CN115708386A - Apparatus for use in a wireless communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to an apparatus for use in a wireless communication system. An apparatus for a User Plane Function (UPF), wherein the apparatus comprises a processor circuit configured to cause the UPF to interact with a Network Repository Function (NRF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and to: transmitting a Network Function (NF) registration request message to the NRF, the NF registration request message for requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF; and receiving a NF registration response message from the NRF, the NF registration response message confirming that NF registration of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NF registration response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NRF stores the NF profile of the UPF or after the NRF marks the UPF service as available.

Description

Apparatus for use in a wireless communication system

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application is based on and claims priority from U.S. patent application No.63/235,036, filed 8/19/2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to an apparatus for use in a wireless communication system.

Background

Mobile communications have evolved from early voice systems to today's highly sophisticated integrated communication platforms. A 5G or New Radio (NR) wireless communication system will provide anytime and anywhere information access and data sharing for various users and applications.

Drawings

Embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements.

Fig. 1 illustrates a sequence diagram of a UPF service registration process, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates a sequence diagram of a UPF service update process, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates a sequence diagram of a UPF service deregistration process, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates a sequence diagram of a UPF service discovery process, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a network according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless network according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram of components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Various aspects of the illustrative embodiments will be described using terms commonly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the substance of the disclosure to others skilled in the art. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that many alternative embodiments may be practiced using portions of the described aspects. For purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials, and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the illustrative embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that alternate embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features may be omitted or simplified in order not to obscure the illustrative embodiments.

Further, various operations will be described as multiple discrete operations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the illustrative embodiments; however, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation.

The phrases "in an embodiment," "in one embodiment," and "in some embodiments" are used repeatedly herein. Such phrases are not generally referring to the same embodiment; however, they may also refer to the same embodiment. The terms "comprising," "having," and "including" are synonymous, unless the context dictates otherwise. The phrases "A or B" and "A/B" mean "(A), (B), or (A and B)".

Currently, in 5G wireless communication systems, a network data analysis function (NWDAF) may perform data collection from various core network functions, operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) entities, or Application Functions (AFs); in the core network of the 5G wireless communication system, control plane network functions may directly interact with each other via a Service Based Interface (SBI).

However, NWDAF cannot collect relevant data from User Plane Functions (UPFs), and control plane network functions cannot interact directly with UPFs via SBI. This is because UPF does not support a service-based architecture. If the UPF supports a service-based architecture, network functions, including the NWDAF and control plane network functions, OAM entities, and AFs may use the services provided by the UPF via the SBI, which facilitates flexible deployment of new services in a 5G wireless communication system.

In view of the above, it is proposed to introduce SBI for UPF to allow for UPF service registration and deregistration and to support UPF service discovery. When a given network function supports a service-based architecture (as a service consumer or service producer), it needs to support a service discovery framework in order to allow discovery of the services supported by the given network function. A Network Repository Function (NRF) in a core network of a 5G wireless communication system allows service discovery by supporting Network Function (NF) registration, deregistration, and service discovery using NF profiles for a given network function. The service discovery framework is also applicable to UPF if it needs to support a service-based architecture and provide services to other network functions and AFs in a 5G wireless communication system.

Fig. 1 illustrates a sequence diagram of a UPF service registration process 100, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the UPF service registration process 100 includes: s102, the UPF sends a Nnrf _ NF management _ NF registration request message to the NRF to inform the NRF of the NF profile; s104, the NRF stores NF profile of UPF and marks UPF service as available; and S106, the NRF sends an Nnrf _ NF management _ NF registration response message to the UPF to confirm that the UPF service registration is accepted.

In the UPF service registration process 100, the UPF implements a service registration method, including: transmitting an NF registration request message for requesting NF registration of the UPF and including an NF profile of the UPF to the NRF; and receiving a NF registration response message from the NRF, the NF registration response message confirming that NF registration of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NFR registration response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NRF stores the NF profile of the UPF or after the NRF marks the UPF service as available.

Accordingly, in the UPF service registration process 100, the NRF implements another service registration method, including: receiving an NF registration request message from the UPF, the NF registration request message requesting NF registration of the UPF and including an NF profile of the UPF; storing the NF profile of the UPF or marking the UPF service as available; and sending a NF registration response message to the UPF, the NF registration response message for confirming that the NF registration of the UPF is accepted.

In some embodiments, the NF profile of the UPF includes a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to use to distinguish UPF functions between the control plane and the user plane. The control plane signaling indicator may be in the form of an identity or Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF.

In some embodiments, the NF profile of the UPF further includes information about one or more of the following associated with the UPF: single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI) and its associated network slice instance identifier, data Network Name (DNN), location of UPF, NF set identifier, NF service set identifier, multiple Access (MA) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session capability (indicating whether or not the UPF supports MA PDU sessions), and UPF service area.

Fig. 2 illustrates a sequence diagram of a UPF service update process 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2, the UPF service update procedure 200 includes: s202, the UPF sends a Nnrf _ NF management _ NF updating request message to the NRF so as to inform the NRF of the updated NF profile; s204, the NRF updates the NF profile of the UPF; and S206, the NRF sends an nrrf _ NF management _ NF update response message to the UPF to confirm that the UPF service update is accepted.

In the UPF service update process 200, the UPF implements a service update method, including: transmitting, to the NRF, an NF update request message for requesting NF update of the UPF and including update information associated with an NF profile of the UPF; and receiving, from the NRF, an NF update response message for confirming that the NF update of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NF update response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NF profile of the UPF is updated based on update information associated with the NF profile of the UPF.

Accordingly, in the UPF service update procedure 200, the NRF implements another service update method, including: receiving an NF update request message from the UPF, the NF update request message for requesting NF update of the UPF and including update information associated with an NF profile of the UPF; updating the NF profile of the UPF based on update information associated with the NF profile of the UPF; and sending an NF update response message to the UPF, the NF update response message for confirming that the NF update of the UPF is accepted.

Fig. 3 illustrates a sequence diagram of a UPF service deregistration procedure 300, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 3, the UPF service deregistration process 300 includes: s302, the UPF sends a Nnrf _ NF management _ NF logout request message to the NRF to inform the NRF that the message is unavailable; s304, the NRF marks the UPF service as unavailable or removes the NF profile of the UPF according to the NF management strategy; and S306, the NRF sends an nrrf _ NF management _ NF deregistration response message to the UPF to confirm that the UPF service deregistration is accepted.

In the UPF service deregistration process 300, the UPF implements a service deregistration method, including: sending a NF logout request message to the NRF, the NF logout request message being used for requesting NF logout of the UPF; and receiving a NF deregistration response message from the NRF, the NF deregistration response message for confirming that NF deregistration of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NF deregistration response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NRF removes the NF profile of the UPF or after the NRF marks the UPF service as unavailable.

Accordingly, in the UPF service deregistration process 300, the NRF implements another service deregistration method, including: receiving an NF deregistration request message from the UPF, the NF deregistration request message for requesting NF deregistration of the UPF; mark the UPF service as unavailable or remove NF profiles of UPF; and sending an NF deregistration response message to the UPF, the NF deregistration response message for confirming that the NF deregistration of the UPF is accepted.

Fig. 4 illustrates a sequence diagram of a UPF service discovery process 400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, the UPF service discovery process 400 includes: s402, a UPF service consumer sends a Nnrf _ NF discovery _ request message to an NRF for the purpose of discovering UPF service; s404, the NRF determines whether a service consumer of the UPF is allowed to discover the UPF service based on the NF profile of the UPF; and S406, if allowed, the NRF determines a set of UPF instances that match the input parameters in the nrrf _ NF discovery _ request message and sends an NRF _ NF discovery _ response message to the service consumer of the UPF to provide information about the set of UPF instances.

In the UPF service discovery process 400, the NRF implements a service discovery method, including: receiving a NF discovery request message from a service consumer of the UPF, the NF discovery request message for discovering the UPF service; determining that a service consumer of the UPF is allowed to discover the UPF service based on the NF profile of the UPF; and sending a NF discovery response message to the service consumption of the UPF, the NF discovery response message for providing information about the one or more UPF instances.

In some embodiments, the NF discovery request message includes information (i.e., input parameters) regarding one or more of the following associated with the UPF: a UPF service name, a UPF type, a UPF set identifier, a UPF service set identifier, a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), an external group identifier, and an S-NSSAI, and the NRF determines one or more UPF instances based on information included in the NF discovery request message.

In some embodiments, the NF discovery response message includes information about one or more UPF instances, and for each UPF instance, includes information about a UPF instance identifier, a UPF type, a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), or an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF instance.

In some embodiments, the service consumption of the UPF is an NWDAF, an AF, a network open function (NEF), a Session Management Function (SMF), or a Data Collection Coordination Function (DCCF).

In some embodiments, the UPF supports a UPF event open service for opening one or more events on one or more PDU sessions to service consumers of the UPF. For example, one or more events on one or more PDU sessions may be subscribed or unsubscribed by or notified to a service consumer of the UPF by the UPF.

In some embodiments, the primary functions of the UPF event open service include: 1) Allowing a service consumer of the UPF to subscribe and unsubscribe to event identifiers on a certain PDU session or all PDU sessions of a certain UE or a certain group of UEs; 2) Allowing the NWDAF to collect data for network analysis; 3) Allowing AF and NEF to subscribe to event notifications; 4) Notifying the UPF of the service consumption of events on the PDU session; and 5) allow service consumers of UPFs to acknowledge or respond to event notifications.

In some embodiments, when a service consumer of the UPF subscribes to an event notification, the service consumer of the UPF provides the UPF with an event identifier, event filtering information, event reporting information, an event reporting target, a notification target address, and an expiration time, wherein the UPF event reporting target may correspond to a PDU session identifier, a UE identifier (e.g., SUPI), an internal group identifier, an indication for any UE (associated with a particular DNN), or an indication for any PDU session. When confirmation is foreseen, the UPF will also provide notification association information to the service consumer of the UPF in event notification.

In some embodiments, events that can be subscribed to or unsubscribed from by a service consumer of a UPF include one or more of the following: downlink data delivery status, user plane status information, session management congestion control experience for PDU sessions, PDU session information for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), quality of service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) assignments, and User Equipment (UE) communications.

In the case where the service consumer of the UPF subscribes to the downlink data delivery status, the event notification associated with the downlink data delivery status includes:

-first downlink packets of each source of downlink IP traffic in extended buffering time and estimated maximum waiting time;

-first downlink packets of each source of dropped downlink IP traffic; and

-first downlink packets of each origin of downlink IP traffic sent after a previous buffering time and/or discarding of one or more corresponding packets.

In case a service consumer of the UPF subscribes to the user plane state information, the event notification associated with the user plane state information comprises:

-a PDU session identifier;

-a user plane inactivity timer; and

-PDU session status.

In the case where a service consumer of the UPF subscribes to the session management congestion control experience of the PDU session, the event notification associated with the session management congestion control experience of the PDU session includes data related to the session management congestion control experience of each PDU session.

In the case where the service consumer of the UPF subscribes to QFI allocation, event notifications associated with QFI allocation are sent when a new QoS flow is established in the PDU session and include:

-if the event reporting target is a PDU session, either of QFI assigned and (application identifier or set of IP packet filters or set of ethernet packet filters). The DNN, S-NSSAI corresponding to the PDU session is also transmitted.

-if the event reporting target is SUPI, any of the allocated QFI and the per PDU session identifier (application identifier or set of IP packet filters or set of ethernet packet filters) established for this SUPI. The DNN, S-NSSAI corresponding to each PDU session is also sent.

-multiple instances of tuple (allocated QFI, any of (application identifier or IP packet filter set or ethernet packet filter set), PDU session ID, SUPI) if event reporting target is internal group identifier or any UE. The DNN, S-NSSAI corresponding to each PDU session is also sent.

In the case where a serving consumer of the UPF subscribes to UE communications, an event notification associated with a UE notification is sent based on an event reporting target (i.e., a particular UE and all PDU sessions associated with the UE, a particular PDU session (specific to a given application identifier) for a given UE or group of UEs). The communication description (based on the event reporting target) includes start and stop timestamps, uplink data rate, downlink data rate, traffic (monitored between start and stop times).

Table 1 shows the event identifiers and their associated event filters for the opening of a UPF.

TABLE 1

In some embodiments, the UPF event open service involves the following UPF service operations:

nupf _ event open _ subscription serviceBusiness operations

The service consumer of the UPF uses this service operation to subscribe or modify subscriptions to event notifications for a specific PDU session or all PDU sessions of one UE, a group of UEs, or any UE, a specific application or all applications used by one UE or a group of UEs.

The necessary inputs: NF identifier, event report target, one or more event identifiers, notification target address, event report information;

-optional inputs: an event filter, a subscription association identification, an expiration time associated with each event identifier;

-the necessary outputs: subscription association identifier, expiration time;

-a selectable output: event reports corresponding to one or more event identifiers.

Nupf event open unsubscribe service operation

The service consumer of the UPF uses this service operation to unsubscribe from event notifications.

The necessary inputs: one or more subscription association identifiers;

-optional inputs: none;

-the necessary output: none;

-an optional output: none.

Nupf event open subscribe service operation

-the service operation is for reporting one or more UE PDU session/application related events to service consumers of the subscribed event reporting service of the UPF.

The necessary inputs: an event identifier, notification association information, one or more UE identifiers, one or more PDU session identifiers, one or more application identifiers, a timestamp;

-a selectable input: a list of event specific parameters;

-the necessary outputs: a result indication;

-a selectable output: none.

Note that the optional event specific parameter list provides values that are matched for generating event notifications. The parameter values to be matched are specified during the event subscription.

Fig. 5-6 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that can implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a network 500 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Network 500 may operate in accordance with 3GPP technical specifications for Long Term Evolution (LTE) or 5G/NR systems. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited in this respect and the described embodiments may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems and the like.

Network 500 may include a UE 502, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN) 504 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 502 may be, but is not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a wearable computer device, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, an in-vehicle infotainment device, an in-vehicle entertainment device, a dashboard, a heads-up display device, an on-board diagnostic device, a dashboard mobile device, a mobile data terminal, an electronic engine management system, an electronic/engine control unit, an electronic/engine control module, an embedded system, a sensor, a microcontroller, a control module, an engine management system, a network device, a machine-to-machine (M2M) or device-to-device (D2D) device, an internet of things (IoT) device, and/or the like.

In some embodiments, network 500 may include multiple UEs directly coupled to each other through a sidelink interface. The UE may be an M2M/D2D device that communicates using a physical sidelink channel (e.g., without limitation, a Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Fundamental Channel (PSFCH), etc.).

In some embodiments, the UE 502 may also interface with an Access Point (AP) 506 over an over-the-air connectionAnd (6) communication. The AP 506 may manage Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) connections that may be used to offload some/all network traffic from the RAN 504. The connection between the UE 502 and the AP 506 may be in accordance with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 506 may be a Wireless Fidelity

A router. In some embodiments, the UE 502, RAN504, and AP 506 may utilize cellular WLAN aggregation (e.g., LTE-WLAN aggregation (LWA)/lightweight IP (LWIP)). Cellular WLAN aggregation may involve configuring the UE 502 by the RAN504 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

The RAN504 may include one or more access nodes, e.g., AN Access Node (AN) 508. The AN 508 may terminate air interface protocols of the UE 502 by providing access stratum protocols including a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), a Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol, a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol, and AN L1 protocol. In this manner, AN 508 may enable a data/voice connection between Core Network (CN) 520 and UE 502. In some embodiments, AN 508 may be implemented in discrete devices or as one or more software entities running on a server computer (a virtual network may be referred to as a distributed RAN (CRAN) or virtual baseband unit pool, as part of a virtual network, for example). The AN 508 may be referred to as a Base Station (BS), a next generation base station (gNB), a RAN node, AN evolved node B (eNB), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), a node B (NodeB), a roadside unit (RSU), a transmission reception point (TRxP), a transmission point (TRP), and the like. The AN 508 may be a macrocell base station or a low power base station that provides a microcell, picocell, or other similar cell with smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than a macrocell.

In embodiments where the RAN504 includes multiple ANs, the ANs may be coupled to each other over AN X2 interface (if the RAN504 is AN LTE RAN) or AN Xn interface (if the RAN504 is a 5G RAN). In some embodiments, the X2/Xn interface, which may be separated into a control/user plane interface, may allow the AN to communicate information related to handover, data/context transfer, mobility, load management, interference coordination, and the like.

The ANs of the RAN504 may each manage one or more cells, groups of cells, component carriers, etc., to provide the UE 502 with AN air interface for network access. The UE 502 may be simultaneously connected with multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 504. For example, the UE 502 and the RAN504 may use carrier aggregation to allow the UE 502 to connect with multiple component carriers, each corresponding to a primary cell (PCell) or a secondary cell (SCell). In a dual connectivity scenario, the first AN may be a master node providing a Master Cell Group (MCG) and the second AN may be a secondary node providing a Secondary Cell Group (SCG). The first/second AN can be any combination of eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, etc.

RAN504 may provide an air interface over a licensed spectrum or an unlicensed spectrum. To operate in unlicensed spectrum, a node may use a License Assisted Access (LAA), enhanced LAA (eLAA), and/or further enhanced LAA (feLAA) mechanism based on the Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology of PCell/Scell. Prior to accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the node may perform a medium/carrier sensing operation based on, for example, a Listen Before Talk (LBT) protocol.

In a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) scenario, the UE 502 or AN 508 may be or act as a Road Side Unit (RSU), which may refer to any transport infrastructure entity for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by AN appropriate AN or stationary (or relatively stationary) UE. An RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU"; an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU"; an RSU implemented in or by a next generation NodeB (gNB) may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU" or the like. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located at the curb side that provides connection support to passing vehicle UEs. The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic volume statistics, media, and applications/software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may provide very low latency communications required for high speed events (e.g., collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular/WLAN communication services. The components of the RSU may be enclosed in a weatherproof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or backhaul network.

In some embodiments, RAN504 may be an LTE RAN 510 including an evolved node B (eNB), e.g., eNB 512. The LTE RAN 510 may provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: subcarrier spacing (SCS) at 15 kHz; a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) waveform for Uplink (UL) and a cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) waveform for Downlink (DL); turbo codes for data and tail-biting convolutional codes (TBCC) for control, etc. The LTE air interface may rely on channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for CSI acquisition and beam management; performing Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)/Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) demodulation by relying on a DMRS for PDSCH/PDCCH demodulation; and relying on Cell Reference Signals (CRS) for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurements, and channel estimation, and on channel estimation for coherent demodulation/detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate on the 6GHz sub-band.

In some embodiments, RAN504 may be a Next Generation (NG) -RAN 514 with a gNB (e.g., gNB 516) or gn-eNB (e.g., NG-eNB 518). The gNB 516 may connect with 5G-enabled UEs using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 516 may be connected to the 5G core through an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The NG-eNB 518 may also be connected with the 5G core over the NG interface, but may be connected with the UE over the LTE air interface. The gNB 516 and ng-eNB 518 may be connected to each other through an Xn interface.

In some embodiments, the NG interface may be divided into two parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the UPF 548 and nodes of the NG-RAN 514 (e.g., an N3 interface), and an NG control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the access and mobility management function (AMF) 544 and nodes of the NG-RAN 514 (e.g., an N2 interface).

The NG-RAN 514 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: variable SCS; cyclic prefix-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) for DL, CP-OFDM and DFT-s-OFDM for UL; polarity, repetition, simplex, and reed-muller codes for control; and low density parity check codes (LDPC) for the data. The 5G-NR air interface may rely on channel state reference signals (CSI-RS), PDSCH/PDCCH demodulation reference signals (DMRS), similar to the LTE air interface. The 5G-NR air interface may not use Cell Reference Signals (CRS), but may use Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for PBCH demodulation; performing phase tracking of the PDSCH using a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS); and time tracking using the tracking reference signal. The 5G-NR air interface may operate over the FR1 frequency band, which includes the 6GHz sub-band, or the FR2 frequency band, which includes the 24.25GHz to 52.6GHz frequency band. The 5G-NR air interface may include synchronization signals and PBCH blocks (SSBs), which are regions of a downlink resource grid including Primary Synchronization Signals (PSS)/Secondary Synchronization Signals (SSS)/PBCH.

In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may use a bandwidth portion (BWP) for various purposes. For example, BWP may be used for dynamic adaptation of SCS. For example, the UE 502 may be configured with multiple BWPs, where each BWP configuration has a different SCS. When the BWP is indicated to the UE 502 to change, the SCS of the transmission also changes. Another use case for BWP relates to power saving. In particular, the UE 502 may be configured with multiple BWPs with different numbers of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) to support data transmission in different traffic load scenarios. BWPs containing a smaller number of PRBs may be used for data transmission with smaller traffic load while allowing power savings at the UE 502 and, in some cases, the gNB 516. BWPs containing a large number of PRBs may be used in scenarios with higher traffic loads.

RAN504 is communicatively coupled to CN 520, which comprises a network element, to provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g., users of UE 502). The components of CN 520 may be implemented in one physical node or in different physical nodes. In some embodiments, network Function Virtualization (NFV) may be used to virtualize any or all functions provided by the network elements of CN 520 onto physical computing/storage resources in servers, switches, and the like. Logical instances of CN 520 may be referred to as network slices, and logical instances of a portion of CN 520 may be referred to as network subslices.

In some embodiments, CN 520 may be LTE CN 522, which may also be referred to as Evolved Packet Core (EPC). LTE CN 522 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 524, a Serving Gateway (SGW) 526, a serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) 528, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 530, a Proxy Gateway (PGW) 532, and a policy control and charging rules function (PCRF) 534, which are coupled to each other by an interface (or "reference point") as shown. The functions of the elements of LTE CN 522 may be briefly introduced as follows.

The MME 524 may implement mobility management functions to track the current location of the UE 502 to facilitate paging, bearer activation/deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, etc.

The SGW 526 may terminate the S1 interface towards the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN 522. SGW 526 may be a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handovers and may also provide an anchor for inter-3 GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, billing, and some policy enforcement.

The SGSN 528 can track the location of the UE 502 and perform security functions and access control. In addition, the SGSN 528 may perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between different Radio Access Technology (RAT) networks; PDN and S-GW selection specified by MME 524; MME selection for handover, etc. An S3 reference point between MME 524 and SGSN 528 may enable user and bearer information exchange for mobility between 3GPP access networks in idle/active state.

HSS 530 may include a database for network users that includes subscription-related information that supports network entities handling communication sessions. HSS 530 may provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependency, etc. The S6a reference point between HSS 530 and MME 524 may enable the transmission of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to LTE CN 520.

PGW 532 may terminate the SGi interface towards Data Network (DN) 536, which may include application/content server 538. The PGW 532 may route data packets between the LTE CN 522 and the data network 536. PGW 532 may be coupled with SGW 526 through an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. PGW 532 may also include nodes (e.g., PCEFs) for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Additionally, the SGi reference point between PGW 532 and data network 536 may be, for example, an operator external public, private PDN, or an operator internal packet data network for providing IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services. The PGW 532 may be coupled with the PCRF 534 via the Gx reference point.

PCRF 534 is the policy and charging control element of LTE CN 522. The PCRF 534 may be communicatively coupled to the application/content server 538 to determine appropriate quality of service (QoS) and charging parameters for a service flow. The PCRF 532 may provide the relevant rules to the PCEF (via the Gx reference point) with the appropriate Traffic Flow Template (TFT) and QoS Class Identifier (QCI).

In some embodiments, CN 520 may be a 5G core network (5 GC) 540. The 5GC 540 may include an authentication server function (AUSF) 542, an access and mobility management function (AMF) 544, a Session Management Function (SMF) 546, a User Plane Function (UPF) 548, a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 550, a network open function (NEF) 552, an NF storage function (NRF) 554, a Policy Control Function (PCF) 556, a Unified Data Management (UDM) 558, and an Application Function (AF) 560, which are coupled to each other by interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The function of the elements of the 5GC 540 can be briefly described as follows.

The AUSF 542 may store data for authentication of the UE 502 and process authentication related functions. The AUSF 542 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF 542 may exhibit a Nausf service based interface in addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 540 through reference points as shown.

The AMF 544 may allow other functions of the 5GC 540 to communicate with the UE 502 and the RAN504 and subscribe to notifications regarding mobility events for the UE 502. The AMF 544 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., registering the UE 502), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 544 may provide for the transmission of Session Management (SM) messages between UE 502 and SMF546 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 544 may also provide for the transmission of SMS messages between the UE 502 and the SMSF. The AMF 544 may interact with the AUSF 542 and the UE 502 to perform various security anchoring and context management functions. Further, AMF 544 may be a termination point for the RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between RAN504 and AMF 544; the AMF 544 may serve as a termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. The AMF 544 may also support NAS signaling communications with the UE 502 over the N3 IWF interface.

SMF546 may be responsible for SM (e.g., tunnel management between UPF 548 and AN 508, session establishment); UE IP address assignment and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of the UP function; configuring flow control at the UPF 548 to route the flow to the appropriate destination; termination of the interface to the policy control function; controlling a portion of policy enforcement, charging, and QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and interface to the LI system); terminate the SM part of the NAS message; a downlink data notification; start AN specific SM message (sent to AN 508 over N2 via AMF 544); and determining the SSC pattern for the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 502 and the data network 536.

The UPF 548 can serve as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point to interconnect with the data network 536, and a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 548 can also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, perform the user plane part of policy rules, lawful intercepted packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL/DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic validation (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in the uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 548 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to a data network.

NSSF 550 may select a set of network slice instances that serve UE 502. NSSF 550 may also determine allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) and mapping to a single NSSAI (S-NSSAI) for subscription, if desired. The NSSF 550 may also determine a set of AMFs to use for serving the UE 502, or determine a list of candidate AMFs, based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRFs 554. The selection of a set of network slice instances for the UE 502 may be triggered by the AMF 544 with which the UE 502 registers by interacting with the NSSF 550, which may result in a change in the AMF. NSSF 550 may interact with AMF 544 via the N22 reference point; and may communicate with another NSSF in the visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown). Further, NSSF 550 may expose an interface based on the NSSF service.

NEF552 can securely open services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal opening/reopening, AFs (e.g., AF 560), edge computing or fog computing systems, and the like. In these embodiments, NEF552 may authenticate, authorize, or restrict AF. NEF552 may also convert information exchanged with AF 560 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF552 can convert between an AF service identifier and internal 5GC information. NEF552 may also receive information from other NFs based on their open capabilities. This information may be stored as structured data at NEF552 or at data store NF using a standardized interface. NEF552 may then reopen the stored information to other NFs and AFs, or for other purposes such as analysis. In addition, NEF552 may expose an interface based on the Nnef service.

NRF 554 may support a service discovery function, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 554 also maintains information of available NF instances and their supported services. As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instance," and the like, may refer to creating an instance, "instance" may refer to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. Further, NRF 554 may expose an interface based on the Nnrf service.

PCF 556 may provide policy rules to control plane functions to enforce these policy rules, and may also support a unified policy framework to manage network behavior. PCF 556 may also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in UDR of UDM 558. In addition to communicating with functions through reference points as shown, PCF 556 also exhibits an Npcf service-based interface.

UDM 558 may process subscription-related information to support network entities handling communication sessions and may store subscription data for UE 502. For example, subscription data may be communicated via an N8 reference point between UDM 558 and AMF 544. UDM 558 may include two parts: application front end and User Data Record (UDR). UDRs may store policy data and subscription data for UDMs 558 and PCFs 556 and/or structured data and application data for NEFs 552 for opening (including PFD for application detection, application request information for multiple UEs 502). UDR may expose a Nudr service-based interface to allow UDM 558, PCF 556, and NEF552 to access a particular collection of stored data, as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of relevant data changes in UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE (UDM front end) that is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, and the like. Several different front ends may serve the same user in different transactions. The UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscription management. UDM 558 may expose a numm service based interface in addition to communicating with other NFs through reference points as shown.

The AF 560 can provide application impact on traffic routing, provide access to NEFs, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

In some embodiments, the 5GC 540 may enable edge computation by selecting an operator/third party service that is geographically close to the point where the UE 502 connects to the network. This may reduce delay and load on the network. To provide an edge calculation implementation, the 5GC 540 may select the UPF 548 near the UE 502 and perform traffic steering from the UPF 548 to the data network 536 over the N6 interface. This may be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by AF 560. In this way, the AF 560 can affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on the operator deployment, the network operator may allow AF 560 to interact directly with the relevant NFs when AF 560 is considered a trusted entity. In addition, the AF 560 may expose a Naf service-based interface.

The data network 536 may represent various network operator services, internet access, or third party services that may be provided by one or more servers, including, for example, an application/content server 538.

Fig. 6 illustrates a wireless network 600 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 600 may include a UE 602 in wireless communication with AN 604. The UE 602 and the AN 604 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with like-named components described elsewhere herein.

The UE 602 may be communicatively coupled with AN 604 via a connection 606. Connection 606 is shown as an air interface to enable communication coupling and may operate at millimeter wave or below 6GHz frequencies according to a cellular communication protocol such as the LTE protocol or the 5G NR protocol.

UE 602 may include a host platform 608 coupled with a modem platform 610. Host platform 608 may include application processing circuitry 612, which may be coupled with protocol processing circuitry 614 of modem platform 610. The application processing circuitry 612 may run various applications for the UE 602 to obtain/receive its application data. The application processing circuitry 612 may also implement one or more layer operations to send/receive application data to/from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and internet (e.g., IP) operations.

Protocol processing circuit 614 may implement one or more layers of operations to facilitate the sending or receiving of data over connection 606. Layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuit 614 may include, for example, medium Access Control (MAC), radio Link Control (RLC), packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), radio Resource Control (RRC), and non-access stratum (NAS) operations.

The modem platform 610 may further include digital baseband circuitry 616, the digital baseband circuitry 616 may implement one or more layer operations "below" the layer operations performed by the protocol processing circuitry 614 in the network protocol stack. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations including one or more of HARQ-ACK functions, scrambling/descrambling, encoding/decoding, layer mapping/demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol/bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding/decoding, wherein these functions may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency, or spatial coding, reference signal generation/detection, preamble sequence generation and/or decoding, synchronization sequence generation/detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

Modem platform 610 may further include transmit circuitry 618, receive circuitry 620, RF circuitry 622, and RF front end (RFFE) circuitry 624, which may include or be connected to one or more antenna panels 626. Briefly, the transmit circuit 618 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate Frequency (IF) components, and the like; the receive circuitry 620 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, and the like; RF circuitry 622 may include low noise amplifiers, power tracking components, and the like; the RFFE circuitry 624 may include filters (e.g., surface/bulk acoustic wave filters), switches, antenna tuners, beam forming components (e.g., phased array antenna components), and so forth. The selection and arrangement of components of transmit circuitry 618, receive circuitry 620, RF circuitry 622, RFFE circuitry 624, and antenna panel 626 (collectively "transmit/receive components") may be specific to details of the particular implementation, e.g., whether the communication is Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) or Frequency Division Multiplexed (FDM), at mmWave or below 6GHz frequencies, etc. In some embodiments, the transmit/receive components may be arranged in a plurality of parallel transmit/receive chains, and may be arranged in the same or different chips/modules, etc.

In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuit 614 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functionality for the transmit/receive components.

UE reception may be established by and via antenna panel 626, RFFE circuitry 624, RF circuitry 622, receive circuitry 620, digital baseband circuitry 616, and protocol processing circuitry 614. In some embodiments, antenna panel 626 may receive transmissions from AN 604 by receiving beamformed signals received by multiple antennas/antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 626.

UE transmissions may be established via and through protocol processing circuitry 614, digital baseband circuitry 616, transmit circuitry 618, RF circuitry 622, RFFE circuitry 624, and antenna panel 626. In some embodiments, the transmit components of UE 602 may apply spatial filtering to the data to be transmitted to form the transmit beams transmitted by the antenna elements of antenna panel 626.

Similar to UE 602, AN 604 may include a host platform 628 coupled to a modem platform 630. The host platform 628 may include an application processing circuit 632 coupled with a protocol processing circuit 634 of the modem platform 630. The modem platform may also include digital baseband circuitry 636, transmit circuitry 638, receive circuitry 640, RF circuitry 642, RFFE circuitry 644, and antenna panel 646. The components of the AN 604 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, the synonymous components of the UE 602. In addition to performing data transmission/reception as described above, the components of AN 604 may perform various logical functions including, for example, radio Network Controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. In particular, fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of hardware resources 700, hardware resources 700 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 710, one or more memory/storage devices 720, and one or more communication resources 730, where each of the processors, memory/storage devices, and communication resources may be communicatively coupled via a bus 740 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments utilizing node virtualization (e.g., network Function Virtualization (NFV)), hypervisor 702 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/subslices to utilize hardware resources 700.

Processor 710 may include, for example, processor 712 and processor 714. Processor 710 may be, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

Memory/storage 720 may include a main memory, a disk storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage 720 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile, non-volatile, or semi-volatile memory, such as Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), static Random Access Memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, and the like.

Communication resources 730 may include interconnection or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripherals 704 or one or more databases 706 or other network elements via network 708. For example, communication resources 730 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB, ethernet, etc.)) a cellular communication component, a Near Field Communication (NFC) component,

(or

Low energy) assembly,

Components, and other communication components.

The instructions 750 may include software, programs, applications, applets, applications, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 710 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 750 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processor 710 (e.g., in a cache of the processor), the memory/storage 720, or any suitable combination thereof. Further, any portion of instructions 750 may be communicated to hardware resource 700 from any combination of peripheral device 704 or database 706. Thus, the memory of the processor 710, the memory/storage 720, the peripherals 704, and the database 706 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

The following paragraphs describe examples of various embodiments.

Example 1 includes an apparatus for a User Plane Function (UPF), wherein the apparatus comprises a processor circuit configured to cause the UPF to interact with a Network Repository Function (NRF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and to: transmitting a Network Function (NF) registration request message to the NRF, the NF registration request message for requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF; and receiving a NF registration response message from the NRF confirming that the NF registration of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NF registration response message is sent to the UPF after the NRF stores the NF profile of the UPF or after the NRF marks a UPF service as available.

Example 2 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the NF profile of the UPF includes a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to distinguish UPF functionality between a control plane and a user plane.

Example 3 includes the apparatus of example 2, wherein the control plane signaling indicator is an identity or an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF.

Example 4 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the UPF to: transmitting a NF update request message to the NRF, the NF update request message for requesting NF updates of the UPF and including update information associated with a NF profile of the UPF; and receiving a NF update response message from the NRF, the NF update response message confirming that NF updates of the UPF are accepted, wherein the NF update response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NF profile of the UPF is updated based on update information associated with the NF profile of the UPF.

Example 5 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the UPF to: sending a NF logout request message to the NRF, the NF logout request message being used for requesting NF logout of the UPF; and receiving a NF deregistration response message from the NRF, the NF deregistration response message for confirming that NF deregistration of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NF deregistration response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NRF removes a NF profile of the UPF or after the NRF marks the UPF service as unavailable.

Example 6 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the UPF supports a UPF event open service to open one or more events on one or more Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions to a service consumer of the UPF, the UPF further to interact with the service consumer of the UPF via the SBI.

Example 7 includes the apparatus of example 6, wherein the one or more events on the one or more PDU sessions are capable of being subscribed to or unsubscribed from by a service consumer of the UPF, or notified to the service consumption of the UPF by the UPF.

Example 8 includes the apparatus of example 7, wherein the events that can be subscribed to or unsubscribed from by the service consumer of the UPF include one or more of: downlink data delivery status, user plane status information, session management congestion control experience for PDU sessions, PDU session information for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), quality of service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) assignments, user Equipment (UE) communications.

Example 9 includes the apparatus of example 6, wherein the service consumer of the UPF is a network data analysis function (NWDAF), an Application Function (AF), a network open function (NEF), a Session Management Function (SMF), or a Data Collection Coordination Function (DCCF).

Example 10 includes an apparatus for a Network Repository Function (NRF), wherein the apparatus comprises a processor circuit configured to cause the NRF to interact with a User Plane Function (UPF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and: receiving a Network Function (NF) registration request message from the UPF, the NF registration request message requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF; storing the NF profile of the UPF or marking a UPF service as available; and sending a NF registration response message to the UPF, wherein the NF registration response message is used for confirming that the NF registration of the UPF is accepted.

Example 11 includes the apparatus of example 10, wherein the NF profile of the UPF includes a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to distinguish UPF functionality between a control plane and a user plane.

Example 12 includes the apparatus of example 11, wherein the control plane signaling indicator is an identity or an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF.

Example 13 includes the apparatus of example 10, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the NRF to: receiving a NF update request message from the UPF, the NF update request message for requesting a NF update of the UPF and including update information associated with a NF profile of the UPF; updating the NF profile of the UPF based on update information associated with the NF profile of the UPF; and sending a NF updating response message to the UPF, wherein the NF updating response message is used for confirming that the NF updating of the UPF is accepted.

Example 14 includes the apparatus of example 10, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the NRF to: receiving a NF deregistration request message from the UPF, the NF deregistration request message being used for requesting NF deregistration of the UPF; marking the UPF service as unavailable or removing a NF profile of the UPF; and sending a NF logout response message to the UPF, wherein the NF logout response message is used for confirming that NF logout of the UPF is accepted.

Example 15 includes the apparatus of example 10, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the NRF to: receiving a NF discovery request message from a service consumer of the UPF, the NF discovery request message for discovering the UPF service; determining that a service consumer of the UPF is allowed to discover the UPF service based on the NF profile of the UPF; and sending a NF discovery response message to a service consumer of the UPF, the NF discovery response message for providing information about one or more UPF instances.

Example 16 includes the apparatus of example 15, wherein the NF discovery request message includes information regarding one or more of the following associated with the UPF: a UPF service name, a UPF type, a UPF set identifier, a UPF service set identifier, a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), an external group identifier, and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

Example 17 includes the apparatus of example 16, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the NRF to: determining the one or more UPF instances based on information included in the NF discovery request message.

Example 18 includes the apparatus of example 15, wherein the service consumer of the UPF is a network data analysis function (NWDAF), an Application Function (AF), a network open function (NEF), a Session Management Function (SMF), or a Data Collection Coordination Function (DCCF).

Example 19 includes a method for a User Plane Function (UPF), wherein the UPF interacts with a Network Repository Function (NRF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and the method comprises: transmitting a Network Function (NF) registration request message to the NRF, the NF registration request message for requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF; and receiving a NF registration response message from the NRF, the NF registration response message confirming that NF registration of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NF registration response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NRF stores a NF profile of the UPF or after the NRF marks a UPF service as available.

Example 20 includes the method of example 19, wherein the NF profile of the UPF includes a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to distinguish UPF functionality between a control plane and a user plane.

Example 21 includes the method of example 20, wherein the control plane signaling indicator is an identity or an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF.

Example 22 includes the method of example 19, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting a NF update request message to the NRF, the NF update request message for requesting NF updates of the UPF and including update information associated with a NF profile of the UPF; and receiving a NF update response message from the NRF, the NF update response message confirming that the NF update of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NF update response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NF profile of the UPF is updated based on update information associated with the NF profile of the UPF.

Example 23 includes the method of example 19, wherein the method further comprises: sending a NF logout request message to the NRF, the NF logout request message being used for requesting NF logout of the UPF; and receiving a NF deregistration response message from the NRF, the NF deregistration response message for confirming that NF deregistration of the UPF is accepted, wherein the NF deregistration response message is transmitted to the UPF after the NRF removes a NF profile of the UPF or after the NRF marks the UPF service as unavailable.

Example 24 includes the method of example 19, wherein the UPF supports a UPF event open service to open one or more events on one or more Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions to a service consumer of the UPF, the UPF further to interact with the service consumer of the UPF via the SBI.

Example 25 includes the method of example 24, wherein the one or more events on the one or more PDU sessions are capable of being subscribed to or unsubscribed by, or notified to, a service consumer of the UPF by the UPF.

Example 26 includes the method of example 25, wherein the events that can be subscribed to or unsubscribed from by the service consumer of the UPF include one or more of: downlink data delivery status, user plane status information, session management congestion control experience for PDU sessions, PDU session information for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), quality of service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) assignments, user Equipment (UE) communications.

Example 27 includes the method of example 24, wherein the service consumer of the UPF is a network data analysis function (NWDAF), an Application Function (AF), a network open function (NEF), a Session Management Function (SMF), or a Data Collection Coordination Function (DCCF).

Example 28 includes a method for a Network Repository Function (NRF), wherein the NRF interacts with a User Plane Function (UPF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and the method comprises: receiving a Network Function (NF) registration request message from the UPF, the NF registration request message requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF; storing the NF profile of the UPF or marking a UPF service as available; and sending a NF registration response message to the UPF, wherein the NF registration response message is used for confirming that the NF registration of the UPF is accepted.

Example 29 includes the method of example 28, wherein the NF profile of the UPF includes a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to distinguish UPF functionality between a control plane and a user plane.

Example 30 includes the method of example 29, wherein the control plane signaling indicator is an identity or an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF.

Example 31 includes the method of example 28, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a NF update request message from the UPF, the NF update request message for requesting a NF update of the UPF and including update information associated with a NF profile of the UPF; updating the NF profile of the UPF based on update information associated with the NF profile of the UPF; and sending a NF updating response message to the UPF, wherein the NF updating response message is used for confirming that the NF updating of the UPF is accepted.

Example 32 includes the method of example 28, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a NF deregistration request message from the UPF, the NF deregistration request message being used for requesting NF deregistration of the UPF; marking the UPF service as unavailable or removing a NF profile of the UPF; and sending a NF logout response message to the UPF, wherein the NF logout response message is used for confirming that NF logout of the UPF is accepted.

Example 33 includes the method of example 28, wherein the method further comprises: receiving a NF discovery request message from a service consumer of the UPF, the NF discovery request message for discovering the UPF service; determining that a service consumer of the UPF is allowed to discover the UPF service based on the NF profile of the UPF; sending a NF discovery response message to a service consumption of the UPF, the NF discovery response message for providing information about one or more UPF instances.

Example 34 includes the method of example 33, wherein the NF discovery request message includes information regarding one or more of the following associated with the UPF: a UPF service name, a UPF type, a UPF set identifier, a UPF service set identifier, a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), an external group identifier, and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

Example 35 includes the method of example 34, wherein the method further comprises: determining the one or more UPF instances based on information included in the NF discovery request message.

Example 36 includes the method of example 33, wherein the service consumer of the UPF is a network data analysis function (NWDAF), an Application Function (AF), a network open function (NEF), a Session Management Function (SMF), or a Data Collection Coordination Function (DCCF).

Example 37 includes a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor circuit of a User Plane Function (UPF), cause the UPF to interact with a Network Repository Function (NRF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and implement the method of any one of examples 19 to 27.

Example 38 includes a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor circuit of a Network Repository Function (NRF), cause the NRF to interact with a user plane function (UFF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and implement the method of any of examples 28-36.

Example 39 includes an apparatus for a User Plane Function (UPF), wherein the UPF interacts with a Network Repository Function (NRF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and the apparatus comprises means for implementing the method of any of examples 19 to 27.

Example 40 includes an apparatus for a Network Repository Function (NRF), wherein the NRF interacts with a user plane function (UFF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and the apparatus comprises means for implementing the method of any of examples 28 to 36.

Although certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein for purposes of description, a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent embodiments or implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be substituted for the embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that the embodiments described herein be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims (23)

1. An apparatus for a User Plane Function (UPF), wherein the apparatus comprises a processor circuit configured to cause the UPF to interact with a Network Repository Function (NRF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and to:

transmitting a Network Function (NF) registration request message to the NRF, the NF registration request message for requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF; and

receiving a NF registration response message from the NRF, the NF registration response message confirming that NF registration of the UPF is accepted, wherein

The NF registration response message is sent to the UPF after the NRF stores the NF profile for the UPF or after the NRF marks a UPF service as available.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the NF profile of the UPF comprises a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to use to distinguish UPF functionality between a control plane and a user plane.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control plane signaling indicator is an identity or an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the UPF to:

transmitting a NF update request message to the NRF, the NF update request message for requesting NF updates of the UPF and including update information associated with a NF profile of the UPF; and

receiving a NF update response message from the NRF, the NF update response message confirming that NF updates of the UPF are accepted, wherein

The NF update response message is sent to the UPF after the NF profile of the UPF is updated based on update information associated with the NF profile of the UPF.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the UPF to:

sending a NF logout request message to the NRF, the NF logout request message being used for requesting NF logout of the UPF; and

receiving a NF deregistration response message from the NRF, the NF deregistration response message confirming that NF deregistration of the UPF is accepted, wherein

The NF deregistration response message is sent to the UPF after the NRF removes the NF profile of the UPF or after the NRF marks the UPF service as unavailable.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the UPF supports a UPF event open service for opening one or more events on one or more Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions to a service consumer of the UPF, the UPF further interacting with the service consumer of the UPF via the SBI.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the one or more events on the one or more PDU sessions can be subscribed to or unsubscribed from by a service consumer of the UPF or notified to the service consumer of the UPF by the UPF.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the events that can be subscribed or unsubscribed by the service consumer of the UPF include one or more of: downlink data delivery status, user plane status information, session management congestion control experience for PDU sessions, PDU session information for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), quality of service (QoS) flow identifier (QFI) assignments, user Equipment (UE) communications.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the service consumer of the UPF is a network data analysis function (NWDAF), an Application Function (AF), a network open function (NEF), a Session Management Function (SMF), or a Data Collection Coordination Function (DCCF).

10. An apparatus for a Network Repository Function (NRF), wherein the apparatus comprises a processor circuit configured to cause the NRF to interact with a User Plane Function (UPF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and to:

receiving a Network Function (NF) registration request message from the UPF, the NF registration request message requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF;

storing the NF profile of the UPF or marking a UPF service as available; and

and sending a NF registration response message to the UPF, wherein the NF registration response message is used for confirming that the NF registration of the UPF is accepted.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the NF profile of the UPF includes a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to distinguish UPF functions between a control plane and a user plane.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control plane signaling indicator is an identity or an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the NRF to:

receiving a NF update request message from the UPF, the NF update request message for requesting a NF update of the UPF and including update information associated with a NF profile of the UPF;

updating a NF profile of the UPF based on update information associated with the NF profile of the UPF; and

and sending a NF updating response message to the UPF, wherein the NF updating response message is used for confirming that the NF updating of the UPF is accepted.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the NRF to:

receiving a NF deregistration request message from the UPF, the NF deregistration request message being used for requesting NF deregistration of the UPF;

marking the UPF service as unavailable or removing a NF profile of the UPF; and

and sending a NF logout response message to the UPF, wherein the NF logout response message is used for confirming that NF logout of the UPF is accepted.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the NRF to:

receiving a NF discovery request message from a service consumer of the UPF, the NF discovery request message for discovering the UPF service;

determining that a service consumer of the UPF is allowed to discover the UPF service based on the NF profile of the UPF; and

sending a NF discovery response message to a service consumer of the UPF, the NF discovery response message for providing information about one or more UPF instances.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the NF discovery request message includes information regarding one or more of the following associated with the UPF: a UPF service name, a UPF type, a UPF set identifier, a UPF service set identifier, a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI), an external group identifier, and single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI).

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the NRF to:

determining the one or more UPF instances based on information included in the NF discovery request message.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the service consumer of the UPF is a network data analysis function (NWDAF), an Application Function (AF), a network open function (NEF), a Session Management Function (SMF), or a Data Collection Coordination Function (DCCF).

19. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor circuit of a User Plane Function (UPF), cause the UPF to interact with a Network Repository Function (NRF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and:

transmitting a Network Function (NF) registration request message to the NRF, the NF registration request message for requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF; and

receiving a NF registration response message from the NRF, the NF registration response message confirming that NF registration of the UPF is accepted, wherein

The NF registration response message is sent to the UPF after the NRF stores the NF profile for the UPF or after the NRF marks a UPF service as available.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the NF profile of the UPF includes a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to distinguish UPF functions between a control plane and a user plane.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the control plane signaling indicator is an identity or an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the UPF.

22. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions, wherein the computer executable instructions, when executed by a processor circuit of a Network Repository Function (NRF), cause the NRF to interact with a User Plane Function (UPF) via a service-based interface (SBI) and:

receiving a Network Function (NF) registration request message from the UPF, the NF registration request message requesting NF registration of the UPF and including a NF profile of the UPF;

storing the NF profile of the UPF or marking a UPF service as available; and

and sending a NF registration response message to the UPF, wherein the NF registration response message is used for confirming that the NF registration of the UPF is accepted.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the NF profile of the UPF includes a control plane signaling indicator that provides sufficient information for the NRF to distinguish UPF functionality between a control plane and a user plane.

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