Patent Description:
In some cases, wireless networks, such as NR and LTE networks, may deploy edge computing devices, so named because they reside at an "edge" of the network. Edge computing devices may support dynamic distribution of processing of data and/or content between the edge computing devices and a wireless device, such as a UE. <CIT> discloses that an NR network slicing architecture may be used to facilitate network slice discovery and selection. Mechanisms to discover and select network slices may differ depending on whether a user equipment is in an idle mode or a connected mode. Further, in various examples, the network slice discovery and selection may be performed by a UE, a radio access network (RAN), or a core network (CN), based on a variety of selection criteria.

There still exists a need for enhancing the security of transmissions.

A solution is provided according to the subject matter of the independent claims.

After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description" one will understand how the features of this disclosure provide advantages that include improved communications a user equipment (UE) and a wireless network.

Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communications by a network entity. The method generally includes determining a network slicing instance, encoding an application identification (ID) field within a sequence of traffic descriptor bits with a random number corresponding to at least one of an application or the network slicing instance, and transmitting the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to a user equipment (UE).

Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE) operating system. The method generally includes transmitting a slicing service request to a network entity, receiving, from the network entity in a network slicing instance, a sequence of traffic descriptor bits comprising an application identification (ID) field, decoding the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to determine a random number encoded within the application ID field, determining an application ID based on the random number, and determining, based on the application ID, an application with data to be routed to the network slicing instance.

Certain aspects provide a network entity. The network entity generally includes a processing system configured to determine a network slicing instance and encode an application identification (ID) field within a sequence of traffic descriptor bits with a random number corresponding to at least one of an application or the network slicing instance; and a transmitter configured to transmit the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to a user equipment (UE).

Certain aspects provide a user equipment (UE). The UE generally includes a transmitter configured to transmit a slicing service request to a network entity; a receiver configured to receive, from the network entity in a network slicing instance, a sequence of traffic descriptor bits comprising an application identification (ID) field; and a processing system configured to decode the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to determine a random number encoded within the application ID field, determine an application ID based on the random number, and determine, based on the application ID, an application with data to be routed to the network slicing instance.

Certain aspects provide a network entity. The network entity generally includes means for determining a network slicing instance, means for encoding an application identification (ID) field within a sequence of traffic descriptor bits with a random number corresponding to at least one of an application or the network slicing instance, and means for transmitting the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to a user equipment (UE).

Certain aspects provide a user equipment (UE). The UE generally includes means for transmitting a slicing service request to a network entity, means for receiving, from the network entity in a network slicing instance, a sequence of traffic descriptor bits comprising an application identification (ID) field, means for decoding the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to determine a random number encoded within the application ID field, means for determining an application ID based on the random number, and means for determining, based on the application ID, an application with data to be routed to the network slicing instance.

Certain aspects provide a computer-readable medium for wireless communications by a network entity. The computer-readable medium generally includes codes executable to determine a network slicing instance, encode an application identification (ID) field within a sequence of traffic descriptor bits with a random number corresponding to at least one of an application or the network slicing instance, and transmit the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to a user equipment (UE).

Certain aspects provide a computer-readable medium for wireless communications by a user equipment (UE). The computer-readable medium generally includes codes executable to transmit a slicing service request to a network entity, receive, from the network entity in a network slicing instance, a sequence of traffic descriptor bits comprising an application identification (ID) field, decode the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to determine a random number encoded within the application ID field, determine an application ID based on the random number, and determine, based on the application ID, an application with data to be routed to the network slicing instance.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by a network entity. The apparatus generally includes a processing system configured to determine a network slicing instance and encode an application identification (ID) field within a sequence of traffic descriptor bits with a random number corresponding to at least one of an application or the network slicing instance, and an interface configured to output the sequence of traffic descriptor bits for transmission to a user equipment (UE).

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by a user equipment. The UE generally includes an interface configured to output a slicing service request for transmission to a network entity and obtain, from the network entity in a network slicing instance, a sequence of traffic descriptor bits comprising an application identification (ID) field, and a processing system configured to decode the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to determine a random number encoded within the application ID field, determine an application ID based on the random number and determine, based on the application ID, an application with data to be routed to the network slicing instance.

The APPENDIX includes details of aspects of the present disclosure.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to network slicing enhancements with randomly generated application identifiers.

For example, a BS <NUM> may be configured to perform operations <NUM> of <FIG>, while a UE <NUM> may be configured to perform operations <NUM> of <FIG>, to achieve network slicing enhancements with randomly generated application identifiers.

The techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, etc. The terms "networks" and "systems" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and Low Chip Rate (LCR). An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE <NUM>, IEEE <NUM>, IEEE <NUM>, Flash-OFDM®, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). Long Term Evolution (LTE) is an upcoming release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project <NUM>" (3GPP2). These various radio technologies and standards are known in the art. For clarity, certain aspects of the techniques are described below for LTE, and LTE terminology is used in much of the description below.

Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), which utilizes single carrier modulation and frequency domain equalization is a technique. SC-FDMA has similar performance and essentially the same overall complexity as those of OFDMA system. SC-FDMA signal has lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) because of its inherent single carrier structure. SC-FDMA has drawn great attention, especially in the uplink communications where lower PAPR greatly benefits the mobile terminal in terms of transmit power efficiency. It is currently a working assumption for uplink multiple access scheme in 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), or Evolved UTRA.

<FIG> shows a wireless communication network <NUM> in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. For example, evolved Node Bs <NUM> may cache content and transmit the cached content to user equipments (UEs) <NUM> as described herein.

Wireless communication network <NUM> may be an LTE network. The wireless network <NUM> may include a number of evolved Node Bs (eNBs) <NUM> and other network entities. An eNB may be a station that communicates with the UEs and may also be referred to as a base station, an access point, etc. A Node B is another example of a station that communicates with the UEs.

Each eNB <NUM> may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to a coverage area of an eNB and/or an eNB subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

An eNB may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. An eNB for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico eNB. An eNB for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto eNB or a home eNB. In the example shown in <FIG>, the eNBs 110a, 110b and 110c may be macro eNBs for the macro cells 102a, 102b and 102c, respectively. The eNB 110x may be a pico eNB for a pico cell 102x. The eNBs 110y and 110z may be femto eNBs for the femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells.

A relay station is a station that receives a transmission of data and/or other information from an upstream station (e.g., an eNB or a UE) and sends a transmission of the data and/or other information to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or an eNB). In the example shown in <FIG>, a relay station 110r may communicate with the eNB 110a and a UE 120r in order to facilitate communication between the eNB 110a and the UE 120r. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay eNB, a relay, etc..

The wireless network <NUM> may be a heterogeneous network that includes eNBs of different types, e.g., macro eNBs, pico eNBs, femto eNBs, relays, etc. These different types of eNBs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impact on interference in the wireless network <NUM>. For example, macro eNBs may have a high transmit power level (e.g., <NUM> Watts) whereas pico eNBs, femto eNBs and relays may have a lower transmit power level (e.g., <NUM> Watt).

For synchronous operation, the eNBs may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different eNBs may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the eNBs may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different eNBs may not be aligned in time.

A network controller <NUM> may couple to a set of eNBs and provide coordination and control for these eNBs. The network controller <NUM> may communicate with the eNBs <NUM> via a backhaul. The eNBs <NUM> may also communicate with one another, e.g., directly or indirectly via wireless or wireline backhaul.

The UEs <NUM> may be dispersed throughout the wireless network <NUM>, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, etc. A UE may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, etc. A UE may be able to communicate with macro eNBs, pico eNBs, femto eNBs, relays, etc. In <FIG>, a solid line with double arrows indicates desired transmissions between a UE and a serving eNB, which is an eNB designated to serve the UE on the downlink and/or uplink. A dashed line with double arrows indicates interfering transmissions between a UE and an eNB.

LTE utilizes orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. For example, the spacing of the subcarriers may be <NUM> and the minimum resource allocation (called a 'resource block') may be <NUM> subcarriers (or <NUM>). Consequently, the nominal FFT size may be equal to <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> for system bandwidth of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> megahertz (MHz), respectively. For example, a subband may cover <NUM> (i.e., <NUM> resource blocks), and there may be <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM> subbands for system bandwidth of <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>, respectively.

The wireless network <NUM> may also include UEs <NUM> capable of communicating with a core network via one or more radio access networks (RANs) that implement one or more radio access technologies (RATs). For example, according to certain aspects provided herein, the wireless network <NUM> may include co-located access points (APs) and/or base stations that provide communication through a first RAN implementing a first RAT and a second RAN implementing a second RAT. According to certain aspects, the first RAN may be a wide area wireless access network (WWAN) and the second RAN may be a wireless local area network (WLAN). Examples of WWAN may include, but not be limited to, for example, radio access technologies (RATs) such as LTE, UMTS, cdma2000, GSM, and the like. Examples of WLAN may include, but not be limited to, for example, RATs such as Wi-Fi or IEEE <NUM> based technologies, and the like.

According to certain aspects provided herein, the wireless network <NUM> may include co-located Wi-Fi access points (APs) and femto eNBs that provide communication through Wi-Fi and cellular radio links. As used herein, the term "co-located" generally means "in close proximity to," and applies to Wi-Fi APs or femto eNBs within the same device enclosure or within separate devices that are in close proximity to each other. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, as used herein, the term "femtoAP" may refer to a co-located Wi-Fi AP and femto eNB.

<FIG> is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a base station <NUM> (also known as an access point (AP)) and a UE <NUM> in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. For example, the various processors of BS <NUM> may be configured to perform (or cause UE <NUM> to perform) operations <NUM> of <FIG> and/or the various processors of UE <NUM> may be configured to perform operations <NUM> of <FIG>.

At the base station <NUM>, traffic data for a number of data streams is provided from a data source <NUM> to a transmit (TX) data processor <NUM>. In an aspect, each data stream is transmitted over a respective transmit antenna. TX data processor <NUM> formats, codes, and interleaves the traffic data for each data stream based on a particular coding scheme selected for that data stream to provide coded data.

The coded data for each data stream may be multiplexed with pilot data using OFDM techniques. The pilot data is typically a known data pattern that is processed in a known manner and may be used at the receiver system to estimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilot and coded data for each data stream is then modulated (i.e., symbol mapped) based on a particular modulation scheme (e.g., BPSK, QSPK, M-PSK, or M-QAM) selected for that data stream to provide modulation symbols. The data rate, coding, and modulation for each data stream may be determined by instructions performed by processor <NUM>.

Each receiver <NUM> receives and processes a respective symbol stream to provide one or more analog signals, and further conditions (e.g., amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to provide a modulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel.

At UE <NUM>, the transmitted modulated signals are received by NR antennas 252a through 252r, and the received signal from each antenna <NUM> is provided to a respective receiver (RCVR) 254a through 254r. Each receiver <NUM> conditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, and downconverts) a respective received signal, digitizes the conditioned signal to provide samples, and further processes the samples to provide a corresponding "received" symbol stream.

The processing by RX data processor <NUM> is complementary to that performed by TX MIMO processor <NUM> and TX data processor <NUM> at base station <NUM>.

A processor <NUM> periodically determines which pre-coding matrix to use.

The reverse link message is then processed by a TX data processor <NUM>, which also receives traffic data for a number of data streams from a data source <NUM>, modulated by a modulator <NUM>, conditioned by transmitters 254a through 254r, and transmitted back to base station <NUM>.

At base station <NUM>, the modulated signals from UE <NUM> are received by antennas <NUM>, conditioned by receivers <NUM>, demodulated by a demodulator <NUM>, and processed by a RX data processor <NUM> to extract the reserve link message transmitted by the UE <NUM>. Processor <NUM> then determines which pre-coding matrix to use for determining the beamforming weights and then processes the extracted message.

According to certain aspects, the controllers/processors <NUM> and <NUM> may direct the operation at the base station <NUM> and the UE <NUM>, respectively. According to an aspect, the processor <NUM>, TX data processor <NUM>, and/or other processors and modules at the base station <NUM> may perform or direct processes for the techniques described herein. According to another aspect, the processor <NUM>, RX data processor <NUM>, and/or other processors and modules at the UE <NUM> may perform or direct processes for the techniques described herein. For example, the processor <NUM>, TX data processor <NUM>, and/or other processors and modules at the base station <NUM> may perform or direct operations <NUM> of <FIG>, and/or other processors and modules at the UE <NUM> may perform or direct operations <NUM> of <FIG>.

As noted above, aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to network slicing enhancements with randomly generated application identifiers. For example, by handling requests of an application, a user equipment (UE) may be able to forward such requests to a network entity to receive an encoded random number token corresponding to the application to provide for improved indexing of applications on the UE.

In a conventional scenario, when applications that do not require special treatment (as identified by their application ID) request a wireless network connection, the HLOS sends an Internet Connection setup request to the modem to establish a default Internet PDU session. The requesting application, as well as other conventional applications, share this default Internet PDU session.

URSP applications, on the other hand, may require special treatment, such as special connection capabilities provided on a special network slice. In this context, a URSP application may refer to any application with data traffic that may be sent according to one or more URSP rules, for example, specifying a route selection descriptor (RSD). As such, a URSP application may not be able to share the default Internet PDU session. A network slice generally refers to a set of resources that effectively establish a logical network that runs on a shared physical infrastructure, capable of providing a negotiated service quality. The technology enabling network slicing is typically transparent to users (e.g., business customers/subscribers).

A PDU Session Establishment is the procedure allowing data transmission to a data network (DN) in a Network Slice. A PDU Session is associated with a single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) and a data network name (DNN). A UE that is registered in a PLMN and has obtained an Allowed NSSAI, indicates in the PDU Session Establishment procedure the SNSSAI according to a Network Slice Selection Policy (NSSP) in the URSP and, if available, the DNN the PDU Session will be related.

Currently, a network slice selection policy (NSSP) traffic descriptor "OS App Id field" is a fundamental component for a UE to index application to a particular network slicing instance. As shown in <FIG>, which is an example data traffic component type identifier, the "OS App Id Type" may be an octet of bits (as defined by current wireless standards) to provide a UE with information to search and match an application in running OS corresponding to the application ID. However, current implementations do not provide for encoding of the "OS App Id field" by UE vendors, application vendors, OS vendors, operators, and/or governments. In other words, no current solutions presently exist that provide for encoding and/or indexing multiple different applications using the "OS App Id field.

Accordingly, certain aspects provide for enhanced network slicing. For example, certain aspects provide for encoding/decoding an application identification (ID) field with a random number that corresponds to an application and/or a network slicing instance.

<FIG> illustrates example operations <NUM> for wireless communications by a network entity. For example, operations <NUM> may be performed, by a network entity (e.g., such as a BS <NUM> in the wireless communication network <NUM> of <FIG> or <FIG>) to enhance network slicing.

Operations <NUM> begin at <NUM>, by determining a network slicing instance. At <NUM>, the network entity encodes an application identification (ID) field within a sequence of traffic descriptor bits with a random number corresponding to at least one of an application or the network slicing instance. At <NUM>, the network entity transmits the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to a UE.

<FIG> illustrates example operations <NUM> for wireless communications by UE that may be considered complementary to operations <NUM> of <FIG>. For example, operations <NUM> may be performed by a UE (e.g., the UE <NUM> of <FIG> or <FIG>) to participate in enhanced network slicing with a network entity (e.g., a BS <NUM> performing operations <NUM> of <FIG>).

Operations <NUM> begin, at <NUM>, by transmitting a slicing service request to a network entity. At <NUM>, the UE receives, from the network entity in a network slicing instance, a sequence of traffic descriptor bits comprising an application ID field. At <NUM>, the UE decodes the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to determine a random number encoded within the application ID field. At <NUM>, the UE determines an application ID based on the random number. At <NUM>, the UE determines, based on the application ID, an application with data to be routed to the network slicing instance.

The operations shown in <FIG> and <FIG> may be understood with reference to the call flow diagram <NUM> of <FIG>. In other words, a network entity (e.g., a base station of the operator network) shown in <FIG> may perform operations <NUM> of <FIG>, while the UE may perform operations <NUM> of <FIG>.

As illustrated, the UE may determine that an application has requested a slicing instance. For example, an application on the UE may indicate that the application desires an ultra-reliable low latency connection (uRLLC) network slicing service.

The UE may transmit the request to a remote server (e.g., operated by a vendor for the requesting application), and the remote server may forward the request to the network (operator). In some cases, the request received by the network may include public land mobile network (PLMN) information and/or information regarding the application. In certain aspects, the request may be transmitted via a default data service (DDS) of the UE.

As illustrated, the network (operator) may generate a random number token (e.g., a hexadecimal random number). The network may encode, with a sequence of traffic descriptor bits, an application ID field related to the application with the randomly generated number. The network may the transmit the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to the remote server, which may forward the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to the UE at <NUM> to configure the UE to update a UE route selection policy (USRP).

As illustrated, the UE may update a USRP based on the reception of the random number token. In some cases, the application ID corresponding to the random number token is the same as the random number token "OS App Id " which is held by the application instance. For example, the UE may match the random number token to the application ID of the application. If the matching is successful, the UE may, route the application to the network slicing instance (e.g., the uRLLC network slicing instance).

For example, processors <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, and/or controller/processor <NUM> of the UE 120a and/or processors <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or controller/processor <NUM> of the BS 110a shown in <FIG> may be configured to perform operations <NUM> of <FIG> and operations of <FIG>.

Means for receiving may include a transceiver, a receiver or at least one antenna and at least one receive processor illustrated in <FIG>. Means for transmitting, means for sending or means for outputting may include, a transceiver, a transmitter or at least one antenna and at least one transmit processor illustrated in <FIG>. Means for determining, means for encoding, means for generating and means for decoding may include a processing system, which may include one or more processors, such as processors <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, and/or controller/processor <NUM> of the UE 120a and/or processors <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or controller/processor <NUM> of the BS 110a shown in <FIG>.

In some cases, rather than actually transmitting a frame a device may have an interface to output a frame for transmission (a means for outputting). For example, a processor may output a frame, via a bus interface, to a radio frequency (RF) front end for transmission. Similarly, rather than actually receiving a frame, a device may have an interface to obtain a frame received from another device (a means for obtaining). For example, a processor may obtain (or receive) a frame, via a bus interface, from an RF front end for reception.

For example, instructions for performing the operations described herein and illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components illustrated above. Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claim 1:
A method for wireless communications performed by a network entity (<NUM>), comprising:
encoding, with a random number corresponding to at least one of an application or a determined network slicing instance, an application identification, ID, field within a sequence of traffic descriptor bits; and
transmitting the sequence of traffic descriptor bits to a user equipment, UE (<NUM>).