5G Core Network Function Segmentation for Multi-Access Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current 5G systems face challenges in implementing enhanced features and functionalities, particularly in managing registration, connection, and service requests efficiently across diverse access networks, including 3GPP and non-3GPP access, which affects user plane and control plane operations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of advanced network functions such as Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), and User Plane Function (UPF) with enhanced protocols and interfaces, including N2, N3, and N11, to manage registration, connection, and service requests, enabling seamless communication across different access networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If 5G systems implement enhanced features and functionalities across diverse access networks, then service continuity and quality of service are improved, but network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the 5G core network into separate functional components: Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) for registration and mobility handling, Session Management Function (SMF) for connection management, and User Plane Function (UPF) for data routing. This segmentation allows each function to be optimized independently while working together to provide service continuity across diverse access networks, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal registration management framework that handles both 3GPP and non-3GPP access networks through a single AMF component. The AMF performs multiple functions including registration management, connection management, and service request handling for different access types, reducing overall network complexity while maintaining service continuity across heterogeneous networks.
2Productivity
If advanced network functions AMF, SMF, and UPF are implemented with enhanced protocols, then efficiency of user and control plane operations is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the network into specialized functions: AMF handles control plane registration and mobility management, SMF manages session establishment and modification, and UPF handles user plane data routing. This segmentation enables each function to be optimized for its specific task, improving operational efficiency while keeping individual components manageable in complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces standardized interfaces (N1 between UE and AMF, N2 between AMF and RAN, N3 between UPF and data network, N11 between AMF and SMF) as intermediaries that simplify communication between network functions. These standardized protocols act as mediators, enabling efficient operation while abstracting complexity from individual components.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system supports multiple access networks (3GPP and non-3GPP), then adaptability is improved, but management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal registration management architecture where the AMF serves as a common entry point for both 3GPP and non-3GPP access networks. The AMF maintains a unified registration context that handles different access types through common procedures, enabling multi-access network support while avoiding separate management systems for each access type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent allows different access networks to have their specific characteristics and qualities preserved while being managed through a common framework. Each access network (3GPP or non-3GPP) maintains its own specific handling procedures and parameters, while the overall management structure remains unified, achieving adaptability without excessive complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A control plane function (CPF) receives, from a wireless device, a request for a session. The CPF sends, to a base station, a bearer setup request message requesting a bearer associated with the session. The CPF sends, to a user plane function (UPF) based on a response from the base station, a downlink address of a user plane tunnel associated with the session.