Patent Application
20250081093
The present disclosure relates to accessing a network slice.
NG, Xn and F1 are logical interfaces. For NG-RAN, the NG and Xn-C interfaces for a gNB consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, terminate in the gNB-CU. For New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), the S1-U and X2-C interfaces for a gNB, consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, terminate in the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU and connected gNB-DUs are only visible to other gNBs and the 5GC as a gNB.
The NG-RAN is layered into a Radio Network Layer (RNL) and a Transport Network Layer (TNL). The NG-RAN architecture, i.e., the NG-RAN logical nodes and interfaces between them, is defined as part of the RNL. For each NG-RAN interface (NG, Xn, F1) the related TNL protocol and the functionality are specified. The TNL provides services for user plane transport and signaling transport. In NG-Flex configuration, each gNB is connected to all Access and Mobility Management Function (AMFs) within an AMF Region. The AMF Region is defined in 3GPP TS 23.501.
Network slicing is about creating logically separated partitions of the network, addressing different business purposes. These “network slices” are logically separated to a degree that the network slices can be regarded and managed as networks of their own.
This is a new concept that potentially applies to both Long Term Evolution (LTE) and new 5G Radio Access Technology (RAT), also referred to as New Radio (NR). The key driver for introducing network slicing is business expansion, i.e., improving the cellular operator's ability to serve other industries, e.g., by offering connectivity services with different network characteristics (performance, security, robustness, and complexity).
3GPP is currently working on introduction of enhancements to the network slicing framework introduced to 3GPP 5G System. As of Release 16 (Rel-16), 3GPP specifies that slice availability for a User Equipment (UE) should not change within a Registration Area (RA) that is constructed from a list of Tracking Areas (TAS). The UE expects that all the cells that make up the different TAs in a RA offer the same set of slices that were provided to the UE in the Allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) during the registration procedure. Improved systems and methods for slice deployment within a registration area are needed.
Systems and methods for heterogeneous slice deployment within a registration area are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for accessing a network slice includes: during registration with a network node, requesting network slice assistance; receiving network slice assistance from the network node indicating access to a first network slice in a first Tracking Area (TA) but not in an entire Registration Area (RA); and accessing the first network slice in the first TA.
Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to the aforementioned or other challenges. Heterogeneous slice deployment within a Registration Area (RA) is provided. The proposed solution enables the Application and Mobility Management Function (AMF) to configure a User Equipment (UE) with a RA that contains Tracking Areas (TAS) with heterogenous network slice support. This enables support of a specific network slice in an area limited to a single TA while eliminating the need to assign the UE a RA that is limited to that specific TA only. This is achieved by:
The prior art does not allow deploying slices in areas smaller than a RA. By changing Information Elements (IEs) communicated during different phases of the registration procedure, the suggested solution allows deploying small slices without any changes needed to the ways in which the RA is deployed. The solution also simplifies much of the network planning needed to support network slicing.
There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein. In some embodiments, a method is performed by a UE for accessing a network slice, the method comprising one or more of: during registration with a network node, requesting network slice assistance; receiving network slice assistance from the network node indicating access to a first network slice in a first TA but not in an entire RA; and accessing the first network slice in the first TA.
In some embodiments, requesting network slice assistance comprises including a Requested Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) IE in a registration request message; and receiving network slice assistance from the network node comprises receiving an Allowed NSSAI IE, a Rejected NSSAI IE, or both an Allowed NSSAI IE and a Rejected NSSAI IE in a registration accept message from the network node.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises indicating to the network node that the UE is capable of supporting slice deployments that are not available across the entire RA.
In some embodiments, receiving network slice assistance from the network node comprises receiving an indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA. In some embodiments, the indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA is received in an Allowed NSSAI IE. In some embodiments, the indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA is received in an Allowed NSSAI Per TA IE. In some embodiments, the method further comprises not accessing the first network slice in a second TA when the first network slice is not indicated as being allowed in the second TA. In some embodiments, the method further comprises accessing the first network slice at a reduced Quality of Service (QOS) in a second TA when the first network slice is not indicated as being allowed in the second TA.
In some embodiments, receiving network slice assistance from the network node comprises receiving an indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA. In some embodiments, the indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA is received in a Rejected NSSAI IE. In some embodiments, the indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA is received in a Rejected NSSAI Per TA IE. In some embodiments, the method further comprises not accessing the first network slice in a second TA when the first network slice is indicated as being not allowed in the second TA. In some embodiments, the method further comprises accessing the first network slice at a reduced QoS in a second TA when the first network slice is indicated as being not allowed in the second TA.
In some embodiments, receiving network slice assistance from the network node comprises receiving an indication that the first network slice is not available in a current TA. In some embodiments, accessing the first network slice in the first TA comprises: entering the first TA; during registration with the network node, requesting network slice assistance; and receiving network slice assistance from the network node indicating that the first network slice is available in the first TA.
In some embodiments, a UE is configured to communicate with a network node, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of the previous embodiments.
In some embodiments, a method is performed by a network node for heterogeneous slice deployment in a RA, the method comprising one or more of: receiving a request for network slice assistance from a UE; determining that the UE is allowed to access a first network slice in a first TA but not in an entire RA; and providing network slice assistance to the UE in accordance with the access to the first network slice in the first TA but not in the entire RA.
In some embodiments, receiving the request for network slice assistance comprises receiving a Requested NSSAI IE in a registration request message; and providing network slice assistance to the UE comprises including an Allowed NSSAI IE, a Rejected NSSAI IE, or both an Allowed NSSAI IE and a Rejected NSSAI IE in a registration accept message to the UE.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving an indication from the UE that the UE is capable of supporting slice deployments that are not available across the entire RA.
In some embodiments, if the network node does not have an indication that the UE is capable of supporting slice deployments that are not available across the entire RA, providing network slice assistance to the UE comprises indicating the UE is not allowed to access the first network slice in the RA.
In some embodiments, determining that the UE is allowed to access the first network slice in the first TA but not the entire RA comprises: determining that an area covered by the first network slice is less than the entire RA; and configuring the first TA to match the area covered by the first network slice.
In some embodiments, providing network slice assistance to the UE comprises providing an indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA. In some embodiments, the indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA is provided in an Allowed NSSAI IE. In some embodiments, the indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA is provided in an Allowed NSSAI Per TA IE. In some embodiments, the UE is not allowed access to the first network slice in a second TA when the first network slice is not indicated as being allowed in the second TA. In some embodiments, the UE is allowed access to the first network slice at a reduced QoS in a second TA when the first network slice is not indicated as being allowed in the second TA.
In some embodiments, providing network slice assistance to the UE comprises providing an indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA. In some embodiments, the indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA is provided in a Rejected NSSAI IE. In some embodiments, the indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA is provided in a Rejected NSSAI Per TA IE. In some embodiments, the UE is not allowed access to the first network slice in a second TA when the first network slice is indicated as being not allowed in the second TA. In some embodiments, the UE is allowed access to the first network slice at a reduced QoS in a second TA when the first network slice is indicated as being not allowed in the second TA.
In some embodiments, providing network slice assistance to the UE comprises providing an indication that the first network slice is not available in a current TA. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving another request for network slice assistance when the UE enters the first TA and providing network slice assistance to the UE indicating that the first network slice is available in the first TA.
In some embodiments, a network node is configured to communicate with a UE, the network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of the previous embodiments.
Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). The proposed solution enables deploying slices in very small geographical areas to suit special use cases without necessarily having to deploy small RAs. Some of the potentially realizable use cases are in stadiums, factory slices, etc. The ability to deploy small slices within a large RA mitigates problems, such as high registration load, that one might deal with when the RA is too small. At the same time, this circumvents the 3GPP requirement to deploy slices across a RA where the business/deployment need does not require it.
The different embodiments described herein explore the different tradeoffs with the above solution. Some embodiments keep the messaging simple (Non-Access Stratum (NAS) registration accept message) at the expense of potentially more signaling to the UE with UE mobility. Some embodiments suggest the use of a more complex message structure that keeps the signaling load between the UE and the network unchanged when compared to prior approaches.
The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.
Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” is either a radio access node or a wireless communication device.
Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” or “radio network node” or “radio access network node” is any node in a Radio Access Network (RAN) of a cellular communications network that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., a New Radio (NR) base station (gNB) in a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) NR network or an enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) network), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., a micro base station, a pico base station, a home eNB, or the like), a relay node, a network node that implements part of the functionality of a base station (e.g., a network node that implements a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) or a network node that implements a gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU)) or a network node that implements part of the functionality of some other type of radio access node.
Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network or any node that implements a core network function. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW), a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF), a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), or the like. Some other examples of a core network node include a node implementing a Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), a User Plane Function (UPF), a Session Management Function (SMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a Network Function (NF) Repository Function (NRF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), or the like.
Communication Device: As used herein, a “communication device” is any type of device that has access to an access network. Some examples of a communication device include, but are not limited to: mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop, or Personal Computer (PC). The communication device may be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data via a wireless or wireline connection.
Wireless Communication Device: One type of communication device is a wireless communication device, which may be any type of wireless device that has access to (i.e., is served by) a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network). Some examples of a wireless communication device include, but are not limited to: a User Equipment device (UE) in a 3GPP network, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, and an Internet of Things (IoT) device. Such wireless communication devices may be, or may be integrated into, a mobile phone, smart phone, sensor device, meter, vehicle, household appliance, medical appliance, media player, camera, or any type of consumer electronic, for instance, but not limited to, a television, radio, lighting arrangement, tablet computer, laptop, or PC. The wireless communication device may be a portable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile device, enabled to communicate voice and/or data via a wireless connection.
Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the RAN or the core network of a cellular communications network/system.
Transmission/Reception Point (TRP): In some embodiments, a TRP may be either a network node, a radio head, a spatial relation, or a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) state. A TRP may be represented by a spatial relation or a TCI state in some embodiments. In some embodiments, a TRP may be using multiple TCI states. In some embodiments, a TRP may a part of the gNB transmitting and receiving radio signals to/from UE according to physical layer properties and parameters inherent to that element. In some embodiments, in Multiple TRP (multi-TRP) operation, a serving cell can schedule UE from two TRPs, providing better Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) coverage, reliability and/or data rates. There are two different operation modes for multi-TRP: single Downlink Control Information (DCI) and multi-DCI. For both modes, control of uplink and downlink operation is done by both physical layer and Medium Access Control (MAC). In single-DCI mode, UE is scheduled by the same DCI for both TRPs and in multi-DCI mode, UE is scheduled by independent DCIs from each TRP.
Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3GPP system.
Note that, in the description herein, reference may be made to the term “cell”; however, particularly with respect to 5G NR concepts, beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, it is important to note that the concepts described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.
The base stations 302 and the low power nodes 306 provide service to wireless communication devices 312-1 through 312-5 in the corresponding cells 304 and 308. The wireless communication devices 312-1 through 312-5 are generally referred to herein collectively as wireless communication devices 312 and individually as wireless communication device 312. In the following description, the wireless communication devices 312 are oftentimes UEs, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
Seen from the access side the 5G network architecture shown in
Reference point representations of the 5G network architecture are used to develop detailed call flows in the normative standardization. The N1 reference point is defined to carry signaling between the UE 312 and AMF 400. The reference points for connecting between the AN 302 and AMF 400 and between the AN 302 and UPF 414 are defined as N2 and N3, respectively. There is a reference point, N11, between the AMF 400 and SMF 408, which implies that the SMF 408 is at least partly controlled by the AMF 400. N4 is used by the SMF 408 and UPF 414 so that the UPF 414 can be set using the control signal generated by the SMF 408, and the UPF 414 can report its state to the SMF 408. N9 is the reference point for the connection between different UPFs 414, and N14 is the reference point connecting between different AMFs 400, respectively. N15 and N7 are defined since the PCF 410 applies policy to the AMF 400 and SMF 408, respectively. N12 is required for the AMF 400 to perform authentication of the UE 312. N8 and N10 are defined because the subscription data of the UE 312 is required for the AMF 400 and SMF 408.
The 5GC network aims at separating UP and CP. The UP carries user traffic while the CP carries signaling in the network. In
The core 5G network architecture is composed of modularized functions. For example, the AMF 400 and SMF 408 are independent functions in the CP. Separated AMF 400 and SMF 408 allow independent evolution and scaling. Other CP functions like the PCF 410 and AUSF 404 can be separated as shown in
Each NF interacts with another NF directly. It is possible to use intermediate functions to route messages from one NF to another NF. In the CP, a set of interactions between two NFs is defined as service so that its reuse is possible. This service enables support for modularity. The UP supports interactions such as forwarding operations between different UPFs.
Some properties of the NFs shown in
A NF may be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g., a cloud infrastructure.
Expecting that the network slices are homogeneously deployed across a RA restricts slice deployments to be tightly coupled with RAs. In general, a RA is a large geographic area served by multiple nodes (defined by TA list, and all the TAs are served by the same AMF) that defines the granularity at which the UE location is known when the UE is not Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected. The RAs are configured by taking into account UE mobility and for large enough areas to ensure that there are not too many UE mobility driven registrations. RAs typically cover considerable geographic areas.
The requirements of homogeneous slice deployment within a RA forces the operators to define RAs that may be composed of very few TAs. This is especially true when business/technical requirements necessitate the deployment of a slice in a limited geographic area. The resulting RAs may become so small that registration activities due to UE mobility across the RAs may become so frequent that the registration activities interfere with the network's ability to provide its normal services.
Systems and methods for heterogeneous slice deployment within a registration area are provided. In some embodiments, a method performed by a User Equipment (UE) for accessing a network slice includes: during registration with a network node, requesting network slice assistance; receiving network slice assistance from the network node indicating access to a first network slice in a first Tracking Area (TA) but not in an entire Registration Area (RA); and accessing the first network slice in the first TA. Some embodiments enable deploying slices in very small geographical areas to suit special use cases without necessarily having to deploy small RAs. Some of the potentially realizable use cases are in stadiums, factory slices, etc. The ability to deploy small slices within a large RA mitigates problems, such as high registration load, that one might deal with when the RA is too small.
This enables support of a specific network slice 602 in an area as small as a single TA while eliminating the need to assign the UE 312 a RA 600 that is limited to that specific TA only. This is achieved by:
In this regard, during registration in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), as part of the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) procedures defined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 24.501 16.6.0, the UE 312 includes an Information Element (IE) called ‘Requested NSSAI’ as part of the registration request message. The IE contains a set of Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) that indicates the set of network slices 602 that the UE 312 requests permission to use in the PLMN. Upon reception of this IE, the core network takes this information into account to determine a RA 600 for the UE 312. Then, based on the slice deployment, UE subscription, and other policies, it determines the set of S-NSSAIs that the UE 312 is allowed and not allowed to use within the RA in terms of the Allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) and Rejected NSSAI IEs and communicates this via the NAS registration accept message towards the UE 312. The set of allowed and rejected S-NSSAIs in the response are assumed to be valid throughout the current RA.
First, the UE capability requirements that are general to embodiments described herein are listed. The UE 312 needs to indicate to the network that it is capable of supporting messages that indicate slice deployments that are not available across a RA 600. This can be indicated by a new UE capability to the network, e.g., in the UE Fifth Generation Mobility Management (5GMM) capability, UE Fifth Generation Session Management (5GSM) capability or a new IE. When the UE 312 does not indicate this capability, the network automatically assumes that the UE 312 should not be allowed on any of the slices 602 that are not deployed uniformly throughout a RA. This prevents any future attempts by the UEs 312 to use slices 602 that are not deployed throughout a RA 600.
In another variant, if the UE 312 does not support the capabilities, the network assumes that the UE 312 expects uniform access to all slices 602 in the Allowed NSSAI throughout the RA 600 and therefore the network may serve some slices 602 with limited QoS in certain areas of the RA 600, while with optimized QoS in other areas of the RA 600.
As means to communicate non-homogeneous slice deployment within the RA to the UE, a first embodiment adds information in the messages sent to the UE to communicate which network slices that are included in the Allowed NSSAI are allowed in which TAs. This can be achieved over multiple means, e.g., through the registration accept message, or through other NAS messages. In each case, the communication involves sending the UE information about TAs constituting its RA and which slices are explicitly allowed in those TAS.
This can be achieved by adding, in addition to or instead of the Allowed NSSAI, an optional IE, e.g., “Allowed NSSAI Per TA” (to the registration accept message, or other similar NAS message) that contains a set of S-NSSAI where each S-NSSAI is associated with one or more TA Informations (TAIs) in the current RA in which the S-NSSAIs is allowed.
The UE interprets the S-NSSAIs present in the message as the S-NSSAIs considered to be allowed in the explicitly listed TAs and not allowed in the other TAS, i.e., slices that are not listed in a certain TA are considered as unavailable within that TA. This information has to be looked alongside with the rejected S-NSSAI list, which is transmitted according to the spec without any TA specific information and applies to all TAs within the RA with the exception of those marked as allowed in the modified IE.
In a depending embodiment, the new list of slices per TA signaled to the UE implies that the slices listed per TA are served with optimal QoS in such TAs. When the UE is in a TA where a certain slice is not listed, the UE may still access that slice, but the network will serve that slice with limited QoS. In a depending embodiment, such different levels of QoS can be configured by the core network to the RAN by means of the Alternative QoS Parameters Set List defined in 3GPP TS 38.413.
This list contains a number of QoS parameters sets associated to the same Packet Data Unit (PDU) Session. In one example, a PDU Session associated to a certain slice may be served with the best QoS parameters set when the UE is in the TA to which the slice is associated (as part of the NAS signaling described above), while the PDU Session associated to the same slice may be served with the lower QoS parameters sets (included in the Alternative QOS Parameters Set List) when the UE is not in the TA to which the slice is associated.
By means of these depending embodiments, the additional information signaled to the UE in the form of list of slices per TA represent the TAs on which the listed slices would receive maximum Qos, while outside such TAs the slices would receive lower QoS.
As the Alternative QOS Parameters Set List defined in 3GPP TS 38.413 was defined to serve applications with adaptive QoS, new (but basically equivalent) signaling could be defined, in order to keep the current alternative QoS signaling independent from QoS Parameter signaling related to QoS support in non-supported slices.
A second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, but the same end-goal can be reached by communicating what is not allowed when compared to communicating what is allowed. In this case, an optional IE is added which communicates the mapping between which slices in the RA are not allowed in certain TAs. The UE interprets the S-NSSAIs present in the message as the S-NSSAIs considered not to be allowed in the explicit related listed TAs. For TAs which do not mention a specific S-NSSAI as not allowed, the UE assumes that the slice is available on that TA. It is important to note that here the rejected S-NSSAI list is only augmented with TA information. The allowed S-NSSAI list is still also sent to the UE without any modification from the current specification. This facilitates the UE to get an understanding of which slices are in general allowed with more specific rejected S-NSSAI information.
As per the previous embodiment, some embodiments here consist of interpreting the new list of S-NSSAIs not allowed per TA as a list of S-NSSAIs for which maximum QoS will not be achieved in the associated TAs.
In a third embodiment, combinations of allowed and not allowed S-NSSAIs per TAIs can also be used to communicate the same capability per TA to the UE. In this case, the optional IE structure includes support for mentioning S-NSSAIs as allowed and not allowed within a TA. When S-NSSAIs are listed as allowed, then the UE interprets that the S-NSSAI is allowed in the current TA and not supported in other TAs (except for other TAs who list the corresponding S-NSSAI as allowed). When a S-NSSAI is listed as not allowed, then the UE assumes that the other TAs (which do not have the specific S-NSSAI as not allowed) have support for this slice. This suggested optional IE structure that facilitates in communicating both allowed and not allowed slices in an expanded form, i.e., the UE does not need to compare to globally allowed or not allowed slices and derive applicable rules per TA.
As above, in an alternative embodiment, when S-NSSAIs are listed as allowed, then the UE interprets that the S-NSSAI is allowed in the current TA with maximum QoS and supported in other TAs with lower QoS (except for other TAs who list the corresponding S-NSSAI as allowed). When a S-NSSAI is listed as not allowed, then the UE assumes that the other TAs (which do not have the specific S-NSSAI as not allowed) support this slice with maximum QoS.
The Rejected S-NSSAI IE has the following supported cause values (3GPP TS 24.501 16.6.0):
To enable deploying slices in areas smaller than the RA, in a fourth embodiment the Rejected S-NSSAI IE includes a cause value “S-NSSAI not available in current Tracking Area.” This cause value indicates to the UE that the S-NSSAI is not supported in the current TA but might be available in the other TAs that are part of the current RA. Note that the UE is also configured with the current RA, i.e., the set of TAS in the registration accept message.
Whenever the UE finds that it is in a new TA within the same RA, the UE assumes that the slice that was rejected in the previous TA is available in the current TA and can attempt to use the slice either for new PDU sessions, or earlier PDU sessions can be reallocated to the newly allocated slice by the core. The reasoning here being that the UE was only explicitly rejected to use the slice on the previous TA, and the same slice is also on the set of available slices in the current RA. However, the core can still reject the slice on the new TA as well. This new cause value facilitates the deployment of slices on a per-TA-level.
As part of this embodiment, the UEs can also maintain a memory of slices that were rejected in certain TAs. This memory is maintained as long as the UE is within the same RA, or the UE deregisters. At every UE power on/off, this memory shall be cleared too. This prevents the UE from re-requesting for slices that were previously rejected in a TA.
It might be the case that a UE will camp on or connect to a cell that does not support one or more of the S-NSSAIs on which the UE has established PDU sessions. In these cases, the following is proposed:
1. UE in CM-IDLE and/or CM-CONNECTED state can keep the PDU Session on NAS layer even if the cell on which the UE is currently camping or is served by is configured on a TA where the S-NSSAI (network slice) associated with that PDU Session is not among the set of allowed network slices (S-NSSAIs)/Allowed NSSAI provided to the UE by the network for this TA.
2. UE in CM-CONNECTED with RRC_INACTIVE state can keep the PDU Session on NAS layer even if the cell on which the UE is currently camping or is served by is configured on a TA where the S-NSSAI (network slice) associated with that PDU Session is not among the set of allowed network slices (S-NSSAIs)/Allowed NSSAI provided to the UE by the network for this TA.
3. UE in CM-CONNECTED with RRC_INACTIVE state can keep the access stratum configuration for resources associated with PDU Session even if the cell on which the UE is currently camping or is served by is configured on a TA where the S-NSSAI (network slice) associated with that PDU Session is not among the set of allowed network slices (S-NSSAIs)/Allowed NSSAI provided to the UE by the network for this TA.
In a dependent embodiment the list of slices allowed in a TA, as described above, can be interpreted as the list of slices receiving maximum QoS treatment in that TA, while the list of slices not allowed in a TA, as described above, can be interpreted as the list of slices receiving lower than maximum QOS treatment in that TA.
From the embodiments above it can be derived that the new information signaled to the UE can either be in the form of a List of Allowed/not-Allowed S-NSSAIs per TA or in the form of a List of Preferred/Not-Preferred S-NSSAIs per TA.
In a fifth embodiment the List of Allowed/Preferred S-NSSAIs per TA, associated to the UE, is signaled from the core network to the RAN serving the UE. As an example, such information could be signaled as part of the NG: INITIAL UE CONTEXT SETUP message or NG: UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message.
With this information, the RAN is able to determine the TA on which slices are allowed or are supported with maximum QoS and on the basis of that the RAN is able to trigger UE mobility with the intent to achieve service continuity by handing over the UE to cells of TAs where the slice in use by the UE is supported, or to achieve maximization of QoS treatment for the slice services in use by the UE by means of handing over the UE to cells of TAs where the slice in use by the UE is served with maximum QoS.
If the List of Allowed/Preferred S-NSSAIs per TA is exchanged for the List of not-Allowed/not-Preferred S-NSSAIs per TA, the RAN would gain awareness of the TAS within which the slices listed are not allowed or not served with maximum QoS and on the basis of that the RAN may try not to handover the UE towards cells of those TAs, if the UE has active services of slices listed for such TAs.
As used herein, a “virtualized” network node is an implementation of the network node 900 in which at least a portion of the functionality of the network node 900 is implemented as a virtual component(s) (e.g., via a virtual machine(s) executing on a physical processing node(s) in a network(s)). As illustrated, in this example, the network node 900 may include the control system 902 and/or the one or more radio units 910, as described above. The control system 902 may be connected to the radio unit(s) 910 via, for example, an optical cable or the like. The network node 900 includes one or more processing nodes 1000 coupled to or included as part of a network(s) 1002. If present, the control system 902 or the radio unit(s) are connected to the processing node(s) 1000 via the network 1002. Each processing node 1000 includes one or more processors 1004 (e.g., CPUs, ASICS, FPGAS, and/or the like), memory 1006, and a network interface 1008.
In this example, functions 1010 of the network node 900 described herein are implemented at the one or more processing nodes 1000 or distributed across the one or more processing nodes 1000 and the control system 902 and/or the radio unit(s) 910 in any desired manner. In some particular embodiments, some or all of the functions 1010 of the network node 900 described herein are implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in a virtual environment(s) hosted by the processing node(s) 1000. As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, additional signaling or communication between the processing node(s) 1000 and the control system 902 is used in order to carry out at least some of the desired functions 1010. Notably, in some embodiments, the control system 902 may not be included, in which case the radio unit(s) 910 communicate directly with the processing node(s) 1000 via an appropriate network interface(s).
In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of network node 900 or a node (e.g., a processing node 1000) implementing one or more of the functions 1010 of the network node 900 in a virtual environment according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).
In some embodiments, a computer program including instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to carry out the functionality of the wireless communication device 1200 according to any of the embodiments described herein is provided. In some embodiments, a carrier comprising the aforementioned computer program product is provided. The carrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium such as memory).
With reference to
The telecommunication network 1400 is itself connected to a host computer 1416, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 1416 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Connections 1418 and 1420 between the telecommunication network 1400 and the host computer 1416 may extend directly from the core network 1404 to the host computer 1416 or may go via an optional intermediate network 1422. The intermediate network 1422 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private, or hosted network; the intermediate network 1422, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 1422 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
The communication system of
Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE, base station, and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to
The communication system 1500 further includes a base station 1518 provided in a telecommunication system and comprising hardware 1520 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 1502 and with the UE 1514. The hardware 1520 may include a communication interface 1522 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 1500, as well as a radio interface 1524 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 1526 with the UE 1514 located in a coverage area (not shown in
The communication system 1500 further includes the UE 1514 already referred to. The UE's 1514 hardware 1534 may include a radio interface 1536 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 1526 with a base station serving a coverage area in which the UE 1514 is currently located. The hardware 1534 of the UE 1514 further includes processing circuitry 1538, which may comprise one or more programmable processors, ASICS, FPGAS, or combinations of these (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The UE 1514 further comprises software 1540, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 1514 and executable by the processing circuitry 1538. The software 1540 includes a client application 1542. The client application 1542 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 1514, with the support of the host computer 1502. In the host computer 1502, the executing host application 1512 may communicate with the executing client application 1542 via the OTT connection 1516 terminating at the UE 1514 and the host computer 1502. In providing the service to the user, the client application 1542 may receive request data from the host application 1512 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1516 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 1542 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
It is noted that the host computer 1502, the base station 1518, and the UE 1514 illustrated in
In
The wireless connection 1526 between the UE 1514 and the base station 1518 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1514 using the OTT connection 1516, in which the wireless connection 1526 forms the last segment.
A measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1516 between the host computer 1502 and the UE 1514, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1516 may be implemented in the software 1510 and the hardware 1504 of the host computer 1502 or in the software 1540 and the hardware 1534 of the UE 1514, or both. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 1516 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which the software 1510, 1540 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1516 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the base station 1518, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1518. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer 1502's measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency, and the like. The measurements may be implemented in that the software 1510 and 1540 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1516 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.
Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processor (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
While processes in the figures may show a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be understood that such order is exemplary (e.g., alternative embodiments may perform the operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).
Embodiment 1: A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (312) for accessing a network slice, the method comprising one or more of: during registration with a network node (900), requesting (702) network slice assistance; receiving (704) network slice assistance from the network node indicating access to a first network slice in a first Tracking Area, TA, but not in an entire Registration Area, RA; and accessing (706) the first network slice in the first TA.
Embodiment 2: The method of embodiment 1, wherein: requesting (702) network slice assistance comprises including a Requested Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, Information Element, IE, in a registration request message; and receiving (704) network slice assistance from the network node (900) comprises receiving an Allowed NSSAI IE, a Rejected NSSAI IE, or both an Allowed NSSAI IE and a Rejected NSSAI IE in a registration accept message from the network node.
Embodiment 3: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 2, further comprising indicating (700) to the network node (900) that the UE (312) is capable of supporting slice deployments that are not available across the entire RA.
Embodiment 4: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein receiving (704) network slice assistance from the network node comprises receiving an indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA.
Embodiment 5: The method of embodiment 4, wherein the indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA is received in an Allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, Information Element, IE.
Embodiment 6: The method of any of embodiments 4 to 5, wherein the indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA is received in an Allowed NSSAI Per TA IE.
Embodiment 7: The method of any of embodiments 4 to 6, further comprising not accessing the first network slice in a second TA when the first network slice is not indicated as being allowed in the second TA.
Embodiment 8: The method of any of embodiments 4 to 6, further comprising accessing the first network slice at a reduced Quality of Service, QoS, in a second TA when the first network slice is not indicated as being allowed in the second TA.
Embodiment 9: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 8, wherein receiving (704) network slice assistance from the network node comprises receiving an indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA.
Embodiment 10: The method of embodiment 9, wherein the indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA is received in a Rejected Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, Information Element, IE. Embodiment 11: The method of any of embodiments 9 to 10, wherein the indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA is received in a Rejected NSSAI Per TA IE.
Embodiment 12: The method of any of embodiments 9 to 11, further comprising not accessing the first network slice in a second TA when the first network slice is indicated as being not allowed in the second TA.
Embodiment 13: The method of any of embodiments 9 to 11, further comprising accessing the first network slice at a reduced Quality of Service, QoS, in a second TA when the first network slice is indicated as being not allowed in the second TA.
Embodiment 14: The method of any of embodiments 1 to 13, wherein receiving (704) network slice assistance from the network node comprises receiving an indication that the first network slice is not available in a current TA.
Embodiment 15: The method of embodiment 14, wherein accessing (706) the first network slice in the first TA comprises: entering the first TA; during registration with the network node (900), requesting (702) network slice assistance; and receiving (704) network slice assistance from the network node indicating that the first network slice is available in the first TA.
Embodiment 16: A User Equipment, UE, (312) configured to communicate with a network node (900), the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of the previous embodiments.
Embodiment 17: A method performed by a network node (900) for heterogeneous slice deployment in a Registration Area, RA, the method comprising one or more of: receiving (802) a request for network slice assistance from a User Equipment, UE (312); determining (804) that the UE is allowed to access a first network slice in a first Tracking Area, TA, but not in an entire Registration Area, RA; and providing (806) network slice assistance to the UE in accordance with the access to the first network slice in the first TA but not in the entire RA.
Embodiment 18: The method of embodiment 17, wherein: receiving (802) the request for network slice assistance comprises receiving a Requested Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, Information Element, IE, in a registration request message; and providing (806) network slice assistance to the UE (312) comprises including an Allowed NSSAI IE, a Rejected NSSAI IE, or both an Allowed NSSAI IE and a Rejected NSSAI IE in a registration accept message to the UE.
Embodiment 19: The method of any of embodiments 17 to 18, further comprising receiving (800) an indication from the UE (312) that the UE is capable of supporting slice deployments that are not available across the entire RA.
Embodiment 20: The method of any of embodiments 17 to 18, wherein if the network node does not have an indication that the UE is capable of supporting slice deployments that are not available across the entire RA, providing (806) network slice assistance to the UE comprises indicating the UE is not allowed to access the first network slice in the RA.
Embodiment 21: The method of any of embodiments 17 to 20, wherein determining (804) that the UE is allowed to access the first network slice in the first TA but not the entire RA comprises: determining that an area covered by the first network slice is less than the entire RA; and configuring the first TA to match the area covered by the first network slice.
Embodiment 22: The method of any of embodiments 17 to 21, wherein providing (806) network slice assistance to the UE comprises providing an indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA.
Embodiment 23: The method of embodiment 22, wherein the indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA is provided in an Allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, Information Element, IE.
Embodiment 24: The method of any of embodiments 22 to 23, wherein the indication of which network slices are allowed in each TA of the RA is provided in an Allowed NSSAI Per TA IE.
Embodiment 25: The method of any of embodiments 22 to 23, wherein the UE is not allowed access to the first network slice in a second TA when the first network slice is not indicated as being allowed in the second TA.
Embodiment 26: The method of any of embodiments 22 to 23, wherein the UE is allowed access to the first network slice at a reduced Quality of Service, QoS, in a second TA when the first network slice is not indicated as being allowed in the second TA.
Embodiment 27: The method of any of embodiments 17 to 26, wherein providing (806) network slice assistance to the UE comprises providing an indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA.
Embodiment 28: The method of embodiment 27, wherein the indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA is provided in a Rejected Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, NSSAI, Information Element, IE.
Embodiment 29: The method of any of embodiments 27 to 28, wherein the indication of which network slices are not allowed in each TA of the RA is provided in a Rejected NSSAI Per TA IE.
Embodiment 30: The method of any of embodiments 27 to 29, wherein the UE is not allowed access to the first network slice in a second TA when the first network slice is indicated as being not allowed in the second TA.
Embodiment 31: The method of any of embodiments 27 to 29, wherein the UE is allowed access to the first network slice at a reduced Quality of Service, QoS, in a second TA when the first network slice is indicated as being not allowed in the second TA.
Embodiment 32: The method of any of embodiments 17 to 31, wherein providing (806) network slice assistance to the UE comprises providing an indication that the first network slice is not available in a current TA.
Embodiment 33: The method of embodiment 32, further comprising: receiving (802) another request for network slice assistance when the UE enters the first TA; and providing (806) network slice assistance to the UE indicating that the first network slice is available in the first TA.
Embodiment 34: A network node (900) configured to communicate with a User Equipment, UE, (312) the network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the method of any of the previous embodiments.
At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).
Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 63/140,135, filed Jan. 21, 2021, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2022/050486 | 1/20/2022 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63140135 | Jan 2021 | US |
