mode of local continuous steering / routing) for edge computing traffic routing between application servers using one or more UPFs as illustrated in FIG. 2. However, this is merely an example, and the type determined by the SMF according to various embodiments is not limited to the types disclosed in FIG. 2 and may further include various types.

[0076] For the type of decision as described above, the SMF may consider at least one of the location of the terminal, the location of the application to be continuously steered / routed locally, the target IP address, the inter-AS latency requirement (or the local continuous steering / routing requirement or the N6 local area network (LAN) latency requirement), or the UP (user plane) path topology information (or the UPF topology information). The SMF may determine the type of edge computing traffic routing between application servers by considering the above information, and may perform traffic routing reconfiguration. For example, the SMF may determine ULCL insertion to reconfigure the UP path, or may provide a local continuous steering / routing policy or a local continuous steering / routing rule through an N4 session of an existing UPF.

[0077] In one embodiment, the SMF may configure at least one of an ULCL UPF insertion, a local PSA (PDU session anchor) UPF, or a remote PSA UPF so that the UP path illustrated in FIG. 2 can be established. The SMF may configure at least one of a Packet Detection Rule (PDR) or a Forwarding Action Rule (FAR) generated based on local continuous steering / routing rules for each UPF via the N4 session.

[0078] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the processes described in FIG. 4 are merely examples, and each step is not considered an essential component. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present disclosure may include at least one of all, part, or a combination of parts of the processes described above. Furthermore, it is to be understood that various embodiments may include a combination of at least one of the processes described in FIG. 4 and at least one of the processes described in FIG. 5 below.

[0079] FIG. 5 illustrates the signal flow for establishing a user plane (UP) path according to a type of local consecutive steering / routing according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Hereinafter, various NFs may represent NF entities corresponding to each NF.

[0080] In step (501), the terminal may request creation (or establishment) of a PDU session.

[0081] In step (502), the SMF that has received a request for PDU session creation can obtain a local consecutive steering / routing policy / rule from the PCF based on a session management policy association procedure.

[0082] In step (503), the SMF may receive a notification message related to a DNS query or a DNS response from the EASDF. Step (503) may be performed after PDU session creation or may not be performed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. According to one embodiment, the notification message related to a DNS query or a DNS response received by the SMF from the EASDF may include an FQDN or an IP address. If the FQDN or IP address received from the EASDF corresponds to a local consecutive steering / routing policy / rule, the SMF may perform a UPF configuration operation using the FQDN or IP address. For example, if the FQDN or IP address received from the EASDF corresponds to a local consecutive steering / routing target application FQDN or IP address, the SMF may identify at least one of a local consecutive steering / routing target DNAI corresponding to the application, a steering order / direction, an inter-AS delay requirement, or a continuous steering application group.

[0083] According to one embodiment, based on the information identified in this manner, the SMF can perform at least one of the following operations: determining a UPF local continuous steering / routing type, inserting an ULCL, selecting a local UPF, or selecting a remote UPF. At this time, the SMF can select the ULCL selection, the local UPF selection, or the remote UPF selection by taking into consideration the FQDN or IP address received from the EASDF. For example, the SMF can identify at least one of information about target applications of a continuous steering application group including an application corresponding to the FQDN or IP address, or information about a single continuous steering target application (e.g., an application identifier, an IP address or FQDN, DNAI, location information, etc.). The SMF can use the information identified in this manner to select a remote UPF adjacent to an application belonging to the continuous steering application group or a continuous steering target application, and can select a local UPF or ULCL UPF adjacent to the IP address received from the EASDF to establish a UP path between the remote UPF and the local UPF.

[0084] In step (504), the SMF may perform a decision on UP path setup based on the local consecutive steering / routing policy / rule, terminal location, etc. obtained in step (502). In one embodiment, the decision performed by the SMF may include at least one of a local consecutive steering / routing type decision, ULCL insertion, local UPF selection, or remote UPF selection. For example, the SMF may receive a local consecutive steering / routing indicator in the local consecutive steering / routing policy / rule, and may determine at least one of ULCL, remote UPF, or local UPF insertion, taking into account information about inter-AS delay requirements. Additionally, the SMF may transmit an N4 message to configure at least one of the PDR or FAR for each ULCL, remote UPF, or local UPF, so that traffic transmission between local continuous steering / routing target application servers for the PDU session of the corresponding terminal can be performed through at least one of the ULCL, remote UPF, or local UPF.

[0085] At step (505), the SMF may set the following local continuous steering / routing rules to set the ULCL.

[0086] According to various embodiments, after uplink traffic transmitted by a terminal is transmitted from the ULCL to the local UPF, the SMF may set a rule (e.g., see step (508) of FIG. 2) in the ULCL to transmit the traffic transmitted from the local UPF to the ULCL to the remote UPF. One of the rules, PDR, may set AS2 (Application Server) information for the destination address of the packet filter information, and may set allocated interface information (e.g., an interface for the local UPF connected to AS1 other than the interface transmitted from the terminal to the ULCL or the interface received from the RAN) for the N6 interface or N6 LAN connected to AS1 as the Source Interface. In addition, FAR, which is another element of the rule, may set the transmission interface to an interface facing the remote UPF (a transmission interface other than the ULCL toward the RAN or the local UPF direction).

[0087] In step (506), the SMF may configure a local UPF so that it can correspond to the rule configured in step (505) described above, taking into account local continuous steering / routing rules. For example, a packet filter of a rule for uplink traffic transmitted in AS1 toward ULCL (e.g., terminal-based uplink traffic) may include an AS1 IP address and an AS2 IP address, the source interface may be an N6 network interface, and the destination of the FAR may be set to the ULCL UPF direction.

[0088] In step (507), the SMF can set the remote UPF to correspond to the rules set in steps (505) and (506) described above, taking into account the local continuous steering / routing rules.

[0089] In step (508), after the ULCL UPF, local UPF, and remote UPF are set to support local continuous steering / routing by the SMF, the uplink traffic of the terminal can be transmitted to AS1 via ULCL-local UPF, and after local processing is completed in AS1, it can be transmitted to AS2 via ULCL-remote UPF.

[0090] In steps (509-1, 509-2), traffic that reaches AS2 along the path illustrated in step (508) may be processed by AS2 and then transmitted back to the terminal or to AS1. In one embodiment, whether service traffic that has completed processing in AS2 is transmitted to the terminal or to AS1 may be determined by a destination address set in AS2. Here, the transmission path may be set to be transmitted via ULCL according to local continuous steering / routing rules set in advance by the SMF.

[0091] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the processes described in FIG. 5 are merely examples, and each step is not considered an essential component. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present disclosure may include at least one of all, part, or a combination of parts of the processes described above. Furthermore, it is to be understood that various embodiments may include a combination of at least one of the processes described in FIG. 5 and at least one of the processes described in FIG. 4.

[0092] FIG. 6 illustrates the structure of a terminal according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0093] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the terminal of the present disclosure may include a transceiver (610), a memory (620), and a control unit (or controller, processor) (630). The control unit (630), the transceiver (610), and the memory (620) of the terminal may operate according to the communication method of the terminal described above. However, the components of the terminal are not limited to the examples described above. For example, the terminal may include more or fewer components than the components described above. In addition, the control unit (630), the transceiver (610), and the memory (620) may be implemented in the form of a single chip.

[0094] The transceiver (610) is a general term for the terminal's receiving unit and the terminal's transmitting unit, and can transmit and receive signals with a base station or a network entity. The signals transmitted and received with the base station may include control information and data. To this end, the transceiver (610) may be configured with an RF (radio frequency) transmitter that up-converts and amplifies the frequency of a transmitted signal, and an RF receiver that low-noise amplifies and frequency-downconverts the received signal. However, this is only one embodiment of the transceiver (610), and the components of the transceiver (610) are not limited to an RF transmitter and an RF receiver.

[0095] In addition, the transceiver (610) may include a wired / wireless transceiver and may include various configurations for transmitting and receiving signals. In addition, the transceiver (610) may receive a signal through a wireless channel and output it to the control unit (630), and transmit the signal output from the control unit (630) through the wireless channel. In addition, the transceiver (610) may receive a communication signal and output it to the control unit (630), and transmit the signal output from the control unit (630) to a base station or network entity through a wired / wireless network.

[0096] The memory (620) can store programs and data necessary for the operation of the terminal. In addition, the memory (620) can store control information or data included in signals acquired from the terminal. The memory (620) can be configured as a storage medium or a combination of storage media, such as a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD.

[0097] The control unit (630) can control a series of processes so that the terminal can operate according to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above. The control unit (630) can include at least one processor. For example, the control unit (630) can include a communication processor (CP) that performs control for communication and an application processor (AP) that controls upper layers such as application programs.

[0098] FIG. 7 illustrates the structure of a base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The base station illustrated in FIG. 7 may correspond to the RAN node described above in FIG. 1.

[0099] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the base station of the present disclosure may include a transceiver (710), a memory (720), and a control unit (or controller, processor) (730). The control unit (730), the transceiver (710), and the memory (720) of the base station may operate according to the communication method of the base station described above. However, the components of the base station are not limited to the examples described above. For example, the base station may include more or fewer components than the components described above. According to one embodiment, the base station of FIG. 7 may be implemented so that its entire function is separated into a CU and a DU, in which case the CU and the DU may each perform some of the functions performed by the base station of FIG. 7. In addition, the control unit (730), the transceiver (710), and the memory (720) of FIG. 7 may be implemented in the form of a single chip.

[0100] The transceiver (710) is a general term for the receiving unit and the transmitting unit of the base station, and can transmit and receive signals with a terminal and / or a network entity. At this time, the transmitted and received signals may include control information and data. To this end, the transceiver (710) may be configured with an RF transmitter that up-converts and amplifies the frequency of a transmitted signal, and an RF receiver that low-noise amplifies and frequency-downconverts the received signal. However, this is only one embodiment of the transceiver (710), and the components of the transceiver (710) are not limited to the RF transmitter and RF receiver. The transceiver (710) may include wired and wireless transceivers, and may include various configurations for transmitting and receiving signals.

[0101] In addition, the transceiver (710) can receive a signal through a communication channel (e.g., a wireless channel) and output it to the control unit (730), and transmit the signal output from the control unit (730) through the communication channel. In addition, the transceiver (710) can receive a communication signal and output it to the processor, and transmit the signal output from the processor to a terminal or network entity through a wired or wireless network.

[0102] The memory (720) can store programs and data required for the operation of the base station. In addition, the memory (720) can store control information or data included in signals acquired from the base station. The memory (720) can be configured as a storage medium or a combination of storage media, such as a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, and a DVD.

[0103] The control unit (730) can control a series of processes so that the base station can operate according to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above. The control unit (730) can include at least one processor. The methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0104] FIG. 8 illustrates the structure of a network function (or network entity) according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The network function (or network entity) illustrated in FIG. 8 may correspond to various nodes of the core network described above in FIG. 1.

[0105] As illustrated in FIG. 8, the network function (or network entity) of the present disclosure may include a transceiver (810), a memory (820), and a control unit (or controller, processor) (830). The control unit (830), the transceiver (810), and the memory (820) of the network function (or network entity) may operate according to the communication method of the network function (or network entity) described above. However, the components of the network function (or network entity) are not limited to the examples described above. For example, the network function (or network entity) may include more or fewer components than the components described above.

[0106] The transceiver (810) is a general term for the receiving unit of a network function (or network entity) and the transmitting unit of a base station, and can transmit and receive signals with a terminal, a base station, and / or other network functions (or network entities). At this time, the transmitted and received signals may include control information and data. For this purpose, the transceiver (810) can communicate with nodes of the core network through a wired or wireless transceiver. However, this is only one embodiment of the transceiver (810), and the components of the transceiver (810) may be configured as an RF transmitter that up-converts and amplifies the frequency of a transmitted signal, an RF receiver that low-noise amplifies a received signal and down-converts the frequency, and may include various configurations for transmitting and receiving signals.

[0107] In addition, the transceiver (810) can receive a signal through a communication channel (e.g., a wireless channel or a channel of a core network) and output it to the control unit (830), and transmit the signal output from the control unit (830) through the communication channel. In addition, the transceiver (810) can receive a communication signal and output it to the control unit (830), and transmit the signal output from the control unit (830) to a terminal, a base station, or a network entity through a wired or wireless network.

[0108] The memory (820) can store programs and data required for the operation of a network function (or network entity). Furthermore, the memory (820) can store control information or data included in signals obtained from the network function (or network entity). The memory (820) can be configured as a storage medium, such as a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD, or a combination of storage media.

[0109] The control unit (830) may control a series of processes to enable network functions (or network entities) to operate according to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above. The control unit (830) may include at least one processor. The methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0110]

[0111] The methods according to the embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0112] When implemented in software, a computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs (software modules) may be provided. The one or more programs stored in the computer-readable storage medium are configured for execution by one or more processors within an electronic device. The one or more programs include instructions that cause the electronic device to execute methods according to embodiments described in the claims or specification of the present disclosure.

[0113] These programs (software modules, software) may be stored in random access memory, non-volatile memory including flash memory, read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disc storage device, compact disc ROM (CD-ROM), digital versatile discs (DVDs) or other forms of optical storage device, magnetic cassette. Or, they may be stored in a memory configured as a combination of some or all of these. In addition, each configuration memory may be included in multiple numbers.

[0114] Additionally, the program may be stored on an attachable storage device that is accessible via a communication network, such as the Internet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide local area network (WLAN), a storage area network (SAN), or a combination thereof. Such a storage device may be connected to a device implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure via an external port. Additionally, a separate storage device on the communication network may be connected to a device implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0115] In the specific embodiments of the present disclosure described above, components included in the invention are expressed singularly or plurally, depending on the specific embodiment presented. However, the singular or plural expressions are selected to suit the presented situation for convenience of explanation, and the present disclosure is not limited to singular or plural components. Components expressed in plural may be composed of singular elements, or components expressed in singular may be composed of plural elements.

[0116] Meanwhile, the embodiments of the present disclosure disclosed in this specification and drawings are merely specific examples to easily explain the technical contents of the present disclosure and to help the understanding of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other modifications based on the technical idea of ​​the present disclosure are possible. In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined and operated with each other as needed. For example, parts of one embodiment of the present disclosure and parts of another embodiment can be combined with each other to operate a base station and a terminal. For example, parts of the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present disclosure can be combined with each other to operate a base station and a terminal. In addition, although the above-mentioned embodiments have been presented based on an FDD LTE system, other modifications based on the technical idea of ​​the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented with other systems such as a TDD LTE system, a 5G or NR system.

[0117] Meanwhile, the order of description in the drawings explaining the method of the present invention does not necessarily correspond to the order of execution, and the order of precedence may be changed or executed in parallel.

[0118] Alternatively, the drawings illustrating the method of the present invention may omit some components and include only some components within a scope that does not harm the essence of the present invention.

[0119] In addition, the method of the present invention may be implemented by combining some or all of the contents included in each embodiment within a scope that does not harm the essence of the invention.

Claims

1. In a mobile communication system, the SMF (session management function) entity, transceiver; and Including a controller coupled to the above transmitter and receiver, The above controller, Receive information about a session management policy including a directive indicating continuous steering from a PCF (policy control function) entity, and Based on information about the above session management policy, it is configured to determine at least one user plane function (UPF) entity for the continuous steering, The at least one UPF entity is an SMF entity for routing edge computing traffic between one or more application servers (AS).

2. In claim 1, the session management policy is an SMF entity including at least one of a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of a target application of continuous steering, an internet protocol (IP) address of the target application of continuous steering, a data network access identifier (DNAI) of the target application of continuous steering, an order of the continuous steering, or a delay requirement between one or more ASs.

3. In claim 1, the controller, Receive information about DNS queries associated with a terminal from an EASDF (edge ​​application server discovery function) entity, and further configured to determine whether the above DNS query corresponds to the above continuous steering target application; The at least one UPF entity is an SMF entity determined based on the DNS query and the session management policy.

4. In claim 1, the at least one UPF entity is an SMF entity including at least one of an uplink classifier (ULCL) entity, a local UPF entity, or a remote UPF entity.

5. In claim 4, The above local UPF entity is associated with the data network of the first AS among the ASs, and The above remote UPF entity is an SMF entity associated with a data network of a second AS different from the first AS among the ASs.

6. In claim 1, information about the session management policy is an SMF entity generated based on a request from an AF (application function) entity.

7. In claim 1, the controller, An SMF entity further configured to determine a type of UP path including at least one UPF entity based on information about the above session management policy.

8. In a mobile communication system, a method performed by a session management function (SMF) entity, A step of receiving information about a session management policy including an indicator indicating continuous steering from a PCF (policy control function) entity; and A step of determining at least one user plane function (UPF) entity for the continuous steering based on information about the session management policy, A method wherein at least one UPF entity is for routing edge computing traffic between one or more application servers (AS).

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the session management policy includes at least one of a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of a continuous steering target application, an internet protocol (IP) address of the continuous steering target application, a data network access identifier (DNAI) of the continuous steering target application, an order of the continuous steering, or a delay requirement between one or more ASs.

10. In claim 8, the method comprises: A step of receiving information about a DNS query associated with a terminal from an EASDF (edge ​​application server discovery function) entity; and further comprising a step of determining whether the DNS query corresponds to the continuous steering target application; A method wherein said at least one UPF entity is determined based on said DNS query and said session management policy.

11. A method according to claim 8, wherein the at least one UPF entity comprises at least one of an uplink classifier (ULCL) entity, a local UPF entity, or a remote UPF entity.

12. In claim 11, The above local UPF entity is associated with the data network of the first AS among the ASs, and A method in which the above remote UPF entity is associated with a data network of a second AS that is different from the first AS among the above ASs.

13. In claim 8, a method in which information about the session management policy is generated based on a request from an AF (application function) entity.

14. In claim 8, the method comprises: A method further comprising the step of determining a type of UP path including at least one UPF entity based on information about the session management policy.

Images