Methods and apparatuses for enhanced 5gc restoration when a network function (nf) set is deployed in the network

Abstract

An enhanced communication of recovery information related to restart of a NF Service provider of NF consumer (e.g., NF Service Instance, NF Service Set, NF Instance, NF Set) is introduced. In exemplary embodiments, a recovery timestamp in a restart notification related to the restart of a NF Service provider or NF consumer is associated with the NF Service provider or NF consumer corresponding to the binding level of session contexts served by the service provider or NF consumer. The NF Service provider/consumer may be a NF Service Instance, NF Service Set, NF Instance and NF Set. In the case of a failure, the recovery timestamp populated in a recovery notification is matching the binding level of session contexts which will be affected by the failed NF Service provider/consumer. The recovery timestamp may be included in indirect signaling via a NRF and in direct signal between NFs. Further the recovery timestamp can be included in the header of a restart notification or in a message body of the restart notification. The restart notification may be a service request/response, notification request/response, or a Subscription request/response.