Patent Application
20240422578
Network slicing is an end-to-end capability that provides different fifth generation (5G) core network services with different quality of service (QOS) to user devices. A self-organizing network (SON) is an automation technology designed to make planning, configuration, management, optimization, and healing of a network simpler and faster.
The following detailed description of example implementations refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.
A service provider's radio access network (RAN), transport network, and core network environment may introduce scenarios that result in coverage area and service area differences (e.g., at a cell edge, in a building, optical distance limitations, and/or the like). The coverage area and service area differences may be expanded to include several operator-specific variables, such as transport network factors (e.g., distance limitations for optical fibers) and core network factors (e.g., a location of a user plane function). Therefore, the service provider's environment may be unable to provide a service that satisfies traffic characteristics and/or performance requirements. Thus, current mechanisms for providing a service in a RAN, transport network, and core network environment consume computing resources (e.g., processing resources, memory resources, communication resources, and/or the like), networking resources, and/or other resources associated with failing to provide a service that satisfies traffic characteristics and/or performance requirements (e.g., QoS requirements), providing poor user experiences for users of user devices attempting to access or accessing the service, handling lost traffic for user devices attempting to access or accessing the service, attempting to recover the lost traffic, and/or the like.
Some implementations described herein provide a SON system that provides a network slice based service area via SONs. For example, the SON system may receive performance requirements for a service to be provided by a service area to a user device, and may receive RAN factors that influence a RAN in providing the service, core factors that influence a core network in providing the service, and transport factors that influence a transport network in providing the service. The SON system may determine, based on the RAN factors, a RAN capability of the RAN to satisfy the performance requirements, and may determine, based on the core factors, a core capability of the core network to satisfy the performance requirements. The SON system may determine, based on the transport factors, a transport capability of the transport network to satisfy the performance requirements, and may determine RAN configuration settings based on the RAN capability, core configuration settings based on the core capability, and transport configuration settings based on the transport capability. The SON system may generate a RAN SON for the service area based on the RAN configuration settings, and may generate a core SON for the service area based on the core configuration settings. The SON system may generate a transport SON for the service area based on the transport configuration settings, and may receive a request for the service from the user device. The SON system may provide the service to the user device via a network slice based service area provided by the RAN SON, the core SON, and the transport SON.
In this way, the SON system provides a network slice based service area via SONs. For example, the SON system may establish a service area that satisfies specific traffic characteristics for a service, and may associate the service area with a network slice based service area. The SON system may generate the network slice based service area based on determining factors associated with a RAN, a core network, and a transport network. The network slice based service area may address each of the domains (e.g., the RAN, the core network, and the transport network) to achieve an improved user experience (e.g., higher quality video, lower latency services, and/or the like) for a user device. Thus, the SON system may conserve computing resources, networking resources, and/or other resources that would otherwise have been consumed by failing to provide a service that satisfies traffic characteristics and/or performance requirements (e.g., QoS requirements), providing poor user experiences for user devices attempting to access or accessing the service, handling lost traffic for user devices attempting to access or accessing the service, attempting to recover the lost traffic, and/or the like.
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The SON system 125 may receive, from the core network 115, the core factors that influence the core network 115 in providing the service. In some implementations, the core factors may include factors associated with an electrical interface of the core network 115, a form factor of the core network 115, a data rate of the core network 115, an optical connection of the core network 115, a fiber type of the core network 115, a wavelength of the core network 115, a distance associated with the core network 115, a modulation of the core network 115, an SNR of the core network 115, equipment loading of the core network 115, spectrum availability of the core network 115, spectrum loading of the core network 115, a UPF location of the core network 115, an MEC location, an aggregate maximum bit rate of the core network 115, a QoS identifier of the core network 115, a guaranteed or non-guaranteed bit rate of the core network 115, and/or the like. In some implementations, the SON system 125 may continuously receive the core factors from the core network 115, may periodically receive the core factors from the core network 115, may receive the core factors from the core network 115 based on requesting the core factors from the core network 115, and/or the like.
The SON system 125 may receive, from the transport network 120, the transport factors that influence the transport network 120 in providing the service. In some implementations, the transport factors may include factors associated with an electrical interface of the transport network 120, a form factor of the transport network 120, a data rate of the transport network 120, an optical connection of the transport network 120, a fiber type of the transport network 120, a wavelength of the transport network 120, a distance associated with the transport network 120, a modulation of the transport network 120, equipment loading of the transport network 120, spectrum availability of the transport network 120, spectrum loading of the transport network 120, and/or the like. In some implementations, the SON system 125 may continuously receive the transport factors from the transport network 120, may periodically receive the transport factors from the transport network 120, may receive the transport factors from the transport network 120 based on requesting the transport factors from the transport network 120, and/or the like.
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In some implementations, when determining, based on the core factors, the core capability of the core network 115 to satisfy the performance requirements, the SON system 125 may determine whether one or more of the core factors satisfy the performance requirements. The SON system 125 may determine the core capability based on determining whether one or more of the core factors satisfy the performance requirements. In one example, the SON system 125 may determine whether the electrical interface of the core network 115 satisfies the performance requirement for the electrical interface, may determine whether the form factor of the core network 115 satisfies the performance requirement for the form factor, and/or the like. In some implementations, one or more of the core factors may fail to satisfy the performance requirements, and the SON system 125 may utilize best efforts to partially satisfy the performance requirements for the one or more core factors that fail to satisfy the performance requirements.
In some implementations, when determining, based on the transport factors, the transport capability of the transport network 120 to satisfy the performance requirements, the SON system 125 may determine whether one or more of the transport factors satisfy the performance requirements. The SON system 125 may determine the transport capability based on determining whether one or more of the transport factors satisfy the performance requirements. In one example, the SON system 125 may determine whether the electrical interface of the transport network 120 satisfies the performance requirement for the electrical interface, may determine whether the form factor of the transport network 120 satisfies the performance requirement for the form factor, and/or the like. In some implementations, one or more of the transport factors may fail to satisfy the performance requirements, and the SON system 125 may utilize best efforts to partially satisfy the performance requirements for the one or more transport factors that fail to satisfy the performance requirements.
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The SON system 125 may utilize the core configuration settings to generate and configure the core SON (e.g., via one or more network functions). The core configuration settings may configure the core SON to provide the service in manner similar to the core network 115 but in accordance with the core factors and the performance requirements for the core network 115. In this way, the core SON may provide an improved user experience for the service compared to a user experience provided by the core network 115 for the service.
The SON system 125 may utilize the transport configuration settings to generate and configure the transport SON (e.g., via one or more network functions). The transport configuration settings may configure the transport SON to provide the service in manner similar to the transport network 120 but in accordance with the transport factors and the performance requirements for the transport network 120. In this way, the transport SON may provide an improved user experience for the service compared to a user experience provided by the transport network 120 for the service.
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In this way, the SON system 125 provides a network slice based service area via SONs. For example, the SON system 125 may establish a service area that satisfies specific traffic characteristics for a service, and may associate the service area with a network slice based service area. The SON system 125 may generate the network slice based service area based on determining factors associated with a RAN 110, a core network 115, and a transport network 120. The network slice based service area may address each of the domains (e.g., the RAN 110, the core network 115, and the transport network 120) to achieve an improved user experience (e.g., higher quality video, lower latency services, and/or the like) for a user device 105. Thus, the SON system 125 may conserve computing resources, networking resources, and/or other resources that would otherwise have been consumed by failing to provide a service that satisfies traffic characteristics and/or performance requirements (e.g., QoS requirements), providing poor user experiences for user devices 105 attempting to access or accessing the service, handling lost traffic for user devices 105 attempting to access or accessing the service, attempting to recover the lost traffic, and/or the like.
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The user device 105 may include one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and/or providing information, as described elsewhere herein. The user device 105 may include a communication device and/or a computing device. For example, the user device 105 may include a wireless communication device, a mobile phone, a user equipment, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a gaming console, a set-top box, a wearable communication device (e.g., a smart wristwatch, a pair of smart eyeglasses, a head mounted display, or a virtual reality headset), or a similar type of device.
The RAN 110 may support, for example, a cellular radio access technology (RAT). The RAN 110 may include one or more base stations (e.g., base transceiver stations, radio base stations, node Bs, eNodeBs (eNBs), gNodeBs (gNBs), base station subsystems, cellular sites, cellular towers, access points, transmit receive points (TRPs), radio access nodes, macrocell base stations, microcell base stations, picocell base stations, femtocell base stations, or similar types of devices) and other network entities that can support wireless communication for the user device 105. The RAN 110 may transfer traffic between the user device 105 (e.g., using a cellular RAT), one or more base stations (e.g., using a wireless interface or a backhaul interface, such as a wired backhaul interface), and/or the core network 115. The RAN 110 may provide one or more cells that cover geographic areas.
In some implementations, the RAN 110 may perform scheduling and/or resource management for the user device 105 covered by the RAN 110 (e.g., the user device 105 covered by a cell provided by the RAN 110). In some implementations, the RAN 110 may be controlled or coordinated by a network controller, which may perform load balancing, network-level configuration, and/or other operations. The network controller may communicate with the RAN 110 via a wireless or wireline backhaul. In some implementations, the RAN 110 may include a network controller, a self-organizing network (SON) module or component, or a similar module or component. In other words, the RAN 110 may perform network control, scheduling, and/or network management functions (e.g., for uplink, downlink, and/or sidelink communications of the user device 105 covered by the RAN 110).
The transport network 120 may include one or more wired and/or wireless networks. For example, the transport network 120 may include an optical transport network that physically connects the devices of the environment 200 via fiber optic cables, and wireline, wireless, and backbone networks of the environment 200. The transport network 120 may guarantee logical connection and may control the flow of data between the devices and/or the networks of the environment 200. The transport network 120 enables communication among the devices and/or the networks of the environment 200.
The SON system 125 may include one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, providing, and/or routing information, as described elsewhere herein. The SON system 125 may include a communication device and/or a computing device. For example, the SON system 125 may include a server, such as an application server, a client server, a web server, a database server, a host server, a proxy server, a virtual server (e.g., executing on computing hardware), or a server in a cloud computing system. In some implementations, the SON system 125 may include computing hardware used in a cloud computing environment.
In some implementations, the core network 115 may include an example functional architecture in which systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented. For example, the core network 115 may include an example architecture of a 5G next generation (NG) core network included in a 5G wireless telecommunications system. While the example architecture of the core network 115 shown in
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The NSSF 205 includes one or more devices that select network slice instances for the user device 105. By providing network slicing, the NSSF 205 allows an operator to deploy multiple substantially independent end-to-end networks potentially with the same infrastructure. In some implementations, each slice may be customized for different services.
The AUSF 210 includes one or more devices that act as an authentication server and support the process of authenticating the user device 105 in the wireless telecommunications system.
The UDM 215 includes one or more devices that store user data and profiles in the wireless telecommunications system. The UDM 215 may be used for fixed access and/or mobile access in the core network 115.
The PCF 220 includes one or more devices that provide a policy framework that incorporates network slicing, roaming, packet processing, and/or mobility management, among other examples.
The AF 225 includes one or more devices that support application influence on traffic routing, access to a network exposure function, and/or policy control, among other examples.
The AMF 230 includes one or more devices that act as a termination point for non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and/or mobility management, among other examples.
The SMF 235 includes one or more devices that support the establishment, modification, and release of communication sessions in the wireless telecommunications system. For example, the SMF 235 may configure traffic steering policies at the UPF 240 and/or may enforce user equipment Internet protocol (IP) address allocation and policies, among other examples.
The UPF 240 includes one or more devices that serve as an anchor point for intraRAT and/or interRAT mobility. The UPF 240 may apply rules to packets, such as rules pertaining to packet routing, traffic reporting, and/or handling user plane QoS, among other examples.
The message bus 245 represents a communication structure for communication among the functional elements. In other words, the message bus 245 may permit communication between two or more functional elements.
The data network 250 includes one or more wired and/or wireless data networks. For example, the data network 250 may include an Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) network, a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a private network such as a corporate intranet, an ad hoc network, the Internet, a fiber optic-based network, a cloud computing network, a third party services network, an operator services network, and/or a combination of these or other types of networks.
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The bus 310 includes one or more components that enable wired and/or wireless communication among the components of the device 300. The bus 310 may couple together two or more components of
The memory 330 includes volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. For example, the memory 330 may include random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive, and/or another type of memory (e.g., a flash memory, a magnetic memory, and/or an optical memory). The memory 330 may include internal memory (e.g., RAM, ROM, or a hard disk drive) and/or removable memory (e.g., removable via a universal serial bus connection). The memory 330 may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Memory 330 stores information, instructions, and/or software (e.g., one or more software applications) related to the operation of the device 300. In some implementations, the memory 330 includes one or more memories that are coupled to one or more processors (e.g., the processor 320), such as via the bus 310.
The input component 340 enables the device 300 to receive input, such as user input and/or sensed input. For example, the input component 340 may include a touch screen, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a button, a microphone, a switch, a sensor, a global positioning system sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and/or an actuator. The output component 350 enables the device 300 to provide output, such as via a display, a speaker, and/or a light-emitting diode. The communication component 360 enables the device 300 to communicate with other devices via a wired connection and/or a wireless connection. For example, the communication component 360 may include a receiver, a transmitter, a transceiver, a modem, a network interface card, and/or an antenna.
The device 300 may perform one or more operations or processes described herein. For example, a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., the memory 330) may store a set of instructions (e.g., one or more instructions or code) for execution by the processor 320. The processor 320 may execute the set of instructions to perform one or more operations or processes described herein. In some implementations, execution of the set of instructions, by one or more processors 320, causes the one or more processors 320 and/or the device 300 to perform one or more operations or processes described herein. In some implementations, hardwired circuitry may be used instead of or in combination with the instructions to perform one or more operations or processes described herein. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor 320 may be configured to perform one or more operations or processes described herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
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In some implementations, the core factors include factors associated with one or more of an electrical interface, a form factor, a data rate, an optical connection, a fiber type, a wavelength, a distance, a modulation, a signal-to-noise ratio, equipment loading, spectrum availability, spectrum loading, a user plane function location, a multi-access edge computing device location, an aggregate maximum bit rate, a quality of service identifier, or a guaranteed or non-guaranteed bit rate. In some implementations, the transport factors include factors associated with one or more of an electrical interface, a form factor, a data rate, an optical connection, a fiber type, a wavelength, a distance, a modulation, equipment loading, spectrum availability, or spectrum loading.
In some implementations, receiving the RAN factors that influence the RAN in providing the service, the core factors that influence the core network in providing the service, and the transport factors that influence the transport network in providing the service includes receiving the RAN factors from the RAN, receiving the core factors from the core network, and receiving the transport factors from the transport network.
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In some implementations, process 400 includes receiving a request for the service from the user device, and providing the service to the user device via the network slice based service area provided by the RAN SON, the core SON, and the transport SON.
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As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be used to implement the systems and/or methods based on the description herein.
As used herein, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or the like.
To the extent the aforementioned implementations collect, store, or employ personal information of individuals, it should be understood that such information shall be used in accordance with all applicable laws concerning protection of personal information. Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of such information can be subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example, through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as can be appropriate for the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personal information can be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of the type of information, for example, through various encryption and anonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.
Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various implementations. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various implementations includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiple of the same item.
No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the term “set” is intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, or a combination of related and unrelated items), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”).
In the preceding specification, various example embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.
