JP6627289B2 - Radio access network node, edge server, policy management node, and methods thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present disclosure relates to mobile communication networks, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for mobile edge computing.

  The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has begun standardization of Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) (see Non-Patent Document 1). MEC provides application developers and content providers with cloud computing capabilities and in a radio access network (RAN) in close proximity to mobile subscribers. Provides an information technology (IT) service environment. This environment, in addition to ultra-low latency and high bandwidth, wireless network information (subscriber location, cell load, etc.) that can be leveraged by applications and services. Provide direct access to

  The MEC server is integrated with the RAN node. Specifically, the MEC server can be located at a Long Term Evolution (LTE) base station (eNodeB) site, a 3G Radio Network Controller (RNC) site, or a multi-technology cell aggregation site. The multi-technology cell aggregation site may be located indoors within an enterprise (eg, hospital, headquarters of a large company) to control multiple local multi-technology access points. May be located indoors / outdoors of public buildings or arenas (eg, shopping malls, stadiums).

  The MEC server provides computing resources, storage capacity, connectivity, and access to user traffic and wireless network information. More specifically, the MEC server provides a hosting environment for applications by providing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS) functions.

  Non-Patent Document 1 shows some examples of MEC use cases. In one use case (Active Device Location Tracking), the location information (geo-location) application hosted on the MEC server tracks the location of the wireless terminal using the wireless network measurement results received from the eNodeB / RNC. And transmitting the location information of the wireless terminal to the central server. This makes it possible to provide location-based services without using a Global Positioning System (GPS).

  In one use case (Intelligent Video Analytics), a video analytics application hosted on a MEC server receives a live video stream from a wireless terminal and triggers an event (eg, moving an object, abandoned). Parse the live video stream to detect luggage, missing objects, etc.) and send low bandwidth video metadata to a central server for database searching.

  In one use case (Augmented Reality Content Delivery), an application hosted on the MEC server analyzes the objects in the video captured by the wireless terminal's built-in camera and stores them in the AR data cache of the MEC server. Transmit AR content to wireless terminal. This solution minimizes round-trip time and can improve Quality of Experience (QoE).

  In one use case (RAN-aware & Application-aware Content Optimization), an application hosted on an MEC server receives radio information (eg, cell load, link quality) of a cell or a radio terminal from an eNodeB / RNC. This information is sent to a central server (content optimizer) for content optimization. Such dynamic content optimization can facilitate video distribution through video quality improvements such as reduced video stalling and reduced time-to-start.

“Mobile-edge Computing Introductory Technical White Paper”, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, September 2014, [retrieved on 2015-06-24], Retrieved from the Internet: <URL: https://portal.etsi.org/Portals/ 0 / TBpages / MEC / Docs / Mobile-edge_Computing _-_ Introductory_Technical_White_Paper_V1% 2018-09-14.pdf>

  The inventors of the present case have found some issues related to MEC, especially issues related to delay (latency). As described above, the MEC is expected to contribute to reducing the delay of applications and services for wireless terminals, and thereby to improve the QoE of users. However, for example, in a situation where many wireless terminals are connected to the RAN, the RAN may not be able to use the MEC or meet the delay requirements required by wireless terminals related to the MEC.

  In order to solve this problem, regarding the radio resource management (RRM) or the scheduling in the RAN, special consideration for the wireless terminal using the MEC or the MEC is required from the MEC server to the RAN node ( It may be useful to be able to ask the eNodeB / RNC). However, Non-Patent Document 1 describes that an MEC server utilizes wireless network information (eg, subscriber position, cell load, link quality, etc.) obtained from a RAN node (eNodeB / RNC). It does not describe that the server requests the RAN node (eNodeB / RNC) to control the access layer.

  One of the objects to be achieved by the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide an apparatus, a method, and a program that contribute to achieving control in a radio access network suitable for a mobile edge computing environment. To provide.

  In a first aspect, a radio access network node located in a radio access network includes a control module and a communication module. The control module is configured to provide radio resource management for a radio terminal connecting to the radio access network. The communication module is configured to communicate with an edge server that provides at least one of a computing resource and a storage resource for edge computing for a service or application directed to the wireless terminal. The control module is further configured to receive a message indicating control information derived from characteristics of the wireless terminal from the edge server via the communication module.

  In a second aspect, a method in a radio access network node located in a radio access network includes receiving a message from an edge server indicating control information derived from characteristics of a radio terminal connected to the radio access network. Here, the edge server is coupled to the wireless access network and is arranged, and at least one of a computing resource and a storage resource for edge computing related to a service or an application directed to the wireless terminal. Provide one.

  In a third aspect, an edge server coupled to a wireless access network includes an edge computing platform and a control module. The edge computing platform is configured to provide at least one of computing resources and storage resources for edge computing for services or applications for wireless terminals connecting to the wireless access network. Have been. The control module is configured to send a message indicating control information derived from characteristics of the wireless terminal to a wireless access network node in the wireless access network.

  In a fourth aspect, a method in an edge server coupled to a wireless access network includes transmitting a message indicating control information derived from characteristics of a wireless terminal to a wireless access network node in the wireless access network. .

  In a fifth aspect, a policy management node arranged in a core network includes a communication module and a control module. The communication module is configured to communicate with an edge server. Here, the edge server is coupled to a wireless access network, and is provided with computing resources and storage resources for edge computing related to services or applications for wireless terminals connected to the wireless access network. Provide at least one of the resources. The control module receives the characteristic information of the wireless terminal from the edge server via the communication module, and transmits control information derived from the characteristic information to a wireless access network node disposed in the wireless access network. It is configured as follows.

  In a sixth aspect, a method in a policy management node located in a core network includes receiving characteristic information of a wireless terminal from an edge server, and deploying control information derived from the characteristic information in a wireless access network. Transmitting to the radio access network node. Here, the edge server is coupled to the radio access network, and is arranged with a computing resource and a computing resource for edge computing related to a service or application for the radio terminal connected to the radio access network. Provide at least one of the storage resources.

  In a seventh aspect, a program includes an instruction group (software code) for causing a computer to perform the method according to the second, fourth, or sixth aspect when read by the computer.

  According to the above aspect, it is possible to provide an apparatus, a method, and a program that contribute to realizing control in a wireless access network suitable for a mobile edge computing environment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile communication network according to some embodiments. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the eNodeB and the MEC server according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the MEC server according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the eNodeB according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the eNodeB according to the first embodiment. It is a sequence diagram showing an example of operation of eNodeB, PCRF, and MEC server concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a figure showing the example of composition of the MEC server concerning some embodiments. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an eNodeB according to some embodiments. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a PCRF according to some embodiments.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each of the drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference characters, and repeated description will be omitted as necessary for clarity of description.

  The embodiments described below are mainly described for LTE and LTE-Advanced. However, these embodiments are not limited to LTE and LTE-Advanced; other mobile communication networks or systems, such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), 3GPP2 CDMA2000 system, Global It may be applied to a System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)) / General packet radio service (GPRS) system, a WiMAX system, a mobile WiMAX system, or the like.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a mobile communication network according to some embodiments including the present embodiment. In the example of FIG. 1, the mobile communication network includes a RAN 3 (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) and a core network 4 (Evolved Packet Core (EPC)). RAN3 includes eNodeB2. The eNodeB 2 is arranged in the RAN 3, communicates with a plurality of wireless terminals 1 (User Equipment (UE)) connected to the RAN 3, and is configured to provide radio resource management for these UEs 1. The radio resource management includes, for example, establishment, modification, and release of a radio connection (eg, Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection) with each UE1, scheduling of radio resources to each UE1, and a dedicated scheduling request (Dedicated Scheduling Request) to each UE1. (D-SR)) including setting of resources and control of handover of each UE1.

  Note that the eNodeB 2 shown in FIG. 1 may be a Baseband Unit (BBU) used in a Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN) architecture. In other words, the eNodeB 2 shown in FIG. 1 may be a RAN node connected to one or a plurality of Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). In some implementations, the eNodeB 2 as a BBU is connected to the EPC 4 and is responsible for control plane processing including radio resource management and user plane digital baseband signal processing. The RRU, on the other hand, is responsible for analog Radio Frequency (RF) signal processing (e.g., frequency conversion and signal amplification). Note that C-RAN is sometimes referred to as Cloud RAN. A BBU may be called a Radio Equipment Controller (REC) or a Data Unit (DU). RRH may be called Radio Equipment (RE), Radio Unit (RU), or Remote Radio Unit (RRU).

  The core network 4 is a network managed mainly by an operator providing a mobile communication service. The core network 4 includes a plurality of user plane entities (eg, Serving Gateway (S-GW) and Packet Data Network Gateway (P-GW)), and a plurality of control plane entities (eg, Mobility Management Entity (MME) and Includes Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Policy and Charging Rule Function (PCRF). A plurality of user plane entities relay user data of UEs1 between RAN3 and an external network (Packet Data Network (PDN)). The plurality of control plane entities perform various controls including mobility management, session management (bearer management), subscriber information management, and charging management of UEs1.

  The Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) server 5 is arranged in the RAN 3 so that it can communicate directly with the eNodeB 2 (that is, without passing through the core network 4). In some implementations, MEC server 5 may be physically integrated with eNodeB2. In some implementations, the MEC server 5 may be located in the same building (site) as the eNodeB 2 and connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) within the site so that it can communicate with the eNodeB 2.

  The MEC server 5 is configured to provide at least one of a computing resource and a storage resource (storage capacity) for edge computing regarding a service or an application directed to one or more UEs 1. ing. In some implementations, MEC server 5 may provide a hosting environment for applications by providing IaaS or PaaS facilities.

  The MEC server 5 may further have some functions of the core network 4. For example, the MEC server 5 may have an S-GW or S-GW / P-GW function, and may directly terminate user data of the UE 1 using the MEC in the MEC server 5.

  As with some examples of MEC use cases described in the background, the MEC server 5 may communicate with one or more central servers 6 to provide applications or services. Communication between the MEC server 5 and the central server 6 may be performed via the core network 4 or may be performed on a communication line or a network not passing through the core network 4.

  Subsequently, dynamic radio resource management by the eNodeB 2 according to the present embodiment will be described below. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the eNodeB 2 and the MEC server 5 (process 200). In step 201, the MEC server 5 transmits a message indicating the MEC control information explicitly or implicitly to the eNodeB2. The MEC control information uses an application (service) hosted on the MEC server 5 or is derived from characteristics of the UE 1 related to the application. In some implementations, the MEC server 5 may determine the MEC control information from characteristics of the UE 1.

  The characteristics of UE1 referred to in order to obtain the MEC control information include, for example, the terminal type (eg, car navigation system, smart meter) of UE1, the terminal category (eg, Access Class, UE category) of UE1, and the communication of UE1. It includes at least one of a data type (eg, video stream, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)), and a service or application type used by the UE1. Additionally or alternatively, the characteristics of the UE1 include location-related information of the UE1 (eg, near an intersection, on a sidewalk, at home), movement characteristics of the UE1 (eg, high speed, low speed, movement direction), and communication characteristics of the UE1. (Eg, radio quality, throughput). Additionally or alternatively, the characteristic of the UE 1 may include at least one of a communication interval and a communication data amount of the UE 1. Note that the communication interval or the communication data amount may be for each application or service, or may be for a plurality of or all applications or services being executed by the UE 1. Additionally or alternatively, the characteristics of the UE1 may include the radio link quality (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)) of UE1.

The MEC control information derived from the characteristics of UE1 may be, for example, at least one of the following or an arbitrary combination.
-Delay requirement-Throughput requirement-Priority requirement-Mobility requirement

  The delay requirement may specify at least one of a maximum delay, an average delay, a delay jitter, and a priority for delay guarantee. The delay requirement may specify a period, schedule, or number of times that the delay requirement is required. Furthermore, the delay referred to here is, for example, a delay until the UE 1 completes transmitting data to the RAN 3, a delay until the data of the UE 1 reaches the transmission destination (eg, server, another UE 1) of the data, and a RAN 3. Or a delay until transmission of data to UE1 is completed.

  The throughput requirement may specify at least one of a minimum throughput (minimum throughput to be guaranteed), an average throughput, a required throughput (sufficient throughput), a minimum wireless band, an average wireless band, and a required wireless band.

  The priority requirement is a relative or absolute priority between the UEs 1 using the MEC, or a relative priority or an absolute priority of the UE 1 using the MEC with respect to the UE 1 not using another MEC. At least one of the priorities may be specified.

  The mobility requirement may specify whether or not mobility is to be guaranteed, and at least one of a value or a level (e.g. high, medium (or normal), low) of a moving speed at which mobility is guaranteed.

  The MEC control information may specify a data pattern, an application or a service type in order to specify a data flow to which the MEC control information (e.g., delay requirement) is to be applied. The MEC control information item may specify a cell or a cell group, a frequency or a frequency group, a UE or a UE group, or any combination thereof to specify the UE 1 to which it applies.

  Additionally or alternatively, the MEC control information (eg, delay requirement) specifies the number or ratio of UEs for which a predetermined requirement (eg, delay) is to be guaranteed among a plurality of UEs1 belonging to a specific UE group. You may. As a specific example, the delay requirement may indicate that a predetermined delay is guaranteed for three of the ten UEs 1. Note that the delay requirement for each UE 1 may be the same or different.

  The MEC control information may include a Quality of Service (QoS) policy, a QoS rule, or a Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule for the EPS bearer. The MEC control information may indicate, for example, Quality Class Indicator (QCI) and Allocation Retention Priority (ARP). MEC control information (QoS policy or QoS rule) related to the EPS bearer may be associated with E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) QoS and radio bearer QoS in eNodeB2.

  As understood from the above description, in the present embodiment, the MEC server 5 transmits the MEC control information (eg, delay requirement) derived from the characteristics of the UE 1 that uses the MEC or is related to the MEC to a plurality of UEs 1 in the RAN 3. It is configured to notify the eNodeB 2 responsible for the wireless resource management of the eNodeB 2. Therefore, based on the MEC control information received from the MEC server 5, the eNodeB 2 can perform radio resource management for the UE 1 or another UE 1 using the MEC or related to the MEC. This allows the eNodeB 2 to consider MEC control information derived from the characteristics of the UE 1 using (or related to) the edge computing provided by the MEC server 5 in radio resource management in the RAN 3.

  Subsequently, the operations of the eNodeB 2 and the MEC server 5 will be described in more detail below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the MEC server 5 (process 300). In block 301, the MEC server 5 determines the MEC control information from the characteristics of the UE using (or related to) the MEC. In block 302, the MEC server 5 sends a message to the eNodeB 2 that explicitly or implicitly indicates the determined MEC control information.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the eNodeB 2 (process 400). In block 401, the eNodeB 2 receives a message from the MEC server 5 that explicitly or implicitly indicates MEC control information. In block 402, the eNodeB 2 performs radio resource management for at least one UE 1 based on the MEC control information received from the MEC server 5.

  Next, several examples of radio resource management considering MEC control information from the MEC server 5 will be described. The radio resource management in consideration of the MEC control information from the MEC server 5 includes release of a radio connection (eg, RRC connection) with at least one UE1, scheduling of radio resources to at least one UE1, and D for at least one UE1. -It may include at least one of setting of SR resources and handover of at least one UE1.

  In some implementations, the eNodeB 2 has a requirement (eg, required delay) for UE 1 utilizing (or involving) the MEC, but a requirement (eg, required delay) for another UE 1 not related to the MEC. Radio resource management may be performed so as to be preferentially satisfied as compared with. Thereby, for example, it is easy to guarantee a predetermined delay (e.g., 10 ms or less) to the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC.

  In some implementations, the eNodeB 2 establishes a wireless connection (eg, with other UEs 1) that is not related to the MEC to satisfy MEC control information (eg, delay requirements) for the UE 1 that uses (or participates) the MEC. , RRC connection).

  In some implementations, the eNodeB 2 uses the MEC to (or is involved in) the UE 1 in order to satisfy the MEC control information (eg, delay requirement) for the UE 1 that uses (or is involved in) the MEC. The period of the SR resource may be adjusted based on the MEC control information. Alternatively, the eNodeB 2 may adjust the period of the D-SR resource of the UE 1 not related to the MEC. For example, the eNodeB 2 sets the period of the D-SR resource of the UE 1 using (or related) to the MEC to a shorter period (eg, 1 or 5) than the period of the UE 1 not related to the MEC (eg, 5 to 10 ms). 2 milliseconds). By this means, the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC can obtain the transmission opportunity of the scheduling request in a short cycle, and thus contributes to reducing the delay (latency) of the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC. it can.

  In some implementations, the eNodeB 2 is applied to the UE 1 utilizing (or relating to) the MEC to satisfy the MEC control information (eg, delay requirement) for the UE 1 utilizing (or relating to) the MEC. May be adjusted based on the MEC control information. Alternatively, the eNodeB 2 may adjust the scheduling metric applied to the UE 1 not related to the MEC. For example, the eNodeB 2 affects the scheduling metric applied to the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC so that the radio resource allocation is preferentially performed to the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC. The weight may be adjusted. For a proportional fairness (PF) algorithm, the scheduling metric (PF metric) may be the ratio of instantaneous throughput to average throughput (i.e., instantaneous throughput / average throughput).

  Note that the adjustment of the D-SR resource and the scheduling metric described above is performed by maintaining some UEs at a predetermined delay among a plurality of UEs1 requesting a predetermined delay (eg, within 10 milliseconds). May be performed to increase the delay of the UE or to make it best-effort. Alternatively, these adjustments are performed in order to perform control that allows all the delays of a plurality of UEs1 that require a predetermined delay (eg, within 10 ms) to be lengthened (eg, within 11 ms). You may.

  In some implementations, eNodeB 2 may force UE 1 that is not MEC related to another cell to satisfy MEC control information (eg, delay requirements) for UE 1 that utilizes (or is involved) MEC. Handover may be performed. Instead, the eNodeB 2 forcibly hands over the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC to another cell having good communication characteristics (for example, good radio quality or small cell load) for the UE 1. You may. eNodeB2 (source eNodeB2S) may send a handover request to another eNodeB2 (target eNodeB2T) (in the case of X2 handover). If X2 handover is not available, eNodeB 2 (source eNodeB 2S) may send a handover request to a node in core network 4 (ie, MME).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the handover request transmitted from the source eNodeB 2S to the target eNodeB 2T is based on whether (or not) the UE 1 performing the handover uses edge computing (MEC). May be indicated, or that the MEC is used (or used). This may be performed, for example, by adding the MEC Required IE to the HANDOVER REQUEST message, or by adding the MEC Authorized IE. In the example of FIG. 5 (process 500), the source eNodeB 2S sends a handover request indicating whether an MEC is required to the target eNodeB 2T (step 501). The target eNodeB 2T may reject the handover request if it cannot accept the handover of UE1 utilizing (or participating in) the MEC. In this case, the handover reject message may indicate that the MEC cannot be provided, does not support the MEC, or cannot meet the delay requirements for the MEC. Accordingly, the target eNodeB 2T can determine whether to accept the handover in consideration of the availability of the MEC. Alternatively, the target eNodeB 2T may specify another cell that can provide the MEC as a target cell of the handover, and transmit a handover request permission message to the source eNodeB 2S.

  For example, when determining a target cell from one or more target cell candidates, the source eNodeB 2S determines whether each target cell candidate can provide an MEC, or the delay expected (required) by the MEC. It may be considered whether the requirements are satisfied. For this purpose, a plurality of eNodeBs 2 may exchange information such as MEC support and cell load via an inter-base station interface (e.g., X2 interface). This may be performed, for example, in an X2 interface establishment procedure (X2 Setup Procedure) or may be performed by a notification (ENB CONFIGURATION UPDATE) for updating the configuration of the base station.

  Subsequently, a specific example of the MEC control information derived from the characteristics of the UE 1 will be described below. First, some examples of determining the delay requirement as MEC control information from the characteristics of UE1 will be described. Consider a case in which UE 1 is used to transmit location information of a user (or a vehicle) to MEC server 5 or central server 6. In one example, the delay requirement of UE1 may be determined according to the usage purpose / type of UE1 (eg, car, truck, taxi, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, age of pedestrian, gender of pedestrian, etc.). . The MEC server 5 sets a stricter delay requirement (eg, a small maximum delay, a small average delay, (Small delay jitter) may be determined. The MEC server 5 may determine a stricter delay requirement for the UE 1 of the usage purpose / type that is seriously affected by the traffic accident than for the UE 1 of the usage purpose / type that is not so.

  Additionally or alternatively, the MEC server 5 determines that the position of the UE 1 is closer to a predetermined point (eg, an intersection, a sharp curve, a tourist attraction) than when the position of the UE 1 is far from the predetermined point. Strict delay requirements may be determined. Additionally or alternatively, the MEC server 5 may determine a stricter delay requirement when the UE 1 is approaching a predetermined point than when the UE 1 is moving away from the predetermined point. Additionally or alternatively, the MEC server 5 may determine a stricter delay requirement when the UE 1 is moving (running) at a high speed than when the UE 1 is moving (running) at a low speed. .

  Additionally or alternatively, the MEC server 5 may determine the delay requirement of the UE 1 according to the time and the congestion status (people or car congestion). For example, the MEC server 5 may determine a stricter delay requirement at a time when congestion is expected or when congestion is occurring, as compared with a case where it is not.

  The determination of the delay requirement may be performed by classifying (assigning) the UE 1 to any of a plurality of predetermined delay requirement classes.

  According to these examples, for example, it is possible to enable the UE 1 associated with a place with a high incidence of traffic accidents such as near an intersection or a use application / type to communicate with low delay.

  Next, some examples of determining a throughput requirement (wireless band requirement) as MEC control information from the characteristics of the UE 1 will be described. Consider the case where each of the plurality of UEs1 is coupled to a video camera and the plurality of UEs1 are used to transmit a video stream obtained by the video camera to the MEC server 5 or the central server 6. In one example, the MEC server 5 may determine the throughput requirements (minimum throughput (wireless band), average throughput (wireless band)) of the UE 1 coupled to the video camera according to the installation location of the video camera. For example, the MEC server 5 may request the eNodeB 2 to provide high throughput to UE 1 coupled to a video camera located near the field in the stadium, and give low throughput to UE 1 located far away from the field. May be requested to eNodeB2.

  Additionally or alternatively, the MEC server 5 determines, according to the type of the video camera (eg, High Definition (HD) camera or 4K Ultra HD camera), the throughput requirement of the UE 1 coupled to the video camera. You may. In one example, MEC server 5 requests eNodeB 2 to provide high throughput to UE 1 coupled to a high resolution (4K UHD) video camera, and UE 1 coupled to a low resolution (eg., HD) video camera. May request the eNodeB 2 to give a lower throughput to the eNodeB 2.

  Additionally or alternatively, the MEC server 5 may change the video in accordance with the shooting situation of each video camera (for example, whether or not an important subject is being shot or close to the important subject). The throughput requirement of UE1 coupled to the camera may be determined. In one example, the MEC server 5 may request the eNodeB 2 to provide high throughput to the UE 1 coupled to a video camera close to an important subject (eg, a ball in a soccer (football) game).

  Additionally or alternatively, the throughput requirement of the UE 1 may be determined according to the time or the congestion state (the degree of crowding of spectators).

  According to these examples, for example, a wide band can be dynamically guaranteed for UE1 coupled to a video camera to transmit a high-resolution video stream.

  Next, a case of live streaming to an audience in an event venue such as a stadium or a concert hall will be considered. In one example, the MEC server 5 may determine the throughput requirements (minimum throughput (wireless band), average throughput (wireless band)) of the UE 1 according to the position of the spectator in the stadium or the concert hall. For example, eNodeB2 may be requested to provide high throughput to spectator UE1 far from the field or stage, and may be requested to provide low throughput to spectator UE1 near the field or stage. Additionally or alternatively, the throughput requirement of the UE 1 may be determined according to the time or the congestion state (the degree of crowding of spectators).

  According to these examples, for example, it is possible to dynamically guarantee a wide band for the UE1 of the audience who is likely to use the live streaming video delivered to the UE1 because it is far from the field or the stage.

<Second embodiment>
In the present embodiment, a modified example of the dynamic radio resource management by the eNodeB 2 described in the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the example has been described in which the MEC server 5 directly transmits the MEC control information derived from the characteristics of the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC to the eNodeB 2. Instead, the PCRF 7 in the core network 4 may determine the MEC control information and instruct the eNodeB 2 on the determined MEC control information (Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rule).

  FIG. 6 shows an example (process 600) of a procedure for enforcing (enforce) MEC control information derived from characteristics of the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC to the eNodeB 2. In step 601, the MEC server 5 transmits the characteristic information of the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC to the PCRF 7. In step 602, the PCRF 7 determines the MEC control information from the received characteristic information of the UE 1, and transmits the MEC control information to the eNodeB 2. Instead of step 602, the PCRF 7 may transmit the determined MEC control information to the MEC server 5, and may transmit the determined MEC control information to the eNodeB 2 from the MEC server 5.

  In some implementations, the eNodeB 2 may have a P-GW function so that the eNodeB 2 can receive the MEC control information (PCC rules) from the PCRF 7. The P-GW function may be used for offloading user traffic in the eNodeB 2. The MEC control information sent from the PCRF 7 to the eNodeB 2 may indicate a Quality of Service (QoS) policy or a QoS rule for the EPS bearer, for example, a Quality Class Indicator (QCI) and an Allocation Retention Priority (ARP). MEC control information (QoS policy or QoS rule) related to the EPS bearer is associated with E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) QoS and radio bearer QoS in eNodeB2.

  As understood from the above description, in the present embodiment, the PCRF 7 transmits MEC control information (e.g., delay requirement, throughput requirement) derived from the characteristics of the UE 1 using the MEC or related to the MEC to the eNodeB 2. Therefore, based on the MEC control information received from the PCRF 7, the eNodeB 2 can use the MEC or perform radio resource management for the UE 1 or another UE 1 related to the MEC.

  Lastly, a configuration example of the MEC server 5, the eNodeB 2, and the PCRF 7 according to the above-described embodiments will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the MEC server 5. Referring to FIG. 7, the MEC server 5 includes hardware components including a network interface 701, a processor 702, and a memory (storage) 703. Network interface 701 is used to communicate with eNodeB 2 and other network nodes. The network interface 701 may include, for example, a network interface card (NIC) compliant with the IEEE 802.3 series.

  The processor 702 reads the software (computer program) from the memory 703 and executes the software, thereby performing the processing of the MEC server 5 described using the sequence diagram and the flowchart in the above embodiment. The processor 702 may be, for example, a microprocessor, a Micro Processing Unit (MPU), or a Central Processing Unit (CPU). Processor 702 may include multiple processors.

  The memory 703 is configured by a combination of a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. The memory 703 may include a plurality of physically independent memory devices. The volatile memory is, for example, a static random access memory (SRAM) or a dynamic RAM (DRAM) or a combination thereof. The non-volatile memory is a mask read only memory (MROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or any combination thereof. The memory 703 may include storage located away from the processor 702. In this case, the processor 702 may access the memory 703 via an I / O interface (not shown).

  In the example of FIG. 7, the memory 703 is used to store a group of software modules 704 to 706 for the MEC and a control module 707 that performs communication with the eNodeB 2 or the PCRF 7. Virtualization management software 704 is executed on the processor 702 to virtualize hardware components including the network interface 701, the processor 702, and the memory 703, and to perform infrastructure as a service (IaaS) or platform as a service (IaaS). PaaS) to provide facilities, thereby providing a hosting environment for applications.

  Application platform services software 705 runs on processor 702 and provides middleware services, such as communication services, wireless network information services, and traffic offload functions to the applications.

  One or more applications 706 are applications hosted on MEC server 5. The one or more applications 706 may be a geo-location application, a video analysis application, a content optimization application, etc. described in the background art.

  The control module 707 is executed by the processor 702, and transmits to the eNodeB 2 MEC control information derived from the characteristics of the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC, or the operation of the PCRF 7 or the like of the characteristics of the UE 1 to the processor 702. Let it do.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the eNodeB 2 according to the above embodiment. Referring to FIG. 8, the eNodeB 2 includes an RF transceiver 801, a network interface 803, a processor 804, and a memory 805. The RF transceiver 801 performs analog RF signal processing to communicate with the UE1. RF transceiver 801 may include multiple transceivers. RF transceiver 801 is coupled with antenna 802 and processor 804. RF transceiver 801 receives modulation symbol data (or OFDM symbol data) from processor 804, generates a transmit RF signal, and provides the transmit RF signal to antenna 802. Further, the RF transceiver 801 generates a baseband reception signal based on the reception RF signal received by the antenna 802, and supplies the baseband reception signal to the processor 804. In addition, as described above, the eNodeB 2 may be a BBU (REC) used in the C-RAN architecture. In this case, the eNodeB 2 may not have the RF transceiver 801.

  The network interface 803 is used to communicate with network nodes (e.g., MME and S-GW) and the MEC server 5. The network interface 803 may include, for example, a network interface card (NIC) compliant with the IEEE 802.3 series.

  The processor 804 performs digital baseband signal processing (data plane processing) and control plane processing for wireless communication. For example, in the case of LTE and LTE-Advanced, digital baseband signal processing by the processor 804 may include signal processing of the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and the PHY layer. Further, the control plane processing by the processor 804 may include processing of the S1 protocol, the RRC protocol, and the MAC CE.

  Processor 804 may include multiple processors. For example, the processor 804 may include a modem processor (e.g., DSP) that performs digital baseband signal processing and a protocol stack processor (e.g., CPU or MPU) that performs control plane processing.

  The memory 805 is configured by a combination of a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. The volatile memory is, for example, an SRAM or a DRAM or a combination thereof. The non-volatile memory is, for example, an MROM, a PROM, a flash memory, a hard disk drive, or a combination thereof. Memory 805 may include storage located away from processor 804. In this case, the processor 804 may access the memory 805 via the network interface 803 or an I / O interface (not shown).

  The memory 805 may store a software module (computer program) including an instruction group and data for performing processing by the eNodeB 2 described in the above embodiments. In some implementations, the processor 804 may be configured to read the software module from the memory 805 and execute the software module to perform the processing of the eNodeB 2 described using the sequence diagram and the flowchart in the above-described embodiment. .

  In the example of FIG. 8, the communication module 806 and the control module 807 are stored in the memory 805. The processor 804 can communicate with the MEC server 5 by reading and executing the communication module 806. By reading and executing the control module 807, the processor 804 can receive the MEC control information of the UE 1 from the MEC server 5 and perform radio resource management while considering the MEC control information.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the PCRF 7 according to the above-described embodiment. Referring to FIG. 9, the PCRF 7 includes a network interface 901, a processor 902, and a memory 903. The network interface 901 is used to communicate with network nodes (e.g., MME, HSS, P-GW, eNodeB 2) and the MEC server 5. The network interface 901 may include, for example, a network interface card (NIC) compliant with the IEEE 802.3 series.

  The processor 902 reads the software (computer program) from the memory 903 and executes the software, thereby performing the process of the PCRF 7 described using the sequence diagram and the flowchart in the above-described embodiment. Processor 902 may be, for example, a microprocessor, an MPU, or a CPU. Processor 902 may include multiple processors.

  The memory 903 includes a combination of a volatile memory and a nonvolatile memory. Memory 903 may include storage located away from processor 902. In this case, the processor 902 may access the memory 903 via an I / O interface (not shown).

  In the example of FIG. 9, the memory 903 is used to store a software module group including the communication module 904 and the control module 905. The processor 902 can perform the processing of the PCRF 7 described in the above embodiment by reading these software modules from the memory 903 and executing them.

  The processor 902 can communicate with the MEC server 5 by reading and executing the communication module 904. By reading and executing the control module 905, the processor 902 can receive the characteristic information of the UE1 from the MEC server 5, and transmit the MEC control information derived from the characteristic information to the eNodeB2.

  As described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9, each of the processors included in the MEC server 5, the eNodeB 2, and the PCRF 7 according to the above-described embodiment includes an instruction for causing a computer to execute the algorithm described with reference to the drawings. Execute one or more programs including the group. This program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer readable media. Non-transitory computer readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media are magnetic recording media (eg, flexible disk, magnetic tape, hard disk drive), magneto-optical recording media (eg, magneto-optical disk), Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), CD-ROM. R, CD-R / W, and semiconductor memory (for example, a mask ROM, a programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), a flash ROM, and a random access memory (RAM)). Also, the program may be supplied to the computer by various types of transitory computer readable media. Examples of transitory computer readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transitory computer-readable medium can supply the program to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire and an optical fiber, or a wireless communication path.

<Other embodiments>
The above embodiment has mainly described the case where the MEC control information considered in the eNodeB 2 for radio resource management is a delay requirement. However, the MEC control information may include other requirements (eg, throughput requirements) instead of or in combination with the delay requirements.

  The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. That is, in some implementations, the MEC server 5 may transmit the MEC control information derived from the characteristics of the UE 1 using (or related to) the MEC to the PCRF 7. Then, the PCRF 7 may instruct the eNodeB 2 a QoS policy (e.g., PCC rule) based on the MEC control information received from the MEC server 5. The PCRF 7 may transmit the MEC control information received from the MEC server 5 to the eNodeB 2 as it is, or may transmit a QoS policy obtained by modifying the MEC control information received from the MEC server 5 to the eNodeB 2.

  Furthermore, the above-described embodiment is merely an example relating to the application of the technical idea obtained by the present inventor. That is, the technical idea is not limited to only the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made.

1 UE
2 eNodeB
3 Radio access network 4 Core network 5 MEC server 7 PCRF
707 control module 806 communication module 807 control module 904 communication module 905 control module

Claims (36)

A wireless access network node located in a wireless access network,
A control module configured to provide radio resource management for wireless terminals connecting to the radio access network;
A communication module configured to communicate with an edge server providing at least one of computing resources and storage resources for edge computing for services or applications directed to the wireless terminal;
With
The control module further receives a message indicating control information derived from characteristics of the wireless terminal from the edge server via the communication module, and in consideration of the control information, a plurality of wireless devices including the wireless terminal. Configured to perform radio resource management for at least one of the terminals,
The control information includes at least one of a delay requirement, a throughput requirement, a priority requirement, and a mobility requirement,
Radio access network node. The radio resource management includes releasing a connection with the at least one radio terminal, scheduling radio resources to the at least one radio terminal, setting an individual scheduling request resource for the at least one radio terminal, and setting the at least one Including at least one of a wireless terminal handover,
The radio access network node according to claim 1. The radio resource management includes a handover of the at least one radio terminal,
The control module is configured to send a handover request for handover of the at least one wireless terminal to a target cell to another radio access network node or a core network node,
The radio access network node according to claim 2. The handover request indicates whether the at least one wireless terminal utilizes the edge computing,
The radio access network node according to claim 3. The radio resource management includes setting the individual scheduling request resource,
The control module is configured to adjust a period of the individual scheduling request resource based on the control information,
The radio access network node according to claim 2. The radio resource management includes scheduling the radio resources,
The control module is configured to adjust a scheduling metric applied to the at least one wireless terminal based on the control information.
The radio access network node according to claim 2. The delay requirement specifies at least one of a maximum delay, an average delay, a delay jitter, and a priority regarding delay guarantee,
A radio access network node according to any one of the preceding claims. The delay requirement specifies a period, schedule, or number of times that the delay requirement is required;
A radio access network node according to claim 1. The delay requirement specifies a number or a ratio of wireless terminals to which a predetermined delay is to be guaranteed among a plurality of wireless terminals belonging to a specific terminal group,
A radio access network node according to claim 1. The control module may be configured such that the delay required by the delay requirement for the wireless terminal utilizing or involving the edge computing has a priority over the required delay of the wireless terminal not involving the edge computing. Configured to perform the radio resource management as satisfied.
A radio access network node according to claim 1. A method in a radio access network node located in a radio access network, comprising:
Receiving, from an edge server, a message indicating control information derived from characteristics of a wireless terminal connected to the wireless access network, wherein the edge server is disposed in connection with the wireless access network, and Providing at least one of computing resources and storage resources for edge computing related to a service or application directed to a terminal, and a plurality of wireless terminals including the wireless terminal in consideration of the control information Performing radio resource management for at least one of:
With
The control information includes at least one of a delay requirement, a throughput requirement, a priority requirement, and a mobility requirement,
Method. The radio resource management includes releasing a connection with the at least one radio terminal, scheduling radio resources to the at least one radio terminal, setting an individual scheduling request resource for the at least one radio terminal, and setting the at least one Including at least one of a wireless terminal handover,
The method according to claim 11. A program for causing a computer to perform a method in a radio access network node arranged in a radio access network, the program comprising:
The method comprises: receiving, from an edge server, a message indicating control information derived from characteristics of a wireless terminal connected to the wireless access network; and taking into account the control information, a plurality of wireless terminals including the wireless terminal. Performing radio resource management for at least one of them;
Including
The edge server is coupled to the radio access network and provides at least one of a computing resource and a storage resource for edge computing regarding a service or an application directed to the radio terminal. Is configured to
The control information includes at least one of a delay requirement, a throughput requirement, a priority requirement, and a mobility requirement,
program. An edge server coupled to a wireless access network,
An edge computing platform configured to provide at least one of computing and storage resources for edge computing for services or applications for wireless terminals connecting to the wireless access network; ,
A control module configured to send a message indicating control information derived from characteristics of the wireless terminal to a wireless access network node in the wireless access network;
With
The control information is considered by the radio access network node for radio resource management for at least one of a plurality of radio terminals including the radio terminal,
The control information includes at least one of a delay requirement, a throughput requirement, a priority requirement, and a mobility requirement,
Edge server. The radio resource management includes releasing a connection with the at least one radio terminal, scheduling radio resources to the at least one radio terminal, setting an individual scheduling request resource for the at least one radio terminal, and setting the at least one Including at least one of a wireless terminal handover,
The edge server according to claim 14. The control module is configured to determine the control information from characteristics of the wireless terminal,
The characteristics of the wireless terminal includes front terminal type of quinic line terminal, communication data type of the wireless terminal, and the type of service or application the wireless terminal is to use, at least one of,
The edge server according to claim 14. The control module is configured to determine the control information from characteristics of the wireless terminal,
The characteristics of the wireless terminal include at least one of a position of the wireless terminal and a movement characteristic of the wireless terminal,
The edge server according to claim 14. The control module is configured to determine the control information from characteristics of the wireless terminal,
The characteristics of the wireless terminal include at least one of a communication interval of the wireless terminal and a communication data amount of the wireless terminal,
The edge server according to claim 14. The delay requirement specifies at least one of a maximum delay, an average delay, a delay jitter, and a priority regarding delay guarantee,
The edge server according to any one of claims 14 to 18. The delay requirement specifies a period, schedule, or number of times that the delay requirement is required;
The edge server according to any one of claims 14 to 19. The delay requirement specifies a number or a ratio of wireless terminals to which a predetermined delay is to be guaranteed among a plurality of wireless terminals belonging to a specific terminal group,
The edge server according to any one of claims 14 to 20. An edge, coupled to a wireless access network, for providing at least one of computing and storage resources for edge computing for services or applications directed to wireless terminals connected to the wireless access network The method in the server,
Transmitting a message indicating control information derived from the characteristics of the wireless terminal to a wireless access network node in the wireless access network;
With
The control information is considered by the radio access network node for radio resource management for at least one of a plurality of radio terminals including the radio terminal,
The control information includes at least one of a delay requirement, a throughput requirement, a priority requirement, and a mobility requirement,
Method. The radio resource management includes releasing a connection with the at least one radio terminal, scheduling radio resources to the at least one radio terminal, setting an individual scheduling request resource for the at least one radio terminal, and setting the at least one Including at least one of a wireless terminal handover,
23. The method according to claim 22. Further comprising determining the control information from the characteristics of the wireless terminal,
A method according to claim 22 or 23. The properties of the wireless terminal before the terminal type of quinic line terminal, the communication data type of the wireless terminal, and the type of service or application the wireless terminal is available, the position of the wireless terminal, the mobile characteristic of the wireless terminal, Including at least one of a communication interval of the wireless terminal, and a communication data amount of the wireless terminal,
A method according to claim 24. An edge, coupled to a wireless access network, for providing at least one of computing and storage resources for edge computing for services or applications directed to wireless terminals connected to the wireless access network A program for causing a computer to perform a method in a server,
The method includes transmitting a message indicating control information derived from characteristics of the wireless terminal to a wireless access network node in the wireless access network,
The control information is considered by the radio access network node for radio resource management for at least one of a plurality of radio terminals including the radio terminal,
The control information includes at least one of a delay requirement, a throughput requirement, a priority requirement, and a mobility requirement,
program. A policy management node arranged in a core network,
A communication module configured to communicate with an edge server, wherein said edge server is coupled to a wireless access network and is associated with a service or application for a wireless terminal connected to said wireless access network; Providing at least one of computing and storage resources for computing;
A control configured to receive the characteristic information of the wireless terminal from the edge server via the communication module, and to transmit control information derived from the characteristic information to a wireless access network node arranged in the wireless access network. Modules and
With
The control information requests the radio access network node to perform radio resource management for at least one of a plurality of radio terminals including the radio terminal,
Policy management node. The radio resource management includes at least one of scheduling radio resources to the at least one radio terminal, setting a dedicated scheduling request resource for the at least one radio terminal, and handover of the at least one radio terminal. ,
The policy management node according to claim 27. The control information includes at least one of a delay requirement, a throughput requirement, a priority requirement, and a mobility requirement,
The policy management node according to claim 27 or 28. The delay requirement specifies at least one of a maximum delay, an average delay, a delay jitter, and a priority regarding delay guarantee,
A policy management node according to claim 29. The delay requirement specifies a period, schedule, or number of times that the delay requirement is required;
31. The policy management node according to claim 29. The delay requirement specifies a number or a ratio of wireless terminals to which a predetermined delay is to be guaranteed among a plurality of wireless terminals belonging to a specific terminal group,
A policy management node according to any one of claims 29 to 31. A method in a policy management node located in a core network,
Receiving characteristic information of a wireless terminal from an edge server, wherein the edge server is associated with a wireless access network and is associated with a service or application directed to the wireless terminal connected to the wireless access network; Providing at least one of computing and storage resources for edge computing; and transmitting control information derived from the characteristic information to a radio access network node located within the radio access network. thing,
With
The control information requests the radio access network node to perform radio resource management for at least one of a plurality of radio terminals including the radio terminal,
Method. The radio resource management includes at least one of scheduling radio resources to the at least one radio terminal, setting a dedicated scheduling request resource for the at least one radio terminal, and handover of the at least one radio terminal. ,
A method according to claim 33. The control information includes at least one of a delay requirement, a throughput requirement, a priority requirement, and a mobility requirement,
The method according to claim 33 or 34. A program for causing a computer to perform a method in a policy management node arranged in a core network,
The method comprises:
Receiving characteristic information of a wireless terminal from an edge server, wherein the edge server is associated with a wireless access network and is associated with a service or application directed to the wireless terminal connected to the wireless access network; Providing at least one of computing and storage resources for edge computing; and transmitting control information derived from the characteristic information to a radio access network node located within the radio access network. thing,
Including
The control information requests the radio access network node to perform radio resource management for at least one of a plurality of radio terminals including the radio terminal,
program.

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