CN110326340B - Slice activation techniques in multi-slice networks - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a user equipment (UE for short), including a processor configured to: receiving an activation command for at least one free slice of a plurality of slices, wherein the activation command commands performs connection establishment for the at least one free slice; setting the UE to an active state to enable the connection establishment for the at least one idle slice. The invention also relates to a Core Network (CN) system, comprising: an inter-slice control agent (ICA-CN) for collecting context information from at least one slice of a plurality of slices associated with or associable with a User Equipment (UE); at least one CN instance to send a connection request to the UE, the connection request requesting the UE to establish a connection for at least one idle slice of the plurality of slices. The invention also relates to a Radio Access Network (RAN) entity.

Description

Slice activation techniques in multi-slice networks

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a technique for slice activation in a multi-slice network, and in particular, in a next generation wireless network.

Background

Network slice is one of the key building blocks of fifth generation mobile and wireless communication networks (5G), also known as New Radio (NR) or new Radio Access Technology (RAT) or next generation wireless networks, with the main goal of vertical industry integration. The network slice may be defined as a logical network (providing telecommunication services and network capabilities), including AN Access Network (AN) and a Core Network (CN), see 3GPP TR 23.799 "next generation system architecture research (release 14)", v0.7.0(2016, 8 months). Third generation partnership project (3)^rdGeneration Partnership Project (3 GPP) is a standardization process for network slices from two aspects of Core Network (CN) and Radio Access Network (RAN), which is referred to in 3GPP TR 23.799 and 3GPP TR 38.801 "new radio access technology research; radio access architecture and interface (release 14) ", v1.0.0 (2016 month 12). A User Equipment (UE) may access multiple network slices. When multiple network slices per UE are logically separated, the signaling overhead may increase significantly as the control plane latency increases due to the parallel operation of the control functions in these network slices.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an idea for reducing signaling latency and/or signaling overhead in a multi-slice network.

This object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. Further embodiments are apparent from the dependent claims, the detailed description and the drawings.

The invention is based on the idea to exploit context information available in one slice instance of a multi-slice network to improve functionality in another slice instance.

The present invention provides slice activation techniques where in the CN, UE context construction may be based on information elements received from a given UE's slice CN instance. In particular, the core network may store information from which active slices may be inferred, for example so that one of the active slices may be connected directly with the UE and another idle slice may be activated through the directional connection. In addition, information may be stored in the core network, by which a search space of a gNB (i.e., a base station) may be optimized for paging to identify the UE. The information element may comprise status information, e.g. based on: a state vector of core network states (e.g., ECM states); a Radio Access Network (RAN) state (e.g., RRC state); and/or serving a gNB); and/or a linking area list (TAL for short).

The present invention provides slice activation techniques for optimizing (e.g., minimizing) signaling costs and Control Plane (CP) latency when a UE is able to obtain service from one or more specific network slice instances (e.g., of one operator). In particular, the present invention provides techniques for utilizing context information available in one slice instance to improve functionality in another slice instance when a UE is able to access multiple network slices (e.g., with different connection requirements). This solution allows optimizing the activation of another slice instance (no paging or optimized paging) based on this context information. The method can reduce signaling overhead and control plane delay generated by parallel operation of control functions in a plurality of slices to the maximum extent.

The basic principle of using the invention is that: the present invention provides an inter-slice information exchange and association optimization between slices (or also referred to herein as slice instances or network slices) associated with one UE to reduce Mobility Management (MM) signaling. In particular, the present invention provides devices, methods and systems that exploit context information available in one or more slice instances to improve functionality, such as mobility management functionality in other one or more slice instances; enabling optimized activation of another slice instance (e.g., no paging or optimized paging) based on such context information and associated mechanisms; signaling overhead and control plane latency due to running control functions (e.g., mobility management) in parallel in multiple slices is minimized.

The following describes methods that enable slice activation, which may be based on a connection request or an activation request, or may also be based on paging. On this basis, slice activation may be understood from the perspective of the UE for which communication is to be established through the slice to be activated, such that the UE is able to obtain service for the slice. When a data packet of a UE arrives at a network from the internet, the UE is activated, for example, when the data packet arrives at a serving gateway (S-GW) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, the UE may be activated through paging. That is, the UE is in an IDLE state, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) -IDLE, and paging may be used to ensure that the UE switches from an RRC-IDLE state to an RRC-CONNECTED state. The RRC state refers to a state of the UE in the RAN, and at the CN side, the state of the UE refers to an Evolved Packet System (EPS) connection management (ECM) state, such as ECM-CONNECTED and ECM-IDLE. Together, the RRC state and the ECM state may define an EPS Mobility Management (EMM) state, such as EMM deregistered (e.g., the UE detaches from the network) and EMM registered (e.g., the UE connects to the network). A network entity, such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME), knows the location of the UE based on a Tracking Area (TA), where the TA may be composed of a plurality of cells served by a Base Station (BS). Paging messages for the IDLE UE are sent to these cells, and the UE pages according to its paging cycle.

The multi-slice network described in the present invention may apply the concept of network slicing. The network slicing is an emerging concept, e.g. for 5G networks. Activating slices is a fundamental issue when multiple slices are accessible to the UE. Different mechanisms may be used to activate the slices. One possible approach may be to apply a paging-like procedure to each network slice that the UE has access to. Such paging mechanisms may be further optimized. For example, through a blanket paging scheme, all cells included in the Tracking Area (TA) may be paged simultaneously; the associated TA may be divided into paging zones by a sequential paging scheme. When an incoming call arrives, the paging zones may page one by one until the UE is found. In another approach, the paging zone may be determined based on the device's last connection and its distance from the border area to reach the device with the first paging message.

Such activation of each slice (parallel operation of control functions) can result in significant Mobility Management (MM) signaling and sub-optimal latency values when paging is used individually for each slice. That is, latency constraints that meet the slicing requirements may not be met and/or signaling overhead may be significantly increased. Therefore, the slicing requirements may not be met. By applying the slice activation technology provided by the invention, the signaling time delay can be reduced, and the time delay constraint meeting the slice requirement is met.

The devices, systems, and methods described below are based on communication devices, such as small cells and relay nodes. Small cells are low power nodes, typically with lower transmit (Tx) power than macro nodes, and may take the form of planned/unplanned pico cells, femto cells and relays. Relays are standardized in Long Term Evolution (LTE) release 10, also known as fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) standardized 3GPP TR 38.801: "new RAT study; radio access architecture and interface (release 14) ".

The device described herein may be implemented in a wireless communication network, in particular a communication network based on a mobile communication standard, such as LTE, in particular LTE-a and/or OFDM based systems and 5G. The apparatus described in the present invention may also be implemented in a mobile device (or a mobile station or User Equipment (UE)), for example, in a scenario where one mobile device communicates with another mobile device through device-to-device (D2D). The devices may include integrated circuits and/or passive circuits, and may be fabricated according to various techniques. For example, the circuits may be designed as logic integrated circuits, analog integrated circuits, mixed signal integrated circuits, optical circuits, memory circuits, and/or integrated passive circuits.

D2D communication in a cellular network is defined as direct communication between two mobile devices or mobile users without going through a Base Station (BS) or eNodeB or gNB or core network. D2D communications are generally opaque to the cellular network and may occur over the cellular spectrum (i.e., in-band) or the unlicensed spectrum (i.e., out-of-band). D2D communication may greatly improve the spectral efficiency, throughput, energy efficiency, latency, and fairness of the network. The transmitting device and the receiving device described in the present invention can be implemented in a mobile device that communicates in the D2D scenario. However, the transmitting device and the receiving device described in the present invention may also be implemented in a Base Station (BS) or eNodeB or gNB.

The devices described herein may be used to transmit and/or receive wireless signals. The wireless signal may be or may include a radio frequency signal transmitted by a wireless transmitting device (or wireless transmitter or transmitter) having a radio frequency range between about 3kHz and 300 GHz. The frequency range may correspond to the frequency of an alternating current signal used to generate and detect radio waves.

The devices described herein may include small cells, which may use network slices. The small cells and network fragmentation described below are two key enablers of 5G, such as the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) alliance: "5G white paper" (2 months 2015). It is likely that they will standardize 5G Radio Access Networks (RANs), also known as New Radios (NRs), in 3 GPP. Small cells may improve coverage and/or capabilities, for example, in the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) alliance: as highlighted in "5G white paper" (2 months 2015). In addition, network slices are components of network functions, specific function settings, and associated resources, and have different impacts on Radio Access Network (RAN) design. In RAN, various slice-based target Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) may include: for example, throughput/spectral efficiency for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) communications; high reliability and low latency for high-reliability and low latency communications (URLLC); and connection density for large-scale machine-type communication (mtc). Slices may have different requirements in terms of throughput and latency, which requires different operations to be enabled for different types of traffic to meet the requirements of certain KPIs.

The devices and systems described herein may include a processor. In the description that follows, the term "processor" describes any device that may be used to process a particular task (or block or step). The processor may be a single processor or a multi-core processor, or may comprise a group of processors, or may comprise a processing device. The processor may process software, firmware, or applications, among others.

For a detailed description of the invention, the following terms, abbreviations and symbols will be used:

ICA: inter-slice context control proxy

ICA-CN: inter-slice context control proxy-core network

ICA-UE: inter-slice context control proxy-user equipment

DSC: dynamic small cell

RN: relay node

RACH: random access channel

RAN: wireless access network

RRC: radio resource control

MM: mobility management

CN: core network

NR: new wireless

TA: tracking area

TAL: tracking area list

KPI: key performance index

D2D: device to device

DL: downlink link

UL: uplink link

UP: user plane

And (3) CP: control surface

BS: base station, eNodeB, eNB, gNB

UE: user equipment, e.g. mobile or machine communication equipment or motor vehicles

5G: fifth generation, e.g. based on 3GPP standardization

LTE: long term evolution

RF: radio frequency

MBB: mobile broadband

eMBB: enhanced mobile broadband

URLLC: high reliability low latency communications

MTC: machine communication

uMTC high reliability MTC

TX: launching

RX: receiving

OAM: operation and maintenance

EPS: evolved packet system

EMM: EPS mobility management

ECM: EPS connection management

S-GW: service gateway

According to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a User Equipment (UE), comprising a processor configured to: receiving, by at least one active slice of a plurality of slices, an activation command for at least one idle slice of the plurality of slices, wherein the activation command commands a connection establishment of the at least one idle slice; setting the UE to an active state to enable the connection establishment for the at least one idle slice.

Such a UE may reduce signaling latency when applied in a multi-slice network, since activation of an idle slice may signal through an active slice, saving signaling commands and reducing latency.

In a first possible implementation form of the UE according to the first aspect, the processor is configured to: initiating the connection establishment between the at least one idle slice and a radio access network (RAN for short).

This provides the following advantages: the RAN network may control the initiation of the connection establishment.

In a second possible implementation form of the user equipment according to the first aspect as such or according to the first implementation form of the first aspect, the processor is configured to: receiving the activation command through a first connection control instance of the UE associated with the at least one active slice; initiating the connection establishment through a second connection control instance of the UE associated with the at least one idle slice.

This provides the following advantages: the first and second connection control instances may cooperate to initiate the connection establishment to reduce the signaling load.

In a fourth possible implementation form of the user equipment according to the first aspect as such or according to any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the processor is configured to: initiating the connection establishment through a single connection control instance of the UE associated with the at least one active slice and the at least one idle slice.

This provides the following advantages: a single connection control instance (e.g., a primary connection control instance) may coordinate connection establishment, which may reduce complexity of connection establishment, e.g., in terms of UE implementation.

In a fourth possible implementation form of the user equipment according to the first aspect as such or according to any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the processor is configured to: initiating the connection setup for the at least one idle slice using a dedicated preamble received with the activation command or Random preamble based on a paging free Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT 1).

This provides the following advantages: connections can be established without paging, thereby reducing the signaling load and/or latency. The RACH procedure may be used to exchange necessary information and establish a connection.

In a fifth possible implementation form of the user equipment according to the first aspect as such or according to any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the processor is configured to: based on a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT2), using an information element to provide information of the connection establishment received together with the activation command, in particular a Timing Advance (TA) and a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI), initiating the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice.

This provides the following advantages: connections can be established without paging, thereby reducing the signaling load and/or latency. The above information element may provide necessary information without a RACH procedure, e.g. sending a preamble to the RAN entity. Thus, the signaling load can be reduced and the connection can be established faster.

In a sixth possible implementation form of the user equipment according to the first aspect as such or according to any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the processor is configured to: enabling the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice of the plurality of slices based on the activation command received through the at least one active slice of the plurality of slices.

This provides the following advantages: the activation command may be forwarded to the idle slice through the active slice. Thus, signaling messages may be reduced.

In a seventh possible implementation form of the user equipment according to the first aspect as such or according to any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the UE comprises a memory for storing states of the plurality of slices; the processor is configured to run an inter-slice context control agent (ICA-UE) for exchanging information between different slices, in particular control commands and information units for establishing a connection.

This provides the following advantages: the ICA-UE may exchange messages between different slices using the necessary information about the slices. Since the memory is used to store information about the slice, the time delay caused by establishing a connection can be reduced.

In an eighth possible implementation form of the user equipment according to the first aspect as such or according to any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the processor is configured to execute: at least one first connection control instance associated with the at least one active slice for receiving the activation command; at least one second connection control instance associated with the at least one idle slice for initiating the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice.

This provides the following advantages: the at least two connection control instances may interact to improve the connection establishment, e.g. in terms of latency and/or signalling load.

In a ninth possible implementation form of the user equipment according to the first aspect as such or according to any of the preceding implementation forms of the first aspect, the processor comprises: a single connection control instance associated with the at least one active slice and the at least one idle slice for initiating the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice.

This provides the following advantages: a single connection control instance (e.g., a primary connection control instance) may coordinate connection establishment, thereby simplifying the connection establishment process.

According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to a Radio Access Network (RAN) entity, in particular a Base Station (BS), comprising a processor configured to: connecting a UE, in particular a UE according to the first aspect or according to any one of its implementations, to at least one active slice of a plurality of slices; sending an activation command to the UE through at least one active slice of the plurality of slices, wherein the activation command commands the UE to establish a connection for at least one idle slice of the plurality of slices.

Such RAN entities may reduce signaling latency when applied in a multi-slice network, since activation of idle slices may signal through active slices, thereby saving signaling commands and reducing latency.

In a first possible implementation form of the RAN entity according to the second aspect, the activation command instructs the UE to enter an active state to enable the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice.

This provides the following advantages: less signaling is required to bring the UE in the active state.

In a second possible implementation form of the RAN entity according to the second aspect as such or according to the first implementation form of the second aspect, the processor is configured to establish a connection of the at least one idle slice with the UE.

This provides the following advantages: the processor provides an efficient mechanism to establish a connection of idle slices with the UE, e.g., in terms of signaling efficiency.

In a third possible implementation form of the RAN entity according to the second aspect as such or according to any of the preceding implementation forms of the second aspect, the processor is configured to request the UE to establish a connection for the at least one idle slice using a dedicated preamble or a Random preamble based on a paging free Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT 1).

This provides the following advantages: connections can be established without paging, thereby reducing the signaling load and/or latency. The RACH procedure may be used to exchange necessary information to enable the connection establishment.

In a fourth possible implementation manner of the RAN entity according to the second aspect or the first or second implementation manner of the second aspect, the processor is configured to send an information element to provide information about the connection establishment, in particular a Timing Advance (TA) and a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI), based on a paging free Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT2), and request the UE to establish the connection of the at least one idle slice.

This provides the following advantages: connections can be established without paging, thereby reducing the signaling load and/or latency. The information element may provide necessary information without a RACH procedure, for example, a Physical RACH (PRACH) preamble is transmitted to the RAN entity. Thus, the signaling load and/or latency may be reduced.

According to a third aspect, the present invention relates to a Core Network (CN) system, including: an inter-slice control agent (ICA-CN) for collecting context information from at least one slice of a plurality of slices associated with a User Equipment (UE); at least one CN instance to send a connection request to the UE, the connection request requesting the UE to establish a connection for at least one idle slice of the plurality of slices.

Such CN systems may reduce signaling latency when applied in multi-slice networks, since activation of idle slices may signal through active slices, thereby saving signaling commands and reducing latency. The CN instance may include customized sliced CN functions, such as mobility management. CN instances corresponding to different slices or slice instances may also have shared CN functionality. Further, context information for a UE may be collected from the CN instance for a slice associated with the UE or that may be associated therewith.

In a first possible implementation form of the CN system according to the third aspect, the at least one CN instance is configured to: inferring at least one base station for paging the UE; collecting information, in particular from the ICA-CN, may reduce a number of candidate base stations for paging, in particular information on CN status, serving base stations, connection history and/or tracking area lists of the plurality of slices.

This provides the following advantages: the number of base stations used for paging can be reduced, thereby reducing latency and saving signaling messages.

In a second possible implementation form of the CN system according to the third aspect, the at least one CN instance is configured to: transmitting the connection request based on a no paging procedure to the UE through the at least one active slice based on the priorities of the plurality of slices.

This provides the following advantages: different priorities may be implemented to implement the multi-slice network. For example, high-priority slice activation may be performed by another slice with a similar priority, which may help to meet latency requirements of the high-priority slice, for example.

In a third possible implementation form of the CN system according to the third aspect or any one of the preceding implementation forms of the third aspect, the at least one CN instance is configured to: requesting the UE to establish a connection for the at least one idle slice based on a paging free non-Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT2) when the at least one idle slice is connected to the same base station or super cell and/or when location information of the UE is known or can be estimated.

This provides the following advantages: connections can be established without paging, thereby reducing the signaling load and/or latency. The above information element may provide necessary information without a RACH procedure, e.g. sending a PRACH preamble to the RAN entity. Thus, the signaling load and/or latency may be reduced.

In a fourth possible implementation form of the CN system according to the third aspect or any of the preceding implementation forms of the third aspect, the at least one CN instance is configured to: requesting the UE to establish a connection of the at least one idle slice based on a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT1) when the at least one idle slice is connected to the same base station or a neighboring base station.

This provides the following advantages: connections can be established without paging, thereby reducing the signaling load and/or latency. The RACH procedure may be used to exchange necessary information to enable the connection establishment.

According to a fourth aspect, the present invention relates to a method for enabling connection establishment of an idle slice of a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an activation command for at least one free slice of a plurality of slices, wherein the activation command commands performs connection establishment for the at least one free slice; setting the UE to an active state to enable the connection establishment for the at least one idle slice.

Such an approach may reduce signaling latency and/or signaling load when applied in a multi-slice network, since activation of idle slices may be efficiently performed based on, inter alia, context information collected by and received over the ICA, thereby reducing latency and/or signaling load.

According to a fifth aspect, the invention relates to a communication system comprising: a user equipment according to the first aspect or any one of its implementations of the first aspect; a Radio Access Network (RAN) entity according to the second aspect or any one of the implementation manners of the second aspect; and a CN system according to the third aspect or according to any one of the implementation manners of the third aspect.

Such a communication system may reduce signaling latency and/or signaling load in a multi-slice network, since activation of idle slices may be efficiently performed based on contextual information collected and received by, inter alia, the ICA, thereby reducing latency and/or signaling load.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention will be described in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b) show diagrams of a multi-slice network that utilizes a method to activate an idle slice of a User Equipment (UE), here exemplified by a 5G car that owns or may own access rights to multiple slices, here exemplified by eMBB and mtc slices, where fig. 1 (a) shows a paging message sent through a cell in a tracking area of the UE via the idle slice and fig. 1 (b) shows a connection request or an activation request to send the idle slice via the active slice;

fig. 2 illustrates a diagram of a multi-slice network 200 in which a UE210 is associated with two slices, wherein each slice has the following characteristics: for example, connection control instance 211 at UE210, connection control instance 221 at RAN entity 220; CN instance # 1231 including user plane (UP for short) and control plane (CP for short) functions at CN system 230; an ICA (also referred to as ICA-CN)235 that can communicate with CN instance # 1231 and CN instance # 2232 at the CN system 230; and an ICA-UE 213 at the UE210 that can communicate with the connection control instance 211 and the connection control instance 212;

fig. 3 illustrates a diagram of a multi-slice network 300 according to an implementation, illustrating slice activation according to a first alternative (ALT 1);

fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 400 for slice activation of the multi-slice network 300 shown in fig. 3;

fig. 5 illustrates a diagram of a multi-slice network 500 according to an implementation, showing slice activation according to a second alternative (ALT 2);

fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 600 for slice activation of the multi-slice network 500 shown in fig. 5;

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of a multi-slice network 700 in which some Core Network (CN) functions are shared by slices in the CN in accordance with an implementation;

figure 8 shows a diagram of a multi-slice network 800 in which Mobility Management (MM) functionality is shared by slices in the CN, according to an implementation;

figure 9 illustrates a diagram of a multi-slice network 900 in which Control Plane (CP) functionality is shared by slices in the CN, according to an implementation;

fig. 10 illustrates a diagram of a multi-slice network 1000 in which slice activation according to optimized paging is performed when at least one slice (also referred to as a slice instance) is in an active state, according to an implementation;

fig. 11 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 1100 for slice activation for the multi-slice network 1000 shown in fig. 10;

fig. 12 illustrates a diagram of a multi-slice network 1200 in which slice activation according to optimized paging is performed when all slices of the UE, i.e., all slices associated with or that may be associated with the UE (also referred to as slice instances), are in an idle state, according to an implementation;

fig. 13 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 1300 for slice activation of the multi-slice network 1200 shown in fig. 12;

fig. 14 illustrates a diagram of a multi-slice network 1400 in accordance with an implementation in which slice activation in accordance with optimized paging is performed when all slices of the UE, i.e., all slices associated or may be associated with the UE (also referred to as slice instances), are in an idle state and there is a control connection (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection) with the UE in the RAN;

fig. 15 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 1500 of slice activation for the multi-slice network 1400 illustrated in fig. 14;

fig. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary User Equipment (UE) 210 according to an implementation;

fig. 17 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary Radio Access Network (RAN) entity 220, according to an implementation;

figure 18 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary Core Network (CN) system 230, according to one implementation;

fig. 19 illustrates a diagram of an exemplary method 1900 for enabling connection establishment of an idle slice of a UE according to an implementation.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are a part of the description and which show, by way of illustration, specific aspects in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other aspects may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

It is to be understood that the remarks made in relation to the method described are equally applicable to the corresponding device or system for performing the method, and vice versa. For example, if a specific method step is described, the corresponding apparatus may comprise means for performing the described method step, even if such means are not elaborated or illustrated in the figures. Further, it is to be understood that features of the various exemplary aspects described herein may be combined with each other, unless specifically noted otherwise.

The following describes a multi-slice network, i.e., a communication network having multiple network slices. A "network slice" is a fully operational logical network containing all necessary protocols and network resources. In some deployments, a network slice may be considered to be a completely independent network, but belonging to the same network operator. This enables the network operator to share resources between the network slices to meet the respective slice requirements. In some deployments, network slices may share some User Plane (UP) and/or Control Plane (CP) functions, and/or the network slices may share the same pool of network resources, e.g., a pool of wireless resources, such as frequency and time resources.

Fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b) show schematic diagrams of a multi-slice network that utilizes a method to activate an idle slice of a User Equipment (UE) 107, here exemplified by a 5G car that owns or may own access rights to multiple slices, here exemplified by eMBB 110 and mtc 120 slices, where fig. 1 (a) shows a paging message sent through a cell in a tracking area of the UE via the pages 109a and 109b, and fig. 1 (b) shows a connection request or activation request 132 sending the idle slice 110 via the active slice 120. Slice activation may be understood here from the perspective of the UE for which communication is to be established through the slice to be activated, such that the UE can obtain service for the slice.

In fig. 1, an exemplary implementation of the method is depicted. A 5G car 107 is provided as an exemplary UE 107, wherein the 5G car may access multiple slices, such as an ultra-reliable machine communication (mtc) (e.g., for autonomous driving services) slice 120 and an enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) (e.g., video streaming services) slice 110. In fig. 1 (a), the paging 109a, 109b is applied separately for each slice, i.e. when a data packet 101 arrives in the idle slice 110 of the UE 107, in order to move the UE 107 from an idle state to a connected state, the UE 107 is paged 109a, 109b according to the tracking area 108 and the base stations (depicted as gnbs) 106a, 106b, 106c therein. In fig. 1 (b), a high-level implementation of the proposed method and system is described, wherein the connection request 132 or activation request of the idle slice 110 is communicated via the active slice 120 when a data packet 101 arrives at the idle slice 110 of the UE 107, based on an inter-slice context exchange 130 and associated mechanisms, which will be described in detail below. In this example, the pages 109a, 109b shown in (a) of fig. 1 are not used.

The following figures show Inter-slice Context Control agents (ICA) on the UE side and the CN side. The inter-slice context control agent on the UE side is also referred to as ICA-UE and the inter-slice context control agent on the CN side is also referred to as ICA-CN.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 200 according to an implementation, in which a UE210 is associated with two slices, which may communicate with a RAN entity 220, which RAN entity 220 is illustratively located at a macro base station, e.g., base stations 106a, 106b, 106c described in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b). The UE210 may be integrated into a 5G automobile as described in fig. 1 (a) and 1 (b).

Fig. 2 shows an exemplary network structure and proposed ICA (also referred to as ICA-CN) and ICA-UE functional entities 235, 213, to which the considered method can be applied, respectively. In fig. 2, slice #1 may correspond to the active slice 120 shown in (a) and (b) of fig. 1, with the following features: CN instances # 1, 231 on the CN side 230 having functions of a specific User Plane (UP) 235 and a Control Plane (CP) 234 and RRC # 1, 221 on the RAN side 220; slice #2 may correspond to the free slice 110 shown in (a) and (b) of fig. 1, having the following features: CN instances # 2, 232 with specific User Plane (UP) 237 and Control Plane (CP) 236 functions on the CN side 230 and RRC # 2, 222 on the RAN side 220. ICA235 is logically between CN instances 1, 231 and 2, 232 on the UE side 230, and ICA-UE 213 is logically between RRC # 1, 211 and RRC # 2, 212 on the UE side 210. In this particular example, slice # 1, 120 is in an active state (e.g., the UE is in RRC-CONNECTED, ECM-CONNECTED, and EMM registration states), and slice #2, 110 is in an IDLE state (e.g., the UE is in RRC-IDLE, ECM-IDLE, and EMM registration states). In this example, the data packet 101 of the UE210 arrives at the CN instance # 2, 232 of the slice # 2, 110.

In the following, ALT1 refers to the "random access" case, where the UE210 applies a random access procedure, e.g. switching from RR-IDLE to RR-CONNECTED, and ALT refers to the "no random access" case, where the UE210 does not apply a random access procedure but applies the proposed mechanism, e.g. switching from RRC-IDLE to RRC-CONNECTED, according to the slice activation mechanism, unless otherwise specified. Here, a connection control instance, such as RRC # 1221, may perform a similar or modified function, such as RRC, and is therefore labeled as RRC in the figures and text. The state of the UE with respect to the slice on the RAN side is marked by RRC states (e.g., RRC-IDLE and RRC-CONNECTED), and the state of the UE with respect to the slice on the CN side is marked by ECM states (e.g., ECM-CONNECTED and ECM-IDLE).

Fig. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 300 according to an implementation, showing slice activation according to the first alternative (ALT 1). Fig. 4 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 400 for slice activation of multi-slice network 300 of fig. 3.

An embodiment of the invention is described with the aid of fig. 3 and 4. Accordingly, the various steps of the disclosed method are labeled with numbers from 0 to 7. The different steps in fig. 3 and 4 are also marked with reference signs in order to define these steps from the steps described below with respect to more figures. In fig. 3, only two slices 110, 120 are depicted for illustration purposes, which may correspond to the active slice #1 and the idle slice #2 described above in connection with fig. 1 (a), (b), and 2; meanwhile, as shown in fig. 4, the UE210 may also access more slices. The UE210 may correspond to the UE210 described above in connection with (a), (b), and 2 of fig. 1. When the UE210 is associated with multiple slices and multiple RRC connections, RRC and/or ECM status information is exchanged between different slices to optimize Mobility Management (MM) signaling through an Inter-slice Context Control Agent (ICA) 235 (also referred to herein as ICA-CN). In particular, in step 0(300a, 300b, 300c, 300d), ECM status information of the UE210 is collected from available CN instances (CN instances that the UE210 may and/or may not access, e.g. CN instances 231, 232 in this example). Based on the information, an ECM state vector for the UE210 can be constructed by the ICA 235. Further, an RRC state vector may also be constructed based on the RRC state information of the UE 220 collected from available connection control instances in the RAN (e.g., RRC # 1221 and RRC # 2222). The ECM status information may be transmitted to the ICA235 under the following conditions: (a) when a new UE210 is attached to a slice; (b) periodically to update the ECM status vector if the UE210 becomes inoperable; and/or (c) when at least one of the messages changes. In fig. 3, where one of the slices is in an active state (e.g., 120 UEs 210 in RRC/ECM-connected state for slice # 1; 110 UEs 210 in RRC/ECM-idle state for slice # 2), the packet 101 arrives in slice # 2, 110 in RRC/ECM-idle state. The following steps are carried out:

step (1 & 2) (301, 302) CN instance # 2, 232 will retrieve the active CN instance from ICA235, step (3) requests a connection for the UE210 through the selected CN instance # 1, 231 for "prioritized or prioritized slice # 2, 110". The following provides a description of "by priority".

Step (3) (303) CN instance # 1, 231 sends a connection request for slice # 2, 120 to the RAN 220(RRC #1, 221).

Step (4) (304) RAN 220(RRC #1, 221) sends an activation command to UE210 over the slice #1, 120RRC connection.

Step (5) (305) the activation command sent in (4) (304) will be sent by ICA-UE 213 to slice #2, 110 at UE 120. Optionally, a "dedicated preamble" of the UE 120 may be transmitted to enable non-contention based random access.

Step (6 and 7) (306, 307) the UE 120 performs the RRC connection 306 starting from random access, e.g. using a RACH procedure on said Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH). An NG2/3 connection (e.g., S1 bearer and S1 signaling connection as in LTE) is then established (307). The 3GPP will describe the NG2/3 interface (see 3GPP TR 23.799 "next generation system architecture study (release 14)", v14.0.0(2016 month 12)).

In the above steps 1 and 2(301, 302), the CN instance # 1, 231 is selected according to the priority or priority level. When the UE210 has access to more than 2 slices and at least 2 active slices, the slice in which the "connection request and/or activation command" should be communicated may be determined based on the slice priority. The priority may be defined relative to the idle slice that should be activated. For example:

if a higher priority slice is to be activated, please select the active slice with the closest priority;

please select the active slice with the smallest priority if a lower priority slice is to be activated.

Slice priority may be determined from, for example:

service Level Agreement (SLA) for different slices; and/or

Latency requirements (e.g., due to strict latency requirements, a mtc slice may have higher priority than an eMBB slice); and/or

Congestion level of the slice.

In addition, the estimated time delay for slice activation by the selected active slice may also be considered in selecting the active slice.

Preferably, ALT1 may be applied in the context of a heterogeneous network (e.g., when small cells are deployed in the same area as macro cells), where each sliced connection may be connected to a different cell according to the slicing requirements. For example, the eMBB slice connection of the UE210 may be established through a millimeter wave (mmW) small cell, and the mtc slice connection of the UE210 may be established through a macro cell. Here, two alternatives can be implemented:

sending only the activation command, after which the UE210 performs contention-based random access;

sending an activation command with dedicated preamble, the UE210 performs non-contention based random access.

In this case, a dedicated preamble may be allocated to the gbb of the active slice and a few determined neighboring cells to which the idle slice may be connected. That is, the RRC knows the serving gbb for the active slice and these preambles at neighboring gbbs.

Note that the method described in the present invention can be generalized to the case where a packet arrives at multiple idle slices.

Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 500 according to an implementation, showing slice activation according to a second alternative (ALT 2). Fig. 6 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 600 for slice activation of the multi-slice network 500 of fig. 5.

In fig. 5, only two slices 110, 120 are depicted for simplicity, which may correspond to the active slice #1 and the idle slice #2 described above in connection with (a), (b), 2, 3 and 4 of fig. 1; meanwhile, as shown in fig. 6, the UE210 may also access more slices. The UE210 may correspond to the UE210 described above in connection with (a), (b), 2, 3, and 4 of fig. 1.

When ALT2 is used instead of ALT1, the following steps are performed. The various steps of the disclosed method are labeled with numbers from 0 to 8. The different steps in fig. 5 and 6 are also marked with reference signs in order to define these steps from the steps described below with respect to more figures. Steps 0, 1 and 2(500a, 500b, 501, 502) may be performed as described above for ALT1 described in connection with fig. 3 and 4. Step (3) (503) is as follows:

step (3) (503) CN instance # 1, 231 sends connection request/setup of slice # 2, 110 to the RAN 220(RRC #1, 221).

Step (4) (504) retrieves the RRC configuration of slice # 2, 110 from RRC # 2, 222 by RRC # 1, 221 based on step (3) (503), and in step (5) (505), RAN 220(RRC #1, 221) transmits the RRC connection setup of slice #2 to UE 210.

Step (6) (506) send the slice # 2, 110 transmission at UE210 to the information unit in (5) (505) through ICA-UE 213. It should be noted that information elements such as Timing Advance (TA), Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI) may be transmitted, e.g., slice # 2, 110 may be served, e.g., by the same gNB. This may include, for example, radioResourceConfigDedicated, which is necessary to establish a signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB 1 for short) for RRC # 2, 222 connection establishment.

Steps (7 and 8) (507, 508) send RRC connection complete 507 to RRC # 2, 222, then establish (508) NG2/3 connection (e.g., S1 bearer and S1 signaling connection in LTE) upon receiving non-access stratum (NAS) Acknowledgement (ACK) (e.g., initial UE message in LTE) for activation.

Preferably, ALT2 may be applied in the following scenarios:

super-cell: in a super-cell, multiple base stations or access points may coordinate to form a large area cell, creating a large virtual cell from the perspective of the UE 210. Thus, both slices 110, 120 may be connected to the same supercell. In this case, RRC connection establishment/reconfiguration may be sent and random access may not be needed.

Macro-only deployment: the two slices 110, 120 may be connected to the same macro cell. In this case, RRC connection establishment/reconfiguration may be sent and random access may not be needed.

Available location information: if the UE location is available (e.g., 5G car) or can be estimated within a desired accuracy range, the timing advance can be estimated within the cyclic prefix length and random access may not be needed.

Depending on the network structure, the above-described mechanism may be applied as it is, or partial steps may be performed. The following modifications describe some example implementations.

Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 700 according to an implementation in which some Core Network (CN) functions are shared by slices in the CN.

In fig. 7, for simplicity, only two slices 110, 120 are depicted, which may correspond to active slice #1 and idle slice #2 described above in connection with the previous figures. However, the UE210 may also access more slices. The UE210 may correspond to the UE210 described above in connection with the previous figures.

In one network architecture, some of the CN functions, such as Control Plane (CP) functions, may be shared between slices, as shown in fig. 7. In such a structure, the ICA235 (also referred to as ICA-CN) may be located in an entity of the shared (or common) control block 705. In this case, the MM functions 703, 704 of different CN instances 701, 702 may be located on dedicated control blocks of different slices, such as slice 1(120) or slice 2(110) described above in connection with the previous figures. For example, it is contemplated that location management of a vehicle to networking (V2X) slice or a mtc slice (as part of an MM) is distinct from location management of an eMBB slice. Moreover, in such structures, the mechanisms and steps described above in connection with the foregoing figures may be applied directly to such structures.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 800 according to an implementation, wherein Mobility Management (MM) functions are shared by slices in the CN.

In fig. 8, for the sake of simplicity, also only two slices 110, 120 are depicted, which may correspond to active slice #1 and idle slice #2 as described above in connection with the previous figures. However, the UE210 may also access more slices. The UE210 may correspond to the UE210 described above in connection with the previous figures.

In one network architecture, MM functionality may be shared 705 between slices in the CN 230, as shown in fig. 8. In such structures, some of the mechanisms and steps described above may be applied to such structures (for ALT1 and ALT2 described above). The above mechanisms and steps may be directly applied to such a structure if the UE210 has access to more than two slices and different MM functions. A slice with a common MM 235 may be considered one virtual slice, which may communicate with other slices with different MM functionality by means of the aforementioned steps of fig. 3-6.

For example, step 1(801) may correspond to step 3(303, 503) described above in connection with fig. 3-6; step 2 (802) may correspond to step 4(304) described above in connection with fig. 3 and 4 or step 5(505) described above in connection with fig. 5 and 6; step 3(803) may correspond to step 5(305) described above in connection with fig. 3 and 4 or step 6(506) described above in connection with fig. 5 and 6; step 4(804) may correspond to step 6(306) described above in connection with fig. 3 and 4 or step 7(507) described above in connection with fig. 5 and 6.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 900 according to an implementation, wherein a Control Plane (CP) function 705 is shared by slices in the CN 230.

In fig. 9, for the sake of simplicity, also only two slices 110, 120 are depicted, which may correspond to active slice #1 and idle slice #2 as described above in connection with the previous figures. However, the UE210 may also access more slices. The UE210 may correspond to the UE210 described above in connection with the previous figures.

In one network architecture, CP functions 705 may be shared between slices in the CN 230, as shown in fig. 9. In such structures, some of the mechanisms and steps described above may be applied to such structures (for ALT1 and ALT2 described above). The above mechanisms and steps may be directly applied to such a structure if the UE210 has access to more than two slices and different MM functions. A slice with the generic CN CP functionality 705 may be considered as one virtual slice, which may communicate with other slices with different MM functionality by means of the aforementioned steps of fig. 3 to 6.

For example, step 1(801) may correspond to step 3(303, 503) described above in connection with fig. 3-6; step 2 (802) may correspond to step 4(304) described above in connection with fig. 3 and 4 or step 5(505) described above in connection with fig. 5 and 6; step 3(803) may correspond to step 5(305) described above in connection with fig. 3 and 4 or step 6(506) described above in connection with fig. 5 and 6; step 4(804) may correspond to step 6(306) described above in connection with fig. 3 and 4 or step 7(507) described above in connection with fig. 5 and 6.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 1000 according to an implementation in which slice activation according to optimized paging is performed when at least one slice (also referred to as a slice instance) is in an active state. Fig. 11 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 1100 for slice activation for the multi-slice network 1000 shown in fig. 10.

An embodiment is described with the aid of fig. 10 and 11. Accordingly, the various steps of the disclosed method are labeled with numbers from 0 to 4.

The different steps in fig. 10 and 11 are also marked with reference signs in order to define these steps from the steps described in relation to the other figures. In fig. 10, for simplicity, only two slices 110, 120 are depicted, which may correspond to active slice #1 and idle slice #2 described above in connection with the previous figures; meanwhile, as shown in fig. 11, the UE210 may also access more slices. The UE210 may correspond to the UE210 described above in connection with the previous figures.

When the UE210 is associated with multiple slices 110, 120 and multiple RRC connections 211, 212, RRC and/or ECM status information and/or serving gNB information, connection history and/or Tracking Area List (TAL) are exchanged between different slices to optimize MM signaling through an Inter-slice Context Control Agent (ICA) 235. In particular, in step 0(1000a, 1000b, 1000c), the aforementioned information of the UE210 is collected from the available CN instances 231, 232 ( CN instances 231, 232 that the UE210 may and/or may not access). Based on the information, a UE context may be constructed by the ICA235 (also referred to as ICA-CN). This information may be sent to the ICA235 under the following conditions: (a) when a new UE210 is attached to a slice; (b) periodically perform to update the UE context; and/or (c) when at least one of the messages changes. In fig. 10, where one of the slices is in an active state (e.g., 120 UEs 210 in RRC/ECM-connected state for slice # 1; 110 UEs 210 in RRC/ECM-idle state for slice # 2), the packet 101 arrives in slice # 2, 110 in RRC/ECM-idle state. The following steps are carried out:

steps (1 and 2) (1001, 1002) CN instance # 2, 232 will retrieve the serving gbb of the UE210 from the ICA235 via the active CN instance # 1, 231 based on the context collected by the ICA235 in step (0) (1000a, 1000b, 1000 c).

Step (3) (1003) CN instance # 2, 232 sending paging command to the serving gNB and/or a determined set of neighboring cells.

Step (4) (1004) pages the UE210 on these gnbs of slice # 2, 110.

It should be noted that if the state of the CN instance #2 is similar to EMM deregistration, the CN instance # 2, 232 may retrieve the UE context (e.g., International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and Global Unique Temporary ID (GUTI)) from the ICA 235. When the UE210 may access multiple slices and different slices are connected to different cells, the system may page all of these serving gnbs, such as the scenario described above in connection with (a) of fig. 1. Further, a subset of the gnbs may be paged taking into account the slicing requirements (e.g., gNB support for a slice type, slice, or slice instance).

Fig. 12 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 1200 in which slice activation according to optimized paging is performed when all slices (also referred to as slice instances) of the UE are in an idle state, according to an implementation. Fig. 13 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 1300 for slice activation for the multi-slice network 1200 shown in fig. 12.

An embodiment of the invention is described with the aid of fig. 12 and 13. Accordingly, the various steps of the disclosed method are labeled with numbers from 0 to 5. The different steps in fig. 12 and 13 are also marked with reference signs in order to define these steps from the steps described below with respect to the other figures. In fig. 12 and 13, only two slices 110, 120 are depicted for simplicity, which may correspond to active slice #1 and idle slice #2 described above in connection with the previous figures. However, with respect to fig. 12 and 13, both slices # 1, 120 and slices # 2, 110 are in an idle state. However, the UE210 may also access more slices. The UE210 may correspond to the UE210 described above in connection with the previous figures.

When the UE210 is associated with multiple slices 110, 120 and multiple RRC connections 221, 222, RRC and/or ECM status information and/or service gNB information, connection history and/or Tracking Area List (TAL) are exchanged between different slices (e.g., slice # 1, 120 and slice #2, 110) to optimize MM signaling through an Inter-slice Context Control Agent (ICA) 235. In particular, in step 0(1200a, 1200b, 1200c), the aforementioned information of the UE210 is collected from the available CN instances 231, 232 (i.e. CN instances 231, 232 that the UE210 may and/or may not access). Based on the information, a UE context may be constructed by the ICA235 (also referred to as ICA-CN). In fig. 12 and 13, all slices 110, 120 of the UE210 are in an idle state (e.g., the UE is in an RRC/ECM idle state for all slices with which the UE is or can be associated), and the data packet 101 arrives at slice # 2, 110. The following steps are carried out:

steps (1 and 2) (1201, 1202) CN instance # 2, 232 will retrieve UE context from ICA235, including connection history (e.g., Tracking Area List (TAL) for the UE210 in active mode).

Step (3) (1203) MM at CN instance # 2, 232 determines (or estimates) the gNB for paging based on, for example:

overlapping portions of the tracking area list (TAL for short) of CN instances 231, 232 (e.g. CN instances # 1, 231 and CN instances # 2, 232 in fig. 12);

an estimated movement path of the UE210 based on the connection history;

an estimated gNB on which the UE210 may be located;

slice support for the gNB.

Steps (4 and 5) (1204, 1205) page the UE210 on these determined or estimated gnbs of slice # 2, 110.

It should be noted that the motion path estimation may be different due to different activation periods of the slices 110, 120. Further, the movement path may include information such as serving gnbs of the UE210 during movement, location coordinates of the UE210 during movement, and/or UE210 measurements such as RSRP and RSRQ. Through context swapping, an optimized path can be found. Also, the TAL for the slices 110, 120 may be different due to different slice requirements.

Fig. 14 illustrates a schematic diagram of a multi-slice network 1400 in which slice activation according to optimized paging is performed when all slices (also referred to as slice instances) of the UE are in an idle state and there is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection 1421 with the UE in the RAN, according to an implementation. Fig. 15 illustrates an exemplary signal flow diagram 1500 for slice activation of the multi-slice network 1400 illustrated in fig. 14.

An embodiment of the invention is described with the aid of fig. 14 and 15. Accordingly, the various steps of the disclosed method are labeled with numbers from 0 to 6. The different steps in fig. 14 and 15 are also marked with reference signs in order to define these steps from the ones described in relation to the other figures. In fig. 14 and 15, only two slices 110, 120 are depicted for simplicity, which may correspond to active slice #1 and idle slice #2 described above in connection with the previous figures. However, with respect to fig. 14 and 15, both slices # 1, 120 and slices # 2, 110 are in an idle state. However, the UE210 may also access more slices. The UE210 may correspond to the UE210 described above in connection with the previous figures.

When the UE210 is associated with multiple slices, RRC and/or ECM status information and/or serving gNB information, connection history, and/or Tracking Area List (TAL) are exchanged between different slices to optimize MM signaling through an Inter-slice Context Control Agent (ICA) 235 (also referred to as ICA-CN). In particular, in step 0(1400a, 1400b, 1400c), the aforementioned information of the UE210 is collected from the available CN instances 231, 232 ( CN instances 231, 232 that the UE210 may and/or may not access). Based on the information, a UE context may be constructed by the ICA 235. In fig. 14 and 15, all slices of the UE210 are in an idle state (e.g., the UE is in an RRC/ECM idle state for all slices with which the UE is or can be associated), and the data packet 101 arrives at slice # 2, 110. The following steps are carried out:

steps (1 and 2) (1401, 1402) CN instance # 2, 232 will retrieve UE context from ICA, 235, including connection history (e.g., Tracking Area List (TAL) for the UE210 in active mode).

Step (3) (1403) MM at CN instance # 2, 232 determines (or estimates) the gNB for paging based on:

overlapping portions of the tracking area list (TAL for short) of CN instances (e.g. CN instance # 1, 231 and CN instance # 2, 232 depicted in fig. 12);

an estimated movement path of the UE210 based on the connection history;

an estimated gNB on which the UE210 may be located;

slice support for the gNB.

Step (4) (1404) sends a paging command to these determined or estimated gnbs of slice # 2, 110.

Step (5) (1405) corresponds to RRC # 2, 1422 of CN instance # 2, 232 sending a request (slave) to RRC #1, 1421 (master) to page the gNB of slice # 2, 110. It should be noted that two RRC 1421, 1422 are shown in fig. 15 for simplicity. For more than two slices, there may be one master 1421 and multiple slave RRC 1422.

Step (6) (1406) pages the UE210 on these determined or estimated gnbs of slice # 2, 110.

It should be noted that the above-described mechanisms and steps may be applied directly to the network architecture when such architecture is similar to that described in fig. 7.

Fig. 16 shows a block diagram of an exemplary User Equipment (UE) 210 according to an implementation. The UE210 includes a processor 1601, for example, for processing the functionality described above in connection with the previous figures.

The processor 1601 is configured to: an activation command 1602 (e.g., the activation command 304 described above in connection with fig. 3 and 4) for at least one free slice (e.g., the free slice 110 described above in connection with the preceding figures) of a plurality of slices is received by at least one active slice of the plurality of slices (e.g., the active slice 120 described above in connection with the preceding figures). The activate command 1602 commands the execution of a connection setup of the at least one idle slice 110. The processor 1601 is further configured to set the UE210 to an active state to enable the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice 110

The processor 1601 may be configured to initiate the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice 110 with a Radio Access Network (RAN) (e.g., the RAN 220 described above in conjunction with the previous figures).

The processor 1601 may be configured to receive the activation command 1602, 304 via the first connection control instance 211 of the UE210 associated with the at least one active slice 120 (e.g., the slice described above in connection with the preceding figures). The processor 1601 may be configured to initiate the connection establishment via the second connection control instance 212 of the UE210 associated with the at least one active slice 110 (e.g., the slice described above in connection with the preceding figures).

The processor 1601 may be configured to initiate the connection establishment through a single connection control instance of the UE210 (e.g., the single connection control instance 1411 described above in connection with fig. 14) associated with the at least one active slice 120 and the at least one idle slice 110.

The processor 1601 may be configured to initiate the connection setup for the at least one idle slice 110 based on a paging free Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT1) using a dedicated preamble received with the activation command 1602 or a Random preamble 304 (e.g., the activation command or Random preamble described above in connection with the previous figures).

The processor 1601 may be configured to initiate the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice 110 based on a paging free Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT2) using an information element to provide information of the connection establishment received with the activation command 1602, 304, in particular a Timing Advance (TA) and a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI) (e.g., the information described above in connection with the preceding figures).

The processor 1601 may be configured to enable the connection establishment for the at least one idle slice 110 of the plurality of slices based on the activation command 1602, 304 received via the at least one active slice 120 of the plurality of slices (e.g., the slice described above in connection with the previous figures).

The UE210 may include a memory to store the state of the plurality of slices. The processor 1601 may be configured to run an inter-slice context control agent (ICA-UE) (e.g., the ICA-UE 213 described above in connection with the previous figures) configured to exchange information between different slices, in particular control commands and information elements for establishing a connection.

The processor 1601 may be configured to perform: at least one first connection control instance 211 associated with the at least one active slice 120 for receiving the activation command 1602, 304 (e.g., information as described above in connection with the preceding figures). The processor 1601 may be configured to run at least one second connection control instance 212 associated with the at least one idle slice 110 for initiating the connection establishment (e.g., information described above in connection with the preceding figures) of the at least one idle slice 110.

The processor 1601 may include a single connection control instance (e.g., the single connection control instance 1411 described above in connection with fig. 14) associated with the at least one active slice 120 and the at least one idle slice 110 for initiating the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice 110.

Fig. 17 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary Radio Access Network (RAN) entity, such as RAN entity 220 described above in connection with the previous figures, according to an implementation. The RAN entity 220 may be a base station, such as the gnbs 106a, 106b, 106c described above in connection with (a) and (b) of fig. 1. The RAN entity 220 comprises a processor 1701, for example for handling the functions described above in connection with the previous figures.

The processor 1701 is configured to connect a UE (e.g., the UE210 described above in connection with the preceding figures) to at least one active slice (e.g., the active slice 120 described above in connection with the preceding figures) of a plurality of slices. The processor 1701 is also configured to send an activation command 1602 (e.g., the activation command 304 described above in connection with fig. 3 and 4) to the UE210 via at least one active slice 120 of the plurality of slices. The activation command 1602, 304 commands the UE210 to establish a connection for at least one free slice (110) of the plurality of slices (e.g., a slice as described above in connection with the preceding figures).

The activation command 1602, 304 commands the UE210 to enter an active state to enable the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice 110.

The processor 1701 may be configured to establish a connection of the at least one idle slice 110 with the UE 210.

The processor 1701 may be configured to request the UE210 to establish a connection for the at least one idle slice 110 using a dedicated preamble or a Random preamble (e.g., the preamble described above in connection with the preceding figures) based on a paging free Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT 1).

The processor 1701 may be configured to send an information element to provide information regarding the connection establishment, in particular a Timing Advance (TA) and a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI) (e.g., the information described above in connection with the preceding figures), based on a paging free Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT2) requesting the UE210 to establish a connection to initiate the at least one idle slice 110.

Figure 18 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary Core Network (CN) system, such as CN system 230 described above in connection with the preceding figures, according to one implementation.

The Core Network (CN) system 230 includes an inter-slice control agent (ICA-CN) (e.g., the ICA-CN 235 described above in conjunction with the preceding figures) and at least one CN instance (e.g., the at least one CN instance 231, 232 described above in conjunction with the preceding figures).

The ICA-CN 235 is configured to collect context information from at least one slice (e.g., the slice described above in connection with the previous figures) of a plurality of slices associated with a User Equipment (UE) 210. The at least one CN instance 231, 232 is configured to send a link request (e.g., the connection request 303, 503 described above in conjunction with the previous figures) to the UE 210. The connection request 303, 503 requests the UE210 to establish a connection for at least one free slice 110 of the plurality of slices (e.g., the slice described above in connection with the previous figures).

The at least one CN instance 231, 232 may be configured to: inferring at least one base station 220 for paging the UE 210; collecting information, in particular from the ICA-CN 235, may reduce a number of candidate base stations (e.g., the gnbs 106a, 106b, 106c described above in connection with (a) and (b) of fig. 1) for paging 109a, 109b, in particular information about CN status, serving base stations, connection history and/or tracking area lists of the plurality of slices (e.g., the slices described above in connection with the preceding figures).

The at least one CN instance 231, 232 may be configured to send the connection request 303, 503 based on a no page procedure to the UE210 through the at least one active slice 120 based on the priorities of the plurality of slices (e.g., the slices described above in relation to the preceding figures).

The at least one CN instance 231, 232 may be configured to request the UE210 to establish a connection for the at least one idle slice 110 based on a paging free non-Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT2) when the at least one idle slice 110 is connected to the same base station or super cell and/or when location information of the UE210 is known (e.g., as described above in connection with the preceding figures).

The at least one CN instance 231, 232 may be configured to request the UE210 to establish a connection for the at least one idle slice 110 based on a paging free Access Channel (RACH) procedure (ALT1) when connecting the at least one idle slice 110 to the same base station or a neighboring base station (e.g., the base station described above in connection with the previous figures).

The CN system 230 may be part of a complete communication system that includes a pair of sliced networks, such as the multi-sliced networks 200, 300, 500, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1200, 1400 described above in connection with the preceding figures. The communication system comprises the UE210 described above in connection with the preceding figures; a Radio Access Network (RAN) entity 220 described above in connection with the preceding figures; and the CN system 230 described above in connection with the previous figures.

Fig. 19 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary method 1900 for enabling connection establishment of an idle slice of a UE (e.g., the idle slice 110 of the UE210 described above in connection with the previous figures) according to an implementation.

The method 1900 includes receiving 1901 an activate command for at least one free slice 110 of a plurality of slices, wherein the activate command performs connection establishment for the at least one free slice 110 (e.g., the slice described above in connection with the previous figures).

The method 1900 further includes setting 1902 the UE210 in an active state to enable the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice 110 (e.g., the slice described above in connection with the preceding figures).

Other methods may be associated with the processing steps of the RAN entity 220 and the processing steps of the CN system 230 described above in connection with the preceding figures.

The present invention also supports a computer program product comprising computer-executable code or computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause at least one computer to perform the execution and calculation steps described herein, particularly the method 1900 described above in connection with fig. 19. Such a computer program product may include a readable non-transitory storage medium storing program code for use by a computer. The program code may perform the processing and computing steps described herein, and in particular the method 1900 described above.

Other exemplary implementations are described below.

A first example is related to UE Context construction, which is based on information elements received from the CN instance of a given UE, i.e. the Inter-slice Context Control Agent (ICA) through which information of the active slices can be inferred, so that through one of the active slices a direct connection with the UE is possible, through which direct connection another idle slice is activated; and/or information by which the ICA can minimize search space for the gNB for paging, to identify the UE, particularly ECM status vectors based on ECM status, serving gNB, connection history, and TAL.

A second example is related to requesting UE context from the ICA by the idle slice upon receiving a data packet.

A third example relates to sending a connection request/setup through the active slice based on the slice priority and ECM status vector, wherein (no paging ALT1 and ALT2) a) if a higher priority slice is to be activated, through the active slice with the closest priority; b) if a lower priority slice is to be activated, the active slice with the smallest priority is passed.

A fourth example is related to sending a connection setup from a generic RAN (no paging ALT2) if the idle slice to be activated should be connected to the same gNB or the super cell or location information is known.

A fifth example is related to sending the activation command (no paging ALT1) provided that the idle slice to be activated may be connected to the same or an adjacent gNB.

A sixth example relates to sending dedicated PRACH preambles to the same gNB and neighboring gnbs (no paging ALT 1).

A seventh example relates to sending an RRC connection setup signal to the idle slice via an ICA-UE on the UE side (no paging ALT 2).

An eighth example is related to the seventh example, wherein the RRC connection establishment communicates between the master RRC and the slave RRC over a logical interface, such as X2, depending on the placement of a Control Unit (CU).

The ninth example relates to a NAS ACK from the UE to the CN instance #2 (no paging ALT 2).

A tenth example relates to the gbb estimation, wherein the gbb is to send the estimated list of gbbs to the generic RAN by idle slice paging (optimized paging) a) activated based on the UE context as described in claim 1; b) paging the UE based on the received estimated gNB.

The eleventh example relates to a new functional entity ICA (as described above).

The twelfth example relates to a new functional entity ICA-UE (as described above).

A thirteenth example relates to a method and a system of the above entities.

A fourteenth example is relevant to an implementation where a portion of the mechanisms described in this disclosure apply to various combinations of the above steps. For example, the paging message, such as in step (4)1004, may contain information elements required for the connection establishment, such as Timing Advance (TA) and Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI) in step (5) 505. This implementation may have the following advantages: non-RACH connection establishment may be performed upon receipt of the paging message. Furthermore, upon receiving a paging message for a UE to initiate a connection setup, the paging message may be treated as an activation command.

A fifteenth example is related to an implementation, wherein the ICA-CN may configure the ICA-UE to perform the above mechanism or to perform the determined control plane function.

A sixteenth example is related to an implementation, wherein a part of the above steps are performed by different entities described in the present invention. For example, the ICA-CN may determine an active slice through which to transmit a connection request for a free slice from information units collected from slice instances. In another example, the steps of collecting information elements and constructing a state vector may be performed by a CN instance of the slice. Such examples may be implemented, for example, by including ICA functionality in different CN instances of the slice, or by including the ICA functionality in at least one of the CN instances of the slice. In another example, the ICA-CN may send a connection request for the idle slice instance to the determined active slice instance.

Based on the techniques proposed in the present invention, various messages and information elements may require modification of signaling. In addition, these messages may be transmitted over the Uu and/or Un interfaces as well as the CN interface.

While a particular feature or aspect of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature or aspect may be combined with one or more other features or aspects of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes," "has," "having," or any other variation thereof, are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term "comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted. Also, the terms "exemplary," "e.g.," are merely meant as examples, and not the best or optimal. The terms "coupled" and "connected," along with their derivatives, may be used. It will be understood that these terms may be used to indicate that two elements co-operate or interact with each other, whether or not they are in direct physical or electrical contact, or they are not in direct contact with each other.

Although specific aspects have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific aspects shown and described without departing from the scope of the present invention. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific aspects discussed herein.

Although the elements in the above claims below are recited in a particular sequence with corresponding labeling, unless the recitation of the claims otherwise implies a particular sequence for implementing some or all of the elements, the elements are not necessarily limited to being implemented in the particular sequence described.

Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing teachings. Of course, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that there are numerous other applications of the present invention beyond those described herein. While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

Claims (22)

1. A user equipment, UE, comprising a processor configured to:

receiving, by at least one active slice of a plurality of slices, an activation command for at least one idle slice of the plurality of slices, wherein the activation command commands a connection establishment of the at least one idle slice; and

setting the user equipment to an active state to enable the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice.

2. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is to:

initiating the connection setup of the at least one idle slice with a radio access network, RAN.

3. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is to:

receiving the activation command through a first connection control instance of the user device associated with the at least one active slice; and

initiating the connection establishment by a second connection control instance of the user equipment associated with the at least one idle slice.

4. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is to:

initiating the connection establishment through a single connection control instance of the user equipment associated with the at least one active slice and the at least one idle slice.

5. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is to:

initiating the connection setup of the at least one idle slice using a dedicated preamble received with the activation command or a random preamble based on a paging-free random access channel, RACH, procedure first alternative.

6. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is to:

based on a second alternative of the paging-free random access channel, RACH, procedure, the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice is initiated using an information element providing information about the connection establishment received with the activation command, in particular a timing advance, TA, and a cell radio network temporary identity, C-RNTI.

7. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2,

wherein the processor is configured to enable the connection establishment for the at least one idle slice of the plurality of slices based on the activation command received through the at least one active slice of the plurality of slices.

8. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, comprising:

a memory for storing the state of the plurality of slices, wherein the processor is configured to run an inter-slice context control agent-user equipment ICA-UE, the inter-slice context control agent being configured to exchange information between different slices, in particular control commands and information units for connection establishment.

9. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is configured to execute: at least one first connection control instance associated with the at least one active slice for receiving the activation command; and

at least one second connection control instance associated with the at least one idle slice for initiating the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice.

10. The user equipment of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is to:

the at least one active slice initiating the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice and running a single connection control instance associated with the at least one idle slice.

11. A radio access network, RAN, entity, in particular a base station, BS, comprising a processor for:

connecting a user equipment, in particular a user equipment according to any of claims 1 to 10, to at least one active slice of a plurality of slices; and

sending an activation command to the user device through at least one active slice of the plurality of slices, wherein the activation command commands the user device to establish a connection for at least one idle slice of the plurality of slices.

12. The radio access network entity of claim 11,

wherein the activation command commands the user equipment to enter an active state to enable the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice.

13. Radio access network entity according to claim 11 or 12,

wherein the processor is configured to establish the connection of the at least one idle slice with the user equipment.

14. Radio access network entity according to claim 11 or 12,

wherein the processor is configured to request the user equipment to perform connection setup for the at least one idle slice using a dedicated preamble or a random preamble based on a paging-free random access channel, RACH, procedure first alternative.

15. Radio access network entity according to claim 11 or 12,

wherein the processor is configured to send an information element providing information on the connection establishment, in particular timing advance, TA, and cell radio network temporary identity, C-RNTI, requesting the user equipment to perform the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice based on a second alternative to a paging free random access channel, RACH, procedure.

16. A core network, CN, system comprising:

an inter-slice context control proxy-core network ICA-CN to collect context information from at least one slice of a plurality of slices associated with a user equipment UE; and

at least one core network instance for sending a connection request to the user equipment, the connection request for requesting the user equipment to establish a connection for at least one free slice 110 of the plurality of slices.

17. The core network system as recited in claim 16, wherein the at least one core network instance is to: inferring at least one base station for paging the user equipment; and

collecting information, in particular information from the inter-slice control agent, may reduce a number of candidate base stations for paging, in particular information about core network status, serving base stations, connection history and/or tracking area lists of the plurality of slices.

18. The core network system as recited in claim 16, wherein the at least one core network instance is to:

transmitting the connection request based on a no paging procedure to the user equipment through at least one active slice based on the priorities of the plurality of slices.

19. The core network system as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the at least one core network instance is for: requesting the user equipment to establish a connection of the at least one idle slice based on a second alternative to a paging-free non-random access channel, RACH, procedure when connecting the at least one idle slice to the same base station or super cell and/or when location information of the user equipment is known.

20. The core network system as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the at least one core network instance is for: requesting the user equipment to establish a connection of the at least one idle slice based on a first alternative of a paging-free random access channel, RACH, procedure when connecting the at least one idle slice to the same or a neighboring base station.

21. A method for enabling connection establishment of an idle slice of a user equipment, UE, the method comprising:

receiving an activation command for at least one free slice of a plurality of slices, wherein the activation command commands performs connection establishment for the at least one free slice; and

setting the user equipment to an active state for enabling the connection establishment of the at least one idle slice.

22. A communication system, comprising:

the user equipment of any one of claims 1 to 10;

a radio access network, RAN, entity according to any of claims 11 to 15; and

a core network system as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 20.

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