Patent Description:
The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is designing a <NUM> network and is considering to incorporate network slicing technology. This technology is a good fit for the <NUM> network, because the <NUM> use cases (e.g., massive Internet of Things (IoT)), critical communications, and enhanced mobile broadband) demand very diverse and sometimes extreme requirements. The current pre-<NUM> architecture utilizes a relatively monolithic network and transport framework to accommodate a variety of services such as mobile traffic from smart phones, over-the-top (OTT) content, feature phones, data cards, and embedded machine-to-machine (M2M) devices. It is anticipated that the current architecture is not flexible and scalable enough to efficiently support a wider range of business needs when each has its own specific set of performance, scalability and availability requirements. Furthermore, introduction of new network services should be made more efficient. Nevertheless, several use cases are anticipated to be active concurrently in the same operator network, thus requiring a high degree of flexibility and scalability of the <NUM> network.

In the <NUM> network architecture currently under development by 3GPP, Network Data Analytics (NWDA) is defined as a network function to represent operator managed network analytics. NWDA provides network slice specific network data analytics to the Policy Control Function (PCF). The subscription to NWDA by PCF is on a network slice level and the NWDA is not required to be aware of the current subscribers using the slice. NWDA notifies/publishes slice specific network status analytic information to the PCF(s) that are subscribed to it. This information is not subscriber specific. PCF uses that data in its policy decisions.

Also in the <NUM> network architecture currently under development by 3GPP, two types of data storage network functions (DSF) have been defined: (<NUM>) a structured DSF, and (<NUM>) an unstructured DSF. The <NUM> system architecture allows any network function to store and retrieve its unstructured data into/from a UDSF. The UDSF belongs to the same Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) where the network function is located. Control plane network functions (NFs) may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data or may each have their own UDSF (e.g. a UDSF may be located close to the respective network function). The UDSF is an optional function that supports Storage and retrieval of information as unstructured data by any network function.

The <NUM> system architecture also allows the Network Exposure Function (NEF) to store structured data in the SDSF intended for external and internal network exposure by the NEF. SDSF belongs to the same PLMN where the NEF is located. The SDSF is an optional function that supports storage and retrieval of information as structured data by the NEF. Prior art includes <CIT>.

Currently, the usage of NWDA is limited to provide network status (e.g. congestion level) to the PCF and the PCF will use the information to make policy decisions. However, in order to provide the analytics, it is not clear what information NWDA needs to collect, how it collects this information, and what the analytics information consists of beyond slice specific congestion information. Therefore, it is desired to define what information to collect by the NWDA and what types of analytics NWDA provides. There is also a need to define the mechanisms for information collection.

In addition, the network data analytics could benefit not only the policy related procedures, but also some other important network management processes, such as network function selection, mobility management and session management. In other words, NWDA should be able to interact with some network functions other than PCF to facilitate those procedures. Therefore, new interface and methods are needed to define how the NWDA interacts with other network functions and with the SCS/AS for providing the network data analytics. This is especially important for IoT applications, since there are usually a large number of IoT devices/connections, which may produce a large amount of data records. The network data analytics capability could supply critical statistics to network entities, network operator and service provider for more efficient network operation.

Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to limitations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

The following is a list of acronyms that may appear in the following description. Unless otherwise specified, the acronyms used herein refer to the corresponding terms listed below:.

The following terms may have the following meanings:.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) develops technical standards for cellular telecommunications network technologies, including radio access, the core transport network, and service capabilities - including work on codecs, security, and quality of service. Recent radio access technology (RAT) standards include WCDMA (commonly referred as <NUM>), LTE (commonly referred as <NUM>), and LTE-Advanced standards. 3GPP has begun working on the standardization of next generation cellular technology, called New Radio (NR), which is also referred to as "<NUM>. " 3GPP NR standards development is expected to include the definition of next generation radio access technology (new RAT), which is expected to include the provision of new flexible radio access below <NUM>, and the provision of new ultra-mobile broadband radio access above <NUM>. The flexible radio access is expected to consist of a new, non-backwards compatible radio access in new spectrum below <NUM>, and it is expected to include different operating modes that can be multiplexed together in the same spectrum to address a broad set of 3GPP NR use cases with diverging requirements. The ultra-mobile broadband is expected to include cmWave and mmWave spectrum that will provide the opportunity for ultra-mobile broadband access for, e.g., indoor applications and hotspots. In particular, the ultra-mobile broadband is expected to share a common design framework with the flexible radio access below <NUM>, with cmWave and mmWave specific design optimizations.

Network slicing is a mechanism that could be used by mobile network operators to support multiple 'virtual' networks behind the air interface across the fixed part of the mobile operator's network, both backhaul and core network. This involves 'slicing' the network into multiple virtual networks to support different radio access networks (RANs) or different service types running across a single RAN. Network slicing enables the operator to create networks customized to provide optimized solutions for different market scenarios which demands diverse requirements, e.g. in the areas of functionality, performance, and isolation. <FIG> shows a conceptual architecture of network slicing. A network slice instance is made up of a set of network functions and the resources to run these network functions. The different shading is used to indicate the different network slice instances or sub-network slice instances. A sub-network slice instance comprises a set of network functions and resources to run those network functions, but is not in itself a complete logical network. A sub-network slice instance may be shared by multiple network slice instances.

Network slicing enables the operator to create networks customized to provide optimized solutions for different market scenarios which demand diverse requirements, e.g. in the areas of functionality, performance and isolation. However, there are some challenges and issues to support network slicing in the future <NUM> network, for example:.

<FIG> shows the non-roaming reference architecture with service-based interfaces within the Control Plane.

<FIG> depicts the <NUM> System architecture in the non-roaming case, using the reference point representation showing how various network functions interact with each other. Note that the mobility management and session management functions are separated. A single N1 Non Access Stratum (NAS) connection is used for both Registration Management and Connection Management (RM/CM) and for Session Management (SM)-related messages and procedures for a UE. The single N1 termination point is located in Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). The AMF forwards SM related NAS information to the Session Management Function (SMF). AMF handles the RM/CM part of NAS signaling exchanged with the UE. SMF handles the Session Management part of NAS signaling exchanged with the UE.

An Nnwda reference point resides between the Network Data Analytics (NWDA) and the PCF. In one implementation, the PCF could get analytics data from NWDA by either a request/response model or a subscription/notification model. <FIG> show these message flows. <FIG> illustrates an NWDA subscription service. <FIG> illustrates an Nnwda notification service, and <FIG> illustrates an NWDA request/response flow.

Also in the <NUM> network architecture currently under development by 3GPP, two types of data storage network functions (DSF) have been defined: (<NUM>) a structured DSF, and (<NUM>) an unstructured DSF. As shown in <FIG>, the <NUM> system architecture allows any network function to store and retrieve its unstructured data into/from a UDSF. The UDSF belongs to the same Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) where the network function is located. Control plane network functions (NFs) may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data or may each have their own UDSF (e.g. a UDSF may be located close to the respective network function). The UDSF is an optional function that supports Storage and retrieval of information as unstructured data by any network function.

As shown in <FIG>, the <NUM> system architecture allows the Network Exposure Function (NEF) to store structured data in the SDSF intended for external and internal network exposure by the NEF. SDSF belongs to the same PLMN where the NEF is located. The SDSF is an optional function that supports storage and retrieval of information as structured data by the NEF.

3GPP has identified a variety of use cases that New Radio (NR) is expected to support, resulting in a wide variety of user experience requirements for data rate, latency, and mobility. The use cases include the following general categories: enhanced mobile broadband (e.g., broadband access in dense areas, indoor ultra-high broadband access, broadband access in a crowd, <NUM>+ Mbps everywhere, ultra-low cost broadband access, mobile broadband in vehicles), critical communications, massive machine type communications, network operation (e.g., network slicing, routing, migration and interworking, energy savings), and enhanced vehicle-to-everything (eV2X) communications. Specific service and applications in these categories include, e.g., monitoring and sensor networks, device remote controlling, bi-directional remote controlling, personal cloud computing, video streaming, wireless cloud-based office, first responder connectivity, automotive ecall, disaster alerts, real-time gaming, multi-person video calls, autonomous driving, augmented reality, tactile internet, and virtual reality to name a few. All of these use cases and others are contemplated herein.

<FIG> illustrates one embodiment of an example communications system <NUM> in which the methods and apparatuses described and claimed herein may be embodied. As shown, the example communications system <NUM> may include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, and/or 102d (which generally or collectively may be referred to as WTRU <NUM>), a radio access network (RAN) <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>/103b/104b/105b, a core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) <NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and other networks <NUM>, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e may be any type of apparatus or device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. Although each WTRU 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e is depicted in <FIG> as a hand-held wireless communications apparatus, it is understood that with the wide variety of use cases contemplated for <NUM> wireless communications, each WTRU may comprise or be embodied in any type of apparatus or device configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals, including, by way of example only, user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, a netbook, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, consumer electronics, a wearable device such as a smart watch or smart clothing, a medical or eHealth device, a robot, industrial equipment, a drone, a vehicle such as a car, truck, train, or airplane, and the like.

The communications system <NUM> may also include a base station 114a and a base station 114b. Base stations 114a may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and/or the other networks <NUM>. Base stations 114b may be any type of device configured to wiredly and/or wirelessly interface with at least one of the RRHs (Remote Radio Heads) 118a, 118b and/or TRPs (Transmission and Reception Points) 119a, 119b to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and/or the other networks <NUM>. RRHs 118a, 118b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRU 102c, to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and/or the other networks <NUM>. TRPs 119a, 119b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRU 102d, to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and/or the other networks <NUM>. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, an eNode B, a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like.

The base station 114a may be part of the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114b may be part of the RAN 103b/104b/105b, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals within a particular geographic region, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). The base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wired and/or wireless signals within a particular geographic region, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). Thus, in an embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, e.g., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and, therefore, may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell.

The base stations 114a may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over an air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.). The air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

The base stations 114b may communicate with one or more of the RRHs 118a, 118b and/or TRPs 119a, 119b over a wired or air interface 115b/116b/117b, which may be any suitable wired (e.g., cable, optical fiber, etc.) or wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.). The air interface 115b/116b/117b may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

The RRHs 118a, 118b and/or TRPs 119a, 119b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102c, 102d over an air interface 115c/116c/117c, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, cmWave, mmWave, etc.). The air interface 115c/116c/117c may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

For example, the base station 114a in the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, or RRHs 118a, 118b and TRPs 119a, 119b in the RAN 103b/104b/105b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d, may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> or 115c/116c/117c respectively using wideband CDMA (WCDMA).

In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, or RRHs 118a, 118b and TRPs 119a, 119b in the RAN 103b/104b/105b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d, may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> or 115c/116c/117c respectively using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A). In the future, the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may implement 3GPP NR technology.

In an embodiment, the base station 114a in the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, or RRHs 118a, 118b and TRPs 119a, 119b in the RAN 103b/104b/105b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d, may implement radio technologies such as IEEE <NUM> (e.g., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard <NUM> (IS-<NUM>), Interim Standard <NUM> (IS-<NUM>), Interim Standard <NUM> (IS-<NUM>), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

The base station 114c in <FIG> may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, and the like. In an embodiment, the base station 114c and the WTRUs 102e, may implement a radio technology such as IEEE <NUM> to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114c and the WTRUs 102d, may implement a radio technology such as IEEE <NUM> to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114c and the WTRUs 102e, may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. Thus, the base station 114c may not be required to access the Internet <NUM> via the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>.

The RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and/or RAN 103b/104b/105b may be in communication with the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. For example, the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication.

Although not shown in <FIG>, it will be appreciated that the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and/or RAN 103b/104b/105b and/or the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and/or RAN 103b/104b/105b or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and/or RAN 103b/104b/105b, which may be utilizing an E-UTRA radio technology, the core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM radio technology.

The core network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, 102e to access the PSTN <NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, and/or other networks <NUM>. For example, the networks <NUM> may include another core network connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM> and/or RAN 103b/104b/105b or a different RAT.

Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system <NUM> may include multi-mode capabilities, e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, and 102e may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links. For example, the WTRU 102e shown in <FIG> may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114c, which may employ an IEEE <NUM> radio technology.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an example apparatus or device configured for wireless communications in accordance with the embodiments illustrated herein, such as for example, a WTRU <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the example WTRU <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, a transmit/receive element <NUM>, a speaker/microphone <NUM>, a keypad <NUM>, a display/touchpad/indicators <NUM>, non-removable memory <NUM>, removable memory <NUM>, a power source <NUM>, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset <NUM>, and other peripherals <NUM>. Also, embodiments contemplate that the base stations 114a and 114b, and/or the nodes that base stations 114a and 114b may represent, such as but not limited to transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B, a site controller, an access point (AP), a home node-B, an evolved home node-B (eNodeB), a home evolved node-B (HeNB), a home evolved node-B gateway, and proxy nodes, among others, may include some or all of the elements depicted in <FIG> and described herein.

The transmit/receive element <NUM> may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>. For example, in an embodiment, the transmit/receive element <NUM> may be an antenna configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In yet an embodiment, the transmit/receive element <NUM> may be configured to transmit and receive both RF and light signals.

Thus, in an embodiment, the WTRU <NUM> may include two or more transmit/receive elements <NUM> (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>.

The processor <NUM> of the WTRU <NUM> may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone <NUM>, the keypad <NUM>, and/or the display/touchpad/indicators <NUM> (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor <NUM> may also output user data to the speaker/microphone <NUM>, the keypad <NUM>, and/or the display/touchpad/indicators <NUM>. In an embodiment, the processor <NUM> may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU <NUM>, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

For example, the power source <NUM> may include one or more dry cell batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

For example, the peripherals <NUM> may include various sensors such as an accelerometer, biometrics (e.g., finger print) sensors, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port or other interconnect interfaces, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, and the like.

The WTRU <NUM> may be embodied in other apparatuses or devices, such as a sensor, consumer electronics, a wearable device such as a smart watch or smart clothing, a medical or eHealth device, a robot, industrial equipment, a drone, a vehicle such as a car, truck, train, or airplane. The WTRU <NUM> may connect to other components, modules, or systems of such apparatuses or devices via one or more interconnect interfaces, such as an interconnect interface that may comprise one of the peripherals <NUM>.

As noted above, the RAN <NUM> may employ a UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the RAN <NUM> may include Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c, which may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface <NUM>. The Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may each be associated with a particular cell (not shown) within the RAN <NUM>. The RAN <NUM> may also include RNCs 142a, 142b. It will be appreciated that the RAN <NUM> may include any number of Node-Bs and RNCs while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

As shown in <FIG>, the Node-Bs 140a, 140b may be in communication with the RNC 142a. Additionally, the Node-B 140c may be in communication with the RNC 142b. The Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c may communicate with the respective RNCs 142a, 142b via an Iub interface. The RNCs 142a, 142b may be in communication with one another via an Iur interface. Each of the RNCs 142a, 142b may be configured to control the respective Node-Bs 140a, 140b, 140c to which it is connected. In addition, each of the RNCs 142a, 142b may be configured to carry out or support other functionality, such as outer loop power control, load control, admission control, packet scheduling, handover control, macro-diversity, security functions, data encryption, and the like.

As noted above, the RAN <NUM> may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface <NUM>.

In an embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink and/or downlink, and the like.

The MME <NUM> may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN <NUM> via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. The MME <NUM> may also provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN <NUM> and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM or WCDMA.

The serving gateway <NUM> may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN <NUM> via the S1 interface. The serving gateway <NUM> may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The serving gateway <NUM> may also perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when downlink data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

The RAN <NUM> may be an access service network (ASN) that employs IEEE <NUM> radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface <NUM>. As will be further discussed below, the communication links between the different functional entities of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, the RAN <NUM>, and the core network <NUM> may be defined as reference points.

As shown in <FIG>, the RAN <NUM> may include base stations 180a, 180b, 180c, and an ASN gateway <NUM>, though it will be appreciated that the RAN <NUM> may include any number of base stations and ASN gateways while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The base stations 180a, 180b, 180c may each be associated with a particular cell in the RAN <NUM> and may include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface <NUM>. In an embodiment, the base stations 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the base station 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. The base stations 180a, 180b, 180c may also provide mobility management functions, such as handoff triggering, tunnel establishment, radio resource management, traffic classification, quality of service (QoS) policy enforcement, and the like. The ASN gateway <NUM> may serve as a traffic aggregation point and may be responsible for paging, caching of subscriber profiles, routing to the core network <NUM>, and the like.

The air interface <NUM> between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and the RAN <NUM> may be defined as an R1 reference point that implements the IEEE <NUM> specification. In addition, each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c may establish a logical interface (not shown) with the core network <NUM>. The logical interface between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and the core network <NUM> may be defined as an R2 reference point, which may be used for authentication, authorization, IP host configuration management, and/or mobility management.

The communication link between each of the base stations 180a, 180b, and 180c may be defined as an R8 reference point that includes protocols for facilitating WTRU handovers and the transfer of data between base stations. The communication link between the base stations 180a, 180b, 180c and the ASN gateway <NUM> may be defined as an R6 reference point. The R6 reference point may include protocols for facilitating mobility management based on mobility events associated with each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

The communication link between the RAN <NUM> and the core network <NUM> may be defined as an R3 reference point that includes protocols for facilitating data transfer and mobility management capabilities, for example.

The MIP-HA may be responsible for IP address management, and may enable the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c to roam between different ASNs and/or different core networks. The MIP-HA <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet <NUM>, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The AAA server <NUM> may be responsible for user authentication and for supporting user services. The gateway <NUM> may facilitate interworking with other networks. For example, the gateway <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN <NUM>, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. In addition, the gateway <NUM> may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the networks <NUM>, which may include other wired or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers.

The core network entities described herein and illustrated in <FIG> are identified by the names given to those entities in certain existing 3GPP specifications, but it is understood that in the future those entities and functionalities may be identified by other names and certain entities or functions may be combined in future specifications published by 3GPP, including future 3GPP NR specifications. Thus, the particular network entities and functionalities described and illustrated in <FIG> are provided by way of example only, and it is understood that the subject matter disclosed and claimed herein may be embodied or implemented in any similar communication system, whether presently defined or defined in the future.

The <NUM> core network <NUM> shown in <FIG> may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) <NUM>, a session management function (SMF) <NUM>, a user plane function (UPF) <NUM>, a user data management function (UDM) <NUM>, an authentication server function (AUSF) <NUM>, a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a policy control function (PCF) <NUM>, a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) <NUM> and an application function (AF) <NUM>. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the <NUM> core network <NUM>, it will be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the core network operator. It should also be appreciated that a <NUM> core network may not consist of all of these elements, may consist of additional elements, and may consist of multiple instances of each of these elements. <FIG> shows that network functions directly connect to one another, however, it should be appreciated that they may communicate via routing agents such as diameter routing agents or message buses.

The AMF <NUM> may be connected to each of the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>/103b/104b/105b via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF <NUM> may be responsible for registration management, connection management, reachability management, access authentication, access authorization. The AMF <NUM> may generally route and forward NAS packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

The SMF <NUM> may be connected to the AMF <NUM> via an N11 interface, maybe connected to a PCF <NUM> via an N7 interface, and may be connected to the UPF <NUM> via an N4 interface. The SMF <NUM> may serve as a control node. For example, the SMF <NUM> may be responsible for Session Management, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c IP address allocation & management and configuration of traffic steering rules in the UPF <NUM>, and generation of downlink data notifications.

The SMF <NUM> may also be connected to the UPF <NUM>, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to a data network (DN) <NUM>, such as the Internet <NUM>, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The SMF <NUM> may manage and configure traffic steering rules in the UPF <NUM> via the N4 interface. The UPF <NUM> may be responsible for interconnecting a packet data unit (PDU) session with a data network, packet routing and forwarding, policy rule enforcement, quality of service handling for user plane traffic, and downlink packet buffering.

The AMF <NUM> may also be connected to the N3IWF <NUM> via an N2 interface. The N3IWF facilities a connection between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and the <NUM> core network <NUM> via radio interface technologies that are not defined by 3GPP.

The PCF <NUM> may be connected to the SMF <NUM> via an N7 interface, connected to the AMF <NUM> via an N15 interface, and connected to an application function (AF) <NUM> via an N5 interface. The PCF <NUM> may provide policy rules to control plane nodes such as the AMF <NUM> and SMF <NUM>, allowing the control plane nodes to enforce these rules.

The UDM <NUM> acts as a repository for authentication credentials and subscription information. The UDM may connect to other functions such as the AMF <NUM>, SMF <NUM>, and AUSF <NUM>.

The AUSF <NUM> performs authentication related operations and connects to the UDM <NUM> via an N13 interface and to the AMF <NUM> via an N12 interface.

The NEF exposes capabilities and services in the <NUM> core network <NUM>. The NEF may connect to an AF <NUM> via an interface and it may connect to other control plane and user plane functions (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and N3IWF) in order to expose the capabilities and services of the <NUM> core network <NUM>.

The <NUM> core network <NUM> may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the core network <NUM> may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the <NUM> core network <NUM> and the PSTN <NUM>. For example, the core network <NUM> may include, or communicate with a short message service (SMS) service center that facilities communication via the short message service. For example, the <NUM> core network <NUM> may facilitate the exchange of non-IP data packets between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and servers.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system <NUM> in which one or more apparatuses of the communications networks illustrated or described herein may be embodied, such as certain nodes or functional entities in the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, Core Network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, PSTN <NUM>, Internet <NUM>, or Other Networks <NUM>.

Computing system <NUM> may comprise a computer or server and may be controlled primarily by computer readable instructions, which may be in the form of software, wherever, or by whatever means such software is stored or accessed. Such computer readable instructions may be executed within a processor <NUM>, to cause computing system <NUM> to do work. The processor <NUM> may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the computing system <NUM> to operate in a communications network. Coprocessor <NUM> is an optional processor, distinct from main processor <NUM>, that may perform additional functions or assist processor <NUM>. Processor <NUM> and/or coprocessor <NUM> may receive, generate, and process data related to the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein.

In operation, processor <NUM> fetches, decodes, and executes instructions, and transfers information to and from other resources via the computing system's main data-transfer path, system bus <NUM>. Such a system bus connects the components in computing system <NUM> and defines the medium for data exchange. System bus <NUM> typically includes data lines for sending data, address lines for sending addresses, and control lines for sending interrupts and for operating the system bus. An example of such a system bus <NUM> is the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus.

Memories coupled to system bus <NUM> include random access memory (RAM) <NUM> and read only memory (ROM) <NUM>. Such memories include circuitry that allows information to be stored and retrieved. ROMs <NUM> generally contain stored data that cannot easily be modified. Data stored in RAM <NUM> can be read or changed by processor <NUM> or other hardware devices. Access to RAM <NUM> and/or ROM <NUM> may be controlled by memory controller <NUM>. Memory controller <NUM> may provide an address translation function that translates virtual addresses into physical addresses as instructions are executed. Memory controller <NUM> may also provide a memory protection function that isolates processes within the system and isolates system processes from user processes. Thus, a program running in a first mode can access only memory mapped by its own process virtual address space; it cannot access memory within another process's virtual address space unless memory sharing between the processes has been set up.

In addition, computing system <NUM> may contain peripherals controller <NUM> responsible for communicating instructions from processor <NUM> to peripherals, such as printer <NUM>, keyboard <NUM>, mouse <NUM>, and disk drive <NUM>.

Display <NUM>, which is controlled by display controller <NUM>, is used to display visual output generated by computing system <NUM>. Such visual output may include text, graphics, animated graphics, and video. The visual output may be provided in the form of a graphical user interface (GUI). Display <NUM> may be implemented with a CRT-based video display, an LCD-based flat-panel display, gas plasma-based flat-panel display, or a touch-panel. Display controller <NUM> includes electronic components required to generate a video signal that is sent to display <NUM>.

Further, computing system <NUM> may contain communication circuitry, such as for example a network adapter <NUM>, that may be used to connect computing system <NUM> to an external communications network, such as the RAN <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, Core Network <NUM>/<NUM>/<NUM>, PSTN <NUM>, Internet <NUM>, or Other Networks <NUM> of <FIG>, to enable the computing system <NUM> to communicate with other nodes or functional entities of those networks. The communication circuitry, alone or in combination with the processor <NUM>, may be used to perform the transmitting and receiving steps of certain apparatuses, nodes, or functional entities described herein.

It is understood that any or all of the apparatuses, systems, methods and processes described herein may be embodied in the form of computer executable instructions (e.g., program code) stored on a computer-readable storage medium which instructions, when executed by a processor, such as processors <NUM> or <NUM>, cause the processor to perform and/or implement the systems, methods and processes described herein. Specifically, any of the steps, operations or functions described herein may be implemented in the form of such computer executable instructions, executing on the processor of an apparatus or computing system configured for wireless and/or wired network communications. Computer readable storage media include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any non-transitory (e.g., tangible or physical) method or technology for storage of information, but such computer readable storage media do not includes signals. Computer readable storage media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other tangible or physical medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computing system.

In one example scenario that may be helpful in illustrating the methods and apparatus described herein, an M2M service provider may place multiple sensors and cameras inside a manufacturing factory. Some sensors and cameras could be used for monitoring the real-time manufacturing activities in the factory, and other sensors could be used to perform measurements based on requests from an M2M server.

With a network data analytics (NWDA) function provisioned by a <NUM> core network, the M2M server (i.e., SCS/AS) may provide some information, so that the NWDA is able to provide more accurate and richer information to the PCF and other network functions. For example, the M2M server may inform the NWDA that all the sensors within the factory will only send infrequent small data, and that this data is only mobile originated (i.e., uplink link) from the sensors to the M2M server. The downlink data will be only group based. In other words, M2M server is always broadcasting the mobile terminated data to a group of sensors. More specifically, M2M server may even provide some parameters in this case, such as the estimated frequency of the mobile originated small data as well as the group size for the mobile terminated group communication. Combining this information with the network slice congestion level at NWDA can help the network slice assignment and session management process.

As another example, regarding the applications of using the cameras, the M2M server may inform the NWDA about the required QoS for transferring the video stream, and that mobility support is not required. This information also helps the network slice assignment as well as the mobility management.

In addition, the M2M server may subscribe to some events and statistics at NWDA, so that it will be notified and take corresponding actions when the subscribed events take place. For example, the M2M server may subscribe to events related to the session level congestion of the sensor reporting application. If the session level congestion exceeds a certain threshold over a time period, the NWDA will notify the M2M server, which may start working with some network entities to mitigate the congestion, such as increasing the capacity of existing session or establishing a new session.

As another example, the M2M server may also subscribe to an event triggered when the video data transfer exceeds a certain data rate over a period of time on the application level, e.g., too many cameras send data at the same time. In this case the M2M server may allocate more resources to process video data or to schedule the cameras to stream data at different time intervals.

As another example, the M2M server may subscribe to an event triggered when any UE (e.g., sensor or camera) is in CONNECTED state for a long time without sending/receiving the data. In this case, M2M server may ask a network entity to adjust the sleeping cycle for the UE.

The M2M server may also be interested in the event that a network slice serving the UEs which register with the server becomes overloaded in terms of total number of connections or total amount of traffic. So, the M2M server may request an additional network slice or more network resources within the network slice for better service quality.

As yet another example, the M2M server may be interested in some combination of events, which is only known within the core network, or NWDA. For example, the M2M server may want to know the average uplink data rate of a set of UEs, if these UEs are in a certain geographic area (e.g., a registration area or tracking area), and if any of these UEs are using a UPF that experiences heavy load. The geographic area information may come from AMF, while uplink data rate and UPF load information may come from SMF/UPF. In this case, NWDA is the network entity that knows both information, and thus is able to generate the desired network data analytics for the M2M server.

Addressing these and other shortcomings, disclosed hereinafter are new types of network data analytics and mechanisms for a new NWDA framework, which enable a new and improved network data analytics capability in the <NUM> core network.

<FIG> shows one embodiment of an architecture supporting a network data analytics function. The interfaces between NWDA and AMF (SMF, DSF, NEF and UPF) are defined hereinafter. The NWDA may also be referred to herein as a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF).

Disclosed hereinafter are methods by which the NWDA may collect information to generate network data analytics. The network entities involved may include NFs within the <NUM> core network and the SCS/AS. NEF may be used as an intermediate node when NWDA pulls some information from SCS/AS or when the SCS/AS obtains information from the NWDA. In one embodiment, the NWDA may retrieve information from different network entities using one of two models: (<NUM>) a subscription and notification model in which the NWDA subscribes to certain events at network entities, and gets a notification when the event happens; or (<NUM>) a request and response model in which the NWDA sends request message to network entities for querying information, and gets the response accordingly.

<FIG> illustrates one embodiment of a method by which the NWDA collects information for analytics through a subscription/notification model. In this embodiment, to make a subscription at the SCS/AS, the NEF is involved as an intermediate entity for the message forwarding. The method of <FIG> may be triggered by one or more of the following events:.

Referring to <FIG>, in step <NUM>, the NWDA sends a subscription request to an NF to subscribe to certain events. The NF may be a DSF, AMF, SMF, or UPF. In the request, the NWDA may indicate different types of subscribed events with the desired parameters. In one embodiment, the NWDA may subscribe to the following events at a SMF:.

With this event information from the SMF, the NWDA may be able to keep track of the different statistics, such as the SMF's load and downlink data storage. This statistic information may be provided to an AMF and used by the AMF when selecting an SMF or by another SMF in roaming scenarios. The AMF could read this information from the NWDA during a PDU session establishment procedure and use it to select an SMF. In addition, the NWDA may combine this SMF load balance statistics with network slice information. For example, there may be <NUM> PDU sessions, each with a guaranteed bit rate <NUM> GB/s managed by SMFs in a network slice, so that the statistics may be used for selecting a network slice or deciding whether to create a new network slice.

If the NWDA detects conditions related to the number of failed connection attempts or connection attempts that result in an error, it may be indicative of a denial of service style attack and the NWDA may send a notification to a network administrator, or instruct the SMF to reject all new connections, all new connections that fall into a certain category or from certain users, or only allow new connections if they fall into a certain category or come from certain users.

In one embodiment, the NWDA may subscribe to the following events at an AMF:.

Given these events and information from the AMF, the NWDA is able to track the work load statistics of an AMF including NAS signaling, PDU session through control plane and non-3GPP access signaling via N3IWF.

If the NWDA detects conditions related to the number of failed connection attempts or connection attempts that result in an error, it may be indicative of a denial of service style attack and the NWDA may send a notification to a network administrator, or instruct the AMF to reject all new connections, all new connections that fall into a certain category or from certain users, or only allow new connections if they fall into a certain category or come from certain users.

In one embodiment, the NWDA may subscribe to the following events at a UPF:.

Given these information from the UPF, the NWDA is able to track the traffic statistics through the user plane. For example, it may track what percentage of traffic going through the UPF is for roaming scenario, for non-3GPP access, or for local data network.

If the NWDA detects conditions related to the number of failed connection attempts or connection attempts that result in an error, it may be indicative of a denial of service style attack and the NWDA may send a notification to a network administrator, or instruct the UPF to reject all new connections, all new connections that fall into a certain category or from certain users, or only allow new connections if they fall into a certain category or come from certain users.

In one embodiment, the NWDA may subscribe to the following events at a PCF:.

Referring again to <FIG>, in step <NUM>, the target NF sends a response message to confirm the subscription.

Next, as illustrated in step <NUM>, over time, when the subscribed event takes place, the NF sends a notification message to indicate the type of event, and the NF identity. Some more information may be provided as well to associate with the event. Therefore, the NWDA is able to analyze the data and generate statistics for different levels, such as per connection (e.g., PDU session or NAS connection), per slice, per NF or per UE.

As illustrated in steps 4a - 4b, in order to subscribe to some events at the SCS/AS, the NWDA may send the subscription request to the NEF, which forwards the request to the targeted SCS/AS. In one embodiment, the NWDA may subscribe to the following events at an SCS/AS:.

Next, as illustrated in steps 5a - 5b, the SCS/AS returns the response to confirm the subscription.

In step <NUM>, when the subscribed event takes place, the SCS/AS notifies the NWDA with the event type and some related information. In this example, the NEF is used as an intermediate forwarding node.

Once the NWDA gets notification about the occurrence of the subscribed events and the related information, NWDA may trigger the data analytics process to update the statistics that may be impacted by the new piece of information. Alternatively, the NWDA may periodically perform the data analytics process to update the statistics based on the information received during the past time period.

<FIG> shows a method by which an NWDA collects information for data analytics by sending a request and receiving a response message. Compared with the subscription/notification model, the request/response model is more like a one-time information collection. To get the information from the SCS/AS, a NEF may be an intermediate entity for the message forwarding.

Referring to <FIG>, in step <NUM>, the NWDA sends the request message to the target NF. In one embodiment, the NWDA may request one or more of the following information from a SMF:.

NWDA may request the following information from an AMF:.

NWDA may request the following information from a UPF:.

NWDA may request the following information from a PCF:.

Referring still to <FIG>, in step <NUM>, upon receiving the request, the NF returns the response message including the requested information to the NWDA for further processing.

As illustrated in steps 3a - 3b, the NWDA sends a request to the SCS/AS via the NEF for getting desired information. In one embodiment, the NWDA may request the following information from a SCS/AS:.

As illustrated in steps 4a - 4b, the SCS/AS returns the response message via NEF to NWDA. In one embodiment, it is possible that SCS/AS sends back a reference (e.g., URI) of data set to the NWDA. The reference may be used to access a data set which is associated with an ontology (i.e., vocabulary) and is maintained within core network (e.g., DSF), or in an external place. The NWDA may retrieve the data and perform the analytics. Similarly, NFs may send such a reference to the NWDA as well instead of direct data.

Note, it is possible that NFs and SCS/AS subscribe to the network data analytics information at the NWDA. In other words, notification may be sent out once the information is updated.

Disclosed hereinafter are new types of data analytics that could be requested by an SCS/AS and by NFs, or pre-provisioned by the NWDA. Also disclosed are methods of how an SCS/AS may obtain data analytics from NWDA via the NEF.

Other than a PCF, the NWDA described herein may provide new types of network data analytics to other NFs, mainly the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF) and User Plane Function (UPF).

In one embodiment, the NWDA may provide the following network data analytics to an AMF:.

NWDA may provide the following network data analytics to SMF:.

NWDA may provide the following network data analytics to UPF:.

NWDA may provide the following network data analytics to PCF:.

Note, the above information may be per NF, per connection (e.g., PDU session, NAS connection), per network slice, or per PLMN, while it is also possible that the NWDA generates some UE specific analytics. This information could be per certain area/location, e.g., total number of guaranteed data rates within a registration area/service area, or per a group of NFs/UEs. In addition, based on the real-time network statistics, such as the above information, NWDA may provide some operation guidance and/or rules to NF. For example, NWDA may generate a network performance metric indicating that some PDU session anchored at a UPF is near overloaded, and it may send a message to SMFs not to select the UPF when creating a PDU session with high data rates or with a large amount of traffic. As another example, NWDA may notify the NSSF and AMF to select a network slice instance to serve those roaming UEs since it has more mobility management capabilities that are not used yet. The operation guidance and rules may be more dynamic than the policy maintained at a PCF, and may be changed more frequently compared with the policies in the PCF.

After generating any of the information above, the NWDA may send the information to a GUI, notify other NF's that the data is available, or send a request to a management and orchestration system to request that section NF's be scaled up or down. Scaling an NF up or down may entail requesting that more resources be allocated to an NF or that an NF be allowed to allocate more network resources e.g. by supporting more connections.

With different analytic data available at the NWDA, an SCS/AS (e.g., M2M server) may subscribe to some events pertaining to some types of statistics, so that the SCS/AS is notified to improve the service provisioning as the subscribed event takes place. Specifically, the subscription and notification message may be sent via a NEF between the NWDA and the SCS/AS. <FIG> illustrates one embodiment of this method.

As shown, in step <NUM>, the SCS/AS sends a request message to NWDA for subscribing to certain events. In particular, the SCS/AS may be interested in the following network data analytics:.

In step <NUM>, the NWDA returns the response message to confirm the subscription.

As illustrated in step <NUM>, at some point in time thereafter, when the event takes place or the subscribed information is updated, the NWDA sends notification to the SCS/AS including the subscribed information or the updated information.

In another embodiment, the request/response model may be employed instead of the subscription model. In that alternative embodiment, the method may be similar to that illustrated in <FIG>, where the SCS/AS sends a request message to the NEF, which forwards the message to the NWDA for obtaining the desired analytics information. Alternatively, the NEF could perform a subscription on behalf of the SCS/AS.

Achieved QoS information may be useful to an SCS/AS in the scenario where packet delay needs to be kept to a minimum. When the delay is observed to increase, it may be desirable to trigger changing from a UPF that is farther to a UPF that is closer to the UE or the server that the UE is communicating with. This change of UPF may be triggered by the NWDA or a request from the SCS/AS that is routed via the NEF.

According to another aspect disclosed herein, during the network configuration phase, the NWDA may register with the NRF and provide the available types of data analytics, so that any network function is able to discover what types of data analytics are available through a discovery process with the NRF.

One possible benefit is that any NF, even in a different PLMN, may quickly find out the available types of network data analytics without communicating directly with the NWDA. The discovery interface or API with NRF may be unified and standard for all network entities.

<FIG> illustrates one embodiment of a method by which the NWDA may register with the NRF, including providing specific information for discovery.

As shown, in step <NUM>, the NWDA sends a registration request to NRF to declare that network data analytics is available as a network service within the core network. In one embodiment, the request may include the following information:.

Next, in step <NUM>, the NRF sends a response message to NWDA to indicate if the registration request is accepted or not.

With NWDA registered to NRF, other NFs and SCS/AS are able to discover what types of network data analytics are available. This may be done by performing an NF discovery procedure to discover NWDA and the available types of network data analytics.

According to another aspect, the NWDA may also update the types of network data analytics it provides with the NRF if it provides a new type of network data analytics or discontinues a type of network data analytics. It is also possible that the NWDA adds or removes some conditions on the data analytics provisioning.

In one embodiment, the update procedure may be triggered by one of the following events:.

<FIG> illustrates one embodiment of a method by which the NWDA may update the available types of data analytics, limitation for data analytics provisioning, or both.

In step <NUM>, the NWDA sends an update request to the NRF. In the request message, the NWDA may indicate whether it wants to add, remove or modify a type of network data analytics, or some conditions associated with accesses to a certain type of data analytics.

In step <NUM>, the NRF confirms the update operation to the NWDA.

Similar to the method illustrated in <FIG>, it is also possible that the NFs provide the available types of event and information (e.g., those mentioned above) for network data analytics when registering with the NRF, so that the NWDA may obtain this information when registering with the NRF.

In addition, when an NF is instantiated, it will register with NRF. As a result, the NF will know that there is a NWDA, and what events and information the NWDA is interested in. Therefore, the NF may send information at an instance in time or periodically.

According to another aspect disclosed herein, an NWDA may store analytics data in a data storage function (DSF) of the network, so that other NFs and the SCS/AS may retrieve analytics data from the DSF, instead of obtain the analytics data form the NWDA itself. In the proposed <NUM> core network, a data storage function (DSF) is defined based on the concept of separating the computing capability from the storage capability in order to enable a service based architecture. As mentioned above by way of background, both structured DSF (SDSF) and unstructured DSF (UDSF) are defined currently by the 3GPP. The methods described hereinafter may be considered as a complementary method for NFs and the SCS/AS to access the network data analytics.

By storing the analytics data separately in a DSF, any NF or AS that is interested in the analytics data is not required to interact directly with the NWDA. They can directly retrieve the analytics data from a DSF as long as they are allowed to do so. This is especially convenient for the roaming scenario if a management application running in a UE wants some analytics data. Moreover, network data analytics can be provided as a service, and an external entity can get the data directly from a DSF without knowing or contacting the NWDA in the core network.

<FIG> illustrates one embodiment of a method of storing network data analytics in a DSF. As shown, in step <NUM>, after performing network data analytics, the NWDA may send a request to a DSF to store the generated analytics data.

Next, in step <NUM>, the DSF may verify the data storage request and store the data content. The response may be returned with an identifier (ID), such as a uniform resource indicator (URI) or uniform resource locator (URL) of the stored data content. This ID can help to access the data since there may be a large amount of data stored at the DSF from different data providers.

In step <NUM>, upon receiving a response, the NWDA may notify some NFs and/or the SCS/AS about the new network data analytics, and may provide the ID to access the data in the DSF. The ID may be used by NFs or the SCS/AS to obtain the data analytics from the DSF.

As illustrated in Figures 4a - 4b, the NF and/or SCS/AS may send a request to the DSF for retrieving the new data analytics. Alternatively, the NFs and/or SCS/AS may also subscribe to get updates on the analytics data. The request message may contain the following information:.

As illustrated in step <NUM>, upon receiving the request, the DSF may verify if the requestor is allowed to access the target network data analytics. If the DSF does not have the capability to do so or have enough information for the access control verification, the DSF may resort to the NWDA or UDM for help.

In step <NUM>, if the access control check is passed, the DSF returns a response including the desired network data analytics to the requesting NF and/or SCS/AS.

As illustrated in step <NUM>, sometimes, the NWDA may generate new statistics based on the latest information it collects, and the NWDA may send an update request to the DSF.

In step <NUM>, the DSF updates the data set accordingly and returns a response for confirmation.

In step <NUM>, the DSF may notify the interested NFs and/or SCS/AS about the analytics update if subscriptions were previously made or in response to requests for retrieving the latest network data analytics in the DSF. Alternatively, the NWDA may send out the notification directly to an NF or the SCS/AS.

According to yet another aspect, in some cases, the network entities, the SCS/AS, or the UE may want to request that the NWDA perform an enhanced data analytics by linking or stitching together already supported data analytics. This may be extremely useful in cases where the network may not want to expose the individual data analytics to the SCS/AS but may be ok with exposing the linked information. For example, an operator may not want to expose the location of its UEs, but may be willing to monitor the location of these UEs and send a notification to the SCS/AS if the UEs are in a certain location and if one of them has uplink traffic that flows through a certain UPF.

<FIG>illustrates one embodiment of a method for providing composite data analytics upon request.

As shown in step <NUM>, a network entity (e.g. NF, SCS/AS, or UE), discovers the data analytics that are provided by the network. The entity may send a discovery request to the NRF to find out what types of analytics the NWDA is capable of providing.

In step <NUM>, the network responds with the list of supported data analytics, e.g., data analytics <NUM> (DA1), DA2, DA3, etc..

In step <NUM>, the network entity (e.g. NF, SCS/AS, or UE) creates a composite data analytic logic, for example using If/Then constructs and Boolean logic. For example, the composite data analytic logic may have the form: DA3 If (DA1>thresh1) AND (DA2 == Level <NUM>).

In step <NUM>, the definition of the new composite data analytic logic is sent to the NWDA via the analytics request message.

In step <NUM>, the he NWDA performs the requested data analytics, and in step <NUM>, the NWDA returns the analytics results to the network entity.

In step <NUM>, the NWDA updates the NRF with the new composite data analytic that is being provided, so that this new composite data analytics can be exposed during the discovery procedure.

In step <NUM>, the NRF may return a response to confirm the update.

As discussed above, the NWDA may provide network data analytics as a service to NFs and SCS/AS. An example definition for such as service may be as set forth in Table <NUM>.

As also discussed above, the NWDA may obtain various information for generating network data analytics. Specific to the AMF, an example definition for this new service may be as set forth in <FIG>. Note that, similar services may be defined for the SMF, UPF and other NFs for network data analytics.

Each of the entities performing the steps illustrated in <FIG>, such as the NWDA, NF, AMF, SMF, NRF, UPF, SCS/AS, NEF, NRF, DSF, PCF, and the like, may be logical entities that may be implemented in the form of software (i.e., computer-executable instructions) stored in a memory of, and executing on a processor of, an apparatus configured for wireless and/or network communications or a computer system such as those illustrated in <FIG> or <FIG>. That is, the method(s) illustrated in <FIG> may be implemented in the form of software (i.e., computer-executable instructions) stored in a memory of an apparatus, such as the apparatus or computer system illustrated in <FIG> or <FIG>, which computer executable instructions, when executed by a processor of the apparatus, perform the steps illustrated in <FIG>. It is also understood that the functionality illustrated in <FIG> may implemented as a set of virtualized network functions. The network functions may not necessarily communicate directly, rather, they may communicate via forwarding or routing functions. It is also understood that any transmitting and receiving steps illustrated in <FIG> may be performed by communication circuitry of the apparatus/entity under control of the processor of the apparatus and the computer-executable instructions (e.g., software) that it executes.

According to yet another aspect, a network operator (i.e., provider of the mobile core network), a service provider (i.e., SCS/AS) and/or a UE may be equipped to configure the network data analytics function described herein, for example so as to specify what types of events and analytics the entity may wish to subscribe or provide. <FIG> illustrates one example of a user interface that can be used by or displayed by a network operator, service provider or UE to enable the NWDA service described herein to be configured in the core network. For example, at any one of the logical entities illustrated in <FIG>, the graphical user interface illustrates in <FIG> may be displayed on a display, such as the display <NUM> of <FIG> or display <NUM> of <FIG> of an apparatus implementing that logical entity.

The illustrations of the aspects described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structure and operation of the various aspects. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of all of the elements and features of apparatuses and systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many other aspects may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure. Other aspects may be utilized and derived from the disclosure.

Claim 1:
A network apparatus connected to a mobile network, the network apparatus comprising one or more processors (<NUM>, <NUM>) and memory (<NUM>), the memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
sending a subscription request to a plurality of other network apparatuses in the mobile network to provide mobile network status data maintained or monitored by each of the plurality of other network apparatuses in response to an event at each of the plurality of other network apparatuses;
receiving a notification from each of the plurality of other network apparatuses, each notification comprising the mobile network status data requested from the other network apparatus;
generating, based on the received mobile network status data, network statistics;
sending, to a network repository function, NRF, of the mobile network, a request to register with the NRF, the request indicating to the NRF a network data analytics capability of the network apparatus and identifying one or more types of the generated network statistics; and
receiving a response to the registration request from the NRF.