WO2020259840A1

WO2020259840A1 - Optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks

Info

Publication number: WO2020259840A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/067148
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hans-Jochen Morper; Hannu Flinck
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2019-06-27
Filing date: 2019-06-27
Publication date: 2020-12-30
Anticipated expiration: 2021-12-27

Abstract

There are provided measures for optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks. Such measures (for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via a mobile network system, said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint being connected to said mobile network system via respective redundant paths, related to said communication session, towards a respective entry point to said mobile network system) exemplarily comprise detecting a number of said redundant paths of one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system, determining an air interface redundancy for said communication session based on said number and redundancy mapping rules, establishing disjunct air interface links to bridge between said two respective entry points to said mobile network system corresponding to said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint based on said number and said air interface redundancy, wherein said disjunct air interface links correspond to said air interface redundancy, and mapping each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system to each of said disjunct air interface links.

Description

Title

Optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks

Field

The present invention relates to optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks. More specifically, the present invention exemplarily relates to measures (including methods, apparatuses and computer program products) for realizing optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks.

Background

The present specification generally relates to redundancy mechanisms in network deployments bridging network segments via mobile networks.

Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Fifth Generation (5G) systems as an example for mobile network systems will extend mobile communication vertical to domains.

Industrial 5G deployments including industrial or automation use cases are considered as promising target area that can benefit from the unique 5G features for the low latency, high reliability, and high communication service availability.

With respect to primary use cases, functions and service requirements for 5G (in particular in the context of 5G for automation in industry), it is commonly agreed that 5G systems are to be integrated into existing industrial Ethernet and upcoming time sensitive networking (TSN) environments that support high reliability and low latency. With respect to the impact of high reliability and high communication service availability to 5G core network, it is noted that in order to ensure the high reliability, which can hardly be achieved by single path on user plane (UP), redundant transmission in 5G systems may be supported. Depending on the condition of network deployment, e.g., which network functions (NF) or segments can (or cannot) meet the requirements of reliability, the redundant transmission may be applied on the user plane path between the user equipment (UE) and the network.

High availability and high reliability support in 5G core network are foreseen to have implications to user plane function (UPF), access [and mobility] management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), policy control function (PCF), unified data management (UDM), and network exposure function (NEF) as well as network management.

To achieve high reliability, redundant transmissions are commonly used in industrial networks over wired connections. End-user packets that require high reliability are replicated over multiple disjoined cables. The current mechanisms use proprietary means to achieve the needed redundancy. For Ethernet based networks, a standard for "Frame Replication and Elimination for Reliability (FRER)" functionality has been issued. The locations of FRER functionality depends on the use case, system architecture and used protocols.

When considering redundant transmissions, it is clear that the redundant transmission consumes transport capacity, so that a care needs taken to ensure the overall system performance is in balance with the desired outcome.

In detail, 5G in industry deployments is supposed to be used as replacement/extension to wired networks. Wired industry networks are most often based on Ethernet with protocol/functional extensions that allow keeping very tough timing conditions that are required when interacting with machines, sensors, robots and the like.

5G offers a lot of functionality that allows 5G to be used for time critical services. However, when a radio connection is employed, for example in a factory, to extend or replace a cable connection, a redundant radio connectivity (i.e. connectivity utilizing at least two radio paths) is used by default.

Figure 5 illustrates a typical setup including a radio segment embodied by at least two radio links.

According to the exemplary setup of Figure 5, an industrial device (peer 2 as an example of a communication endpoint) communicates via the network with another peer (peer 1 as an example of a communication endpoint).

The industry device could be a sensor with a software (CLI, client) that reports measurement data to a server (SRV).

In case of a wireline connection (e.g. industrial Ethernet), those would be connected to Ethernet ports of switches or bridges of said network.

In case (5G) radio is used instead, redundancy has to be added such that information which is conveyed between the peers is redundant, i.e., there are two radio links (in minimum, between UE1 and gNBl and between UE2 and gNB2) which convey identical traffic to go save in case one radio link will break.

Typically, both peers are agnostic of wire or radio, i.e., they are connected to the network via Ethernet cable. This can be achieved by terminating the air interface at the client side (i.e. mobile access side) by employing a host which provides Ethernet connectivity to peers, and which adds/eliminates redundancy using one or more radio connection, as shown by two UEs (as an example for mobile terminals) in Figure 5.

Host and UEs may coincide in one or more physical entities or may be separate. Both radio links may be disjunct in that different radio access stations gNB (as an example for base stations) are provided.

At the network side (N6), a UPF may provide the function to add/remove redundancy.

In the present specification, it is considered that, as outlined above, peers (sensors, servers, etc.) are radio agnostic devices, which can be plugged to radio- and wireline parts of the network.

It is further considered that, in order to fulfill redundancy requirements at least in such industrial scenarios, in case a radio connection is used, minimum two disjunct (e.g. different base stations) redundant radio connections must be in place.

This attempt to fulfill the redundancy requirements may lead to arrangements, which entail an over-consumption of air interface resources as shown in Figure 6.

Namely, quite some industrial use cases require redundant connections also for wireline networks.

A typical example is a man-machine-interface (MMI) to control machines in a factory. Even in a wireline network, connectivity between MMI and the controlled device has to be realized with redundant wireline connections. Such wireline redundancy required by industrial use cases is hereinbelow mentioned as Nmd . Exemplary connectivity even in such in a wireline network between MMI and the controlled device has to be realized with Nm_d = 3 or Nm_d = 4 redundancy.

Figure 6 shows the basic setup for Nmd = 2 redundancy.

According to the scenario of Figure 6, the server in peer 1 at the network side is connected to a middleware (MW, e.g. part of industrial network, not of 5G) which adds/eliminates redundancy via two network connections of two networks (data network 1 (DN1) and data network 2 (DN2)).

Similar, at the client side/mobile access side (peer 2), a middleware component adds/eliminates redundancy from/to two hosts, which are connected to two UE devices.

This original redundancy (Nmd, i.e., the redundancy e.g. required by industrial use cases) provided by the two network connections via DN 1 and DN2 and the two hosts (i.e., "over-the-top" redundancy added by the industry use case) is not recognized by the 5G system (as peers are agnostic of wire or radio), which itself provides Ns_g = 2 redundancy over the air interface.

This leads to an "over-redundancy" at the most resource critical part of the network.

Namely, in the given example of Figure 6, four radio connections would be engaged (total redundancy (total number of established air interfaces) Ntot = 4) where two might have been sufficient. Similarly, in case of an original redundancy ("over-the-top" redundancy) of Nm_d = 4, this would result in eight air interface connections (total redundancy Ntot = 8).

While the concept of TSN addresses low and bounded end-to-end latency as well as high reliability and the concept of FRER is used to implement needed frame replications primarily for Ethernet networks, none of these concepts provides direct suggestions in relation to the above-identified drawbacks of the outlined scenario. In particular, these technologies are not expected to be deployed (any time soon) in already operational industry settings. Instead, a stepwise approach is anticipated, according to which some parts of the already operational ("legacy") industrial networks are replaced by 5G network components.

In relation to the introducing ideas with respect to the impact of high reliability and high communication service availability to 5G core network, according to which, in order to ensure the high reliability, which can hardly be achieved by single path on user plane (UP), redundant transmission in 5G systems may be supported, two high level solutions how to handle high reliability by redundant transmission in user plane are suggested, namely in implementing multiple UEs per device for user plane redundancy (technical report (TR) 23.725: clause 6.2), and in providing a replication framework in 3GPP systems (TR 23.725: clause 6.7).

The former introduces the notion of reliability groups for UEs and for the cells of gNBs to ensure that the protocol data unit (PDU) sessions are on redundant accesses and paths. The latter introduces a replicator that allows the 3GPP system to be aware that two or more "streams" of replicated packets belong together. According to the latter, the SMF determines based on policies whether a particular PDU session is subject to replication and selects an UPF with replicator functionality.

None of the above known concepts takes into consideration possible replications above the PDU session level, i.e. replications done at the DN level or at the application level.

Hence, the problem arises that the above identified potential "over redundancy" at the most resource critical part of the network is neither recognized nor addressed, i.e., avoided or at least minimized. Hence, there is a need to provide for optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks.

Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention aim at addressing at least part of the above issues and/or problems and drawbacks.

Various aspects of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are set out in the appended claims.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via a mobile network system, said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint being connected to said mobile network system via respective redundant paths, related to said communication session, towards a respective entry point to said mobile network system, the method comprising detecting a number of said redundant paths of one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system, determining an air interface redundancy for said communication session based on said number and redundancy mapping rules, establishing disjunct air interface links to bridge between said two respective entry points to said mobile network system corresponding to said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint based on said number and said air interface redundancy, wherein said disjunct air interface links correspond to said air interface redundancy, and mapping each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system to each of said disjunct air interface links. According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile network system for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via said mobile network system, the mobile network system comprising entry points to said mobile network system, wherein said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint being connectable to said mobile network system via respective redundant paths, related to said communication session, towards a respective entry point to said mobile network system, and wherein the mobile network system is configured to perform a method according to the above-summarized method related exemplary aspects of the present invention.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mobile network system for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via said mobile network system, the mobile network system comprising at least one processor, at least one memory including computer program code, and at least one interface configured for communication, the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to provide entry points to said mobile network system, wherein said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint being connectable to said mobile network system via respective redundant paths, related to said communication session, towards a respective entry point to said mobile network system, and wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform a method according to the above-summarized method related exemplary aspects of the present invention.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program product comprising computer-executable computer program code which, when the program is run on a computer (e.g. a computer of an apparatus according to any one of the aforementioned apparatus-related exemplary aspects of the present invention), is configured to cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of the aforementioned method-related exemplary aspects of the present invention.

Such computer program product may comprise (or be embodied) a (tangible) computer-readable (storage) medium or the like on which the computer- executable computer program code is stored, and/or the program may be directly loadable into an internal memory of the computer or a processor thereof.

Any one of the above aspects enables an efficient avoidance or at least minimization of over-redundancy in air interfaces of the mobile network (e.g. 5G network) to thereby solve at least part of the problems and drawbacks identified in relation to the prior art.

By way of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there is provided optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks. More specifically, by way of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there are provided measures and mechanisms for realizing optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks.

Thus, improvement is achieved by methods, apparatuses and computer program products enabling/realizing optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks.

Brief description of the drawings

In the following, the present invention will be described in greater detail by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system environment,

Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary system environment,

Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system environment according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system environment applying a mapping rules set according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system environment applying a mapping rules set according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of two examples of a system environment applying a mapping rules set according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 11a is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, Figure lib shows a schematic diagram of signaling sequences according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 11c is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure lid is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 12a is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 12b shows a schematic diagram of signaling sequences according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 12c is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 12d is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, corresponding signaling sequences, as well as a corresponding "magic packet",

Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and

Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention,

Figure 16 is a block diagram alternatively illustrating a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Detailed description of drawings and embodiments of the present invention

The present invention is described herein with reference to particular non limiting examples and to what are presently considered to be conceivable embodiments of the present invention. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is by no means limited to these examples, and may be more broadly applied.

It is to be noted that the following description of the present invention and its embodiments mainly refers to specifications being used as non-limiting examples for certain exemplary network configurations and deployments. Namely, the present invention and its embodiments are mainly described in relation to 3GPP specifications being used as non-limiting examples for certain exemplary network configurations and deployments. In particular, application of 5G systems in industrial scenarios is used as a non-limiting example for the applicability of thus described exemplary embodiments. As such, the description of exemplary embodiments given herein specifically refers to terminology which is directly related thereto. Such terminology is only used in the context of the presented non-limiting examples, and does naturally not limit the invention in any way. Rather, any other communication or communication related system deployment, etc. may also be utilized as long as compliant with the features described herein.

Hereinafter, various embodiments and implementations of the present invention and its aspects or embodiments are described using several variants and/or alternatives. It is generally noted that, according to certain needs and constraints, all of the described variants and/or alternatives may be provided alone or in any conceivable combination (also including combinations of individual features of the various variants and/or alternatives). According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in general terms, there are provided measures and mechanisms for (enabling/realizing) optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks.

In the description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention below, the original redundancy ("over-the-top" redundancy) mentioned in the introductory portion as the redundancy Nm_d introduced by the industrial network is denoted as system redundancy N, and the 5G provided redundancy of the (involved) air interfaces mentioned in the introductory portion as the total redundancy Ntot is denoted as implicit redundancy NA.

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The mobile network system may be a 5G system 10 for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and a second communication endpoint 15a, 15b via said mobile network system 10 comprising entry points 11a, lib to said mobile network system 10. The mobile network system 10 detects a number of redundant paths 14a, 14b of one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b towards said respective entry point 11a, lib to said mobile network system 10. Further, the mobile network system 10 determines an air interface redundancy for said communication session based on said number and redundancy mapping rules 16. Further, the mobile network system 10 establishes disjunct air interface links 13 to bridge between said two respective entry points 11a, lib to said mobile network system 10 corresponding to said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b based on said number and said air interface redundancy, wherein said disjunct air interface links 13 correspond to said air interface redundancy. Finally, the mobile network system 10 maps each of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b towards said respective entry point 11a, lib to said mobile network system 10 to each of said disjunct air interface links 13. As the count of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b may differ from the count of said disjunct air interface links 13, the mapping therebetween is no 1-to-l assignment. Instead, mapping means that each of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b is assigned to one or more of said disjunct air interface links 13, such that the count of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b is mapped to the count of said disjunct air interface links 13, preferably such that each of said disjunct air interface links 13 has one of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b assigned thereto.

As such, the mobile network system 10 may comprise at least detecting circuitry 401, determining circuitry 402, establishing circuitry 403, and mapping circuitry 404 (see Figure 4).

Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The system according to Figure 1 may perform the method of Figure 15 but is not limited to this method. The method of Figure 15 may be performed by the system of Figure 1 but is not limited to being performed by this system.

As shown in Figure 15, a procedure according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention comprises an operation of detecting (S151) a number of said redundant paths of one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system, an operation of determining (S152) an air interface redundancy for said communication session based on said number and redundancy mapping rules, an operation of establishing (S153) disjunct air interface links to bridge between said two respective entry points to said mobile network system corresponding to said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint based on said number and said air interface redundancy, wherein said disjunct air interface links correspond to said air interface redundancy, and an operation of mapping (S154) each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system to each of said disjunct air interface links.

As mentioned above, as the count of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b may differ from the count of said disjunct air interface links 13, the mapping operation (S154) therebetween does not necessarily lead to a 1-to-l assignment. Instead, mapping means that each of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b is assigned to one or more of said disjunct air interface links 13, such that the count of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b is mapped to the count of said disjunct air interface links 13, preferably such that each of said disjunct air interface links 13 has one of said redundant paths 14a, 14b of said one of said first communication endpoint 15a, 15b and said second communication endpoint 15a, 15b assigned thereto.

Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In particular, Figure 2 illustrates a variation of the system shown in Figure 1. The system according to Figure 2 may thus further comprise at least one user plane function entity 21 (for serving disjunct air interface links).

Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In particular, Figure 3 illustrates a variation of the system shown in Figure 1 or 2. The system according to Figure 3 may thus further comprise a radio access network 30 including said air interface links, base stations 31 (e.g. gNBs), mobile terminals 32 (e.g. UEs), and at least one host 33. The system according to Figure 3 may further comprise a session management entity 34.

Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In particular, Figure 4 illustrates a variation of the system shown in Figure 1 (or 2 or 3). The system according to Figure 4 may thus further comprise providing circuitry 405, assigning circuitry 406, comparing circuitry 407, identifying circuitry 408, replacing circuitry 409, configuring circuitry 410, terminating circuitry 411, serving circuitry 412, transmitting circuitry 413, sending circuitry 414, setting circuitry 415, coordinating circuitry 416, and/or receiving circuitry 417.

The present invention is not limited to the arrangement of the units and entities shown in Figures 1 to 4. In particular, the present invention also covers embodiments based on Figures 2 to 4, where some of the illustrated units and entities are omitted, and also embodiments formed by combining some of the units and entities shown in Figures 2 to 4 with others of the units and entities shown in Figures 2 to 4.

In an embodiment at least some of the functionalities of the system shown in Figure 1 (or 2, or 3) may be shared between two or more physically separate devices forming one operational entity. Therefore, the system may be seen to depict the operational entity comprising one or more physically separate devices for executing at least some of the described processes.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of providing said redundancy mapping rules. According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said redundancy mapping rules define that said air interface redundancy is equal to or larger than 2.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said redundancy mapping rules define that said air interface redundancy is equal to or larger than said number.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said redundancy mapping rules define that said air interface redundancy is equal to said number plus 1.

Alternatively, according to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said redundancy mapping rules define that, if said number is smaller than a predetermined minimum air interface redundancy, said air interface redundancy is equal to said predetermined minimum air interface redundancy, and if said number is equal to or larger than said predetermined minimum air interface redundancy, said air interface redundancy is equal to said number.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said redundancy mapping rules comprise one redundancy mapping rules set per mobile network system.

Alternatively, according to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said redundancy mapping rules comprise one redundancy mapping rules set per communication session service.

Alternatively, or in addition, according to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said redundancy mapping rules comprise one redundancy mapping rules set per communication session use case. According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of assigning traffic related to said communication session via each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system redundantly to each of said disjunct air interface links.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary details of the assigning operation are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such.

Such exemplary assigning operation according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of comparing traffic related to said communication session via each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system, an operation of identifying corrupted packets or streams within said traffic related to said communication session via one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system based on a result of said comparing, and an operation of replacing said corrupted packets or streams within said traffic related to said communication session via said one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system by corresponding packets or streams within said traffic related to said communication session via redundant paths different from said one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system. According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary details of the establishing operation (S153) are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such.

Such exemplary establishing operation (S153) according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of configuring at least one user plane function entity for serving said disjunct air interface links based on said number and said air interface redundancy.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said at least one user plane function entity terminates said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards a network side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said at least one user plane function entity is configured to provide a plurality of user plane function entity instances corresponding to said number, wherein each of said plurality of user plane function entity instances terminates one respective redundant path of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said network side entry point.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of serving, by said at least one user plane function entity, disjunct base stations of a radio access network of said mobile network system corresponding to said disjunct air interface links.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said disjunct air interface links are provided by said disjunct base stations corresponding to said air interface redundancy and corresponding mobile terminals respectively connected to at least one host providing a mobile access side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said corresponding mobile terminals are respectively connected to a plurality of hosts corresponding to said number, each terminating one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said mobile access side entry point.

That is, while the count of hosts may correspond to said number, the count of disjunct air interfaces and correspondingly the count of mobile terminals does not need to correspond to said number. In such case, hosts may connect to a different number of (redundant) air interfaces.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary details of the configuring operation are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such.

Such exemplary configuring operation according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of transmitting, to said at least one user plane function entity, for each of said mobile terminals, information on a respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel from said respective mobile terminal via said corresponding disjunct base station to a respective one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards a network side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system.

The radio service tunneling protocol of the radio service tunneling protocol tunnel may for example be a GPRS tunneling protocol, however, is not limited thereto. The radio service tunneling protocol at least supports for redundancy (e.g. packet duplication and deduplication based on sequence numbers or other identifiers, etc.).

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary details of the transmitting operation are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such.

Such exemplary transmitting operation according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of sending, by a session management function entity, for each respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel to be formed for said communication session, an N4 interface session establishment message including a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) for an internet protocol address of a respective mobile terminal (UE1, UE2, UE3), from which a respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel is to be formed, and an uplink classifier (ULCL) pointing to a respective one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said network side entry point (DN1, DN2), to which said respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel is to be formed, to a respective one of said at least one user plane function entity to be configured for said respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel.

Such exemplary configuring operation according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of transmitting, to said at least one user plane function entity, information on each of said mobile terminals and each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards a network side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system, and an operation of setting, by said at least one user plane function entity, for each of said mobile terminals, a respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel from said respective mobile terminal via said corresponding disjunct base station to a respective one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said network side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system.

Such exemplary transmitting operation according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of sending, by a session management function entity, an N4 interface session establishment message including tunnel endpoint identifiers (TEID) for internet protocol addresses of respective mobile terminals (UE1, UE2, UE3), from which respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnels are to be formed for said communication session, and uplink classifiers (ULCL) pointing to respective ones of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said network side entry point (DN1, DN2), to which said respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnels are to be formed for said communication session, to said at least one user plane function entity to be configured for said respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnels for said communication session.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, said at least one user plane function entity is formed by one logical user plane function entity.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of coordinating said configuring by a session management function entity.

According to a variation of the procedure shown in Figure 15, exemplary additional operations are given, which are inherently independent from each other as such. According to such variation, an exemplary method according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention may comprise an operation of receiving, via a departure path of said redundant paths of one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint, a packet including a unique sequence at the beginning of payload, the unique sequence being indicative of the packet belonging to a communication session redundancy setup for said communication session, wherein the packet further comprises a slice number indicative of a network slice to which said communication is to be assigned, and a destination identifier indicative of a destination path of said redundant paths of the other of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint.

In such case, said establishing operation (S153) is based on (considers) said slice number and said destination identifier.

In other words, exemplary embodiments of the present invention aim to provide a solution to map a system redundancy N to a given air interface redundancy NA such that sufficient redundancy is provided but over-use of rare air interface resources is avoided.

In so doing, exemplary embodiments of the present invention are related to the mobile network core (e.g. 5G core) only, while end-to-end redundancy requires interworking of a plurality of involved network elements (core, RAN, devices, etc.).

A number of different approaches (as also discussed above in the introductory portion) assign UEs to redundant network slices, and it is assumed that it is ensured that redundant air interface links are kept disjunct (e.g. via different base stations).

However, exemplary embodiments of the present invention assume such functionality and work similar irrespective of the way or methodology according to which redundant radio access links are managed/combined, as these are assumed to result in a similar functionality at the 5G core.

Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system environment according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

A system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention comprises of the following components illustrated in Figure 7:

Firstly, such system comprises two or more known peers (as examples for communication endpoints) that communicate with each other preferably via Ethernet (layer 2). The peers are transport agnostic, i.e. they can be connected via a radio or wireline interface. The peers are assumed to be connected via wireline interface to hosts which hide the wireless nature of the network connectivity to the peers. The peers may have N multiple redundant network connections (as examples for redundant paths), denoted as system redundancy. The peers are considered not being part of a 5G system.

Further, such system comprises a 5G network (as an example for the mobile network) comprising at least a core network, a radio access network (RAN) and UEs.

Finally, such system comprises hosts (at least one host) that interface towards peers at the access side (mobile access side), hiding the wireless nature of a communication link and providing interfaces to peers. Hosts are considered as a frontend of a 5G system to non-5G peers. A system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention as shown in Figure 7 is provided with redundancy mapping rules, e.g. by a network management interface. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, network functions (network function entities) that may be actively involved in redundancy handling (AMF, SMF, network slice selection function (NSSF), [UPF]) are given access to this information, e.g. via an NEF query.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, there are provided different rule sets per use case or service (MMI, automated guided vehicles (AGV), etc.).

Alternatively, there is provided one rule set per system.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an exemplary rule set is defined as

"If N = 1 then NA = 2 else NA = N".

This results in that it is guaranteed that there are never less radio links then there are redundant network connections and there is always a minimum of two radio links.

Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system environment applying a mapping rules set according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

In particular, Figure 8 shows an example of the above exemplary rule set for N = 3 resulting in NA = 3.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, another exemplary rule set is defined as NA = N + 1 " .

This results in that there is always one more radio link than there are network connections.

Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system environment applying a mapping rules set according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

In particular, Figure 9 shows an example of the above exemplary rule set for N = 3 resulting in NA = 4.

According to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, another exemplary rule set is defined as

"If N < Nminimum then NA = Nminimum else NA = N".

This is a generalization of the exemplary rule set explained with reference to Figure 8 and introduces a (predetermined) minimum value for NA. This exemplary rule set results in that it is guaranteed that there are never less radio links then there are redundant network connections and there is always a (predetermined) minimum of radio links.

Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of two examples of a system environment applying a mapping rules set according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

In particular, Figure 10 shows an example of the above exemplary rule set based on Nminimum = 3, respectively for N = 2 resulting in NA = 3 and for N = 3 resulting in NA = 3 as well.

Accordingly, exemplary embodiments of the present invention not only lead to that air interface resources are saved in a redundant network, but in addition, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention do also allow to de-couple system redundancy from 5G core deployment redundancy.

In more detail, 5G core (or in general mobile network system core) bases on network function (NF) which may scale independently (and thus be setup and teared down on demand and co-exist in multiple instances).

Furthermore, the core network functions can be deployed e.g. in a (local) cloud and by this be multi-redundant on their own. This e.g. allows a core realization where the number of user plane function (UPF) instances do not necessarily have to coincide with the number of network connections (as e.g. shown in Figure 11a).

Figure 11a is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Figure lib shows a schematic diagram of signaling sequences according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 11c is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Figure lid is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Figures 11a to lid show a 5G core deployment/architecture according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, where the coordination of redundancy mapping is realized by an SMF.

The request to setup redundancy may be initiated via an AMF or PCF. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the SMF sets up and configures (based on redundancy mapping rules) an according number of UPF as shown in Figures 11a and lib.

Since connected peers are not aware of an intermediate air interface, the number of connected ports (two in the shown example of Figures 11a to lid) must follow the system redundancy

In the given example of Figure 11a to lid, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, N is 2 and a "N + l" rule for NA is in place. This results in three air interface links and three UEs, respectively (as is shown in Figure 11c).

Since the number of air interface links may be higher than the system redundancy, a mapping to the appropriate number of hosts/ports is needed.

In the given example, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention (as shown in Figure 11c), this is achieved by two hosts with one Ethernet frontend to the west (left), while one host will be connected to one air interface link and the other host will be connected to two air interface links.

It is noted, that according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention the initiation of redundancy may be triggered from the mobile access side or from the network side so that the number of single/multi-link hosts may be set, however, there will be the need to map a number of UPF- to-UE connections to a different number of N6 interfaces (DN1/2).

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the SMF will do a decision of how to map UPF-to-UE connections to N6:

In the example following the concept of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the SMF maps connections of UE1 and UE2 do DN1 and UE3 to DN2 and thus configures two UPF instances that logically form one redundant UPF-R (shown in Figure lid).

To achieve this, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention the SMF sends an according number of instructions to the UPFs (shown in Figure lib). In particular, according to the present example, the UPF-R1 is instructed to setup a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) tunnel to a gNB with a given tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) for UE1-IP (address) and with a related uplink classifier (ULCL) that points to DN1. Further, UPF-R1 is instructed to setup a GTP tunnel to another gNB with another TEID for UE2-IP with an ULCL also pointing to Dl . Finally, UPF-R2 is instructed to do a similar setup for UE3 and DN2. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, instead of sending instructions for each context, instructions related to one UPF may be sent in one message.

Figure 12a is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 12b shows a schematic diagram of signaling sequences according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 12c is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 12d is a block diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

That is, Figures 12a to 12d show a similar UE to DN redundancy mapping with the difference that, according to these exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the redundancy mapping is done by one (physical) UPF-R (rather than by the SMF). In detail, triggered by e.g. an AMF, the SMF configures a UPF as UPF-R by passing all parameters for GTP tunnels, UE, ULCL to said UPF-R. In return, the UPF-R sets up an appropriate number of GTP tunnels and provides mappings based on the ULCLs (shown in Figure 12b).

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the UPF-R may apply a selection scheme for redundant downlink traffic. For example, the UPF-R may select one of the redundant streams of one DN and neglect all other incoming streams. Another implementation could apply a round robin scheduling to all incoming streams. The selected stream can be copied NA times and forwarded to the gNBs. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the selection scheme may be fixed or may be applied dependent on e.g. the communication session service or the communication session use case or other factors.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the UPF-R applies packet comparisons on each link or on groups of links (e.g. XOR or AND comparisons) and identifies corrupted or malicious packets or streams. In so doing, the UPF-R may rule out packet forwarding of corrupted or malicious packets or streams by replacing them with a copy of a corresponding valid packet or stream.

According to such exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a given system redundancy and reliability can be further increased.

As is illustrated in Figures 12c and 12d, the above discussed schemes may be applied in both the downlink direction as well as in the uplink direction.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, logical and physical UPF-R are nested. That is, a logical UPF-R may comprise also UPFs that are logical UPF-Rs themselves. Aspects of above discussed exemplary embodiments are explained below in more specific terms with reference to Figures 13 and 14.

In particular, several ways of setting up system redundancy end-to-end is explained in particular with reference to Figures 13 and 14.

A first way of setting up system redundancy end-to-end is explained below without reference to a Figure.

According to such approach according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it is exploited that by today, the (non 5G) peers comprise a middleware that handles original redundancy ("over-the-top" redundancy). As, most typically, this is the place where modifications in configuration can be done most easily, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the middleware uses VLAN tags for redundant streams, wherein tag numbers above a given value (and being identical) are considered as being redundant. This allows the 5G system a) to detect redundant streams and b) to allow identifications which streams belong to the same connection.

This approach is held to be a pragmatic setup.

Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, corresponding signaling sequences, as well as a corresponding "magic packet".

In particular, Figure 13 shows a system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, where redundancy is initiated from the client side.

In brief, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an MW requests for redundancy (client initiation of redundancy: MW sends requests to connected UE, in response, UE requests a service with a common slice). The MW request is an in-band magic packet (in-band invocation of redundancy: MW sends a fixed sequence + request information, magic packet possible at any given layer, UE scans for magic packets).

In detail, in the example illustrated in Figure 13, host and UE coincide and each UE provides one Ethernet port. It is noted that alternatively such coincidence is not present.

For the example illustrated in Figure 13, it is assumed that there is a redundancy rule set in place and that there are means to group UEs to a service, for example network slicing.

In the example illustrated in Figure 13, the middleware is configured such that it sends out a "magic packet" as part of the setup of redundancy.

This packet is a standard packet of the given transport (e.g. Ethernet frame in case of LAN or IP packet in case of a routed network).

In case a connected UE/host receives such a packet, which can be identified by a unique sequence at the beginning of the payload ("AABBCCDD" in the given example, see upper right portion of Figure 13), the connected UE/host analyses the content of the packet and retrieves information about the requested redundancy setup, namely a slice number ("4711" in the illustrated example, see upper right portion of Figure 13) and a destination data network ("01"/DN1 in the illustrated example, see upper right portion of Figure 13) and potentially additional information.

The middleware may send according information via all connected ports/UEs/hosts (see lower left portion of Figure 13).

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, this information can be evaluated in the UE/host and may trigger a service request for a network slice by the UE (see lower left portion of Figure 13). According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in the exemplary scenario, the NSSF triggers (e.g. via AMF) an SMF to act e.g. as described in relation to Figures 11a to lid and 12a to 12d.

Alternatively, according to further exemplary embodiments of the present invention, instead of using a magic packet, a connection-oriented dialog between MW and UE/host may be used.

Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating details of a mobile network system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

In brief, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, an MW uses AF to setup redundancy (server initiation of redundancy: MW signals via AF/NEF to NSSF/SMF to setup a redundant connection incl. parameters (peer2, group 4711), signaling can be done once per N6 or via all N6, NSSF/SMF sets up UPF-R in one of the previously discussed ways/methodologies). The NSSF/SMF/PCF sets up UPF-R (NSSF/SMF/PCF coordination (see right portion of Figure 14) : e.g. the SMF sets up UPF triggered by NSSF, the upset UPF is either a logical UPF-R (active/inactive) or multi-N6 UPF-R).

In detail, Figure 14 shows a complementary approach on how to setup redundancy triggered from the server side.

According to such approach according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the MW comprises an application function (AF, see left portion of Figure 14). This application function communicates with the core network via an NEF and registers for a redundancy service.

This may again be done by requesting access to a network slice (steered by NSSF) or directly via an SMF or via a PCF. This request may be sent once providing information for all affected links (N6/(UE)), or it may be sent on each affected link. According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the SMF then sets up a redundancy scheme as described with reference to Figures 11a to lid and 12a to 12d.

Client initiated and server initiated requests as exemplarily illustrated in Figures 13 and 14 may be employed both at the same time to link access side and server side.

The above-described procedures and functions may be implemented by respective functional elements, processors, or the like, as described below.

In the foregoing exemplary description of the network entity, only the units that are relevant for understanding the principles of the invention have been described using functional blocks. The network entity may comprise further units that are necessary for its respective operation. However, a description of these units is omitted in this specification. The arrangement of the functional blocks of the devices is not construed to limit the invention, and the functions may be performed by one block or further split into sub-blocks.

When in the foregoing description it is stated that an apparatus, i.e. a network entity (or some other means) or a mobile network (system) is configured to perform some function, this is to be construed to be equivalent to a description stating that a (i.e. at least one) processor or corresponding circuitry, potentially in cooperation with computer program code stored in the memory of the respective apparatus, is configured to cause the entity/system to perform at least the thus mentioned function. Also, such function is to be construed to be equivalently implementable by specifically configured circuitry or means for performing the respective function (i.e. the expression "unit configured to" is construed to be equivalent to an expression such as "means for"). In Figure 16, an alternative illustration of a system according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention is depicted. As indicated in Figure 16, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the system (mobile network system, 5G system) 10' (corresponding to the mobile network system, 5G system 10) comprises at least one processor 161, at least one memory 162 and at least one interface 163, which are connected by a bus 164 or the like. Multiple instances of processor - memory - interface combinations may be connected via links 169, respectively utilizing the interface(s) 163.

The processor 161 and/or the interface 163 may also include a modem or the like to facilitate communication over a (hardwire or wireless) link, respectively. The interface 163 may include a suitable transceiver coupled to one or more antennas or communication means for (hardwire or wireless) communications with linked or connected device(s)/entities, respectively. The interface 163 is generally configured to communicate with at least one other entity/ processor - memory - interface combination, i.e. the interface thereof.

The memory 162 may store respective programs assumed to include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by the respective processor, enables the respective entity to (at least partly) operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

In general terms, the respective system or system entities (and/or parts thereof) may represent means for performing respective operations and/or exhibiting respective functionalities, and/or the respective devices (and/or parts thereof) may have functions for performing respective operations and/or exhibiting respective functionalities.

When in the subsequent description it is stated that the processor (or some other means) is configured to perform some function, this is to be construed to be equivalent to a description stating that at least one processor, potentially in cooperation with computer program code stored in the memory of the respective entity, is configured to cause the system or system entity to perform at least the thus mentioned function. Also, such function is to be construed to be equivalently implementable by specifically configured means for performing the respective function (i.e. the expression "processor configured to [cause the apparatus to] perform xxx-ing" is construed to be equivalent to an expression such as "means for xxx-ing").

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a mobile network system 10 (for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via said mobile network system) comprises at least one processor 161, at least one memory 162 including computer program code, and at least one interface 163 configured for communication. The processor (i.e. the at least one processor 161, with the at least one memory 162 and the computer program code) is configured to perform detecting a number of said redundant paths of one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system (thus the apparatus comprising corresponding means for detecting), to perform determining an air interface redundancy for said communication session based on said number and redundancy mapping rules (thus the apparatus comprising corresponding means for determining), to perform establishing disjunct air interface links to bridge between said two respective entry points to said mobile network system corresponding to said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint based on said number and said air interface redundancy, wherein said disjunct air interface links correspond to said air interface redundancy (thus the apparatus comprising corresponding means for establishing), and to perform mapping each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system to each of said disjunct air interface links (thus the apparatus comprising corresponding means for mapping). For further details regarding the operability/functionality of the system and/or individual system entities, reference is made to the above description in connection with any one of Figures 1 to 15, respectively.

For the purpose of the present invention as described herein above, it should be noted that

- method steps likely to be implemented as software code portions and being run using a processor at a network server or network entity (as examples of devices, apparatuses and/or modules thereof, or as examples of entities including apparatuses and/or modules therefore), are software code independent and can be specified using any known or future developed programming language as long as the functionality defined by the method steps is preserved;

- generally, any method step is suitable to be implemented as software or by hardware without changing the idea of the embodiments and its modification in terms of the functionality implemented;

- method steps and/or devices, units or means likely to be implemented as hardware components at the above-defined apparatuses, or any module(s) thereof, (e.g., devices carrying out the functions of the apparatuses according to the embodiments as described above) are hardware independent and can be implemented using any known or future developed hardware technology or any hybrids of these, such as MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor), CMOS (Complementary MOS), BiMOS (Bipolar MOS), BiCMOS (Bipolar CMOS), ECL (Emitter Coupled Logic), TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic), etc., using for example ASIC (Application Specific IC (Integrated Circuit)) components, FPGA (Field-programmable Gate Arrays) components, CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) components or DSP (Digital Signal Processor) components;

- devices, units or means (e.g. the above-defined network entity or network register, or any one of their respective units/means) can be implemented as individual devices, units or means, but this does not exclude that they are implemented in a distributed fashion throughout the system, as long as the functionality of the device, unit or means is preserved; - an apparatus like the user equipment and the network entity /network register may be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of an apparatus or module, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as software in a (software) module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution/being run on a processor;

- a device may be regarded as an apparatus or as an assembly of more than one apparatus, whether functionally in cooperation with each other or functionally independently of each other but in a same device housing, for example.

In general, it is to be noted that respective functional blocks or elements according to above-described aspects can be implemented by any known means, either in hardware and/or software, respectively, if it is only adapted to perform the described functions of the respective parts. The mentioned method steps can be realized in individual functional blocks or by individual devices, or one or more of the method steps can be realized in a single functional block or by a single device.

Generally, any method step is suitable to be implemented as software or by hardware without changing the idea of the present invention. Devices and means can be implemented as individual devices, but this does not exclude that they are implemented in a distributed fashion throughout the system, as long as the functionality of the device is preserved. Such and similar principles are to be considered as known to a skilled person.

Software in the sense of the present description comprises software code as such comprising code means or portions or a computer program or a computer program product for performing the respective functions, as well as software (or a computer program or a computer program product) embodied on a tangible medium such as a computer-readable (storage) medium having stored thereon a respective data structure or code means/portions or embodied in a signal or in a chip, potentially during processing thereof.

The present invention also covers any conceivable combination of method steps and operations described above, and any conceivable combination of nodes, apparatuses, modules or elements described above, as long as the above-described concepts of methodology and structural arrangement are applicable.

In view of the above, there are provided measures for optimization of redundancy mechanisms in mobile networks. Such measures (for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via a mobile network system, said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint being connected to said mobile network system via respective redundant paths, related to said communication session, towards a respective entry point to said mobile network system) exemplarily comprise detecting a number of said redundant paths of one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system, determining an air interface redundancy for said communication session based on said number and redundancy mapping rules, establishing disjunct air interface links to bridge between said two respective entry points to said mobile network system corresponding to said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint based on said number and said air interface redundancy, wherein said disjunct air interface links correspond to said air interface redundancy, and mapping each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system to each of said disjunct air interface links.

Even though the invention is described above with reference to the examples according to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted thereto. Rather, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be modified in many ways without departing from the scope of the inventive idea as disclosed herein.

List of acronyms and abbreviations

3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

5G Fifth Generation

AF application function

AGV automated guided vehicles

AMF access [and mobility] management function

DN data network

FRER Frame Replication and Elimination for Reliability

GPRS General Packet Radio Service

GTP GPRS tunneling protocol

MMI man-machine-interface

MW middleware

NEF network exposure function

NF network function

NSSF network slice selection function

PCF policy control function

PDU protocol data unit

RAN radio access network

SMF session management function

TEID tunnel endpoint identifier

TR technical report

TSN time sensitive networking

UDM unified data management

UE user equipment

ULCL uplink classifier

UP user plane

UPF user plane function

Claims

1. A method for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via a mobile network system, said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint being connected to said mobile network system via respective redundant paths, related to said communication session, towards a respective entry point to said mobile network system, the method comprising

detecting a number of said redundant paths of one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system,

determining an air interface redundancy for said communication session based on said number and redundancy mapping rules,

establishing disjunct air interface links to bridge between said two respective entry points to said mobile network system corresponding to said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint based on said number and said air interface redundancy, wherein said disjunct air interface links correspond to said air interface redundancy, and

mapping each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system to each of said disjunct air interface links.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising

providing said redundancy mapping rules.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

said redundancy mapping rules define that said air interface redundancy is equal to or larger than 2, and/or

said redundancy mapping rules define that said air interface redundancy is equal to or larger than said number.

4. The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein

said redundancy mapping rules define that said air interface redundancy is equal to said number plus 1, or

said redundancy mapping rules define that, if said number is smaller than a predetermined minimum air interface redundancy, said air interface redundancy is equal to said predetermined minimum air interface redundancy, and if said number is equal to or larger than said predetermined minimum air interface redundancy, said air interface redundancy is equal to said number.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein

said redundancy mapping rules comprise one redundancy mapping rules set per mobile network system, or

said redundancy mapping rules comprise one redundancy mapping rules set per communication session service, and/or

said redundancy mapping rules comprise one redundancy mapping rules set per communication session use case.

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5, further comprising

assigning traffic related to said communication session via each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system redundantly to each of said disjunct air interface links.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein

in relation to said assigning, the method further comprises

comparing traffic related to said communication session via each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system,

identifying corrupted packets or streams within said traffic related to said communication session via one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system based on a result of said comparing, and

replacing said corrupted packets or streams within said traffic related to said communication session via said one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system by corresponding packets or streams within said traffic related to said communication session via redundant paths different from said one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said respective entry point to said mobile network system.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein

in relation to said establishing, the method further comprises configuring at least one user plane function entity for serving said disjunct air interface links based on said number and said air interface redundancy.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein

said at least one user plane function entity terminates said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards a network side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein

said at least one user plane function entity is configured to provide a plurality of user plane function entity instances corresponding to said number, wherein each of said plurality of user plane function entity instances terminates one respective redundant path of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said network side entry point.

11. The method according to any of claims 8 to 10, further comprising serving, by said at least one user plane function entity, disjunct base stations of a radio access network of said mobile network system corresponding to said disjunct air interface links.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein

said disjunct air interface links are provided by said disjunct base stations corresponding to said air interface redundancy and corresponding mobile terminals respectively connected to at least one host providing a mobile access side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein

said corresponding mobile terminals are respectively connected to a plurality of hosts corresponding to said number, each terminating one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said mobile access side entry point.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein

in relation to said configuring, the method further comprises

transmitting, to said at least one user plane function entity, for each of said mobile terminals, information on a respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel from said respective mobile terminal via said corresponding disjunct base station to a respective one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards a network side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein

in relation to said transmitting, the method further comprises sending, by a session management function entity, for each respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel to be formed for said communication session, an N4 interface session establishment message including a tunnel endpoint identifier (TEID) for an internet protocol address of a respective mobile terminal (UE1, UE2, UE3), from which a respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel is to be formed, and an uplink classifier (ULCL) pointing to a respective one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said network side entry point (DN1, DN2), to which said respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel is to be formed, to a respective one of said at least one user plane function entity to be configured for said respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel.

16. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein

in relation to said configuring, the method further comprises transmitting, to said at least one user plane function entity, information on each of said mobile terminals and each of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards a network side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system, and

setting, by said at least one user plane function entity, for each of said mobile terminals, a respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnel from said respective mobile terminal via said corresponding disjunct base station to a respective one of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said network side entry point, related to said communication session, to said mobile network system.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein

in relation to said transmitting, the method further comprises sending, by a session management function entity, an N4 interface session establishment message including tunnel endpoint identifiers (TEID) for internet protocol addresses of respective mobile terminals (UE1, UE2, UE3), from which respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnels are to be formed for said communication session, and uplink classifiers (ULCL) pointing to respective ones of said redundant paths of said one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint towards said network side entry point (DN1, DN2), to which said respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnels are to be formed for said communication session, to said at least one user plane function entity to be configured for said respective radio service tunneling protocol tunnels for said communication session.

18. The method according to any of claims 8 to 17, wherein

said at least one user plane function entity is formed by one logical user plane function entity.

19. The method according to any of claims 8 to 18, further comprising

coordinating said configuring by a session management function entity.

20. The method according to any of claims 1 to 19, further comprising

receiving, via a departure path of said redundant paths of one of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint, a packet including a unique sequence at the beginning of payload, the unique sequence being indicative of the packet belonging to a communication session redundancy setup for said communication session, wherein the packet further comprises a slice number indicative of a network slice to which said communication is to be assigned, and a destination identifier indicative of a destination path of said redundant paths of the other of said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint, wherein said establishing is based on said slice number and said destination identifier.

21. A mobile network system for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via said mobile network system, the mobile network system comprising

entry points to said mobile network system,

wherein said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint being connectable to said mobile network system via respective redundant paths, related to said communication session, towards a respective entry point to said mobile network system, and wherein the mobile network system is configured to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 20.

22. A mobile network system for conducting a communication session between a first communication endpoint and a second communication endpoint via said mobile network system, the mobile network system comprising

at least one processor,

at least one memory including computer program code, and

at least one interface configured for communication,

the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to provide

entry points to said mobile network system,

wherein said first communication endpoint and said second communication endpoint being connectable to said mobile network system via respective redundant paths, related to said communication session, towards a respective entry point to said mobile network system, and wherein the at least one processor, with the at least one memory and the computer program code, being configured to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 20.

23. A computer program product comprising computer-executable computer program code which, when the program is run on a computer, is configured to cause the computer to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

24. The computer program product according to claim 23, wherein the computer program product comprises a computer-readable medium on which the computer-executable computer program code is stored, and/or wherein the program is directly loadable into an internal memory of the computer or a processor thereof.