Search

US-12621631-B2 - DNS lookup control for edge services

US12621631B2US 12621631 B2US12621631 B2US 12621631B2US-12621631-B2

Abstract

Method for use in a User Equipment, UE, for obtaining connection to an Edge server, the method comprising: initiating establishment of a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, session with a wireless network; transmitting, to the wireless network during the establishment, a first message indicating UE support for Edge-aware Domain Name System, DNS, lookup; receiving, from the wireless network during the establishment, a second message comprising an address to a DNS server configured to provide an address to the Edge server.

Inventors

  • Svante Alnås

Assignees

  • Sony Group Corporation

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20220223
Priority Date
20210406

Claims (13)

  1. 1 . A method for use in a User Equipment (UE) for obtaining connection to an Edge server, the method comprising: initiating establishment of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session with a wireless network; transmitting, to the wireless network during the establishment, a first message indicating UE support for Edge-aware Domain Name System (DNS) lookup; receiving, from the wireless network during the establishment, a second message comprising an address to an Edge-aware DNS server configured to provide an address to the Edge server; and exposing the address of the Edge-aware DNS server to an Edge application environment in the UE.
  2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a validity of the address to the Edge-aware DNS server is associated with location of the UE with respect to a validity area.
  3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , comprising: obtaining control information for Edge server access based on UE presence with respect to a validity area.
  4. 4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the control information is received from the wireless network responsive to the UE leaving the validity area.
  5. 5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein said control information comprises updated Edge-aware DNS server address information.
  6. 6 . The method of claim 4 , comprising: performing DNS look-up, responsive to obtaining the control information.
  7. 7 . The method of claim 4 , comprising: re-establish an existing session-based communication with an Edge server, responsive to obtaining the control information.
  8. 8 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the control information comprises an identification of the validity area, the method comprising: performing DNS lookup responsive to leaving the validity area.
  9. 9 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said validity area identifies an access network portion of the wireless network.
  10. 10 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the validity area identifies cell identities of access nodes of the wireless network.
  11. 11 . The method of claim 2 , wherein a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI) identifies the validity area.
  12. 12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein exposing the address of the Edge-aware DNS server to an Edge application environment comprises: exposing the address to the Edge-aware DNS server to an Edge application client.
  13. 13 . A User Equipment (UE) configured for obtaining connection to an Edge server, the UE comprising: a modem for communicating with a wireless network; logic circuitry configured to control the modem to: initiate establishment of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session with the wireless network; transmit, to the wireless network during the establishment, a first message indicating UE support for Edge-aware Domain Name System (DNS) lookup; receive, from the wireless network during the establishment, a second message comprising an address to an Edge-aware DNS server configured to provide an address to the Edge server; and expose the address of the Edge-aware DNS server to an Edge application environment in the UE.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to the field of access to Edge services provided for wireless devices connected in a wireless network. Specifically, solutions are provided for allowing Edge applications to run on wireless devices while appropriately utilizing a Domain Name System (DNS) configuration provided by an operator of the wireless network regardless of which data network is used for Edge server access. BACKGROUND Wireless devices may be configured according to various protocols for communication with different networks by radio communication. A wide variety of systems for radio communication are set up under the provisions of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including cellular systems and wireless local area networks often referred to as Wi-fi. The wireless devices are often referred to as User Equipment (UE), and are configured to wirelessly communicate with a network backbone via one or more access nodes. Such access nodes may be identified by different terms based on the protocol used, and in cellular communications they are often referred to as base stations. As technology advances, and the wireless system protocols are developed, the processing and communication capability of UEs increases. A UE may be devised to carry out different tasks based on which application is run on the UE, and requirements may be different between different applications. For certain types of applications, where communication through the wireless network may be inadequate, so-called Edge computing can be used to assist proper operation of the application. Edge computing is a distributed computing paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the location where it is needed, i.e. closed to the UE on which an application client runs, e.g. to improve response times and save bandwidth. Edge computing may e.g. be used for latency-sensitive applications such as multi-player video games. When using an Edge system, the application client connects to an Edge host, operated on an Edge server, also referred to as an Edge application server (EAS). Various computing tasks may then be off-loaded to the EAS. In some instances, it is of beneficial for wireless network operators to maintain control over Edge servers the UE will connect to, e.g. for the purpose of finding the most suitable, typically the closest, EAS. Today, this could for example be done by using a DNS (Domain Name System) configuration determined by the operator. The DNS provides IP addresses associated with domain names for Edge system nodes. The DNS may identify addresses to various Edge system servers, such as one or more Edge servers, such as EASs, or higher level Edge server nodes such as Edge Configuration Server (ECS) or Edge Enabling Server (EES). An application client may provide a DNS request to access an Edge server by using its URL, and the application client will then receive a DNS response with an associated IP address. One problem associated with the use of DNS to resolve IP addresses for Edge servers is that DNS provides time-limited IP addresses. In other words, an IP address has an associated with a Time-to-live (TTL), after which a new IP address must be obtained by means of a new DNS look-up. This does not always operate well with connection through wireless networks since it does not take UE mobility into account. Another problem associated with this setup is that a DNS response may be different dependent on through which data connection the DNS request is transmitted. If the DNS request is transmitted outside the operator network, such as through a Wi-fi connection to the Internet, a different DNS configuration may nevertheless be used, which may not need not identify the most appropriate, e.g. closest, EAS. As a result of the current implementation to use DNS, Edge applications may not run properly. SUMMARY There exists a need for improvement in the art of controlling a UE with regard to Edge server access, to optimize use of Edge hosted services in a UE. A solution to this problem is set out in the independent claims. According to a first aspect, a method is provided for use in a wireless network for facilitating access of User Equipment to an Edge server, the method comprising: initiating establishment of a Protocol Data Unit, PDU, session with a first UE;receiving, from the first UE during the establishment, a first message indicating UE support for Edge-aware Domain Name System, DNS, lookup;transmitting, to the UE during the establishment, a second message comprising an address to an Edge-aware DNS server configured to provide an address to the Edge server; andcontrolling Edge server access based on UE presence with respect to a validity area. According to a second aspect, a method is provided for use in a UE for obtaining connection to an Edge server, the method comprising: initiating establishment of a PDU session with a wireless network;transmitting, to a network node of the wireless network during the