WO2025214976A1

WO2025214976A1 - Method and apparatus for network node preparation analytics

Info

Publication number: WO2025214976A1
Application number: PCT/EP2025/059509
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rebecka ALFREDSSON; Wenliang Xu; Ashish S SHARMA; Igor PASTUSHOK
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2024-04-08
Filing date: 2025-04-07
Publication date: 2025-10-16
Anticipated expiration: 2026-10-08

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide method and apparatus for network node preparation analytics. A method performed by a second network node may comprise determining preparation information related to a third network node. The method may comprise sending, to a first network node, a first message comprising the preparation information.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR NETWORK NODE PREPARATION ANALYTICS

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the technical field of communications, and specifically to methods and apparatuses for network node preparation analytics.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This section introduces aspects that may facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.

[0003] In communication networks such as fifth generation system (5GS) as defined by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), data analytics may be exposed to various applications.

SUMMARY

[0004] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0005] In the latest 3GPP Technical Specification Group Service and System Aspects (SA), work group 6 (SA6) meeting (SA6#59), change request (OR) S6-240769

(https://www.3gpp.org/ftp/tsg_sa/WG6_MissionCritical/TSGS6_059_Athens/Docs/S6-240769.zip) related to the Edge Applications (EDGEAPP) Work Item in SA6 was agreed with the following Editor's note:

[0006] 1. The EEC sends a service provisioning request to the ECS. The service provisioning request includes the security credentials of the EEC received during EEC authorization procedure and may include the UE identifier such as GPSI, connectivity information, UE location, EEC service continuity support and AC profile(s) information. EEC may provide its desired ECSP identifier(s) in the service provisioning request based on EEC preference.

[0007] 2. Upon receiving the request, the ECS performs an authohzation check to verify whether the EEC has authorization to perform the operation. The ECS may utilize the capabilities (e.g. UE location) of the 3GPP core network as specified in clause 8.10.2. If the UE serving PLMN identifier is not provided by the EEC in the connectivity information of the service provisioning request, the ECS may invoke the NEF monitoring event API as described in 3GPP TS 23.502 [43] and 3GPP TS 23.682 [17] to obtain the UE roaming status and serving PLMN identifier. If the UE is roaming, the ECS may use the serving PLMN identifier to determine the roaming partner ECS (i.e. V-ECS) information to be provided to the EEC in the service provisioning response. If the Prediction expiration time is provided then the ECS may determine whether to identify EES with the instantiable but not instantiated EAS based on the Prediction expiration time and predicted EAS deployment time information obtained from ADAES. If AC profile(s) are provided by the EEC, and the Application group profile is not provided, the ECS identifies the EES(s) based on the provided AC profile(s) and the UE location. [0008] Editor’s Note: Whether and how the ECS can obtain the EAS deployment time (e.g., from ADAES) is FFS

[0009] Currently, the support for edge analytics Application Data Analytics Enablement service (ADAES) offers is only related to edge load. Therefore, support for exposing analytics related to the edge preparation, such as when an edge instance is predicted to be ready to offer its service to the vertical application, is missing.

[0010] To overcome or mitigate at least one above mentioned problems or other problems, an improved solution for network node preparation analytics may be desirable.

[0011] In a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a first network node. The method may comprise receiving, from a second network node, a first message comprising preparation information related to a third network node.

[0012] In an embodiment, the preparation information may comprise a prediction and/or statistics for deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node.

[0013] In an embodiment, the method may comprise sending, to the second network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information.

[0014] In an embodiment, the method may comprise receiving, from the second network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

[0015] In an embodiment, the first subscription request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, reporting requirements, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, a preferred confidence level, or a time validity of the request

[0016] In an embodiment, the first subscription response may comprise information indicating that a result of the first subscription request.

[0017] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise a subscription notification message.

[0018] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise at least one of an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

[0019] In an embodiment, the method may comprise sending, to the second network node, a first request for the preparation information.

[0020] In an embodiment, the first message is received from the second network node in response to the first request.

[0021] In an embodiment, the first request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, or a preferred confidence level.

[0022] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise at least one of information indicating that a result of the first subscription request, an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

[0023] In an embodiment, the method may comprise determining whether to identify the third network node based on the preparation information.

[0024] In an embodiment, the first network node may comprise an analytic consumer.

[0025] In an embodiment, the second network node may comprise an application data analytics enabler server node. [0026] In an embodiment, the third network node may comprise an edge network node or a configuration node.

[0027] In an embodiment, the analytic consumer may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or a vertical application layer server node.

[0028] In an embodiment, the edge network node may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node or an edge application server node.

[0029] In an embodiment, the configuration node may comprise an edge configuration server node.

[0030] In a second aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a second network node. The method may comprise determining preparation information related to a third network node. The method may comprise sending, to a first network node, a first message comprising the preparation information.

[0031] In an embodiment, the preparation information may comprise a prediction and/or statistics for deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node.

[0032] In an embodiment, the method may comprise receiving, from the first network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information.

[0033] In an embodiment, the method may comprise sending, to the first network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

[0034] In an embodiment, the first subscription request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, reporting requirements, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, a preferred confidence level, or a time validity of the subscription request.

[0035] In an embodiment, the first subscription response may comprise information indicating that a result of the first subscription request.

[0036] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise a subscription notification message.

[0037] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise at least one of an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

[0038] In an embodiment, the method may comprise receiving, from the first network node, a first request for the preparation information.

[0039] In an embodiment, the first message is sent to the first network node in response to the first request.

[0040] In an embodiment, the first request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, or a preferred confidence level.

[0041] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise at least one of information indicating that a result of the first subscription request, an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

[0042] In an embodiment, the first network node may comprise an analytic consumer.

[0043] In an embodiment, the second network node may comprise an application data analytics enabler server node.

[0044] In an embodiment, the third network node may comprise an edge network node or a configuration node.

[0045] In an embodiment, the analytic consumer may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or a vertical application layer server node. [0046] In an embodiment, the edge network node may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node or an edge application server node.

[0047] In an embodiment, the configuration node may comprise an edge configuration server node.

[0048] In an embodiment, the method may comprise receiving, from a fourth network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node.

[0049] In an embodiment, determining the preparation information may comprise determining the preparation information related to the third network node based on at least one of the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or the registration information of the third network node.

[0050] In an embodiment, the fourth network node may comprise at least one of an Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) node, an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or an Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

[0051] In an embodiment, the deployment time information and/or the state information of the third network node is received from the OAM node.

[0052] In an embodiment, the registration information of the third network node is received from the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node or Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

[0053] In an embodiment, receiving the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information of the third network node may comprise sending, to the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a second request for the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information, and receiving, from the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a second response comprising the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

[0054] In an embodiment, the second request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the second network node, an event identifier, or third network node information, a time validity of the request.

[0055] In an embodiment, the second response may comprise at least one of an event identifier, a type of reported data, or reported data.

[0056] In a third aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a fourth network node. The method may comprise sending, to a second network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of a third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node.

[0057] In an embodiment, the fourth network node may comprise at least one of an OAM node, an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or an Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

[0058] In an embodiment, the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node is sent by the OAM node.

[0059] In an embodiment, the registration information of the third network node is sent by the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node. [0060] In an embodiment, sending the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information of the third network node may comprise receiving, from the second network node, a second request for the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information and sending, to the second network node, a second response comprising the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

[0061] In an embodiment, the second request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the second network node, an event identifier, or third network node information, a time validity of the request.

[0062] In an embodiment, the second response may comprise at least one of an event identifier, a type of reported data, or reported data.

[0063] In an embodiment, the second network node may comprise an application data analytics enabler server node.

[0064] In an embodiment, the third network node may comprise an edge network node or a configuration node.

[0065] In an embodiment, the edge network node may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node or an edge application server node.

[0066] In an embodiment, the configuration node may comprise an edge configuration server node.

[0067] In a fourth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a first network node. The first network node may comprise a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. Said memory may contain instructions executable by said processor. The first network node is operative to receive, from a second network node, a first message comprising preparation information related to a third network node.

[0068] In an embodiment, the first network node may be operative to perform any of the methods according to the first aspect of the disclosure.

[0069] In a fifth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a second network node The second network node may comprise a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. Said memory may contain instructions executable by said processor. The second network node may be operative to determine preparation information related to a third network node. The second network node may be operative to send, to a first network node, a first message comprising the preparation information.

[0070] In an embodiment, the second network node may be operative to perform any of the methods according to the second aspect of the disclosure.

[0071] In a sixth aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a fourth network node. The fourth network node may comprise a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. Said memory may contain instructions executable by said processor. The fourth network node is operative to send, to a second network node, at least one of the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node.

[0072] In an embodiment, the fourth network node may be operative to perform any of the methods according to the third aspect of the disclosure.

[0073] In another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods according to any one of the first, second or third aspect. [0074] In another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the methods according to any one of the first, second or third aspect.

[0075] Embodiments herein may provide many advantages, of which a non-exhaustive list of examples follows. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can enable the second network node such as ADAES with a new service to obtain and expose (such as edge computing node) preparation analytics. The initialization and preparation of network node (such as edge computing node) may be obtained and exposed to the consumer, which may be important aspects for the consumer and may be comprised in the ADAES specification. In some embodiments herein, the preparation analytics can be used by the consumer to determine for example whether the deployment time of the network node (such as edge entity) is within acceptable time for the consumer. The embodiments herein are not limited to the features and advantages mentioned above. A person skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0076] The above and other aspects, features, and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent, by way of example, from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals or letters are used to designate like or equivalent elements. The drawings are illustrated for facilitating better understanding of the embodiments of the disclosure and not necessarily drawn to scale, in which:

FIG.1 illustrates the reference point representation of the architecture for edge enabling applications;

FIG.2a illustrates architecture for application data analytics enablement;

Fl G.2b illustrates ADAE internal functional architecture;

FIGs.3a-3d, 4a-4e, 5 and 6 show flowcharts of methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG.7 is a block diagram showing an apparatus suitable for practicing some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG.8a is a block diagram showing a first network node according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG.8b is a block diagram showing a second network node according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG.8c is a block diagram showing a fourth network node according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG.9 shows an example of a communication system according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG.10 shows a user equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG.11 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG.12 is a block diagram of a host according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG.13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized;

FIG.14 illustrates the procedure for edge computing preparation analytics; and

FIG.15 illustrates the procedure where the analytics consumer (e.g., VAL server, ECS, EES) requests edge computing preparation analytics using the request/response model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled persons in the art to better understand and thus implement the present disclosure, rather than suggesting any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present disclosure should be or are in any single embodiment of the disclosure. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the disclosure.

[0078] As used herein, the term "network" refers to a network following any suitable communication standards such as new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Address (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and other wireless networks. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. UTRA includes WCDMA and other variants of CDMA. A TDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, Ad-hoc network, wireless sensor network, etc. In the following description, the terms “network” and “system” can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, the communications between two devices in the network may be performed according to any suitable communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the communication protocols as defined by a standard organization such as 3GPP. For example, the communication protocols may comprise the first generation (1 G), 2G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0079] The term “network node" or “network node” refers to any suitable network function (NF) which can be implemented in a network element (physical or virtual) of a communication network. For example, the network function can be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g. on a cloud infrastructure. For example, the 5G system (5GS) may comprise a plurality of NFs such as AMF (Access and mobility Function), SMF (Session Management Function), AUSF (Authentication Service Function), UDM (Unified Data Management), PCF (Policy Control Function), AF (Application Function), NEF (Network Exposure Function), UPF (User plane Function) and NRF (Network Repository Function), RAN (radio access network), SCP (service communication proxy), NWDAF (network data analytics function), NSSF (Network Slice Selection Function), NSSAAF (Network Slice-Specific Authentication and Authorization Function), etc. For example, the 4G system (such as LTE) may include MME (Mobile Management Entity), HSS (home subscriber server), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW), PGW control plane (PGW-C), Serving gateway (SGW), SGW control plane (SGW-C), E-UTRAN Node B (eNB), etc. In other embodiments, the network function may comprise different types of NFs for example depending on a specific network.

[0080] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that can access a communication network and receive services therefrom. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device refers to a mobile terminal, user equipment (UE), or other suitable devices. The UE may be, for example, a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a portable computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and a playback appliance, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, a wearable terminal device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably. As one example, a terminal device may represent a UE configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), such as 3GPP’ LTE standard or NR standard. As used herein, a “user equipment” or “UE" may not necessarily have a “user” in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. In some embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a terminal device may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the communication network. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but that may not initially be associated with a specific human user.

[0081] As yet another example, in an Internet of Things (loT) scenario, a terminal device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another terminal device and/or network equipment. The terminal device may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device. As one particular example, the terminal device may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances, for example refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc. In other scenarios, a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0082] References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment," “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. [0083] It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

[0084] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of A and B” or “at least one of A or B” should be understood to mean “only A, only B, or both A and B." The phrase “A and/or B” should be understood to mean “only A, only B, or both A and B”.

[0085] As used herein unless expressly stated to the contrary, the phrase “a plurality of' followed by a conjunctive list of enumerated items (e.g., “A and B”, “A, B, and C”) is intended to mean “multiple items, with each item selected from the list consisting of” the enumerated items. For example, “a plurality of A and B” is intended to mean any of the following: more than one A; more than one B; or at least one A and at least one B.

[0086] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises", “comprising”, “has", “having”, “includes" and/or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.

[0087] It is noted that these terms as used in this document are used only for ease of description and differentiation among nodes, devices or networks etc. With the development of the technology, other terms with the similar/same meanings may also be used.

[0088] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0089] Edge computing is a concept that enables services to be hosted close to the service consumers and provides benefits such as efficient service delivery with significant reduction in end-to-end latency and decreased load on the transport network. The benefits of edge computing will strengthen the promise of 5G (fifth generation) and expand the prospects for several new and enhanced use cases, including virtual and augmented reality, Internet of Things (loT), Industrial loT, autonomous driving, real-time multiplayer gaming, etc.

[0090] 3GPP Technical Specification Group Service and System Aspects (SA), work group 6 (SA6) initiated normative specification work on the architecture for enabling Edge Applications (EDGEAPP) from 3GPP Release 17. The objective of the work may be to define an enabling layer to facilitate communication between the Application Clients (AC) running on the UE and the Edge Application Servers (EAS) deployed on the Edge Data Network (EDN). This may include aspects of service provisioning and EAS discovery. In addition, the work aims to provide support services such as application context transfer between EASs for network node preparation analytics, service enablement and capability exposure Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) towards the EAS. The normative specification for EDGEAPP is written in e.g. 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1.0. In 3GPP release 18, more functions are added, e.g., application roaming, edge computing federation, service continuity between edge and cloud. [0091] 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1.0, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, specifies application layer architecture, procedures and information flows necessary for enabling edge applications over 3GPP networks. It includes architectural requirements for enabling edge applications, application layer architecture fulfilling the architecture requirements and procedures to enable the deployment of edge applications.

System architecture description

[0092] Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a communication system complied with the exemplary system architectures illustrated in FIGs.1, 2a and 2b. For simplicity, the system architecture of FIGs.1, 2a and 2b only depicts some exemplary elements. In practice, a communication system may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between terminal devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device. The communication system may provide communication and various types of services to one or more terminal devices to facilitate the terminal devices' access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the communication system

Figure 1

[0093] FIG.1 illustrates the reference point representation of the architecture for edge enabling applications. FIG.1 is same as Figure 6.2-4 of 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1 .0.

[0094] The Edge Data Network (EDN) is a local data network. Edge Application Server(s) (EAS(s)) and the Edge Enabler Servers) (EES(s)) are contained within the EDN. The Edge Configuration Server (ECS) provides configurations related to the EES, including details of the EDN hosting the EES. The UE contains Application Client(s) (ACs) and the Edge Enabler Client (EEC). The EAS(s), the EES(s) and the ECS may interact with the 3GPP core network. When Service Enabler Architecture Layer for Verticals (SEAL) notification management service is used, the EES and the ECS interacts with the SEAL notification management server and the SEAL EEC interacts with SEAL Notification management client.

[0095] The functional entities and reference points as shown in FIG.1 are described in 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1 0, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity

[0096] EDGE-1 reference point enables interactions between the EES and the EEC. It supports:

[0097] a) registration and de-registration of the EEC to the EES;

[0098] b) retrieval and provisioning of EAS configuration information; and

[0099] c) discovery of EASs available in the EDN.

[00100] EDGE-4 reference point enables interactions between the ECS and the EEC. It supports:

[00101] a) provisioning of Edge configuration information to the EEC.

[00102] EDGE-6 reference point enables interactions between the ECS and the EES. It supports:

[00103] a) registration of EES information to the ECS;

[00104] b) de-registration of EES information from the ECS; and

[00105] c) retrieval of the T-EES information from the ECS.

[00106] NOTE: EDN may comprise at least one EAS and at least one EES. Figure 2a

[00107] FIG.2a illustrates architecture for application data analytics enablement. FIG.2a is same as Figure 5.2.2-1 of 3GPP TS 23.436 V19.0.0.

[00108] The functional entities and reference points as shown in FIG.2a are described in 3GPP TS 23.436 V19.0.0, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00109] Service Architecture Enabler Layer (SEAL) is architecture over 3GPP networks which exposes network capabilities for vertical applications, such as Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Industrial Internet of Things (lloT) applications. SEAL consists of a set of common services, e.g., group management, key management, network resource management, which can be used by vertical applications and ease the development.

[00110] Application Data Analytics Enablement service (ADAES) is a SEAL service introduced in 3GPP release 18 which exposes data analytics from different 3GPP domains to vertical applications.

[00111] The application data analytics enablement client communicates with the application data analytics enablement server over the ADAE-UU reference point. The application data analytics enablement client provides the support for application data analytics enablement functions to the Vertical Application Layer (VAL) client(s) over ADAE-C reference point. The VAL server(s) communicates with the application data analytics enablement server over the ADAE-S reference point. The application data analytics enablement server, acting as AF, may communicate with the 5G Core Network functions (over N33 reference point to NEF and N6 reference point to User plane Function (UPF)) and CAM (over ADAE-OAM interface).

[00112] The ADAE server supports reference points such as N33 (to Network Exposure Function (NEF)), N6 (to User Plane Function (UPF)), and ADAE-OAM (to OAM). The ADAE service supports the following procedures:

[00113] Support for application performance analytics,

[00114] Support for slice-specific application performance analytics,

[00115] Support for UE-to-UE application performance analytics,

[00116] Support for location accuracy analytics,

[00117] Support for service Application Programming Interface (API) analytics,

[00118] Slice usage pattern analytics,

[00119] Support for edge load analytics,

[00120] Service experience to support application performance analytics.

[00121] SA6 has defined the work item EDGEAPP (see 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1.0) including Edge Application Server (EAS), Edge Enabler Server (EAS) and Edge Configuration Server (ECS) as edge computing entities in the Edge Data Network (EDN).

[00122] The EAS registers using the EES and the EES registers using the ECS.

[00123] OAM (see 3GPP TS 28.623 V18.5.1) specifies a Network Resource Model which defines Process Monitor as below. The Process Monitor specifies different states, such as NOT_STARTED, RUNNING etc., and start time/end time of these. Information related to the state of network entities can be obtained using the Process Monitor.

ProcessMonitor: description: >-

This data type is the "ProcessMonitor" data type without specialisations. type: object properties: jobld: type: string status: type: string enum:

- NOT_STARTED

- RUNNING

- FINSHED

- FAILED

- PARTIALLY_FAILED

- CANCELLING

- CANCELLED progressPercentage: type: integer minimum: 0 maximum: 100 progressStatelnfo: type: string resultstateinfo: type: string startTime:

$ref: 'TS28623_ComDefs.yaml#/components/schemas/DateTime' endTime:

$ref: 'TS28623_ComDefs.yaml#/components/schemas/DateTime' timer: type: integer

Figure 2b

[00124] FIG.2b illustrates ADAE internal functional architecture. FIG.2b is same as Figure 5.3-1 of 3GPP TS 23.436 V19.0.0.

[00125] The functional entities and reference points as shown in FIG.2b are described in 3GPP TS 23.436 V19.0.0, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00126] In ADAE framework, Application layer - Data Collection and Coordination Function (A-DCCF) and Application layer - Analytical Data Repository Function (A-ADRF) can be defined as functionalities within the internal ADAE architecture and can offer the following functionalities:

[00127] - Application layer - Data Collection and Coordination Function (A-DCCF) coordinates the collection and distribution of data requested by the consumer (ADAE server). Data Collection Coordination is supported by a A-DCCF. ADAE server can send requests for data to the A-DCCF rather than directly to the Data Sources. A-DCCF may also perform data processing/abstraction and data preparation based on the VAL server requirements.

[00128] - Application layer - Analytics and Data Repository Function (A-ADRF) stores historical data and/or analytics, i.e., data and/or analytics related to past time period that has been obtained by the consumer (e g. ADAE server). After the consumer obtains data and/or analytics, consumer may store historical data and/or analytics in an A-ADRF. Whether the consumer directly contacts the A-ADRF or goes via the A-DCCF is based on configuration.

[00129] In this model, an A-DCCF is used to fetch data or put data into an application-level entity (e.g. A-ADRF, Data Source). Such A-DCCF coordinates the collection and distribution of data requested by ADAE server (over ADCCF-1, ADAE-X). ADAE server can also directly interact with the Data Sources via ADAE-Y. [00130] Also, Application layer - Analytics and Data Repository Function (A-ADRF) can be used to store historical data and/or analytics, i.e., data and/or analytics related to past time period that has been obtained by the ADAE server (via AADRF-1) or other NFs/NWDAF. ADAE server can also fetch historical data from A-ADRF. Whether the ADAE server directly contacts the A-ADRF or goes via the A-DCCF is based on configuration.

[00131] Data Sources can be 5GS data sources (Fifth Generation Core network (5GC), 0AM) or enablement layer data sources (SEAL, Edge Enabler Layer (EEL)) or external data sources at the data network (DN) side (VAL server/EAS) and VAL UEs. A-DCCF and A-ADRF can be used only for interacting with certain data sources (e.g., 5GC, CAM) based on configuration, and can be hidden from the VAL layer.

Methods according to embodiments of the present disclosure

Figure 3a

[00132] FIG.3a shows a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a first network node or communicatively coupled to the first network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 300 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components.

[00133] At block 302, the first network node may receive, from a second network node, a first message comprising preparation information related to a third network node.

[00134] The first network node may communicate with any suitable network. For example, the first network node may communicate with the underlying 3GPP networks using the respective 3GPP interfaces specified by the 3GPP network. In an embodiment, the first network node may communicate with Evolved Packet System (EPS), 5GS, or sixth generation system (6GS) as defined by 3GPP.

[00135] The first network node may be any suitable node, device, function, or entity that can implement any suitable function. For example, the first network node may be any suitable network node as defined in the 3GPP network such as EPS, 5GS or 6GS. In an embodiment, the first network node may comprise an edge network node as defined in 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1.0, such as EES, EOS, EAS, etc. In an embodiment, the first network node may comprise the network node as described in various 3GPP specifications such as 3GPP TS 23.501 V18.4.0, 3GPP TS 23.502 V18.4.0, or 3GPP TS 23.682 V18.0.0.

[00136] In an embodiment, the first network node may comprise an analytic consumer such as the analytic consumer of ADAES.

[00137] In an embodiment, the analytic consumer may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node (such as EES), an edge configuration server node (such as ECS), or a vertical application layer server node (such as VAL server). [00138] The second network node may communicate with any suitable network. For example, the second network node may communicate with the underlying 3GPP networks using the respective 3GPP interfaces specified by the 3GPP network. In an embodiment, the first network node may communicate with EPS, a 5GS, or a 6GS as defined by 3GPP.

[00139] The second network node may be any suitable node, device, function, or entity that can implement data analytics function. For example, the second network node may be a data analytics node as defined in the 3GPP network such as EPS, 5GS or 6GS. In an embodiment, the second network node may comprise an application data analytics enabler server node such as ADAES as defined in 3GPP TS 23.436 V19.0.0. [00140] The third network node may communicate with any suitable network. For example, the third network node may communicate with the underlying 3GPP networks using the respective 3GPP interfaces specified by the 3GPP network. In an embodiment, the third network node may communicate with EPS, 5GS, or 6GS as defined by 3GPP.

[00141] The third network node may be any suitable node, device, function, or entity that can implement any suitable function. For example, the third network node may be any suitable network node as defined in the 3GPP network such as EPS, 5GS or 6GS. In an embodiment, the third network node may comprise an edge network node or a configuration node as defined in 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1.0, such as EES, ECS, EAS, etc. In an embodiment, the third network node may comprise the network node as described in various 3GPP specifications such as 3GPP TS 23.501 V18.4.0, 3GPP TS 23.502 V18.4.0, or 3GPP TS 23.682 V18.0.0.

[00142] In an embodiment, the edge network node may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node (such as EES), an edge configuration server node (such as ECS), or an edge application server node (such as EAS).

[00143] In an embodiment, the first network node and the third network node may be located or comprised in the EDN. [00144] The preparation information may comprise any suitable preparation information related to the third network node, such as when a network instance is or predicted to be ready to offer its service to an application, when an edge instance is or predicted to be ready to offer its service to the vertical application, deployment time information of the third network node, status information of the third network node, etc. The preparation information may comprise the prediction or statistics of preparation information. For example, the preparation information may include prediction or statistics for the EAS/EES/ECS deployment time.

[00145] In an embodiment, the preparation information may comprise a prediction and/or statistics for deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node.

[00146] For example, the state information may comprise at least one of:

[00147] - NOT_STARTED

[00148] - RUNNING

[00149] - Fl NSHED

[00150] - FAILED

[00151] - PARTI ALLY_FAILED

[00152] - CANCELLING

[00153] - CANCELLED.

[00154] The first network node may receive the first message in various ways and the present disclosure has no limit on it. For example, the first network node may send a request to the second network node and receive a response comprising the preparation information. The network node may send event notification message comprising the preparation information to the first network node. The first network node may send a subscription request to the second network node to subscribe to a notification of the preparation information.

[00155] The first message may comprise any suitable message such as existing message or new message. In an embodiment, the first message may comprise an event notification message or a response message.

Figure 3b

[00156] FIG.3b shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a first network node or communicatively coupled to the first network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 310 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00157] At block 312, the first network node may send, to the second network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information.

[00158] At block 314, the first network node may receive, from the second network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

[00159] The first subscription request may be any suitable subscription request such as edge computing preparation analytics subscription request. The first subscription update request may be any suitable subscription update request such as edge computing preparation analytics subscription update request. The first unsubscribe request may be any suitable unsubscribe request such as edge computing preparation analytics unsubscribe request.

[00160] The first subscription request may comprise any suitable information for subscribing to the preparation information. The first subscription update request may comprise any suitable information for updating the subscription of the preparation information. The first unsubscribe request may comprise any suitable information for unsubscribing the preparation information.

[00161] The first subscription response may be any suitable subscription response such as edge computing preparation analytics subscription response. The first subscription update response may be any suitable subscription update response such as edge computing preparation analytics subscription update response The first unsubscribe response may be any suitable unsubscribe response such as edge computing preparation analytics unsubscribe response.

[00162] The first subscription response may comprise any suitable information related to processing result of the first subscription request. The first subscription update response may comprise any suitable information related to processing result of the first subscription update request. The first unsubscribe response may comprise any suitable information related to processing result of the first unsubscribe response.

[00163] In an embodiment, the first subscription request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, reporting requirements, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, resource requirements needed for the third network node, a preferred confidence level, or a time validity of the request.

[00164] In an embodiment, the first subscription request may comprise security credentials, a notification target address, or a proposed expiration time for subscription.

[00165] For example, the identifier of the first network node may comprise a unique identifier of the first network node, such as the unique identifier of the requesting EES, ECS, and VAL server.

[00166] The security credentials may result from a successful authorization for a service such as edge computing service.

[00167] The event identifier may comprise an identifier of an analytics event. The event identifier can be for example edge computing preparation analytics.

[00168] The analytics type for an event may comprise the type of analytics for the event, e.g. statistics or predictions. [00169] The reporting requirements may comprise requirements for analytics reporting. The requirements may include for example when the deployment information of the target (e.g. EAS, EES, and ECS) is set to a specific state (such as finished) or when the state is changed.

[00170] The network information may comprise any suitable information identifying the network for which the subscription applies. For example, the network information may comprise DNN and DNAI(s) of the EDN for which the subscription applies.

[00171] The notification target address may comprise any suitable notification target address such as Internet protocol (IP) address of the first network node such as EES, ECS, and VAL server.

[00172] The proposed expiration time may indicate the proposed expiration time for the subscription.

[00173] The identifier of third network node provider may comprise e.g. ECS provider ID, EES provider ID, EAS provider ID, etc.

[00174] The endpoint information of the third network node may comprise e.g. ECS endpoint, EES endpoint, etc. For example, by providing the ECS endpoint, the consumer wants to subscribe to the EES instantiation info (EESs that will register in the ECS). By providing the EES endpoint, the consumer wants to subscribe to the EAS instantiation info (EASs that will register in the EES).

[00175] The service identifier may comprise an identifier of service such as EAS service, etc.

[00176] The resource requirements needed for the third network node may indicate the resources (i.e. available compute, graphical compute, memory, storage) needed for the third network node such as EAS/EES/ECS e.g. as described in Table 8.2.5-1 in 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1.0.

[00177] The preferred confidence level may comprise the level of accuracy for the analytics service (e.g. in case of prediction).

[00178] The time validity of the request may indicate the time validity of the subscription request.

[00179] In an embodiment, the first subscription response may comprise information indicating that a result of the first subscription request.

[00180] In an embodiment, the first subscription response may comprise at least one of information indicating that the subscription request was successful, a subscription identifier, an expiration time of subscription, information indicating that the subscription request was failed, or a cause of subscription request failure.

[00181] For example, the information indicating that the subscription request was successful may be any suitable information. The subscription identifier may correspond to the subscription. The expiration time may indicate the expiration time of the subscription. To maintain an active subscription, a subscription update may be required before the expiration time. The information indicating that the subscription request was failed may be any suitable information. The cause of subscription request failure may indicate the cause of subscription request failure.

[00182] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise a subscription notification message such as edge computing preparation analytics notification.

[00183] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise at least one of an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level. [00184] For example, the event identifier may comprise an identifier of the analytics event. The preparation information may comprise prediction or statistics for the EAS/EES/ECS deployment time. The confidence level may indicate the achieved confidence level that can be provided for predictive analytics.

Figure 3c

[00185] FIG.3c shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a first network node or communicatively coupled to the first network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 320 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00186] At block 322, the first network node may send, to the second network node, a first request for the preparation information. For example, the first request may comprise any suitable message such as existing message or new message. In an embodiment, the first request may comprise an Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval request. [00187] At block 324, the first network node may receive the first message from the second network node in response to the first request.

[00188] For example, the first message may be a response such as edge computing preparation analytics retrieval response.

[00189] In an embodiment, the first request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, or a preferred confidence level. The parameters of the first request may be similar to those of the first subscription request.

[00190] In an embodiment, the first message (e.g., the response of the first request) may comprise at least one of information indicating that a result of the first subscription request, an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level. The parameters of the first message may be similar to those of the subscription notification message

Figure 3d

[00191] FIG.3d shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a first network node or communicatively coupled to the first network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 330 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00192] At block 332, the first network node may determine whether to identify the third network node based on the preparation information.

[00193] For example, if the prediction expiration time is provided, then the EES may determine whether to identify the instantiable but not instantiated EAS as T-EAS based on prediction expiration time and the predicted EAS deployment time information obtained from ADAES. The prediction expiration time may indicate the estimated time the UE may reach the Predicted/Expected UE location or EAS service area at the latest. [00194] For example, if the prediction expiration time is provided, then the ECS may determine whether to identify T-EES with the instantiable but not instantiated EAS based on Prediction expiration time and predicted EAS deployment time information obtained from ADAES.

Figure 4a

[00195] FIG.4a shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a second network node or communicatively coupled to the second network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 400 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00196] At block 402, the second network node may determine preparation information related to a third network node.

[00197] For example, the second network node may obtain various information related to preparation information and determine the preparation information based on the obtained various information. For example, the second network node may abstract or correlate the data/analytics related to the preparation information. The second network node may provide predictions for the network node deployment time.

[00198] In an embodiment, the preparation information may comprise a prediction and/or statistics for deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node.

[00199] At block 404, the second network node may send, to a first network node, a first message comprising the preparation information.

[00200] In an embodiment, the first network node may comprise an analytic consumer.

[00201] In an embodiment, the second network node may comprise an application data analytics enabler server node. [00202] In an embodiment, the third network node may comprise an edge network node or a configuration node.

[00203] In an embodiment, the analytic consumer may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or a vertical application layer server node.

[00204] In an embodiment, the edge network node may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node or an edge application server node.

[00205] In an embodiment, the configuration node may comprise an edge configuration server node such as ECS.

Figure 4b

[00206] FIG.4b shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a second network node or communicatively coupled to the second network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 410 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00207] At block 412, the second network node may receive, from the first network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information. [00208] At block 414, the second network node may send, to the first network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

[00209] In an embodiment, the first subscription request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, reporting requirements, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, a preferred confidence level, or a time validity of the subscription request.

[00210] In an embodiment, the first subscription response may comprise information indicating that a result of the first subscription request.

[00211] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise a subscription notification message.

[00212] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise at least one of an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

Figure 4c

[00213] FIG.4c shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a second network node or communicatively coupled to the second network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 420 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00214] At block 422, the second network node may receive, from the first network node, a first request for the preparation information.

[00215] At block 424, the second network node may send the first message to the first network node in response to the first request.

[00216] In an embodiment, the first request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, or a preferred confidence level.

[00217] In an embodiment, the first message may comprise at least one of information indicating that a result of the first subscription request, an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

Figure 4d

[00218] FIG.4d shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a second network node or communicatively coupled to the second network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 430 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00219] At block 432, the second network node may receive, from a fourth network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information (such as registration time information) of the third network node.

[00220] The fourth network node may be any suitable node, device, function, or entity that can obtain or manage information related to the preparation information, such as deployment time information, the state information, registration information, historical deployment time information, historical state information, etc. For example, the fourth network node may be any suitable network node as defined in the 3GPP network such as EPS, 5GS or 6GS. In an embodiment, the fourth network node may comprise an edge network node as defined in 3GPP TS 23.558 V19.1 .0, such as EES, ECS, etc. In an embodiment, the fourth network node may comprise the network node as described in various 3GPP specifications such as 3GPP TS 23.501 V18.4.0, 3GPP TS 23.502 V18.4.0, or 3GPP TS 23.682 V18.0.0.

[00221] In an embodiment, the fourth network node may comprise at least one of an GAM node, an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or an Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

[00222] The 0AM node may specify a Network Resource Model which defines Process Monitor. The Process Monitor specifies different states, such as NOT_STARTED, RUNNING etc., and start time/end time of these. Information related to the state of network entities can be obtained using the Process Monitor.

[00223] In an embodiment, the deployment time information and/or the state information of the third network node may be received from the OAM node. For example, the second network node may send a request for the deployment time information and/or the state information to the OAM node and receive a response comprising the deployment time information and/or the state information from the OAM node. Alternatively, the second network node may send to the OAM node a subscription request for subscribing to a notification of the deployment time information and/or the state information.

[00224] The edge enabler server node may maintain the registration information (e.g., registration, update, and de-registration) for the edge application server (EAS) node. The edge configuration server node may maintain the registration information (e.g., registration, update, and de-registration) for the edge enabler server node (EES) node.

[00225] In an embodiment, the registration information of the third network node may be received from the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node or Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function. For example, the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function may obtain the registration information and send it to the second network node.

[00226] For example, the second network node may send a request for the registration information to the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node or the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function and receive a response comprising the registration information from the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node or the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function. Alternatively, the second network node may send, to the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node or the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a subscription request for subscribing to a notification of the registration information.

[00227] In an embodiment, the second network node may determine the preparation information related to the third network node based on at least one of the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or the registration information of the third network node. [00228] For example, the second network node may abstract or correlate the data/analytics from block 432. The second network node may perform machine learning/artificial intelligence on the data/analytics. The second network node may also provide predictions for the preparation information such as the edge node deployment time.

Figure 4e

[00229] FIG.4e shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a second network node or communicatively coupled to the second network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 440 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00230] At block 442, the second network node may send, to the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a second request for the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

[00231] The Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function may be similar to the A-ADRF as described in 3GPP TS 23.436 V19.0.0. In other embodiment, the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function may be any other suitable node which can provide similar function of A-ADRF.

[00232] The second request may comprise any suitable message such as existing message or new message. In an embodiment, the second request may comprise an edge computing preparation data request or an edge computing preparation analytics data request.

[00233] The second request may comprise any suitable parameter or information for requesting the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information. In an embodiment, the second request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the second network node, an event identifier, third network node information, a time validity of the request.

[00234] For example, the identifier of the second network node may comprise an identifier of the ADAE server. The event identifier may comprise an identifier of the analytics event. The third network node information may comprise an identifier showing the target third network node information. For example, the third network node information may comprise at least one of target EAS information, target ECS information, or target EES information. The target EAS information may include the EAS identifier. The target ECS information may include the ECS identifier. The target EES information may include the EES identifier. The time validity may indicate the time validity of the request. For example, target ECS information may be included for collecting EES registration data. Target EES information may be included for collecting EAS registration data.

[00235] At block 444, the second network node may receive, from the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a second response comprising the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

[00236] The second response may comprise any suitable message such as existing message or new message. In an embodiment, the second response may comprise an edge computing preparation data response or an edge computing preparation analytics data response. [00237] The second response may comprise any suitable information. In an embodiment, the second response may comprise at least one of an event identifier, a type of reported data, or reported data.

[00238] For example, the event identifier may comprise an identifier of the analytics event. The type of reported data may indicate the type of reported data samples which can be network data, application data, edge data, or different granularities/abstraction of data (e.g., real time, non-real time). The reported data can be in form of measurements or offline/historical data on the requested parameter based on the request. The reported data may include historical ECS/EES/EAS deployment time information, EES/EAS registration data, etc.

Figure 5

[00239] FIG.5 shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a fourth network node or communicatively coupled to the fourth network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 500 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00240] At block 502, the fourth network node may send, to a second network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of a third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node.

[00241] In an embodiment, the fourth network node may comprise at least one of an 0AM node, an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or an Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

[00242] In an embodiment, the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node may be sent by the OAM node.

[00243] In an embodiment, the registration information of the third network node may be sent by the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node.

Figure 6

[00244] FIG.6 shows a flowchart of a method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, which may be performed by an apparatus implemented in or at or as a fourth network node or communicatively coupled to the fourth network node. As such, the apparatus may provide means or modules or circuits for accomplishing various parts of the method 600 as well as means or modules or circuits for accomplishing other processes in conjunction with other components. For some parts which have been described in the above embodiments, the description thereof is omitted here for brevity.

[00245] At block 602, the fourth network node may receive, from the second network node, a second request for the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

[00246] At block 604, the fourth network node may send, to the second network node, a second response comprising the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

[00247] In an embodiment, the second request may comprise at least one of an identifier of the second network node, an event identifier, third network node information, a time validity of the request. [00248] In an embodiment, the second response may comprise at least one of an event identifier, a type of reported data, or reported data.

[00249] In an embodiment, the second network node may comprise an application data analytics enabler server node. [00250] In an embodiment, the third network node may comprise an edge network node or a configuration node.

[00251] In an embodiment, the edge network node may comprise at least one of an edge enabler server node or an edge application server node.

[00252] In an embodiment, the configuration node may comprise an edge configuration server node.

[00253] In an embodiment, a new ADAES functionality and the procedure for edge computing analytics are introduced. The procedure specifies how edge (e.g., EAS, EEC, and ECS) deployment time information can be obtained using the Network resource Model (specified in 3GPP TS 28.623 V18.5.1) and exposed to the analytics consumer. Historical deployment time can also be fetched from the A-ADRF in case of offline analytics or for predictions by the ADAE server.

[00254] In an embodiment, it provides solutions for introducing a new procedure to enable the ADAE service for “Procedure for edge computing preparation analytics”. The new procedures may be implemented by a subscribe-notify model or a request-response model.

[00255] In an embodiment, it provides at least one of Edge computing preparation analytics subscription request, Edge computing preparation analytics subscription response, Edge computing preparation analytics notification, Edge computing preparation data request, Edge computing preparation data response, Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval request, Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval response.

[00256] In an embodiment, the proposed solution lets the analytics consumer (e.g. VAL server, ECS, EES) specify how ADAES should report, such as when an edge entity (e.g., EAS, EES, ECS) changes status (e g., from NOT_STARTED to RUNNING), report on the end time of a specific state of the edge entity, or report predictions of the edge deployment time. The analytics consumer may choose to receive analytics related to EAS, EES and/or ECS. The solution offers a subscribe/notify model and a request/response model.

[00257] In an embodiment, the ADAE server may obtain edge deployment time information from the CAM (using the Network Resource Model) determined from the Process Monitor.

[00258] In an embodiment, EES/ECS information from the A-ADRF may include historical ECS/EES/EAS deployment time information and ECS/EES information for collecting further EES/EAS registration data.

[00259] In an embodiment, EAS/EES registration time may be obtained from the Edge Data Network (EDN) using EES/ECS.

[00260] In an embodiment, the ADAE server then correlates/combines the obtained data/analytics to provide the analytics output to the analytics consumer. The ADAE server may also provide predictions depending on the request sent from the consumer.

[00261] In an embodiment, the analytics consumer (e.g. VAL server, ECS, EES) requests to receive edge computing preparation from the ADAE server. The consumer may specify what type of analytics (statistics or predictions) or when the ADAE server should send notification.

[00262] In an embodiment, the consumer may also specify if the analytics should be related to ECS, EES and/or EAS by providing information such as provider ID and endpoint. [00263] The consumer may also further filter the subscription by providing EAS/EES/ECS resource requirements specifying the hardware (i.e. available compute, graphical compute, memory, storage) of the EAS/EES/ECS.

[00264] In an embodiment, the ADAE server obtains the edge preparation analytics from CAM (using the Network Resource Model) to retrieve the state for EAS/EES/ECS and start/end time of these states.

[00265] In an embodiment, the ADAE server obtains the edge preparation analytics from the A-ADRF to retrieve historical data related to edge deployment time information and to fetch additional information related to the EES and ECS, such as EAS/EES registration time.

[00266] In an embodiment, the ADAE server obtains the edge preparation analytics from EDN (EES/ECS) to retrieve EAS and/or EES registration time to determine when the EAS/EES service is ready.

[00267] In an embodiment, the ADAE server may correlate/combine the data/analytics from 0AM, A-ADRF, and/or EDN and may also provide the consumer with predictions for the edge deployment time.

[00268] Embodiments herein may provide many advantages, of which a non-exhaustive list of examples follows. In some embodiments herein, the proposed solution can enable the second network node such as ADAES with a new service to obtain and expose (such as edge computing node) preparation analytics. The initialization and preparation of network node (such as edge computing node) may be obtained and exposed to the consumer, which may be important aspects for the consumer and may be comprised in the ADAES specification. In some embodiments herein, the preparation analytics can be used by the consumer to determine for example whether the deployment time of the network node (such as edge entity) is within acceptable time for the consumer. The embodiments herein are not limited to the features and advantages mentioned above. A person skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description.

Apparatuses according to embodiments of the present disclosure

Figure 7

[00269] FIG.7 is a block diagram showing an apparatus suitable for practicing some embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the first network node, the second network node or the fourth network node described above may be implemented as or through the apparatus 700.

[00270] The apparatus 700 comprises at least one processor 721, such as a digital processor (DP), and at least one memory (MEM) 722 coupled to the processor 721. The apparatus 700 may further comprise a transmitter Tx and receiver Rx 723 coupled to the processor 721 The MEM 722 stores a program (PROG) 724. The PROG 724 may include instructions that, when executed on the associated processor 721, enable the apparatus 700 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure A combination of the at least one processor 721 and the at least one MEM 722 may form processing means 725 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00271] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer program executable by one or more of the processor 721 , software, firmware, hardware or in a combination thereof.

[00272] The MEM 722 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memories and removable memories, as non-limiting examples. [00273] The processor 721 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

[00274] In an embodiment where the apparatus is implemented as or at the first network node, the memory 722 contains instructions executable by the processor 721 , whereby the first network node operates according to any of the methods performed by the first network node as described above.

[00275] In an embodiment where the apparatus is implemented as or at the second network node, the memory 722 contains instructions executable by the processor 721, whereby the second network node operates according to any of the methods performed by the second network node as described above.

[00276] In an embodiment where the apparatus is implemented as or at the fourth network node, the memory 722 contains instructions executable by the processor 721 , whereby the fourth network node operates according to any of the methods performed by the fourth network node as described above.

Figure 8a

[00277] FIG.8a is a block diagram showing a first network node according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the first network node 830 may comprise a first receiving module 831 configured to receive, from a second network node, a first message comprising preparation information related to a third network node.

[00278] In an embodiment, the first network node 830 may comprise a first sending module 832 configured to send, to the second network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information.

[00279] In an embodiment, the first network node 830 may comprise a second receiving module 833 configured to receive, from the second network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

[00280] In an embodiment, the first network node 830 may comprise a second sending module 834 configured to send, to the second network node, a first request for the preparation information.

[00281] In an embodiment, the first network node 830 may comprise a determining module 835 configured to determine whether to identify the third network node based on the preparation information.

Figure 8b

[00282] FIG.8b is a block diagram showing a second network node according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the second network node 850 may comprise a determining module 851 configured to determine preparation information related to a third network node. The second network node 850 may comprise a first sending module 852 configured to send, to a first network node, a first message comprising the preparation information.

[00283] In an embodiment, the second network node 850 may comprise a first receiving module 853 configured to receive, from the first network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information.

[00284] In an embodiment, the second network node 850 may comprise a second sending module 854 configured to send, to the first network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information. [00285] In an embodiment, the second network node 850 may comprise a second receiving module 855 configured to receive, from the first network node, a first request for the preparation information.

[00286] In an embodiment, the second network node 850 may comprise a third receiving module 856 configured to receive, from a fourth network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node.

Figure 8c

[00287] FIG.8c is a block diagram showing a fourth network node according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown, the fourth network node 870 may comprise a first sending module 871 configured to send, to a second network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of a third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node.

[00288] With function units, the first network node, the second network node or the fourth network node may not need a fixed processor or memory, any computing resource and storage resource may be arranged from the first network node, the second network node or the fourth network node in the communication system. The introduction of virtualization technology and network computing technology may improve the usage efficiency of the network resources and the flexibility of the network.

[00289] Further, the exemplary overall commutation system including the terminal device and the network node (such as the first network node, the second network node or the fourth network node) will be introduced as below.

Figure 9

[00290] FIG.9 shows an example of a communication system 9100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[00291] In the example, the communication system 9100 includes a telecommunication network 9102 that includes an access network 9104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 9106, which includes one or more core network nodes 9108. The access network 9104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 9110a and 9110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 9110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 9102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 9102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 9102, including one or more network nodes 9110 and/or core network nodes 9108.

[00292] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application or a non-real time control application, or any combination thereof (the adjective "open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1 , F1 , W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 9110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 9111 a, 9112, 9111c, and 9111d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 9112) to the core network 9106 over one or more wireless connections.

[00293] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 9100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 9100 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

[00294] The UEs 9112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 9110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 9110 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 9112 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 9102 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 9102.

[00295] In the depicted example, the core network 9106 connects the network nodes 9110 to one or more hosts, such as host 9116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 9106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 9108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 9108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[00296] The host 9116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 9104 and/or the telecommunication network 9102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 9116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[00297] As a whole, the communication system 9100 of FIG.9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[00298] In some examples, the telecommunication network 9102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 9102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 9102. For example, the telecommunications network 9102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[00299] In some examples, the UEs 9112 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 9104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 9104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[00300] In the example, the hub 9114 communicates with the access network 9104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 9111c and/or 9111d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 9110b). In some examples, the hub 9114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 9114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 9106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 9114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 9110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 9114. As another example, the hub 9114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 9114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 9114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 9114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 9114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[00301] The hub 9114 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 9110b. The hub 9114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 9114 and UEs (e.g., UE 9111c and/or 9111d), and between the hub 9114 and the core network 9106. In other examples, the hub 9114 is connected to the core network 9106 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 9114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 9104 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 9110 while still connected via the hub 9114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 9114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 9110b. In other embodiments, the hub 9114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 9110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

Figure 10

[00302] FIG.10 shows a UE 10200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[00303] A UE may support device-to-device (Did) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[00304] The UE 10200 includes processing circuitry 10202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 10204 to an input/output interface 10206, a power source 10208, a memory 10210, a communication interface 10212, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIG.10. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[00305] The processing circuitry 10202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 10210. The processing circuitry 10202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 10202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[00306] In the example, the input/output interface 10206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 10200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[00307] In some embodiments, the power source 10208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 10208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 10208 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 10200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 10208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 10208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 10200 to which power is supplied.

[00308] The memory 10210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 10210 includes one or more application programs 10214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 10216. The memory 10210 may store, for use by the UE 10200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[00309] The memory 10210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as 'SIM card.' The memory 10210 may allow the UE 10200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 10210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[00310] The processing circuitry 10202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 10212. The communication interface 10212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 10222. The communication interface 10212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 10218 and/or a receiver 10220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 10218 and receiver 10220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 10222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[00311] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 10212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11 , Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[00312] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 10212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[00313] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[00314] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 10200 shown in FIG.10.

[00315] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[00316] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

Figure 11

[00317] FIG.11 shows a network node 11300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[00318] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). [00319] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[00320] The network node 11300 includes a processing circuitry 11302, a memory 11304, a communication interface 11306, and a power source 11308. The network node 11300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 11300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 11300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 11304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 11310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 11300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 11300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 11300

[00321] The processing circuitry 11302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 11300 components, such as the memory 11304, to provide network node 11300 functionality.

[00322] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 11302 includes a system on a chip (SOO). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 11302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 11312 and baseband processing circuitry 11314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 11312 and the baseband processing circuitry 11314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 11312 and baseband processing circuitry 11314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[00323] The memory 11304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 11302. The memory 11304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 11302 and utilized by the network node 11300. The memory 11304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 11302 and/or any data received via the communication interface 11306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 11302 and memory 11304 is integrated.

[00324] The communication interface 11306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 11306 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 11316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 11306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 11318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 11310. Radio front-end circuitry 11318 comprises filters 11320 and amplifiers 11322. The radio front-end circuitry 11318 may be connected to an antenna 11310 and processing circuitry 11302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 11310 and processing circuitry 11302. The radio front-end circuitry 11318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 11318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 11320 and/or amplifiers 11322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 11310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 11310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 11318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 11302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

[00325] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 11300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 11318, instead, the processing circuitry 11302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 11310 Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 11312 is part of the communication interface 11306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 11306 includes one or more ports or terminals 11316, the radio front-end circuitry 11318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 11312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 11306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 11314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[00326] The antenna 11310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 11310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 11318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 11310 is separate from the network node 11300 and connectable to the network node 11300 through an interface or port.

[00327] The antenna 11310, communication interface 11306, and/or the processing circuitry 11302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 11310, the communication interface 11306, and/or the processing circuitry 11302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

[00328] The power source 11308 provides power to the various components of network node 11300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 11308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 11300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 11300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 11308. As a further example, the power source 11308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[00329] Embodiments of the network node 11300 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG.11 for providing certain aspects of the network node's functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 11300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 11300 and to allow output of information from the network node 11300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 11300.

Figure 12

[00330] FIG.12 is a block diagram of a host 12400, which may be an embodiment of the host 9116 of FIG.9, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 12400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 12400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[00331] The host 12400 includes processing circuitry 12402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 12404 to an input/output interface 12406, a network interface 12408, a power source 12410, and a memory 12412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the terminal devices, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 12400.

[00332] The memory 12412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 12414 and data 12416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 12400 or data generated by the host 12400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 12400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 12414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (WC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 12414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 12400 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 12414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc. Figure 13

[00333] FIG.13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 13500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 13500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 13500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[00334] Applications 13502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[00335] Hardware 13504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 13506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 13508A and 13508B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 13508), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 13506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 13508.

[00336] The VMs 13508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 13506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 13502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 13508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[00337] In the context of NFV, a VM 13508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 13508, and that part of hardware 13504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 13508 on top of the hardware 13504 and corresponds to the application 13502.

[00338] Hardware 13504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 13504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 13504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 13510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 13502. In some embodiments, hardware 13504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 13512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[00339] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[00340] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[00341] The term unit or module may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.

[00342] According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer program product being tangibly stored on a computer readable storage medium and including instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out any of the methods as described above. [00343] According to an aspect of the disclosure it is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out any of the methods as described above.

[00344] In addition, the present disclosure may also provide a carrier containing the computer program as mentioned above, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium can be, for example, an optical compact disk or an electronic memory device like a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read only memory), Flash memory, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, Blue-ray disc and the like.

[00345] The techniques described herein may be implemented by various means so that an apparatus implementing one or more functions of a corresponding apparatus described with an embodiment comprises not only prior art means, but also means for implementing the one or more functions of the corresponding apparatus described with the embodiment and it may comprise separate means for each separate function, or means that may be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware (one or more apparatuses), firmware (one or more apparatuses), software (one or more modules), or combinations thereof. For a firmware or software, implementation may be made through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein.

[00346] Exemplary embodiments herein have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods and apparatuses. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by various means including computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[00347] Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[00348] While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any implementation or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular implementations. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

[00349] It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The above described embodiments are given for describing rather than limiting the disclosure, and it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as those skilled in the art readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. The protection scope of the disclosure is defined by the accompanying claims.

[00350] In an embodiment, 3GPP TS 23.436 V19.0.0 may be amended as following.

3GPP TSG-SA WG6 Meeting #60 S6-241xxx

For HELP on using this form: comprehensive instructions can be found at http://www.3gpp. org/Change-Requests.

Proposed change affects:

Reason for change: In SA6#59 CR S6-240769 was agreed with the following Editor’s note:

“Editor’s Note: Whether and how the ECS can obtain the EAS deployment time (e.g., from AD AES) is FFS”.

In order to address this Editor’s note this paper proposes clarification in AD AES for using the 0AM Network Resource Model to obtain edge deployment time information in a new procedure “Procedure for edge computing preparation analytics” for 3GPP TS 23.436.

Summary of change: A new AD AES functionality, Procedure for edge computing

Additional discussion(if needed):

6.x Edge computing preparation analytics

This feature introduces exposure of edge computing preparation analytics of the EAS, EES, and/or ECS to the analytics consumer (e.g., the VAL server, ECS, EES). The ADAE server provides the edge computing preparation analytics based on collected edge deployment time information, historical edge computing preparation analytics, and registration time from the EDN.

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8.x Procedure for edge computing preparation analytics

8.x.1 General

This clause describes the procedure for edge computing preparation analytics.

8.x.2 Procedure

8.x.2.1 Subscribe-notify model

Figure 14

FIG.14 illustrates the procedure for edge computing preparation analytics. Pre-conditions:

1. AD AES is connected to A-ADRF.

2. AD AES has subscribed to OAM for receiving management analytics.

1. The analytics consumer (e.g., VAL server, ECS, EES) of the ADAE server analytics service sends an Edge computing preparation analytics subscription request to the ADAE server.

2. The ADAE server sends an Edge computing preparation analytics response as an ACK to the analytics consumer.

3. The ADAE server utilizes OAM (Network Resource Model) for edge deployment time information for EAS, EES, or ECS. The deployment time information is determined from the Process Monitor that specifies, for instance, NOT_STARTED, RUNNING and start and/or end time for these states as described in 3GPP TS 28.623 [x] .

4. The ADAE server requests historical edge deployment time information of EAS, EES, and/or ECS from A-ADRF by sending an Edge computing preparation data request.

5. Based on the request, the ADAE server receives historical edge deployment time information of EAS, EES, and/or ECS by receiving an Edge computing preparation data response from A-ADRF. 6. The ADAE server collects EAS and/or EES registration time from the corresponding EES/ECS to determine when the EAS/EES service is ready.

7. The ADAE server abstracts or correlates the data/analytics from step 3-6. Based on the request in step 1, AD AES may also provide predictions for the edge deployment time.

8. The ADAE server sends an Edge computing preparation analytics notification to the analytics consumer, based on the request and the derived analytics in step 7. Such analytics indicate analytics and/or prediction of the edge deployment time for EAS, EES, and/or ECS.

8.x.2.2 Request-response model

Figure 15

FIG.15 illustrates the procedure where the analytics consumer (e.g., VAL server, ECS, EES) requests edge computing preparation analytics using the request/response model.

Pre-conditions:

1. AD AES is connected to A-ADRF.

2. AD AES has subscribed to OAM for receiving management analytics.

1. The analytics consumer (e.g., VAL server, ECS, EES) sends an Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval request to the AD AES.

2. Upon receiving the request, the ADAE server authenticates and authorizes the analytics consumer. If the analytics consumer is authorized, the AD AES performs step 3-7 of clause 8.X.2.I.

3. The AD AES sends an Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval response to the analytics consumer.

8.x.3 Information flows

8.x.3.1 General

The following information flows are specified for edge computing preparation analytics based on 8.x.2.

8.x.3.2 Edge computing preparation analytics subscription request Table 8.x.3.2-1 describes information elements for the edge computing preparation analytics subscription request from the analytics consumer (e.g., the VAL server, ECS, EES) to the ADAE server. Table 8.X.3.2-1: Edge computing preparation analytics subscription request

8.x.3.3 Edge computing preparation analytics subscription response

Table 8.x.3.3-1 describes information elements for the edge computing analytics preparation analytics subscription response from the ADAE server to the analytics consumer.

Table 8.X.3.3-1: Edge computing preparation analytics subscription response 8.x.3.4 Edge computing preparation analytics notification

Table 8.x.3.4-1 describes information elements for the edge computing preparation analytics notification from the ADAE server to the analytics consumer.

Table 8.X.3.4-1: Edge computing preparation analytics notification

8.x.3.5 Edge computing preparation data request

Table 8.x.3.5-1 describes information elements for the edge computing preparation data request from the ADAE server to the A-ADRF/EES/ECS.

Table 8.X.3.5-1: Edge computing preparation data request

8.x.3.6 Edge computing preparation data response

Table 8.x.3.6-1 describes information elements for the edge computing preparation data response from the A-ADRF/EES/ECS to the ADAE server.

Table 8.X.3.6-1: Edge computing preparation data response

8.x.3.7 Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval request

Table 8.x.3.7-1 describes information elements for the Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval request from the analytics consumer to the ADAE server.

Table S.x.3.7-1: Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval request 8.x.3.8 Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval response

Table 8.x.3.8-1 describes information elements for the Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval response from the ADAE server to the analytics consumer.

Table 8.X.3.8-1: Edge computing preparation analytics retrieval response

9.2.2 ADAE server APIs

Table 9.2.2-1 illustrates the ADAE server APIs.

Table 9.2.2- 1: List of ADAE server APIs 9.2.x SS ADAE edge preparation analytics API

9.2.x.1 General

API description: This API enables the analytics consumer (e.g., the VAL server, ECS, EES) to communicate with the ADAE server for requesting or subscribing to edge computing preparation.

9.2.x.2 Subscribe

API operation name: edge_preparation_analytics_subscribe

Description: The consumer subscribes for edge computing preparation analytics.

Inputs: See clause 8.x.3.2.

Outputs: See clause 8.x.3.3.

See clause 8.X.2.1 for details of usage of this operation.

9.2.x.3 Notify

API operation name: edge_preparation_analytics_notify

Description: The consumer is notified by the ADAE server on the edge computing preparation analytics.

Inputs: -

Outputs: See clause 8.x.3.4.

See clause 8.X.2.1 for details of usage of this operation.

9.2.x.4 Get

API operation name: edge_preparation_analytics_get

Description: The consumer requests edge computing preparation analytics

Inputs: -See clause 8.x.3.7

Outputs: See clause 8.x.3.8.

See clause 8,x,2,2 for details of usage of this operation. _

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9.3.2 A-ADRF APIs

Table 9.3.2-1 illustrates the A-ADRF APIs.

Table 9.3.2-1: List of A-ADRF APIs 9.3.x SS AADRF Edge Preparation Data API

9.3.X.1 General

API description: This API enables the ADAE server to communicate with the A-ADRF to request edge computing preparation data for the EAS, EES, and/or ECS.

9.3. x.2 Get

API operation name: edge_preparation_data_get

Description: The consumer is receiving offline edge computing preparation data from the A-ADRF.

Inputs: See clause 8.x.3.5.

Outputs: See clause 8.x.3.6.

See clause 8.X.2.1 for details of usage of this operation.

SOME EMBODIMENTS

Some of the embodiments may be summarized in the following manner:

1. A method (400) performed by a second network node, comprising: determining (402) preparation information related to a third network node; and sending (404), to a first network node, a first message comprising the preparation information.

2. The method according to embodiment 1 , wherein the preparation information comprises a prediction and/or statistics for deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node.

3. The method according to embodiment 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving (412), from the first network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information; and sending (414), to the first network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

4. The method according to embodiment 3, wherein the first subscription request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, reporting requirements, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, a preferred confidence level, or a time validity of the subscription request, and/or the first subscription response comprises information indicating that a result of the first subscription request.

5. The method according to embodiment 3 or 4, wherein the first message comprises a subscription notification message.

6. The method according to any one of embodiment 3-5, wherein the first message comprises at least one of: an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

7. The method according to embodiment 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving (422), from the first network node, a first request for the preparation information, wherein the first message is sent to the first network node in response to the first request.

8. The method according to embodiment 7, wherein the first request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, or a preferred confidence level, and/or the first message comprises at least one of: information indicating that a result of the first subscription request, an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

9. The method according to any one of embodiment 1-8, wherein the first network node comprises an analytic consumer, and/or the second network node comprises an application data analytics enabler server node; and/or the third network node comprises an edge network node or a configuration node.

10. The method according to embodiment 9, wherein the analytic consumer comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or a vertical application layer server node, and/or the configuration node comprises an edge configuration server node, and/or the edge network node comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, or an edge application server node.

11 . The method according to any one of embodiment 1-10, further comprising: receiving (432), from a fourth network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node, wherein determining the preparation information comprises determining the preparation information related to the third network node based on at least one of the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or the registration information of the third network node.

12. The method according to embodiment 11 , wherein the fourth network node comprises at least one of: an Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) node, an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or an Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

13. The method according to embodiment 12, wherein the deployment time information and/or the state information of the third network node is received from the OAM node, and/or the registration information of the third network node is received from the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node or Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

14. The method according to embodiment 12 or 13, wherein receiving the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information of the third network node comprises: sending (442), to the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a second request for the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information; and receiving (444), from the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a second response comprising the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information

15. The method according to embodiment 14, wherein the second request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the second network node, an event identifier, or third network node information, a time validity of the request, and/or the second response comprises at least one of: an event identifier, a type of reported data, or reported data.

16. A method (300) performed by a first network node, comprising: receiving (302), from a second network node, a first message comprising preparation information related to a third network node

17. The method according to embodiment 16, wherein the preparation information comprises a prediction and/or statistics for deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node.

18. The method according to embodiment 16 or 17, further comprising: sending (312), to the second network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information; and receiving (314), from the second network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

19. The method according to embodiment 18, wherein the first subscription request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, reporting requirements, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, a preferred confidence level, or a time validity of the request, and/or the first subscription response comprises information indicating that a result of the first subscription request.

20. The method according to embodiment 18 or 19, wherein the first message comprises a subscription notification message.

21. The method according to any one of embodiment 18-20, wherein the first message comprises at least one of: an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

22. The method according to embodiment 16 or 17, further comprising: sending (322), to the second network node, a first request for the preparation information, wherein the first message is received from the second network node in response to the first request

23. The method according to embodiment 22, wherein the first request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, or a preferred confidence level, and/or the first message comprises at least one of: information indicating that a result of the first subscription request, an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

24. The method according to any one of embodiment 16-23, further comprising: determining (332) whether to identify the third network node based on the preparation information.

25. The method according to any one of embodiment 16-24, wherein the first network node comprises an analytic consumer, and/or the second network node comprises an application data analytics enabler server node; and/or the third network node comprises an edge network node or a configuration node.

26. The method according to embodiment 10, wherein the analytic consumer comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or a vertical application layer server node, and/or the configuration node comprises an edge configuration server node, and/or the edge network node comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, or an edge application server node.

27. A method (500) performed by a fourth network node, comprising: sending (502), to a second network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of a third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node.

28. The method according to embodiment 27, wherein the fourth network node comprises at least one of: an Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) node, an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or an Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

29. The method according to embodiment 28, wherein the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node is sent by the OAM node, and/or the registration information of the third network node is sent by the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node. 30. The method according to embodiment 28 or 29, wherein sending the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information of the third network node comprises: receiving (602), from the second network node, a second request for the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information; and sending (604), to the second network node, a second response comprising the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

31. The method according to embodiment 30, wherein the second request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the second network node, an event identifier, or third network node information, a time validity of the request, and/or the second response comprises at least one of: an event identifier, a type of reported data, or reported data.

32. The method according to any one of embodiment 27-31, wherein the second network node comprises an application data analytics enabler server node; and/or the third network node comprises an edge network node or a configuration node

33. The method according to embodiment 32, wherein the edge network node comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, or an edge application server node, and/or wherein the configuration node comprises an edge configuration server node.

34. A second network node (700), comprising: a processor (721); and a memory (722) coupled to the processor (721), said memory (722) containing instructions executable by said processor (721), whereby the second network node (700) is operative to: determine preparation information related to a third network node; and send, to a first network node, a first message comprising the preparation information.

35. The second network node according to embodiment 34, wherein the second network node is further operative to perform the method of any one of embodiment 2 to 15.

36. A first network node (700), comprising: a processor (721); and a memory (722) coupled to the processor (721), said memory (722) containing instructions executable by said processor (721), whereby the first network node (700) is operative to: receive, from a second network node, a first message comprising preparation information related to a third network node.

37. The first network node according to embodiment 36, wherein the first network node is further operative to perform the method of any one of embodiment 17 to 26.

38. A fourth network node (700), comprising: a processor (721); and a memory (722) coupled to the processor (721), said memory (722) containing instructions executable by said processor (721), whereby the fourth network node (700) is operative to: send, to a second network node, at least one of the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node.

39. The fourth network node according to embodiment 38, wherein the fourth network node is further operative to perform the method of any one of embodiment 28 to 33.

40. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of embodiment 1 to 33. 41 . A computer program product comprising instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any of embodiment 1 to 33.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the preparation information comprises a prediction and/or statistics for deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving (412), from the first network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information; and sending (414), to the first network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first subscription request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, reporting requirements, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, a preferred confidence level, or a time validity of the subscription request, and/or the first subscription response comprises information indicating that a result of the first subscription request.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the first message comprises a subscription notification message.

6. The method according to any one of claim 3-5, wherein the first message comprises at least one of: an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving (422), from the first network node, a first request for the preparation information, wherein the first message is sent to the first network node in response to the first request.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, or a preferred confidence level, and/or the first message comprises at least one of: information indicating that a result of the first subscription request, an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

9. The method according to any one of claim 1-8, wherein the first network node comprises an analytic consumer, and/or the second network node comprises an application data analytics enabler server node; and/or the third network node comprises an edge network node or a configuration node.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the analytic consumer comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or a vertical application layer server node, and/or the configuration node comprises an edge configuration server node, and/or the edge network node comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, or an edge application server node.

11 . The method according to any one of claim 1-10, further comprising: receiving (432), from a fourth network node, at least one of deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node, wherein determining the preparation information comprises determining the preparation information related to the third network node based on at least one of the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or the registration information of the third network node.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the fourth network node comprises at least one of: an Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) node, an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or an Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the deployment time information and/or the state information of the third network node is received from the OAM node, and/or the registration information of the third network node is received from the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node or Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, wherein receiving the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information of the third network node comprises: sending (442), to the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a second request for the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information; and receiving (444), from the Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function, a second response comprising the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the second request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the second network node, an event identifier, or third network node information, a time validity of the request, and/or the second response comprises at least one of: an event identifier, a type of reported data, or reported data.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the preparation information comprises a prediction and/or statistics for deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, further comprising: sending (312), to the second network node, at least one of a first subscription request or a first subscription update request or a first unsubscribe request for the preparation information; and receiving (314), from the second network node, at least one of a first subscription response or a first subscription update response or a first unsubscribe response for the preparation information.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the first subscription request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, reporting requirements, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, a preferred confidence level, or a time validity of the request, and/or the first subscription response comprises information indicating that a result of the first subscription request.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the first message comprises a subscription notification message.

21. The method according to any one of claim 18-20, wherein the first message comprises at least one of: an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

22. The method according to claim 16 or 17, further comprising: sending (322), to the second network node, a first request for the preparation information, wherein the first message is received from the second network node in response to the first request.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the first request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the first network node, an event identifier, an analytics type for an event, network information, an identifier of third network node provider, endpoint information of the third network node, a service identifier, resource requirements needed for the third network node, or a preferred confidence level, and/or the first message comprises at least one of: information indicating that a result of the first subscription request, an event identifier, the preparation information, or a confidence level.

24. The method according to any one of claim 16-23, further comprising: determining (332) whether to identify the third network node based on the preparation information.

25. The method according to any one of claim 16-24, wherein the first network node comprises an analytic consumer, and/or the second network node comprises an application data analytics enabler server node; and/or the third network node comprises an edge network node or a configuration node.

26. The method according to claim 10, wherein the analytic consumer comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or a vertical application layer server node, and/or the configuration node comprises an edge configuration server node, and/or the edge network node comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, or an edge application server node.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the fourth network node comprises at least one of: an Operation, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) node, an edge enabler server node, an edge configuration server node, or an Application layer-Analytical Data Repository Function.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node is sent by the OAM node, and/or the registration information of the third network node is sent by the edge enabler server node or the edge configuration server node.

30. The method according to claim 28 or 29, wherein sending the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information of the third network node comprises: receiving (602), from the second network node, a second request for the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information; and sending (604), to the second network node, a second response comprising the historical deployment time information and/or historical state information and/or registration information.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the second request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the second network node, an event identifier, or third network node information, a time validity of the request, and/or the second response comprises at least one of: an event identifier, a type of reported data, or reported data.

32. The method according to any one of claim 27-31, wherein the second network node comprises an application data analytics enabler server node; and/or the third network node comprises an edge network node or a configuration node

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the edge network node comprises at least one of: an edge enabler server node, or an edge application server node, and/or wherein the configuration node comprises an edge configuration server node.

35. The second network node according to claim 34, wherein the second network node is further operative to perform the method of any one of claim 2 to 15.

37. The first network node according to claim 36, wherein the first network node is further operative to perform the method of any one of claim 17 to 26.

38. A fourth network node (700), comprising: a processor (721); and a memory (722) coupled to the processor (721), said memory (722) containing instructions executable by said processor (721), whereby the fourth network node (700) is operative to: send, to a second network node, at least one of the deployment time information and/or state information of the third network node, historical deployment time information and/or historical state information of the third network node, or registration information of the third network node

39. The fourth network node according to claim 38, wherein the fourth network node is further operative to perform the method of any one of claim 28 to 33.

40. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claim 1 to 33.

41 . A computer program product comprising instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any of claim 1 to 33.