US-20260129093-A1 - DISTRIBUTED AND SYNCHRONIZED NETWORK CORE FOR RADIO-BASED NETWORKS

Abstract

Various embodiments are provided for dynamically reconfiguring radio access network (RAN) functionality between edge and cloud computing environments. A RAN-enabled edge server deployed at an edge location is configured to perform a set of distributed unit (DU) functions for a radio-based network, while a server hosted at a regional data center of a cloud provider network is configured to perform a set of core network functions for the radio-based network. The system monitors availability of the core network functions at the edge location and determines that the set of core network functions provided by the server at the regional data center is unavailable. In response to determining that the core network functions are unavailable, the RAN-enabled edge server is dynamically reconfigured to perform the set of core network functions.

Inventors

• Nikolay Krasilnikov
• Theodore Joseph Maka'iwi DeRego
• Benjamin Wojtowicz

Assignees

• AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20260105

Claims (6)

1. 1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising: configuring a radio access network (RAN)-enabled edge server at an edge location to perform a set of distributed unit (DU) functions for a radio-based network; configuring a server at a regional data center of a cloud provider network to perform a set of core network functions for the radio-based network; determining that the set of core network functions provided by the server are unavailable at the edge location; and configuring the RAN-enabled edge server to perform the set of core network functions in response to determining that the set of core network functions provided by the server are unavailable at the edge location.
2. 2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the set of DU functions are performed in a first machine instance of the RAN-enabled edge server, and the set of core network functions are performed in a second machine instance of the RAN-enabled edge server.
3. 3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising providing network connectivity via the radio-based network to one or more user equipment devices at the edge location while the set of core network functions provided by the server are unavailable at the edge location.
4. 4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising synchronizing state associated with the set of core network functions between the RAN-enabled edge server and the server at the regional data center.
5. 5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising synchronizing state associated with the set of core network functions between the RAN-enabled edge server and a different RAN-enabled edge server at a different edge location.
6. 6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: configuring another server at a local data center of the cloud provider network to perform a set of centralized unit (CU) functions for the radio-based network; determining that the set of CU functions are unavailable at the edge location; and configuring the RAN-enabled edge server to perform the set of CU functions in response to determining that the set of CU functions are unavailable at the edge location.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/937,199, entitled “DISTRIBUTED AND SYNCHRONIZED NETWORK CORE FOR RADIO-BASED NETWORKS,” and filed on Sep. 30, 2022, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND 5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks, which is planned eventually to take the place of the fourth-generation (4G) standard of Long-Term Evolution (LTE). 5G technology will offer greatly increased bandwidth, thereby broadening the cellular market beyond smartphones to provide last-mile connectivity to desktops, set-top boxes, laptops, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and so on. Some 5G cells may employ frequency spectrum similar to that of 4G, while other 5G cells may employ frequency spectrum in the millimeter wave band. Cells in the millimeter wave band will have a relatively small coverage area but will offer much higher throughput than 4G. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. FIG. 1A is a drawing of an example of a communication network that is deployed and managed according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 1B and 1C illustrate examples of portions of a radio-based network that utilize a distributed and synchronized core according to one or more embodiments. FIG. 2A illustrates an example of a networked environment including a cloud provider network and further including various provider substrate extensions of the cloud provider network, which may be used in various locations within the communication network of FIG. 1A, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2B depicts an example of cellularization and geographic distribution of the communication network of FIG. 1A for providing highly available user plane functions (UPFs). FIG. 3A illustrates an example of the networked environment of FIG. 2A including geographically dispersed provider substrate extensions according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a distributed computing device of FIG. 1A according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the networked environment of FIG. 2A according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of functionality implemented as portions of a radio-based network in the networked environment of FIG. 4 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of functionality implemented as portions of a radio access network (RAN)-enabled edge server in the radio-based network of FIG. 4 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram that provides one example illustration of a computing environment employed in the networked environment of FIG. 4 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure relates to a distributed and synchronized network core for radio-based networks. Distributed units (DUs) are computing devices that are typically deployed at cell sites of radio access networks (RANs) in radio-based networks. DUs operate at the lower layers of the RAN protocol stack, such as the Radio Link Control (RLC) sublayer, the Medium Access Control (MAC) sublayer, and the physical layer, depending on the particular implementation. This is in contrast to centralized units (CUs), which may be deployed at centralized locations and provide support for higher layers of the protocol stack, such as the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), and the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol. Together, the DU and CU may correspond to the next generation node B (gNB) in 5G, which enables user equipment (UEs) to connect to the core network. The DUs interface with one or more radio units (RUs) in order to communicate wirelessly with the UEs. Various embodiments of the present disclosure introduce a DU that may integrate up to a full-stack network core hosted on the DU. In this regard, the DU may support one or more CU network functions and one or more core network functions all on a single computing device at an edge location or multiple computing devices at the edge location. The 5G software stack includes both the core network and the RAN, and all components of this stack need to be available and connected to one another in order for the network to operate. Outages at any level or lost connectivity result in loss of service. In a cloud pro