CN116548016A - Service function chaining policy for 5G systems - Google Patents

Abstract

Various embodiments herein relate to service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies in different deployment scenarios (e.g., when User Equipment (UE) moves between different networks). Other embodiments may be disclosed or claimed.

Description

Service function chaining policy for 5G systems

Cross Reference to Related Applications

The present application claims the following priorities: U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.63/116,716, filed 11/20/2020; U.S. provisional patent application No.63/117,381, filed 11/23 2020; the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Technical Field

Various embodiments may relate generally to the field of wireless communications. For example, some embodiments may relate to service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies under different deployment scenarios (e.g., when a User Equipment (UE) moves between different networks).

Background

In 3GPP release 13, there is a related study on flexible Mobile service guidance (FS_FMSS) in TR 22.808, v.13.0.0, 2014-09-26. During research, there are a number of use cases that mention the use of Service Function Chaining (SFC) beyond the (S) Gi interface. However, during the specification phase, only the service requirements in TS 22.101v.17.2.0, 2020-07-11 are related to traffic steering on the (S) Gi interface, assuming that the (S) Gi-LAN is outside the 3GPP range. The same assumption applies to N6-LANs in the 5G context.

Among other things, embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for handling service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies under different deployment scenarios (e.g., when a UE moves between different networks).

Drawings

Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. The embodiments are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of an overview of a flexible mobile service bootstrap architecture, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a service function chain for an SGi-LAN in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a non-roaming reference architecture (service-based representation) for a policy and charging framework in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a non-roaming reference architecture (reference point representation) for a policy and charging framework in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example of an application architecture for implementing edge applications in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 6 illustrates examples of Service Functions (SFs), SFC indexes, and Service Function Path (SFP) indexes, according to various embodiments.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example of an SBA (service-based architecture) based reference architecture with dedicated NFs for service chaining in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example of an SFC network in an edge data network, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example of an SFC enabler (enabler) in an edge data network and/or 5G network in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 10 illustrates an example of an SFC enabler in both an edge data network and a 5G network in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 11 illustrates an example of an SFC service provided by an SFC network in a 5G network and an edge data network, in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example of using home Service Provider (SP) credentials for authentication in a visited (V) -independent non-public network (SNPN) to access V-SNPN services (e.g., local IP access or internet access) in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 13 illustrates an example of accessing home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) services using a home routing PDU session in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 14 schematically illustrates components of a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 15 schematically illustrates components of a wireless network in accordance with various embodiments.

Fig. 16 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 methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments.

Fig. 17, 18, and 19 describe examples of processes for practicing the various embodiments discussed herein.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of this document, the phrases "A or B" and "A/B" mean (A), (B) or (A and B).

Fig. 1 shows an example of how different service function paths in the SFC at the sgi_lan can be applied to different users. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates the use of different service function chains in an SGi-LAN. By considering an N6-LAN outside the 3GPP range, it is assumed that service function chaining inside the N6-LAN is controlled by another system than 5 GS. However, this separation of service functions in an N6-LAN from the 5G architecture results in challenges for 5G networks in many respects.

First of all, the lack of integrated network management and orchestration of service function chaining between 5G networks and N6-LANs creates potential interoperability problems (even within the same network operator's mobile network) and results in uncoordinated and inefficient service function path settings for routing E2E traffic with the desired service functions.

Second, control over service functions in N6-LANs provided by operators and third parties (where SF is chained and contributes to delay per hop) is lost, which makes latency requirements for some services (e.g., interactive AR/VR games, remote control of UAV, audiovisual service production, industrial automation, critical medical applications, autopilot cars, etc.) targeting ultra-reliable low latency difficult to achieve.

Third, from the user's perspective, the service experience may be discounted when considering service continuity, for example in roaming scenarios between HPLMN and VPLMN or between PLMN and NPN networks.

Fourth, the need to support diverse vertical services in 5G is increasing, which presents challenges in supporting service functions in N6-LANs in different network and service deployment scenarios, as well as in meeting KPIs required for services.

Last but not least, some advanced features in 5G networks (e.g., network slicing, network function virtualization, edge computation, etc.) are not considered in FMSS/efmsss.

Embodiments of the present disclosure address these matters, and others. Some embodiments implement service function chaining services, for example, in 5GS, which provides tighter control over service function chaining. Some embodiments may further provide a solution for implementing an SFC network in an edge data network. Furthermore, some embodiments may provide a solution for implementing SFC services in a scenario where the SF in the service function chaining path spans both the edge data network and the 5G network. Further, some embodiments may provide solutions for implementing SFC service discovery in various scenarios (including SFC services in only 5G networks, SFC services in only edge data networks, and SFC services spanning both edge data networks and 5G networks). Furthermore, the embodiments herein introduce a new network function SFR: a service function repository to manage SFCF-U and SFCF-C associations for applications. Some embodiments may also provide solutions for handling service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies in different edge data network deployment scenarios when a UE moves in the same or different operator networks.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may further provide solutions for handling service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies under different deployment scenarios (e.g., when a UE moves between different networks (including PLMNs or non-public networks)). The present disclosure may use the following terms and corresponding definitions:

-Service Function (SF): in particular, functions of network service functions, which are responsible for specific processing of received packets on the network path between the source host and the destination host, in addition to the normal standard functions of IP routers (e.g., IP forwarding and routing functions).

-service function chain (SF chain): a chain of abstract service function ordered sets and ordering constraints that must be applied to packets and/or frames and/or flows selected as a result of classification and/or policy is defined.

Service Function Chaining (SFC): a mechanism to build a service function chain and forward packets/frames/streams through them.

-Service Function Path (SFP): defines the path of a particular instantiated ordered set of service functions that packets and/or frames and/or flows must visit within a particular service function chain.

Note-determine among the relevant service function paths within a particular service function chain, the service function path that satisfies the capacity and QoS requirements of the service function and its connection link. There is typically a 1:n relationship between the service function chain and the service function path.

-service routing: a unified service support platform built on the DSN. It provides service registration, distribution, discovery, triggering and access mechanisms and enhanced capabilities for optimizing service provisioning.

-user plane: this refers to a set of service forwarding components through which the service flows

Fig. 3 and 4 show examples of the overall architecture of the policy and charging framework for use in 5G systems in both service-based and reference point-based representations. Fig. 3 provides an example of an overall non-roaming reference architecture (service-based representation) for a policy and charging control framework for a 5G system. Fig. 4 provides an example of an overall non-roaming reference architecture (reference point representation) for a policy and charging control framework for a 5G system.

Fig. 5 shows an example of an application architecture for implementing edge applications. In this example, the Edge Data Network (EDN) is a local data network. The edge application server and edge enabler server are contained within the EDN. Furthermore:

the edge configuration server provides configuration related to EES including details of the edge data network hosting EES.

The UE comprises an application client and an edge enabler client.

The edge application server, edge enabler server and edge configuration server may interact with the 3GPP core network.

In some embodiments, there may be different options for SFC and SFP implementations, as shown in fig. 6. In this example, the SFP index represents the same SF combination with the same SF configuration. For example, sfp#1 and sfp#2 have different SF configurations. For example, sfp#1 and sfp#3 not only belong to different SF combinations, but also have different paths.

The SFC index may be further used to distinguish implementation options. The SFC index indicates the same SF combination. For example, sfp#1 and sfp#2 belong to the same sfc#1, but each has a different SF configuration. For example, sfc#1 and sfc#2 have different SF combinations. The SF may include one or more functions such as (but not limited to):

network Address Translation (NAT),

the end point of the IP tunnel,

-a packet classifier, which is arranged to classify the packets,

deep Packet Inspection (DPI),

legal checking (LI),

the TCP proxy is a proxy for TCP,

the load balancer is a load balancer,

a firewall function that is provided with a firewall function,

the transcoder of the present invention is a transcoder,

a URL filter is used to filter the URL,

application Detection and Control (ADC),

-a video optimizer.

An example of an enhanced SBA architecture for SFC in a 5G network for an operator is shown in fig. 7. In some embodiments, the service function chain in a 5G network may be supported in NF with the following SFC capabilities:

-SFC user plane function (SFCF-U): mainly for transport traffic, which may be a separate user plane function for SFC services or supported by an enhanced UPF with SFCF-U functions for SFC services.

The SFCF-U may be a standalone user plane function or an enhanced UPF with SFCF-U functionality for SFC processing.

-SFC control plane function (SFCF-C): the SFC policy is managed and the SFCF-U is configured by the new interface Nx, where the SFCF-U interfaces with the UPF by the new reference point N6S to direct traffic received from the UPF, as shown in FIG. 1.

SFCF-C has functions such as SMF and PCF, which may be alternative architectural designs to enhance SMF and/or PCF for SFCF-C functions for SFC services.

The SFCF-C and SFCF-U are used to indicate support for SFC enablers in the control plane and user plane, respectively, at the 5G network, but the solution is not limited to independent NF, e.g., the solution may be applied to different deployment options including enhancement of SFCF-U by UPF and enhancement of SFC capability for SFCF-C by SMF and PCF.

In some embodiments, the SFC network terminates the N6 reference point with the trusted edge data network or the external edge data network, depending on the deployment scenario and the business relationship of the edge application service provider or edge computing service provider with the PLMN operator.

EAS or EES in the Edge data network may support AF to interact with the 5G network via the northbound API (e.g., 5G network capability open API (nnef_trafficlntergent_create/Update/delete message)) of the 5G network through Edge-7 or Edge-2 interfaces, respectively.

For Edge data networks in external data networks, the AF may interfere with traffic routing at the Edge data network towards the SFC network, e.g., through N6, via the NEF with or without SFC over an N33 interface (e.g., edge-7/Edge-2).

For Edge data networks in trusted data networks, the AF may interfere with traffic routing at the Edge data network towards the SFC network, e.g., through N6, directly through the N5 interface (e.g., edge-7/Edge-2) via the PCF with or without SFC.

The SFC network providing the SFC service comprises a service function and one or more service function paths with corresponding ordered SFs through which traffic needs to pass,

EDGE-X is the interface between the SF/traffic classifier/traffic de-classifier and EAS in the SFC network.

EDGE-Y is the interface between the SF/traffic classifier/traffic solution classifier and EES in the SFC network.

The traffic classifier and traffic de-classifier have traffic filtering policies to classify and combine traffic flows for each SFP before and after SFP processing, respectively.

For traffic flows not assigned SFPs, it skips all SFs in the SFC network.

The SFC service of the SFC network may be provided by one or more service providers, including an edge service provider, an edge computing service provider, an SFC network service provider or a network operator.

Depending on the deployment options, the SFC network configuration (including service function chaining policies for directing traffic that needs to traverse a specific Service Function Path (SFP) in the SFC network) may be configured by the 3GPP OAM or by EAS and EES via EDGE-X and EDGE-Y, respectively.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example of support of service function chaining at an edge data network by a 5G network in accordance with various embodiments. The following new features and new Edge-Z interfaces are further proposed:

-propose an SFCN manager to manage and control one or more SFCs and associated SFPs in the SFCN-U functions over the Edge-Z interface.

■ Each SFC configuration is identified by an SFC index

■ Each SFP configuration is identified by an SFP index

■ The combination of the SFC index and the SFP index represents a specific SFP having the same set of ordered SFs and corresponding SF configurations, in which the SFC principle of solution 1 is applied.

Each SFC network manager (SFCN-M) may be a control and/or management plane function with or without 3GPP based orchestration functions in the edge data network, depending on the deployment, which may configure, control and manage one or more SFCs with associated SFPs.

The SFC principle in solution 1 is also applied in edge data networks.

For applications requiring SFC services in both 5G networks and edge data networks, it is necessary to coordinate SFC services between the two networks in the following scenario:

-SFCs with SFs in one or more service function chaining paths span both SFC networks in the edge data network and SFCF (service function chaining function) in the 5G network. That is, some SFs are in a 5G network and some SFs are in an edge data network for constituting one or more service function paths.

-an SFC enabler in the edge data network at the SFC network, comprising SFs for one or more SFPs, which SFC enabler may be provided by an edge application service provider, an edge computing service provider or an SFC network service provider.

The SFC enabler in the 5G network provides the SFC service to the edge application server, which may be provided by network functions with SFC capabilities (including SFC configuration, SFC control and traffic transport for SFP, etc.).

The SF may be, but is not limited to, one of the following functions: network Address Translation (NAT), IP tunnel endpoint, packet classifier, deep Packet Inspection (DPI), legal Inspection (LI), TCP proxy, load balancer, firewall functions, transcoders, URL filters, application Detection and Control (ADC), video optimizers.

The SFC enabler in the 5G network or the edge data network supports the SFC functionality shown in fig. 9, fig. 9 showing an example of the SFC enabler in the edge data network and/or the 5G network. Fig. 10 further illustrates an example of the architecture of SFC enablers in both edge data networks and 5G networks.

In some embodiments, to enable efficient and flexible mobile traffic steering in (S) Gi-LANs, the network operator uses information (e.g., user profile, network operator' S policies, RAT type, application characteristics) to define traffic steering policies. These policies are used to direct the subscriber' S traffic to the appropriate enablers (e.g., NAT, anti-malware, parental control, DDoS protection) in the (S) Gi-LAN.

One or more of the following claims may apply:

the 3GPP core network should be able to define and modify traffic steering policies to steer traffic in (S) Gi-LANs containing operator or third party service functions, e.g. to improve the QoE of the users, apply bandwidth limitations and provide value added services.

The traffic steering policy should be able to distinguish between upstream and downstream traffic.

The 3GPP core network should be able to define different traffic steering policies for the user's traffic per session (e.g. for applying parental control, anti-malware, DDoS protection, video optimization).

The 3GPP core network defines the traffic steering policy based on, for example, one or more of the following information:

policies of network operators

User subscription (e.g. priority of user, status of optional subscriber services from subscription data, service provider based on used, qoS subscribed to)

-current RAT of user

-network (RAN and CN) load status

-application characteristics, such as: application type (video, web browsing, IM, etc.), application protocol (HTTP, P2P, etc.), destination address name (URL) and application provider (My tube, etc)

-time of

-UE location

Information (e.g. APN) of destination network (e.g. PDN or internal IP network) of traffic flow

In the roaming case, the HPLMN should be able to apply a traffic steering policy to the home routing traffic.

There is no previous solution related to SFC policy handling in different edge data network deployment scenarios and in different networks (including PLMNs and SNPNs). Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide solutions for handling service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies in different edge data network deployment scenarios when a UE moves in the same or different operator's networks.

The present disclosure further provides a solution for handling service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies under different networks (including PLMNs and independent NPN). The present disclosure further provides a solution for handling service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies in different edge data network deployment scenarios when a UE moves in the same or different operator's networks. Providing SFC services at 5G networks and edge data networks enables, among other things, integrated orchestration and management to be supported in the 3GPP management plane.

Aspects of various embodiments:

abbreviations may be used below with reference to the various embodiments:

ASP application service provider

O EAS edge application server

ECSP edge computing service provider

O EES edge enabler server

The network function opening of the edge application server depends on the deployment scenario and the business relation of ASP/ECSP with PLMN operators. The following mechanisms are supported:

direct network capability open.

Network capabilities via edge enabler server are open.

The charging function with different deployment options depends on the business relationship between the edge application service provider, the edge computing service provider and the SFC service provider. (SA 5 study)

Service function chaining may be implemented in the downlink and/or uplink, all solutions may be supported with SFC configuration for the uplink and/or downlink.

Embodiments herein may provide solutions for handling service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies in different edge data network deployment scenarios when a UE moves in the same or different operator's networks.

Solution 1:

to support enhancement of service function chaining in 5G networks beyond that required in FMSS in TS 22.101, network operators define service function chaining policies for service function chaining to direct traffic associated with applications and their users to appropriate ordered service functions per UE.

Service function chaining includes service functions in operator networks including service hosting environments such as firewall functions, NAT, anti-malware, parental control, ddoS protection, TCP proxy, load balancer, KPI monitoring, and video optimization, among others.

Note that: these are non-exhaustive examples of service functions. Other service functions may be provided by the operator.

The following general requirements apply to support enhancement of service functionality chaining in 5G networks:

the network operator should be able to define and modify service function chaining policies for guiding traffic through the required service functions with ordered service functions per UE per application to improve or maintain the QoE of the user.

The service function chaining policy should be able to distinguish between upstream and downstream traffic.

Coexistence of traffic with and without service chaining should be supported.

The 5G network should provide the authorized third party with appropriate means for requesting a chain of service functions provided by the network operator based on the operator's service function chaining policy.

In the roaming case, the HPLMN should be able to apply a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy to the home routing traffic, where policies are exchanged between the home policy control function (hPCF) of the home PLMN and the visited policy control function (vccf) of the visited PLMN via N24.

In case of roaming with a local breakout, the HPLMN should be able to provide a service guide policy and a service function chaining policy to the VPLMN providing support for service function chaining for the local breakout, where the policy is exchanged between the home policy control function (hPCF) of the home PLMN and the visited policy control function (vccf) of the visited PLMN via N24.

For operator controlled deployment of the service hosting environment and for third party controlled deployment of the service hosting environment, service chaining in 5G networks comprising the service hosting environment should be supported. The 3GPP core network may define and modify traffic steering policies to steer the subscriber's traffic to the appropriate enablers (e.g., NAT, anti-malware, parental control, DDoS protection) for service function chaining based on the operator's service function chaining policies.

Service function chaining (also referred to as service function chaining paths) is an ordered service function provided in the operator's network (including the 5G core network and the operator's edge data network), the third party's edge data network, or any combination of the above.

The service function chaining policy for the SFC service of the application of the UE may contain the following information:

The SFC parameters of the SFC service in the edge data network and/or the 5G network may include the following information:

-SFC service ID: service ID of the set of SFC parameters for SFC service

-SFC configuration: one or more SF having corresponding SF parameters

-SFP configuration: SFP indexes with corresponding ordered SFs.

-SFC routing policy:

the traffic classifier indicates a mapping between the SFP index and traffic filtering rules for forwarding traffic to a first SF in the SFP identified by the SFP index.

The traffic solution classifier indicates traffic filter rules for combining traffic from the last SF in the SFP identified by the SFP index.

-validity parameters for SFC services identified by SFC service ID, such as:

duration of o

Scheduled time period (e.g., 8am to 8pm per day, etc.).

Application ID

○Associating PDU session parametersIncluding PDU session type (e.g., IP/Ethernet/unstructured, DNN or slice/service type (SST) (e.g., eMBB, URLLC, MIoT, V2X, etc.) and optional slice Specifier (SD))

The traffic classifier provides an SFP index with a mapping to SFC classification policies that includes one or more of the following information based on different levels or granularity per packet, such as:

-UE address

-application ID

-media type

-traffic priority

DPI capability at the traffic classifier is required when information is available only in the traffic payload.

The traffic de-classifier provides an SFC de-classification policy that includes one or more of the following information for combining traffic from one or more SFPs, e.g., before forwarding to an application server of an application:

in some embodiments, the traffic reclassifier may provide an "N6 tunnel ID", the N6 tunnel ID terminating an N6 reference point for DNAI (data network access ID) of the data network through a mapping of an SFC reclassification policy that includes one or more of the following information for combining traffic from one or more SFPs prior to forwarding to an application server of the application, for example:

-UE address

-application ID

-media type

-traffic priority

SFP index

When information is available only in the traffic payload, DPI capability at the traffic de-classifier is required.

For all or part of the section of the SFC path in the 5G core, a traffic solution classifier is inserted to further indicate an "N6 tunnel ID", which terminates the N6 reference point for DNAI (data network access ID) of the data network by mapping the SFC solution classification policy.

Solution 2:

the network applies the traffic steering policy and the service function chaining policy to user plane traffic of the UE associated with the application using the service function chaining in accordance with the solution 1,5G.

Service Function Chaining (SFC) is a chain of ordered service functions in which the service functions may be deployed in the same network or across different networks to form SFC paths, for example, as shown in fig. 9. Fig. 11 illustrates an example of an SFC service provided by an SFC network in a 5G network and an edge data network, in accordance with various embodiments.

The following table shows different architectural options for supporting service function chaining:

TABLE 1

For option 1-3,5G core networksApplying service guide policiesTo direct traffic towards an N6-LAN at a third party application server, a third party edge data network or an operator's edge data network.

-option 0: the current support of SFC at N6-LAN is deployed outside the operator's network and connected to the 5G network through the N6 interface.

-option 1: current support of SFC at N6-LAN is deployed at a third party edge data network outside the operator's network and connected to the 5G network through an N6 interface.

A traffic steering policy and service function chaining policy are applied to the option 2-5,5G core network to steer traffic through an ordered chain of service functions that may be in the operator's 5G network, the operator's edge data network, the third party's edge data network, and the third party application server.

-option 2: support for SFC is deployed at an edge data network of an operator within the operator's network. The edge data network and the 5G core network are connected through an N6 interface. The service function chaining policy is at the edge data network of the operator. The traffic steering policy is to steer traffic towards SFCs in the edge data network of the operator through the SFC policy of the operator.

-option 3: support for SFC is deployed at the 5G core network of the operator within the operator's network. The service function chaining policy is at the 5G core network of the operator. The traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are used to steer traffic towards the SFC in the operator's core network for applications external to the operator's network connected via the N6 interface.

-option 4: support for SFC is deployed at the carrier 5G core network and third party edge data networks within the carrier's network. The service function chaining policy is at the 5G core network of the operator. The traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are used to steer traffic towards the SFC in the operator's core network for applications at an edge data network of a third party external to the operator's network connected via the N6 interface.

-option 5: support for SFC is deployed at the operator's 5G core network and the operator's edge data network within the operator's network. The service function chaining policy is at the 5G core network of the operator. The traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are to steer traffic towards the SFC in the core network of the operator and the edge data network of the operator for applications at the edge data network of the operator, wherein the SFC is inside the network of the operator connected via the N6 interface.

Solution 3:

according to solution 2, the use of service function chaining policies and traffic steering policies in different deployment scenarios is shown below:

the service hosting environment is the same as the edge data network.

Hosted services are the same as applications.

-a service hosting environment: an environment inside the 5G network and controlled entirely by the operator, from where hosted services are provided.

A hosted service is a service that a user can access, containing an operator's own application and/or a trusted third party application in a service hosting environment.

The 5G network operator should be able to use the same traffic steering policy and service function chaining policy for the UE's application when the UE moves in the operator's network and in the following cases:

-within a service hosting environment controlled by an operator or a third party; or (b)

-from one service hosting environment to another service hosting environment

-from the service hosting environment of the operator to the service hosting environment of another third party and vice versa; or (b)

-from the service hosting environment of the operator to an application server located outside the network of the operator and vice versa.

The 5G network operator should be able to use the same traffic steering policy and service chaining policy for the UE's application when the UE moves in a network comprising the following different operators:

-from a service hosting environment of one operator to another service hosting environment of another operator.

Solution 4:

the network applies the traffic steering policy and the service function chaining policy to user plane traffic of the UE associated with the application using the service function chaining in accordance with the solution 1,5G.

Service Function Chaining (SFC) is a chain of ordered service functions in which the service functions may be deployed in the same network or across different networks to form SFC paths.

In this solution we propose to implement support for similar roaming interfaces, e.g. N24 (between PCFs), N16 (between SMFs) and N9 (between UPFs), for exchanging roaming policies between different networks when the UE moves between a home service provider (PLMN or stand alone NPN) and stand alone NPN (SNPN), as shown in the architecture indicated in fig. 6.2.2.2-2 for home routing traffic and fig. 6.2.2.2-1 for local breakout.

Subject to protocols between network operators regarding local breakout, a 5G network should enable support for persistent same policies for service function chaining for applications as UEs move between PLMNs and non-public networks and between non-public networks with local breakout.

For home routing traffic, the home service provider of the PLMN or SNPN should be able to apply the traffic steering policy and the service function chaining policy for the home routing traffic. I.e. exchanging policies between the home policy control function (hPCF) and the visited policy control function (vcpcf) via N24.

For local breakout traffic, the home service provider of the PLMN or SNPN should be able to provide the visited network (PLMN or SNPN) providing support for service function chaining with the service steering policy and service function chaining policy. I.e. exchanging policies between the home policy control function (hPCF) and the visited policy control function (vcpcf) via N24.

In some embodiments, registration with V-SNPN and access to data networks located in V-SNPN or home SP are supported based on the following architecture:

1) A 5GS architecture for a local breakout scenario in which the V-SNPN plays the role of a V-PLMN and the home SP plays the role of an HPLMN, as shown in fig. 12. In other words, the home SP plays the role of the subscription owner and authenticates the UE. Such an architecture enables, among other things, access to V-SNPN services (e.g., local IP access or internet access).

2) A 5GS architecture for a home routing scenario, where V-SNPN plays the role of V-PLMN and home SP plays the role of HPLMN, as shown in fig. 13. In some embodiments, this architecture is only applied to UEs with PLMN subscriptions (e.g., requiring 3GPP credentials). Among other things, this architecture enables access to home SP services using home routed PDU sessions.

System and implementation

Fig. 14-15 illustrate various systems, devices, and components that may implement aspects of the disclosed embodiments.

Fig. 14 illustrates a network 1400 in accordance with various embodiments. The network 1400 may operate in a manner consistent with 3GPP technical specifications for LTE or 5G/NR systems. However, the example embodiments are not limited thereto, 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 1400 may include a UE 1402, where UE 1402 may include any mobile or non-mobile computing device designed to communicate with RAN 1404 via an over-the-air connection. UE 1402 may be communicatively coupled with RAN 1404 via a Uu interface. UE 1402 may be, but is not limited to, a smart phone, tablet computer, wearable computer device, desktop computer, laptop computer, in-vehicle infotainment device, in-vehicle entertainment device, instrument cluster, head mounted display device, in-vehicle diagnostic device, dashboard mobile device, mobile data terminal, electronic engine management system, electronic/engine control unit, electronic/engine control module, embedded system, sensor, microcontroller, control module, engine management system, networking appliance, machine type communication device, M2M or D2D device, ioT device, etc.

In some embodiments, the network 1400 may include multiple UEs directly coupled to each other via a side link interface. The UE may be an M2M/D2D device that communicates using a physical side link channel (e.g., without limitation, PSBCH, PSDCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, PSFCH, etc.).

In some embodiments, UE 1402 may additionally communicate with AP 1406 via an over-the-air connection. AP 1406 may manage WLAN connections that may be used to offload some/all network traffic from RAN 1404. The connection between UE 1402 and AP 1406 may conform to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 1406 may be a wireless fidelity @, or) And a router. In some embodiments, UE 1402, RAN 1404, and AP 1406 may utilize cellular-WLAN aggregation (e.g., LWA/LWIP). cellular-WLAN aggregation may involve UE 1402 being configured by RAN 1404 to utilize cellular radio resources and WLAN resources.

The RAN 1404 may include one or more access nodes, such as AN 1408.AN 1408 may terminate the air interface protocol for UE 1402 by providing access stratum protocols, including RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC and L1 protocols. In this way, AN 1408 may implement a data/voice connection between CN 1420 and UE 1402. In some embodiments, AN 1408 may be implemented in a separate device or as one or more software entities running on a server computer that is part of, for example, a virtual network (which may be referred to as a CRAN or virtual baseband unit pool). AN 1408 is referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, ng-eNB, nodeB, RSU, TRxP, TRP, etc. AN 1408 may be a macrocell base station or a low power base station for providing a femtocell, picocell, or other similar cell with smaller coverage area, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than a macrocell.

In embodiments where the RAN 1404 includes multiple ANs, they may be coupled to each other via AN X2 interface (if the RAN 1404 is AN LTE RAN) or AN Xn interface (if the RAN 1404 is a 5G RAN). The X2/Xn interface (which may be separated into control/user plane interfaces in some embodiments) may allow the AN to communicate information related to handoff, data/context transfer, mobility, load management, interference coordination, etc.

The ANs of RAN 1404 may each manage one or more cells, groups of cells, component carriers, etc. to provide AN air interface for network access to UE 1402. UE 1402 may be connected with multiple cells simultaneously provided by the same or different ANs of RAN 1404. For example, UE 1402 and RAN 1404 may use carrier aggregation to allow UE 1402 to connect with multiple component carriers, each component carrier corresponding to a Pcell or Scell. In a dual connectivity scenario, the first AN may be a primary node providing AN MCG and the second AN may be a secondary node providing AN SCG. The first/second AN may be any combination of eNB, gNB, ng-enbs, etc.

The RAN 1404 may provide an air interface over licensed spectrum or unlicensed spectrum. To operate in unlicensed spectrum, a node may use LAA, eLAA, and/or feLAA mechanisms with PCell/Scell based on CA technology. Prior to accessing the unlicensed spectrum, the node may perform medium/carrier sense operations based on, for example, a Listen Before Talk (LBT) protocol.

In a V2X scenario, UE 1402 or AN 1408 may be or act as AN RSU, which may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity for V2X communications. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable AN or a fixed (or relatively fixed) UE. An RSU implemented in or by: for a UE, it may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU"; for enbs, it may be referred to as "eNB-type RSUs"; for gNB, it may be referred to as "gNB-type RSU"; etc. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled with radio frequency circuitry located at the roadside that provides connectivity 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 alerts, etc.). Additionally or alternatively, the RSU may provide other cellular/WLAN communication services. The components of the RSU may be enclosed in a weather-proof enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller for providing a wired connection (e.g., ethernet) to a traffic signal controller or backhaul network.

In some embodiments, the RAN 1404 may be an LTE RAN 1410 with an eNB (e.g., eNB 1412). The LTE RAN 1410 may provide an LTE air interface with the following characteristics: SCS of 15 kHz; a CP-OFDM waveform for DL and an SC-FDMA waveform for UL; turbo codes for data and TBCCs for control; etc. The LTE air interface may rely on CSI-RS for CSI acquisition and beam management; PDSCH/PDCCH DMRS for PDSCH/PDCCH demodulation; and CRS for cell search and initial acquisition, channel quality measurement, and channel estimation for coherent demodulation/detection at the UE. The LTE air interface may operate on the sub-6GHz band.

In some embodiments, the RAN 1404 may be a NG-RAN 1414 with a gNB (e.g., gNB 1416) or a NG-eNB (e.g., NG-eNB 1418). The gNB 1416 may connect with 5G enabled UEs using a 5G NR interface. The gNB 1416 may connect with the 5G core through a NG interface, which may include an N2 interface or an N3 interface. The NG-eNB 1418 may also be connected with the 5G core over the NG interface, but may be connected with the UE via the LTE air interface. The gNB 1416 and the ng-eNB 1418 may be connected to each other via an Xn interface.

In some embodiments, the NG interface may be split into two parts: a NG user plane (NG-U) interface that carries traffic data (e.g., an N3 interface) between nodes of NG-RAN 1414 and UPF 1448; and a NG control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface (e.g., an N2 interface) between the node of NG-RAN 1414 and AMF 1444.

The NG-RAN 1414 may provide a 5G-NR air interface with the following characteristics: a variable SCS; CP-OFDM for DL, CP-OFDM for UL, and DFT-s-OFDM; polarization codes for control, repetition codes, simplex codes, and Reed-Muller codes, and LDPC codes for data. Similar to the LTE air interface, the 5G-NR air interface may rely on CSI-RS, PDSCH/PDCCH DMRS. The 5G-NR air interface may not use CRS but may use PBCH DMRS for PBCH demodulation; PTRS for phase tracking for PDSCH; and tracking reference signals for time tracking. The 5G-NR air interface may operate on an FR1 band including a sub-6GHz band or an FR2 band including a frequency band from 24.25GHz to 52.6 GHz. The 5G-NR air interface may comprise an SSB, which is an area of the downlink resource grid comprising PSS/SSS/PBCH.

In some embodiments, the 5G-NR air interface may utilize BWP for various purposes. For example, BWP may be used for dynamic adaptation of SCS. For example, UE 1402 may be configured with multiple BWP's, where each BWP configuration has a different SCS. When a BWP change is indicated to the UE 1402, the SCS of the transmission also changes. Another example of use of BWP relates to power saving. In particular, UE 1402 may be configured with multiple BWPs having different amounts of frequency resources (e.g., PRBs) to support data transmission under different traffic load scenarios. BWP containing a smaller number of PRBs may be used for data transmission with small traffic load while allowing power saving at UE 1402 and in some cases at the gNB 1416. BWP containing a larger number of PRBs may be used for scenarios with higher traffic load.

RAN 1404 is communicatively coupled to CN 1420, CN 1420 including network elements to provide various functions to support data and telecommunications services for clients/subscribers (e.g., users of UE 1402). The components of CN 1420 may be implemented in one physical node or in a separate physical node. In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all of the functionality provided by the network elements of CN 1420 onto physical computing/storage resources in servers, switches, etc. The logical instantiation of CN 1420 may be referred to as a network slice, while the logical instantiation of a portion of CN 1420 may be referred to as a network sub-slice.

In some embodiments, CN 1420 may be LTE CN 1422 (which may also be referred to as EPC). LTE CN 1422 may include MME 1424, SGW 1426, SGSN 1428, HSS 1430, PGW 1432, and PCRF 1434, which are coupled to each other through interfaces (or "reference points") as shown. The function of the elements of LTE CN 1422 may be briefly described as follows.

MME 1424 may implement mobility management functions to track the current location of UE 1402 to facilitate paging, bearer activation/deactivation, handover, gateway selection, authentication, etc.

The SGW 1426 may terminate the S1 interface towards the RAN and route data packets between the RAN and the LTE CN 1422. The SGW 1426 may be a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handover and may also provide an anchor for inter-3 GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include legal interception, billing, and some policy enforcement.

SGSN 1428 can track the location of UE 1402 and perform security functions and access control. Furthermore, SGSN 1428 may perform EPC inter-node signaling for mobility between different RAT networks; MME 1424 specified PDN and S-GW selection; MME selection for handover; etc. The S3 reference point between MME 1424 and SGSN 1428 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3 GPP access network mobility in idle/active state.

HSS 1430 may include a database for network users including subscription related information to support the handling of communication sessions by network entities. HSS 1430 may provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, and the like. The S6a reference point between HSS 1430 and MME 1424 may enable the transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing a user to access LTE CN 1420.

PGW 1432 may terminate an SGi interface towards a Data Network (DN) 1436 that may include an application/content server 1438. PGW 1432 may route data packets between LTE CN 1422 and data network 1436. PGW 1432 may be coupled to SGW 1426 through an S5 reference point to facilitate user plane tunneling and tunnel management. PGW 1432 may also include nodes (e.g., PCEFs) for policy enforcement and charging data collection. Further, the SGi reference point between PGW 1432 and data network 1436 may be an operator external public, private PDN, or an operator internal packet data network (e.g., for provisioning IMS services). PGW 1432 may be coupled with PCRF 1434 via a Gx reference point.

PCRF 1434 is a policy and charging control element of LTE CN 1422. PCRF 1434 may be communicatively coupled to app/content server 1438 to determine appropriate QoS and charging parameters for the service flows. PCRF 1432 may assign the associated rules to the PCEF with the appropriate TFTs and QCIs (via Gx reference points).

In some embodiments, CN 1420 may be 5gc 1440. The 5gc 1440 may include AUSF 1442, AMF 1444, SMF 1446, UPF 1448, NSSF 1450, NEF 1452, NRF 1454, PCF 1456, UDM 1458, and AF 1460, which are coupled to each other as shown by interfaces (or "reference points"). The function of the elements of the 5gc 1440 can be briefly described as follows.

AUSF 1442 may store data for authentication of UE 1402 and process authentication related functions. AUSF 1442 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. In addition to communicating with other elements of the 5gc 1440 through a reference point as shown, AUSF 1442 may also present an interface based on the Nausf service.

AMF 1444 may allow other functions of 5GC 1440 to communicate with UE 1402 and RAN 1404 and subscribe to notifications regarding mobility events for UE 1402. AMF 1444 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., for registering UE 1402), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, quorum interception of AMF related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 1444 may provide transport for SM messages between UE 1402 and SMF 1446 and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 1444 may also provide transmission for SMS messages between UE 1402 and SMSF. AMF 1444 may interact with AUSF 1442 and UE 1402 to perform various security anchoring and context management functions. Furthermore, AMF 1444 may be an end point of the RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between RAN 1404 and AMF 1444; and AMF 1444 may be the termination point for NAS (N1) signaling and perform NAS ciphering and integrity protection. AMF 1444 may also support NAS signaling with UE 1402 over the N3 IWF interface.

SMF 1446 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, tunnel management between UPF 1448 and AN 1408); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of the UP function; configuring traffic steering at UPF 1448 to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating the interface towards the policy control function; control policy enforcement, charging, and a portion of QoS; legal interception (for SM events and interfaces to LI systems); terminating the SM portion of the NAS message; downlink data notification; AN specific SM information is initiated that is sent to AN 1408 via AMF 1444 over N2; and determining the SSC mode of the session. SM may refer to the management of PDU sessions, and PDU sessions or "sessions" may refer to PDU connectivity services that provide or enable the exchange of PDUs between UE 1402 and data network 1436.

UPF 1448 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point for interconnection to data network 1436, and a branching point to support multi-homing PDU sessions. UPF 1448 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, implement policy rules user plane parts, legal intercept 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. UPF 1448 may include an uplink classifier to support routing traffic flows to a data network.

NSSF 1450 may select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 1402. NSSF 1450 may also determine allowed NSSAIs and mappings to subscribed S-NSSAIs (if needed). NSSF 1450 may also determine a set of AMFs to use for serving UE 1402, or a list of candidate AMFs based on a suitable configuration and possibly by querying NRF 1454. Selecting a set of network slice instances for UE 1402 may be triggered by AMF 1444 registered by UE 1402 by interacting with NSSF 1450, which may result in a change in AMF. NSSF 1450 may interact with AMF 1444 via an N22 reference point; and may communicate with another NSSF in the visited network via an N31 reference point (not shown). In addition, NSSF 1450 may expose an interface based on the Nnssf service.

The NEF 1452 may securely open services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal openness/reopening, AF (e.g., AF 1460), edge computing or fog computing systems, and the like. In such embodiments, NEF 1452 may authenticate, authorize or restrict AF. NEF 1452 may also convert information exchanged with AF 1460 as well as information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, the NEF 1452 may convert between an AF service identifier and internal 5GC information. The NEF 1452 may also receive information from other NFs based on their ability to open. This information may be stored as structured data at NEF 1452 or at data store NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-opened by NEF 1452 to other NFs and AFs, or for other purposes (e.g., analysis). Furthermore, NEF 1452 may expose an interface based on Nnef services.

NRF 1454 may support a service discovery function, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of the discovered NF instances to the NF instances. NRF 1454 also maintains information of available NF instances and services supported by them. As used herein, the terms "instantiation", "instantiation" and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, while "instance" may refer to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code. In addition, NRF 1454 may present an interface based on Nnrf services.

PCF 1456 may provide policy rules to control plane functions to implement them and may also support a unified policy framework to manage network behavior. PCF 1456 may also implement a front end to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of UDM 1458. In addition to communicating with functions through reference points as shown, PCF 1456 also presents an interface based on the Npcf service.

UDM 1458 may process subscription related information to support the processing of communication sessions by network entities and may store subscription data for UE 1402. For example, subscription data may be communicated via an N8 reference point between UDM 1458 and AMF 1444. UDM 1458 may include two parts: application front-end and UDR. The UDR may store subscription data and policy data for UDM 1458 and PCF 1456, and/or structured data for open and application data for NEF 1452 (including PFD for application detection, application request information for multiple UEs 1402). The Nudr service-based interface may be exposed by UDR 221 to allow UDM 1458, PCF 1456, and NEF 1452 to access a particular set of stored data, as well as to read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of data changes in UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE that is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. 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. In addition to communicating with other NFs through reference points as shown, the UDM 1458 may also expose a Nudm service based interface.

The AF 1460 may provide application impact on traffic routing, provide access to the NEF, and interact with a policy framework for policy control.

In some embodiments, 5gc 1440 may enable edge computation by selecting an operator/third party service to be geographically close to the point where UE 1402 attaches to the network. This may reduce latency and load on the network. To provide an edge computing implementation, 5gc 1440 may select UPF 1448 near UE 1402 and perform traffic steering from UPF 1448 to data network 1436 via an N6 interface. This may be based on the UE subscription data, the UE location, and the information provided by AF 1460. In this way, AF 1460 may affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on the carrier deployment, the network operator may allow the AF 1460 to interact directly with the relevant NF when the AF 1460 is considered a trusted entity. In addition, AF 1460 may expose an interface based on Naf services.

The data network 1436 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 1438.

Fig. 15 schematically illustrates a wireless network 1500 in accordance with various embodiments. The wireless network 1500 can include a UE 1502 in wireless communication with AN 1504. The UE 1502 and the AN 1504 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, similarly named components described elsewhere herein.

The UE 1502 may be communicatively coupled with the AN 1504 via a connection 1506. Connection 1506 is shown as implementing a communicatively coupled air interface and may conform to a cellular communication protocol, such as the LTE protocol or the 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave or sub-6GHz frequencies.

The UE 1502 may include a host platform 1508 coupled with a modem platform 1510. Host platform 1508 may include application processing circuitry 1512, which may be coupled with protocol processing circuitry 1514 of modem platform 1510. The application processing circuitry 1512 may run various applications for outgoing/incoming application data for the UE 1502. The application processing circuitry 1512 may also implement one or more layer operations to send and receive application data to and from a data network. These layer operations may include transport (e.g., UDP) and internet (e.g., IP) operations.

Protocol processing circuitry 1514 may implement one or more layers of operations to facilitate sending or receiving data over connection 1506. Layer operations implemented by the protocol processing circuitry 1514 may include, for example, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS operations.

The modem platform 1510 may also include digital baseband circuitry 1516 that may implement one or more layer operations, which are "lower" layer operations in the network protocol stack performed by the protocol processing circuitry 1514. These operations may include, for example, PHY operations, including one or more of the following: HARQ-ACK functionality, scrambling/descrambling, encoding/decoding, layer mapping/demapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol/bit metric determination, multi-antenna port precoding/decoding (which may include one or more of space-time, space-frequency, or space coding), reference signal generation/detection, preamble sequence generation and/or decoding, synchronization sequence generation/detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

The modem platform 1510 may also include transmit circuitry 1518, receive circuitry 1520, RF circuitry 1522, and an RF front end (RFFE) 1524, which may include or be connected to one or more antenna panels 1526. Briefly, the transmit circuitry 1518 may include digital-to-analog converters, mixers, intermediate Frequency (IF) components, and the like; the receive circuitry 1520 may include analog-to-digital converters, mixers, IF components, etc.; the RF circuit 1522 may include a low noise amplifier, a power tracking component, and the like; RFFE 1524 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 the components of the transmit circuitry 1518, receive circuitry 1520, RF circuitry 1522, RFFE 1524, and antenna panel 1526 (commonly referred to as "transmit/receive components") may be specific to the specifics of the particular implementation, such as whether the communication is TDM or FDM, at mmWave or sub-6GHz frequencies, and so forth. In some embodiments, the transmit/receive components may be arranged in multiple parallel transmit/receive chains, may be provided in the same or different chips/modules, etc.

In some embodiments, protocol processing circuitry 1514 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) for providing control functions for the transmit/receive components.

UE reception may be established through and via antenna panel 1526, RFFE 1524, RF circuitry 1522, receive circuitry 1520, digital baseband circuitry 1516, and protocol processing circuitry 1514. In some embodiments, the antenna panel 1526 may receive transmissions from the AN 1504 through receive beamformed signals received by multiple antennas/antenna elements of one or more antenna panels 1526.

UE transmissions may be established through and via the protocol processing circuitry 1514, digital baseband circuitry 1516, transmit circuitry 1518, RF circuitry 1522, RFFE 1524, and antenna panel 1526. In some embodiments, the transmit component of the UE 1504 may apply spatial filtering to the data to be transmitted to form transmit beams that are transmitted by the antenna elements of the antenna panel 1526.

Similar to the UE 1502, the an 1504 can include a host platform 1528 coupled to a modem platform 1530. Host platform 1528 may include application processing circuitry 1532 coupled with protocol processing circuitry 1534 of modem platform 1530. The modem platform may also include digital baseband circuitry 1536, transmit circuitry 1538, receive circuitry 1540, RF circuitry 1542, RFFE circuitry 1544, and antenna panel 1546. The components of the AN 1504 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, similarly named components of the UE 1502. In addition to performing data transmission/reception as described above, the components of the AN 1508 may perform various logical functions including, for example, RNC functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, and data packet scheduling.

Fig. 16 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 methods discussed herein, according to some example embodiments. In particular, fig. 16 illustrates a graphical representation of a hardware resource 1600, the hardware resource 1600 comprising one or more processors (or processor cores) 1610, one or more memory/storage devices 1620, and one or more communication resources 1630, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1640 or other interface circuitry. For embodiments that utilize node virtualization (e.g., NFV), the hypervisor 1602 can be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize hardware resources 1600.

Processor 1610 may include, for example, a processor 1612 and a processor 1614. Processor 1610 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 DSP (e.g., baseband processor), an ASIC, an FPGA, a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

Memory/storage 1620 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. Memory/storage 1620 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile, nonvolatile, 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 1630 may include an interconnection or network interface controller, component, or other suitable device to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 1604 or one or more databases 1606 or other network elements via network 1608. Communication resources 1630 may include, for example, wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via USB, ethernet, etc.), cellular communication component, NFC component,(or low power consumption->) Assembly, & gtof>Components and other communication components.

The instructions 1650 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 1610 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. The instructions 1650 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processor 1610 (e.g., within a cache memory of the processor), the memory/storage 1620, or any suitable combination thereof. Further, any portion of instructions 1650 may be transferred from any combination of peripherals 1604 or databases 1606 to hardware resource 1600. Thus, the memory of processor 1610, memory/storage 1620, peripherals 1604, and database 1606 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

Example procedure

In some embodiments, the electronic devices, networks, systems, chips, or components of fig. 14-16 or some other figures herein, or portions or implementations thereof, may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods, or portions thereof, as described herein. One such process is depicted in fig. 17. For example, the process 1700 may include: at 1705, a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy are determined based on information associated with a chain of multiple service functions of the network. The process further comprises: at 1710, a traffic steering policy and a Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with the application using service function chaining.

Another such process is shown in fig. 18. In this example, process 1800 includes: at 1805, a traffic steering policy and service function chaining policy is determined by one or more functions of a policy and charging control framework or an edge data network based on information associated with a chain of multiple service functions associated with the edge data network or a fifth generation (5G) network comprising the policy and charging control framework. The process further comprises: at 1810, a traffic steering policy and a Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with the application using service function chaining.

Another such process is shown in fig. 19. In this example, process 1900 includes: at 1905, a User Equipment (UE) moving between a first network and a second network is identified. The process further comprises: at 1910, a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy are determined based on information associated with a chain of multiple service functions associated with an edge data network or a fifth generation (5G) network including a policy and charging control framework. The process further comprises: at 1915, a traffic steering policy and a Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with the application using service function chaining as the UE moves between the first network and the second network.

For one or more embodiments, at least one component set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, procedures, and/or methods set forth in the following examples section. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more examples set forth below. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth in the examples section below.

Example

Example 1 may include: a method of handling service chaining policies in a 5G network as a UE moves between different networks.

Example 2 may include: the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein, in the case of roaming, the home PLMN should be able to apply a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy for the home routing traffic.

Example 3 may include: the method of example 2 or some other example herein, wherein, in the case of roaming with a home breakout, the home PLMN should be able to provide a service steering policy and a service function chaining policy to a visited PLMN that provides support for service function chaining for the home breakout.

Example 4 may include: the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the 5G network comprises a service hosting environment for deployment of the service hosting environment controlled by an operator and for deployment of the service hosting environment controlled by a third party, wherein the service hosting environment is located inside the 5G network and is fully controlled by the operator, from where hosted services are provided, and the hosted services are services accessible by users that include an operator's own application and/or trusted third party applications in the service hosting environment.

Example 5 may include: the method of example 4 or some other example herein, wherein the 5G network operator should be able to use the same traffic steering policy and service function chaining policy for the UE's application when the UE moves in the operator's network and:

-within a service hosting environment controlled by an operator or a third party; or (b)

-from one service hosting environment to another service hosting environment;

-service hosting from the service hosting environment of the operator to another third party and vice versa; or (b)

-from the service hosting environment of the operator to an application server located outside the network of the operator and vice versa.

Example 6 may include: the method of example 4 or some other example herein, wherein the 5G network operator should be able to use the same traffic steering policy and service function chaining policy for the UE's application as the UE moves in a network comprising the different operators:

-from a service hosting environment of one operator to another service hosting environment of another operator.

Example 7 may include: the method of example 1 or some other example herein, wherein the different networks include a PLMN and a standalone NPN (snp), and the roaming interface is implemented between the PLMN and the SNPN.

Example 8 may include: the method of example 7 or some other example herein, wherein the 5G network implements support for continuing the same policy for service function chaining for the application as the UE moves between the PLMN and the SNPN and between the SNPNs with the local breakout subject to a protocol between network operators of the PLMN and the SNPN.

Example 9 may include: the method of example 8 or some other example herein, wherein, for the home routing traffic, a home service provider of the PLMN or SNPN applies a traffic steering policy and service function chaining policy for the home routing traffic, wherein policies are exchanged between a home policy control function (hPCF) and a visited policy control function (vccf) via N24.

Example 10 may include: the method of example 8 or some other example herein, wherein, for local breakout traffic, a home service provider of the PLMN or SNPN provides a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy to a visited network (PLMN or SNPN) that provides support for service function chaining for local breakout, wherein policies are exchanged between a home policy control function (hPCF) and a visited policy control function (vccf) via N24.

Example X1 includes: an apparatus, comprising:

a memory for storing information associated with a chain of a plurality of service functions of the network; and

processing circuitry, coupled with the memory, for:

determining a service guide policy and a Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy based on the service function information; and

the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with an application using service function chaining.

Example X2 includes: the apparatus of example X1 or some other example herein, wherein the chain of the plurality of service functions includes functions associated with: network Address Translation (NAT), internet Protocol (IP) tunnel endpoint, packet classifier, deep Packet Inspection (DPI), legal Inspection (LI), transmission Control Protocol (TCP) proxy, load balancer, firewall functions, transcoders, uniform Resource Locator (URL) filters, application Detection and Control (ADC), video optimizer, or operator defined functions.

Example X3 includes: the apparatus of example X1 or some other example herein, wherein the chain of the plurality of service functions is provided in an edge data network, a fifth generation (5G) core network, or both an edge data network and a 5G core network.

Example X4 includes: the apparatus of example X1 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC policy is associated with an application identified by an SFC identifier and includes SFC parameters for a chain of the plurality of service functions, the SFC parameters comprising: an SFC service identifier, an SFC configuration parameter for one or more service functions, a Service Function Path (SFP) configuration parameter comprising an SFP index for an ordered service function defining a path for user plane traffic, an SFC routing policy parameter, or a validity parameter.

Example X5 includes: the apparatus of example X4 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between an SFP index and a traffic classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type or traffic priority.

Example X6 includes: the apparatus of example X4 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between one or more SFP indexes and a traffic solution classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type, traffic priority, N6 tunnel identifier of DNAI (data network access ID) or another SFP index.

Example X7 includes: the apparatus of example X4 or some other example herein, wherein the validity parameter includes an indicator of: duration of the SFC service, scheduled time period for the SFC service, application identifier or Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session parameters including: PDU session type, slice/service type (SST), and optional Slice Discriminator (SD).

Example X8 includes: the apparatus of any of examples X1-X7, wherein the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are applied to user plane traffic of the UE associated with an application for SFC processing as the UE moves between different networks, the different networks comprising: public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), non-public network or edge computing data network, and wherein the different networks are provided by different service operators including network operators and third party application operators.

Example X9 includes: the apparatus of example X8 or some other example herein, wherein the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are exchanged between different serving networks as the UE moves between a PLMN and a non-public network or between two non-public networks with local breakout.

Example X10 includes: the apparatus of any of examples X1-X9, wherein the apparatus comprises a user plane function, a service function chain, a policy and charging control framework in a 5G core network, an edge data network, or a portion thereof.

Example X11 includes: one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more functions of a policy and charging control framework or an edge data network to:

determining a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy based on information associated with a chain of a plurality of service functions, wherein the chain of the plurality of service functions is provided in the edge data network or a fifth generation (5G) core network comprising the policy and charging control framework; and

the traffic steering policy and the Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with an application using service function chaining.

Example X12 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X11 or some other example herein, wherein the chain of multiple service functions includes functions associated with: network Address Translation (NAT), internet Protocol (IP) tunnel endpoint, packet classifier, deep Packet Inspection (DPI), legal Inspection (LI), transmission Control Protocol (TCP) proxy, load balancer, firewall functions, transcoders, uniform Resource Locator (URL) filters, application Detection and Control (ADC), video optimizer, or operator defined functions.

Example X13 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X11 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC policy is associated with an application identified by an SFC identifier and includes SFC parameters for a chain of the plurality of service functions, the SFC parameters comprising: an SFC service identifier, an SFC configuration parameter for one or more service functions, a Service Function Path (SFP) configuration parameter comprising an SFP index for an ordered service function defining a path for user plane traffic, an SFC routing policy parameter, or a validity parameter.

Example X14 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X13 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between an SFP index and a traffic classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type or traffic priority.

Example X15 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X13 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC routing policy parameters are to indicate a mapping between one or more SFP indexes and a traffic solution classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type, traffic priority, N6 tunnel identifier of DNAI (data network access ID) or another SFP index.

Example X16 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X13 or some other example herein, wherein the validity parameters include an indicator of: duration of the SFC service, scheduled time period for the SFC service, application identifier or Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session parameters including: PDU session type, slice/service type (SST), and optional Slice Discriminator (SD).

Example X17 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of any of examples X11-X16 or some other example herein, wherein the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are applied to user plane traffic of the UE associated with an application for SFC processing as the UE moves between different networks, the different networks comprising: public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), non-public network or edge computing data network, and wherein the different networks are provided by different service operators including network operators and third party application operators.

Example X18 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X17 or some other example herein, wherein the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are exchanged between different serving networks as the UE moves between a PLMN and a non-public network or between two non-public networks with local breakout.

Example X19 includes: one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more functions of a policy and charging control framework or an edge data network to:

identifying a User Equipment (UE) moving between a first network and a second network;

determining a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy based on information associated with a chain of a plurality of service functions, wherein the chain of the plurality of service functions is associated with the edge data network or a fifth generation (5G) network comprising the policy and charging control framework; and

the traffic steering policy and the Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with an application using service function chaining as the UE moves between the first network and the second network.

Example X20 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X19 or some other example herein, wherein the chain of multiple service functions includes functions associated with: network Address Translation (NAT), internet Protocol (IP) tunnel endpoint, packet classifier, deep Packet Inspection (DPI), legal Inspection (LI), transmission Control Protocol (TCP) proxy, load balancer, firewall functions, transcoders, uniform Resource Locator (URL) filters, application Detection and Control (ADC), video optimizer, or operator defined functions.

Example X21 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X19 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC policy is associated with an application identified by an SFC identifier and includes SFC parameters for a chain of the plurality of service functions, the SFC parameters comprising: an SFC service identifier, an SFC configuration parameter for one or more service functions, a Service Function Path (SFP) configuration parameter comprising an SFP index for an ordered service function defining a path for user plane traffic, an SFC routing policy parameter, or a validity parameter.

Example X22 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X21 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between an SFP index and a traffic classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type or traffic priority.

Example X23 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X21 or some other example herein, wherein the SFC routing policy parameters are to indicate a mapping between one or more SFP indexes and a traffic solution classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type, traffic priority, N6 tunnel identifier of DNAI (data network access ID) or another SFP index.

Example X24 includes: the one or more computer-readable media of example X21 or some other example herein, wherein the validity parameters include an indicator of: duration of the SFC service, scheduled time period for the SFC service, application identifier or Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session parameters including: PDU session type, slice/service type (SST), and optional Slice Discriminator (SD).

Example Z01 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the methods described in or related to any of examples 1-X24, or any other method or process described herein.

Example Z02 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of the methods described in or related to any one of examples 1-X24, or any other method or process described herein.

Example Z03 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of the methods described in or related to any of examples 1-X24, or any other method or process described herein.

Example Z04 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or in connection with any one of examples 1-X24 or a portion or section thereof.

Example Z05 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of examples 1-X24, or a portion or section thereof.

Example Z06 may include signals as described in or related to any of examples 1-X24 or portions or sections thereof.

Example Z07 may include a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol Data Unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any one of examples 1-X24 or a portion or section thereof or otherwise described in this disclosure.

Example Z08 may include a signal encoded with data as described in or related to any one of examples 1-X24 or a portion or section thereof or otherwise described in this disclosure.

Example Z09 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, packet, frame, segment, protocol Data Unit (PDU), or message as described in or related to any one of examples 1-X24 or a portion or section thereof or otherwise described in this disclosure.

Example Z10 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of examples 1-X24, or portions thereof.

Example Z11 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of examples 1-X24 or portions thereof.

Example Z12 may include a signal in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Example Z13 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Example Z14 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

Example Z15 may include an apparatus to provide wireless communication as shown and described herein.

Any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples) unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

Abbreviations (abbreviations)

Unless used differently herein, terms, definitions and abbreviations may be consistent with terms, definitions and abbreviations defined in 3GPP TR 21.905v16.0.0 (2019-06). For the purposes of this document, the following abbreviations may apply to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.

3GPP third Generation partnership project

Fourth generation of 4G

Fifth generation of 5G

5GC 5G core network

ACK acknowledgement

AF application function

AM acknowledged mode

AMBR aggregate maximum bit rate

AMF access and mobility management functions

AN access network

ANR automatic neighbor relation

AP application protocol, antenna port and access point

API application programming interface

APN access point name

ARP allocation and reservation priority

ARQ automatic repeat request

AS access layer

ASN.1 abstract syntax notation 1

AUSF authentication server function

AWGN additive Gaussian white noise

BAP backhaul adaptation protocol

BCH broadcast channel

BER error rate

BFD beam fault detection

BLER block error rate

BPSK binary phase shift keying

BRAS broadband remote access server

BSS service support system

BS base station

BSR buffer status reporting

BW bandwidth

bWP partial bandwidth

C-RNTI cell radio network temporary identity

CA carrier aggregation and authentication mechanism

CAPEX capital expenditure

CBRA contention-based random access

CC component carrier, country code, secret checksum

CCA clear channel assessment

CCE control channel element

CCCH common control channel

CE coverage enhancement

CDM content distribution network

CDMA code division multiple access

CFRA contention-free random access

CG cell group

CI cell identity

CID cell ID (e.g., positioning method)

CIM public information model

CIR carrier to interference ratio

CK key

CM connection management and conditional enforcement

CMAS business mobile alert service

CMD command

CMS cloud management system

CO conditional options

CoMP coordinated multipoint

CORESET control resource set

COTS commercial off-the-shelf

CP control plane, cyclic prefix, and attachment point

CPD connection point descriptor

CPE customer premises equipment

CPICH common pilot channel

CQI channel quality indicator

CPU CSI processing unit and central processing unit

C/R command/response field, bit

CRAN cloud radio access network, cloud RAN

CRB common resource block

CRC cyclic redundancy check

CRI channel state information resource indicator, CSI-RS resource indicator

C-RNTI cell RNTI

CS circuit switching

CSAR cloud service archiving

CSI channel state information

CSI-IM CSI interference measurement

CSI-RS CSI reference signal

CSI-RSRP CSI reference signal receiving power

CSI-RSRQ CSI reference signal receiving quality

CSI-SINR CSI signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio

CSMA carrier sense multiple access

CSMA/CA with collision avoidance

CSS common search space, cell specific search space

CTS clear to send

CW codeword

cWS contention window size

D2D device-to-device

DC double connection, DC

DCI downlink control information

DF deployment style

DL downlink

DMTF distributed management task group

DPDK data plane development kit

DM-RS DMRS demodulation reference signal

DN data network

DRB data radio bearer

DRS discovery reference signal

DRX discontinuous reception

DSL domain specific language, digital subscriber line

DSLAM DSL access multiplexer

DwPTS downlink pilot time slot

E-LAN Ethernet local area network

E2E end-to-end

ECCA extended clear channel assessment, extended CCA

ECCE enhanced control channel element, enhanced CCE

ED energy detection

EDGE enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (GSM evolution)

EGMF open control management function

EGPRS enhanced GPRS

EIR equipment identity register

eLAA enhanced authorization assisted access and enhanced LAA

EM component manager

eMBB enhanced mobile broadband

EMS element management system

eNBs evolved NodeB, E-UTRAN Node B

EN-DC E-UTRA-NR double connection

EPC evolution packet core

EPDCCH enhanced PDCCH, enhanced physical downlink control channel

EPRE energy element per resource

EPS evolution grouping system

EREG enhanced REG, enhanced resource element group

ETSI European Telecommunications standards institute

ETWS earthquake and tsunami early warning system

eUICC embedded UICC and embedded universal integrated circuit card

E-UTRA evolution UTRA

E-UTRAN evolved UTRAN

EV2X enhanced V2X

F1AP F1 application protocol

F1-C F1 control plane interface

F1-U F1 user plane interface

FACCH fast associated control channel

FACCH/F fast associated control channel/full rate

FACCH/H fast associated control channel/half rate

FACH forward access channel

FAUSCH fast uplink signaling channel

FB function block

FBI feedback information

FCC federal communications commission

FCCH frequency correction channel

FDD frequency division duplexing

FDM frequency division multiplexing

FDMA frequency division multiple Access

FE front end

FEC forward error correction

FFS further study

FFT fast Fourier transform

The FeLAA further enhances the authorization-assisted access and further enhances the LAA

FN frame number

FPGA field programmable gate array

FR frequency range

G-RNTI GERAN wireless network temporary identity

GERAN GSM EDGE RAN GSM EDGE radio access network

GGSN gateway GPRS support node

GLONASS GLobal' naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (English: global navigation satellite System)

gNB next generation NodeB

gNB-CU gNB centralized unit, next generation NodeB centralized unit

gNB-DU gNB distributed unit, next generation NodeB distributed unit

GNSS global navigation satellite system

GPRS general packet radio service

GSM global system for Mobile communications (GSM) and group Sp area Mobile

GTP GPRS tunnel protocol

GTP-U GPRS user plane tunnel protocol

GTS (WUS related) sleep signal

Gummei globally unique MME identifier

Globally unique temporary UE identity for GUTI

HARQ hybrid ARQ, hybrid automatic repeat request

Hando handoff

HFN superframe number

HHO hard handoff

HLR home location register

HN home network

HO handover

HPLMN home public land mobile network

HSDPA high speed downlink packet access

HSN frequency hopping sequence number

HSPA high speed packet access

HSS home subscriber server

HSUPA high speed uplink packet access

HTTP hypertext transfer protocol

HTTPS HyperText transfer Security protocol (HTTPS is http/1.1 over SSL, e.g., port 443)

I-Block information Block

ICCID integrated circuit card identification

IAB integrated access and backhaul

inter-ICIC inter-cell interference coordination

ID identity, identifier

Inverse discrete fourier transform of IDFT

IE information element

IBE in-band emission

IEEE institute of Electrical and electronics Engineers

IEI cell identifier

IEIDL cell identifier data length

IETF Internet engineering task force

IF infrastructure

IM interference measurement, intermodulation, IP multimedia

IMC IMS certificate

IMEI International Mobile Equipment identity

IMGI International Mobile group identity

IMPI IP multimedia private identity

IMPU IP multimedia public identity

IMS IP multimedia subsystem

IMSI International Mobile subscriber identity

IoT (Internet of things)

IP Internet protocol

Ipsec IP security and internet protocol security

IP-CAN IP-connected access network

IP-M IP multicast

IPv4 Internet protocol version 4

IPv6 Internet protocol version 6

IR infrared ray

IS synchronization

IRP integration reference point

ISDN integrated service digital network

ISIM (integrated circuit IM) service identity module

ISO International organization for standardization

ISP Internet service provider

IWF interworking function

I-WLAN interworking WLAN

Convolutional code constraint length, USIM individual key

kB kilobyte (1000 bytes)

kbps kilobits per second

Kc key

Ki personal subscriber authentication key

KPI key performance indicator

KQI key quality indicator

KSI keyset identifier

ksps kilosymbols per second

KVM kernel virtual machine

L1 layer 1 (physical layer)

L1-RSRP layer 1 reference signal received power

L2 layer 2 (data Link layer)

L3 layer 3 (network layer)

LAA authorization assisted access

LAN local area network

LBT listen before talk

LCM lifecycle management

LCR low chip rate

LCS location services

LCID logical channel ID

LI layer indicator

LLC logical link control, lower layer compatibility

LPLMN home PLMN

LPP LTE positioning protocol

LSB least significant bit

LTE long term evolution

LWA LTE-WLAN aggregation

LWIP LTE/WLAN wireless level integration with IPsec tunnel

LTE long term evolution

M2M machine-to-machine

MAC medium access control (protocol layering context)

MAC message authentication code (Security/encryption context)

MAC-A MAC for authentication and Key agreement (TSG T WG3 context)

MAC-I MAC for data integrity of signaling messages (TSG T WG3 context)

MANO management and orchestration

MBMS multimedia broadcast and multicast service

MBSFN multimedia broadcast multicast service single frequency network

MCC mobile country code

MCG master cell group

MCOT maximum channel occupancy time

MCS modulation coding scheme

MDAF management data analysis function

MDAS management data analysis service

MDT minimization of drive test

ME mobile equipment

MeNB master eNB

MER error rate

MGL measurement gap length

MGRP measurement gap repetition period

MIB master information block and management information base

MIMO multiple input multiple output

MLC moving position center

MM mobility management

MME mobility management entity

MN master node

MnS management service

MO measuring object, mobile calling party

MPBCH MTC physical broadcast channel

MPDCCH MTC physical downlink control channel

MPDSCH MTC physical downlink shared channel

MPRACH MTC physical random access channel

MPUSCH MTC physical uplink shared channel

MPLS multiprotocol label switching

MS mobile station

MSB most significant bit

MSC mobile switching center

MSI minimum system information, MCH scheduling information

MSID mobile station identifier

MSIN mobile station identification number

MSISDN mobile subscriber ISDN number

MT mobile called and mobile terminal

MTC machine type communication

mMTC large-scale MTC and large-scale machine type communication

MU-MIMO multi-user MIMO

MWUS MTC wake-up signal, MTC WUS

NACK negative acknowledgement

NAI network access identifier

NAS non-access stratum, non-access stratum

NCT network connection topology

NC-JT incoherent joint transmission

NEC network capability opening

NE-DC NR-E-UTRA dual linkage

NEF network opening function

NF network function

NFP network forwarding path

NFPD network forwarding path descriptor

NFV network function virtualization

NFVI NFV infrastructure

NFVO NFV orchestrator

NG next generation, next generation

NGEN-DC NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity

NM network manager

NMS network management system

N-PoP network point of presence

NMIB, N-MIB narrowband MIB

NPBCH narrowband physical broadcast channel

NPDCCH narrowband physical downlink control channel

NPDSCH narrowband physical downlink shared channel

NPRACH narrowband physical random access channel

NPUSCH narrowband physical uplink shared channel

NPSS narrowband primary synchronization signal

NSSS narrowband secondary synchronization signal

NR new air interface, neighbor relation

NRF NF memory bank function

NRS narrowband reference signal

NS network service

NSA dependent mode of operation

NSD network service descriptor

NSR network service record

NSSAI network slice selection assistance information

S-NNSAI mono NSSAI

NSSF network slice selection function

NW network

NWUS narrowband wake-up signal, narrowband WUS

NZP non-zero power

O & M operation and maintenance

ODU2 optical channel data Unit-type 2

OFDM orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

OFDMA multiple access

Out-of-band OOB

OOS dyssynchrony

OPEX operation cost

OSI other system information

OSS operation support system

OTA over-the-air download

PAPR peak-to-average power ratio

PAR peak-to-average ratio

PBCH physical broadcast channel

PC power control, personal computer

PCC primary component carrier and primary CC

PCell primary cell

PCI physical cell ID, physical cell identity

PCEF policy and charging enforcement function

PCF policy control function

PCRF policy control and charging rules function

PDCP packet data convergence protocol, packet data convergence protocol layer

PDCCH physical downlink control channel

PDCP packet data convergence protocol

PDN packet data network, public data network

PDSCH physical downlink shared channel

PDU protocol data unit

PEI permanent device identifier

PFD packet flow description

P-GW PDN gateway

PHICH physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel

PHY physical layer

PLMN public land mobile network

PIN personal identification number

PM performance measurement

PMI precoding matrix indicator

PNF physical network function

PNFD physical network function descriptor

PNFR physical network function record

PTT over POC cell

PP, PTP point-to-point

PPP point-to-point protocol

PRACH physical RACH

PRB physical resource block

PRG physical resource block group

ProSe proximity services, proximity-based services

PRS positioning reference signal

PRR packet receiving radio

PS packet service

PSBCH physical side link broadcast channel

PSDCH physical side link downlink channel

PSCCH physical side link control channel

PSFCH physical side link feedback channel

PSSCH physical side link shared channel

PSCell primary SCell

PSS primary synchronization signal

PSTN public switched telephone network

PT-RS phase tracking reference signal

PTT push-to-talk

PUCCH physical uplink control channel

PUSCH physical uplink shared channel

QAM quadrature amplitude modulation

QCI QoS class identifier

QCL quasi co-station

QFI QoS flow ID, qoS flow identifier

QoS quality of service

QPSK quadrature (quaternary) phase shift keying

QZSS quasi zenith satellite system

RA-RNTI random access RNTI

RAB radio access bearer, random access burst

RACH random access channel

RADIUS remote authentication dial-in user service

RAN radio access network

RAND (random number for authentication)

RAR random access response

RAT radio access technology

RAU routing area update

RB resource block, radio bearer

RBG resource block group

REG resource element group

Rel version

REQ request

RF radio frequency

RI rank indicator

RIV resource indicator value

RL radio link

RLC radio link control and radio link control layer

RLC AM RLC acknowledged mode

RLC UM RLC unacknowledged mode

RLF radio link failure

RLM radio link monitoring

RLM-RS reference signals for RLM

RM registration management

RMC reference measurement channel

RMSI residual MSI, residual minimum System information

RN relay node

RNC radio network controller

RNL wireless network layer

RNTI radio network temporary identifier

ROHC robust header compression

RRC radio resource control, radio resource control layer

RRM radio resource management

RS reference signal

RSRP reference signal received power

RSRQ reference signal reception quality

RSSI received signal strength indicator

RSU roadside unit

RSTD reference signal time difference

RTP real-time protocol

RTS ready to send

Round trip time of RTT

Rx receiving, receiving and receiving machine

S1AP S1 application protocol

S1-MME S1 for control plane

S1-U S1 for user plane

S-GW service gateway

S-RNTI SRNC radio network temporary identity

S-TMSI SAE temporary mobile station identifier

SA independent mode of operation

SAE system architecture evolution

SAP service access point

SAPD service access point descriptor

SAPI service access point identifier

SCC auxiliary component carrier wave and auxiliary CC

SCell secondary cell

SC-FDMA Single Carrier frequency division multiple Access

SCG auxiliary cell group

SCM security context management

SCS subcarrier spacing

SCTP flow control transmission protocol

SDAP service data adaptation protocol and service data adaptation protocol layer

SDL supplemental downlink

SDNF structured data storage network function

SDP session description protocol

SDSF structured data storage function

SDU service data unit

SEAF safety anchoring function

eNB (evolved node B) auxiliary eNB (evolved node B)

SEPP secure edge protection proxy

SFI slot format indication

SFTD space frequency time diversity, SFN and frame timing difference

SFN system frame number or single frequency network

SgNB assists gNB

SGSN service GPRS support node

S-GW service gateway

SI system information

SI-RNTI system information RNTI

SIB system information block

SIM subscriber identity module

SIP session initiation protocol

SiP system in package

SL side link

SLA service level agreement

SM session management

SMF session management function

SMS short message service

SMSF SMS function

SMTC SSB-based measurement timing configuration

SN auxiliary node, serial number

SoC system on chip

SON self-organizing network

SpCell special cell

Semi-permanent CSI RNTI of SP-CSI-RNTI

SPS semi-persistent scheduling

SQN sequence number

SR scheduling request

SRB signaling radio bearer

SRS sounding reference signal

SS synchronization signal

SSB SS block

SSBRI SSB resource indicator

SSC session and service continuity

Reference signal received power of SS-RSRP based on synchronous signal

SS-RSRQ synchronization signal-based reference signal reception quality

SS-SINR based on signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio of synchronous signal

SSS secondary synchronization signal

SSSG search space set group

SSSIF search space set indicator

SST slice/service type

SU-MIMO single user MIMO

SUL supplemental uplink

TA timing advance, tracking area

TAC tracking area code

TAG timing advance group

TAU tracking area update

TB transport block

TBS transport block size

TBD pending

TCI transport configuration indicator

TCP transport communication protocol

TDD time division duplexing

TDM time division multiplexing

TDMA time division multiple access

TE terminal equipment

TEID tunnel endpoint identifier

TFT business flow template

TMSI temporary Mobile subscriber identity

TNL transport network layer

TPC transmit power control

TPMI transmission precoding matrix indicator

TR technical report

TRP, TRxP transmitting and receiving point

TRS tracking reference signal

TRx transceiver

TS technical specification, technical standard

TTI transmission time interval

Tx transmission, transmission and transmitter

U-RNTI UTRAN radio network temporary identity

UART universal asynchronous receiver and transmitter

UCI uplink control information

UE user equipment

UDM unified data management

UDP user datagram protocol

UDR unified data store

UDSF unstructured data storage network function

Universal integrated circuit card for UICC

UL uplink

UM unacknowledged mode

UML unified modeling language

Universal mobile telecommunication system for UMTS

UP user plane

UPF user plane functionality

URI uniform resource identifier

URL uniform resource locator

Ultra-reliable and low latency URLLC

USB universal serial bus

USIM universal subscriber identity module

USS UE specific search space

UTRA UMTS terrestrial radio access

UTRAN universal terrestrial radio access network

UwPTS uplink pilot time slot

V2I vehicle-to-infrastructure

V2P vehicle to pedestrian

V2V vehicle-to-vehicle

V2X vehicle to everything

VIM virtualization infrastructure manager

VL virtual links

VLAN virtual LAN and virtual LAN

VM virtual machine

VNF virtualized network functions

VNFFG VNF forwarding graph

VNFFGD VNF forwarding graph descriptor

VNFM VNF manager

VoIP voice over IP, voice over Internet protocol

VPLMN visited public land mobile network

VPN virtual private network

VRB virtual resource block

WiMAX worldwide interoperability for microwave access

WLAN wireless local area network

WMAN wireless metropolitan area network

WPAN wireless personal area network

X2-C X2-control plane

X2-U X2-user plane

XML extensible markup language

XRES expected user response

XOR exclusive OR

ZC Zadoff-Chu

Zero power ZP

Terminology

For purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply to the examples and embodiments discussed herein.

The term "circuitry" as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes the following hardware components: such as electronic circuitry, logic circuitry, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Device (FPD) (e.g., a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a Complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (hcld), a structured ASIC, or a programmable SoC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), etc., that are configured to provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuitry" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code (or a combination of circuitry and program code for use in an electrical or electronic system) for performing the functions of the program code. In these embodiments, a combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

The term "processor circuit" as used herein refers to a circuit, part of or comprising, capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations, or recording, storing and/or transmitting digital data. The processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores for executing instructions and one or more memory structures for storing program and data information. The term "processor circuitry" may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical Central Processing Unit (CPU), a single core processor, a dual core processor, a tri-core processor, a quad-core processor, and/or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (e.g., program code, software modules, and/or functional processes). The processing circuitry may include further hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, or the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer Vision (CV) and/or Deep Learning (DL) accelerators. The terms "application circuitry" and/or "baseband circuitry" may be considered synonymous with "processor circuitry" and may be referred to as "processor circuitry".

The term "interface circuit" as used herein refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I/O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, and the like.

The term "user equipment" or "UE" as used herein refers to a device having radio communication capabilities and may describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. The term "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered as synonyms for the following terms and may be referred to as they: a client, mobile station, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless/wired device or any computing device that contains a wireless communication interface.

The term "network element" as used herein refers to a physical or virtualized device and/or infrastructure for providing wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered as a synonym for and/or referred to as the following terms: a networked computer, networking hardware, network device, network node, router, switch, hub, bridge, radio network controller, RAN device, RAN node, gateway, server, virtualized VNF, NFVI, etc.

The term "computer system" as used herein refers to any type of interconnected electronic device, computer device, or component thereof. Furthermore, the terms "computer system" and/or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the terms "computer system" and/or "system" may refer to a plurality of computer devices and/or a plurality of computing systems communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing and/or networking resources.

The terms "appliance," "computer appliance," and the like as used herein refer to a computer device or computer system having program code (e.g., software or firmware) specifically designed to provide a particular computing resource. A "virtual appliance" is a virtual machine image to be implemented by a hypervisor-equipped device that virtualizes or emulates a computer appliance or is otherwise dedicated to providing specific computing resources.

The term "resource" as used herein refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, and/or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, a memory space, a processor/CPU time, a processor/CPU usage, a processor and accelerator load, a hardware time or usage, power, input/output operations, ports or network sockets, channel/link allocations, throughput, memory usage, storage, networks, databases and applications, workload units, and the like. "hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage, and/or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage, and/or network resources provided by the virtualization infrastructure to applications, devices, systems, etc. The term "network resource" or "communication resource" may refer to a resource that is accessible to a computer device/system via a communication network. The term "system resource" may refer to any kind of shared entity that provides a service and may include computing and/or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services that are accessible through a server, where the system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

The term "channel" as used herein refers to any transmission medium, whether tangible or intangible, used to communicate data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous with and/or equivalent to the following terms: "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," and/or any other similar term that refers to a path or medium through which data is transferred. Furthermore, the term "link" as used herein refers to a connection between two devices via a RAT for transmitting and receiving information.

The terms "instantiation", "instantiation" and the like as used herein refer to the creation of an instance. "instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code.

The terms "coupled," "communicatively coupled," and their derivatives are used herein. The term "coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other, may mean that two or more elements are in indirect contact with each other but still cooperate or interact with each other, and/or may mean that one or more other elements are coupled or connected between elements that are considered to be coupled to each other. The term "directly coupled" may mean that two or more elements are in direct contact with each other. The term "communicatively coupled" may mean that two or more elements may be in communication with each other, including by wired or other interconnection connections, by wireless communication channels or links, and so forth.

The term "cell" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual content of a cell, or a data element containing content.

The term "SMTC" refers to an SSB-based measurement timing configuration configured by SSB-measurementtiming configuration.

The term "SSB" refers to an SS/PBCH block.

The term "primary cell" refers to an MCG cell operating on a primary frequency in which a UE performs an initial connection establishment procedure or initiates a connection re-establishment procedure.

The term "primary SCG cell" refers to an SCG cell in which a UE performs random access when performing a synchronization reconfiguration procedure, for DC operation.

The term "secondary cell", for a UE configured with CA, refers to a cell that provides additional radio resources over a special cell.

The term "secondary cell group" refers to a subset of serving cells including PSCell and zero or more secondary cells for a UE configured with DC.

The term "serving cell" refers to a primary cell for a UE in rrc_connected that is not configured with CA/DC, and only one serving cell includes the primary cell.

The term "serving cell" or "plurality of serving cells" refers to a set of cells including a special cell and all secondary cells for a UE in rrc_connected configured with CA/DC.

The term "special cell" refers to the PCell of an MCG or the PSCell of an SCG for DC operation; otherwise, the term "special cell" refers to a Pcell.

Claims (24)

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory for storing information associated with a chain of a plurality of service functions of the network; and

processing circuitry, coupled with the memory, for:

determining a service guide policy and a Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy based on the service function information; and

the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with an application using service function chaining.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chain of the plurality of service functions comprises functions associated with: network Address Translation (NAT), internet Protocol (IP) tunnel endpoint, packet classifier, deep Packet Inspection (DPI), legal Inspection (LI), transmission Control Protocol (TCP) proxy, load balancer, firewall functions, transcoders, uniform Resource Locator (URL) filters, application Detection and Control (ADC), video optimizer, or operator defined functions.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chain of the plurality of service functions is provided in an edge data network, a fifth generation (5G) core network, or both an edge data network and a 5G core network.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the SFC policy is associated with an application identified by an SFC identifier and includes SFC parameters for a chain of the plurality of service functions, the SFC parameters comprising: an SFC service identifier, an SFC configuration parameter for one or more service functions, an SFP configuration parameter comprising a Service Function Path (SFP) index for an ordered service function defining a path for user plane traffic, an SFC routing policy parameter, or a validity parameter.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between an SFP index and a traffic classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type or traffic priority.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between one or more SFP indexes and a traffic solution classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type, traffic priority, N6 tunnel identifier of DNAI (data network access ID) or another SFP index.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the validity parameter comprises an indicator of: duration of the SFC service, scheduled time period for the SFC service, application identifier or Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session parameters including: PDU session type, slice/service type (SST), and optional Slice Discriminator (SD).

8. The apparatus of any of claims 1-7, wherein the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are applied to user plane traffic of the UE associated with an application for SFC processing as the UE moves between different networks, the different networks comprising: public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), non-public network or edge computing data network, and wherein the different networks are provided by different service operators including network operators and third party application operators.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are exchanged between different serving networks as the UE moves between a PLMN and a non-public network or between two non-public networks with local breakout.

10. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the apparatus comprises a user plane function, a service function chain, a policy and charging control framework in a 5G core network, an edge data network or a part thereof.

11. One or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more functions of a policy and charging control framework or an edge data network to:

Determining a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy based on information associated with a chain of a plurality of service functions, wherein the chain of the plurality of service functions is provided in the edge data network or a fifth generation (5G) core network comprising the policy and charging control framework; and

the traffic steering policy and the Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with an application using service function chaining.

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the chain of multiple service functions includes functions associated with: network Address Translation (NAT), internet Protocol (IP) tunnel endpoint, packet classifier, deep Packet Inspection (DPI), legal Inspection (LI), transmission Control Protocol (TCP) proxy, load balancer, firewall functions, transcoders, uniform Resource Locator (URL) filters, application Detection and Control (ADC), video optimizer, or operator defined functions.

13. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein the SFC policy is associated with an application identified by an SFC identifier and includes SFC parameters for a chain of the plurality of service functions, the SFC parameters comprising: an SFC service identifier, an SFC configuration parameter for one or more service functions, an SFP configuration parameter comprising a Service Function Path (SFP) index for an ordered service function defining a path for user plane traffic, an SFC routing policy parameter, or a validity parameter.

14. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 13, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between an SFP index and a traffic classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type or traffic priority.

15. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 13, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between one or more SFP indexes and a traffic solution classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type, traffic priority, N6 tunnel identifier of DNAI (data network access ID) or another SFP index.

16. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 13, wherein the validity parameters include an indicator of: duration of the SFC service, scheduled time period for the SFC service, application identifier or Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session parameters including: PDU session type, slice/service type (SST), and optional Slice Discriminator (SD).

17. The one or more computer-readable media of any of claims 11-16, wherein the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are applied to user plane traffic of the UE associated with an application for SFC processing as the UE moves between different networks, the different networks comprising: public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), non-public network or edge computing data network, and wherein the different networks are provided by different service operators including network operators and third party application operators.

18. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein the traffic steering policy and the SFC policy are exchanged between different serving networks as the UE moves between a PLMN and a non-public network or between two non-public networks with local breakout.

19. One or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause one or more functions of a policy and charging control framework or an edge data network to:

identifying a User Equipment (UE) moving between a first network and a second network;

determining a traffic steering policy and a service function chaining policy based on information associated with a chain of a plurality of service functions, wherein the chain of the plurality of service functions is associated with the edge data network or a fifth generation (5G) network comprising the policy and charging control framework; and

the traffic steering policy and the Service Function Chaining (SFC) policy are applied to user plane traffic of a User Equipment (UE) associated with an application using service function chaining as the UE moves between the first network and the second network.

20. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the chain of multiple service functions includes functions associated with: network Address Translation (NAT), internet Protocol (IP) tunnel endpoint, packet classifier, deep Packet Inspection (DPI), legal Inspection (LI), transmission Control Protocol (TCP) proxy, load balancer, firewall functions, transcoders, uniform Resource Locator (URL) filters, application Detection and Control (ADC), video optimizer, or operator defined functions.

21. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the SFC policy is associated with an application identified by an SFC identifier and includes SFC parameters for a chain of the plurality of service functions, the SFC parameters comprising: an SFC service identifier, an SFC configuration parameter for one or more service functions, an SFP configuration parameter comprising a Service Function Path (SFP) index for an ordered service function defining a path for user plane traffic, an SFC routing policy parameter, or a validity parameter.

22. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 21, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between an SFP index and a traffic classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type or traffic priority.

23. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 21, wherein the SFC routing policy parameter is to indicate a mapping between one or more SFP indexes and a traffic solution classifier comprising an indicator of: UE address, application identifier, media type, traffic priority, N6 tunnel identifier of DNAI (data network access ID) or another SFP index.

24. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 21, wherein the validity parameters include an indicator of: duration of the SFC service, scheduled time period for the SFC service, application identifier or Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session parameters including: PDU session type, slice/service type (SST), and optional Slice Discriminator (SD).