WO2023194961A1 - Extension analytique d'aide à la décision de délestage de relais d'ue à réseau de couche 3 de prose - Google Patents

Extension analytique d'aide à la décision de délestage de relais d'ue à réseau de couche 3 de prose Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023194961A1
WO2023194961A1 PCT/IB2023/053556 IB2023053556W WO2023194961A1 WO 2023194961 A1 WO2023194961 A1 WO 2023194961A1 IB 2023053556 W IB2023053556 W IB 2023053556W WO 2023194961 A1 WO2023194961 A1 WO 2023194961A1
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prose
relay
service experience
prose relay
node
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PCT/IB2023/053556
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English (en)
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Antonio INIESTA GONZALEZ
Zhang FU
Miguel Angel MUÑOZ DE LA TORRE ALONSO
Maria Belen PANCORBO MARCOS
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Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
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Publication of WO2023194961A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023194961A1/fr

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W72/00—Local resource management

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to ProSe selection, configuration, etc.
  • the Third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) has developed and is developing standards for Fourth Generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and Fifth Generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems.
  • 4G also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)
  • 5G also referred to as New Radio (NR)
  • Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes, such as base stations, and mobile User Equipment (UE)/wireless devices (WD), as well as communication between network nodes and between UEs.
  • 6G wireless communication systems are also under development.
  • FIG. 1 is an example from 3GPP such as from 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 23.304 which shows the high-level view of the non-roaming 5G System architecture for Proximity-based Services (ProSe) with service-based interfaces within the Control Plane.
  • UE A e.g., wireless device A
  • UE B wireless device B
  • 3GPP such as, for example, Clause 5.4 of 3GPP TS 23.304 describes 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay, which is detailed below.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay provides generic function that can relay any internet protocol (IP), Ethernet or Unstructured traffic:
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to- Network Relay uses IP type PDU Session towards 5GC.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay can use Ethernet type PDU Session or IP type PDU Session towards 5GC.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer- 3 UE-to-Network Relay can use Unstructured type PDU Session or IP type PDU Session (i.e. IP encapsulation/de-capsulation by 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay) towards 5GC.
  • Unstructured type PDU Session or IP type PDU Session i.e. IP encapsulation/de-capsulation by 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay
  • the type of traffic supported over PC5 reference point is indicated by the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay, e.g., using the corresponding RSC.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay determines the PDU Session Type based on configuration of the mapping between PDU Session parameters and RSC, as specified in 3GPP such as in clause 5.1.4.1 of 3GPP TS 23.304.
  • IP type PDU Session and Ethernet type PDU Session can be used to support more than one 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UEs while Unstructured type PDU Session can be used to support only one 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE.
  • the maximum number of PDU Sessions can affect the maximum number of 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UEs that the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay can support.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE- to-Network Relay with N3IWF provides access to the 5GC for the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE via N3IWF using the features defined in 3GPP such as in, for example, clause 4.2.8 of 3GPP TS 23.501.
  • 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay is provisioned with RSC(s) and the corresponding PDU session parameters (e.g., S-NSSAI) to support N3IWF access as part of 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Policy/parameters.
  • PDU session parameters e.g., S-NSSAI
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay determines the corresponding PDU session parameters based on the requested RSC.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay only includes a RSC in discovery message when the corresponding PDU session parameters (e.g., S-NSSAI) are authorized to be used in the accessed network.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE selects N3IWF as specified by the 3GPP.
  • the selection of N3IWF follows the regulatory rules of the country where it is located, and when required by the regulations the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE only selects a N3IWF within the local country.
  • QoS differentiation can be provided on per- IPsec Child Security Association basis and the details are provided by the 3GPP.
  • the 5GC to which the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay registers and the 5GC to which the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE registers may be in the same PLMN or different PLMN.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-2 UE-to-Network Relay provides forwarding functionality that can relay any type of traffic over the PC5 link.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-2 UE-to-Network Relay provides the functionality to support connectivity to the 5GS for 5G ProSe Layer-2 Remote UEs.
  • a UE is considered to be a 5G ProSe Layer-2 Remote UE if it has successfully established a PC5 link to the 5G ProSe Layer-2 UE-to-Network Relay.
  • a 5G ProSe Layer-2 Remote UE can be located within NG-RAN coverage or outside of NG-RAN coverage.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-2 Remote UE checks whether the PLMN(s) supported by the serving cell of the 5G ProSe Layer-2 UE-to-Network Relay(s) are authorized to be connected to via a 5G ProSe Layer-2 UE-to-Network Relay(s), and only the authorized PLMN(s) are then available PLMNs for NAS PLMN selection;
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-2 Remote UE selects the 5G ProSe Layer-2 UE- to-Network Relay considering the selected PLMN by NAS layer.
  • 3GPP such as, for example, Clause 6.5 of 3GPP TS 23.304 describes 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay Communication functional flows:
  • 5G ProSe Communication via 5G ProSe Layer- 3 UE-to-Network Relay without N3IWF A 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay registers to the network (if not already registered).
  • 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay establishes a PDU Session(s) or modifies an existing PDU Session(s) in order to provide relay traffic towards 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE(s).
  • PDU Session(s) supporting 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay may only be used for 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE(s) relay traffic.
  • the PLMN serving the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay and the PLMN to which the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE registers can be the same PLMN or two different PLMNs.
  • FIG. 2 is a diagram of an example 5G ProSe communication via 5G ProSe layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay without N3IWF. Steps illustrated in FIG. 2 are discussed below.
  • Service authorization and provisioning are performed for the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay (step la) and 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE (step lb) as described by the 3GPP.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay may establish a PDU Session for relaying.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay obtains the IPv6 prefix via prefix delegation function from the network as defined in 3GPP such as in, for example, 3GPP TS 23.501.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE performs discovery of a 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay as described by the 3GPP. As part of the discovery procedure the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE learns about the connectivity service the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay provides.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE selects a 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to- Network Relay and establishes a connection for unicast mode communication as described by 3GPP. If there is no PDU Session associated with the Relay Service Code or a new PDU Session for relaying is needed, the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to- Network Relay initiates a new PDU Session establishment procedure for relaying before completing the PC5 connection establishment. The network decides that the PDU session to be established is for relay traffic, and then generates the QoS rules and QoS Flow level QoS parameters to 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay with relay consideration as specified by the.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay determines the PDU Session type for relaying as specified by the 3GPP.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE- to-Network Relay performs relaying function at the corresponding layer as follows:
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay acts as an IP router.
  • IPv4 the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay performs IPv4 NAT between IPv4 addresses assigned to the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE and the IPv4 address assigned to the PDU Session used for the relay traffic.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay acts as an Ethernet switch.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay When the Unstructured type PDU Session is used for Unstructured traffic over PC5 reference point, the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay performs traffic relaying based on a mapping between the PC5 Link Identifier and the PDU Session ID, and a mapping between PFI for PC5 Layer-2 link and the QFI for the PDU Session. These mappings are created when the Unstructured type PDU Session is established for the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay uses IP tunneling. For this IP tunnelling, the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay locally assigns an IP address/prefix for the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE and uses it on the Uu reference point to encapsulate and decapsulate the uplink and downlink traffic for the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE.
  • the tunneled traffic over Uu reference point is transported over the PC5 reference point as Ethernet or Unstructured traffic.
  • IPv6 prefix or IPv4 address (including NAT case) is allocated for the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE as defined by the 3GPP.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE may provide the PC5 QoS rule to the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay using Layer-2 link modification procedure as specified by the 3GPP.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay generates the Packet Filters used over Uu interface based on the received PC5 QoS Rule(s) as described by the 3GPP by the, and may perform the UE requested PDU Session Modification as defined in 3GPP such as in, for example, 3GPP TS 23.502 clause 4.3.3 to setup a new QoS Flow or bind the traffic to an existing QoS Flow.
  • the uplink and downlink relaying can start.
  • the PC5 QoS Rule is used to map the downlink packet to the PC5 QoS Flow.
  • the 5G QoS Rule is used to map the uplink packet to the Uu QoS Flow.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay sends a Remote UE Report (Remote User ID, Remote UE info) message to the SMF for the PDU Session associated with the relay.
  • the Remote User ID is an identity of the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE user that was successfully connected in step 4.
  • the Remote UE info is used to assist identifying the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE in the 5GC.
  • the Remote UE info is Remote UE IP info.
  • Ethernet PDU Session Type the Remote UE info is Remote UE MAC address which is detected by the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay.
  • the Remote UE info is not included.
  • the SMF stores the Remote User IDs and the related Remote UE info in the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay's SM context for this PDU Session associated with the relay.
  • the Remote UE Report is N1 SM NAS message sent with the PDU Session ID to the AMF, in turn delivered to the SMF.
  • IP info For IP info the following principles may apply: for IPv4, the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay reports TCP/UDP port ranges assigned to individual 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE(s) (along with the Remote User ID); for IPv6, the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay reports IPv6 prefix(es) assigned to individual 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE(s) (along with the Remote User ID).
  • the UE-to-Network Relay should initiate the release of the layer-2 links associated with the released PDU Session using the procedure defined by the 3GPP.
  • the PDU Session(s) used for relaying may be released as described in 3GPP such as in, for example, clause 4.3.4 of 3GPP TS 23.502 (e.g., by 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay), if the service authorization for acting as a 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay in the serving PLMN is revoked.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay sends the Remote UE Report message when the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE disconnects from the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay (e.g., upon explicit layer-2 link release or based on the absence of keep alive messages over PC5) to inform the SMF that the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE(s) have left.
  • the HPLMN and the VPLMN where the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to- Network Relay is authorized to operate needs to support the transfer of the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE related parameters if the SMF is in the HPLMN.
  • 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay It is up to 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay implementation as to how PDU Session(s) used for relaying are released or QoS Flow(s) used for relaying are removed by the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay when 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE(s) disconnect from the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay may need suitable ProSe Policies configured for establishing a PDU Session associated with a UPF that conveys the traffic towards the N3IWF.
  • 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay registers to the network as specified by the 3GPP. Based on configuration and authorization, the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to- Network Relay is provisioned with PDU Session parameters in the ProSe Policy allowing the access to the N3IWF.
  • the 5GS e.g., SMF
  • the parameters i.e., DNN, S-NSSAI
  • the UPF for the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay and the N3IWF may be collocated.
  • a 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay with a PDU Session providing access via N3IWF may also have other PDU Sessions for supporting access from the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE without going through a N3IWF.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram of connection establishment over 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE- to-Network Relay with N3IWF support. The steps of FIG. 3 are described below.
  • 5G ProSe Layer- 3 UE-to-Network Relay performs Registration procedures and obtains the ProSe Policy that corresponds to the operation supporting the access to N3IWF.
  • the ProSe Policy includes the RSC and PDU Session parameters allowing the access to the N3IWF.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE is configured with the corresponding ProSe Policy and URSP rules.
  • the URSP policy indicates if a particular service needs to be accessed within a PDU Session and thus may use a 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to- Network Relay with N3IWF support as described by the 3GPP by the.
  • a 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay and 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE follow the procedures described in steps 3-5 , for example using the RSC configured for making the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE access to 5GC via N3IWF.
  • the services requiring the access via N3IWF can be configured with the RSC(s) that can be served by the same 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE that connects to a 5G ProSe Layer- 3 UE-to-Network Relay with N3IWF support selects an N3IWF and determines the N3IWF IP address.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE follows the N3IWF selection procedure as described by the 3GPP. 6.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE establishes a signaling IPsec tunnel using IKE procedures with a N3IWF and performs NAS Registration as shown in Figure 4.12.2.2-1 of 3GPP TS 23.502.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE can perform any of the NAS procedures (including PDU Session establishment for the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay PDU Sessions) as specified in 3GPP such as, for example, clause 4.12 of 3GPP TS 23.502.
  • the N3IWF determines the number of IPsec Child SA(s) that is needed and initiates the creation of the Child SA(s) as specified in 3GPP such as in, for example, clause 4.12.5 of 3GPP TS 23.502.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer 3 Remote UE will have the mapping between the DSCP markings for the IPsec Child SA(s), the corresponding QoS, and N3IWF IP address(es) and provides this information, if needed, to the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay as specified by the 3 GPP.
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay performs the PDU Session Modification procedure to request QoS flow(s) configuration that maps to the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE's Child SA(s).
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE may change 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay(s) while maintain the session with the N3IWF when the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE and the N3IWF support MOBIKE. This is negotiated between the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE and the N3IWF as specified in 3GPP such as in, for example, 3GPP TS 23.502, clause 4.12.2.2).
  • the 5G ProSe Layer-3 Remote UE needs to keep the PC5 connection and 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay keeps the PDU Session.
  • 5G ProSe Remote UE When 5G ProSe Remote UE is in CM-CONNECTED state, the 5G ProSe Remote UE keeps the PC5 link. When the 5G ProSe Remote UE is in CM-IDLE state, it may either release the PC5 link for relaying or not.
  • Additional parameters announcement procedure illustrated in FIG. 4 is used by a 5G ProSe Remote UE to request a 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay to announce additional parameters (for model A) as defined in 3 GPP such as in, for example, clause 5.8.3 of 3GPP.
  • additional parameters for model A as defined in 3 GPP such as in, for example, clause 5.8.3 of 3GPP.
  • the steps of FIG. 4 are described below.
  • 5G ProSe Remote UE has discovered a 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay and requires additional parameters.
  • the 5G ProSe Remote UE sends to the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay an Additional Parameters Announcement Request to obtain additional parameters.
  • the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay acknowledges receipt of the request in step 2 with an Additional Parameters Announcement Response (Additional_Parameters_Announcement_Request_Refresh Timer).
  • the Additional_Parameters_Announcement_Request_Refresh Timer (configurable in the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay), is provided to the 5G ProSe Remote UE so that when this timer expires the 5G ProSe Remote UE repeats the Additional Parameters Announcement Request procedure if it still needs to obtain the additional parameters.
  • the relay shall stop announcing the additional parameters.
  • the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay announces the additional parameters by sending Relay Discovery Additional Information message as defined by the 3GPP. This is repeated periodically with a configurable frequency (normally higher than the one related to the Additional_Parameters_Announcement_Request_Refresh Timer) until there is no UE requesting to announce the additional parameters as determined by the Additional_Parameters_Announcement_Request_Refresh Timer running in the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay.
  • the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay can send the Relay Discovery Additional Information message several times consecutively in step 4 of FIG. 4 if there are other 5G ProSe Remote UE(s) that have connected to the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay but not yet requested any additional parameters. This ensures the other 5G ProSe Remote UE(s) obtain such additional parameters without invoking any new request(s).
  • the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay detects new or updated additional parameters.
  • Detection of new or updated additional parameters in step 5 of FIG. 4 triggers the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay to announce the additional parameters by sending a Relay Discovery Additional Information Message immediately and to repeat it periodically with a configurable frequency as in step 4 of FIG. 4 until there are no UEs requesting to announce the additional parameters, i.e., until the Additional_Parameters_Announcement_Request_Refresh Timer expires in the 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay.
  • the application traffic on the 5G ProSe Remote UE is managed by URSP rules (with consideration of local configurations), following the procedure defined in 3GPP such as in, for example, clauses 6.1.2.2.1 and 6.6.2.3 of3GPP TS 23.503.
  • the URSP rules defined in 3GPP such as in, for example, clause 6.6.2.1 of 3GPP TS 23.503 applies for the 5G ProSe Remote UE, with RSD enhanced to include'. a new "5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication ".
  • URSP rule If an software application or application traffic matches a URSP rule, corresponding RSDs is used to evaluate the existing PDU sessions, or establish a new PDU session, or determine to offload outside of a PDU session.
  • the 5G ProSe Remote UE routes the traffic to the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay connection without establishing a PDU session, when such connection is available.
  • the discovery and establishment of the connection with the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay is controlled by the ProSe Policy (pre-) configured on the 5G ProSe Remote UE.
  • the matched URSP rule contains both a RSD with "Non- Seamless Offload indication” and a RSD with " 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication", whether to offload the traffic to non-3GPP access or the 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay connection depends on the priority of the RSDs, and the availability of the connections, as specified in 3GPP such as in, for example, the clause 6.6.2.3 of 3GPP TS 23.503.
  • the 5G ProSe Remote UE uses a PDU session to route the corresponding application traffic.
  • the 5G ProSe Remote UE may attempt the discovery of a Relay Service Code corresponding to a 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to- Network Relay with N3IWF support in the discovery procedure, when the non-3GPP access type is preferred in the selected RSD.
  • the 5G ProSe Remote UE may attempt the discovery of a Relay Service Code corresponding to a 5G ProSe Layer-2 UE-to- Network Relay in the discovery procedure, when the 3GPP access type is preferred in the selected RSD.
  • the 5G ProSe Remote UE has an indirect connection via a 5G ProSe Layer-2 UE-to-Network Relay connection available, it may be treated as the "3GPP" access type. If the 5G ProSe Remote UE has an indirect connection via a 5G ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay with N3IWF support available, it may be treated as the "non-3GPP" access type.
  • the URSP handling as defined in 3GPP such as in, for example, 3GPP TS 23.503 applies.
  • the URSP handling does not apply to the relayed traffic from the 5G ProSe Remote UE.
  • the PDU session established for relaying the 5G ProSe Remote UE's traffic is controlled by the ProSe Policy.
  • the content of the URSP is described in 3GPP such as in, for example, 3GPP TS 23.503 section 6.6.2.1 a portion of which is described below.
  • Table 1 describes information included for the Route Selection Descriptor in that section (including the ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication):
  • ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload indication Indicates that the traffic of the matching application is to be sent via a ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay outside of a PDU Session when the rule is applied. If this indication is absent then the traffic matching of the URSP rule may not be sent via a ProSe Layer-3 UE- to-Network Relay outside of a PDU Session. If this component is present in a Route Selection Descriptor, no other components may be included in the Route Selection Descriptor.
  • NWDAF-assisted URSP Description NWDAF can already provide some network analytics to PCF for policy decisions as described in clause 6.1.1.3 of 3GPP TS 23.503. However, further investigation is required on whether and how analytics can be used to assist in the generation of URSP Rules.
  • 3GPP TS 23.288 describes the Observed Service Experience related network data analytics as follows:
  • NWDAF can provide Observed Service Experience (i.e., average of observed Service MoS and/or variance of observed Service MoS indicating service MOS distribution for services such as audio-visual streaming as well as services that are not audio-visual streaming such as V2X and Web Browsing services) analytics, in the form of statistics or predictions, to a service consumer.
  • Observed Service Experience i.e., average of observed Service MoS and/or variance of observed Service MoS indicating service MOS distribution for services such as audio-visual streaming as well as services that are not audio-visual streaming such as V2X and Web Browsing services
  • the Observed Service Experience analytics may provide one or more of the following:
  • Service Experience for a Network Slice Service Experience for a UE or a group of UEs or any UE in a Network Slice;
  • Service Experience for an Application Service Experience for a UE or a group of UEs or any UE in a software Application or a set of software Applications;
  • Service Experience for an Edge Application over a UP path Service experience for a UE or a group UEs or any UE in an Application or a set of Applications over a specific UP path (UPF, DNAI and EC server);
  • Observed Service experience may be provided individually per UE or group of UEs, or globally, averaged per Application or averaged across a set of Applications on a Network Slice.
  • the service consumer may be an NF (e.g., PCF, NSSF, AMF), AF, or the OAM.
  • NF e.g., PCF, NSSF, AMF
  • AF e.g., AF
  • OAM OAM
  • Target of Analytics Reporting one or more SUPI(s) or Internal Group Identifier(s), or "any UE”;
  • Analytics Filter Information as defined in Table 6.4.1-1 (e.g., Table 2); optionally, maximum number of objects and maximum number of SUPIs; optionally, preferred level of accuracy of the analytics; optionally, preferred level of accuracy per analytics subset (Network Slice instance service experience, Application service Experience); optionally, preferred order of results for the list of Application Service Experiences and/or Slice instance service experiences: "ascending" or “descending”; and optionally, preferred granularity of location information: TA level or cell level.
  • Table 6.4.1-1 (e.g., Table 2): Analytics Filter Information related to the observed service experience is provided below.
  • a service consumer can use the Area of Interest in order to reduce the amount of signalling that the analytics subscription or request generates.
  • An Analytics target period that indicates the time window for which the statistics or predictions are requested;
  • Reporting Thresholds which apply only for subscriptions and indicate conditions on the level to be reached for the Service Experience in order to be notified by the NWDAF.
  • the NWDAF notifies the result of the analytics to the consumer as specified in clause 6.4.3 of, for example, 3GPP TS 23.288.
  • NWDAF collects the network data from AF (directly or via NEF) and from other 5GC NF(s) in order to calculate and provide statistics and predictions on the observed service experience to a consumer NF or to OAM.
  • NWDAF determines whether service experience analytics should be delivered for: i) Application(s); ii) Network Slice; iii) both Application(s) and Network Slice; iv) Edge Applications over a UP path; v) Application(s) over RAT Type(s) and/or Frequency (ies).
  • NWDAF is unable to differentiate based on the analytics subscription or request, it provides service experience analytics for both Application(s) and Network Slice.
  • the service data and performance data collected from the AF (including the service data collected from the UE through the AF), the network data from other 5GC NFs and the network data from OAM for observed service experience are defined in Table 6.4.2-1, 6.4.2-la, Table 6.4.2-2, Table 6.4.2-3 and Table 6.4.2-4, respectively, of, for example, 3GPP TS 23.288.
  • Table 6.4.2-1 (e.g., Table 3): Service Data from AF related to the observed service experience
  • the customized MOS might be defined by the content provider or by the MNO and might be based on the nature of the targeted service type (e.g. web browsing, gaming, augmented reality, V2X, SMS).
  • Table 6.4.2-la e.g., Table 4: Performance Data from AF
  • Table 6.4.2-2 (e.g., Table 5) is provided below where Table 6.4.2-2 relates to: QoS flow level Network Data from 5GC NF related to the QoS profile assigned for a particular service (identified by an Application Id or IP filter information)
  • NWDAF subscribes to the network data from 5GC NF(s) in the Table 6.4.2-2 by invoking Nnf_EventExposure_Subscribe service operation with the following Event IDs as input parameters:
  • NWDAF subscribes the network data from OAM in the Table 6.4.2-3 by using the services provided by OAM as described in clause 6.2.3.
  • Table 6.4.2-4 (e.g., Table 7): UE level Network Data from 5G NF related to the Service Experience
  • Event Filters for the service data collection from SMF, AMF and AF are defined in 3 GPP TS 23.502.
  • the timestamps are provided by each NF to allow correlation of QoS and traffic KPIs.
  • the clock reference is able to know the accuracy of the time and correlate the time series of the data retrieved from each NF.
  • NWDAF services as defined in the clause 7.2 and 7.3 of, for example, 3GP TS 23.502 are used to expose the analytics.
  • Service Experience statistics information is defined in Table 6.4.3- 1.
  • Table 6.4.3-1 (e.g., Table 8): Service Experience statistics is provided below.
  • Table 6.4.3-2 (e.g., Table 9): Service Experience predictions is provided below.
  • UE-to-Network Relay can be applied for remote UEs that are under direct network coverage (Uu), so in this case the network (e.g., network node) may indicate (by sending an URSP update with ProSe Relay offload indication) to the remote UE that, the way to access the 5GC network for a given application is through indirect communication using 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay through a UE ProSe Relay. This way it enables a mechanism for the network for path switching from 5GC Uu path to PC5 ProSe Relay or vice versa.
  • the network e.g., network node
  • 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay through indirect communication using 5G ProSe UE-to-Network Relay through a UE ProSe Relay.
  • the transfer of traffic for an application might obtain different service experience depending on the path used, i.e., depending if a path through direct Uu or through UE ProSe Relay is used. This may happen for example in case the ProSe Relay UE used for the indirect path is located in a different cell which is less loaded than the one used for direct access through Uu.
  • cell 1 As illustrated in FIG. 5, if the cell were the remote UE is located (cell 1) is more loaded than cell 2, it might be expected that the user experience for transferring traffic through cell 1 (either through direct Uu access or indirect through UE ProSe Relay (a) or (b) ) is lower/worse than when the transfer is performed through cell 2 (through indirect access through UE ProSe Relay (c)). As such, existing systems/standards are not without issues.
  • Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for ProSe selection, configuration, etc.
  • One or more embodiments described herein provide a mechanism which solves, at least in part, one or more of the problems described in the background section by extending (e.g., modifying, changing, adapting, etc.) the existing Observe service Experience (OSE) analytics (as described in the “Observed Service Experience related network data analytics” section above) to provide the service experience (e.g., service level, quality of service level, etc.) for a service when indirect access through ProSe Relay is used.
  • the PCF may compare the prediction/statistics for service experience provided by direct access through Uu and/or indirect through a ProSe Relay UE.
  • one or more embodiments described herein provides the extension of the service experience analytic for ProSe that also includes the service experience per different area where the ProSe Relay UE can be located or is predicted to be located.
  • the PCF may use the information from the new analytic to maximize the service experience for an application (according to the analytic provided by the NWDAF). First to determine whether ProSe Relay should be used for that application, and second to indicate the preferred location for the ProSe Relay UE to use to achieve this maximized service experience.
  • the indication to indicate the preferred location of the ProSe Relay UE to use may be based on, for example, European Patent Application No. EP 22382299.0 (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference), but extended, as described herein, to provide preferred location for the ProSe Relay UE, which is determined as described herein.
  • the Remote UE may needs to understand (e.g., process, decode, etc.) this extension of the URSP including the preferred locations for the ProSe Relay, and then filter the list of discovered candidates for ProSe Relay UEs to the ones matching the location condition.
  • a node includes processing circuitry configured to receive information associated with observe service experience, OSE, of a user equipment, UE, determine a prediction for service experience associated with the UE based at least on the received information, and indicate whether to offload the UE to a ProSe Relay UE based on the determination of the prediction for service experience.
  • processing circuitry configured to receive information associated with observe service experience, OSE, of a user equipment, UE, determine a prediction for service experience associated with the UE based at least on the received information, and indicate whether to offload the UE to a ProSe Relay UE based on the determination of the prediction for service experience.
  • a user equipment UE
  • the UE includes processing circuitry configured to receive an indication indicating whether to offload the UE to a ProSe Relay UE, the indication being based at least on: information associated with observe service experience, OSE, for the UE; and a prediction for service experience associated with the UE that is based at least on the received information, and perform at least one action based on the received indication.
  • a method implemented by a node is provided.
  • Information associated with observe service experience, OSE, of a user equipment, UE is received.
  • a prediction for service experience associated with the UE is determined based at least on the received information.
  • An indication is provided as to whether to offload the UE to a ProSe Relay UE based on the determination of the prediction for service experience.
  • a method implemented by a user equipment, UE is provided.
  • An indication indicating whether to offload the UE to a ProSe Relay UE is received where the indication is based at least on: information associated with observe service experience, OSE, for the UE; and a prediction for service experience associated with the UE that is based at least on the received information.
  • At least one action is performed based on the received indication.
  • a node includes processing circuitry configured to: receive at least one service experience analytic associated with at least one Proximity Services, ProSe, Relay user equipment (UE) area; determine whether at least one of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a service experience metric greater than a service experience metric for direct access communication; in response to determining that at least one of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with the greater service experience metric, select the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area; and cause transmission of a second indication indicating the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area to a remote UE for use in selecting a ProSe Relay UE for use in indirect access communication.
  • UE Proximity Services
  • UE Relay user equipment
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine the remote UE is using indirect access communication; and in response to determining the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a service experience metric that is not greater than a service experience metric associated with the direct access communication, cause deactivation of the indirect access communication.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area had not been previously indicated to the remote UE; and the causing of transmission of the second indication being based at least on the determination that at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area had not been previously indicated to the remote UE.
  • the second indication corresponds to an indication of an ordered plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas, where the ordering of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas is based on a respective service experience metric associated with each of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to determine the ordered plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas correspond to a different ordering than a previously indicated order of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas; and the causing of transmission of the second indication being based at least on the determination of the different ordering.
  • each of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a remote UE application; and where the determining of whether at least one of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a greater service experience metric and the selecting of the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area is performed on a remote UE application basis.
  • the at least one service experience analytic includes at least one of: a service experience metric; spatial validity of a physical area; type of access; and ProSe Relay location.
  • each of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a respective ProSe Relay UE area.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to send a subscription request or query to an analytics function node to receive information related to service experience for indirect access communication using a ProSe Relay UE.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to send a subscription request or query to the analytics function node to receive information related to the service experience for direct access communication.
  • the transmission of the second indication is part of a UE route selection policy, URSP, update procedure.
  • the service experience analytic includes one of: a prediction of a service experience quality metric, and a statistics of the service experience quality metric.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to cause transmission of a ProSe Relay UE indicator indicating network traffic associated with the remote UE is to be sent via a ProSe Relay UE, where the ProSe Relay UE indicator is transmitted with the second indication of the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area.
  • the node is a policy control function, PCF, node.
  • an analytics function node in communication with a network function consumer.
  • the analytics function node includes processing circuitry configured to: receive network data associated with at least one Proximity Services, ProSe, Relay user equipment, UE; determine at least one service experience analytic associated with at least one ProSe Relay UE area associated with the at least one ProSe Relay UE, the at least one service experience analytic being based on the network data; and cause transmission of the at least one service experience analytic associated with at least one ProSe Relay UE area to the network function consumer.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to receive a subscription request or query for information related to service experience for indirect access communication using a ProSe Relay UE, and where the transmission of the at least one service experience analytic associated with at least one ProSe Relay UE area is performed in response to the subscription request or query.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to: receive a subscription request or query for information related to service experience for direct access communication; and in response to the subscription request or query, cause transmission of a service experience metric for direct access communication.
  • the at least one service experience analytic includes at least one of: at least one service experience quality metric; spatial validity of a physical area; type of access; and ProSe Relay location.
  • each of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a respective ProSe Relay UE area.
  • the service experience analytic includes one of: a prediction of a service experience quality metric; and a statistics of the service experience quality metric.
  • the network data includes at least one of: a ProSe Relay UE indicator that indicates whether a protocol data unit, PDU, session is using a ProSe Relay UE; and a ProSe Relay UE area indicator that indicates an area of a ProSe Relay UE used for the PDU session.
  • the ProSe Relay UE indicator and ProSe Relay UE area indicator are received from a session management function, SMF.
  • the analytics function node is a Network Data Analytics Function, NWDAF, node.
  • the indication indicating the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area corresponds to an indication indicating an ordered list of a plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas, the ordering of the list of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas being based on respective service quality metric of each of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area.
  • a user equipment, UE includes processing circuitry configured to: receive an indication of at least one Proximity Services, ProSe, Relay UE area; and select a first ProSe Relay UE, within a first ProSe Relay UE area of the at least one ProSe relay UE area, that is available for use in indirect access communication.
  • the selection is based on the first ProSe Relay UE area being associated with a service experience metric greater than at least one other service experience metric associated with another one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area.
  • the indication of at least one ProSe Relay UE area corresponds to an indication indicating an ordered list of a plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas including the first ProSe Relay UE area, where the ordering of the list of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas is based on a respective service quality metric associated with each of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to switch indirect access communication from an existing ProSe Relay UE to the first ProSe Relay UE, where the first ProSe Relay UE area having an order in the ordered plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas that indicates that the first ProSe Relay UE area has a greater service experience metric than a ProSe Relay UE area associated with the existing ProSe Relay UE.
  • the indication of at least one ProSe Relay UE area is received as part of a UE route selection policy, URSP, update procedure.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to receive a ProSe Relay UE indicator indicating network traffic associated with the UE is to be sent via a ProSe Relay UE, and where the ProSe Relay UE indicator is received with the indication of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram of a 5G reference architecture of policy and charging control framework
  • FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram of 5G ProSe communication via 5G ProSe layer 3 UE to Network Relay without N3IWF;
  • FIG. 3 is a signaling diagram of connection establishment over 5G ProSe layer 3 UE to Network Relay with N3IWF support;
  • FIG. 4 is a signaling diagram of additional parameters announcement procedure
  • FIG. 5 is a diagram of ProSe relay UE selection problem
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system connected via an intermediate network to a host computer according to the principles in the present disclosure
  • FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a network node with a wireless device over an at least partially wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for executing a client application at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data from the wireless device at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example process in a node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example process in a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 14 is a flowchart of another example process in a node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an example process in an analytic function node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 16 is a flowchart of another example process in a UE according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 17 is a signaling or sequencing diagram illustrating PCF helping maximize the service experience for an application according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the remote UE might be expected that the user experience for transferring traffic through cell 1 (either through direct Uu access or indirect through UE ProSe Relay (i.e., ProSe Relay UE) (a) or (b) ) is lower/worse than when the transfer is performed through cell 2 (through indirect access through UE ProSe Relay (c)).
  • the PCF might attempt to maximize the user experience for an application enabling PC5 ProSe Relay to steer the traffic of the application through the ProSe Relay UE located in cell 2.
  • some problem(s) to achieving this solution and/or help at least in part solve this problem are:
  • the PCF lacks means to compare the service experience provided by the transfer of traffic for an application over direct path using Uu or the indirect path using a UE ProSe Relay.
  • the PCF lacks means to force the selection of the UE ProSe Relay to use for Relay communications.
  • relational terms such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements.
  • the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein.
  • the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  • the joining term, “in communication with” and the like may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example.
  • electrical or data communication may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example.
  • Coupled may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and/or wireless connections.
  • the phrase at least one of A and B corresponds to A and/or B.
  • network node can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multi- standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (
  • BS base station
  • the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably.
  • the UE herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another UE over radio signals.
  • the UE may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity UE, a sensor equipped with UE, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device, etc.
  • D2D device to device
  • M2M machine to machine communication
  • M2M machine to machine communication
  • a sensor equipped with UE Tablet
  • mobile terminals smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles
  • CPE
  • radio network node can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), IAB node, relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).
  • RNC evolved Node B
  • MCE Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity
  • IAB node IAB node
  • relay node access point
  • radio access point radio access point
  • RRU Remote Radio Unit
  • RRH Remote Radio Head
  • WCDMA Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access
  • WiMax Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
  • UMB Ultra Mobile Broadband
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • functions described herein as being performed by a UE or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of UEs and/or network nodes.
  • the functions of the network node and UE described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.
  • all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
  • Some embodiments provide ProSe relay UE selection, configuration, etc. such as based on, for example, OSE analytics as described herein.
  • FIG. 6 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and/or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14 (e.g., including node 13a, b (collectively referred to as node 13) such as PCF (e.g., H-PCF), NWDAF, etc.).
  • node 13a is a PCF or PCF node while node 13b is an analytic function node such as a NWDAF node.
  • the access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18).
  • Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20.
  • a first user equipment (UE) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a.
  • a second UE 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b.
  • a third UE 22c in coverage area 18c is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16c.
  • UE 22d may a remote UE 22 that is located outside of coverage area 18b such that remote UE 22 may be searching for a ProSe relay UE 22 (e.g., UE 22b) as described herein. While a plurality of UEs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as UEs 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two UEs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more UEs 22 and network nodes 16. UEs 22a-22d may be capable or configured to support ProSe communications with each other or at least one other UE 22.
  • a UE 22 can be in simultaneous communication and/or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16.
  • a UE 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR.
  • UE 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE/E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR/NG-RAN.
  • the communication system 10 may itself be connected to a host computer 24, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm.
  • the host computer 24 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the connections 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24 or may extend via an optional intermediate network 30.
  • the intermediate network 30 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network.
  • the intermediate network 30, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).
  • the communication system of FIG. 6 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected UEs 22a, 22b and the host computer 24.
  • the connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection.
  • the host computer 24 and the connected UEs 22a, 22b are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection, using the access network 12, the core network 14 including node 13, any intermediate network 30 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries.
  • Node 13a is configured to include indication unit 32 which is configured to perform one or more node 13a functions as described herein such as with respect to ProSe relay selection, configuration, etc.
  • Node 13b is configured to include analytic unit 33 which is configured to perform one or more node 13b functions as described herein such as with respect to ProSe relay selection, configuration, etc.
  • the OTT connection may be transparent in the sense that at least some of the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications.
  • a network node 16 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from a host computer 24 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected UE 22a.
  • the network node 16 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the UE 22a towards the host computer 24.
  • a UE 22 (e.g., UE 22d) is configured to include a ProSe unit 34 which is configured to perform one or more UE 22 functions as described herein such as with respect to ProSe selection, etc.
  • a host computer 24 comprises hardware (HW) 38 including a communication interface 40 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10.
  • the host computer 24 further comprises processing circuitry 42, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities.
  • the processing circuitry 42 may include a processor 44 and memory 46.
  • the processing circuitry 42 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions.
  • processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs Field Programmable Gate Array
  • ASICs Application Specific Integrated Circuitry
  • the processor 44 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 46, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read- Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • memory 46 may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read- Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • Processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by host computer 24.
  • Processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for performing host computer 24 functions described herein.
  • the host computer 24 includes memory 46 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein.
  • the software 48 and/or the host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42, causes the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42 to perform the processes described herein with respect to host computer 24.
  • the instructions may be software associated with the host computer 24.
  • the software 48 may be executable by the processing circuitry 42.
  • the software 48 includes a host application 50.
  • the host application 50 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a UE 22 connecting via an OTT connection 52 terminating at the UE 22 and the host computer 24.
  • the host application 50 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 52.
  • the “user data” may be data and information described herein as implementing the described functionality.
  • the host computer 24 may be configured for providing control and functionality to a service provider and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may enable the host computer 24 to observe, monitor, control, transmit to and/or receive from the network node 16, node 13 and or the UE 22.
  • the processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may include an information unit 54 configured to enable the service provider to determine, relay, forward, transmit, analyze, receive, communicate, store, etc. information related to ProSe selection, configuration, etc. as described herein.
  • the communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 58 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 24 and with the UE 22.
  • the hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10, as well as a radio interface 62 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 64 with a UE 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16.
  • the radio interface 62 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers.
  • the communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24.
  • the connection 66 may be direct or it may pass through a core network 14 of the communication system 10 and/or through one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.
  • the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 68.
  • the processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72.
  • the processing circuitry 68 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions.
  • FPGAs Field Programmable Gate Array
  • ASICs Application Specific Integrated Circuitry
  • the processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 72, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • volatile and/or nonvolatile memory e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • the network node 16 further has software 74 stored internally in, for example, memory 72, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection.
  • the software 74 may be executable by the processing circuitry 68.
  • the processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16.
  • Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing network node 16 functions described herein.
  • the memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein.
  • the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68, causes the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16.
  • the communication system 10 further includes the UE 22 already referred to.
  • the UE 22 may have hardware 80 that may include a radio interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 64 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the UE 22 is currently located.
  • the radio interface 82 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers.
  • the hardware 80 of the UE 22 further includes processing circuitry 84.
  • the processing circuitry 84 may include a processor 86 and memory 88.
  • the processing circuitry 84 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions.
  • the processor 86 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 88, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • memory 88 may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • the UE 22 may further comprise software 90, which is stored in, for example, memory 88 at the UE 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the UE 22.
  • the software 90 may be executable by the processing circuitry 84.
  • the software 90 may include a client application 92.
  • the client application 92 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 22, with the support of the host computer 24.
  • an executing host application 50 may communicate with the executing client application 92 via the OTT connection 52 terminating at the UE 22 and the host computer 24.
  • the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data.
  • the OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data.
  • the client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.
  • the processing circuitry 84 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by UE 22.
  • the processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing UE 22 functions described herein.
  • the UE 22 includes memory 88 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein.
  • the software 90 and/or the client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84, causes the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to UE 22.
  • the processing circuitry 84 of the UE 22 may include a ProSe unit 34 configured to perform one or more UE 22 functions described herein such as with respect to ProSe selection, etc.
  • the communication system 10 further includes a node 13a (e.g., PCF node 13) provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 93 enabling it to communicate with the network node 16 and with the UE 22, via for example network node 16.
  • the communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24 and/or network node 16.
  • the connection 66 may be direct or it may pass through a core network 14 of the communication system 10 and/or through one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.
  • the hardware 93 of the node 13a further includes processing circuitry 96.
  • the processing circuitry 96 may include a processor 98 and a memory 100.
  • the processing circuitry 96 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions.
  • FPGAs Field Programmable Gate Array
  • ASICs Application Specific Integrated Circuitry
  • the processor 98 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 100, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • volatile and/or nonvolatile memory e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).
  • the node 13a further has software 102 stored internally in, for example, memory 100, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the node 13a via an external connection.
  • the software 102 may be executable by the processing circuitry 96.
  • the processing circuitry 96 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by node 13a.
  • Processor 98 corresponds to one or more processors 98 for performing node 13a functions described herein.
  • the memory 100 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein.
  • the software 102 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 98 and/or processing circuitry 96, causes the processor 98 and/or processing circuitry 96 to perform the processes described herein with respect to node 13a.
  • processing circuitry 96 of the node 13a may include indication unit 32 configured to perform one or more node 13a functions as described herein such as with respect to ProSe relay UE selection, configuration, etc.
  • Node 13b (e.g., analytic function node 13b) include the same hardware and software as discussed above with respect to node 13a, except that node 13b includes analytic unit 33 that is configured to perform one or more node 13b functions as described herein such as with respect to ProSe relay UE selection, configuration, etc.
  • the inner workings of the node 13a, node 13b, UE 22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in FIG. 7 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 6.
  • the OTT connection 52 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 24 and the UE 22 via the network node 16 and/or node 13 (e.g., node 13a, node 13b, etc.), without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
  • Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from the UE 22 or from the service provider operating the host computer 24, or both. While the OTT connection 52 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).
  • the wireless connection 64 between the UE 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 22 using the OTT connection 52, in which the wireless connection 64 may form the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.
  • a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.
  • the measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24 or in the software 90 of the UE 22, or both.
  • sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 52 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 48, 90 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities.
  • the reconfiguring of the OTT connection 52 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the network node 16, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the network node 16. Some such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art.
  • measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling facilitating the host computer’s 24 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like.
  • the measurements may be implemented in that the software 48, 90 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 52 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.
  • the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 configured to provide user data and a communication interface 40 that is configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to the UE 22.
  • the cellular network also includes the network node 16 with a radio interface 62.
  • the network node 16 is configured to, and/or the network node’s 16 processing circuitry 68 is configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the UE 22, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ending in receipt of a transmission from the UE 22.
  • the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 and a communication interface 40 that is configured to a communication interface 40 configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a UE 22 to a network node 16.
  • the UE 22 is configured to, and/or comprises a radio interface 82 and/or processing circuitry 84 configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the network node 16, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ending in receipt of a transmission from the network node 16.
  • FIGS. 6 and 7 show various “units” such as ProSe unit 34, analytic unit 33 and indication unit 32 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIGS. 6 and 7, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system may include one or more of host computer 24, a network node 16, node 13 and a UE 22, which may be those described with reference to FIG. 7.
  • the host computer 24 provides user data (Block S100).
  • the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50 (Block S102).
  • the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE 22 (Block S104).
  • the network node 16 transmits to the UE 22 the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer 24 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block S106).
  • the UE 22 executes a client application, such as, for example, the client application 92, associated with the host application 50 executed by the host computer 24 (Block S108).
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 6, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system may include one or more of a host computer 24, a network node 16, node 13 and a UE 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
  • the host computer 24 provides user data (Block SI 10).
  • the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50.
  • the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE 22 (Block SI 12).
  • the transmission may pass via the network node 16, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • the UE 22 receives the user data carried in the transmission (Block S 114).
  • FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 6, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system may include one or more of host computer 24, a network node 16, node 13 and a UE 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
  • the UE 22 receives input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 16).
  • the UE 22 executes the client application 92, which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 18).
  • the UE 22 provides user data (Block S120).
  • the UE provides the user data by executing a client application, such as, for example, client application 92 (Block S122).
  • client application 92 may further consider user input received from the user.
  • the UE 22 may initiate, in an optional third substep, transmission of the user data to the host computer 24 (Block S124).
  • the host computer 24 receives the user data transmitted from the UE 22, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block S126).
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 6, in accordance with one embodiment.
  • the communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a UE 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
  • the network node 16 receives user data from the UE 22 (Block S128).
  • the network node 16 initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer 24 (Block S130).
  • the host computer 24 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the network node 16 (Block S132).
  • FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example process in node 13a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of node 13a such as by one or more of processing circuitry 96 (including the indication unit 32), processor 98 and/or communication interface 94.
  • Node 13 is configured to receive (Block S134) information associated with observe service experience, OSE, of a user equipment, UE 22, as described herein.
  • Node 13a is configured to determine (Block S136) a prediction for service experience associated with the UE 22 based at least on the received information, as described herein.
  • Node 13a is configured to indicate (Block S138) whether to offload the UE 22 to a ProSe Relay UE 22 based on the determination of the prediction for service experience, as described herein.
  • the information associated with the OSE includes analytics associated with at least one of: at least one service experience quality; spatial validity of a physical area; type of access; and ProSe Relay Location.
  • the determined prediction for the service experience is based on at least one location indicated in the received information.
  • the received information associates: a first ProSe Relay UE 22 location with a first service experience quality; and a second ProSe Relay UE 22 location with a second service experience quality different from the first service experience quality.
  • the processing circuitry is further configured to subscribe to a Network Data Analytics Function, NWDAF, (e.g., analytic function node 13b) for information associated with OSE for the UE 22.
  • NWDAF Network Data Analytics Function
  • FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example process in a UE 22 (e.g., remote UE 22) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of UE 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 84 (including the ProSe unit 34), processor 86, radio interface 82 and/or communication interface 60.
  • UE 22 is configured to receive (Block S140) an indication indicating whether to offload the UE 22 to a ProSe Relay UE 22, the indication being based at least on: information associated with observe service experience, OSE, for the UE 22; and a prediction for service experience associated with the UE 22 that is based at least on the received information, as described herein.
  • UE 22 is configured to perform (Block S142) at least one action based on the received indication, as described herein.
  • the at least one action includes establishing relay communications with a first ProSe Relay UE 22 associated with the OSE for the UE 22.
  • the first ProSe Relay UE 22 is associated with a location indicated in the received indication.
  • the at least one action includes establishing communication via a direct Uu access (e.g., direct access communication with, for example, network node 16).
  • the information associated with the OSE includes analytics associated with at least one of: at least one service experience quality; spatial validity of a physical area; type of access; and ProSe Relay Location.
  • the information associates: a first ProSe Relay UE location with a first service experience quality; and a second ProSe Relay UE location with a second service experience quality different from the first service experience quality.
  • FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example process in node 13a according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of node 13a such as by one or more of processing circuitry 96 (including the indication unit 32), processor 98 and/or communication interface 94.
  • Node 13a is configured to receive (Block S144) at least one service experience analytic associated with at least one Proximity Services, ProSe, Relay user equipment (UE) area, as described herein.
  • Node 13a is configured to determine (Block S146) whether at least one of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a service experience metric greater than a service experience metric for direct access communication, as described herien.
  • Node 13a is configured to, in response to determining that at least one of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with the greater service experience metric, select (Block S148) the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area, as described herein.
  • Node 13a is configured to cause (Block S150) transmission of a second indication indicating the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area to a remote UE 22 for use in selecting a ProSe Relay UE 22 for use in indirect access communication, as described herein.
  • the processing circuitry 96 is further configured to: determine the remote UE 22 is using indirect access communication, and, in response to determining the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a service experience metric that is not greater than a service experience metric associated with the direct access communication, cause deactivation of the indirect access communication.
  • the processing circuitry 96 is further configured to: determine at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area had not been previously indicated to the remote UE 22, and where the causing of transmission of the second indication being based at least on the determination that at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area had not been previously indicated to the remote UE 22.
  • the second indication corresponds to an indication of an ordered plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas, where the ordering of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas is based on a respective service experience metric associated with each of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas.
  • the processing circuitry 96 is further configured to determine the ordered plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas correspond to a different ordering than a previously indicated order of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas, and the causing of transmission of the second indication is based at least on the determination of the different ordering.
  • each of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a remote UE application, and where the determining of whether at least one of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a greater service experience metric and the selecting of the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area is performed on a remote UE application basis.
  • the at least one service experience analytic includes at least one of: a service experience metric, spatial validity of a physical area, type of access, and ProSe Relay location.
  • each of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a respective ProSe Relay UE area.
  • the processing circuitry 96 is further configured to send a subscription request or query to an analytics function node to receive information related to service experience for indirect access communication using a ProSe Relay UE 22.
  • the processing circuitry 96 is further configured to send a subscription request or query to the analytics function node 13b to receive information related to the service experience for direct access communication.
  • the transmission of the second indication is part of a UE route selection policy, URSP, update procedure.
  • the service experience analytic includes one of: a prediction of a service experience quality metric, and a statistics of the service experience quality metric.
  • the processing circuitry 96 is further configured to cause transmission of a ProSe Relay UE indicator indicating network traffic associated with the remote UE 22 is to be sent via a ProSe Relay UE 22, where the ProSe Relay UE indicator is transmitted with the second indication of the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area.
  • the node is a policy control function, PCF, node.
  • FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example process in an analytics function node 13b according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the analytics function node may be in communication with a network function consumer (e.g., other node 13, PCF, etc.).
  • a network function consumer e.g., other node 13, PCF, etc.
  • One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of node 13 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 96 (including the analytic unit 33), processor 98 and/or communication interface 94.
  • Node 13b is configured to receive (Block S152) network data associated with at least one Proximity Services, ProSe, Relay user equipment, UE 22, as described herein.
  • Node 13b is configured to determine (Block S154) at least one service experience analytic associated with at least one ProSe Relay UE area associated with the at least one ProSe Relay UE 22, where the at least one service experience analytic is based on the network data, as described herein.
  • network data corresponds to data that is collected by NWDAF from the network (e.g., SMF, AMF, UPF, etc.)
  • Node 13b is configured to cause (Block S 156) transmission of the at least one service experience analytic associated with at least one ProSe Relay UE area to the network function consumer (e.g., other node 13, PCF, etc.), as described herein.
  • the processing circuitry 96 is further configured to receive a subscription request or query for information related to service experience for indirect access communication using a ProSe Relay UE 22, where the transmission of the at least one service experience analytic associated with at least one ProSe Relay UE area being performed in response to the subscription request or query.
  • the processing circuitry 96 is further configured to receive a subscription request or query for information related to service experience for direct access communication, and, in response to the subscription request or query, cause transmission of a service experience metric for direct access communication.
  • the at least one service experience analytic includes at least one of: at least one service experience quality metric, spatial validity of a physical area, type of access, and ProSe Relay location.
  • each of the at least one service experience analytic is associated with a respective ProSe Relay UE area.
  • the service experience analytic includes one of: a prediction of a service experience quality metric, and a statistics of the service experience quality metric.
  • the network data includes at least one of: a ProSe Relay UE indicator that indicates whether a protocol data unit, PDU, session is using a ProSe Relay UE 22, and a ProSe Relay UE area indicator that indicates an area of a ProSe Relay UE 22 used for the PDU session.
  • the ProSe Relay UE indicator and ProSe Relay UE area indicator are received from a session management function, SMF (e.g., node 13).
  • SMF session management function
  • the analytics function node is a Network Data Analytics Function, NWDAF, node 13b.
  • the indication indicating the at least one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area corresponds to an indication indicating an ordered list of a plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas, where the ordering of the list of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas is based on respective service quality metric of each of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area.
  • FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example process in a UE 22 (e.g., remote UE 22) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of UE 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 84 (including the ProSe unit 34), processor 86, radio interface 82 and/or communication interface 60.
  • UE 22 is configured to receive (Block S158) an indication of at least one Proximity Services, ProSe, Relay UE area, as described herein.
  • UE 22 is configured to select (Block S160) a first ProSe Relay UE 22, within a first ProSe Relay UE area of the at least one ProSe relay UE area, that is available for use in indirect access communication, as described herein.
  • the selection is based on the first ProSe Relay UE area being associated with a service experience metric greater than at least one other service experience metric associated with another one of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area.
  • the indication of at least one ProSe Relay UE area corresponds to an indication indicating an ordered list of a plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas including the first ProSe Relay UE area, where the ordering of the list of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas is based on a respective service quality metric associated with each of the plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas.
  • the processing circuitry 84 is further configured to switch indirect access communication from an existing ProSe Relay UE 22 to the first ProSe Relay UE 22, where the first ProSe Relay UE area has an order in the ordered plurality of ProSe Relay UE areas that indicates that the first ProSe Relay UE area has a greater service experience metric than a ProSe Relay UE area associated with the existing ProSe Relay UE 22.
  • the indication of at least one ProSe Relay UE area is received as part of a UE route selection policy, URSP, update procedure.
  • the processing circuitry 84 is further configured to receive a ProSe Relay UE indicator indicating network traffic associated with the UE 22 is to be sent via a ProSe Relay UE 22, where the ProSe Relay UE indicator being received with the indication of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area.
  • One or more node 13 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processor 98, processing circuitry 96, indication unit 32, etc.
  • One or more UE 22 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry 84, processor 86, ProSe unit 34, etc.
  • Some embodiments provide ProSe relay selection, configuration, etc.
  • the output of OSE analytic is extended as described in Table 10 below to allow service experience results when access is through ProSe Relay and per location of the ProSe Relay UE 22 used for the communication:
  • new filter parameters are provided/added for the request of OSE analytic (ProSe Relay Indicator), so the NF consumer (e.g., the PCF described herein) is able to indicate in the request for the analytic that service experience per location of ProSe Relay UE 22 used in the communication is expected.
  • the NF consumer e.g., the PCF described herein
  • the extended input information required to generate OSE the analytic (described herein), with the one bolded in the following Table 11:
  • Table 11 (e.g., Table 6.4.2-2): QoS flow level Network Data from 5GC NF related to the QoS profile assigned for a particular service (identified by an Application Id or IP filter information)
  • One or more embodiments described herein may reuse at least a portion of the teachings of European Patent Application No. EP22382299.0, but also provide a new extension of URSP rules with the information about the preferred location for the ProSe Relay UE 22 to use for ProSe Relay communication.
  • ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload preferred locations i.e., ProSe Relay UE areas
  • ProSe Layer-3 UE- to-Network Relay Offload indication the UE 22 may selects the ProSe Relay UE 22 based on these preferred locations.
  • FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram illustrating a UC where the PCF maximizes the service experience for an application by enabling ProSe Relay communication for that application over a ProSe Relay UE 22 which is located in an area which maximizes the service experience (according to NWDAF). The steps illustrated in FIG. 17 are described below.
  • Pre-requisites e.g., preconfigurations or configurations/steps performed before Step 1
  • Step Oa Remote UE 22 is already registered in the network and Remote UE 22's policy association is already established. ProSe Relay communication has been already enabled for the UE 22 by proper ProSeP delivered to the UE 22. However no URSP for a given application (Appl) has been delivered to the UE 22 including “ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload Indication”, as defined in 3GPP TS 23.304 section 6.5. Therefore the UE 22 is not instructed yet to use ProSe Relay for Appl.
  • Appl ProSe Layer-3 UE-to-Network Relay Offload Indication
  • Step 1) (e.g., new or not part of extending systems/standards)
  • the PCF subscribes to NWDAF to get existing OSE with Uu or radio air interface access to network node 16 (e.g., direct access communication) and also subscribes to the NWDAF to get the analytic extension of service experience related to ProSe (e.g., indirect access communication via a ProSe Relay UE 22) as described herein.
  • the application e.g., Appl
  • Area of Interest AreaX (it is assumed the remote UE 22 is in AreaX) (new) ProSe Relay Indicator
  • Step 2 At some point in time or after Step 1, NWDAF notifies PCF with the result of the analytic for OSE by sending Nnwdaf_AnalyticsSubscription_Notify with at least some of the following information:
  • the application service experience (2) and (3) may be provided in the form of an ordered list where the order is based on respective service experience metrics.
  • “best prediction” may corresponds to the prediction having a greater or lower characteristic/metric than the remaining predictions. That is, PCF compares the service experience related to direct Uu access to one or more service experiences related to the one or more ProSe Relay UE areas to determine which access (e.g., direct or indirect access) provides the best prediction for service experience associated with Appl (i.e., is performed on a per Application basis).
  • one or more ProSe Relay UE areas may provide a better service experience metric than direct access such that a list of the one or more ProSe Relay UE areas is provided to the UE 22 (e.g., remote UE 22).
  • the PCF receives an ordered list of ProSe Relay UE areas where the PCF can compare it to a previous ordered list to determine whether an update is needed.
  • the comparison may indicate that at least one ProSe Relay UE area had not been previously indicated to the UE 22.
  • the comparison may indicate that the order of the at least one ProSe Relay UE area in the list is different from the previous order.
  • the PCF may send also ProSeP to enable the usage of ProSe Relay together with the URSP update.
  • Step 7) UE 22 establishes a Relay Communication towards the selected ProSe Relay UE 22. From that moment, the UE 22 may start sending traffic for the Appl through that ProSe Relay UE 22, which maximizes the service experience (according to analytics received from NWDAF).
  • new information is provided by OSE analytic (i.e., service experience analytic) about the user experience of an application when the access to the 5GC is performed through indirect communication via ProSe Relay UE 22, i.e., indirect access communication.
  • OSE analytic i.e., service experience analytic
  • a method for the PCF to maximize user experience for an application by enabling the access to the Network (e.g., network node) through a ProSe Relay UE 22 located in a preferred location (which maximizes the service experience).
  • the Network e.g., network node
  • ProSe Relay UE 22 located in a preferred location (which maximizes the service experience).
  • the selection may correspond to one of: switching from direct access communication to indirect access communication, switching to a different ProSe Relay UE 22 associated with a different ProSe Relay UE area, switching from indirect access communication via a ProSe Relay UE 22 to direct access communication.
  • a node 13 comprising: processing circuitry 96 configured to: receive information associated with observe service experience, OSE, of a user equipment, UE 22; determine a prediction for service experience associated with the UE 22 based at least on the received information; and indicate whether to offload the UE 22 to a ProSe Relay UE 22 based on the determination of the prediction for service experience.
  • processing circuitry 96 configured to: receive information associated with observe service experience, OSE, of a user equipment, UE 22; determine a prediction for service experience associated with the UE 22 based at least on the received information; and indicate whether to offload the UE 22 to a ProSe Relay UE 22 based on the determination of the prediction for service experience.
  • Example 2 wherein the information associated with the OSE includes analytics associated with at least one of: at least one service experience quality; spatial validity of a physical area; type of access; and
  • Example 4 The node 13 of Example 3, wherein the received information associates: a first ProSe Relay UE location with a first service experience quality; and a second ProSe Relay UE location with a second service experience quality different from the first service experience quality.
  • NWDAF Network Data Analytics Function
  • a user equipment comprising: processing circuitry 84 configured to: receive an indication indicating whether to offload the UE 22 to a
  • ProSe Relay UE 22 the indication being based at least on: information associated with observe service experience, OSE, for the UE 22; and a prediction for service experience associated with the UE 22 that is based at least on the received information; and perform at least one action based on the received indication.
  • Example 7 The UE 22 of Example 6, wherein the at least one action includes establishing relay communications with a first ProSe Relay UE 22 associated with the OSE for the UE 22.
  • Example 8 The UE 22 of Example 7, wherein the first ProSe Relay UE 22 is associated with a location indicated in the received indication.
  • Example 6 wherein the at least one action includes establishing communication via a direct Uu access.
  • Example 6 wherein the information associated with the OSE includes analytics associated with at least one of: at least one service experience quality; spatial validity of a physical area; type of access; and
  • Example 8 wherein the information associates: a first ProSe Relay UE location with a first service experience quality; and a second ProSe Relay UE location with a second service experience quality different from the first service experience quality.
  • a method implemented by a node 13 comprising: receiving information associated with observe service experience, OSE, of a user equipment, UE 22; determining a prediction for service experience associated with the UE 22 based at least on the received information; and indicating whether to offload the UE 22 to a ProSe Relay UE 22 based on the determination of the prediction for service experience.
  • Example 13 The method of Example 12, wherein the information associated with the OSE includes analytics associated with at least one of: at least one service experience quality; spatial validity of a physical area; type of access; and
  • Example 14 wherein the received information associates: a first ProSe Relay UE location with a first service experience quality; and a second ProSe Relay UE location with a second service experience quality different from the first service experience quality.
  • Example 18 The method of Example 17, wherein the at least one action includes establishing relay communications with a first ProSe Relay UE 22 associated with the OSE for the UE 22. 19. The method of Example 18, wherein the first ProSe Relay UE 22 is associated with a location indicated in the received indication.
  • Example 17 The method of Example 17, wherein the at least one action includes establishing communication via a direct Uu access.
  • Example 21 The method of Example 17, wherein the information associated with the OSE includes analytics associated with at least one of: at least one service experience quality; spatial validity of a physical area; type of access; and
  • Example 22 The method of Example 19, wherein the information associates: a first ProSe Relay UE location with a first service experience quality; and a second ProSe Relay UE location with a second service experience quality different from the first service experience quality.
  • the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and/or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and/or functionality described herein may be performed by, and/or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and/or firmware and/or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.
  • These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
  • the computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
  • Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++.
  • the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language.
  • the program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer.
  • the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).
  • LAN local area network
  • WAN wide area network
  • Internet Service Provider for example, AT&T, MCI, Sprint, EarthLink, MSN, GTE, etc.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

Un procédé, un système et un appareil sont divulgués. Selon certains modes de réalisation, un nœud est configuré pour recevoir au moins une analyse d'expérience de service associée à au moins une zone d'UE de relais de services de proximité (ProS), pour déterminer si au moins l'une de la ou des analyses d'expérience de service est associée à une métrique d'expérience de service supérieure à une métrique d'expérience de service pour une communication d'accès direct; en réponse à la détermination du fait qu'au moins l'une de la ou des analyses d'expérience de service est associée à la métrique d'expérience de service supérieure, pour sélectionner la ou les zones d'UE de relais de ProSe, et pour déclencher la transmission d'une seconde indication indiquant la ou les zones d'UE de relais de ProSe à un UE distant en vue d'une utilisation pour sélectionner un UE de relais de ProSe destiné à une communication d'accès indirect.
PCT/IB2023/053556 2022-04-06 2023-04-06 Extension analytique d'aide à la décision de délestage de relais d'ue à réseau de couche 3 de prose WO2023194961A1 (fr)

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Citations (2)

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US20160044740A1 (en) * 2014-08-11 2016-02-11 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Method of sharing a ue receiver between d2d and cellular operations based on activity
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US20160044740A1 (en) * 2014-08-11 2016-02-11 Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ) Method of sharing a ue receiver between d2d and cellular operations based on activity
US20200107171A1 (en) * 2018-09-28 2020-04-02 Mediatek Inc. On-Demand Network Configuration Of V2X UE Autonomy In New Radio Mobile Communications

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