CN115250465A - Apparatus for use in a core network - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to an apparatus for use in a Core Network (CN). An apparatus for a Session Management Function (SMF) in a CN, comprising a processor circuit configured to cause the SMF to: sending a notification to an Application Function (AF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and receiving EAS IP address replacement information from the AF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information is sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF when the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, and the EAS IP address replacement information includes an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, the source EAS IP address, and the target EAS IP address.

Description

Apparatus for use in a core network

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application is based on and claims priority from international application PCT/CN2021/090469, filed on 28/4/2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly, to an apparatus for Session Management Function (SMF) and Application Function (AF) in a Core Network (CN).

Background

As Edge Computing (EC) is deployed for fifth generation (5G) systems, user Equipment (UE) mobility and application server relocation need to be considered in designing solutions for optimized deployment of edge solutions. For example, when a UE's service Edge Application Server (EAS) becomes congested or in an interrupted state, another EAS may service the UE in place of the serving EAS.

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 in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements.

Figure 1A illustrates a flow diagram of a method for SMF in a CN, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 1B illustrates a flow diagram of a method for AF in a CN, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 2A illustrates a schematic diagram of an example process for enabling EAS Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement in a CN in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 2B illustrates a schematic diagram of an example process for Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) in the CN and EAS IP address replacement update when the EAS IP address changes, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a network according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 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, according to some example 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 alternative 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 generally not 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, edge relocation with EAS IP address replacement has been recorded as an optional function in the 3GPP standard. The EAS IP address replacement information will be provided from the AF in the 5G core network (5 GC) to the SMF by an AF impact request message or an advance or postpone notification response message (assuming that the 5GC always supports this functionality, this is not the case, as this functionality is optional). If the AF has sent EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF while the serving EAS has relocated from the old EAS to the new EAS, but 5GC does not support this function, uplink packets will still be sent to the old EAS and session and service continuity will be interrupted.

In view of the above, it is suggested that the AF will send EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF only if it knows that 5GC supports EAS IP address replacement. To achieve this, the SMF needs to inform the AF of EAS IP address replacement capability in the 5 GC.

Fig. 1A illustrates a flow diagram of a method 100A for SMF in CN, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1A, the method 100A includes: S102A, sending a notice to the AF in the CN, wherein the notice comprises an EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN; and S104A receiving EAS IP address replacement information from the AF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information is sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF when the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, and the EAS IP address replacement information includes an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address, and a target EAS IP address.

Fig. 1B illustrates a flow diagram of a method 100B for SMF in CN, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1B, the method 100B includes: S102B, receiving a notice from the SMF in the CN, wherein the notice comprises an EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN; and S104B, when the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that the EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, sending EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information comprises an EAS IP address replacement enabling indication, a source EAS IP address and a target EAS IP address.

In some embodiments, the notification may further include the target DNAI, and the EAS IP address replacement information may further include the source EAS port number and the target EAS port number.

In some embodiments, when the notification further includes the target DNAI and the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, the method 100B may further include: selecting a target EAS identified by a target EAS IP address from a local data network identified by a target DNAI; triggering a runtime context mirror between a source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and a target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address; and sending EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN upon completion of runtime context mirroring between the source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address.

In some embodiments, the notification may be included in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the AF, and the EAS IP address replacement information may be included in an early or late notification response message sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF.

For example, when an early or late notification procedure is used, the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN may be included in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the AF, and based on the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN, the AF may decide whether EAS IP address replacement information should be sent to the SMF in an early or late notification response message and send the early or late notification response message to the SMF when the EAS relocation is complete (i.e., when runtime context mirroring between the source EAS and the target EAS is complete).

In some embodiments, the early or late notification request message may be sent from the SMF to the AF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN. That is, the advance or retard notification request message may be first sent from the SMF in the CN to the NEF and then sent from the NEF in the CN to the AF.

In some embodiments, the advance or retard notification Request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the NEF may be implemented as a Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message, and the advance or retard notification Request message sent from the NEF in the CN to the AF may be implemented as a Nnef _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

In some embodiments, when the AF learns, based on its local configuration or notification from an SMF in the CN, that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, the method 100B may further comprise: sending a traffic impact create or update request message to the SMF in the CN, wherein the traffic impact create or update request message includes an indication to enable EAS IP address replacement, identification information of a User Equipment (UE) being served by the target EAS, the target EAS IP address, and a new target EAS IP address of a new target EAS in the local data network identified by the target DNAI. In this case, the AF may move some UEs being served by the target EAS from the target EAS to a new target EAS in the local data network identified by the target DNAI for load balancing purposes, and/or may move all UEs being served by the target EAS to a new target EAS in the local data network identified by the target DNAI due to an abnormal condition of the target EAS.

In some embodiments, the traffic impact creation or Update Request message may be sent from the AF to the SMF via the NEF in the CN (that is, the traffic impact creation or Update Request message may be sent first from the AF in the CN to the NEF and then from the NEF in the CN to the SMF), and the traffic impact creation or Update Request message sent from the AF in the CN to the NEF may be implemented as an Nnef _ trafficlnfluency _ Create/Update Request message.

Figure 2A illustrates a schematic diagram of an example process for enabling EAS IP address replacement in a CN in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2A, the example process of fig. 2A includes:

S201A, the UE requests to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session.

S202A, the UE is pre-configured with the source EAS IP address, or the UE discovers the IP address of the application server for the service that needs to be edge-computed and the source EAS IP address is returned to the UE via the EAS discovery procedure.

S203A, the UE communicates with the source EAS based on the source EAS IP address.

S204A-a, EAS relocation may be triggered by AF due to, for example, load balancing between EAS instances in an Edge Hosting Environment (EHE). When the AF detects that the source EAS is capable of run-time context mirroring and finds the best EAS, the AF decides to affect traffic routing in the CN. EAS IP address replacement information (i.e., an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address and port number, and a target EAS IP address and port number) is sent within the AF impact information to the SMF, which reconfigures the uplink classifier user plane function (UL CL UPF) for local traffic routing and reconfigures the local PDU Session Anchor (PSA) with the EAS IP replacement information.

The AF may also include an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address and port number, and a target EAS IP address and port number in a traffic creation or Update Request message (Nnef _ trafficlnflute _ Create/Update Request message). From the source EAS IP address and port number, the SMF knows which service flow needs EAS IP address replacement.

If the destination IP address of the uplink packet is the source EAS IP address, then the SMF configures the UL CL UPF to forward the uplink packet to the local PSA. As described in step S205A, the SMF configures the local PSA to enforce the forwarding operation rules (FAR) of "outer header creation" and "outer header removal".

If the SMF selects a new local PSA, the SMF may configure the new local PSA to buffer the uplink traffic and force the FAR of "outer header creation" and "outer header removal" as described in step S205A.

If the SMF does not inform the AF of the support of EAS IP address replacement in the CN, the AF will not initiate EAS relocation nor send AF impact information to the SMF. If the CN does not support EAS IP address replacement, then the SMF should refuse to configure the local PSA for EAS relocation and step S205A is skipped.

The EAS relocation may also be triggered by the CN S204A-b due to e.g. UE mobility. When an early or late notification procedure is triggered, the SMF notifies the AF of the capability to support EAS IP address replacement in the target DNAI and CN. Based on the target DNAI, the AF selects the appropriate target EAS, and then the AF triggers runtime context mirroring between the source EAS and the target EAS. Once the target EAS is ready (i.e., the runtime context mirroring between the source EAS and the target EAS is complete), the AF provides EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in response. During the addition or change of UL CL UPF and local PSA, SMF can (re) configure local PSA for EAS IP address replacement between source EAS and target EAS.

S205A, the local PSA starts performing FAR of "outer header creation" and "outer header removal" as instructed by SMF, which results in EAS IP address replacement:

-for uplink traffic, the destination IP address and port number are replaced with the target EAS IP address and port number;

-for downlink traffic, the source IP address and port number are replaced back to the source EAS IP address and port number.

It should be noted that the process of FIG. 2A covers scenarios where the UE moves from a location that does not support Edge Computing (EC) to a location that supports EC or the AF decides to enable EAS IP address replacement in the middle of a PDU session; the remote PSA does not need to understand the logic of EAS IP address replacement; all subsequent uplink traffic for EC service of the UE is forwarded to the target EAS; and the AF decides when and how to stop the source EAS from serving the UE based on its local configuration.

Figure 2B illustrates a schematic diagram of an example process for DNAI and EAS IP address replacement update when EAS IP addresses change in the CN in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2B, the example process of fig. 2B includes:

S201B, the local PSA1 performs FAR of "outer header creation" and "outer header removal" as instructed by the SMF, resulting in EAS IP address replacement:

-for uplink traffic, the destination IP address and port are replaced with the old target EAS IP address and port number;

-for downlink traffic, the source IP address and port number are replaced back to the source EAS IP address and port number.

S202B, the SMF configures the target UL CL UPF with the forwarding rule and configures the local PSA2 with the FAR of "outer header creation" and "outer header removal".

S203B, the local PSA2 starts performing FAR of "outer header creation" and "outer header removal" as instructed by the SMF, which results in EAS IP address replacement:

-for uplink traffic, the destination IP address and port number is replaced with the new target EAS IP address and port number;

for downlink traffic, the source IP address and port number are replaced back to the source EAS IP address and port number.

Fig. 3-4 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that can implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a network 300 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The network 300 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 300 may include a UE 302, which may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN) 304 via an over-the-air connection. The UE 302 may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone, 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 in-vehicle 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, the network 300 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 302 may also communicate with an Access Point (AP) 306 over an over-the-air connection. The AP 306 may manage Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) connections that may be used to offload some/all network traffic from the RAN 304. The connection between the UE 302 and the AP 306 may be in accordance with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 306 may be a Wireless Fidelity

A router. In some embodiments, the UE 302, RAN304, and AP 306 may utilize cellular WLAN aggregation (e.g., LTE-WLAN aggregation (LWA)/lightweight IP (LWIP)). Cellular WLAN aggregation may involve configuration by the RAN304 of the UE 302 to utilize both cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

The RAN304 may include one or more access nodes, such as AN Access Node (AN) 308. The AN 308 can terminate air interface protocols of the UE 302 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 308 may enable a data/voice connection between Core Network (CN) 320 and UE 302. In some embodiments, the AN 308 may be implemented in a discrete device 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). AN 308 may be referred to as a Base Station (BS), next generation base station (gNB), RAN node, evolved node B (eNB), next generation eNB (ng eNB), node B (NodeB), road Side Unit (RSU), transmit receive point (TRxP), transmit point (TRP), etc. The AN 308 can be a macrocell base station or a low power base station for providing microcells, picocells, or other similar cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacities, or higher bandwidths than macrocells.

In embodiments where the RAN304 comprises multiple ANs, they may be coupled to each other over AN X2 interface (if the RAN304 is AN LTE RAN) or AN Xn interface (if the RAN304 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 AN of RAN304 may each manage one or more cells, groups of cells, component carriers, etc., to provide UE 302 with AN air interface for network access. The UE 302 may be simultaneously connected with multiple cells provided by the same or different ANs of the RAN 304. For example, UE 302 and RAN304 may use carrier aggregation to allow UE 302 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 primary network node providing a Master Cell Group (MCG) and the second AN may be a secondary network node providing a Secondary Cell Group (SCG). The first/second AN can be any combination of eNB, gNB, ng-eNB, etc.

The RAN304 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 media/carrier sensing operation based on, for example, a Listen Before Talk (LBT) protocol.

In a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) scenario, the UE 302 or AN 308 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 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, RAN304 may be an LTE RAN 310 including an evolved node B (eNB), e.g., eNB 312. The LTE RAN 310 may provide an LTE air interface with the following features: subcarrier spacing (SCS) of 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, TBCC for control, and the like. The LTE air interface may rely on channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for CSI acquisition and beam management; relying on a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)/Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) demodulation reference signal (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, RAN304 may be a Next Generation (NG) -RAN 314 having a gNB (e.g., gNB 316) or a gn-eNB (e.g., NG-eNB 318). The gNB316 may connect with 5G-enabled UEs using a 5G NR interface. The gNB316 may be connected to the 5G core through an NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The NG-eNB 318 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 gNB316 and the ng-eNB 318 may be connected to each other over 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 UPF348 and nodes of the NG-RAN 314 (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) 344 and nodes of the NG-RAN 314 (e.g., an N2 interface).

The NG-RAN 314 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following features: variable subcarrier spacing (SCS); cyclic prefix-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) for Downlink (DL), CP-OFDM for UL, and DFT-s-OFDM; 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 band, which includes the 6GHz sub-band, or the FR2 band, which includes the 24.25GHz to 52.6GHz 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, UE 302 may be configured with multiple BWPs, where each BWP configuration has a different SCS. When the BWP is indicated to the UE 302 to change, the SCS of the transmission also changes. Another use case for BWP is related to power saving. In particular, the UE 302 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 302 and, in some cases, at the gNB 316. BWPs containing a large number of PRBs may be used in scenarios with higher traffic loads.

The RAN304 is communicatively coupled to a CN 320, which includes network elements, to provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g., users of the UEs 302). The components of CN 320 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 network elements of CN 320 onto physical computing/storage resources in servers, switches, and the like. Logical instances of CN 320 may be referred to as network slices, and logical instances of a portion of CN 320 may be referred to as network subslices.

In some embodiments, CN 320 may be LTE CN 322, which may also be referred to as EPC. The LTE CN 322 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 324, a Serving Gateway (SGW) 326, a serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) 328, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 330, a Proxy Gateway (PGW) 332, and a policy control and charging rules function (PCRF) 334, which are coupled to each other by an interface (or "reference point"), as shown. The functions of the elements of the LTE CN 322 may be briefly introduced as follows.

The MME 324 may implement mobility management functions to track the current location of the UE 302 to facilitate paging, bearer activation/deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, etc.

The SGW 326 may terminate the S1 interface towards the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN 322. SGW 326 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.

SGSN 328 may track the location of UE 302 and perform security functions and access control. In addition, SGSN 328 may perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; PDN and S-GW selection specified by the MME 324; MME selection for handover, etc. The S3 reference point between MME 324 and SGSN 328 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3 GPP access network mobility in idle/active state.

The HSS 330 may include a database for network users that includes subscription-related information that supports network entities handling communication sessions. HSS 330 may provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependency, etc. The S6a reference point between the HSS 330 and the MME 324 may enable transmission of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to the LTE CN 320.

PGW 332 may terminate the SGi interface towards a Data Network (DN) 336, which may include an application/content server 338. The PGW 332 may route data packets between the LTE CN 322 and the data network 336. PGW 332 may be coupled with SGW 326 through an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. PGW 332 may also include nodes (e.g., PCEFs) for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Additionally, the SGi reference point between PGW 332 and data network 336 may be, for example, an operator external public, private PDN, or an operator internal packet data network for providing IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) services. PGW 332 may be coupled with PCRF 334 via a Gx reference point.

PCRF 334 is the policy and charging control element of LTE CN 322. PCRF 334 may be communicatively coupled to application/content server 338 to determine appropriate quality of service (QoS) and charging parameters for a service flow. PCRF 332 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 320 may be a 5G core network (5 GC) 340. The 5GC 340 may include an authentication server function (AUSF) 342, an access and mobility management function (AMF) 344, a Session Management Function (SMF) 346, a User Plane Function (UPF) 348, a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 350, a network open function (NEF) 352, an NF storage function (NRF) 354, a Policy Control Function (PCF) 356, a Unified Data Management (UDM) 358, and an Application Function (AF) 360, which are coupled to each other by an interface (or "reference point"), as shown. The functions of the elements of the 5GC 340 can be briefly described as follows.

The AUSF 342 may store data for authentication of the UE 302 and handle authentication related functions. The AUSF 342 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. The AUSF 342 may exhibit a Nausf service based interface in addition to communicating with other elements of the 5GC 340 through the reference points as shown.

The AMF 344 may allow other functions of the 5GC 340 to communicate with the UE 302 and the RAN304 and subscribe to notifications regarding mobility events for the UE 302. The AMF 344 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., registering the UE 302), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception of AMF related events, and access authentication and authorization. The AMF 344 may provide for the transmission of Session Management (SM) messages between the UE 302 and the SMF346 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. The AMF 344 may also provide for the transmission of SMS messages between the UE 302 and the SMSF. The AMF 344 may interact with the AUSF 342 and the UE 302 to perform various security anchoring and context management functions. Further, the AMF 344 may be a termination point for the RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the RAN304 and the AMF 344; the AMF 344 may act as a termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. The AMF 344 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 302 over the N3 IWF interface.

SMF346 may be responsible for SM (e.g., tunnel management between UPF348 and AN 308, session establishment); UE IP address assignment and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of the UP function; configuring flow control at the UPF348 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 portion of the NAS message; a downlink data notification; initiate AN specific SM message (sent to the AN 308 over N2 via the AMF 344); and determining an SSC pattern for the session. SM may refer to the management of PDU sessions, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between the UE 302 and the data network 336.

The UPF348 may serve as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point to interconnect with the data network 336, and a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF348 may 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 verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF348 may include an uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flows to the data network.

The NSSF 350 may select a set of network slice instances that serve the UE 302. NSSF 350 may also determine allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI) and a mapping to a single NSSAI (S-NSSAI) of the subscription, if desired. The NSSF 350 may also determine a set of AMFs to use for serving the UE 302, or determine a list of candidate AMFs, based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying the NRFs 354. The selection of a set of network slice instances by the UE 302 may be triggered by the AMF 344 (to which the UE 302 registers by interacting with the NSSF 350), which may result in a change in the AMF. The NSSF 350 may interact with the AMF 344 via the N22 reference point; and may communicate with another NSSF in the visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown). Further, NSSF 350 may expose an interface based on the NSSF service.

NEF352 may securely disclose services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal exposure/re-exposure, AF (e.g., AF 360), edge computing or fog computing systems, and the like. In these embodiments, NEF352 may authenticate, authorize, or restrict AF. NEF352 may also translate information exchanged with AF 360 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF352 may translate between the AF service identifier and the internal 5GC information. NEF352 may also receive information from other NFs based on their public capabilities. This information may be stored as structured data at NEF352 or at data store NF using a standardized interface. NEF352 may then re-expose the stored information to other NFs and AFs, or for other purposes such as analysis. In addition, NEF352 may expose an interface based on the Nnef service.

NRF 354 may support a service discovery function, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 354 also maintains information of available NF instances and the services it supports. 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 354 may expose an interface based on the nrrf service.

PCF 356 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 356 may also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of UDM 358. In addition to communicating with functions through reference points as shown, the PCF 356 also exhibits an Npcf service-based interface.

UDM 358 may process subscription-related information to support network entities handling communication sessions and may store subscription data for UE 302. For example, subscription data may be communicated via an N8 reference point between UDM 358 and AMF 344. UDM 358 may include two parts: application front end and User Data Record (UDR). The UDR may store policy data and subscription data for UDM 358 and PCF 356, and/or structured data and application data for exposure (including PFD for application detection, application request information for multiple UEs 302) for NEF 352. The UDR may expose a Nudr service-based interface to allow UDM 358, PCF 356, and NEF352 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 the 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 the subscription information stored in the UDR and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration/mobility management, and subscription management. UDM 358 may expose a numm service based interface in addition to communicating with other NFs through reference points as shown.

AF 360 may provide application impact on traffic routing, provide access to NEF, and interact with the policy framework for policy control.

In some embodiments, the 5GC 340 may enable edge computation by selecting an operator/third party service that is geographically close to the point where the UE 302 connects to the network. This may reduce delay and load on the network. To provide an edge calculation implementation, the 5GC 340 may select the UPF348 near the UE 302 and perform traffic steering from the UPF348 to the data network 336 over the N6 interface. This may be based on UE subscription data, UE location, and information provided by AF 360. In this way, the AF 360 may influence UPF (re-) selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, the network operator may allow AF 360 to interact directly with the relevant NFs when AF 360 is considered a trusted entity. In addition, the AF 360 may expose a Naf service-based interface.

The data network 336 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 338.

Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a wireless network 400 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 400 may include a UE 402 in wireless communication with AN 404. The UE 402 and the AN 404 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with like-named components described elsewhere herein.

The UE 402 may be communicatively coupled with the AN 404 via a connection 406. Connection 406 is shown as an air interface to enable communication coupling and may operate at millimeter wave or below 6GHz frequencies in accordance with a cellular communication protocol, such as the LTE protocol or the 5G NR protocol.

UE 402 may include a host platform 408 coupled with a modem platform 410. Host platform 408 may include application processing circuitry 412, which may be coupled with protocol processing circuitry 414 of modem platform 410. The application processing circuitry 412 may run various applications for the UE 402 to obtain/receive its application data. The application processing circuitry 412 may also implement one or more layers of operations to send/receive application data to/from the data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and internet (e.g., IP) operations.

The protocol processing circuitry 414 may implement one or more layers of operations to facilitate the transmission or reception of data over the connection 406. Layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuit 414 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 410 may further include digital baseband circuitry 416, which digital baseband circuitry 416 may implement one or more layer operations "below" the layer operations performed by the protocol processing circuitry 414 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 410 may further include transmit circuitry 418, receive circuitry 420, RF circuitry 422, and RF front-end (RFFE) circuitry 424, which may include or be connected to one or more antenna panels 426. Briefly, the transmit circuit 418 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate Frequency (IF) components, and the like; the receive circuitry 420 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, and the like; RF circuitry 422 may include low noise amplifiers, power tracking components, and the like; RFFE circuitry 424 can 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 418, receive circuitry 420, RF circuitry 422, RFFE circuitry 424, and antenna panel 426 (collectively, "transmit/receive components") may be specific to details of the particular implementation, such as whether the communication is Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) or Frequency Division Multiplexed (FDM), at mmWave or below 6GHz frequencies, and so forth. 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 circuitry 414 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 426, RFFE circuitry 424, RF circuitry 422, receive circuitry 420, digital baseband circuitry 416, and protocol processing circuitry 414. In some embodiments, antenna panel 426 may receive transmissions from AN 404 by receiving beamformed signals received by multiple antennas/antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 426.

UE transmissions may be established via and through the protocol processing circuitry 414, the digital baseband circuitry 416, the transmit circuitry 418, the RF circuitry 422, the RFFE circuitry 424, and the antenna panel 426. In some embodiments, the transmit components of UE 402 may apply spatial filtering to the data to be transmitted to form transmit beams transmitted by the antenna elements of antenna panel 426.

Similar to UE 402, AN 404 may include a host platform 428 coupled with a modem platform 430. Host platform 428 may include application processing circuitry 432 coupled with protocol processing circuitry 434 of modem platform 430. The modem platform may also include digital baseband circuitry 436, transmit circuitry 438, receive circuitry 440, RF circuitry 442, RFFE circuitry 444, and antenna panel 446. The components of the AN 404 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, the synonymous components of the UE 402. In addition to performing data transmission/reception as described above, the components of AN 404 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. 5 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. 5 shows a schematic diagram of hardware resources 500, hardware resources 500 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 510, one or more memory/storage devices 520, and one or more communication resources 530, where each of these processors, memory/storage devices, and communication resources may be communicatively coupled via a bus 540 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments utilizing node virtualization (e.g., network Function Virtualization (NFV)), hypervisor 502 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/subslices to utilize hardware resources 500.

Processor 510 may include, for example, a processor 512 and a processor 514. Processor 510 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 520 may include a main memory, a disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage 520 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.

The communication resources 530 may include interconnection or network interface controllers, components, or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripherals 504 or one or more databases 506 or other network elements via the network 508. For example, communication resources 530 may include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via USB, ethernet, etc.), a cellular communication component, a Near Field Communication (NFC) component, a wireless communication component, and/or a wireless communication component,

(or

Low energy) assembly,

Components, and other communication components.

The instructions 550 may include software, programs, applications, applets, applications, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 510 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 550 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processor 510 (e.g., in a cache of the processor), the memory/storage 520, or any suitable combination thereof. Further, any portion of instructions 550 may be communicated to hardware resource 500 from any combination of peripherals 504 or database 506. Thus, the memory of processor 510, memory/storage 520, peripherals 504, and database 506 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

The following paragraphs describe examples of various embodiments.

Example 1 includes an apparatus for a Session Management Function (SMF) in a Core Network (CN), comprising a processor circuit configured to cause the SMF to: sending a notification to an Application Function (AF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and receiving EAS IP address replacement information from the AF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information is sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF when EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, and the EAS IP address replacement information includes an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address, and a target EAS IP address.

Example 2 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information further includes a source EAS port number and a target EAS port number.

Example 3 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the notification further includes a target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI).

Example 4 includes the apparatus of example 1, wherein the notification is included in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the AF, and the EAS IP address replacement information is included in an early or late notification response message sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF.

Example 5 includes the apparatus of example 4, wherein the advance or defer notification request message is sent from the SMF to the AF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

Example 6 includes the apparatus of example 5, wherein the advance or defer notification Request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as a Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

Example 7 includes the apparatus of example 5, wherein the advance or defer notification Request message sent from the NEF in the CN to the AF is implemented as a Nnef _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

Example 8 includes an apparatus for an Application Function (AF) in a Core Network (CN), comprising a processor circuit configured to cause the AF to: receiving a notification from a Session Management Function (SMF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and when the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, sending EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information includes an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address, and a target EAS IP address.

Example 9 includes the apparatus of example 8, wherein the notification further includes a target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI), and the processor circuit is further configured to cause the AF to: selecting a target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address from a local data network identified by the target DNAI; triggering a runtime context mirror between a source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address; and upon completion of runtime context mirroring between the source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address, sending the EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN.

Example 10 includes the apparatus of example 8, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information further includes a source EAS port number and a target EAS port number.

Example 11 includes the apparatus of example 8, wherein the notification is included in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the AF, and the EAS IP address replacement information is included in an early or late notification response message sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF.

Example 12 includes the apparatus of example 11, wherein the advance or defer notification request message is sent from the SMF to the AF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

Example 13 includes the apparatus of example 12, wherein the advance or retard notification Request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as a Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

Example 14 includes the apparatus of example 12, wherein the advance or defer notification Request message sent from the NEF in the CN to the AF is implemented as a Nnef _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

Example 15 includes the apparatus of example 9, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the AF to, when the AF learns, based on its local configuration or the notification from the SMF in the CN, that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN: sending a traffic impact create or update request message to the SMF in the CN, wherein the traffic impact create or update request message includes an indication of EAS IP address replacement enabled, identification information of a User Equipment (UE) being served by the target EAS, the target EAS IP address, and a new target EAS IP address of a new target EAS in the local data network identified by the target DNAI.

Example 16 includes the apparatus of example 15, wherein the traffic impact creation or update request message is sent from the AF to the SMF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

Example 17 includes the apparatus of example 16, wherein the traffic impact creation or Update Request message sent from the AF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as an Nnef traffic impact Create Update Request message.

Example 18 includes a method for a Session Management Function (SMF) in a Core Network (CN), comprising: sending a notification to an Application Function (AF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and receiving EAS IP address replacement information from the AF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information is sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF when EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, and the EAS IP address replacement information includes an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address, and a target EAS IP address.

Example 19 includes the method of example 18, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information further includes a source EAS port number and a target EAS port number.

Example 20 includes the method of example 18, wherein the notification further includes a target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI).

Example 21 includes the method of example 18, wherein the notification is included in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the AF, and the EAS IP address replacement information is included in an early or late notification response message sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF.

Example 22 includes the method of example 21, wherein the advance or defer notification request message is sent from the SMF to the AF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

Example 23 includes the method of example 21, wherein the advance or retard notification Request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as a Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

Example 24 includes the method of example 22, wherein the advance or retard notification Request message sent from the NEF in the CN to the AF is implemented as a Nnef _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

Example 25 includes a method for an Application Function (AF) in a Core Network (CN), comprising: receiving a notification from a Session Management Function (SMF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and when the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, sending EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information includes an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address, and a target EAS IP address.

Example 26 includes the method of example 25, wherein the notification further includes a target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI), and when an EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, the method further comprises: selecting a target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address from a local data network identified by the target DNAI; triggering a runtime context mirror between a source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address; and upon completion of runtime context mirroring between the source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address, sending the EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN.

Example 27 includes the method of example 26, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information further includes a source EAS port number and a target EAS port number.

Example 28 includes the method of example 25, wherein the notification is included in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the AF, and the EAS IP address replacement information is included in an early or late notification response message sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF.

Example 29 includes the method of example 26, wherein the advance or defer notification request message is sent from the SMF to the AF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

Example 30 includes the method of example 29, wherein the advance or retard notification Request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as a Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

Example 31 includes the method of example 29, wherein the advance or defer notification Request message sent from the NEF in the CN to the AF is implemented as a Nnef _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

Example 32 includes the method of example 26, wherein, when the AF learns, based on its local configuration or the notification from the SMF in the CN, that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, the method further comprises: sending a traffic impact create or update request message to the SMF in the CN, wherein the traffic impact create or update request message includes an indication of EAS IP address replacement enabled, identification information of a User Equipment (UE) being served by the target EAS, the target EAS IP address, and a new target EAS IP address of a new target EAS in the local data network identified by the target DNAI.

Example 33 includes the method of example 32, wherein the traffic impact creation or update request message is sent from the AF to the SMF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

Example 34 includes the apparatus of example 16, wherein the traffic impact creation or Update Request message sent from the AF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as an Nnef traffic Update Create/Update Request message.

Example 35 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 Session Management Function (SMF) in a Core Network (CN), cause the SMF to perform the method of any of examples 18-24.

Example 36 includes a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by processor circuitry of an Application Function (AF) in a Core Network (CN), cause the AF to perform the method of any of examples 25-34.

Example 37 includes an apparatus for a Session Management Function (SMF) in a Core Network (CN), comprising means for performing the method of any of examples 18 to 24.

Example 38 includes an apparatus for an Application Function (AF) in a Core Network (CN), comprising means for performing the method of any of examples 25 to 34.

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 invention. 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 (25)

1. An apparatus for a Session Management Function (SMF) in a Core Network (CN), comprising a processor circuit configured to cause the SMF to:

sending a notification to an Application Function (AF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and

receiving EAS IP address replacement information from the AF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information is sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF when EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, and the EAS IP address replacement information includes an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address, and a target EAS IP address.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information further comprises a source EAS port number and a target EAS port number.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the notification further comprises a target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI).

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the notification is contained in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF to the AF in the CN and the EAS IP address replacement information is contained in an early or late notification response message sent from the AF to the SMF in the CN.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the early or late notification request message is sent from the SMF to the AF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the advance or retard notification Request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as a Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notification Request message.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the advance or defer notification Request message sent from the NEF in the CN to the AF is implemented as a Nnef _ EventExposure _ Notification Request message.

8.An apparatus for an Application Function (AF) in a Core Network (CN), comprising a processor circuit configured to cause the AF to:

receiving a notification from a Session Management Function (SMF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and

when the EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, sending EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information comprises an EAS IP address replacement enabled indication, a source EAS IP address and a target EAS IP address.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the notification further comprises a target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI), and the processor circuit is further configured to cause the AF to:

selecting a target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address from a local data network identified by the target DNAI;

triggering a runtime context mirror between a source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address; and

sending the EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN upon completion of runtime context mirroring between the source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information further comprises a source EAS port number and a target EAS port number.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the notification is contained in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF to the AF in the CN and the EAS IP address replacement information is contained in an early or late notification response message sent from the AF to the SMF in the CN.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the advance or defer notification request message is sent from the SMF to the AF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the advance or retard notification Request message sent from the SMF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as a Nsmf _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the advance or defer notification Request message sent from the NEF in the CN to the AF is implemented as a Nnef _ EventExposure _ Notify Request message.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor circuit is further configured to cause the AF to, when the AF learns, based on its local configuration or the notification from the SMF in the CN, that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN:

sending a traffic impact create or update request message to the SMF in the CN, wherein the traffic impact create or update request message includes an indication of EAS IP address replacement enabled, identification information of a User Equipment (UE) being served by the target EAS, the target EAS IP address, and a new target EAS IP address of a new target EAS in the local data network identified by the target DNAI.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the traffic impact create or update request message is sent from the AF to the SMF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the traffic impact Create or Update Request message sent from the AF in the CN to the NEF is implemented as an Nnef traffic impact Create/Update Request message.

18. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor circuit of a Session Management Function (SMF) in a Core Network (CN), cause the SMF to:

sending a notification to an Application Function (AF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and

receiving EAS IP address replacement information from the AF in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information is sent from the AF in the CN to the SMF when EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, and the EAS IP address replacement information includes an indication that EAS IP address replacement is enabled, a source EAS IP address, and a target EAS IP address.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information further includes a source EAS port number and a target EAS port number.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the notification further comprises a target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI).

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the notification is contained in an early or late notification request message sent from the SMF to the AF in the CN and the EAS IP address replacement information is contained in an early or late notification response message sent from the AF to the SMF in the CN.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein the advance or defer notification request message is sent from the SMF to the AF via a network open function (NEF) in the CN.

23. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions, when executed by a processor circuit of an Application Function (AF) in a Core Network (CN), cause the AF to:

receiving a notification from a Session Management Function (SMF) in the CN, wherein the notification includes an Edge Application Server (EAS) Internet Protocol (IP) address replacement capability in the CN; and

sending EAS address replacement information to the SMF in the CN when EAS IP address replacement capability in the CN indicates that EAS IP address replacement is supported in the CN, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information comprises an EAS IP address replacement enabled indication, a source EAS IP address, and a target EAS IP address.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein the notification further comprises a target Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI), and the processor circuit is further configured to cause the AF to:

selecting a target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address from a local data network identified by the target DNAI;

triggering a runtime context mirror between a source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address; and

sending the EAS IP address replacement information to the SMF in the CN upon completion of runtime context mirroring between the source EAS identified by the source EAS IP address and the target EAS identified by the target EAS IP address.

25. The computer readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein the EAS IP address replacement information further includes a source EAS port number and a target EAS port number.

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