US-12627575-B2 - Capability exposure for service instantiation

US12627575B2US 12627575 B2US12627575 B2US 12627575B2US-12627575-B2

Abstract

The application is at least directed to a core network including a non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon for registering a network function or network function template in the core network. The network includes a processor, operably coupled to the non-transitory memory. The processor is configured to perform the instruction of determining that registration of the network function or network function template is acceptable. The processor is also configured to perform the instruction of transmitting a message including the network function or network function template to a repository in the core network. The processor is also configured to perform the instruction of verifying the network function or network function template against existing policies in the core network. The processor is also configured to perform the instruction of registering the network function or network function template in the repository after verification. The application is also directed to a core network that discovers a network function or network function template therein. The application is also directed to a core network that instantiates a network function.

Inventors

Catalina Mihaela Mladin
Michael F. Starsinic
Hongkun Li
Rocco Di Girolamo

Assignees

INTERDIGITAL PATENT HOLDINGS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20231205

Claims (14)

1 . A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) comprising: a non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon; and a processor, operably coupled to the non-transitory memory, configured to perform the instructions of: transmitting, to a first server, a request to discover services, wherein the request includes discovery criteria and the discovery criteria includes operation time window information; receiving, from the first server, a response indicating one or more services available to be instantiated, wherein the one or more services available to be instantiated match the discovery criteria; sending, to a second server in view of the received response, a message to instantiate one of the available services; and receiving, from the second server, a communication that the one of the available services has been instantiated.
2 . The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the discovery criteria includes any one or more of a network function (NF) template descriptor, a match parameter, or a location preference.
3 . The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the message indicates any one or more of an identity of one of the available services or a location for the service to be instantiated.
4 . The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the communication includes a parameter of the instantiated service.
5 . The WTRU of claim 4 , wherein the parameter includes any one or more of a template description, a generic instance location or a specific instance location.
6 . The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the communication further includes a success or failure indicator for the instantiation of the available service.
7 . The WTRU of claim 1 , wherein the WTRU is authorized to communicate with the first server prior to transmitting the request.
8 . A method comprising: transmitting, to a first server, a request to discover services, wherein the request includes discovery criteria and the discovery criteria includes operation time window information; receiving, from the first server, a response indicating one or more services available to be instantiated, wherein the one or more services available to be instantiated match the discovery criteria; sending, to a second server, a message to instantiate one of the available services; and receiving, from the second server, a communication that the one of the available services has been instantiated.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the discovery criteria includes any one or more of a network function (NF) template descriptor, a match parameter, or a location preference.
10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the message indicates any one or more of an identity of one of the available services or a location for the service to be instantiated.
11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the communication includes a parameter of the instantiated service.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the parameter includes any one or more of a template description, a generic instance location or a specific instance location.
13 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the communication further includes a success or failure indicator for the instantiation of the available service.
14 . The method of claim 8 , wherein an authorization to communicate with the first server is obtained prior to transmitting the request.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/569,561 filed Jan. 6, 2022 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/339,443 filed Apr. 4, 2019 which is the National Stage Application of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2017/055270 filed Oct. 5, 2017 which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/404,467, filed Oct. 5, 2016, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. FIELD The present application is directed to network function virtualization techniques and instructions on a core network for registration, discovery, instantiation, scaling and reconfiguration of services. BACKGROUND Generally, network operators in a core network may decide to instantiate new services or network functions (NFs) based on observed network behavior. For example, network behavior may suggest that more or fewer devices are attached to the network. As a result, the network operator may decide to scale up or scale down a particular NF. Aggregating the necessary intelligence to scale up or scale down may require further assistance. Specifically, a node such as user equipment (UE) and/or an application server (AS) may be better positioned to offer suggestions to scale, configure, or instantiate network functions. For example, an AS may inform the network operator that a certain type of traffic is cacheable resulting in the network operator knowing it is acceptable to instantiate a caching service network function. The network operator may offer a catalog or repository of a NF available for instantiation upon request by a node. A request from the node to configure, scale or instantiate a NF may not always result in an instantaneous network reconfiguration. Depending upon the request, it may take several minutes or longer for network reconfiguration to complete. What is needed is an improved way to notify nodes when network reconfiguration has occurred. The network confirmation may also relate to where the services or NFs are instantiated. That is, there are instances when a NF may need to be geographically located at the edge of the network in close proximity to devices that use it. However, instantiating services at the edge of the network poses challenges with respect to collecting charging records on services provided locally for the UE. 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 limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present application directed to network function virtualization including dynamic registration, discovery, instantiation, scaling and reconfiguration of services. In one aspect of the application, a core network is described that includes a non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon for registering a network function or network function template in the core network. The core network also includes a processor, operably coupled to the non-transitory memory. The processor is configured to perform the instruction of determining that registration of the network function or network function template is acceptable. The processor is also configured to perform the instruction of transmitting a message including the network function or network function template to a repository in the core network. The processor is also configured to perform the instruction of verifying the network function or network function template against existing policies in the core network. The processor is also configured to perform the instruction of registering the network function or network function template in the repository after verification. In another aspect of the application, a core network is described that includes a non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon for discovering a network function or network function template in the core network. The core network also includes a processor operably coupled to the non-transitory memory. The processor is configured to perform the instruction of determining, at the core network, that discovery of the network function or network function template is acceptable. The processor is also configured to perform the instruction of transmitting, a message including the network function or network function template to a repository in the core network. The processor is also configured to perform the instruction of searching, in the core network, for the network function or the network function template in the repository. The processor is further configured to perform the instruction of discovering, in the core network, the network function or network function template in the repository. The processor is even further configured to perform the instruction of sending a discovery response based upon the discovering instruction t