US-12621671-B2 - Dynamic utilization-based network slice allocation management for user equipment applications

US12621671B2US 12621671 B2US12621671 B2US 12621671B2US-12621671-B2

Abstract

Systems and methods for dynamic utilization-based network slice allocation management for user equipment applications are provided. In some embodiments, a slice estimation engine may be implemented to evaluate the network traffic and other application activity data associated with an application running on the UE to determine an operating mode of the application. The slice estimation engine may trigger the UE to request an adjustment to its network slice allocation configurations based on the evaluation. To determine whether or not an application should be reconfigured for a new network slice, the slice estimation engine may evaluate processes that are running on the UE. The slice estimation engine may comprise one or more slice assessment algorithms that determine which slice from a set of available network slices would optimally serve the application based on the network traffic characteristics associated with the application's current mode of operation.

Inventors

Sharath Somashekar
Diego Estrella Chavez
Akriti Kumar
Rashmi Kumar

Assignees

T-MOBILE INNOVATIONS LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240125

Claims (18)

1 . A system for dynamic network slice allocation, the system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-usable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: establish at least one communication link between a telecommunications operator core network and a user equipment (UE) via a wireless base station; evaluate one or more characteristics of application activity data associated with at least one application executed on the UE, wherein the application activity data includes at least an indication of an operating mode of the at least one application, wherein evaluation of the one or more characteristics of application activity data is performed at least in part by a slice estimation engine executed as a network function, wherein the slice estimation engine comprises one or more slice assessment algorithms that predict the operating mode of the at least one application from the application activity data; associate the indication of the operating mode to a network slice allocation configuration; and trigger a network slice allocation request to the telecommunications operator core network to allocate a network slice to the UE based at least on the network slice allocation configuration.
2 . The system of claim 1 , the one or more processors further to: correlate the indication of the operating mode to a network slice allocation policy to determine the network slice allocation configuration.
3 . The system of claim 1 , the one or more processors further to: determine the network slice for the network slice allocation request based at least on determining a set of network slices available for allocation to the UE by the telecommunications operator core network.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein evaluation of the one or more characteristics of application activity data is performed at least in part by the at least one application.
5 . The system of claim 1 , the one or more processors further to: trigger a first request to the telecommunications operator core network to allocate a first network slice allocation configuration for the at least one application based at least on a first indication that the at least one application is operating in a first operating mode associated with a first characteristic of network traffic; and trigger a second request to the telecommunications operator core network to allocate a second network slice allocation configuration for the at least one application based on a second indication that the at least one application has switched from operating in the first operating mode to operating in a second operating mode associated with a second characteristic of network traffic.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein evaluation of the one or more characteristics of application activity data is performed at least in part by the UE.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the slice estimation engine is executed at least in part as a network function of the telecommunications operator core network.
8 . The system of claim 1 , the one or more processors further to: evaluate the one or more characteristics of application activity data to infer the operating mode of the at least one application based on a machine learning model trained to implement a classification inference engine.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the network slice allocation request comprises a Packet Data Unit (PDU) session modification request.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the application activity data comprises an indication associated with the at least one application of one or more of: a network traffic latency, a network traffic data rate, an amount of data traffic, a routing selection policy, a pattern of traffic flow, and an uplink versus downlink direction of traffic flow.
11 . The system of claim 1 , the one or more processors further to: reconfigure a configuration of the UE based on an allocation of the network slice for the at least one application received in response to the network slice allocation request.
12 . A telecommunications network, the network comprising: at least one wireless base station coupled to an operator core network, wherein the at least one wireless base station establishes one or more communication links between the operator core network and a user equipment (UE); one or more processors to perform one or more operations to: evaluate application activity data associated with at least one application executed on the UE, wherein the application activity data includes at least an indication of an operating mode of the at least one application, wherein evaluation of the one or more characteristics of application activity data is performed at least in part by a slice estimation engine executed as a network function, wherein the slice estimation engine comprises one or more slice assessment algorithms that predict the operating mode of the at least one application from the application activity data; associate the indication of the operating mode to a network slice allocation configuration; and trigger the UE to transmit a network slice allocation request to the operator core network to allocate a network slice to the UE for the at least one application, based at least on the network slice allocation configuration.
13 . The network of claim 12 , the one or more processors further to: determine the network slice for the network slice allocation request based at least on determining a set of network slices available for allocation to the UE by the operator core network.
14 . The network of claim 12 , wherein the one or more processors performing the one or more operations are comprised at least in part in an edge server of a core network edge of the operator core network.
15 . The network of claim 12 , wherein the one or more operations are executed by an edge server as a network function of the operator core network.
16 . The network of claim 12 , wherein the application activity data comprises an indication associated with the at least one application of one or more of: a network traffic latency, a network traffic data rate, an amount of data traffic, a routing selection policy, a pattern of traffic flow, and an uplink versus downlink direction of traffic flow.
17 . A method for dynamic network slice allocation, the method comprising: evaluating one or more characteristics of application activity data associated with at least one application executed on a user equipment (UE), wherein the application activity data includes at least an indication of an operating mode of the at least one application, wherein the UE is coupled to an operator core network of a telecommunications network via a wireless base station, wherein evaluation of the one or more characteristics of application activity data is performed at least in part by a slice estimation engine executed as a network function, wherein the slice estimation engine comprises one or more slice assessment algorithms that predict the operating mode of the at least one application from the application activity data; associating the indication of the operating mode to a network slice allocation configuration; and triggering the UE to send a network slice allocation request to the operator core network to allocate a network slice to the UE based at least on the network slice allocation configuration.
18 . The method of claim 17 , the method further comprising: triggering a first request to the operator core network to allocate a first network slice allocation configuration for the at least one application based at least on a first indication that the at least one application is operating in a first operating mode associated with a first characteristic of network traffic; and triggering a second request to the operator core network to allocate a second network slice allocation configuration for the at least one application based on a second indication that the at least one application has switched from operating in the first operating mode to operating in a second operating mode associated with a second characteristic of network traffic.

Description

BACKGROUND A 5G network slice is a telecommunications network configuration that establishes multiple independent virtualized networks on the common physical infrastructure of a 5G network operator core. For each network slice instance, associated network functions can be orchestrated as needed to support the specific needs and/or use case of the customer using the network slice. Network resources allocated to a network slice may be tailored to customize parameters such as bandwidth, speed, and latency. A network slice may be established for a customer by the 5G network operator as a service that essentially provides the customer with a private end-to-end networking solution that includes complete logical isolation from other slices operating on the same physical infrastructure elements of the 5G network operator core and through common access networks (e.g., radio access networks). SUMMARY 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 in isolation as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. One or more of the embodiments presented in the disclosure provide for, among other things, systems and methods for dynamically switching the network slice allocations provided by a telecommunications network to a user equipment (UE) for an application. One or more of the embodiments disclosed herein introduce a technology through which the UE and/or the telecommunications network can identify and communicate in real-time an application's type of usage of network resources and trigger the network to dynamically switch network slices allocated to the application. For example, in some embodiments, a slice estimation engine may be implemented to evaluate the network traffic and other application activity data associated with an application running on the UE to determine an operating mode of the application, and trigger the UE to request an adjustment to its network slice allocation configurations based on the evaluation. The slice estimation engine may have access to monitor resource allocation and utilization processes within the UE to evaluate the type of network traffic associated with one or more of the applications being executed by the UE. The slice estimation engine may determine when an application should use a network slice with a higher or lower level of Quality of Service (QOS) based on an evaluation of application activity data for that application. In some embodiments, to determine whether or not an application should be reconfigured for a new network slice, the slice estimation engine evaluates in real-time processes that are running on the UE and looks at characteristics of network traffic associated with the processes, such as the amount of bandwidth that is being used, for example. The slice estimation engine may comprise one or more slice assessment algorithms that determine which slice from a set of available network slices would optimally serve the application based on the network traffic characteristics associated with the application's current mode of operation. The slice assessment algorithms may then select a network slice allocation that correlates with the evaluation and triggers the UE to send a network slice allocation request to the operator core network to allocate a corresponding network slice configuration to the UE for use by the application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Aspects of the present disclosure are described in detail herein with reference to the attached Figures, which are intended to be exemplary and non-limiting, wherein: FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example network environment for a telecommunications network, in accordance with some embodiments described herein; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example slice estimation engine for dynamic network slice allocation, in accordance with some embodiments described herein; FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of user equipment hosting one or more elements of a slice estimation engine, in accordance with some embodiments described herein; FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an example of a network function of a user plane function hosting one or more elements of a slice estimation engine, in accordance with some embodiments described herein; FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for dynamic network slice allocation in accordance with some embodiments described herein; FIG. 5 is an example computing device, in accordance with some embodiments described herein; and FIG. 6 is an example cloud computing platform, in accordance with some embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of specific illustrative