Patent Application
20240007314
Various embodiments generally may relate to the field of wireless communications. For example, some embodiments may relate to solutions for converged charging for edge enabling infrastructure resource usage, application context transfer, and aggregated fifth-generation system (5GS) usage.
Edge computing has been supported in 5GS in the third-generation partnership project (3GPP) since Rel-15, and the edge application enabling architecture and solution, as wells as the fifth-generation core (5GC) enhancements are being studied and defined in Rel-17. Some basic mechanisms of possible solutions for edge enabling infrastructure resources charging are captured in the TR 28.815, v. 0.3.0, 2020-12-04, however, the detailed procedures for charging for edge enabling infrastructure resources are not yet specified. Embodiments of the present disclosure address these and other issues.
Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of the present document, the phrases “A or B” and “A/B” mean (A), (B), or (A and B).
As introduced above, edge computing has been supported in 5GS in the third-generation partnership project (3GPP) since Rel-15, and the edge application enabling architecture and solution, as wells as the fifth-generation core (5GC) enhancements are being studied and defined in Rel-17.
As also noted above, the detailed procedures for charging for edge enabling infrastructure resources are not yet specified. In the solution for EAS application context transfer charging described in clause 7.3.4.6 of TR 28.815, the charging only happens for step 1 when S-EES receives the Application Context Relocation Request messages from EEC, however it does not consider the success or failure of the procedure which should be considered for charging.
The UC, potential requirements and key issues on inter-provider charging for 5GS are documented in the TR 28.815. The solution based on aggregation of 5GS usage by CHF, and aggregation by Billing domain are captured. However both solutions have some drawbacks. For example, aggregation of 5GS usage by CHF requires the CHF to be responsible for charging for the whole PLMN. Additionally, aggregation of 5GS usage by Billing domain does not support online charging.
Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to solutions for converged charging for edge enabling infrastructure resource usage, application context transfer, and aggregated 5GS usage. The following solutions are provided for charging for edge enabling infrastructure resources and services.
Edge Enabling Infrastructure Resources Charging
The charging for edge enabling infrastructure resources could be supported with CTF embedded in the MnS producer or with CEF to enable the charging for MnS producer. In some embodiments, such solutions are only applicable to the case that the EAS is implemented as VNF. An example of a solution with CTF embedded in the MnS producer is illustrated in
Referring now to the example in
1) VR measurement report for VNF/VNFC: performance assurance MnS producer receives on or more VR usage measurement reports for VNF/VNFC instances related to the EAS from an ETSI NFV MANO system (see ETSI GS NFV-IFA 027).
2) Generate performance data for resource usage for EAS: performance assurance MnS producer generates performance data (measurements or KPI) about usage of edge enabling infrastructure resource supporting the EAS based on the VR usage measurements received from ETSI NFV MANO system. The performance data about edge enabling infrastructure resource could be related to data volume transferred for the EAS, virtual CPU usage of the EAS, virtual memory usage of the EAS, virtual disk usage of the EAS, or the virtual storage of the EAS.
2ch-a) Charging Data Request [Event]: performance assurance MnS Producer generates charging data related to the collected performance data and sends the charging data request for the CHF to process the related charging data for CDR generation purpose.
2ch-b) Create CDR: the CHF stores received information, and creates a CDR related to the event.
2ch-c) Charging Data Response [Event]: The CHF informs the performance assurance MnS Producer on the result of the request.
3a) Request to disable the operational state of the EAS: if the quota of the edge enabling infrastructure resource for an EAS is used out, the performance assurance MnS producer requests the provisioning MnS producer to disable the operational state of the EAS (by invoking modifyMOIAttributes operation).
3b) Response to disable the operational state of the EAS: the provisioning MnS producer provides the result of disabling operational state of the EAS to the performance assurance MnS producer.
4a) Request to stop VNF/VNFC instances of the EAS: the provisioning MnS producer requests ETSI NFV MANO system to stop VNF/VNFC instances of EAS (by invoking OperateVnfRequest operation, see ETSI GS NFV-IFA 008 [y]).
4b) Response to stop VNF/VNFC instances of the EAS: ETSI NFV MANO system provides the result of stopping VNF/VNFC instances of the EAS to the provisioning MnS producer.
An example of a process providing a solution with CEF enabling charging for an MnS producer is illustrated in
1) VR measurement report for VNF/VNFC: performance assurance MnS producer receives on or more VR usage measurement reports for VNF/VNFC instances related to the EAS from an ETSI NFV MANO system.
2) Generate performance data for resource usage for EAS: performance assurance MnS producer generates the performance data (measurements or KPI) about usage of edge enabling infrastructure resource supporting the EAS based on the VR usage measurements received from ETSI NFV MANO system, the MnS producer reports the performance data to the CEF. The performance data about edge enabling infrastructure resource could be related to data volume transferred for the EAS, virtual CPU usage of the EAS, virtual memory usage of the EAS, virtual disk usage of the EAS, or the virtual storage of the EAS.
3) Performance data report: the performance assurance MnS producer reports the performance data to the CEF according the reporting method selected by the CEF for the measurement job. The performance data could be reported by a notifyFileReady notification if the file data reporting method is selected, or by the reportStreamData operation following the successful streaming connection establishment with the CEF if the streaming data reporting method is selected.
3ch-a) Charging Data Request [Event]: The CEF generates charging data related to the collected performance data and sends the charging data request for the CHF to process the related charging data for CDR generation purpose.
3ch-b) Create CDR: the CHF stores received information, and creates a CDR related to the event.
13ch-c) Charging Data Response [Event]: The CHF informs the CEF on the result of the request.
4a) Request to disable the operational state of the EAS: if the quota of the edge enabling infrastructure resource for an EAS is used out, the CEF requests the provisioning MnS producer to disable the operational state of the EAS (by invoking modifyMOlAttributes operation).
4b) Response to disable the operational state of the EAS: the provisioning MnS producer provides the result of disabling operational state of the EAS to the CEF.
5a) Request to stop VNF/VNFC instances of the EAS: the provisioning MnS producer requests ETSI NFV MANO system to stop VNF/VNFC instances of EAS (e.g., by invoking an OperateVnfRequest operation).
Response to stop VNF/VNFC instances of the EAS: ETSI NFV MANO system provides the result of stopping VNF/VNFC instances of the EAS to the provisioning MnS producer.
EAS Application Context Transfer Charging
An example of a process providing a solution for EAS application context transfer charging is illustrated in
1. The EEC sends the Application Context Relocation request to the S-EES.
1ch-a) Charging Data Request: The S-EES generates charging data related to the Application Context Relocation request and sends the charging data request to the CHF for request granting and CDR opening purpose.
1ch-b) Create CDR: the CHF stores received information, checks the account balance and opens a CDR related to the Application Context Relocation procedure.
1ch-c) Charging Data Response: The CHF informs the S-EES on the result of the request.
2. If the request was granted, the S-EES sends Application Context Relocation Notify to the S-EAS.
3. The S-EAS sends Application Context Relocation Complete to the S-EES.
4. The S-EES sends Application Context Relocation Complete to the EEC.
4ch-a) Charging Data Request [Event]: The S-EES generates charging data related to the Application Context Relocation Complete and sends the charging data request to the CHF for CDR update and closing purpose.
4ch-b) Update and close CDR: the CHF stores received information, updates and closes the CDR related to the Application Context Relocation procedure.
Inter-Provider-Based Charging
Some embodiments may provide solutions to support the inter-provider charging and related requirements for REQ-CH_EC_5GS_SP-01, REQ-CH_EC_5 GS_SP-02 and Key Issue #1b are based on the 5G data connectivity converged charging architecture defined in TS 32.255, with the extension of CHF to support inter-provider charging for 5GS supporting edge computing per edge application and/or per EDN. An example of this architecture is illustrated in
Solution #2a: Aggregation of SAN Reported Usage by CHF
In the example of the process to implement this solution (illustrated in
1) UE starts using an edge application: Triggers is are according to TS 32.255 and TS 32.290.
2) Charging Data Request [Initial, Quota Requested]: the SW′ sends the request to the CHF to reserve a number of units if determined in step 2.
3) Account, Rating, Reservation Control: the CHF rates the request, checks if corresponding funds can be reserved on the edge application's account balance. If the account has sufficient funds, the CHF performs the corresponding reservation.
4) Open CDR: based on policies, the CHF opens a CDR related to the service for edge application.
5) Charging Data Response [Initial, Quota Granted]: the CHF grants the reserved number of units to SMF.
6) Granted Units Supervision: The SMF monitors the consumption of the granted units.
7) UE edge application usage ongoing: the SMF continues to deliver the service.
8) Quota management Trigger: A Trigger associated to Quota management is met. Units determination is performed when applicable.
9) Charging Data Request [Update, Quota Requested]: the SMF sends the request to the CHF, to be granted with more unit for the service to continue, and also for reporting the used units.
10) Account, Rating, Reservation Control: same as step 4, with the option to also deduct the funds corresponding to the usage on the account balance.
11) Update CDR: based on policies, the CHF updates the CDR with charging data related to the service.
12) Charging Data Response [Update, Quota Granted]: The CHF grants quota to SMF for the service, with the reserved number of units.
13) Service delivery ongoing: the NF (CTF) continues to deliver the service.
14) UE stops using the edge application: the SMF is requested to end the service delivery and does this.
15) Charging Data Request [Termination]: the SMF sends the request to the CHF, for charging data related to the service termination with the final consumed units.
16) Account, Rating Control: the CHF performs the service termination process which involve using the reported charging data to rate the usage and deduct the funds corresponding to the usage on the account balance.
17) Close CDR: based on policies, the CHF closes the CDR with charging data related to the service termination and the last reported units.
18) Charging Data Response [Termination]: The CHF informs the SMF on the result of the request.
Solution #2b: Obtaining the Aggregated Usage from MnS Producer
This solution follows the same procedure as solution #2a for the interactions between SMF and CHF, with the exception that the CHF obtains the aggregated 5GS usage for an edge application or an EDN from MnS producer regularly as described below, and uses the obtained total usage from MnS producer for account, rating and reservation control in step 3 and step 3 of solution #2a.
1) Performance data is ready in MnS producer: The performance data of aggregated 5GS usage for an edge application or EDN is ready.
2) Performance data report: the MnS producer reports the performance data of aggregated 5GS usage to CHF.
Systems and Implementations
The network 1000 may include a UE 1002, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with a RAN 1004 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 1002 may be communicatively coupled with the RAN 1004 by a Uu interface. The UE 1002 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, tablet computer, wearable computer device, desktop computer, laptop computer, in-vehicle infotainment, in-car entertainment device, instrument cluster, head-up display device, onboard diagnostic device, dashtop mobile equipment, mobile data terminal, electronic engine management system, electronic/engine control unit, electronic/engine control module, embedded system, sensor, microcontroller, control module, engine management system, networked appliance, machine-type communication device, M2M or D2D device, IoT device, etc.
In some embodiments, the network 1000 may include a plurality of UEs coupled directly with one another via a sidelink interface. The UEs may be M2M/D2D devices that communicate using physical sidelink channels such as, but not limited to, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.
In some embodiments, the UE 1002 may additionally communicate with an AP 1006 via an over-the-air connection. The AP 1006 may manage a WLAN connection, which may serve to offload some/all network traffic from the RAN 1004. The connection between the UE 1002 and the AP 1006 may be consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 1006 could be a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi®) router. In some embodiments, the UE 1002, RAN 1004, and AP 1006 may utilize cellular-WLAN aggregation (for example, LWA/LWIP). Cellular-WLAN aggregation may involve the UE 1002 being configured by the RAN 1004 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.
The RAN 1004 may include one or more access nodes, for example, AN 1008. AN 1008 may terminate air-interface protocols for the UE 1002 by providing access stratum protocols including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and L1 protocols. In this manner, the AN 1008 may enable data/voice connectivity between CN 1020 and the UE 1002. In some embodiments, the AN 1008 may be implemented in a discrete device or as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of, for example, a virtual network, which may be referred to as a CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool. The AN 1008 be referred to as a BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. The AN 1008 may be a macrocell base station or a low power base station for providing femtocells, picocells or other like cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells.
In embodiments in which the RAN 1004 includes a plurality of ANs, they may be coupled with one another via an X2 interface (if the RAN 1004 is an LTE RAN) or an Xn interface (if the RAN 1004 is a 5G RAN). The X2/Xn interfaces, which may be separated into control/user plane interfaces in some embodiments, may allow the ANs to communicate information related to handovers, data/context transfers, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.
The ANs of the RAN 1004 may each manage one or more cells, cell groups, component carriers, etc. to provide the UE 1002 with an air interface for network access. The UE 1002 may be simultaneously connected with a plurality of cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 1004. For example, the UE 1002 and RAN 1004 may use carrier aggregation to allow the UE 1002 to connect with a plurality of component carriers, each corresponding to a Pcell or Scell. In dual connectivity scenarios, a first AN may be a master node that provides an MCG and a second AN may be secondary node that provides an SCG. The first/second ANs may be any combination of eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, etc.
The RAN 1004 may provide the air interface over a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the nodes may use LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms based on CA technology with PCells/Scells. Prior to accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the nodes may perform medium/carrier-sensing operations based on, for example, a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.
In V2X scenarios the UE 1002 or AN 1008 may be or act as a RSU, which may refer to any transportation infrastructure entity used for V2X communications. An RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by: a UE may be referred to as a “UE-type RSU”; an eNB may be referred to as an “eNB-type RSU”; a gNB may be referred to as a “gNB-type RSU”; and the like. In one example, an RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located on a roadside that provides connectivity support to passing vehicle UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry to store intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, as well as applications/software to sense and control ongoing vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low latency communications required for high speed events, such as crash avoidance, traffic warnings, and the like. Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular/WLAN communications services. The components of the RSU may be packaged in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or a backhaul network.
In some embodiments, the RAN 1004 may be an LTE RAN 1010 with eNBs, for example, eNB 1012. The LTE RAN 1010 may provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: SCS of 15 kHz; CP-OFDM waveform for DL and SC-FDMA waveform for UL; turbo codes for data and TBCC for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; PDSCH/PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH/PDCCH demodulation; and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation/detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operating on sub-6 GHz bands.
In some embodiments, the RAN 1004 may be an NG-RAN 1014 with gNBs, for example, gNB 1016, or ng-eNBs, for example, ng-eNB 1018. The gNB 1016 may connect with 5G-enabled UEs using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 1016 may connect with a 5G core through an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The ng-eNB 1018 may also connect with the 5G core through an NG interface, but may connect with a UE via an LTE air interface. The gNB 1016 and the ng-eNB 1018 may connect with each other over an Xn interface.
In some embodiments, the NG interface may be split into two parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the nodes of the NG-RAN 1014 and a UPF 1048 (e.g., N3 interface), and an NG control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the nodes of the NG-RAN 1014 and an AMF 1044 (e.g., N2 interface).
The NG-RAN 1014 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polar, repetition, simplex, and Reed-Muller codes for control and LDPC for data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS, PDSCH/PDCCH DMRS similar to the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use a CRS, but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation; PTRS for phase tracking for PDSCH; and tracking reference signal for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operating on FR1 bands that include sub-6 GHz bands or FR2 bands that include bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may include an SSB that is an area of a downlink resource grid that includes PSS/SSS/PBCH.
In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWPs for various purposes. For example, BWP can be used for dynamic adaptation of the SCS. For example, the UE 1002 can be configured with multiple BWPs where each BWP configuration has a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 1002, the SCS of the transmission is changed as well. Another use case example of BWP is related to power saving. In particular, multiple BWPs can be configured for the UE 1002 with different amount of frequency resources (for example, PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic loading scenarios. A BWP containing a smaller number of PRBs can be used for data transmission with small traffic load while allowing power saving at the UE 1002 and in some cases at the gNB 1016. A BWP containing a larger number of PRBs can be used for scenarios with higher traffic load.
The RAN 1004 is communicatively coupled to CN 1020 that includes network elements to provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (for example, users of UE 1002). The components of the CN 1020 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes. In some embodiments, NFV may be utilized to virtualize any or all of the functions provided by the network elements of the CN 1020 onto physical compute/storage resources in servers, switches, etc. A logical instantiation of the CN 1020 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instantiation of a portion of the CN 1020 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.
In some embodiments, the CN 1020 may be an LTE CN 1022, which may also be referred to as an EPC. The LTE CN 1022 may include MME 1024, SGW 1026, SGSN 1028, HSS 1030, PGW 1032, and PCRF 1034 coupled with one another over interfaces (or “reference points”) as shown. Functions of the elements of the LTE CN 1022 may be briefly introduced as follows.
The MME 1024 may implement mobility management functions to track a current location of the UE 1002 to facilitate paging, bearer activation/deactivation, handovers, gateway selection, authentication, etc.
The SGW 1026 may terminate an Si interface toward the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN 1022. The SGW 1026 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.
The SGSN 1028 may track a location of the UE 1002 and perform security functions and access control. In addition, the SGSN 1028 may perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by MME 1024; MME selection for handovers; etc. The S3 reference point between the MME 1024 and the SGSN 1028 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in idle/active states.
The HSS 1030 may include a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions. The HSS 1030 can provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc. An S6a reference point between the HSS 1030 and the MME 1024 may enable transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to the LTE CN 1020.
The PGW 1032 may terminate an SGi interface toward a data network (DN) 1036 that may include an application/content server 1038. The PGW 1032 may route data packets between the LTE CN 1022 and the data network 1036. The PGW 1032 may be coupled with the SGW 1026 by an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. The PGW 1032 may further include a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection (for example, PCEF). Additionally, the SGi reference point between the PGW 1032 and the data network 1036 may be an operator external public, a private PDN, or an intra-operator packet data network, for example, for provision of IMS services. The PGW 1032 may be coupled with a PCRF 1034 via a Gx reference point.
The PCRF 1034 is the policy and charging control element of the LTE CN 1022. The PCRF 1034 may be communicatively coupled to the app/content server 1038 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for service flows. The PCRF 1032 may provision associated rules into a PCEF (via Gx reference point) with appropriate TFT and QCI.
In some embodiments, the CN 1020 may be a 5GC 1040. The 5GC 1040 may include an AUSF 1042, AMF 1044, SMF 1046, UPF 1048, NSSF 1050, NEF 1052, NRF 1054, PCF 1056, UDM 1058, and AF 1060 coupled with one another over interfaces (or “reference points”) as shown. Functions of the elements of the 5GC 1040 may be briefly introduced as follows.
The AUSF 1042 may store data for authentication of UE 1002 and handle authentication-related functionality. The AUSF 1042 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 1040 over reference points as shown, the AUSF 1042 may exhibit an Nausf service-based interface.
The AMF 1044 may allow other functions of the 5GC 1040 to communicate with the UE 1002 and the RAN 1004 and to subscribe to notifications about mobility events with respect to the UE 1002. The AMF 1044 may be responsible for registration management (for example, for registering UE 1002), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 1044 may provide transport for SM messages between the UE 1002 and the SMF 1046, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 1044 may also provide transport for SMS messages between UE 1002 and an SMSF. AMF 1044 may interact with the AUSF 1042 and the UE 1002 to perform various security anchor and context management functions. Furthermore, AMF 1044 may be a termination point of a RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the RAN 1004 and the AMF 1044; and the AMF 1044 may be a termination point of NAS (N1) signaling, and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. AMF 1044 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 1002 over an N3 IWF interface.
The SMF 1046 may be responsible for SM (for example, session establishment, tunnel management between UPF 1048 and AN 1008); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP function; configuring traffic steering at UPF 1048 to route traffic to proper destination; termination of interfaces toward policy control functions; controlling part of policy enforcement, charging, and QoS; lawful intercept (for SM events and interface to LI system); termination of SM parts of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN specific SM information, sent via AMF 1044 over N2 to AN 1008; and determining SSC mode of a session. SM may refer to management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or “session” may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 1002 and the data network 1036.
The UPF 1048 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point of interconnect to data network 1036, and a branching point to support multi-homed PDU session. The UPF 1048 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, enforce the user plane part of policy rules, lawfully intercept packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS handling for a user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF-to-QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. UPF 1048 may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to a data network.
The NSSF 1050 may select a set of network slice instances serving the UE 1002. The NSSF 1050 may also determine allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAIs, if needed. The NSSF 1050 may also determine the AMF set to be used to serve the UE 1002, or a list of candidate AMFs based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRF 1054. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 1002 may be triggered by the AMF 1044 with which the UE 1002 is registered by interacting with the NS SF 1050, which may lead to a change of AMF. The NS SF 1050 may interact with the AMF 1044 via an N22 reference point; and may communicate with another NSSF in a visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown). Additionally, the NSSF 1050 may exhibit an Nnssf service-based interface.
The NEF 1052 may securely expose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third party, internal exposure/re-exposure, AFs (e.g., AF 1060), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, the NEF 1052 may authenticate, authorize, or throttle the AFs. NEF 1052 may also translate information exchanged with the AF 1060 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 1052 may translate between an AF-Service-Identifier and an internal 5GC information. NEF 1052 may also receive information from other NFs based on exposed capabilities of other NFs. This information may be stored at the NEF 1052 as structured data, or at a data storage NF using standardized interfaces. The stored information can then be re-exposed by the NEF 1052 to other NFs and AFs, or used for other purposes such as analytics. Additionally, the NEF 1052 may exhibit an Nnef service-based interface.
The NRF 1054 may support service discovery functions, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide the information of the discovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF 1054 also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and an “instance” may refer to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. Additionally, the NRF 1054 may exhibit the Nnrf service-based interface.
The PCF 1056 may provide policy rules to control plane functions to enforce them, and may also support unified policy framework to govern network behavior. The PCF 1056 may also implement a front end to access subscription information relevant for policy decisions in a UDR of the UDM 1058. In addition to communicating with functions over reference points as shown, the PCF 1056 exhibit an Npcf service-based interface.
The UDM 1058 may handle subscription-related information to support the network entities' handling of communication sessions, and may store subscription data of UE 1002. For example, subscription data may be communicated via an N8 reference point between the UDM 1058 and the AMF 1044. The UDM 1058 may include two parts, an application front end and a UDR. The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for the UDM 1058 and the PCF 1056, and/or structured data for exposure and application data (including PFDs for application detection, application request information for multiple UEs 1002) for the NEF 1052. The Nudr service-based interface may be exhibited by the UDR 221 to allow the UDM 1058, PCF 1056, and NEF 1052 to access a particular set of the stored data, as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notification of relevant data changes in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE, which is in charge of processing credentials, location management, subscription management and so on. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification handling, access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscription management. In addition to communicating with other NFs over reference points as shown, the UDM 1058 may exhibit the Nudm service-based interface.
The AF 1060 may provide application influence on traffic routing, provide access to NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.
In some embodiments, the 5GC 1040 may enable edge computing by selecting operator/3rd party services to be geographically close to a point that the UE 1002 is attached to the network. This may reduce latency and load on the network. To provide edge-computing implementations, the 5GC 1040 may select a UPF 1048 close to the UE 1002 and execute traffic steering from the UPF 1048 to data network 1036 via the N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by the AF 1060. In this way, the AF 1060 may influence UPF (re)selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 1060 is considered to be a trusted entity, the network operator may permit AF 1060 to interact directly with relevant NFs. Additionally, the AF 1060 may exhibit an Naf service-based interface.
The data network 1036 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third party services that may be provided by one or more servers including, for example, application/content server 1038.
The UE 1102 may be communicatively coupled with the AN 1104 via connection 1106. The connection 1106 is illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols such as an LTE protocol or a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6 GHz frequencies.
The UE 1102 may include a host platform 1108 coupled with a modem platform 1110. The host platform 1108 may include application processing circuitry 1112, which may be coupled with protocol processing circuitry 1114 of the modem platform 1110. The application processing circuitry 1112 may run various applications for the UE 1102 that source/sink application data. The application processing circuitry 1112 may further implement one or more layer operations to transmit/receive application data to/from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (for example UDP) and Internet (for example, IP) operations
The protocol processing circuitry 1114 may implement one or more of layer operations to facilitate transmission or reception of data over the connection 1106. The layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuitry 1114 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS operations.
The modem platform 1110 may further include digital baseband circuitry 1116 that may implement one or more layer operations that are “below” layer operations performed by the protocol processing circuitry 1114 in a network protocol stack. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations including one or more of HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling/descrambling, encoding/decoding, layer mapping/de-mapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol/bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding/decoding, which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency or spatial coding, reference signal generation/detection, preamble sequence generation and/or decoding, synchronization sequence generation/detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.
The modem platform 1110 may further include transmit circuitry 1118, receive circuitry 1120, RF circuitry 1122, and RF front end (RFFE) 1124, which may include or connect to one or more antenna panels 1126. Briefly, the transmit circuitry 1118 may include a digital-to-analog converter, mixer, intermediate frequency (IF) components, etc.; the receive circuitry 1120 may include an analog-to-digital converter, mixer, IF components, etc.; the RF circuitry 1122 may include a low-noise amplifier, a power amplifier, power tracking components, etc.; RFFE 1124 may include filters (for example, surface/bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beamforming components (for example, phase-array antenna components), etc. The selection and arrangement of the components of the transmit circuitry 1118, receive circuitry 1120, RF circuitry 1122, RFFE 1124, and antenna panels 1126 (referred generically as “transmit/receive components”) may be specific to details of a specific implementation such as, for example, whether communication is TDM or FDM, in mmWave or sub-6 gHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit/receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit/receive chains, may be disposed in the same or different chips/modules, etc.
In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry 1114 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the transmit/receive components.
A UE reception may be established by and via the antenna panels 1126, RFFE 1124, RF circuitry 1122, receive circuitry 1120, digital baseband circuitry 1116, and protocol processing circuitry 1114. In some embodiments, the antenna panels 1126 may receive a transmission from the AN 1104 by receive-beamforming signals received by a plurality of antennas/antenna elements of the one or more antenna panels 1126.
A UE transmission may be established by and via the protocol processing circuitry 1114, digital baseband circuitry 1116, transmit circuitry 1118, RF circuitry 1122, RFFE 1124, and antenna panels 1126. In some embodiments, the transmit components of the UE 1104 may apply a spatial filter to the data to be transmitted to form a transmit beam emitted by the antenna elements of the antenna panels 1126.
Similar to the UE 1102, the AN 1104 may include a host platform 1128 coupled with a modem platform 1130. The host platform 1128 may include application processing circuitry 1132 coupled with protocol processing circuitry 1134 of the modem platform 1130. The modem platform may further include digital baseband circuitry 1136, transmit circuitry 1138, receive circuitry 1140, RF circuitry 1142, RFFE circuitry 1144, and antenna panels 1146. The components of the AN 1104 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with like-named components of the UE 1102. In addition to performing data transmission/reception as described above, the components of the AN 1108 may perform various logical functions that include, for example, RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.
The processors 1210 may include, for example, a processor 1212 and a processor 1214. The processors 1210 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radiofrequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.
The memory/storage devices 1220 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices 1220 may include, but are not limited to, any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.
The communication resources 1230 may include interconnection or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1204 or one or more databases 1206 or other network elements via a network 1208. For example, the communication resources 1230 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB, Ethernet, etc.), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® (or Bluetooth® Low Energy) components, Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components.
Instructions 1250 may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 1210 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 1250 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 1210 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), the memory/storage devices 1220, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 1250 may be transferred to the hardware resources 1200 from any combination of the peripheral devices 1204 or the databases 1206. Accordingly, the memory of processors 1210, the memory/storage devices 1220, the peripheral devices 1204, and the databases 1206 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.
In some embodiments, the electronic device(s), network(s), system(s), chip(s) or component(s), or portions or implementations thereof, of
Another such process is illustrated in
Another such process is illustrated in
For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth in the example section below. For example, the baseband circuitry as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth below in the example section.
Example 1 may include a method of a CHF supported by one or more processors, and is configured to:
Example 2 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the Charging Data Request is received from a MnS producer.
Example 3 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the Charging Data Request is received from a CEF.
Example 4 may include the method of examples 1 to 3 or some other example herein, wherein the Charging Data Request is to report the usage of the infrastructure resources for EAS.
Example 5 may include the method of examples 3 and 4 or some other example herein, wherein the CEF gets the performance measurement related to usage of infrastructure resources for EAS from a MnS producer.
Example 6 may include the method of examples 4 and 5 or some other example herein, wherein the usage of edge enabling infrastructure resource is data volume transferred for the EAS, virtual CPU usage of the EAS, virtual memory usage of the EAS, virtual disk usage of the EAS, or the virtual storage of the EAS.
Example 7 may include the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the Charging Data Request is received from a EES.
Example 8 may include the method of example 1 and example 7 or some other example herein, wherein the Charging Data Request is for an EAS application context transfer request.
Example 9 may include the method of example 1 to example 8 or some other example herein, wherein the CHF processes the charging data request for checking account balance, create a CDR, open a CDR, update a CDR and/or close a CDR.
Example 10 may include EES supported by one or more processors, is configured to:
Example 11 may include the method of example 8 or some other example herein, wherein the Charging Data Request is for an EAS application context relocation request or a completed application context relocation procedure.
Example 12 may include MnS producer for performance assurance supported by one or more processors, is configured to:
Example 13 may include the method of example 12 or some other example herein, wherein for performance assurance the MnS producer sends the Report the performance data to CEF.
Example 14 may include CEF supported by one or more processors, is configured to:
Example 15 may include provisioning MnS producer supported by one or more processors, is configured to:
Example 16 may include the method of example 15 or some other example herein, wherein the request to disable the operational state of an EAS is received from an MnS producer for performance assurance.
Example 17 may include the method of example 15 or some other example herein, wherein the request to disable the operational state of an EAS is received from an CEF.
Example 18 may include CHF supported by one or more processors, is configured to:
Example X1 includes a method comprising:
Example X2 includes the method of example X1 or some other example herein, wherein the entity is a management services (MnS) producer or charging enablement function (CEF).
Example X3 includes the method of example X2 or some other example herein, wherein the entity is a CEF that receives a performance measurement related to usage of infrastructure resources for EAS from a MnS producer.
Example X4 includes the method of example X1 or some other example herein, wherein the charging data request is to report the usage of infrastructure resources for an edge application server (EAS).
Example X5 includes the method of example X1 or some other example herein, wherein the infrastructure resource is a data volume transferred for the EAS, a virtual CPU usage of the EAS, a virtual memory usage of the EAS, a virtual disk usage of the EAS, or virtual storage of the EAS.
Example Y1 includes an apparatus comprising:
Example Y2 includes the apparatus of example Y1 or some other example herein, wherein the VR usage measurement report information is received from a network functions virtualization (NFV) management and orchestration (MANO) system.
Example Y3 includes the apparatus of example Y1 or some other example herein, wherein the performance data is associated with usage of an edge-enabling infrastructure resource supporting the EAS.
Example Y4 includes the apparatus of example Y3 or some other example herein, wherein the performance data associated with usage of the edge-enabling infrastructure resource includes an indication of: a data volume transferred for the EAS, a virtual CPU usage of the EAS, a virtual memory usage of the EAS, a virtual disk usage of the EAS, a the virtual storage of the EAS.
Example Y5 includes the apparatus of example Y3 or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:
Example Y6 includes the apparatus of example Y1 or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further to send a performance data report to a charging enablement function (CEF) that includes an indication of the generated performance data.
Example Y7 includes the apparatus of example Y6 or some other example herein, wherein the performance data report is sent to the CEF via a notifyFileReady file data reporting notification in response to an indication from the CEF that file data reporting is to be used.
Example Y8 includes the apparatus of example Y6 or some other example herein, wherein the performance data report is sent to the CEF via a reportStreamData operation in response to an indication from the CEF that streaming data reporting is to be used.
Example Y9 includes the apparatus of example Y1 or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:
Example Y10 includes the apparatus of any of examples Y1-Y9 or some other example herein, wherein the apparatus comprises a performance assurance MnS producer supporting a charging trigger function (CTF).
Example Y11 includes one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a performance assurance management services (MnS) producer supporting a charging trigger function (CTF) to:
Example Y12 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y11 or some other example herein, wherein the performance data is associated with usage of an edge-enabling infrastructure resource supporting the EAS.
Example Y13 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y12 or some other example herein, wherein the performance data associated with usage of the edge-enabling infrastructure resource includes an indication of: a data volume transferred for the EAS, a virtual CPU usage of the EAS, a virtual memory usage of the EAS, a virtual disk usage of the EAS, a the virtual storage of the EAS.
Example Y14 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y12 or some other example herein, wherein the memory further stores instructions to:
Example Y15 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y11 or some other example herein, wherein the memory further stores instructions to send a performance data report to a charging enablement function (CEF) that includes an indication of the generated performance data.
Example Y16 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y15 or some other example herein, wherein the performance data report is sent to the CEF via a notifyFileReady file data reporting notification in response to an indication from the CEF that file data reporting is to be used.
Example Y17 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y15 or some other example herein, wherein the performance data report is sent to the CEF via a reportStreamData operation in response to an indication from the CEF that streaming data reporting is to be used.
Example Y18 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y11 or some other example herein, wherein the processing circuitry is further to:
Example Y19 includes one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause an edge enabling server (EES) to:
Example Y20 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y19 or some other example herein, wherein the media further stores instructions to send an application context relocation notify message that indicates the charging data request was accepted to an edge application server (EAS).
Example Y21 includes the one or more computer-readable media of example Y19 or some other example herein, wherein the charging data request is a first charging data request, the charging data request is a first charging data response, and wherein the media further stores instructions to:
Example Y22 includes one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a charge enablement function (CEF) to:
Example Z01 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or any other method or process described herein.
Example Z02 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or any other method or process described herein.
Example Z03 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or any other method or process described herein.
Example Z04 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or portions or parts thereof.
Example Z05 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or portions thereof.
Example Z06 may include a signal as described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or portions or parts thereof.
Example Z07 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.
Example Z08 may include a signal encoded with data as described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.
Example Z09 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol data unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or portions or parts thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.
Example Z10 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors is to cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or portions thereof.
Example Z11 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element is to cause the processing element to carry out the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 1-18, X1-X5, Y1-Y22, or portions thereof.
Example Z12 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein.
Example Z13 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.
Example Z14 may include a system for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.
Example Z15 may include a device for providing wireless communication as shown and described herein.
Any of the above-described examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples), unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.
Unless used differently herein, terms, definitions, and abbreviations may be consistent with terms, definitions, and abbreviations defined in 3GPP TR 21.905 v16.0.0 (2019 June). For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations may apply to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.
For the purposes of the present document, the following terms and definitions are applicable to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.
The term “circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes hardware components such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable SoC), digital signal processors (DSPs), etc., that are configured to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term “circuitry” may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) with the program code used to carry out the functionality of that program code. In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuitry.
The term “processor circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry capable of sequentially and automatically carrying out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing, and/or transferring digital data. Processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores to execute instructions and one or more memory structures to store program and data information. The term “processor circuitry” may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, and/or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, and/or functional processes. Processing circuitry may include more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, or the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and/or deep learning (DL) accelerators. The terms “application circuitry” and/or “baseband circuitry” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, “processor circuitry.”
The term “interface circuitry” as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term “interface circuitry” may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, for example, buses, I/O interfaces, peripheral component interfaces, network interface cards, and/or the like.
The term “user equipment” or “UE” as used herein refers to a device with radio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communications network. The term “user equipment” or “UE” may be considered synonymous to, and may be referred to as, client, mobile, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term “user equipment” or “UE” may include any type of wireless/wired device or any computing device including a wireless communications interface.
The term “network element” as used herein refers to physical or virtualized equipment and/or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term “network element” may be considered synonymous to and/or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, and/or the like.
The term “computer system” as used herein refers to any type interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term “computer system” and/or “system” may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled with one another. Furthermore, the term “computer system” and/or “system” may refer to multiple computer devices and/or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled with one another and configured to share computing and/or networking resources.
The term “appliance,” “computer appliance,” or the like, as used herein refers to a computer device or computer system with program code (e.g., software or firmware) that is specifically designed to provide a specific computing resource. A “virtual appliance” is a virtual machine image to be implemented by a hypervisor-equipped device that virtualizes or emulates a computer appliance or otherwise is dedicated to provide a specific computing resource.
The term “resource” as used herein refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, and/or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, such as computer devices, mechanical devices, memory space, processor/CPU time, processor/CPU usage, processor and accelerator loads, hardware time or usage, electrical power, input/output operations, ports or network sockets, channel/link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, network, database and applications, workload units, and/or the like. A “hardware resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or network resources provided by physical hardware element(s). A “virtualized resource” may refer to compute, storage, and/or network resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to an application, device, system, etc. The term “network resource” or “communication resource” may refer to resources that are accessible by computer devices/systems via a communications network. The term “system resources” may refer to any kind of shared entities to provide services, and may include computing and/or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services, accessible through a server where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.
The term “channel” as used herein refers to any transmission medium, either tangible or intangible, which is used to communicate data or a data stream. The term “channel” may be synonymous with and/or equivalent to “communications channel,” “data communications channel,” “transmission channel,” “data transmission channel,” “access channel,” “data access channel,” “link,” “data link,” “carrier,” “radiofrequency carrier,” and/or any other like term denoting a pathway or medium through which data is communicated. Additionally, the term “link” as used herein refers to a connection between two devices through a RAT for the purpose of transmitting and receiving information.
The terms “instantiate,” “instantiation,” and the like as used herein refers to the creation of an instance. An “instance” also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code.
The terms “coupled,” “communicatively coupled,” along with derivatives thereof are used herein. The term “coupled” may mean two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with one another, may mean that two or more elements indirectly contact each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and/or may mean that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between the elements that are said to be coupled with each other. The term “directly coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with one another. The term “communicatively coupled” may mean that two or more elements may be in contact with one another by a means of communication including through a wire or other interconnect connection, through a wireless communication channel or link, and/or the like.
The term “information element” refers to a structural element containing one or more fields. The term “field” refers to individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains content.
The term “SMTC” refers to an SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by SSB-MeasurementTimingConfiguration.
The term “SSB” refers to an SS/PBCH block.
The term “a “Primary Cell” refers to the MCG cell, operating on the primary frequency, in which the UE either performs the initial connection establishment procedure or initiates the connection re-establishment procedure.
The term “Primary SCG Cell” refers to the SCG cell in which the UE performs random access when performing the Reconfiguration with Sync procedure for DC operation.
The term “Secondary Cell” refers to a cell providing additional radio resources on top of a Special Cell for a UE configured with CA.
The term “Secondary Cell Group” refers to the subset of serving cells comprising the PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UE configured with DC.
The term “Serving Cell” refers to the primary cell for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED not configured with CA/DC there is only one serving cell comprising of the primary cell.
The term “serving cell” or “serving cells” refers to the set of cells comprising the Special Cell(s) and all secondary cells for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA/.
The term “Special Cell” refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG for DC operation; otherwise, the term “Special Cell” refers to the Pcell.
The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/149,515, which was filed Feb. 15, 2021.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2022/016174 | 2/11/2022 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63149515 | Feb 2021 | US |
