PDU Marking Mechanism Negotiation for Network Entity Interoperability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless communication systems lack a signaling- or configuration-based mechanism to ensure network entities use a consistent marking mechanism for protocol data unit (PDU) sets or data bursts, leading to interoperability issues between network entities.
Innovation Solution
A two-step procedure is implemented for network entities to negotiate and synchronize on the marking mechanism, involving a first step of negotiation between an application function (AF) and a network exposure function (NEF) and a second step of notification between a session management function (SMF) and the AF to select and update policy control rules for marking mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If no signaling or configuration mechanism is implemented, then device complexity is reduced, but interoperability reliability deteriorates due to inconsistent marking mechanisms between network entities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing a two-step negotiation and notification procedure before actual data transmission. The AF and NEF negotiate available marking mechanisms in advance (first step), and the SMF notifies the selected mechanism to the AF before PDU session establishment (second step). This ensures all network entities are pre-aligned on the marking mechanism to be used, preventing interoperability issues during actual communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback through the negotiation procedure where the AF requests information about available marking mechanisms from the NEF, receives the set of available mechanisms, and provides feedback by indicating its preferred subset. The SMF then selects the final mechanism and notifies the AF, creating a closed-loop feedback system that ensures consistent understanding across network entities.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a two-step negotiation and notification procedure is implemented, then marking mechanism consistency is improved, but communication latency increases due to additional signaling steps
Solution Approach 1:
The negotiation between AF and NEF about available marking mechanisms is performed in advance during PDU session establishment or modification, so that when actual data transmission occurs, the marking mechanism is already determined and consistent across all entities, avoiding re-negotiation delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The procedure is segmented into two distinct steps: (1) AF-NEF negotiation of available mechanisms, and (2) SMF-AF notification of selected mechanism. This segmentation allows each step to be optimized independently and enables parallel processing where possible, reducing overall latency while maintaining consistency.
3Reliability
If marking mechanism information is exchanged between network entities, then interoperability is improved, but information overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential marking mechanism information needed for interoperability from the complex set of available mechanisms. The AF receives information about the set of available marking mechanisms from the NEF, but only needs to indicate its preferred subset, and the SMF selects and notifies the final chosen mechanism. This extraction approach minimizes information overhead while ensuring sufficient interoperability.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. In some systems, one or more network entities or functionalities may participate in a two-step procedure according to which the one or more network entities or functionalities negotiate a set of available marking mechanisms for identification of packets as belonging to a same protocol data unit (PDU) set or data burst and according to which an application function (AF) may receive a notification of one or more selected marking mechanisms that are to be used for a traffic flow. The AF may negotiate the set of available marking mechanisms with a network exposure function (NEF) and may receive an indication of the one or more selected marking mechanisms from a session management function (SMF).