Methods and apparatuses for determining traffic flows

Abstract

A method performed by a first network entity (110) in a communication network (100) The method comprises receiving (210), from a third network entity (130) in the communication network (100), at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit Congestion Notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session, sending (220), to a second network entity (120) in the communication network (100), at least one second request based on the at least one first request. Further there are a second network entity (120) and third network entity (130) related methods, a related first network entity (110), a second network entity (120) and a third network entity (130).

Description

[0001] METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR DETERMINING TRAFFIC FLOWS

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a first network entity, a second network entity, a third network entity and methods performed by the first network entity, the second network entity and the third network entity. Related computer programs and computer readable storage mediums are also disclosed.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] There is an emerging interest in time-critical use cases such as entertainment or multimedia, gaming, augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), real-time video conferencing, vehicle to everything (V2X) or teleoperated driving. These use cases require bounded low latency in conjunction with medium to high bitrates and the ability to scale across a large number of consumer devices. Therefore, enhancements like edge computing, a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5thGeneration (5G) New Radio (NR) network interface and shorter transmission time intervals (TTI) have a need for improved of quality of experience (QoE) for high data rate applications requiring bounded, stable, and low end-to-end latency. To fulfill the latency requirements, an application must be able to adapt the bitrate to minimize a risk of increased delay while maximizing the service quality.

[0006] Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput (L4S) is a technology for reducing queue delay problems, ensuring low latency to Internet Protocol flows with a high throughput performance. It relies on an Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) mechanism marking ECN bits in an Internet Protocol (IP) header to signal congestion in the network avoiding packets to be dropped.

[0007] The term ECN bleaching refers to the phenomenon where intermediate devices in the network incorrectly zero out or modify ECN bits, effectively "bleaching" the congestion notification information from the packets. ECN bleaching may arise due to some devices, which are not ECN-aware and may have been programmed to clear or modify certain bits in the Internet Protocol (IP) header. ECN bleaching can lead to the loss of ECN signals and a reduction in the effectiveness of congestion control mechanisms. In case any intermediate device or one of the endpoints do ECN bleaching, implies that L4S cannot be used by any of the endpoints.

[0008] A Mobile Network Operator (MNO) may not be aware of the amount of traffic that is L4S capable and / or L4S enabled, neither how it is impacting its network resources. Further, the MNO is not aware of ECN bleaching being applied by intermediate devices. Thus, traffic may be handled irrespective of being an L4S (non-)enabled traffic flow and / or traffic flow comprising ECN bleaching, leading to inefficiency.

[0009] In 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.501 , v18.5.0. (March 2024), System architecture for the 5G System, the MNO is made aware of L4S enabled traffic within the context of XRM applications based on a collaborative solution via exposure APIs such as Nnef exposure APIs. However, most Content Providers do not support the exposure APIs. Thus, the MNO is required to detect on a per Uplink (UL)ZDownlink (DL) traffic flow if the client and / or server supports L4S and / or if the traffic flow is L4S enabled or not.

[0010] The case of a dedicated Quality of Service (QoS) flow / Radio Bearer is triggered to carry the traffic for low latency applications and both L4S enabled and non-L4S enabled traffic flows within an application traffic session are carried under that same dedicated QoS flow / Radio Bearer, leading to a significant performance penalty.

[0011] SUMMARY

[0012] An object of the invention is to enable improved performance, e.g., with respect to a communication network for low latency applications.

[0013] A first aspect of the invention relates to a method performed by a first network entity in a communication network. The method comprises receiving, from a third network entity in the communication network, at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit Congestion Notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session, sending, to a second network entity in the communication network, at least one second request based on the at least one first request. Thereby, the first network entity may be enabled to trigger determination of the traffic flow associated with the L4S and the ECN.

[0014] A second aspect of the invention related to a method performed by a second network entity in a communication network. The method comprises receiving, from a first network entity in the communication network and / or from a fourth network entity, at least one second request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session, and during the application traffic session: determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow is the traffic flow associated with the L4S and / or the ECN. Thereby, the second network entity may be enabled to report which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow is the traffic flow associated with the L4S and / or the ECN.

[0015] A third aspect of the invention relates to a method performed by a third network entity in a communication network. The method comprises sending, to a first network entity in a communication network, at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session. Thereby, the third network entity may be enabled to trigger determination of the traffic flow associated with the L4S and the ECN via the first network entity.

[0016] A fourth aspect of the invention relates to a system, the system comprising a first network entity, a second network entity and a third network entity, the first network entity is configured to perform the method according to the first aspect or any embodiment therein, the second network entity is configured to perform the method according to the second aspect or any embodiment therein, the third network entity is configured to perform the method according any to the third aspect or any embodiment therein.

[0017] A fifth aspect of the invention relates to a first network entity in a communication network. The first network entity is configured to receive from a third network entity in the communication network, at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit Congestion Notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session, send to a second network entity in the communication network, at least one second request based on the at least one request.

[0018] A sixth aspect of the invention relates to a first network entity in a communication network, comprising processing circuitry and a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry. The first network entity is configured to receive from a third network entity in the communication network, at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit Congestion Notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session, send to a second network entity in the communication network, at least one second request based on the at least one request.

[0019] A seventh aspect of the invention relates to a second network entity in a communication network. The second network entity is configured to receive, from a first network entity in the communication network and / or from a fourth network entity, at least one second request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session, and during the application traffic session determine which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow is the traffic flow associated with the L4S and / or the ECN.

[0020] An eight aspect of the invention relates to a second network entity in a communication network, comprising processing circuitry and a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry. The second network entity is configured to receive, from a first network entity in the communication network and / or from a fourth network entity, at least one second request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session, and during the application traffic session: determine which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow is the traffic flow associated with the L4S and / or the ECN.

[0021] A ninth aspect of the invention relates to a third network entity in a communication network. The third network entity is configured to send to a first network entity in a communication network, at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session.

[0022] A tenth aspect of the invention relates to a third network entity in a communication network comprising processing circuitry and a computer readable storage medium, the computer readable storage medium containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry. The third network entity is configured to send, to a first network entity in a communication network, at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow is a traffic flow associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow is occurring during an application traffic session.

[0023] An eleventh aspect of the invention relates to a computer program comprising instructions which processing circuitry of a first network entity, cause the processing circuitry of the first network entity to carry out the method according to first aspect or any embodiment therein, processing circuitry of a second network entity, cause the processing circuitry of the second network entity to carry out the method according to second aspect or any embodiment therein, and / or processing circuitry of a third network entity, cause the processing circuitry of the third network entity to carry out the method according to the third aspect or any embodiments therein.

[0024] A twelfth aspect of the invention relates to a tangible, non-volatile computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed on processing circuitry of a first network entity, cause the processing circuitry of the first network entity to carry out the method according to the first aspect or any embodiment therein, processing circuitry of a second network entity, cause the processing circuitry of the second network entity to carry out the method according to the second aspect or any embodiment therein, and / or processing circuitry of a third network entity, cause the processing circuitry of the third network entity to carry out the method according to the third aspect or any embodiment therein.

[0025] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an environment.

[0027] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method 200 performed by the first network entity.

[0028] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 performed by the second network entity.

[0029] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 performed by the third network entity.

[0030] Figures 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating exemplary embodiments of the method 200, method 300 and method 400, performed by the first network entity, the second network entity and the third network entity.

[0031] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0032] Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram illustrating embodiments of the first network entity.

[0033] Figure 8 illustrates a block diagram illustrating embodiments of the second network entity.

[0034] Figure 9 illustrates a block diagram illustrating embodiments of the third network entity.

[0035] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an environment in which embodiments presented herein can be applied. Figure 1 illustrates a communication network 100 comprising a first network entity 110, a second network entity 120 and a third network entity 130. Optionally, a communication device 160 communicates via an access network node 180, such as a radio access network (RAN) device 180, with the first network entity 110. The RAN device 180 may further communicate with a fifth network entity 140. The second network entity 120 may communicate with an application server device 150 and with a fourth network entity 170. The fourth network entity 170 may be located outside of the communication network 100. The first network entity 110, the second network entity 120, the third network entity 130, and the fifth network entity 140 may be comprised in a core network 190. Figure 1 further illustrates connecting lines 110a, 130a, 140a, 120a, 150a, 180a, 180b, 160a and 160b, wherein the connecting lines may correspond to a connecting capable of carrying at least one traffic flow 10a-d. In an example, the communication network 100 is a 5G network and the core network 190 is a 5G core (5GC), wherein the first network entity 110 corresponds to a Session Management Function (SMF) device 110 hosting an SMF, the second network entity 120 corresponds to a User Plane Function (UPF) device 120 hosting a UPF, the third network entity 130 corresponds to a Policy Control Function (PCF) device hosting a PCF, and the fifth network function 140 corresponds to a Access Management Function (AMF) device hosting an AMF. In the example of the communication network 100 being a 5G network, such as a service-based 5G network, the connecting line 110a may correspond to an Nsmf interface, the connecting line 120a to an N4 interface, the connecting line 150a to an N6 interface, the connecting line 130a to an Npcf interface the connecting line 140a to an Namf interface, the connecting line 160a to an N1 interface, the connecting line 180b to an N2 interface and the connecting line 180a corresponds to an N3 interface. In an example, the communication network 100 is a 4G or 6G network as defined by 3GPP. The application server device 150 may be for example a device hosting an application function or software that delivers an application through a communication protocol. The RAN device 180 is for example a RAN node. Further, the RAN device 180 may be a radio base station, such as a gNodeB (gNB) or an eNodeB (eNB+). During an application traffic session, at least one traffic flow 10a-d may be sent from the communication device 160 to the communication network 100 or from the communication network 100 to the communication device 160, for example, using user plane tunnel protocols, such as e.g., General packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol user plane (GTP-U). In this example, GTP-U is a tunneling protocol that exists between a network node in the access network node and a user plane.

[0037] The third network entity 130 is configured to send to the first network entity 110, at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is a traffic flow 10a associated with a L4S and / or ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is occurring during an application traffic session. The first network entity 110 is configured to receive from the third network entity 130, the at least one first request. Further the first network entity 110 is configured to send to the second network entity 120 at least one second request based on the at least one first request. The second network entity 120, is configured to receive from the first network entity 110 and / or from the fourth network entity 170, the at least one second request. Further the second network entity 120 is configured to determine, during the application traffic session, which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN.

[0038] The solution presented herein addresses the above-mentioned challenges of enabling increased awareness of the second network entity 120 on which traffic flow 10a of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is associated with the L4S and / or the ECN and thus enable improved performance, of fer example an MNO, in L4S or ECN scenarios within an application traffic session. Further, the solution presented herein enables differentiation of L4S capable and / or L4S enabled traffic flows within the application traffic session without the need of explicit collaboration, e g., by a content provider such as an Application Function (AF).

[0039] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method 200 performed by the first network entity 110, as shown in Figure 1 and described in the text relating thereto.

[0040] The method 200 comprises a first step 210, as illustrated in Figure 2, which is receiving, from the third network entity 130 in the communication network 100, the at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is occurring during an application traffic session. In a sending step 220, the first network entity 110 sends to the second network entity 120 in the communication network 100, at least one second request based on the at least one first request.

[0041] By receiving 210 the at least one first request, the first network entity 110 is enabled to instruct the second network entity 220 to determine which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN. By sending 220, to the second network entity 120, the at least one second request based on the at least one first request, the first network entity 110 is enabled to increase the performance during the application traffic session.

[0042] A traffic flow may be a service data flow, a network flow or a packet flow. The traffic flow may comprise a series of packets from a source to a destination. The packets are a segment of data traveling form the sender’s origin to its destination. In an example, the traffic flow may be characterized by 5-tuple attributes. The 5-tuple attributes may comprise a source IP address, a source port, a destination IP address, a destination port and a transport protocol. In another example, the traffic flow may be characterized by 2-tuple or 4-tuple attributes.

[0043] The at least one traffic flow 10a-d may be one traffic flow or more than one traffic flow. The at least one traffic flow 10a-d may comprise at least one uplink (UL) and / or downlink (UL) traffic flow.

[0044] The application traffic session may be a packet data unit (PDU) session, and / or a period of time wherein the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is sent from / to the communication device 160.

[0045] The traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN may be an L4S enabled traffic flow and / or an ECN non-enabled traffic flow, or an L4S nonenabled traffic flow and / or an ECN enabled traffic flow.

[0046] In an example, the traffic flow 10a may be an L4S capable traffic flow and / or an ECN non-capable traffic flow, or an L4S non-capable traffic flow and / or an ECN capable traffic flow.

[0047] The ECN (non-)enabled traffic flow or ECN (non-)capable traffic flow may indicate that the sender of the traffic flow has ECN (non-)enabled or is (non-)capable to enable ECN. The L4S (non-)enabled traffic flow or L4S (non-)capable traffic flow may indicate that the sender of the traffic flow has L4S (non-)enabled or is (non- )capable to enable L4S. In an example the sender may be capable of enabling L4S or ECN and the receiver is not. In an example the sender or receiver may be the communication device 160 or the application server device 150.

[0048] The traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN may comprise an indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow or no indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, and / or an indication of at least one congestion event.

[0049] The indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow may indicate ECN bleaching. In case the traffic flow 10a comprises no indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, the traffic flow 10a may have no ECN bleaching. The indication of at least one congestion event may indicate an ECN congestion event. A congestion event (or loss event) corresponds to one or several losses. In the context of ECN, the ECN congestion event may correspond to at least one acknowledgment packet with an ECN-echo occurring in one Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) window during one current Round-Trip Time (RTT) period.

[0050] The at least one first request and the at least one second request may be for determining more than one traffic flows of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d with different properties. In an example, the at least one first request and the at least one second request is for determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a being for example an L4S enabled traffic flow and comprises an indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow, and which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is a traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d being an L4S non-enabled traffic flow and comprises no indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow.

[0051] The at least one first request may comprise a request for differentiating and / or reporting which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN. In an example the at least one first request is a Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create message comprising a list of at least one Policy and charging control (PCC) rule. In that example, the at least one PCC rule may comprise the request for differentiating and / or reporting.

[0052] The at least one second request may comprise the request for differentiating and / or reporting. In an example the at least one second request is a Packet Flow Control Protocol (PFCP) Session Establishment Request message comprising at least a list of at least one Packet Detection Rule (PDR) rule and at least one Usage Reporting Rule (URR) rule. The PDR rule may comprise an extension with the request for differentiating and the URR rule may comprise an extension with the request for reporting. In an alternative example the at least one first request is equal to the at least one second request.

[0053] Referring to figure 2, which illustrates an optional step 202 comprising receiving, from the communication device 160, a session create request. An optional step 204 comprises, in response to receiving the session create request, sending to the third network entity 130, a control create message, wherein receiving 210 the at least one first request is in response to sending 204 the control create message. An optional step 212 comprises obtaining the at least one second request based on the first request. An optional step 222 comprises in response to sending 220 the at least one second request, receiving 222, from the second network entity 120, at least one response to the at least one second request. An optional step 224 comprises, in response to receiving 222 the at least one response, sending 224 to the communication device 160, a session create response. An optional step 226 comprises receiving, during the application traffic session, from the second network entity 120, at least one report indicating which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN. An optional step 228, comprises, in response to receiving 226 the at least one report, sending 228, to the second network entity 120, at least one report response. An optional step 230 comprises, based on the at least one report, sending 230, to the communication device 160 and / or to the second network entity 120, a modification request.

[0054] By receiving 202 the session create request, the first network entity 110 may be enabled to trigger the third network entity 130 to generate the at least one first request and thus enable differentiation of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d during the application traffic session. By sending 204 the control create message, the first network entity 110 enables triggering the third network entity 130 to generate the at least one first request which may enable differentiation of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d during the application traffic session. By obtaining 212, the at least one second request, the first network entity 110 may convert the at least one first request for enabling the second network entity 120 to interpret the at least one second request based on the at least one first request. Thus, obtaining 212 may enable triggering the second network entity 120 to differentiate the at least one traffic flows 10a-d within the application traffic session. By receiving 222 at least one response to the at least one second request and sending 224 the session create response, the first network entity 110 enables acknowledgment of the successful operation of setting up the application traffic session. By receiving 226 the at least one report, the first network entity 110 is enabled to send a modification request which may enable the improvement of the performance within the application traffic session. By sending 230 a modification request, the first network entity 110 enables improvement of the performance by for example causing separate QoS flows or causing blocking the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. By sending 228 the at least one report response, the first network entity 110 acknowledges safe receipt of the at least one report. Sending 228 the at least one report response may enable an increased reliability which may enable an improved performance during the application traffic session.

[0055] Receiving 202 the session create request may comprise receiving via the fifth network entity 140. In an example the session create request message may be a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session Create Request. Receiving 202 may trigger a PDU Session establishment procedure. The session create request may comprise a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI), and / or a route selection descriptor such as a Data Network Name (DNN) and / or a Single - Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI).

[0056] The control create message may be a Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Request message. The control create message may comprise the SUPI, the DNN and / or the S-NSSAI.

[0057] The obtaining 212 may comprise generating or receiving the at least one second request. In an example obtaining 212 comprises generating the at least one URR and / PDR rule based on the at least one PCC rule. The at least one response to the at least one second request may acknowledge sending the at least one second request. In an example the at least one response to the at least one request is an PFCP Session Establishment Response message.

[0058] Sending 224 the session create response may comprise sending via the fifth network entity 140. The session create response may be a Nsmf PDll Session Create Response.

[0059] The at least one report may comprise a list indicating which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 101a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S, and / or the ECN. In an example the list indicates which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow associated to the L4S enabled traffic flow and which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow associated to the L4S enabled traffic flow comprising the indication of the L4S enabled traffic flow. The at least one report may be a PFCP Session Report Request message. In an example the at least one report may comprise the indication of L4S or ECN enabled traffic flow together with flow descriptors where the indication has been determined including an application server device identity (App- ID). In that example the at least one report may further comprise a source such as the sender or receiver of the indication such as on which side the indication was caused at. The source may be for example the communication device 160, at the second network entity 120 and / or at the application server device 150. The at least one report may be sent periodically after a preconfigured period of time, after each uplink or downlink traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d, and / or after each event of determining that the traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated to the L4S and / or ECN.

[0060] The at least one report response may be an acknowledgment sent by the first network entity 110 to the second network entity 120 to safe receipt the receival of the at least one report. The at least one report response may be at least one PFCP Session report response.

[0061] Sending 230 the modification request to the communication device 160 may comprise sending via the fifth network entity 140. The modification request sent to the communication device 160 may be a PDll Session Modification Request message. Sending 230 the modification request to the communication device 160 may comprise generating at least one uplink Traffic Flow Template (TFT) based on the at least one report, wherein the modification request comprises the at least one uplink TFT. In that example the uplink TFT may trigger the communication device 160 to forward uplink traffic via a separate QoS flow or a separate Data Radio Bearer (DRB) flow the traffic flow 10a of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d.

[0062] The modification request sent to the second network entity 120 may comprise an instruction for updating ECN bits of the at least one traffic and / or and instruction for updating a Quality of Service, QoS, Flow Identifier QFI field in a header and / or an instruction for blocking the application traffic session or an instruction for blocking the traffic flow 10a. The modification request sent to the second network entity 120 may for example trigger a separate QoS flow or separate DRB flow for the traffic flow 10a of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. In an example, the modification request sent to the second network entity 120 is a PFCP Session Modification request.

[0063] In an example, method 200 comprises further, receiving 232, by the first network entity 110 a modification request response from the communication device 160 and / or the second network entity 120. In an example receiving 232 from the communication device 160 comprises receiving via the fifth network entity 140.

[0064] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 performed by the second network entity 120, as shown in Figure 1 and described in the text relating thereto.

[0065] The method 300 comprises a first step 310, as illustrated in Figure 3, which is receiving 310, from the first network entity 110 in the communication network 100 and / or from a fourth network entity 170, at least one second request for determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is occurring during the application traffic session. The method further comprises, a determining step 320, wherein the second network entity 120 determines 320 during the application traffic session, which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN.

[0066] By receiving 310, the second network entity 120 is enabled to be preconfigured by the first network entity to determine and may thus be enabled to differentiate traffic flows for increasing the performance during the application traffic session. By determining 320, the second network entity 120 is enabled to differentiate L4S (non- ), ECN (non-)enabled traffic flows which may increase the performance during the application traffic session. Determining 320 which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a may comprise monitoring changes in ECN bits of e.g., the UL and / or DL packets, of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d and / or monitoring the at least one traffic flow 10a-d with a machine learning (ML) model or artificial intelligence (Al) model. In an example a ML model with traffic traces (e.g., packet capture (PCAP) files) may be trained, wherein the traffic traces are known to be subject to ECN bleaching. The ML may be a supervised ML model used in real time traffic to detect ECN bleaching.

[0067] The ECN bits may indicate which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow is the traffic flow 10a. The ECN bits may be comprised in an IP header of the packets comprised in the at least one traffic flow 10a-d and correspond to a binary codepoint such as 00, 01 , 10, or 11. Table 1 corresponds to examples of the ECN bits binary codepoints and their meaning. Monitoring changes in ECN bits may be an indication for e.g., ECN bleaching.

[0068] Table 1 : Examples of ECN bits and meaning. Monitoring the at least one traffic with the machine learning model may enable determining the indication for L4S enabled or ECN enabled traffic flow. Further, the machine learning model may enable determining malicious application or services which are known to apply ECN bleaching. The machine learning model may have been trained for determining the indication for L4S enabled or ECN enabled traffic flow. The machine learning model may comprise a decision tree.

[0069] Determining 230 the traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow comprising the indication for L4S enabled or ECN enabled traffic flow may further comprise detecting the indication from the sender or receiver such as the communication device 160, the application server device 150 or devices such as router or middleboxes between the second network entity 120 and the communication device 160. Determining may comprise detecting a value associated with the L4S-enabled or ECN-enabled traffic flow in the ECN bits included in the IP header of the traffic flow. In this example, the ECN bits have been updated by the sender of the traffic flow depending on the ability of the sender to support the L4S- enabled or ECN-enabled traffic flow.

[0070] In an example, determining 230 the traffic flow being non-L4S enabled may indicate an unsuccessful L4S negotiation between a client and a server of the application server device 150.

[0071] Referring to figure 3, which illustrates an optional step 312, which comprises in response to receiving the at least one second request, sending 312, to the first network entity 110, the at least one response to the at least one second request. An optional step 314 comprises, during the application traffic session receiving 314 from the communication device 160 and / or from the application server device 150, the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. An optional step 322 comprises sending to the first network entity 110 and / or to the fourth network entity 170, the at least one report indicating which traffic flow of at the least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow associated with the L4S and / or the ECN, wherein sending 322 the at least one report is in response to determining 320. An optional step 324 comprises, in response to sending 322 the at least one report, receiving 324, from the first network entity 110 at the least one report response. An optional step 326 comprises receiving 326, from the first network entity 110, the modification request. An optional step 328 comprises, in response determining the traffic flow 10a of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d comprising the indication, updating 328 ECN bits of the at least one traffic. An optional step 330 comprises, in response to determining the traffic flow 10a of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d being a L4S, enabled traffic flow or an ECN enabled traffic flow, updating 330 the QFI field in the header. An optional step 334 comprises during the application traffic session, forwarding 332, to the communication device 160 and / or the application server device 150, the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. An optional step 330a comprises, in response to determining the traffic flow being the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN comprising an indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, blocking 330a the application traffic session. An optional step 334 comprises in response to determining the traffic flow being the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN comprising the indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, blocking 336 the traffic flow 10a.

[0072] By receiving 312, the second network entity 120 is enabled to acknowledge safe receipt of receiving the at least one second request. By receiving 314 at least one traffic flow 10a-d, the second network entity 120 is enabled to monitor the at least one traffic flow 10a-d which enables differentiating the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. By sending 322, the at least one report to the first network entity 110, the second network entity 120 is enabled to report which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a and may thus be enabled to increase the performance during the application traffic session. By receiving 324 the report response, the second network entity 120 is informed of the safe receipt of the at least one report which may increase the reliability. Thus, the second network entity 120 may, by receiving 324, be enabled to increase the performance during the application traffic session. By receiving a modification request 326, the second network entity 120 may be instructed, by the first network entity 110, to take action based on the modification request and may thus increase the performance during the application traffic session. By updating 328 the ECN bits, the second network entity 120 is enabled to avoid that other devices such as the router or the middleboxes continue sending packets with wrong binary codepoints. By updating 330 the QFI field in the header, the second network entity 120 may enable triggering a separate QoS flow or separate DRB flow for the traffic flow 10a of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. By forwarding 332 the at least one traffic data 10a-d, the second network entity 120 is enabled to pass the at least one traffic data onwards to the application server device 150 or to the communication device 160. By blocking 334 the application traffic session, the second network entity 120 may be enabled to increase the security by blocking for example when the application traffic session or the application server device 150 is determined to be malicious. By blocking 336 the traffic flow 10a, the second network entity 120 may be enabled to increase the performance. The steps 328, 330, 332, 334 and / or 336 are may thus enable the second network entity 120 to increase the performance during the application traffic session.

[0073] Updating 238 the ECN bits of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d may comprise updating the ECN bits in response to receiving the modification request. Updating 238 may further comprise updating the ECN bits of the packets comprises in the traffic flow 10a comprising the indication. In an example updating the ECN bits comprises setting the binary codepoint of the ECN bits of the UL and DL packets comprised in the traffic 10a comprising the indication to 00. Setting the binary codepoint of the ECN bits of the traffic 10a to 00 may avoid that the devices continue sending packets with binary codepoints marking L4S or ECN enabled traffic flow.

[0074] The header may be a general packet radio service Tunnelling Protocol (GTP) Extension Header.

[0075] Blocking 334 and 336 may be in response to receiving the modification request.

[0076] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method 400 performed by the third network entity 130, as shown in Figure 1 and described in the text relating thereto.

[0077] The method 400 comprises a first step 410, as illustrated in Figure 3, which is sending 410 to the first network entity 110 in the communication network 100, the at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow 10a-d is a traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or the ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is occurring during an application traffic session.

[0078] By sending 410 the at least one first request, the third network entity 130 may trigger the first network entity 110 to send the at least one second request to the second network entity 120 and thus the third network entity 130 may enable increasing the performance during the application traffic session.

[0079] Referring to Figure 4, which illustrates an optional step of receiving 402, from the first network entity 110, the control message, wherein sending 410 the at least one first request is in response to receiving 402 the control message.

[0080] In an example, the method 400 further comprises a generating step 404 between the receiving step 402 and the sending step 410, wherein the third network entity 130 generates the at least one first request. Generating 404 may comprise generating the at least one PCC rule. In an example generating enables the third network entity 130 to trigger applying traffic management actions. The generating 404 may be in response to receiving 402.

[0081] Figure 5 is a signaling diagram illustrating exemplary embodiments of the method 200, method 300 and method 400, performed by the first network entity 110, the second network entity 120 and the third network entity 130, as shown in Figure 2, Figure 3 and Figure 4. Figure 5 refers to the first network entity 110, the second network entity 120, the third network entity 130, the fifth network entity 140, the communication device 160 and the application server device 150 as illustrated in Figure 1 and described in the text relating thereto.

[0082] An optional step 502 comprises sending, by the communication device 160 sends the session create request to the fifth network entity 140, receiving, by the fifth network entity 140, the session create request and sending, by the fifth network entity 140 the session create request to the first network entity 110. The first network entity 110 receives the session create request. The session create request may be in form of a PDU session establishment request comprising the DNN and / or the S- NSSAI, and the SUPI when sent, by the communication device 160 and received by the fifth network entity 140. The step 502 may correspond to step 202 of method 200.

[0083] An optional step 504 comprises sending, by the first network entity 110 to the third network entity 130, the control create message, and receiving, by the third network entity 130 from the first network entity 110, the control create message. The step 504 may correspond to the step 204 of method 200 and the step 402 of method 400. An optional step 506 comprises generating, by the third network entity 130, the at least one first request. The step 506 may correspond to the step 404 of method 400.

[0084] A step 508 comprises sending, by the third network entity 130 to the first network entity 110, the at least one first request and receiving, by the first network entity 110 from the third network entity 130, the at least one first request. The step 508 may correspond to the step 210 of method 200 and the step 410 of method 400.

[0085] An optional step 510 comprises, obtaining, by the first network entity 110, the at least one second request based on the at least one first request. The step 510 may correspond to the step 212 of method 200.

[0086] An optional step 512 comprises sending, by the first network entity 110 to the second network entity 120, the at least one second request, and receiving, by the second network entity 120 from the first network entity 110, the at least one second request. The step 512 may correspond to step 220 of method 200 and step 310 of method 300.

[0087] An optional step 514 comprises sending, by the second network entity 120 to the first network entity 110, the at least one response and receive, by the first network entity 110 to second network entity 120, the at least one response. The step 514 may correspond to step 222 of method 200 and step 312 of method 300.

[0088] An optional step 516 comprises sending, by the first network entity 110 to the fifth network entity 140, the session create respond, and receiving, from the first network entity 110 by the fifth network entity 140, the session create response. The step 516 may further comprise sending, by the fifth network entity 140 to the communication device 160 the session create response. The session create response may be in form of a PDU Session Establishment Response message when sent from the fifth network entity 140 to the communication device 160. The step 516 may correspond to step 224 of method 200.

[0089] An optional step 518 comprises triggering, by the communication device 160, a start of the application traffic session. In an example, the communication device 160 may obtain a request for starting an application associated to the application traffic session, e.g., via a user handling the communication device 160, for starting the application traffic session in a requested category such as cloud gaming, V2X, realtime video conferencing, AR / VR, which may be indicated in the DNN and / or S- NSSAI. The step 518 may further comprise starting the application and the application traffic session.

[0090] An optional step 520a comprises sending, by the communication device 160 to the second network entity 120, the at least one traffic data 10a-d and receiving, by the second network entity 120 from the communication device 160 the at least one traffic data 10a-d. The step 520a may correspond to step 314 of method 300.

[0091] A step 522 comprises, determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow 10a associated with the L4S and / or ECN. The step 522 may correspond to step 320 of method 300.

[0092] An optional step 524a comprises forwarding, by the second network entity 120 to the application server device 150, the at least one traffic flow 10a-d received from the communication device 160 and receiving, by the application server device 150 from the second network entity 120, the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. The step 524a may correspond to step 332 of method 300.

[0093] Alternatively, or additionally to step 522, an optional step 524b may be performed, wherein the optional step 524b comprises sending, by the application server device 150 to the second network entity 120 the at least one traffic flow 10a-d, and receiving, by the second network entity 120 from the application server device 150, the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. The step 524b may correspond to step 314 of method 300.

[0094] Alternatively, or additionally to step 524a, an optional step 520b may be performed, wherein the optional step 520b comprises forwarding by the second network entity 120 to the communication device 160 the at least one traffic flow 10a-d received from the application server device 150, and receiving, by the communication device 160 from the second network entity 120, the at least one traffic flow 10a-d. The step 520b may correspond to step 332 of method 300. In an example, step 520b and / or 524a may be performed after the step 522, an optional step 526, after an optional step 528, after an optional step 530b, after a step 532b and / or after an optional step 534b.

[0095] The optional step 526 comprises sending, by the second network entity 120 to the first network entity 110, the at least one report and receiving, by the first network entity 110 from the second network entity 120, the at least one report. The step 526 may correspond to the step 226 of method 200 and the step 332 of method 300.

[0096] The optional step 528 comprises sending, by the first network entity 110 to the second network entity 120, the at least one report response and receiving, by the second network entity 120 from the first network entity 110, the at least one report response. The step 528 may correspond to step 228 of method 200 and 324 of method 300.

[0097] An optional step 530a comprises sending, by the first network entity 110 to the fifth network entity 140 the modification request and receiving, by the fifth network entity 140 from the first network entity 110, the modification request. The step 530a may further comprise sending, by the fifth network entity 140 to the communication device 160, the modification request and receiving, by the communication device 160 from the fifth network entity 140, the modification request. The modification request received by the fifth network entity 140 may be in form of a Nsmf PDU Session Modification Request message comprises e.g., the at least one uplink TFT or QoS and the modification request received by the communication device 160 may be in form of a PDU Session Modification request message comprises e.g., the at least one uplink TFT or QoS. The step 530a may correspond to step 230 of the method 200.

[0098] An optional step 532a comprises performing by the communication device 160 a first action. The first action may correspond to send the at least one traffic 10a-d via a corresponding QoS flow. In an example, performing the first action comprises storing the received at least one uplink TFT and / or send the at least one traffic 10a-d via a corresponding QoS flow or DRB flow.

[0099] An optional step 534a comprises sending, by the communication device 160 to the fifth network entity 140, the modification request response and receiving, by the fifth network entity 140 from the communication device 160, the modification request response. The step 534a may further comprise sending, by the fifth network entity 140 to the first network entity 110, the modification request response and receiving, by the first network entity 110 from the fifth network entity 110 the modification request response. The modification request response sent by the communication device 160 may be in form of a PDll Session Modification response message and the modification request response sent by the fifth network entity 140 may be in form of a Nsmf PDU Session Modification Response. The step 534a may correspond to step 232 of method 200.

[0100] Additionally, or alternatively to steps 530a to 534a, the optional steps 530b to 534b may be performed.

[0101] The optional step 530b comprises sending, by the first network entity 110 to the second network entity 120 the modification request and receiving, by the second network entity 120 from the first network entity 110, the modification request. The step 530b may correspond to step 230 of method 200 and step 326 of method 300.

[0102] The optional step 532b comprises performing, by the second network entity 120, a second action. Performing 532b a second action may correspond to the steps of updating 328 and / or updating 330 or blocking 334 and / or blocking 336 of method 300.

[0103] The optional step 543b comprises sending, by the second network entity 120 to the first network entity 110 the modification request response and receiving by the first network entity 110 from the second network entity 120, the modification request response. The modification request received by the first network entity 110 may be in form of a PFCP Session Modification Response message.

[0104] In a first embodiment, steps 502 to 534a and 534b are performed.

[0105] In the first embodiment, the at least one first request comprises determining and reporting which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow being an L4S enabled traffic flow. In the first embodiment, determining 522 comprises determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow is the traffic flow being an L4S enabled traffic flow.

[0106] In the first embodiment, the at least one report comprises a list indicating which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow being an L4S enabled traffic flow. The report may be sent periodically after the preconfigured period of time.

[0107] In the first embodiment, the at least one report response is sent each time in response to successfully receive, by the first network entity 110, the at least one report.

[0108] In the first embodiment, in case the traffic flow 10a being an L4S enabled traffic flow has been determined in LIL direction, i.e. , between steps 520a and 524a, the modification request is sent to the second network entity 120. In case the traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d being an L4S enabled traffic flow has been determined in DL direction, i.e., between steps 524b and 520b, the modification request is sent to the second network entity 120. In an example the application server device 150 may be L4S capable and the communication device 160 may be not L4S enabled or the other way around. Receiving 530a, by the communication device 160, the modification request triggers the communication device 160 to perform the first action. The first action corresponds to updating the QoS flows to cause separate QoS flows for the traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d being an L4S enabled traffic flow in UL direction. Receiving 530b, by the first network entity 110, the modification request, triggers the network entity to update the QFI field in the header of the traffic flow to cause sperate QoS flows for the traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d being an L4S enabled traffic flow in DL direction.

[0109] In a second embodiment, steps 502 to 526 and 532b are performed.

[0110] In the second embodiment, the at least one first request corresponds to a request for determining and reporting which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow being an ECN enabled traffic flow. The at least one first request corresponds further to a request for determining and reporting which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow is the traffic flow comprising the indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow. In the second embodiment, determining 522 comprises determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow being an ECN enabled traffic flow, and which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow comprising the indication of the at least one ECN enabled traffic flow.

[0111] In the second embodiment, the at least one report corresponds to a report indicating traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow being an ECN enabled traffic flow, and a report indicating which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow comprising the indication of the at least one ECN enabled traffic flow.

[0112] In the second embodiment, the second network entity 120 is configured to send the at least one report each time the traffic flow 10b comprising the indication of the at least one ECN enabled traffic flow has been detected.

[0113] In the second embodiment, performing 532b the second action corresponds to updating the ECN bits of the traffic flow comprising the indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow has been detected.

[0114] In a third embodiment, the steps 512, 514, 520a / b to 528a / b are performed, wherein steps 512, 514, 526-528 are performed by the fourth network entity 170 outside of the communication network 100.

[0115] In a fourth embodiment, the steps 502 to 528 and 530b to 534b are performed.

[0116] In the fourth embodiment, the at least one first request is a request for determining which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow 10a-d is the traffic flow comprising the indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow.

[0117] In the fourth embodiment, determining 522 comprises determining which traffic flow is the traffic flow comprising the indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow. The at least one report corresponds to the list of at least one traffic flows comprising the indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow.

[0118] In the fourth embodiment, sending 530b the modification request triggers the second network entity 120 to perform 523b the second action. Performing the second action corresponds to blocking the traffic flow comprising the indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow. Alternatively, the second action corresponds to blocking the application traffic session. Alternatively, instead of performing 530b to 534b the second network entity 120 is configured by the at least one second request to block the traffic flow comprising the indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow directly after determination.

[0119] In an embodiment, the same steps are performed as in the fourth embodiment, wherein the traffic flow 10a corresponds to a traffic flow comprising no indication of the at least one L4S enabled traffic flow or an indication of ECN congestion.

[0120] In an embodiment, a registration of the communication device 160 has been performed before performing the steps described in Figure 5. In the embodiment, the communication device 160 sends a registration request message towards the fifth network entity 140, wherein the fifth network entity 140 receives the registration request message. The registration request message may comprise the SUPI. In response to receiving the registration request message, the fifth network entity 140 sends to the third network entity 130, a policy create request message such as a Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Create Request message comprising the SUPI. The third network entity 130 receives the policy create request message from the fifth network entity 140 and sends a request for subscriber data including the SUPI to a sixth network entity such as a unified data repository (UDR). The sixth network entity receives the request for subscriber data from the third network entity 130 and sends, to the third network entity 130 a response comprising the subscriber data and an indication of a subscription category such as cloud faming subscription, low latency subscription or ARA / R subscription. The third network entity 130 receives the subscriber data and the indication of the subscription from the sixth network entity and generates at least one policy rule based on the subscription data such as a User Equipment Routing Selection Policy (URSP) rule. The policy rule may comprise a traffic descriptor comprising connection capabilities for the subscription category and the route selection descriptor such as the DNN and S-NSSAI. The third network entity 130 sends to the fifth network entity 140 a configuration update message comprising the at least one policy rule such as a

[0121] Namf_Communication_N1 N2MessageTransfer message. The fifth network entity 140, receives the configuration update message from the third network entity 130 and forwards the configuration update message to the communication device 160. The communication device 160 receives the configuration update message from the third network entity 130 and stores the at least one policy rule comprised in the configuration update message. The third network entity 130 sends a policy create response such as a Npcf_AMPolicyControl_Create Response to the fifth network entity 140. The fifth network entity 140 receives the policy create response from the third network entity 130 and send to the communication device 160 a registration accept message. The communication device 160 receives the registration accept message from the fifth network entity 140.

[0122] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a communication system 600 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0123] In the example, the communication system 600 includes a communication network 100 that includes an access network 604, such as the RAN 180, and the core network 190, which includes one or more core network nodes 608, such as the first network entity 110, the second network entity 120, the third network entity 130 and the fifth network entity 140. The access network 604 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 610a and 610b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 610), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. The network node 610 may be a stationary relay node or a mobile relay node, and it may be embodied in the form of a satellite. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the communication network 100 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the communication network 100 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the communication network 100, including one or more network nodes 610 and / or core network nodes 608. Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1 , F1 , W1 , E1 , E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 610 facilitate direct or indirect connection of a communication device, such as user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 612a, 612b, 612c, and 612d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as communication device 612) to the core network 190 over one or more wireless connections. In an example the communication device 612 may correspond to the communication device 160.

[0124] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 600 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, communication devices, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 600 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system. The communication device 612 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 610 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 610 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the communication device 612 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the communication network 100 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the communication network 100.

[0125] In the depicted example, the core network 190 connects the network nodes 190 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 616. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 190 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 608) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the communication devices, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 608. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0126] The host 616 such as the application server device 150 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 604 and / or the communication network 100. The host 616 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of communication devices, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server. As a whole, the communication system 600 of Figure enables connectivity between the communication device, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0127] In some examples, the communication network 100 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the communication network 100 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the communication network 100. For example, the communication network 100 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some communication devices, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other communication devices, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further communication devices.

[0128] In some examples, the communication device 612 is configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a communication deivce may be designed to transmit information to the access network 604 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 604. Additionally, a communication device may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a communication device may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC). In the example, the hub 614 communicates with the access network 604 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more communication devices (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 610b). In some examples, the hub 614 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding communication devices. For example, the hub 614 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 190 for the communication devices. As another example, the hub 614 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the communication devices. Commands or instructions may be received from the communication devices, network nodes 610, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 614. As another example, the hub 614 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for communication device data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 614 may be a content source. For example, for a communication device that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 614 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 614 then provides to the communication device either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 614 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the communication devices, in particular if one or more of the communication devices are low energy loT devices.

[0129] The hub 614 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 610b. The hub 614 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 614 and communication devices (e.g., UE 612c and / or 612d), and between the hub 614 and the core network 190. In other examples, the hub 614 is connected to the core network 190 and / or one or more communication devices via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 614 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 604 and / or to another communication device over a direct connection. In some scenarios, communication devices may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 610 while still connected via the hub 614 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 614 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the communication devices from / to the network node 610b. In other embodiments, the hub 614 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the communication devices and network node 610b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0130] Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram illustrating embodiments of the first network entity 110 in further detail. In practice, the steps 202 to 230 of the method 200 performed by the first network entity 110 are performed by processing circuitry 704, embodied in one or more processors and / or microprocessors arranged to execute a computer program 701 that is downloaded to a computer program product 705, here in the form of a suitable computer readable storage medium 702 associated with the microprocessor. The computer readable storage medium 702 may be a memory, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM), or a tangible non-volatile computer readable storage medium, such as flash memory or a hard disk drive, or any combination thereof. The computer program 701 comprises computer-executable instructions stored or downloaded to the computer readable storage medium 702 and are executable by the processing circuitry 704. Alternatively, the computer program 701 may be transferred to the computer readable storage medium 702 using a suitable computer program product, such as a memory stick or in a memory of a device. Thus, the computer program 701 may be stored in any suitable manner in the computer program product. The processing circuity 704 is arranged to cause the first network entity 110 to carry out the steps 202 to 230 of method 200 in accordance with any of the of the described embodiments for steps 202 to 230. The processing circuitry 704 is in one embodiment one or more general-purpose processors wherein each one of the general purpose processors includes one or more cores, but may alternatively be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), etc. An input / output (I / O) interface 703 is provided for communicating with external and / or internal entities using wired communications, e.g., based on Ethernet, and / or wireless communications, e.g., Wi-Fi, and / or a cellular network corresponding to one or a combination of 5G cellular networks, LTE, LTE-advanced, UMTS, or any other current or future wireless network, such as a future 3GPP 6G network, as long as the principles described below are applicable.

[0131] Figure 8 illustrates a block diagram illustrating embodiments of the second network entity 120 in further detail. In practice, the steps 310 to 336 of the method 300 performed by the second network entity 120 are performed by processing circuitry

[0132] 804, embodied in one or more processors and / or microprocessors arranged to execute a computer program 801 that is downloaded to a computer program product

[0133] 805, here in the form of a suitable computer readable storage medium 802 associated with the microprocessor. The computer readable storage medium 802 may be a memory, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM), or a tangible non-volatile computer readable storage medium, such as flash memory or a hard disk drive, or any combination thereof. The computer program 801 comprises computer-executable instructions stored or downloaded to the computer readable storage medium 802 and are executable by the processing circuitry 804. Alternatively, the computer program 801 may be transferred to the computer readable storage medium 802 using a suitable computer program product, such as a memory stick or in a memory of a device. Thus, the computer program 801 may be stored in any suitable manner in the computer program product. The processing circuity 804 is arranged to cause the second network entity 120 to carry out the steps 310 to 336 of method 300 in accordance with any of the of the described embodiments for steps 310 to 336. The processing circuitry 804 is in one embodiment one or more general-purpose processors wherein each one of the general purpose processors includes one or more cores, but may alternatively be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), etc. An I / O interface 803 is provided for communicating with external and / or internal entities using wired communications, e.g., based on Ethernet, and / or wireless communications, e.g., Wi-Fi, and / or a cellular network corresponding to one or a combination of 5G cellular networks, LTE, LTE-advanced, UMTS, or any other current or future wireless network, such as a future 3GPP 6G network, as long as the principles described below are applicable. Figure 9 illustrates a block diagram illustrating embodiments of the third network entity 130 in further detail. In practice, the steps 402 to 410 of the method 400 performed by the third network entity 130 are performed by processing circuitry 904, embodied in one or more processors and / or microprocessors arranged to execute a computer program 901 that is downloaded to a computer program product 905, here in the form of a suitable computer readable storage medium 902 associated with the microprocessor. The computer readable storage medium 902 may be a memory, such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM), or a tangible non-volatile computer readable storage medium, such as flash memory or a hard disk drive, or any combination thereof. The computer program 901 comprises computer-executable instructions stored or downloaded to the computer readable storage medium 902 and are executable by the processing circuitry 904. Alternatively, the computer program 901 may be transferred to the computer readable storage medium 902 using a suitable computer program product, such as a memory stick or in a memory of a device. Thus, the computer program 901 may be stored in any suitable manner in the computer program product. The processing circuity 904 is arranged to cause the third network entity 130 to carry out the steps 402 to 410 of method 400 in accordance with any of the of the described embodiments for steps 402 to 410. The processing circuitry 904 is in one embodiment one or more general-purpose processors wherein each one of the general purpose processors includes one or more cores, but may alternatively be a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), etc. An I / O interface 903 is provided for communicating with external and / or internal entities using wired communications, e.g., based on Ethernet, and / or wireless communications, e.g., Wi-Fi, and / or a cellular network corresponding to one or a combination of 5G cellular networks, LTE, LTE-advanced, UMTS, or any other current or future wireless network, such as a future 3GPP 6G network, as long as the principles described below are applicable.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method performed by a first network entity (110) in a communication network (100), the method comprises: receiving (210), from a third network entity (130) in the communication network (100), at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit Congestion Notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session; sending (220), to a second network entity (120) in the communication network (100), at least one second request based on the at least one first request.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S, and / or the ECN is: an L4S enabled traffic flow and / or an ECN non-enabled traffic flow, or an ECN enabled traffic flow and / or an L4S non-enabled traffic flow.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN comprises: an indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow or no indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, and / or an indication of at least one congestion event.

4. The method according to claim any of the previous claims, wherein the method further comprises:during the application traffic session: receiving (226), from the second network entity (120), at least one report indicating which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S, and / or the ECN.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises: based on the at least one report, sending (230), to a communication device (160) and / or to the second network entity (120), a modification request.

6. The method according to any of claims 4 to 5, wherein the method comprises: in response to receiving (226) the at least one report, sending (228), to the second network entity (120), at least one report.

7. The method according to any of the previous claims, wherein the method further comprises: obtaining (212) the at least one second request based on the first request.

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises: receiving (202), from a communication device (160), a session create request; in response to receiving (202) the session create request, sending (204), to the third network entity (130), a control create message, wherein receiving (210) the at least one first request is in response to sending (204) the control create message.

9. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises: in response to sending (220) the at least one second request, receiving (222), from the second network entity (120), at least one response to the at least one second request; and in response to receiving (222) the at least one response, sending (224), to a communication device (160), a session create response.

10. A method performed by a second network entity (120) in a communication network (100), the method comprises: receiving (310), from a first network entity (110) in the communication network (100) and / or from a fourth network entity (170), at least one second request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session; and during the application traffic session: determining (320) which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN.11 . The method according to claim 10, wherein the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S, and / or the ECN is: an L4S enabled traffic flow or an L4S non-enabled traffic flow, and / or an ECN enabled traffic flow or an ECN non- enabled traffic flow.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11 , wherein the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN comprises:an indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow or no indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, and / or an indication of at least one congestion event.

13. The method according to any of claim 10 to 12, wherein the method comprises, sending (322), to the first network entity (110) and / or to the fourth network entity (170), at least one report indicating which traffic flow of at the least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN, wherein sending (322) the at least one report is in response to determining (320).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the method comprises in response to sending (322) the at least one report, receiving (324), from the first network entity (110), at least one report response.

15. The method according to any of claims 10 to 14, wherein the method comprises receiving (326), from the first network entity (110), a modification request.

16. The method according to any of claims 10 to 15, wherein determining (320) which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN comprises monitoring changes in ECN bits of the at least one traffic; and / or monitoring the at least one traffic with a machine learning model.

17. The method according to any of claims 10 to 16, wherein the method comprises: in response to determining (320) the traffic flow being the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN comprising an indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, blocking (334) the application traffic session; or in response to determining (320) the traffic flow being the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN comprising an indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, blocking (336) the traffic flow (10a).

18. The method according to any of claims 10 to 17, wherein the method comprises: in response determining (320) the traffic flow (10a) of the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) comprising the indication, updating (328) ECN bits of the at least one traffic (10a-d); and / or in response to determining (320) the traffic flow (10a) of the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) being a L4S, enabled traffic flow or an ECN enabled traffic flow, updating (330) a Quality of Service, QoS, Flow Identifier, QFI, field in a header.

19. The method according to any of claims claim 10 to 18, wherein the method comprises during the application traffic session: receiving (314), from a communication device (160) and / or from an application server (150), the at least one traffic flow (10a-d).

20. The method according to claim 10 to 19, wherein the method comprisesduring the application traffic session: forwarding (332), to a communication device (160) and / or an application server (150), the at least one traffic flow (10a-d).21 .The method according to claim 10 to 20, wherein the method comprises in response to receiving (310) the at least one second request, sending (312), to the first network entity (110), at least one response to the at least one second request.

22. A method performed by a third network entity (130) in a communication network (100), the method comprises: sending (410), to a first network entity (110) in a communication network (100), at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S, and / or the ECN is: an L4S enabled traffic flow or an L4S non-enabled traffic flow, and / or an ECN enabled traffic flow or an ECN non- enabled traffic flow.

24. The method according to any of claims 22 to 23, wherein the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN comprises:an indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow or no indication of at least one L4S enabled traffic flow and / or ECN enabled traffic flow, and / or an indication of at least one congestion event.

25. The method according to any of claims 22 to 24, the method comprises: receiving (402), from the first network entity (110), a control create message, wherein sending (410) the at least one first request is in response to receiving (402) the control message.

26. A system, the system comprising a first network entity (110), a second network entity (120) and a third network entity (130), the first network entity (110) is configured to perform the method according any of claims 1 to 9; the second network entity (120) is configured to perform the method according any of claims 10 to 21 ; and the third network entity (130) is configured to perform the method according any of claims 22 to 25.

27. A first network entity (110) in a communication network (100), whereby the first network entity (110) is configured to: receive, from a third network entity (130) in the communication network (100), at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit Congestion Notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session;send to a second network entity (120) in the communication network (100), at least one second request based on the at least one request.

28. The first network entity (110) according to claim 27, configured to perform the method according to any of claims 2 to 9.

29. A first network entity (110) in a communication network (100), comprising processing circuitry (704) and a computer readable storage medium (702), the computer readable storage medium (702) containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry (704), whereby the first network entity (110) is configured to: receive, from a third network entity (130) in the communication network (100), at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit Congestion Notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session; send to a second network entity (120) in the communication network (100), at least one second request based on the at least one request.

30. The first network entity (110) according to claim 29, configured to perform the method according to any of claims 2 to 9.31 . A second network entity (120) in a communication network (100), whereby the second network entity (120) is configured to: receive, from a first network entity (110) in the communication network (100) and / or from a fourth network entity (170), at least one second request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN,wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session; and during the application traffic session: determine which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN.

32. The second network entity (120) according to claim 31 , configured to perform the method according to any of claims 11 to 21 .

33. A second network entity (120) in a communication network (100), comprising processing circuitry (804) and a computer readable storage medium (802), the computer readable storage medium (802) containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry (804), whereby the second network entity (120) is configured to: receive, from a first network entity (110) in the communication network (100) and / or from a fourth network entity (170), at least one second request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session; and during the application traffic session: determine which traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow (1 Oa-d) is the traffic flow (10a) associated with the L4S and / or the ECN.

34. The second network entity (120) according to claim 33, configured to perform the method according to any of claims 11 to 21 .

35. A third network entity (130) in a communication network (100), whereby the third network entity (130) is configured to: send, to a first network entity (110) in a communication network (100), at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session.

36. The third network entity (130) according to claim 35, configured to perform the method according to any of claims 23 to 25.

37. A third network entity (130) in a communication network (100), comprising processing circuitry (904) and a computer readable storage medium (902), the computer readable storage medium (902) containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry (904), whereby the third network entity (130) is configured to: send, to a first network entity (110) in a communication network (100), at least one first request for determining which traffic flow of at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is a traffic flow (10a) associated with a Low Latency Low Loss Scalable Throughput, L4S and / or an Explicit congestion notification, ECN, wherein the at least one traffic flow (10a-d) is occurring during an application traffic session.

38. The third network entity (130) according to claim 37, configured to perform the method according to any of claims 23 to 25.

39. A computer program (701 , 801 , 901 ) comprising instructions which, when executed on:processing circuitry (704) of a first network entity (110), cause the processing circuitry (704) of the first network entity (110) to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9; processing circuitry (804) of a second network entity (120), cause the processing circuitry (804) of the second network entity (120) to carry out the method according to any one of claims 10 to 21 ; and / or processing circuitry (904) of a third network entity (130), cause the processing circuitry (904) of the third network entity (130) to carry out the method according to any one of claims 22 to 25.

40. A tangible, non-volatile computer readable medium (702, 802, 902) comprising instructions that, when executed on processing circuitry (704) of a first network entity (110), cause the processing circuitry (704) of the first network entity (110) to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9; processing circuitry (804) of a second network entity (120), cause the processing circuitry (804) of the second network entity (120) to carry out the method according to any one of claims 10 to 21 ; and / or processing circuitry (904) of a third network entity (130), cause the processing circuitry (904) of the third network entity (130) to carry out the method according to any one of claims 22 to 25.

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