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EP-4738897-A2 - ENHANCED EDGE APPLICATION RELOCATION

EP4738897A2EP 4738897 A2EP4738897 A2EP 4738897A2EP-4738897-A2

Abstract

Disclosed herein is service continuity assistance (SCA) functionality that may assist in the relocation of edge application server instance between different edge nodes in the system. The procedures may include: 1) edge application relocation target prediction and selection; 2) defining and generating relocation trigger; 3) proactive relocation; or 4) multi-application and multi-UE joint relocation.

Inventors

  • LIU, LU
  • SEED, DALE
  • LI, XU

Assignees

  • Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20211221

Claims (16)

  1. An apparatus comprising a processor and memory, the processor and memory configured to: determine one or more criteria for triggering edge application relocation for an application being used by a user equipment (UE), wherein the application being used by the UE is communicating with a first edge application server (EAS) prior to the edge application relocation; determine one or more candidate EASs for the edge application relocation; determine pre-relocation information for preparing for the edge application relocation from the first EAS to a second EAS, the second EAS being one of the one or more candidate EASs, wherein the second EAS is selected based on a predicted location of the UE; determine a predicted time of the edge application relocation; and send the pre-relocation information, wherein the pre-relocation information comprises the predicted time of the edge application relocation.
  2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a service continuity assistance (SCA) server.
  3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the SCA server is implemented in an edge support and coordination node.
  4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-relocation information comprises context information associated with the application being used by the UE to be provided to the second EAS.
  5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor and memory are configured to: determine to initiate the edge application relocation in accordance with pre-relocation information.
  6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor and memory are configured to: determine updated pre-relocation information for preparing for the edge application relocation from the first EAS to a second EAS, the updated pre-location information comprising an updated predicted time of the edge application relocation; and send the updated pre-relocation information comprising the updated predicted time of the edge application relocation.
  7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the updated pre-relocation information is based on an updated predicted location of the UE.
  8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to communicate with a service continuity assistance (SCA) client at the UE.
  9. A method for edge application relocation, the method comprising: determining one or more criteria for triggering the edge application relocation for an application being used by a user equipment (UE), wherein the application being used by the UE is communicating with a first edge application server (EAS) prior to the edge application relocation; determining one or more candidate EASs for the edge application relocation; determining pre-relocation information for preparing for the edge application relocation from the first EAS to a second EAS, the second EAS being one of the one or more candidate EASs, wherein the second EAS is selected based on a predicted location of the UE; determining a predicted time of the edge application relocation; and sending the pre-relocation information, wherein the pre-relocation information comprises the predicted time of the edge application relocation.
  10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method is implemented by a service continuity assistance (SCA) server.
  11. The method of claim 10, wherein the SCA server is implemented in an edge support and coordination node.
  12. The method of claim 9, wherein the pre-relocation information comprises context information associated with the application being used by the UE to be provided to the second EAS.
  13. The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining to initiate the edge application relocation in accordance with pre-relocation information.
  14. The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining updated pre-relocation information for preparing for the edge application relocation from the first EAS to a second EAS, the updated pre-location information comprising an updated predicted time of the edge application relocation; and sending the updated pre-relocation information comprising the updated predicted time of the edge application relocation.
  15. The method of claim 14, wherein the updated pre-relocation information is based on an updated predicted location of the UE.
  16. The method of claim 9, further comprising communicating with a service continuity assistance (SCA) client at the UE.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/128,238, filed on December 21, 2020, entitled "Enhanced Edge Application Relocation". BACKGROUND Machine-To-Machine (M2M), Internet-of-Things (IoT), and Web-of-Things (WoT) network deployments may encompass a wide variety of servers, gateways, and devices, such as those described in, for example: Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects - Architecture for enabling Edge Applications, 3GPP TS 23.558, v1.1.0; Study on Application Architecture for Enabling Edge Applications, 3GPP TR 23.758, v1.0.0; oneM2M 3GPP Interworking, oneM2M TS-0026, v4.2.0; and Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Lightweight Machine-to-Machine protocol LWM2M, v 1.1; 3GPP Application layer support for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) services, 3GPP TS 23.286 v16.1.0; or 3GPP Study on enhancements to application layer support for V2X services, 3GPP TR 23.764, v0.2.0; 3GPP. This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art. Non-patent document "Edge service continuity procedure" (Huawei, Hisilicon; 3GPP document S6-201139) provides a proposal for an edge service continuity procedure. SUMMARY Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and devices that may enhance edge application relocation. The invention is defined by the appended claims. An edge application client hosted on a UE that is communicating with an edge application server hosted on an edge node may be triggered to switch from the currently serving edge node to another due to the UE's mobility or dynamic resource allocations on the edge nodes. To ensure the service continuity, the corresponding edge application server hosted on the edge node may need to be relocated from the currently serving edge node to a target edge node. Particularly, the edge application server instance may be relocated to or instantiated on the target edge node. In addition, any edge application context that is maintained by the edge application server will be transferred from the currently serving node to the target edge node. Correspondingly, the edge application clients hosted on the UE are redirected to communicate with the edge application server instance hosted on the target edge node. The existing service continuity support defined for edge application relocation lacks the capability of timely or accurately determining the trigger for relocation, selecting the target node for relocation, predicting the timing of relocation, or coordinating the relocations of multiple applications on the same UE or multiple UEs. Herein, Service Continuity Assistance (SCA) functionality is disclosed to enable proactive and efficient edge application relocation with the following features: 1) Relocation target prediction and selection; 2) Defining, generating, or monitoring relocation trigger; 3) Relocation timing prediction and proactive relocation with pre-relocation; or 4) Multi-application and multi-UE joint relocation. 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. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not constrained to limitations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary Application architecture for enabling edge applications;FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary high-level overview of application context relocation procedure;FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary existing Edge Application Relocation Procedure;FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary SCA Assisted Edge Application Relocation Architecture;FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary procedure for Enhanced Relocation;FIG. 6 illustrates a first exemplary proactive relocation (Relocation Profile maintained at SCA Server);FIG. 7 illustrates a second exemplary proactive relocation (Relocation Profile maintained at SCA Client);FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary relocation within Candidate Group;FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary multi-Application Joint Relocation (Single UE);FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary multi-UE Joint Relocation;FIG. 11 illustrates a first exemplary 3GPP SA6 Embodiment;FIG. 12 illustrates a second exemplary 3GPP SA6 Embodiment;FIG. 13 illustrated an exemplary method of the disclosed SCA functionality;FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary graphical user interface (GUI) for configuring neighbor list and relocation profile;FIG. 15A illustrates an