Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (publ)

Carlos Jimenez Cordon

Miguel Angel Muñoz De La Torre Alonso

Miguel Angel Puente Pestaña

Rodrigo Alvarez Dominguez

Ruth Pallares Del Egido

Marc Molla

Carlota Villasante

Veronica Sanchez Vega

Jiehong Yang

Juan-Mario Martin-Sanchez

Yumei Song

Matthias Reinhold

Yong Yang

Ibon Gochi Garcia

Antonio Cañete Martinez

Erik Wikström

Javier Muñoz Kirschberg

Juan Jose Delgado Reimundez

Raul Barreda Soto

Daniel Torres Gonzalez

Miguel Angel Muños De La Torre Alonso

According to an aspect, there is provided a method of operating a session management entity in a communication network. The method comprises sending () a first request to a user plane entity in the communication network. The first request relates to UE-to-UE communication and indicates a first set of Internet Protocol, IP, addresses available for allocation to UEs for which UE-to-UE communication is one of blocked or allowed; and at least one subset of the first set of IP addresses for which UE-to-UE communication is the other one of blocked or allowed.

Controlling UE-to-UE communication

A technique for transmitting and using a session identifier of a session between a user plane gateway and a control plane gateway is disclosed. In a method implementation, a third gateway, GW, in a Control Plane, CP, of an Evolved Packet Core, EPC, transmits, to a fourth GW in the CP, a session identifier of a first session established between a second GW in a User Plane, UP, of the EPC and the third GW, wherein the second GW is co-located with a first GW in the UP and wherein the first GW has a communication interface to the fourth GW. The fourth GW may receive the session identifier from the third GW and provide the session identifier to the first GW. The first GW may receive a data packet, forward the data packet to the second GW and provide, to the second GW, the session identifier. The second GW may receive the data packet from the first GW and obtain the session identifier from the first GW.

Session identifier handling for co-located user plane gateways

A method of operating a user plane function UPF node of a core network CN for a communication network is provided. An association message is transmitted to a session management function SMF node of the CN. The association message includes an indication that the UPF node supports a capability to modify session traffic in response to a handover. A session establishment request message is received from the SMF node. The session establishment request message includes an indication to modify session traffic of a protocol data unit PDU session for the communication device in response to handover. Methods relating to session management function SMF nodes and policy control function PCF nodes are also provided.

Methods supporting a capability to modify session traffic in response to a handover and related network nodes

Implementation of an application rule for an application to be accessed by a User Equipment, UE, in a user session in a Service Based Architecture, SBA, domain in a core network of a telecommunications system is disclosed. The SBA, among others, comprises a Policy Control Function, PCF (), an Application Function, AF (), and a Session Management Function, SMF (). The method comprising the steps of receiving, by the PCF (), an application rule comprising an AF Identifier, AF-ID, identifying the application rule, an Application Identifier, App-ID, identifying the application, and at least one service requirement for processing the application in the SBA domain. The PCF () instructing the SMF () to execute the at least one service requirement to all present and future user sessions pertaining to the respective application. Complementary methods of supporting the execution of the application rule and devices are also presented.

Methods of and devices for implementing and executing policy rules on a per application basis in a telecommunications system

A method of and a Session Management Function, SMF, for provisioning processing rules for user traffic at a User Plane Function, UPF, in a core network of a telecommunication network are disclosed. The core network comprises an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF and a Policy Control Function, PCF. The SMF first transmits to the PCF a request for obtaining processing rules for user traffic; the SMF then receives from the PCF processing rules enabling at least one of a Uniform Resource Identifier, URI, level processing policy and a Server Name Indication, SNI, level processing policy for the user traffic and provision the received processing rules with the UPF. The UPF can then process user traffic based on the provisioned processing rules, differentiating the user traffic at the more detailed URI and/or SNI level.

Method of and a session management function for provisioning a user plane function, a method of and a user plane function for processing user traffic and a method of and charging function for charging user traffic

A method for operating a session control entity configured to control a data packet session for a mobile subscriber in a network, wherein at least one service is applied to the data packet session by a service application entity, the method includes at the session control entity receiving a first request from a requestor requesting application of the at least one service, in which it is requested that the requestor be informed of a current status of at least one session related parameter of the data packet session, and transmitting a notification to the requestor, the notification having the current status of the at least one session related parameter.

Optimization of services applied to data packet sessions

Methods and apparatus are provided for traffic monitoring in a network. In an example aspect, a method of traffic monitoring in a first network node comprises receiving a packet, determining that the packet matches a plurality of packet detection rules, and sending an indication to a second network node that the packet matches a plurality of packet detection rules.

Traffic monitoring in a network node

A method of managing traffic associated with a User Equipment, UE, by a User Plane Function, UPF, in a telecommunication network, said UPF being associated with a Session Management Function, SMF, and a Network Data Analytics Function, NWDAF, wherein said UPF has access to an observation space comprising a list of possible states said network may take and wherein said UPF has access to an action space comprising a list of possible actions that said UPF is allowed to perform, said method comprising the steps of receiving a state of said network, wherein said state is comprised by said list of possible states, receiving a reward, wherein said reward indicates a degree of satisfaction of said network to be in said state, receiving network traffic from said UE and performing, triggered by said received traffic, an action comprised by said list of possible actions based on said received state of said network and based on said received reward.

Method of managing traffic by a user plane function, UPF, corresponding UPF, session management function and network data analytics function

Disclosed herein is a method for evaluating data traffic in a communication network. The method comprising establishing a protocol session between a control plane, CP, node and a user plane, UP, node and configuring, by the CP node, a first detection rule to be used for event notification, and at least one next detection rule to be used for traffic detection. The first detection rule comprises an indicator indicating the highest precedence, and identifies a first instruction rule indicating an event to be notified and a continuation flag indicating evaluation of at least one next detection rule. The at least one next detection rule comprises an indicator indicating a lower precedence than the one in the first detection rule and identifies a next instruction rule to be applied to a matched traffic. The method also comprises determining, at the UP node and based on the continuation flag, whether the received packet matches any detection rule amongst the at least one next detection rule from higher to lower precedence.

Sequential packet matching

A method for operating a user plane entity configured to handle a user plane of data packet sessions exchanged in a cellular network, each data packet session comprising data packet flows of a plurality of applications, the data packet flows of each application being identified by an application identifier, the method includes: determining that a tracking of data packet flows identified by an application identifier should be stopped, determining one or more application detection filters configured to detect data packet flows identified by the application identifier, removing the one or more application detection filters and the application identifier from the user plane entity, and requesting a session control entity configured to control the data packet sessions to remove packet detection rules usable to detect the data packet flows identified by the application identifier, wherein the request includes the application identifier.

Removal of application identifier

The embodiments herein relate to a method performed by a UPF () for handling pre-configured profiles for sets of detection and enforcement rules. The UPF () comprises one or more pre-configured profiles applicable to any user session. Each pre-configured profile comprises a set of detection and enforcement rules. Each pre-configured profile comprises a profile ID and the set of detection or enforcement rules. The UPF () receives, from a CPF () a first request for session establishment comprising at least one indication for profile activation. The at least one indication profile activation comprises the profile ID of the pre-configured profile to be activated. The UPF () establishes the session indicated in the first request. For the established session, the UPF () activates the at least one pre-configured profile identified by the profile ID by instantiating the set of detection and enforcement rules for the pre-configured profile.

Functions and methods for handling pre-configured profiles for sets of detection and enforcement rules

The invention relates to a method for operating a gateway wherein the method comprises to detect a downlink data packet session transmitted to the first user entity, and to amend the lifetime indicator in at least some of the data packets of the detected downlink data packet session such that the data packets for which the lifetime indicator has been amended, have reached the end of the lifetime and cannot be transmitted further when arriving at the first user entity.

Growing community of inventors

Madrid, Spain

Carlos Jimenez Cordon