WO2017142529A1

WO2017142529A1 - Identifying a virtual machine hosting multiple evolved packet core (epc) components

Info

Publication number: WO2017142529A1
Application number: PCT/US2016/018258
Authority: WO
Inventors: Muhammad Taqi MEHDI; Dongho Kim; Kyu Han Kim
Original assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development Lp
Priority date: 2016-02-17
Filing date: 2016-02-17
Publication date: 2017-08-24

Abstract

Examples herein disclose an identification of a virtual machine hosting multiple evolved packet core (EPC) components based on a receipt of a handover message associated with a client device. The handover message is directed to the identified virtual machine for performance of the handover.

Description

IDENTIFYING A VIRTUAL MACHINE HOSTING MULTIPLE EVOLVED PACKET CORE (EPC)

COMPONENTS

BACKGROUND

[000 ] Service providers face an increasing volume of cellular traffic. Increasing the volume of cellular traffic leads to implementing a flexible resource management. Network function virtualization (NFV) is such a framework which virtualizes network functions to create commumcation services with a flexible resource management. An application of NFV may include creating an evolved packet core (EPC) system. The evolved packet core (EPC) system provides a framework for converging voice and data on a network. As such, the EPC supports seamless handovers for mobile devices entering various commumcation areas each covered by a respective base station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] In the accompanying drawings, like numerals refer to like components or blocks. The following detailed description references the drawings, wherein:

[0003] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system including a client device to transmit a handover message to a base station and in turn an EPC system;

[0004] FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an example system including an NFV structure for implementation with the present disclosure;

[0005] FIG. 2B illustrates an example graph representing a latency time accumulated during a handover between multiple EPC components;

[0006] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method executable by a network controller to direct a handover message to an identified virtual machine hosting multiple EPC components in accordance with the present disclosure;

[0007] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method executable by a network controller to perform a handover operation between multiple EPC components hosted by a virtual machine based on an identification of the virtual machine in accordance with the present disclosure; and

[0008] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example networking component with a processing resource to execute instructions in a machine-readable storage medium for receiving a handover message and in turn identifying a virtual machine hosting multiple EPC components for directing the handover message to the identified virtual machine in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0009] The EPC system unifies voice and data on an Internet Protocol (IP) service architecture. As such, components for implementing EPC system include a mobility management entity (MME), serving gateway (SGW), packet data network gateway (PGW), home subscriber server (HSS), and policy and charging rules function (PCRF). These components may be located in geographically different locations which leads to latency issues during a handover operation. The handover operation refers to the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session in which a client device (e.g., mobile device) moves from one area covered by a base station and entering another area covered by a different base station. To perform the handover, the EPC components exchange communications across to the geographically different locations which leads to latency issues.

[0010] Examples discussed herein reduces the overall latency time for performing a handover in an EPC system. Reducing the overall latency time for performing the handover, optimizes the handover latency such that the latency is within a tolerance range as specified by a third generation partnership project (3GPP) standards. The 3 GPP standards set forth the guidelines for EPC system operation.

[0011] The examples disclose an identification of a virtual machine hosting multiple EPC components based on a receipt of a handover message associated with a client device. Upon identification of the virtual machine, the handover message is directed to the identified virtual machine for performance of the handover. Directing the handover message to the identified virtual machine which hosts the multiple EPC components, locates the EPC components in one area to perform the handover.

[0012] An initiation of a handover event which is relevant to a specific client device is received by the network controller. The network controller determines an identifier corresponding to the specific client device. The network controller identifies which virtual machine is responsible for the handover event based on the identifier. The handover event is directed or forwarded by the network controller to the identified virtual machine for performance of the handover. Directing the handover message to the identified virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components, reduces the amount of time and distance for the handover messages to communicate. This reduces the overall time for the handover operation, thus bringing the overall handover operation within the time latencies specified as acceptable by the 3GPP standards.

[0013] Additionally, during peak hours of use of the communication network, it is more efficient to deploy the virtual machine with the multiple EPC components rather than changing each of the different EPC components.

[0014] Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a network in which a client device 104 moves from one area covered by a base station and entering an area covered by another base station 106, Based on the client device 104 entering into the network covered by the base station 106, a handover message 108 is transmitted to a network controller 110 in an EPC system 102. Upon receipt of the handover message 108, the network controller 110 identifies a virtual machine 112 hosting multiple EPC components 1 14. The multiple EPC components 114 perform the handover at module 116 to transfer an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to a core network to another channel connected to the core network. The core network is the central part of the telecommunications network that provides various services to the client device(s) 104 that are connected by an access network. For example, one of the functions of the core network is to route calls across a public switched telephone network (PSTN). In one implementation, the EPC system 102 is part of the overall core network to provide such functionality. The EPC system 102 is designed on an Internet-Protocol based network architecture, such as the network function virtualization (NFV). The access network is part of the telecommunications network which connects subscribers or clients to their immediate service provider. The system in FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network which includes, by way of example, a telecommunications network such as a cellular network, a long-term evolution (LTE) network, EPC network, second generation of mobile telecommunication technology (2G), third generation of mobile telecommunications technology (3G), fourth generation of mobile telecommunications technology (4G), wireless local area network (wLAN), worldwide operability for microwave access (WiMAX), or other of telecommunications network. Additionally, although FIG. 1 illustrates the base station 106 and respective EPC system 102, this was done for illustration purposes and not to limit the present disclosure. For example, FIG. 1 may further include other communication systems, such as an additional EPC system and/or LTE system, etc. [0015] The EPC system 102 is a high-performance, high capacity IP core network for a telecommunications network (e.g., LTE). As such, the EPC system 102 provides the system framework for converging voice and data. In this example, the EPC system 102 is the part of the overall system which converges voice and data on the telecommunications network. The EPC system 102 unifies voice and data on an Internet Protocol (IP) service architecture. The EPC components implement the functionality of the EPC system 102 and include, by way of example, a mobility management entity (MME), serving gateway (SGW), packet data network gateway (PGW), home subscriber server (HSS), policy and charging rules function (PCRF). The functionalities of each of these EPC components are described in connection with the multiple EPC components 1 14.

[0016] The client device 104 is the electrical device within the network which provides voice and/or data signals. As such, the client device 104 includes a transceiver (not illustrated) to transmit and receive signals from the base station 106. The client device 104 is mobile device which is specific to each subscriber within the network. As such when the client device 104 leaves one network and enters another network, the client device 104 exchanges message with the base station 106 to continue service for that network. This enables the seamless handover between the client device 104 and the network. Implementations of the client device 104 include a smart phone, computer, personal computer, laptop, tablet, or other type of electronic device capable of providing voice and/or data signals within the network.

[0017] The base station 106 is a cell tower that operates in a given radio frequency with an antennae and electronic equipment to create a cell (or adjacent cells) in the network. The base station 106 receives the initiation of the handover event in the form of an analog signal from the client device 104. The base station 106 proceeds to digitize the analog signal to form the packetized handover message 108, The structure of the base station 106 supports antennae, transceivers, digital signal processor, control electronics, and power sources to provide the handover message 108 to the network controller 1 10 upon the client device 104 entering the network. In an implementation, the base station is an evolved Node B, referred to as eNodeB that controls the client device(s) 104 in the cells. This implementation is discussed in detail in a later figure.

[0018] The handover message 108 initiates the handover event at the EPC system 102. The handover message 108 is specific to the client device 104, such that the network controller 1 10 can look an identifier corresponding to the client device 104. To initiate the handover event, the client device 104 transmits the handover message 108 to the base station 106 which in turn is transmitted to the network controller 1 10.

[0019] The network controller 1 10 is a networking component which may include a hardware component and/or virtualized component to achieve the functionality of the network controller 1 10. The network controller 1 10 receives the handover message 108 in packets from the base station 106. Upon receiving the handover message 108, the network controller 110 finds the identifier which distinguishes the client device 104 among other client devices. The identifier is a name or value which is used to distinguish the given client device 104, Based on determining the identifier, the network controller 110 proceeds to identify which virtual machine is responsible for the handover event with the given identifier. In this manner, the virtual machine 1 12 is identified from other virtual machines which may be responsible for handover events for client devices different from the client device 104. In one implementation, the network controller 1 0 uses a mapping mechanism to determine the identifier associated with the given client device 104. Using the identifier and mapping mechanism, the network controller 1 10 proceeds to identify which virtual machine is responsible for the handover event related to the client device 104. Implementations of the network controller 110 include a virtualized controller, software-defined networking (SDN) controller, a networking device, interface controller, processing device, or other type of controller.

[0020] The virtual machine 1 12 is implemented through hardware and/or software to provide an emulation of a particular computing system. As such, the virtual machine 112 operates based on the IP server architecture of the EPC system 102. Implementations of the virtual machine 1 12 include system virtual machine, hypervisor, process virtual machine, an operating system level virtualization, quick emulator (QEMU) machine, etc.

[0021] The multiple EPC components 1 14 implement the functionality of the EPC system 102. As such, the multiple components 1 1 include at least two different EPC components from MME, SOW, PGW, HSS, and PCRF. The MME manages session states and authenticates and tracks a particular client device across the network. The SGW routes data packets through the access network. The PGW acts as an interface between the LTE network and other packet data networks, manages the quality of service (QoS) of the packets, and provides deep packet inspection (DPI). The PCRF supports service data flow detection, policy enforcement, and flow-based charging. The HSS is a central database that contains information about the network's subscribers. Each of the EPC components 1 14 communicates with one another for performance of the handover of the client device 104 in the telecommunications network. In an implementation, related functions of the EPC components may be grouped together for hosting on the virtual machine 1 12, For example, the functionalities related to the handover may be hosted on the virtual machine 112, while other related functionalities may be hosted on a different virtual machine. These implementations are discussed in detail in a later figure.

[0022] At module 116, the multiple EPC components 114 hosted by the virtual machine 1 12 perform the handover. During the performance of the handover, the multiple EPC components 114 communicate back and forth with another to communicate messages such as modify bearer request, path switch, initiation, acknowledge, or other related messages for performing the handover of the client device 104 within the telecommunications system of FIG. 1. The module 1 16 includes, by way of example, instructions (e.g., stored on a machine-readable medium) that, when executed (e.g., by the network controller 1 10), implement the functionality of module 116. Alternatively, or in addition, the module 1 16 may include electronic circuitry (i.e., hardware) that implements the functionality of module 116.

[0023] FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an example network including an NFV infrastructure 220 for implementation with the present disclosure. As such, FIG. 2A illustrates an example of the handover as introduced with the handover management (HoM) of related functions 218. To handle a handover event, related functions (MME HoM, PGW HoM, SGW HoM) 218 of different EPC components 114 (e.g., MME, SGW, PGW, HSS, etc.) are coupled together within virtual machine 112. On the handover, a base station receives the handover message from a client device and transmits to a network controller. In turn, the network controller forwards or directs the handover message to the virtual machine 1 12 with the related functions 218. The related functions 218 are those functions of the EPC components 1 14 which handle the handover. Other functions of the EPC components 114 may include authentication, termination, etc. Those other functions may be located on a virtual machine different from the virtual machine 112. Grouping together the related functions 218 on the same virtual machine 1 12, reduces the overall latency for performing the handover.

[0024] The NFV infrastructure 220 is the network architecture which uses the combination of hardware resources (HW Resources), virtualization resources, and virtualization software (virtualization SW) to create the communication network for implementation of the present disclosure. The hardware resources include a computing device such as a processor, storage, and network device. The virtualization software is the virtualization layer in which a developer programs to create the virtual resources.

[0025] FIG. 2B is a graph illustrating a handover latency accumulated during a handover between multiple EPC components. The graph illustrates two different VNF deployment scenarios. The first scenario is the time latency during performance of the handover when the multiple EPC components are in one location 222 (e.g., the virtual machine 1 12). The second scenario includes the time latency during performance of the handover when the multiple EPC components are in different locations 224. The time latency is represented in milliseconds on the left hand side of the graph. The handover latency when the EPC components are provided in one location 222 measures to around 175 milliseconds while the when the EPC components are provided in different locations 224, the time latency is around 275 milliseconds. The implementation of grouping together the EPC components in the virtual machine reduces the time latency by 100 milliseconds. This brings the time latency within the standards provided for by the 3GPP.

[0026] FIG. 3 illustrates a fl owchart of a method executable by a network controller to direct a handover message to a virtual machine hosting multiple EPC components. Initially, the network controller receives the handover message from a base station within the system. The base station receives an analog handover message from a client device which is packetized to create the handover message which is considered associated with the handover message. Upon receiving the handover message, the network controller identifies the virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components. Identifying the virtual machine, the network controller proceeds to route the handover message to the identified virtual machine. Upon receiving the handover message, the multiple EPC components hosted by the identified virtual machine perform the handover. In discussing FIG. 3, references may be made to the components in FIGS. 1-2 to provide contextual examples. In one implementation, the network controller 110 as in FIG. 1 executes operations 302- 304 to identify the virtual machine for performance of the handover. Further, although FIG. 3 is described as implemented by the network controller 1 10 it may be executed on other suitable components. For example, FIG. 3 may be implemented in the form of executable instructions on a machine-readable storage medium 504 as in FIG. 5.

[0027] At operation 302, the network controller identifies the virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components. Initially at operation 302, the network controller receives the handover message to commence the handover process. As explained in connection with earlier figures, the term handover refers to the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to a core network (e.g., EPC network) to another channel. The core network is considered the central part of the communications network which provides services to clients who are connected by an access network. The access network is part of the communication network which connects client(s) to their immediate service provider. During the handover, the message is sent from the client device to the base station. From the base station, the handover message is transmitted to the network controller in the EPC system. Upon receiving the message, the network controller proceeds to identify which virtual machine within the EPC is hosting the multiple EPC components. To perform this action, the network controller determines the client device associated with the handover message. In this action, the network controller locates the identifier which identifies the given client device from among other client devices. Determining the identifier, the network controller uses a mapping mechanism to further clarify which virtual machine among multiple machines are hosting the multiple EPC components. The mapping mechanism provides guidance for the network controller to distinguish which virtual machine to direct the handover message for performance. Based on the identification of the virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components, the network controller proceeds to operation 304.

[0028] At operation 304, the network controller directs the handover message to the identified virtual machine for performance of the handover. The handover is performed between the multiple EPC components, such as the various gateways, mobility management entity, etc. During the handover, the EPC components communicate to authenticate and set-up the client device for communications in the EPC system. Directing the handover message to the identified virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components, reduces the amount of time and distance for the handover messages to communicate. This reduces the overall time for the handover operation, thus bringing the overall handover operation within the time latencies specified as acceptable by the 3red generation partnership project (3GPP). The 3GPP is a collaboration between telecommunications associations which provides the standards for operations in telecommunications systems.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example method executable by a network controller to perform a handover operation. The network controller initially receives a handover message associated with a client device and in turn determines an identifier which corresponds to that client device. Determining the identifier, the network controller identifies the virtual machine that corresponds to the identifier. Upon identifying the virtual machine, the network controller directs the handover message to the identified virtual machine to perform the handover. The identified virtual machine is the virtual machine which hosts multiple EPC components which perform the handover. In an implementation, one of the EPC components includes the mobility management entity (MME). In this implementation, an Si application protocol (S1AP) module is decoupled from the MME, such that the S 1 AP module forms a direct connection to a base station. Upon forming the direct connection, message may be executed in a parallel manner between the EPC components during performance of the handover. Forming the direct connection, the network controller proceeds to direct the handover message to the identified virtual machine for performance of the handover. In discussing FIG. 4, references may be made to the components in FIGS, 1 -2 to provide contextual examples. In one implementation, the network controller 1 10 as in FIG. 1 executes operations 402-416 to identify the virtual machine for performance of the handover. Further, although FIG. 4 is described as implemented by the network controller 110 it may be executed on other suitable components. For example, FIG. 4 may be implemented in the form of executable instructions on a machine-readable storage medium 504 as in FIG. 5.

[0030] At operation 402, the network controller receives the handover message associated with the client device. As the client device travels from an area covered by one base station and moving into a different area covered by a different base station, the different base station receives the handover message. The different base station receives the handover message and packetizes the message to transmit to the network controller. As such, the packetized message identifies which client device is initiating the handover process. In this implementation, the handover message is associated with the client device. Upon receiving the handover message, the network controller proceeds to identify the virtual machine as operations 404-406.

[0031] At operation 404, the network controller determines the identifier corresponding to the client device based on the receipt of the handover message. The identifier is a name or value used to identify one client device from another client device. In one implementation, the identifier is included as part of the handover message which the network controller extracts to determine which virtual machine to route the handover message. In another implementation, the network controllers uses a mapping mechanism that includes the identity of multiple client devices. Using the identity of the given client device that transmitted the handover message, the network controller can find the identifier for that client device. The network controller uses the identifier to identify which virtual machine that is hosting the multiple EPC components. Upon determining the identifier, the network controller proceeds to identify the virtual machine.

[0032] At operation 406, based on the identifier, the network controller identifies the virtual machine that is hosting the multiple EPC components within the EPC system. The network controller utilizes the mapping mechanism to find the identifier corresponding to the client device. Upon finding the identifier, the network controller finds the corresponding virtual machine. The mapping mechanism may be developed and created by a developer for the network controller to track the virtual machines within the EPC system. The corresponding virtual machine is a virtual machine residing within the network that hosts the multiple EPC components related to the handover process.

[0033] At operation 408, the network controller directs the handover message to the virtual machine identified at operation 406. The handover message may initially be directed to one virtual machine, which the network controller may redirect the handover message to a different virtual message as identified at operation 406. Operation 408 may be similar in functionality to operation 304 as in FIG. 3,

[0034] At operation 410, if one of the multiple EPC components includes the MME component, the network controller proceeds to form a direct connection between the base station and an SI application protocol (S1 AP) module. Forming the direct connection, allows handover communications to be executed in a parallel manner between the EPC components as at operations 412-414.

[0035] At operation 412, based on a decoupling of the S 1AP module from the MME module, a direct connection is formed between the base station and the S1AP module. Specifically, the base station is referred to as an eNodeB which is an evolved Node B that controls the client devices in the cell networks. The eNodeB supports the following functions such as: sends and receives transmissions to the client devices using analog and digital signal processing functions; and controls the low-level operations of the client devices, by sending signaling messages such as handover commands. The decoupling of the SIAP module is performed by an administrator, such that the S1AP module may reside on a location or virtual machine which is considered closer to the eNodeB. In this implementation, the administrator programs the SIAP module to reside on a location closer either in a physical sense or communications sense to the eNodeB. For example, the SIAP module may be decoupled from the MME core and deployed to an edge of the EPC system. This decoupling provides a direct access link which further improves time latency in the handover performance.

[0036] At operation 414, based on the direct connection formed by the decoupled S 1 AP module from the MME, handover messages are executed in the parallel manner. In this implementation, to execute the handover, the SI AP module and eNodeB communication back and forth to facilitate the handover execution. By communication back and forth, the EPC components transmit and receive communications in parallel to execute the handover in an efficient manner.

[0037] At operation 416, the multiple EPC components which are hosted by the identified virtual machine. The handover message directed to the identified virtual machine at operation 408 initiates the handover communications between the multiple EPC components. Upon the completion of the handover performance, a signal or message is transmitted to the client device to commence communications within the system. Additionally, execution of the handover messages in parallel can further improve the time latency in the handover. For example, the performance of handover improves if at least two mutually exclusive messages are transmitted in parallel. The exclusive message related to the handover may include modify bearer request, path switch, initiation, acknowledge, among others.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of networking component 500 with processing resource 502 to execute instructions 506-514 within a machine-readable storage medium 504. Specifically, the networking component 500 with the processing resource 502 is to receive a handover message associated with a client device. Upon receiving the handover message, the processing resource 502 locates the virtual machine for hosting multiple EPC components. Based on the identification of the virtual machine, the handover message is directed to the identified virtual machine for performance of the handover. Although the networking component 500 includes processing resource 502 and machine-readable storage medium 504, it may also include other components that would be suitable to one skilled in the art. For example, the networking component 500 may include a network controller 110 as in FIG. 1. The networking component 500 is an electronic device with the processing resource 502 capable of executing instructions 506-514, and as such implementations of the networking component 500 include a computing device, server, data center, networking device, client device, switch, router, virtual networking component, or other type of electronic device capable of executing instructions 506-514. The instructions 506-5142 may be implemented as methods, functions, operations, and other processes implemented as machine-readable instructions stored on the storage medium 504, which may be non-transitory, such as hardware storage devices (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, electrically erasable ROM, hard drives, and flash memory).

[0039] The processing resource 502 may fetch, decode, and execute instructions 506-514 to perform the handover between multiple EPC components hosted on the identified virtual machine. Specifically, the processing resource 502 executes instructions 506-514 to: receive the handover message associated with the client device; determine an identifier corresponding to the client device; identify the virtual machine that corresponds to the identifier, the identified virtual machine hosts the multiple EPC components, direct the handover message to the identified virtual machine, and performing the handover by the multiple EPC components hosted by the identified virtual machine.

[0040] The machine-readable storage medium 504 includes instructions 506-514 for the processing resource 502 to fetch, decode, and execute. In another embodiment, the machine-readable storage medium 504 may be an electronic, magnetic, optical, memory, storage, flash-drive, or other physical device that contains or stores executable instructions. Thus, the machine-readable storage medium 504 may include, for example, Random Access Memory (RAM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), a storage drive, a memory cache, network storage, a Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CDROM) and the like. As such, the machine-readable storage medium 504 may include an application and/or firmware which can be utilized independently and/or in conjunction with the processing resource 502 to fetch, decode, and/or execute instructions of the machine-readable storage medium 504, The application and/or firmware may be stored on the machine-readable storage medium 504 and/or stored on another location of the networking component 500.

[0041] Although certain embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be greatly appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent embodiments or implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be substituted for the embodiments shown and described without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Those with skill in the art will readily appreciate that embodiments may be implemented in a variety of ways. This application is intended to cover adaptions or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifestly intended that embodiments be limited only by the claims and equivalents thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS We claim:

1. A method, executable by a network controller, the method comprising:

based on receipt of a handover message associated with a client device, identifying a virtual machine hosting multiple evolved packet core (EPC) components within an EPC system; and directing the handover message to the identified virtual machine for performance of the handover.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein based on the receipt of the handover message associated with the client device, identifying the virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components within the EPC system comprises:

determining an identifier corresponding to the client device based on the receipt of the handover message; and

based on the identifier, identifying the virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components within the EPC system.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising:

receiving, from a base station, the handover message associated with the client device,

4. The method of claim 3 wherein at least one of the multiple EPC components includes a mobility management entity (MME), the method comprising:

forming a direct connection between the base station and an S 1 application protocol (S 1 AP) module such that the S1AP module is decoupled from the MME.

5. The method of claim 4 comprising:

based on the direct connection formed by the decoupled S1AP module from the MME, executing multiple handover messages in a parallel manner between the multiple EPC components hosted on the identified virtual machine.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the handover is performed within a time period defined by a 3^td generation partnership project (3GPP) standard.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components within the EPC system comprises:

identifying the virtual machine that corresponds to an identifier, the identifier corresponding to the client device.

8. The method of claim 1 comprising:

performing the handover between the multiple EPC components hosted by the identified virtual machine.

9. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processing resource causes a networking component to:

determine an identifier corresponding to a client device based on receipt of a handover message;

based on the identifier, identify a virtual machine hosting multiple evolved packet core (EPC) components within an EPC system; and

direct the handover message to the identified virtual machine for performance of the handover,

10. The n on -transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9 comprising instructions that when executed by the processing resource cause the networking component to:

receive from a base station, the handover message associated with the client device.

1 1. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 9 comprising instructions that when executed by the processing resource cause the networking component to:

perform the handover between the multiple network functions hosted by the virtual machine.

12. An evolved packet core (EPC) system comprising:

a network controller to:

based on receipt of a handover message associated with a client device, identify a virtual machine hosting multiple EPC components;

direct the handover message associated with the client device to the identified virtual machine; and

the identified virtual machine, hosting the multiple EPC components, to:

receive the handover message associated with the client device; and perform a handover operation based on the handover message, the handover operation performed between the multiple network functions.

13. The EPC system of claim 12 wherein to identify the virtual machine hosting the multiple EPC components, the network controller is to:

determine an identifier corresponding to the client device based on the receipt of the handover message; and

based on the identifier, identify the virtual machine hosting the EPC components.

14. The EPC system of claim 12 wherein the multiple EPC components include at least two different EPC components from: a home subscriber server (HSS), a serving gateway (SGW), a packet data network gateway (PGW), a mobility management entity (MME), and a policy and charging rules function (PCRF).

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the network controller is located on a different virtual machine from the identified virtual machine.